Digital Commons Network^™

Diabetes Family-Inclusion Education In The Outpatient Clinic, Sheryl Lyn Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Patient education is critical for the regulation of Type II Diabetes. This study evaluated 39 adults ≥ 40 years old with T2D and a HgbA1c level of ≥ 7.0%, including 27 women and 12 men aged 40 to 74. The participants were divided into two separate groups. The first group (19) diagnosed with T2D had no formal disease management education but were given videos on diabetes education to watch alone. The second group (202) was given family-inclusion diabetes education through videos. The hypothesis was that individuals who watched educational videos with family would have a more significant HgbA1c decrease than …

Understanding The Role Of Faculty Advising In Graduate Allied Healthcare Profession Programs As Practitioners Transition To Professor, Lillie Marie Barnett Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals in allied healthcare professions continue to see growth in all areas, including clinical practice and higher education. Leaders at the university level, alongside leadership within allied healthcare accreditation bodies for disciplines like athletic training, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology, maintain the need to grow the professions through master’s and doctoral degree programs. With the growth, many working practitioners move from clinical practice to academia with little to no experience or understanding of higher education and all the responsibilities of the job. This quantitative research study used a purposive sampling of allied healthcare professionals across the United States …

Project-Based Learning: Teachers' Perceptions, Tricia Nail Haddad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Project-based learning (PBL), a type of pedagogy, is helping students in today’s world stay motivated to learn. This hands-on, collaborative type of learning is seen as beneficial for students, but the problem is the lack of knowledge about teachers’ perceptions of PBL. This qualitative study discusses teachers’ perceptions of PBL through the challenges, benefits, teacher training, and school administration support. Twelve teachers from magnet schools within a public school district specializing in PBL were interviewed. The teachers ranged from first-year teachers to teachers with over 10 years of experience. Six educators also participated in a focus group. Study findings indicated …

Analyzing Concept Mapping Integration Into A Bsn Curriculum Using The H-Pepss Survey, Tina Michelle Mathers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: This project’s foundational focus was on improving nursing students’ preparedness for their profession and patient care. Data supports that nursing graduates face challenges at the patient bedside, which often cause injury or harm. These deficits are known as preparation-to-practice, failure-to-rescue, and transition-to-practice gaps that occur despite the integration of preceptorship and residency programs. Through the integration of concept mapping into an established curriculum, an analysis of student patient safety perceptions in a pre- and postsurvey was completed. Method: This quality improvement project received approval from the institutional review board. The project was a quasi-experimental, nonrandomized, single-blinded design measuring first-semester …

How An Abusive Supervision Climate Impacts Business-To-Business (B2b) Sales Performance, And The Roles Of Leader–Members Interdependence And Team Psychological Safety, Matthew J. Daniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sales supervisors can tremendously influence the sales teams they manage, and their behaviors can influence a team’s engagement and sales performance. Because of the supervisor’s influential role, their behavior, positive or negative, can ripple throughout the organization. As a result, a supervisor who role models abusive behavior within their organization also promotes a climate of abuse and incivility that can contribute to a toxic workplace. Abusive supervision (AS) is a significant problem in many business-to-business (B2B) sales organizations that negatively impacts the financial welfare and subjective well-being of organizations and their employees. This quantitative correlational study aimed to examine how …

Managers' Resistance To Supervising Teleworking Employees, Jan R. Oldham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Telework allows employees to perform work tasks in any location using information communication technology. Though organizations and employees can benefit from teleworking arrangements in many ways, most managers implemented teleworking relatively slowly prior to the COVID-19 quarantine. Research suggests managers avoided supervising remotely based on a lack of trust for remote employee productivity, a lack of technology self-efficacy, and their perceptions of organizational support and politics. Pandemic COVID-19 quarantine conditions in March 2020 required most organizations to mandate teleworking for all employees whose work could be performed remotely and simultaneously mandated teleworking supervision for managers. This narrative inquiry aimed to …

The Acceptance Of Learning Management Systems By Higher Education Faculty In An Educational Landscape Influenced By A Global Pandemic, Stephen Mark Rektenwald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study investigated the perceptions of higher education faculty with respect to their behavioral intentions to use learning management systems and the perceived effect of COVID-19 on those intentions. An online survey was administered through private Facebook groups to faculty in higher education and listservs focused on technology in higher education. The sample size initially included 137 participants but participants were reduced to 121 due to incomplete responses on some surveys or not meeting the selection criteria for the research. The theoretical framework for this research was the intersection of the technology acceptance model and digital transformations. The data …

Do Time-Compressed General Education Courses Increase Course And Semester Retention Rates?, Michael Lee Dixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Access to higher education remains a fundamental principle of the community college mission. Community colleges provide a critical starting point for many traditional and nontraditional students who enter higher education. Yet, in recent years, community colleges have endured public criticism for low graduation rates and the extended time students take to graduate. Many community colleges adapted long-held practices by implementing student success initiatives, including offering time-compressed courses to address concerns. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of time-compressed courses on course retention rates and fall-to-spring semester retention rates of students. Quantitative methods were used to compare …

The Correlation Between Transformational Leadership And Mental Health Clinician Burnout, Rebekah E. Shutter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental health clinicians working in a hospital setting are at a high risk of experiencing burnout due to the stressful demands of their caseloads, compassion fatigue, limited resources, and unsupportive leadership. While there is ample research regarding the cause and effect of burnout on clinicians there is a gap in the literature when it comes to the impact leadership has on mental heath clinician burnout. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study is to determine if and to what extent there is a correlation between Transformational Leadership and mental health clinician burnout. Participants for this study consisted of 200 mental …

Cry Wolf, Olivia Claire Acosta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cry Wolf is a confessional poetry collection told in three sections about at-work stalking. This collection also alludes to the Brothers Grimm fairytale, The Little Red Riding Hood. The sections of Cry Wolf include “The Wolf,” which introduces the speaker’s discovery of work-related stalking. The second section, entitled “The Fur,” is where the speaker empowers themselves to file a Title IX report about this dilemma, and Red cloaks herself in the wolf’s skin. The final portion of the collection, entitled “Red’s Home,” gives the audience a view of the speaker's self-love as they maintain it through trauma. This section also …

Persistence Rates Of First-Year College Students Who Attend An Extended Orientation Camp Program Compared To Those Who Do Not Attend, Kristy G. O'Keefe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student retention is a topic of concern among higher education institutions. The dissertation pronounces a comparative quantitative research study to examine participation in summer extended orientation programs as a predictor of fall-to-spring persistence for first-year college students. This research study was conducted through a conceptual replication of a decade-old study at a regional Texas institution. In this conceptual replication study, the researcher observed the enrollment impacts, such as persistence rates and grade point average, of first-year college students who attended a summer extended orientation program compared to those of students who did not. Conducting more specific research in the area …

An Examination Of Academic Advising: How Satisfaction And Frequency Of Advising Predict Degree Commitment Among Hispanic/Latino Students In Online Bachelor’S Degree Programs, Shayne A. Futujma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hispanic/Latino student enrollment in higher education has increased in recent years. However, persistence and dropout rates in higher education for Hispanic/Latino students are still an issue of great concern. Online degree programs are also on the rise, allowing some Hispanic/Latino students to attend college where there was no opportunity before. Although online programs are an excellent option for Hispanic/Latino students, their persistence and dropping out are also a concern, because Hispanic/Latino students are more likely to drop out of online courses than face-to-face. One of the resources that college students have access to is academic advisors, who serve as a …

Case Study: Principal Knowledge, Principal Practice, And Student Achievement, Maritza Olivarez Braxton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A school principal is a critical asset to the success of a campus, teachers, and students. Their role is and will continue to be complex with many responsibilities and challenges. Researchers have implied a disconnect between the level of a principal’s practice to their knowledge in the production of student success. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to reveal a deeper understanding of the theory-to practice gap between the professional practices of high school principals and their knowledge. This study attempted to answer the what, how, and why to help establish foundational information for improving and creating ongoing …

Lived Experiences Of Latino(A) College Students Enrolled In A Historically Black College & University (Hbcu), Gabriel Crosby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many first-generation Latino(a) college students, the college-setting is a new and scary place. Without the support of family and friends, the chances for them dropping out or not finishing their college education grow. Recognizing that Latinos(as) make up a growing segment of the college-going population, higher education institutions and their leaders must not only recruit individuals from this demographic population, but must also work to help these students remain enrolled and guide them to graduation. Institutions must be able to provide a welcoming campus culture and environment as a means of fostering student success. Historically Black College and Universities …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of African American Female College Presidents: The Path To Presidency In Higher Education, Breonna Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the American College President Survey of 2017, 30% of college presidents across the country are female, and only 5% of that population is represented by women of color (Gagliardi et al., 2017). Diversity in leadership positions, more specifically in the higher education sector, is a critical need as higher education institutions continue to develop sustainability strategies in response to impending demographic changes (Virick & Greer, 2012). The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative research study was to describe the lived experiences, pathways, and successful strategies used during career trajectory by former or current African American female college presidents in …

The Glass Jaw. The Presence Of Incivility, Conflict, And Bullying In Disempowering Workplaces: A Study Of Middle-Level Managers In Heis, Maria Esther Caratini Prado

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Middle-level managers at HEIs experience stress-related conflicts that include incivility and bullying. There is a gap in the literature regarding middle-level managers’ contributions to improving interpersonal relationships in the workplace and the type of conflict-management training most suited to middle-level managers in HEIs when incivility, conflict, and bullying are present. This qualitative design study sought to understand conflict management from the perspective of HEI middle-level managers within the manager-to-subordinate relationship. The study examined the lived experiences of 10 HEI middle-level managers with coded data revealing four overall themes: structural challenges, sources of conflict, conflict training, and managing conflict. The results …

Improving Hypertension Self Management In African American Men, Elizabeth C. Felix

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hypertension is a cardiopulmonary condition linked to genetic, environmental, and social factors. Left untreated, it can lead to fatal conditions such as heart disease. In the United States, African Americans experience disproportionately high rates of hypertension, earlier onset of symptoms, greater severity, and higher related mortality rates. African Americans also statistically have more difficulty self-managing their hypertension than other demographics. The aim of this project was (a) to identify, define, and measure perceived barriers to self-management of hypertension among African American men and (b) to target these barriers and increase patient engagement through personalized intervention plans. The researcher recruited 24 …

A Path To Success: A Case Study Of Military Veterans At A Midwestern University, Jada N. Reynolds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of military veterans transitioning from service members to civilian life. The study was conducted using semistructured interviews with eight transitioning veterans who had completed their bachelor’s degree from the same Midwestern U. S. university between 2017 and 2022. Retention theory, and transition theory were used as the guiding theories for this study. An intrinsic qualitative case study was used for data analysis, which resulted in the emerging themes (a) Transitioning from Military Service to Civilian Life, (b) Work-Life-Study Balance: Confronting Challenges, and (c) Supporting Military Veterans. This study …

Healing The Burn: Assuaging Burnout And Increasing Work Engagement In University Admissions Counselors, Michael K. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tuition-driven universities depend heavily on net tuition revenue to operate. However, the individuals responsible for delivering the type of enrollment that meets university goals, known as the university admissions counselors, tend to be underpaid, burnt out, and likely to depart their institutions before meaningful recruiting relationships can be formed. The implications of this issue lead to high costs of turnover and training of new staff, a recruiting territory in flux due to the turnstile nature of the profession and an office culture that lacks any genuine consistency. Many studies in the past have focused on the specific reasons that frontline …

Removing Barriers That Prevent Parents From Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds From Being Involved In Their Children’S High School Education, Jason E. Shepherd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the barriers that prevent parents from low socioeconomic backgrounds from being involved in their children’s high school education at District X in rural East Texas. Fifteen high school teacher participants were interviewed and provided their experiences and perceptions to support the interviews and focus groups. The primary findings identified teachers’ perceptions of the barriers that prevent parental involvement, parents’ commitment to their children’s high school education, and the teacher’s role in removing barriers that prevent parents from low socioeconomic backgrounds from being involved in their children’s high school education. …

Principal Decision-Making And Perception Of Fine Arts Programing In Curricular Design, Osvaldo Altamirano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study included an exploration of the concept of perception affecting decision- making in curriculum design and the support of school administrators toward fine art programs in West Texas School Regions 18 and 19. Research shows that the fine arts provide students the social and creative skills to become productive citizens. However, research shows that in the current realm of urban and rural public school curricula, the fine arts exist at either a limited capacity or are nonexistent. This dissertation included an attempt to answer how a school leader's fine arts perception affects a principal's ability to support, build, …

Trust In Academia: How Chief Academic Officers Build And Maintain Faculty Trust, Marc A. Smithers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the role of academic leadership has grown more complex, particularly as leaders are increasingly tasked with leading educational innovation initiatives, building faculty trust has become an essential task for chief academic officers (CAOs). Due to the general lack of research into this role, though, little is known about how they understand and approach building faculty trust. The purpose of this qualitative, single, holistic case study was to understand how executive academic administrators at private colleges approach building and maintaining trust with their faculty in general and also through educational innovation and what specific challenges they have identified in these …

A Qualitative Study Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Teachers Of Color In Predominately White K–12 Environments, Torine S. Champion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the lived experiences of teachers of color and identify commonalities within the lived experiences of teachers of color employed in predominately White K–12 schools. This study utilized interpretive phenomenological analysis as viewed through the White racial frame lens. There were 15 participants that were included in this research study. Participants were teachers of color with at least 5 years of teaching experience in predominately White K–12 environments. Data collection procedures included confidential virtual, semistructured interviews that included specific information the researcher wanted to explore. Six themes were revealed: (a) cultural advocacy, …

A Study Of The Perceptions Of School Administrators On Fostering Relational Trust With Teachers In Texas Urban Charter Schools, Meesha-Gay Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accountability has placed immense pressure on principals leading K-12 public charter schools to increase standards for success. Overwhelmingly, principals accept the charge to produce promising results every day, despite the public scrutiny principals may ensue for not meeting the state’s standard of excellence. Principals are expected to drive high academic standards, initiate instructional vision, interact with parents, oversee policy mandates, address students’ needs, and foster relationships with teachers. The daily demands requiring principals’ attention stimulate stress and may cause principals to wrestle with prioritizing trusted relationships. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand how principals foster relational …

Trends In Health Outcomes Before And After Long Term Care Federal Regulations Limited Antipsychotic Medication Use: A Secondary Data Analysis, Karen Robson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Trends in resident falls did not significantly change, although trends in serious injury from falls declined ten years after regulations restricted antipsychotic medications in long-term care facilities. Trends in functional and continence status worsened after the regulations were implemented.

What Does It Mean To Be Coherent? Mathematics And Science Teachers Consider Coherency In Curriculum Decision Making, Mona Baniahmadi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates teacher and administrator perceptions of what it means for a curriculum to be coherent, strategies they have for establishing coherence of the diverse curricular resources available, and the difficulties teachers may face in understanding coherence and implementing potentially coherent curricula. This study uses the Danielson Model of Effective Teaching and the Tripartite Model of Curriculum as frameworks to examine the ways coherence is understood and implemented in the classroom. The study collected open-ended survey, focus groups, and individual interview data from 12 participants who identify as administrators, mathematics teachers, and science teachers in secondary grades at …

'Bleeding-In-The-World': A Qualitative Study Of Self-Cutting And Blood, Sadie Mohler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an existential, phenomenological study of the role and meaning of blood in self-cutting. Using in-depth, open-ended interviews with participants who self-cut, the author gathered data on the multisensorial experience of blood and bleeding in self-cutting. Data analysis was organized around the lifeworld existentials of corporeality, temporality, spatiality, communication, and relationality. The impact of blood and bleeding across each lifeworld dimension emphasized highly relevant, and previously unstudied, aspects of the lived experience of self-cutting. The six themes identified and explored are (a) blood as an animate abject; (b) bleeding and control; (c) bleeding is a process and the …

Rendering Documentary Portraiture: An Interrogation Of Archival Discourse Through A Critical Exploration Of Nineteenth Century Stage Actress Charlotte Cushman’S Material Memory, Skyler Sunday

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Visual depictions of nineteenth century stage actress Charlotte Cushman, such as photographs, engravings, and painted portraits assist researchers in re-envisioning her both as an actress and as a person, but what do her remaining archival possessions further reveal to researchers about her memory? How do different objects operate as portraits that allow the researcher to tap into and remember specific moments and memory? How does the effort to preserve memory take different forms? This project argues that, when viewing the archive through its stored objects, our collective notion of portraiture can be expanded and used to interrogate existing methods of …

Cultural Care Needs Of Spanish Speaking Parents With Limited English Proficiency Whose Children Are Hospitalized: An Ethnonursing Study, Jennifer Stephen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Parents’ inability to speak English proficiently is associated with communication barriers in the care process of their children, social determinants of health, and poor child health outcomes. Research exploring perspectives of Spanish speaking parents with limited English proficiency (SSP-LEP) whose children are hospitalized in the context of culture is lacking in the literature. The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural experiences, values, and beliefs of SSP-LEP, of Mexican origin, whose children were hospitalized and understand nurses’ role in providing culturally congruent care.

Design and Methods: Leininger’s qualitative, ethnonursing method was used for this study. The Theory …

Emergency Care For Youth Who Experience Suicidality And Identify As Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning (Lgbtq+): An Interpretive Phenomenology, Theresa Schultz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Suicide is a leading cause of death in children; youth who identify as LGBTQ+ are at an exponentially higher risk of suicide. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of young adults who identify as LGBTQ+ and sought emergency care for suicidality when they were adolescents.

Methods: Heideggerian hermeneutics phenomenology is the research method used in this study. Youth, ages 18-25 years, who identify as LGBTQ+ and sought emergency treatment for suicidality when they were adolescents (13-17 years) were recruited to participate;fifteen youth enrolled. Individuals ranged in age from 20 to 25 years. Participants described …