Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing The Appropriateness Of Free-Roaming Cat Management Strategies Based On Resident Perspectives In A Small Pennsylvania Municipality, Brianna Marks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The popularity and mismanagement of free-roaming cats has resulted in invasive populations responsible for over-predation of birds and small mammals and increased disease transmission to humans and animals (Bies, 2014; Crowley et al., 2020). Management effectiveness fluctuates between communities due to varying opinions of free-roaming cats by governments and the public, which can influence management development and success (Deak et al., 2019). This research assesses the relationship between community perspectives of free-roaming cats and management. A survey of residents in a small Pennsylvania municipality was conducted with questions pertaining to free-roaming cats and management preferences in the community. Over 50% …

Teaching Problem-Solving Skills As A Soft Skill For Employment To Individuals With Autism And Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities Using Video Modelling In A Virtual Learning Environment, Cliff Oliech

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with Autism (ASD) and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) exhibit poor post-secondary education employment outcomes compared to their disabled and non-disabled peers (Shattuck et al., 2012; Taylor et al., 2015). In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic school closures, students with ASD and/or IDD in post-secondary transition programs may have lost crucial instruction time, possibly putting them at risk for unemployment and underemployment. Consequently, this research study sought to establish through multiple-baselines across participants design how effective VM can be in teaching problem-solving skills as a soft skill for employment to post-secondary transition education students with ASD and/or IDD …

Rhetorical Privilege: Entitlement, Control, And The Disruption Of Shared Discourse, Marc Grandillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project seeks to explore a concept that I call rhetorical privilege, an occurrence that develops within a particular population of individuals who exhibit an elevated sense of self, demanding exclusive accommodation or recognition for unearned accomplishment. Commonly known as entitlement, this mentality is often associated with younger generations that have been raised in an environment that engenders an attitude of control. Equipped with the misguided notion that all aspects of their lives may be personally determined, individuals carry this same assumption into communicative encounters. My contention is that the contemporary rhetorical speaker-audience relationship, understood to be built upon “a …

Evaluation Planning And Special Service Eligibility Decisions Of School Psychologists: Differences By Chronic Health Condition And Impairment Severity, Maria Tina Benno

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School psychologists are expert practitioners who are well-versed in conducting comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations to address a wide range of students’ needs in schools. The increasing prevalence of pediatric chronic illnesses (CIs) and the presence of students with CIs attending school requires school psychologists to be knowledgeable of the educational and social-emotional impacts of CIs on students’ functioning. Moreover, organizations such as the American Psychological Association (APA) and National Association for School Psychologists (NASP) encourage school psychologists to demonstrate competency in understanding the influence of CIs on students’ function in the classroom (APA, 1998; Schmitt et al., 2019). Comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations …

Phronesis And Philosophical Hermeneutics In Rhetoric And Philosophy Of Communication Praxis: A Pastoral Implication, Nichodemus Okafor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overarching telos of this dissertation is walking the humanities into the marketplace. Its specific purpose is seeking how to enact the praxis of rhetoric and philosophy of communication. In keeping with Calvin Schrag’s “communicative praxis” and Ronald Arnett’s “responsive, learning rhetoric,” this research considers phronesis and philosophical hermeneutics as pragmatic tools of rhetoric and philosophy of communication praxis. It seeks the implication of rhetoric and philosophy of communication praxis in the pastoral field visualized as a marketplace, since the marketplace is not merely a place of capitalism, but a real world where people engage their concrete human condition/existence in …

Icu Nurses’ Adherence To The Cdc’S Central Line Bundle: A Qualitative Study, Cherie Burke, Cherie Burke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are one of the most common healthcare associated infections and result in prolonged hospital stays, significant morbidity, and increased costs to the healthcare system. Adherence to the CDC central line maintenance bundle has been shown to be effective in decreasing CLABSI yet these infections continue to be a problem. ICU nurses play a vital role in managing central lines and adhering to the maintenance guidelines, however different situations may arise during the care that may impact CLABSIs.

Objectives: 1) To determine nurses’ adherence to the CDC’s maintenance central line

bundle; 2) To determine …

Situation Awareness And Cognitive Load In Nursing Students Managing A Computer-Based Virtual Reality Simulated Deteriorating Patient, Tracy Chesney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: When a patient’s baseline clinical state shifts to a worse clinical state requiring a transfer to a higher level of care within the healthcare system, it is the hallmark of a deteriorating patient situation. Up to 37% of newly licensed nurses fail to identify and manage a deteriorating patient partly due to inexperience and a lack of expertise, contributing to lower situation awareness (SA), specifically in cue perception. Long-term memory schema development leads to expertise that allows individuals to develop higher SA necessary to identify and effectively manage patient deterioration. Expert nurses access long-term memory schema in managing deteriorating …

Evaluating Sex Differences In The Neuroimmune Response Following Neuroinflammation And Relief Due To Nanotheranostic Treatment, Brooke Deal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Until recently, the majority of preclinical neuroinflammatory studies were performed on males. Because of this, less is known about the female neuroinflammatory response to injury, formation of pain, or response to pain-relieving therapies. The neuroinflammatory response is multifaceted with neuronal, glial, and immune cells all contributing to the induction and resolution of neuroinflammation. During this response, macrophages typically undergo an upregulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) leading to the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which is linked to neuronal sensitization and pain. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) attenuate PGE2 by the inhibition of COX-2. A limitation with NSAIDs is that due to the …

Public Good And Common Ground: Writing Democratic Engagement Into Community-Campus Partnerships, Deanna Fracul

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on identifying essential characteristics of initiatives that build cooperative relationships and solidarity to advance democratically engaged community-campus partnerships. As such, it involves understanding the conditions that undermine these relationships, the critical practices that strengthen them, and the role of community engagement professionals in facilitating them. Fundamentally, this research is interested in explicating what worked and did not within Leon Ford's Voices Project@Duquesne University, an after-school mentoring program that evolved into a community-engaged writing initiative and dialogic space. This qualitative research project utilizes modified appreciative inquiry questions. Emerging from organizational studies, appreciative inquiry is an asset-based approach to …

Akan Traditional Religion And Catholicism In Dialogue: Envisaging A Paradigm Shift In The Theology Of Marriage In Postmodern Ghana, Daniel Adjei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The changing phases of religions, cultures, and world history in postmodernity call on the Catholic tradition to be religiously and culturally interreligious. The identity and mission of the Church can no longer be defined in a Eurocentric, triumphalist, or exclusivist term as in colonial times. As the Church expands to new religio-cultural and socio-political territories, the theological principles of dialogue, interculturality, listening, and inculturation must guide her mission. This dissertation, tracing the historical, cultural, and theological development of interreligious and cultural dialogue in the Catholic Church, argues that the Catholic Church of Ghana must engage religious and cultural diversity with …

Goemai/Ankwei Religiosity: Understanding Indigenous Divinity In Relation To Christianity, Edward Muge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Postcolonial/decolonial thinking developed in response to modernity’s colonial logic that glorified and universalized the Western locus of enunciation, subjectivity, and history. The prioritization of Western epistemology, hierarchization of being based on race, gender, and religion, and the universalization of Western Christian religion relegated all other modes of being, knowing, and accessing the Divine to the periphery. For a long time, indigenous people have accepted the Western linear worldview that makes them the exemplars of the whites (Euro-Americans) in their primordial state of Western history and development. The goal of the Western colonial matrix of power is the subsumption of …

The Cart Before The Horse?: A Phenomenological Study Of The Perspectives And Experiences Of Maker Education Supervisors In Independent Schools (9-12), Jesse Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, makerspaces have increased in popularity all over the globe (Lou & Peek, 2016) and their addition continues to be a popular trend in the K-12 educational space. In the K-12 environment, the decision to implement a makerspace frequently consists of finding, repurposing, or building a suitable space, and outfitting it with the latest technology trends with the anticipation that ‘if you build it, they will come.’ As a director of a makerspace, my experience is that integrating curriculum across disciplines, or creating pedagogical goals for the makerspace, frequently becomes a priority after the space is designed …

Contestant Theology: Toward A Play Theology Of Religions, Greg Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How can a Christian theology of religions navigate the interreligious dialogical problems of 1) the inability to fully articulate faith, 2) the lack of persuasive religious language, 3) the reality of violence among religions, and 4) the liquescent “truth” of modern times? This dissertation answers this question with a theology of religions considered through the lens of play theology. Contestant theology navigates these problems as 1) a space of cooperation and contest which 2) incorporates assertiveness (exclusivism), compassion (inclusivism), openness (pluralism) and free participation (Trinitarianism) to 3) hold together enriching and diminishing relationalities among diverse religious peoples with a view …

Restorative Playscape Design: A Phenomenological Approach To Designing Playscapes, Jennifer Bradley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation outlines the development of a phenomenological and restorative approach to playscape design. Restorative Playscape (RPD) is a phenomenologically based approach to designing children’s play environments that involves a process of attending to, noticing, and uncovering natural affordances for play and development, and making enhancements to the environment so that the affordances can experienced in their full potential and capacity to support children’s growth and development. The restorative approach involves the application of three phenomenological methods to identify the affordances of the outdoor play environment: 1) Child Guided Walks- to explore the affective and relational dimension of children’s experience …

Detecting Native Freshwater Mussels In Pennsylvania Waterways: Comparison & Validation Of Environmental Dna Methods, Meredith Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

North America is home to approximately one third of the world's freshwater mussel species. They are highly imperiled organisms due to habitat destruction and invasive species. Traditional surveys rely on visual identification of mussels, but individuals tend to be rare and difficult to identify. An alternative method is to extract environmental DNA (eDNA) from water samples, which has advantages over traditional sampling, including less sampling effort and fewer hazards to researchers and organisms. We conducted a review of the two main eDNA approaches: single-species detection and metabarcoding. We also developed and validated metabarcoding primers for the detection of native mussels. …

The Change In Representation Of Women In Perfume Advertisements With Respect To Power, Rasika More

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender portrayals in advertising have been examined extensively in the last six decades and remain an important topic. Certain brands have taken the initiative of destabilizing patriarchal norms entrenched in society by supporting modern trends and initiatives through various brand/product campaigns and advertisements that support the fluidity in power and representation. The present study navigates the changes in the representation of women in perfume advertisements that have taken place in the advertising world in the past two decades to see if women are shown to possess a sense of power with their head held high and strong posture, compared to …

Do Integrated Circuits Make For An Integrated Supply Chain? A Network Analysis Of Trade Flows, Noah Martens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Integrated circuits (colloquially referred to as chips) are an increasingly critical commodity experiencing continuous and substantial rises in demand. These increases in demand recently resulted in shortages. This paper seeks to understand the market for chips and construct a framework by which a network analysis of trade flows can evaluate concentration in the international market for a particular product category. Leveraging this framework and proposing a new model, I evaluate the level and nature of concentration in the chips sector, as well as two key inputs to the manufacturing process, silicon and chip fabricators. I find moderate-to-high levels of concentration …

Reducing Barriers To Reporting Campus Sexual Victimization: Exploration Of Gender Microaggressions, Campus Climate, Institutional Betrayal And Institutional Courage, Rebecca Ellsworth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine college cis-women’s experiences with gender microaggressions and perceptions of campus climate, institutional betrayal, and institutional courage, how those experiences and perceptions are related, and how each predicts college students’ likelihood of reporting sexual assault to the University. College cis-women (n = 483; 84.3% White) at a private predominantly-White Catholic university in the northeastern United States completed a 153-item survey, the data from which was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t tests, Pearson correlations, and linear regressions.

Gender microaggressions were found to be prevalent at the University, with perpetration by peers more common …

Neil Postman's Loving Resistance Fighter: A Philosophy Of Communication In The Age Of Technopoly, Ryan Mccullough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project walks the work of Neil Postman (1931-2003) into the philosophy of communication. Traditional conceptions of Neil Postman’s body of work position his ideas within the traditions of media ecology, general semantics, or, more broadly, as a form of media studies and criticism. In addition, others label Postman’s work, especially in Technopoly (1992), as pessimistic, deterministic, and/or imbibed with Luddite tendencies. This project articulates a different view and contends that Postman’s scholarship, in particular his articulation of the loving resistance fighter in the final chapter of Technopoly, is committed to resisting the nefarious forces embedded in both technology …

The Semiotic Use Of Emojis In Marketing Communication, Naif Albarzan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the emergence of social media as the primary tool for communication in social and business settings, research on effectiveness of communication using of emojis is limited. This project seeks to bridge the gap in understanding the effectiveness of the use of emojis in marketing communication. In particular, the dissertation will focus on an interpretive exploration of the use of emojis in marketing communication as a semiotic that supports persuasion.

The Persuasive Use Of Public Relations In Saudi Arabia 2030 Vision, Talal Alqahtani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the nations that has recommitted to rebranding in modern times, capitalizing on public relations as persuasion techniques. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through their Vision 2030 endeavors towards attaining a revamped economy that will attract foreign investors, rebrand the nation and establish mutually beneficial relations between the Kingdom and its domestic and international publics. Vision 2030 was officially coined in 2016 by then then Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Vision 2030 is anchored around three primary pillars: developing a vibrant society; secondly, establishing a thriving economy, and developing an ambitious …

The Integration Of Catholic Mission And Ethics In Contributing To A Good Death, Noah Dimas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Catholic healthcare ethics exists within a morality that is under regular heavy scrutiny. This is furthered by the healthcare space itself becoming more secular as the greater society itself moves beyond the religious origins of healthcare. However, this does not have to be relegated to a negative. Rather, this can become a strong call to action for Catholic healthcare to rally together and advocate for itself in the wider healthcare space. This is especially true as these challenges to the Catholic moral-ethical framework begin to question the presence of both Catholic and religious healthcare as whole. These challenges, if left …

Exploring The Effects Of Psychosocial Factors And Relationships To Postpartum Depression Symptoms Among Iranian Immigrant Women Living In Canada: A Cross-Sectional Study, Monica Gola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Immigrant women’s health garners attention as migration creates changes in social networks and parenting needs. The effect of psychosocial factors, such as maternal self-efficacy, measured by ability to manage parenting responsibilities, social support and cultural postpartum practices on postpartum depression symptoms are not well known in Canadian immigrant women. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive survey design guided by Bandura’s Reciprocal Determinism was used to explore the relationships between psychosocial factors including: maternal self-efficacy, social support, cultural postpartum practices; and symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) among recent Iranian immigrant women living in Canada. Results: A total of 114 participants completed the …

The Ethics Of Governance Of Data Analytics In Healthcare, Andrew Harrington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent literature and studies on data governance usually focus on data ethics and governance from a specific country or industry, which has been mostly business, without considering the larger global impact that is affected. Data is a worldwide asset; thus, its implications and considerations should be viewed as such. Hence, this dissertation attempts to incorporate this view by weaving together topics in healthcare, such as the blending of finance and delivery, data governance at the micro and macro levels, data analytics in healthcare, ethics of AI and information management, and technology’s impact on end-of-life practices. Through highlighting these areas of …

The Rhetoric Of Integrated Marketing Communication (Imc) Approaches To Marketing Sporting Events, Mohammed Almughaiseeb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The effective communicative capabilities of integrated marketing communication (IMC)

programs demand the expansion of their application to include sporting events. Sporting events, specifically the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup, have proven to have effective communication capabilities that can be used to influence the perceptions of target audiences. Creating positive perceptions of a sporting event can help achieve promotional, political, economic, and cultural gains, among others. Achieving desired goals requires preparing a comprehensive and persuasive IMC plan. The communication and marketing capabilities possessed by IMC programs have not been sufficiently studied in the context of marketing sporting events. Therefore, …

3d Scanning And Characterization Of Skin Lesions, Amir Rastegar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Skin lesions, including burn wounds, are characterized by several key physical properties including the size, shape, and coloration of the wound. Assessing the state of the wound is critical to ensure the best chance of patient recovery. Initial assessments are typically done with visual inspection, which, given human eyes, is subjective and non-repeatable.

In this study, we investigated the feasibility of characterizing skin wound properties, such as surface area, based on the 3D model obtained with an iOS device, aiming for providing more accurate skin wound assessment than conventional 2D imaging based assessment. Since 2D images lack depth data, they …

The Intercultural Communicative Meaning Of The Life Of Igbo Diaspora, Judith I. Udechukwu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In his novel, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad describes the African continent as “the heart of darkness” and frames African cultural heritage as barbaric, uncivilized, outlandish and backwards.[1] Unfortunately, this view represents the position of many European scholars who consider these cultures as inimical to civilization. However, in the contemporary era, intercultural communication, postcolonial studies, globalization, and decolonization of methodology have proved the negative western portrayal of Africa and its traditions as wrong and can no longer adequately address the complexities of African culture. Thus, the postcolonial African studies from the perspective of Chinua Achebe challenges the colonial narrative …

The Ethical Contribution Of Cultural Diversity As A Social Determinant Of Health, Pooja Patel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation examines how cultural diversity as a social determinant of health, aligned with human life, human dignity, human rights, and human equity provides an ethical contribution. My explanation of the ethical contribution of cultural diversity as a SDOH refers to a quadrant of topics that expands the approach of the UNESCO Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights. The UNESCO approach addresses cultural diversity in relation to human dignity and human rights. I adopt a quadrant of topics that aligns human dignity with human life and human rights with equity. Aligning these topics in the quadrant (dignity/life and rights/equity) explains …

Embodied Fatness In Boys: A Critical Phenomenological Study, Sean Leadem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation was an exploratory study of experiences of fatness in boyhood using a hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative method. The author conducted in-depth, open-ended interviews with participants who identify as men and for whom fatness or related body-difference was an issue in childhood or adolescence to gather data on the meanings of fatness for boys and the men they become. Data analysis was organized around the existential dimensions of embodiment, temporality, and relationality. Themes emerging from this analysis included a) the discovery of fatness as ambiguous meanings mediated by others, b) fatness as a problem in a horizon that does not …

A Qualitative Study Of Leadership Tools And Traits That Foster Effective Relationships In Rural School Communities, Julie Boyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify leadership qualities and practices that nurture relationships in school settings. The central question framing this study was: What leadership tools and traits foster effective relationships in rural school communities? I conducted semi-structured interviews in a small Northwestern school district. Non-classroom leaders and classroom leaders, who will be referred to using pseudonyms, were recruited from the elementary, middle, and high schools based on recommendations from the district’s superintendent. Prior to conducting interviews, participants were provided with a framework based on Kouzes and Posner’s (2017) exemplary leadership practices and asked to choose five …