Digital Commons Network^™

Determining Implementation Barriers For Green Stormwater Infrastructure (Gsi) Practices For Urban Flood Control, Liya Abera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An increase in impervious land covers, such as asphalt and buildings from new construction and land development projects, results in cities experiencing flooding events. In 2021, the US was impacted by significant weather and climate disasters, including two flooding events and 11 severe storms. In addition to flooding events, excess runoff carries pollutants to receiving waters causing low water quality and habitat loss. To minimize flooding events and maintain the quality of receiving water bodies, stormwater runoff should be handled near its source. The installation of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is one sustainable method of addressing stormwater runoff problems. GSI …

Prevalence And Predictors Of Polypharmacy In Adolescents Who Have Engaged In Sexually Abusive Behaviors, Rebecca Gilley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Polypharmacy, or the concurrent use of multiple medications, is associated with detrimental outcomes for patients and has gathered increasing attention within the scientific clinical literature. Pediatric populations warrant special consideration for the practice of polypharmacy, as medication effects are more pronounced in youth and adverse effects may have a lasting impact on development. This dissertation study examined psychotropic prescribing practices in a sample of adolescents who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors, a subset of justice-involved youth who are at risk for polypharmacy. General prescribing trends were examined, and a principle components analysis involving variables associated with risk of polypharmacy …

Experiences Of Black Professionals At Predominantly White Institutions: Toward A Shared Understanding, Nequel Renee' Burwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This Dissertation in Practice highlights a problem of practice within the field of Higher Education regarding the work place experiences of Black staff and administrators at Predominantly White Institutions. The dissertation seeks to understand more about the experiences of Black professional staff and administrators at Predominantly White Institutions as well as the personal and professional resources, support services, and networks that assist with their ability to grow and thrive in higher education work place environments that are predominantly White. The dissertation is comprised of three manuscripts. Manuscript 1 is an expanded literature review regarding the problem of practice. Manuscript 2 …

Critical Thinking Teaching Practices In Community College, Andrea Jordan Crowley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more ubiquitous, and machine learning continues to optimize systems and data, the human contribution to our working and social worlds must evolve to be more sophisticated. Labeled as the fourth industrial revolution by the World Economic Forum (2019), employment roles comprised of repetitive tasks and rote analysis will no longer be needed because machines and artificial intelligence will be able to program themselves to perform these functions. Many experts forecast that for every low-skilled occupation a new, more sophisticated role will be invented (Skilton & Hovesepian, 2018).

New Applications Of Hot Melt Extrusion Techniques For Advancing Oral Drug Delivery, Arun Butreddy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hot melt extrusion (HME) is a promising technology in the pharmaceutical field, as evidenced by its application in the development of various formulations such as abuse deterrent (AD), amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs), cocrystals etc.The extended-release (ER) HME pellets of acetaminophen, a model drug, by utilizing high molecular weight polyethylene oxide (PEO) and gelling agents (xanthan gum, guar gum, and gellan gum) were prepared using HME to provide abuse-deterrent properties. The PEO/xanthan gum-based formulation showed higher viscosity, syringe and injection forces, and lower syringeable volume in all manipulation conditions compared to the other formulations, suggesting the AD potential of PEO and …

Sales Technology: A Three-Part Multi-Method Approach To Examining Sales-Stacks, John Galvan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Salespeople depend on sales-related technologies to make themselves more efficient and effective. The extant sales-technology research tends to examine specific sales technologies in sales settings with the emphasis on the impact on salespeople. With the growth of technological capabilities, sales technology has become more integrated, thus making it harder to separate individual technologies from one another. The current research conducts a typological literature review of sales technology. Next, with an eye toward the development of indigenous theory, it introduces the term sales-stacks as capturing the aggregate of sales technologies that, when effective, provide a powerful, connected, easy-to-use experience for every …

Choral Music Teacher Educators' Practices: Preparing Undergraduates To Teach World Choral Music, Stellah Mbugua

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how undergraduate choral music teacher educators (MTEs) are including world choral music pedagogy (WCMP) in choral music education courses. Participants of this study were faculty of colleges and universities in the Southern Region of the United States of America (USA), as defined by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). Participants either held a choral music education position or teach choral music education courses. A survey design was used to collect data for this descriptive study. The research questions that informed this study focused on the extent of the inclusion of WCMP in …

Challenges Of Leading During Covid-19: A Qualitative Study Of K-12 Administrators, Jerry Bradford Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research discusses the impact of environmental and social crisis events, how

Novel Applications Of Hot Melt Extrusion For Developing Oral Solid Dosage Forms With Improved Solubility, Permeability, And Stability, Dinesh Nyavanandi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today's world, with an increasing patient population, the demand for pharmaceutical medications is increasing enormously. However, pharmaceutical industries are continuously failing to meet market and patient populations' demands. Poor solubility of the drug substances is the major roadblock affecting the pharmaceutical industries in meeting the market demand and revenue. Around 70-80% of the new chemical entities within the developmental pipeline are claimed to be poorly soluble, affecting the oral bioavailability. Improving the solubility of drug substances by preserving their stability and physiological action is the primary prerequisite for developmental scientists. The underdeveloped manufacturing process with various limitations is another …

Repetitively Counting Sheep: Sleep As A Moderator Of Executive Function Performance On Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms, Brittany S. Sapp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a leading cause of disability worldwide, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is associated with considerable costs on individual and economic levels. According to a U.S. national comorbidity survey, approximately 28% of individuals experience obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms in their lifetime. As with most psychiatric disorders, sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in individuals with OCD and have been linked to greater severity of OC symptoms and poorer treatment response. Similarly, deficient executive functioning (EF) has been demonstrated in OCD, with research evidencing a connection between EF impairment and OCD course, symptom severity, and treatment response. Sleep difficulties are also implicated in impaired EF, …

Latent Profiles Of Young Adults Based On E-Cigarette Outcome Expectancies, Victoria Alicia Torres

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: While cigarette smoking has steadily declined, electronic cigarette use (e.g., e-cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems [ENDS]) has led a new generation to become addicted to nicotine (Cummings & Proctor, 2014; USDHHS, 2014). Some individuals believe these products have the potential to provide benefits in helping smokers quit; however, many harmful aspects have been uniquely associated with e-cigarette use (e.g., toxicity, vape-specific injuries, gateway effects, etc.). If e-cigarettes are to be established as useful cessation tools, researchers must better understand e-cigarette use beliefs and associated clinical targets. Purpose: To better inform e-cigarette prevention and intervention, investigators developed profiles of young …

Preparation And Characterization Of 3d Printed Bioadhesive Delivery Systems, Mohammed Yahya Alyahya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Drug delivery systems are evolving as pharmaceutical excipients and the manufacturing technologies evolve. Recently, 3D printing was introduced as a promising and versatile manufacturing technology of solid dosage forms from liquid, semi-solid, and solid intermediates. This work presents two examples of employing hot melt extrusion and fused deposition 3D printing technology to fabricate bioadhesive delivery systems loaded with miconazole. The first project shows a successful fabrication of four intraoral mucoadhesive film formulations, the formulations consist of different ratios of Eudragit RS, Hydroxypropyl cellulose EF (HPC EF), and Hypromellose HME 15LV. After the HME and 3DP fabrication of the films, the …

An Investigation Into The Feasibility Of Coupling Hot-Melt Extrusion Technology With Fused Deposition Modeling 3d Printing In Different Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms, Abdullah Ahmed Alzahrani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coupling hot-melt extrusion (HME) with fused deposition modeling (FDM) three-dimensional printing (3DP) is a cutting-edge manufacturing technique that allows the exact deposition of materials in consecutive layers to create bespoke objects. HME technology has piqued academic research and the pharmaceutical industry's attention as a solvent-free continuous process for several pharmaceutical applications. It is possible to employ this technology alone/alongside other current technologies to produce new pharmaceuticals for various applications. The FDA has approved several HME commercial products for different pharmaceutical applications. HME and FDM 3D printing could open the door to a new era of pharmaceutical manufacturing. 3D printing has …

James S. Allen And Communist Organization Of The Depression South In The 1930s, Jonathan Dale Harwood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the methods and means by which the Communist Party of theUnited States organized in the US South during the 1930s. With a focus on the “Negro Question”, I hope to show that local, rather than national or international, concerns animated CPUSA organizing. To that end, the records of James S. Allen, a key CPUSA theoretician, are used to explore the relationships between local Southern sub-organizations and the CPUSA leadership. His organizing in the South is crucial to the avenues that Communists organized and utilized his writings to shape Party policy and engagement with African Americans of the …

Efficacy Of Acceptance-Based Interventions For Migraine: A Meta-Analytic Review, Ashley Nicole Polk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Migraine is the most disabling of the common primary headache disorders and is the sixth most prevalent disease worldwide. Migraine contributes greatly to economic, healthcare, and personal burden. Psychological factors, including depression, anxiety disorders, and stress, further compound functional impact of migraine and contribute to avoidant coping behaviors in anticipation of or during migraine. Traditional behavioral interventions for migraine include biofeedback, relaxation training, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) targeting stress management, coping skills training, and control over pain. Contrastingly, acceptance-based approaches to headache management are those in which individuals learn to mitigate the influence of pain-related experiences on their general …

Exploratory Analysis Of Effects Of Data On Adversarial Perturbations, Hamza Ali Zafar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the amount of data being produced has increased tremendously. This data has allowed us to create and train machine learning models that are being used nowadays. Though these models have proven to be very effective in classification and regression problems, they do have a vulnerability. This vulnerability is exploited by adding adversarial perturbations to the original data or in the deployed model. These adversarial attacks are done by making minute changes to the data to confuse the machine learning model. This can lead to models’ misrepresentation and drop the accuracy. For the span of this paper, I …

Does The Help Grant Help? Impact Of The Help Grant On College-Going In Mississippi, Jennifer D. Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mississippi appropriates millions of dollars each year to the Higher Education Legislative Plan for Needy Students (HELP) Grant to help college-ready, low-income students pay for college, but little is known about the effectiveness of the program. This dissertation in practice examines the impact of the HELP Grant by comparing the college-going performance of HELP Grant recipients to the college-going performance of similar students who did not receive the HELP Grant. The study finds HELP Grant recipients complete significantly more hours and earn significantly higher GPAs than non-recipients after the first term, first year, and second year of college. With the …

Testing Emotion Regulation As A Functional Transdiagnostic Construct, Enoch Sackey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The polythetic criteria of the DSM and ICD generate high amount of symptom heterogeneity as there are clusters of symptoms within various diagnostic category that are heuristically similar, resulting in multiple, often confusing, ways of describing sequelae of symptoms presentation. This is because the DSM and ICD classification systems were developed based on the neo-Kraepelinian framework for classifying physical illnesses, which assumes that the underlying architecture of psychopathology, which manifest in disorder symptoms, are distinct and specific. Based on this, the categorical approach to describing psychopathology has been described as purely conceptual artefact with no empirical basis in research or …

Optimizing Exposure For Contamination Ocd: What Happens When Digust Is Specifically Targeted?, Molly E. Wickenhauser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Disgust is a basic emotion with distinct subjective, physiological, cognitive, and behavioral processes that include revulsion, parasympathetic nervous system activity, contamination-specific appraisals, and disease-avoidance behaviors. Pathological disgust responses may contribute to the development and maintenance of anxiety-related psychopathology, particularly spider and blood-injection-injury phobias, health anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Evidence-based treatments for these disorders were developed based on theories of fear and anxiety and involve exposure-based cognitive-behavior therapy. However, traditional exposure methods appear to be less effective at achieving habituation to disgust compared to fear and anxiety. Additionally, individuals with elevated disgust and primary contagion concerns seem …

College Students’ Perceptions Of Sense Of Community, Satisfaction, And Cognitive Learning In Online Classes, Laura Lynn Higgs Kappel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, comparative quantitative study was to determine if there were significant differences between the perceptions of undergraduate and graduate students about the importance and presence of sense of community in online classes at two southern public universities using survey data. The study also aimed to determine if there were significant relationships between students’ perceptions of the presence of sense of community and students’ satisfaction with the course and between students’ perception of the presence of sense of community and students’ perceptions of increases in cognitive learning. The study also addressed factors of undergraduate classification, gender, and …

Acute Effects Of Match Play Induced Fatigue On Jump Performance In Collegiate Women's Volleyball, Grayson Flora

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated changes in maximal jump performance in response to match play induced fatigue. During six sets of tournament match play, seven National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics women’s volleyball athletes accumulated a mean Player Load of 758.6±216.89 au (measured via microsensor accelerometry), and mean session rate of perceived exertion of 1184.1±363.2. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to identify change with Hedge’s g effect sizes used to assess magnitude of change. Short recovery stress scale results indicated elevated stress (ES=1.401 to 1.588) and decreased recovery (ES = -1.358 to -1.848) 24 hours post-match, trending towards baseline 48 hours post-match. Countermovement …

Look, But Don’T Touch: Impact Of Covid-19 On The Nicu Caregiver, Rebecca C. Otwell-Dove

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Admission of an infant into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is an experience that has been associated with a variety of both positive and negative health outcomes for parent and child. While both the setting name and the admitted population alludes to a sole focus on the affected infant, what often remains underrecognized is the impact on the ones who care for the newborn long before and longer after their NICU stay. Given the recency and unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, very little research has examined the impact of COVID-19-specific stress on the experience of parents of infants …

Phenomenological Study Of Positive Coteaching Dyads Perceptions Of Their Coteaching Relationship, Ashley Weber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how coteaching dyads perceive their coteaching relationships including how they implemented coteaching and how their school leaders supported them. Participants in this study were located in one county school system in East Tennessee. Data was collected through an online survey distributed to 40 teachers, of whom 28 responded. Then data was collected through in person one-on-one interviews. Coteachers who participated in the interview process all rated themselves high on the Coteaching Rating Scale. The overarching research question was What makes coteaching relationships effective? Three research questions were analyzed. From the data, …

The Front Lines Of Student Success: A Phenomenography Exploring The Background And Knowledge Of Primary Role Academic Advisors In Higher Education, Alicia N. Abney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenographic study was to understand the experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives of new, primary role academic advisors at four-year public institutions in the United States. Research on advising has provided insight into advising best practices and the student perceptions of academic advising; however, there is little research illustrating current primary role academic advisors and their experience, or perhaps lack thereof.

To receive highly coveted federal and state funding, higher education institutions must show growth in student success. Academic advisors are on the front lines of student success because they are tasked with the responsibility of retaining …

A Phenomenological Study On How University Employees Experienced Working From Home During A Pandemic, Amy Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how employees at a mid-sized public university in the South experienced working from home during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020-2021. Most employees in higher education settings were affected in some way by the coronavirus pandemic that hit the United States in the spring of 2020. Administrative, and clerical and support staff had to determine how to continue to provide the university with services while coordinating working from home. Now that we have experienced working from home, will that experience change the future of how staff work in higher education? For many, …

Evaluating Bat Roost Abundance: A Comparison Of Drone-Acquired Thermal Imagery And Acoustic Estimates With Visual Observations, Karah Jaffe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Roosts provide an opportunity to census philopatric populations of bats. Comparing the efficacy of traditional methods with novel methods can provide guidance on the use of new technologies in the field. This project aims to compare the count efficacy of external emergence methodologies, i.e., drone-acquired thermal imagery, acoustic estimates, and visual counts. Surveys were conducted ten nights at two emergence sites and synchronized to compare counts. Acoustic estimates could not be established as there was a weak prediction of the linear relationship between root-mean-square pressure and emergence count; therefore, this method was removed from the comparative analysis. A linear mixed-effects …

Validation Of The 40 Hz Auditory Steady State Response As A Pharmacodynamic Biomarker Of Evoked Neural Synchrony, Muhammad Ummear Raza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Schizophrenia is a troubling and severe mental illness that is only incompletely treated by currently available drugs. New drug development is hindered by a scarcity of functionally relevant pharmacodynamic biomarkers that are translatable across preclinical and human subjects. Although psychosis is a major feature of schizophrenia, cognitive and negative symptoms determine the long-term functional outcomes for patients. Stimulus-evoked neural synchrony at gamma (~ 40 Hz) frequency plays an important role in the processing and integration of sensory information. Not surprisingly, schizophrenia patients show deficits in gamma oscillations. NMDA receptor (NMDAR) activation on fast-spiking parvalbumin-positive interneurons is deemed important for the …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Quality Of Life: A Mediating Role Of Physical Activity And Executive Function, Loni Parrish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ACEs have been associated with heightened risk for a range of chronic health problems, substance use, and cognition in adulthood (Center for Disease Control (CDC), 2019; Hinojosa et al., 2017). One potential protective factor is physical activity (McEwen, 2016; Wu et al., 2013). Physical activity is associated with sustaining overall health, improving mental health by reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety (Murri et al., 2019; Sharma et al., 2006; Tasci et al., 2019), and maintaining a healthy body weight and BMI (WHO, 2021). Therefore, this study examined whether barriers to physical activity, physical activity levels, and executive outcomes serve as …

An Intersectional Study Of Perceived Academic Climate And The Imposter Phenomenon In Psychology Students, Kelsey Braun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social exclusion in higher education can occur at multiple levels (e.g., systemic, institutional, interpersonal, individual), and individuals simultaneously hold multiple social identities that could influence their perceptions of academic climate. The current study utilized a mixed-methods convergent parallel design to explore the impact of multiple social identities, perceptions of academic climate, and the imposter phenomenon among psychology students. In the quantitative portion, participants (N = 142) completed an online survey related to gender centrality, academic climate, and imposter phenomenon. Gender group comparisons revealed that cisgender men indicated poorer perceptions of climate than cisgender women and gender minorities, but imposter …

Safety And Security On Campus: Student Perceptions And Influence On Enrollment, Kaitlyn Puckett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research examining college choice has traditionally focused on factors relating to demographics of the student and the college/university. Less attention has been directed towards how safety and security of the campus and the surrounding community play a role in college choice. In addition, some studies have examined students’ fear of crime, perception of safety and security, and perception of public safety; however, there is still much to be learned. The current study sought to further the research by (1) assessing how campus safety and security impacts enrollment decisions, (2) assessing how students perceive fear of crime and their personal safety, …