Digital Commons Network^™

An Exploration Of Self-Care In Relation To Burnout And Compassion Fatigue Among Social Workers, Michael Jared Gonzalez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the impact of self-care, burnout and compassion fatigue on mental health social workers. This correlational study was designed to provide a fuller understanding of this relationship. Stamm’s Theory of Compassion Satisfaction and Compassion Fatigue and Orem’s self-care deficit theory served as the theoretical foundations of this study. The sample included 38 members of Millwood Hospital and the three Excel Centers, who volunteered to participate in this study. Participants completed online versions of the demographics questionnaire, Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL), and Self-Care Assessment Work Sheet (SCAW). Correlation, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple linear regressions were performed …

The Efficacy Of An Educational Intervention To Improve Low Influenza Vaccination Rates Among Federal Health Care Workers, Cynthia Berfect-Shelby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Influenza is a preventable communicable illness that has a significant impact on people of all ages. In 2018 it was estimated that 80,000 people died of influenza-related illnesses. Infants and elderly people are among the most vulnerable populations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Healthy People 2020 recommend that health care facilities have a 90% vaccination rate. Despite the recommendations and a mandatory directive, many facilities within the Veterans Health Administration struggle to reach influenza vaccination rates above 60%. Pender’s health promotion model was used as the theoretical framework to explore the reasons why health care workers refuse …

A Meta-Analytic Review Of Cognitive Functioning In Negative And Positive Symptoms Of Schizophrenia, Tiffany Forsythe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to conduct two meta-analytic reviews examining cognitive functioning and schizophrenia. The first review examined the literature comparing the cognitive functioning of schizophrenic patients to healthy controls. A second review examined the cognitive functioning within schizophrenic patients, examining the differences between individuals with primarily positive symptomatology and those with primarily negative symptomatology. The first meta-analysis included 19 studies which assessed 861 schizophrenic patients and 858 healthy volunteers overall. The second meta-analysis included 10 studies comparing the cognitive functioning of 1,263 schizophrenics across positive and negative symptoms. Results of the first review indicated that healthy controls …

Assessing Social Integration Of African Refugee Students Resettled In Abilene Texas: A Comparative Analysis, Hayven Tudman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to assess perceived social and cultural integration among African refugee students participating in the IRC’s youth programs and those students who do not. The study looks at refugee students from a local high school in a small rural town. The sample population (n=20) were from four different Sub-Saharan African countries: Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. The data were collected using an online survey that consisted of two scales, one for measuring social support and one for measuring acculturation. An Independent Samples t-test analysis was run to compare the IRC participants …

The Impact Organizational Factors Have On Role Ambiguity Amongst School Social Workers, Melissa Kichura

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore what organizational factors increase or decrease role ambiguity amongst school social workers. This study attempted to provide practical information for schools on the influence of specific organizational factors on role ambiguity so that they can provide a supportive work environment for school social workers and students. A cross-sectional survey design was used to provide a snapshot of the current organizational factors impacting the ambiguity of school social work roles from a sample of 73 members of the School Social Work Association of America. Some findings were not congruent with the literature. The …

A Narrative Inquiry With Three Formerly Abrasive Leaders: Stories Of Disruption, Awakening, And Equipping, Lori J. Tucker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Psychological aggression in the workplace is known to be destructive. Most commonly, knowledge of this workplace dynamic is through the literature of workplace bullying or abusive supervision and from the perspective of the accuser. Very little is known of the perspective of the accused. Moreover, unknown in the literature is the valued perspective of the leader who (a) acknowledged his or her behavior was inappropriate and (b) significantly improved his or her interpersonal behavior and management strategies. The purpose of this study was to inquire into the experience and meaning making of three formerly abrasive leaders who were positively influenced …

Analysis Of Tobacco Use Vital Sign Assessment, Latonya King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a massive problem of tobacco-related cancer outcomes in patients that are affected by race and ethnicity. Although this is a known disparity, there continues to be a gap in care for asking patients if they use tobacco and in advising and assisting them in making a quit attempt. Health information technology requirements and meaningful use regulations require the utilization of systematic electronic documentation. In order to improve and support tobacco use screening, systematic tobacco use assessment and documentation are essential. There is a widespread belief that adding screening for tobacco use to the vital sign assessment will lead …

Brand Strength Evaluation Of Goodwill-West Texas, Cailyn Byrd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this evaluation is to identify the ways in which Goodwill-West Texas could improve their marketing efforts in order to increase service delivery and community support. Goodwill’s career center is underperforming in comparison to other Goodwill career centers in similar communities. Two surveys were used to assess the beliefs and attitudes towards Goodwill held by members of the community who are often in contact with Goodwill-West Texas’s target market. Participants were more likely to know about Goodwill’s retail sales rather than their social service efforts. This could be contributing to Goodwill-West Texas’s service delivery, but more research is …

Measuring Current Knowledge Of Students At A Faith-Based University About Title Ix And Sexual Assault, Hannah Louise Harrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sexual assault is a worldwide issue that has affected colleges and universities for years. Regardless of the barriers, given the seriousness of sexual misconduct and the prevalence of sexual misconduct on college campuses, more should be done to address the issue. The purpose of this study is to investigate the current knowledge of sexual misconduct and Title IX among the community members of a faith-based university. The results of this study could make significant contributions to practice and policy by providing useful information for Title IX offices and designated coordinators. This study was analyzed as a descriptive study, and used …

Examining The Acculturation Experiences Of Syrian Refugee Emerging Adults In The United States Of America, Fatemah Alghamdi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Refugees are vulnerable populations who experience premigration traumatic events and postmigration acculturation stress. While research on immigrant mental health issues has been plentiful, there has been a clear lacuna of scholarly investigation into the acculturation experiences of Syrian emerging adults, particularly as it relates to the types and dynamics of acculturation behaviors. Acculturation is a factor that predicts emerging adults’ academic and occupational success and their interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships.

This qualitative investigation was conducted within the framework of interpretative phenomenology, which allows for meaningful, organic exploration and description of participants’ stories. Data were collected from 12 emerging adult Syrian …

A Rhetoric And Philosophy Of Interprofessional Healthcare Education: Communication Ethics In Action, Matthew Corr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare professionals belong to a moral community. Caring for patients is a community act carried out by healthcare professionals working in teams within complex political and organizational systems. This teamwork is crucial to quality patient outcomes; however, incivility threatens to derail necessary and effective collaboration towards the common organizational good. Necessarily, interprofessional healthcare education is becoming a required element for pre-health professionals. Currently, schools are using competency-based approaches to interprofessional education to teach ethics/values, roles/responsibilities. communication, and teamwork. For reasons explicated throughout this dissertation, the categorizing of these particular elements as competencies is problematic and cultivated within a positivistic and …

The Effects Of Constructed Wetlands On Metal Solubilization And Bioavailability In Passive Mine Remediation, Elizabeth Cochran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The legacy of coal mining in Appalachia has left many watersheds impacted by abandoned mine drainage. The drainage degrades streams, groundwater and habitats with acidity and toxic heavy metals. The Lowber Passive Remediation System has been in operation since 2004 to remediate high amounts of dissolved Fe, SO₄, Al, and Mn. The site consists of six settling ponds and an extensive wetlands at the finish. This study investigated the resolubilization of Fe and Mn in the wetlands and the role of bacteria in resolubilization. During three seasons, field measurements of water quality and lab analysis of Fe, Mn, …

Exploring Maternal Factors Linked To Weight Status In Salvadorian Infants, Carmen M. Kiraly, Melanie Turk, Melissa Kalarchian, Cheryl Shaffer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Obesity rates in the US have risen dramatically, especially among Hispanic adults and children. Because of the high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Latino children by preschool age, it is prudent to examine maternal factors potentially linked to weight status during an infant’s first year of life. The literature on risk factors of child obesity has focused primarily on children of Mexican descent, and little research exists for other Latino populations, such as Salvadorans. Objective: To investigate maternal physiologic and infant feeding factors associated with infant overweight and/or obesity in a sample of Salvadoran mother-infant dyads. Methods: A …

The Lived Experience Of Recovery Following Transoral Robotic Surgery (Tors) For Head And Neck Cancer, Katharine Mahalik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Ongoing advances in minimally invasive surgical techniques, such as transoral robotic surgery (TORS), has enabled select patients with head and neck cancer to receive treatment that results in less disfigurement and dysfunction compared with traditional approaches. While TORS research has focused mainly on functional surgical outcomes, a need exists to understand recovery following TORS from the patient perspective. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to recruit patients who had recently undergone TORS at a major academic health system in northeastern US. Data were collected using audio-recorded telephone interviews and field notes and analyzed concurrently. Participants included 17 HNCS (12 …

Enhancing Access And Success Of Underserved Students In Dual Enrollment Programs, Theodore Mbaegbu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines dual enrollment activities and their impact with a focus on equitable recruitment, persistence, and targeted success mechanisms for Black students and students from low-income families. The lived experiences of four former students from diverse racial and socio-economic backgrounds, and the perspectives of ten dual enrollment practitioners garnered from a purposeful sampling of two Southwestern Pennsylvania universities inform the study. A qualitative approach examines interviews, focus group, and survey data through thematic investigative interpretation to yield common and unique experiences and perspectives relevant to recruitment processes, funding, support systems, and observed outcomes. The findings indicate how adequate preparation, …

The Attitudes Of Secondary School Teachers Regarding Inclusion Of Students With Autism In Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Al Jaffal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine secondary school teachers’ attitudes regarding the inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, students with ASD can attend regular education classrooms, especially in elementary and middle schools. In addition, the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia is interested in the inclusion of students with ASD in secondary schools. Since the attitudes of secondary school teachers toward inclusion of students with ASD have not been examined, it was important to look at the attitudes of these teachers towards the inclusion of students with ASD so …

Public Health Policy: An Ethical Analysis Of Quarantine, Dina Alqahtani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a public health measure quarantine has both historical and contemporary significance both in the United States and abroad. On the surface it represents a low-cost, low-tech way in which the spread of disease can be mitigated as its core requirement is that those who may have been exposed to an infectious agent are kept away from those who have not been exposed to that agent for enough time to determine whether or not infection has been spread. This has been utilized for centuries with both limited questions and scattered, inconsistent, or impossible to achieve oversight and goals. In understanding …

The Development Of Hybrid Process Control Systems For Fluidized Bed Pellet Coating Processes, Hanzhou Feng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The conventional basic control for pharmaceutical batch processes has several drawbacks. The basic control often uses constant process settings discovered by trial and error. The rigid process operation provides limited process understanding and forgoes the opportunities of process optimization. Product quality attributes are measured by the low efficient off-line tests, therefore these cannot be used to monitor and inform the process to make appropriate adjustments. Frequent reprocessing and batch failures are possible consequences if the process is not under effective control. These issues raise serious concerns of the process capability of a pharmaceutical manufacturing process.

An alternative process control strategy …

Multifaith Families And Their Narratives Within Society, Josh Friedberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project is to nudge the conversation about interfaith families in a direction that examines the family post–interfaith dialogue. The term multifaith better represents this new aim because it encompasses all interactions and does not limit the family to the constraints of the moniker interfaith. I apply Walter Fisher’s concepts of coherence and fidelity, in coordination with family communication literature, to structure this project and to study the various aspects of a multifaith family and narrative. I also use three typologies of multifaith family (Passive/Passive, Passive/Active, and Active/Active) to better understand the variations of this family. The …

Substance Use Helpers: An Exploration Into The Relationship Between Professional Quality Of Life And Posttraumatic Growth, Denise Haggerty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There has been limited research on the potential for substance use helpers to have positive experiences as a result of their therapeutic work, previous research on the field of substance use treatment and the impact of working with individuals whom struggle with substance use disorders has been explored. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between substance use helpers’ professional quality of life (compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout) with posttraumatic growth. In addition, this study also sought to determine if a relationship exists between personal and professional characteristics of substance use helpers and …

Unconventional Oil And Gas Extraction In Ohio: Regulations, Production And Water Quality, Brittany Garman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Utica shale play is the main target for unconventional oil and gas extraction in Ohio. Over 2,000 wells have been drilled since the first in 2011. This rapid expansion has led to concerns over the availability of information and potential environmental impacts. An assessment of readily available data was done through an examination of the ODNR website for oil and gas regulations, permits, spud and completion reports, water usage and waste data, and complaints, as well as brine and de-icer application. Water quality testing of an exceptional warm water tributary in the Captina Creek watershed in Belmont County, Ohio …

The Dialectics Of Cyberspace: Communication Ethics As First Response To Cyber Attacks, Matthew P. Mancino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project recognizes the need to re-conceptualize cyberspace according to its characteristic dialectical tensions in order to offer lasting, adequate responses to cyber attacks. Scholars across multiple disciplines recognize the ineffectiveness of perimeter defense strategies, or the raising of defensive walls to protect sensitive information as the primary response to cyber attacks (Denning, 2001; Jang-Jaccard & Nepal, 2014; MacKinnon, Bacon, Gan, Loukas, Chadwick, Frangiskatos, 2013). Thus, this project suggests that in addition to a literacy in coding, corporations and policy makers must attend to what Ronald C. Arnett, Janie Harden Fritz, and Leeanne M. Bell McManus (2009/2018) term “communication ethics …

Privatio Dialogus: Toward A Phenomenology Of Aloneness For The Philosophy Of Communication, Timothy Michaels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this dissertation is to utilize the phenomenological method to elucidate the experience of aloneness and its relationship with human communication. Aloneness, for the purposes of this research, is understood as the broad experience of feeling alone. This dissertation first seeks to understand some essential principles of previous interdisciplinary literature on this topic before establishing a typology of experiences of aloneness, including isolation, escapism, and solitude. I present a phenomenology of each of these types of aloneness through a representative philosopher for each one, with Hannah Arendt, Emmanuel Levinas, and Henry David Thoreau, respectively. Finally, I conclude that …

The Yips: A Phenomenological Investigation Into The Experience Of A Lost Movement, Patrick O'Brien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the experience of the yips, a phenomenon in athletics in which individuals lose the ability to perform a basic, habitual movement of their sports. There is a growing body of research which frames the yips as a movement disorder with possible physical or psychological etiologies, or with components of both. This study centers on the experiences of athletes with the yips, seeking to understand the nature and meaning of the relationship between yips-experienced individuals and their yips, as well as what these meanings reveal about the yips in general. A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews …

Video Games, Influence, And Identification: The Perpetuation Of Culture Through Digital Worlds, Steven Zwier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Video games, through their widespread popularity and appeal, transmit meaningful ideas, beliefs, and attitudes via the use of digital worlds, narratives, characters, and play. Play has always held a key role in human life, but the video game medium accentuates and accelerates the reach and impact of play on human users. Jacques Ellul’s philosophy of social propaganda and Kenneth Burke’s rhetorical theory each offer important implications to the persuasiveness of video games; however, when placed in conversation with one another, the union of Ellul and Burke leads to a more complete understanding of how video games have such an effect …

The Ethical Challenge Of Conflicts Of Interest In Healthcare, Fahad Alhazmi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conflicts of interest are prevalent across all walks of society, and unfortunately, the healthcare industry is not immune to these impediments. Conflicts of interest arise when the objective of upholding a patients’ interest collide with the physicians’ secondary goals and is mostly but not always related to monetary gain.

To avoid conflict of interest, it is advisable for medical practitioners to weigh the pros and cons that their actions would inflict. Medical practices whose benefits outweigh the associated risks are ethically upright hence avoid conflict of interest.

Each section proposes solutions for the conflicts of interest encountered at the disparate …

Modeling And Prediction Of Amorphous Solid Dispersion Formation Using A Molecular Descriptor, Kevin Deboyace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Poor aqueous solubility of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is a significant hurdle during drug development. Delivering a drug in its amorphous solid-state is a potential method to overcome this issue, since the amorphous form has increased apparent aqueous solubility. However, the amorphous state is only metastable, and is thermodynamically driven to recrystallize. As a result, pure amorphous drugs are seldom used in marketed products. Intimately mixing a drug in its amorphous form with a polymer, known as an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD), has the potential to significantly extend the physical stability of the amorphous form, while maintaining the benefit …

Unconventional Gas Extraction In Southwestern Pennsylvania: Complaints, Production, And Water Quality, Dannielle Pratt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dramatic rise in unconventional oil and gas extraction in Pennsylvania has presented a challenge to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in managing regulatory required data, and the uniformity of public access via their online databases. This study analyzed over a decade of all the oil and gas complaints and unconventional gas production in Washington County. Of the 1,811 wells drilled between 2004 and 2018, 1,683 are producing, 74 are plugged, 52 regulatory inactive, and 2 abandoned. The PADEP received 10,389 complaints from 2004 to 2018. Only 2,420 of 4,489 water quality complaints were resolved within the legally required …

An Ethical Analysis Of Reproductive Justice In The Context Of The Egenics Movement In The United States, Bernetta Welch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The history of forced sterilization and the American cultural agreement with this practice robbed women of color of control of their own bodies, destinies, and communities. Negative eugenics as genetic proof of low intelligence, low possibility, and low productivity fed the system of compulsory sterilization even though the science proved faulty and incorrect. As advances in medical technology and genetic science increases, eugenics is making a return into the American psyche. Vulnerable populations which include women of color make reproduction and the subsequent control of their bodies vulnerable once again.

The Reproductive Justice Movement is a collaboration of organized women …

The Effect Of Functional Movement Control On Patient-Reported Outcomes In Individuals With Non-Arthritic Hip Pain, Ryan Mcgovern

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Both the single leg squat test and step-down test assess for deficiencies relating to the hip and surrounding musculoskeletal structures and could be useful in the evaluation of functional movement control for individuals with non-arthritic hip pain. The purpose of this study is to determine if individuals with non-arthritic hip pain that improve functional movement control during the single leg squat test and step-down test have better patient-reported outcomes than those that do not improve, following the implementation of a rehabilitation intervention and a standardized home-exercise program.

Subjects: Forty-six individuals (31 females; 15 males) with a mean age of …