Digital Commons Network^™

Mechanical Property Simulations Of Ploybenzimidazole Membranes., Blake Alexander Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work explores mechanical properties of membranes made of polybenzimidazole utilizing molecular simulations. These simulations researchers to narrow down polybenzimidazole membrane compositions to viable candidates. These simulations are quicker than current purely experimental methods. The increase in throughput would be achieved by eliminating compositions that have unfavorable mechanical properties through preliminary simulation work before moving onto experimental methods. Determining polybenzimidazole membranes’ mechanical properties experimentally would, therefore, allow for researchers to speed up research in areas such as fuel cells and electrolyzers that make use of polybenzimidazole membranes. This study uses Materials Studio and the COMPASS III forcefield to perform these …

Electrochemical Modulation Of Surface Plasmon Wave To Investigate Dna-Based Sensing Platforms And Detection Of Sars-Cov2., Anil Sharma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study offers a thorough comparative analysis of optical and electrical signaling strategies for assessing the electrochemical properties of different redox-labeled DNA-based biosensing platforms. In addition, it illustrates the development of an optical interrogation technique with electrochemical modulation of surface plasmon waves (ECM-SPW) as a route for analyzing and implementing DNA-based hybridization sensors. For those quantitative analyses, we chose a model sensing platform composed of a methylene blue (MB)-modified single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) signaling probe and an unlabeled capture ssDNA probe that complements the signaling probe. Two types of signaling probes were employed in this work: one with MB attached to …

Fingerprinting Cinematic Soundtracks: Examining Identity In Film Music Through Gender And Temporality., Sarah Elizabeth Moser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the soundtracks of six Hollywood films and their treatments of two factors of cinematic identity – gender and temporality. Six case studies are used throughout the thesis using an original analytic system I designate as Fingerprinting, which examines film using a five-tier, intersecting system on both the macro and micro level. The gender chapter analyzes Weird Science (1985) and Pretty Woman (1990) in order to demonstrate the utility of the cinematic soundtrack in constructing new frameworks of gender expression within fictional media. The temporality chapter uses four case studies - Easy Rider (1969), Eddie and the Cruisers …

That Limbless Sign The Thesis Document., Donna R. Charging

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Native American Art resists all attempts by non-Natives to define, restrain, and replicate it. THAT LIMBLESS SIGN is a concrete substantiation of this quality of resistance through the scope of language. Native Art indicates a continuity, not of tradition, but of people. In THAT LIMBLESS SIGN, Native people become signs; that is, inimitable cipher devices of the real, living members of tribes who remain in the United States of America. Language is one of the last refuges of Native existence because it represents the point of power where Native realities cannot be transcribed into a superficial, indelible system such as …

Assessing The Relationship Between Racism In Medicine, Medical Mistrust And Cardiovascular Disease Among Black American Adults., Osayande Agbonlahor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) persists as the leading preventable cause of death and disability among Black Americans in the United States. Structural and psychosocial factors such as racism have been highlighted as a fundamental cause of persistent cardiovascular health disparities in the U.S. This study examined the associations between racism in medicine, medical mistrust and CVD among Black Americans using the Minority Stress Theory as a theoretical framework. This study evaluates the sociodemographic differences in the quality of care received among Black Americans. Data from the Health Information National Trends Survey, 2022 and the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Provider and Systems …

Barocaloric Heat Pumps Based On Soft Materials., Naveen Weerasekera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Solid-state refrigeration offers a promising alternative to traditional vapor compression systems that are relatively inefficient, unreliable, and have a high global warming potential. Various solid-state cooling technologies, including those based on electrocaloric, magnetocaloric, and elastocaloric effects have been investigated in the recent past. However, concerns regarding their efficiency, scalability and cost remain. Refrigeration and heat pump technologies based on the barocaloric effect (temperature/entropy change due to hydrostatic pressure) hold great promise but have received comparatively less attention. Barocaloric heating/cooling based on low cost, compressible soft materials with large barocaloric response have the potential to pave the way for efficient, scalable, …

Healthcare Providers’ Screening And Counseling For Tobacco Use Among Youth In The United States: Prevalence, Practices, And Providers’ Perspectives, Adeola Omolade Ayo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Youth tobacco use is a public health concern in the United States (U.S.) with about 2.8 million middle and high school youth reporting current tobacco use in 2023. Healthcare providers (HCPs) can play a crucial role in addressing youth tobacco use through screening and counseling, yet rates of these interventions are suboptimal. Tennessee has a high prevalence of youth tobacco use and not much is known about these interventions in Northeast Tennessee. This study has several objectives: 1) conduct a scoping review of available evidence on screening and counseling for youth tobacco use and identify related gaps; 2) assess youth …

Exploring Spatiotemporal Patterns In Hazardous Hydrologic Events: Assessment, Communication, And Mitigation Through Geospatial Technologies, Emmanuel Afriyie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tennessee has a long history of meteorological hazards that have caused property damage and loss of life. Given climate change and variability, it is imperative to look at trends to ascertain changes spatiotemporally. Space-time cubes, a novel geographic tool, were used to analyze historical heavy precipitation (1-, 2-, and 5-year returns), floods, and flash flood data in Tennessee counties to assess the trends, identify emerging hotspots/cold spots and display changes over space and time. For all return periods, trends analysis revealed that heavy precipitation events are increasing in several counties across the state, with middle Tennessee identified as a hotspot. …

Radon Environmental Health Literacy In Northeast Tennessee, Kawther Al Ksir

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored the multifaceted issue of radon exposure and its connection to lung cancer, focusing on knowledge gaps and proposing mitigation strategies. Despite extensive research, inconsistencies persist in understanding the health impacts, public awareness, and effective mitigation of radon, particularly in regions like Tennessee that are disproportionately burdened by high radon levels. This work addresses this gap by integrating findings from three distinct studies: a scoping review, a cross-sectional survey, and a policy analysis.

The review examined national literature about residential radon exposure, revealing variations in exposure levels and conflicting evidence regarding the risk of lung cancer. The cross-sectional …

Exploring Knowledge And Perceptions Of Nursing Students: A Quantitative Study On Sexual Assault And Sex Trafficking Awareness, Isabella Marino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to explore nursing students' knowledge and perceptions of identifying and treating victims of sexual assault and sex trafficking. Survey data was collected from second to fifth semester nursing students in Eastern Tennessee. The study aims to identify students' perceptions of medical personnel's ability to identify and treat sexual assault and sex trafficking victims, examine whether adherence to myths affects knowledge and confidence levels, determine students' confidence in identifying and treating victims, and evaluate whether demographic characteristics affect identification and treatment. Results will help improve our approach towards these issues.

“Vacation, All I Ever Wanted?” A Qualitative Analysis Of Travel Narratives From Interabled Families, Mary Heather Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study researched and investigated the travel narratives of 13 interabled families through qualitative research methods of thematic and contrapuntal analysis. Participants were parents who have at least one dependent with a disability in their family unit. Theories used to guide this study include narrative theory, family systems theory, and relational dialectics theory. Narrative theory laid the groundwork for understanding how stories function to communicate and construct identity. Family systems theory provided definitions and terms for how to understand dynamics within families. Relational dialectics theory guided the understanding for what tensions are at play for interabled families and how …

Disability Services As Related To Higher Education Leadership: An Exploratory Study, Tara Wade Franklin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past three decades, the number of students with disabilities attending postsecondary institutions has increased, yet their completion rates remain lower than those of students without disabilities. This mixed methods exploratory study investigates the role of provost leadership in supporting disability services and understanding the needs of students with disabilities in higher education. The study focuses on Texas higher education institutions, examining the relationships between provosts and directors of disability services. The researcher collected data through esurveys and open-ended questions of 16 participants, primarily directors of disability services. Quantitative analysis of Likert scale items explored domains such as leadership, …

Best Practices In Professional Learning Communities That Influence Teacher Self-Efficacy, Silian Molly Hornsby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study examined best practices in professional learning communities (PLCs) that influence teacher self-efficacy. Participants were primary and intermediate teachers and teacher leaders from a large suburban elementary school in Texas. Participants had to have at least 1 year of teaching and PLC experience. The semistructured teacher and teacher-leader interviews were recorded and transcribed in real time using Otter.ai software. After members checked the transcription, the transcription was uploaded into the NVivo software for coding and identifying common themes. The findings were separated into themes based on the study’s research questions. Research question 1 explored what teachers and …

Empowerment In Patriarchy: A Phenomenological Study Of Working Mothers In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Michael Snapp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore systems of empowerment and support for female members of a patriarchal society who work full-time outside of the home. Specific to this study are the lived experiences of female members of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) who are married, have at least one child at home, and have full-time employment outside the home, and the systems of support or empowerment that have been in place, or that they wish had been in place. Ten participants described their experiences as they related to working full-time outside the home, …

Examining Black Faculty Retention In Predominantly White Institutions, Jacqueline Wykeshia Jonea Brazile

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the experiences of Black faculty at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) in southeastern Florida. The aim was to uncover the unique challenges influencing the retention of Black faculty in these settings and to identify supportive mechanisms enhancing their tenure and job satisfaction. Data collection involved semistructured interviews with Black faculty at Florida PWIs, employing snowball sampling for participant recruitment. Thematic analysis interpreted the data. The study contributes to the literature by suggesting strategies for PWIs to improve Black faculty retention and to promote inclusive and supportive environments. The literature review reveals the underrepresentation and disparities of Black …

So Much (For) Saving Rock And Roll: The Musical Dna Of Fall Out Boy, Blake Buehler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although the American rock band Fall Out Boy has had a great impact upon the popular music scene since their first album in 2003, little academic literature exists exploring their musical and cultural influences and impact. Through careful transcription and analysis this thesis defines Fall Out Boy’s compositional tendencies and contextualizes their work in the greater Western popular music canon. My composition, AQUA, is a continuation and response to Fall Out Boy’s seminal album, So Much (For) Stardust. Grounded in influences from Fall Out Boy’s music and my personal journey as a musician and queer individual, AQUA represents a deeply …

The Influence Of The Principalship In Retaining Novice Teachers, Casey Whittle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of the qualitative descriptive study was to understand novice teachers’ perspectives of principal behaviors that keep them employed in a North Texas school district. A purposive sample of 12 novice secondary teachers and six secondary principals participated in semistructured interviews. The individual interviews were recorded and transcribed. In vivo coding and structural coding were used to analyze the data. The findings of the study confirmed that participants in the study believed certain behaviors of secondary principals influenced novice teacher retention. Novice teacher participants expressed a need to trust their principal and fit into the principal’s vision and …

Childhood Discipline Disparities For African American And Latinx Students, Cierra Townsend

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African American and Latinx students are disproportionality impacted by punitive discipline models including suspensions, detention, and expulsions. This disproportionality removes students from the education setting creating adverse social emotional, academic, and economic outcomes. Students who are suspended and expelled are more likely to have contact with the juvenile justice system and or to be pushed out of school into alternative settings. Therefore, punitive discipline leads to increased school-based pathways to the juvenile justice system (SPJJ), also known as the school the prison pipeline (STPP). Despite knowledge of these adverse outcomes, schools continue to utilize punitive discipline practices. School psychologists are …

A Time To Create Change: A Case Study Of Culturally Relevant Education, Colleen Kopay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An opportunity gap exists in the United States school system where students of color score lower on standardized tests and have fewer opportunities than their white counterparts. Culturally Relevant Education (CRE) theory attempts to close this gap, and is defined by Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995) as

Pedagogy that rests on three criteria or propositions: (a) Students must experience academic success; (b) students must develop and/or maintain cultural competence; and (c) students must develop a critical consciousness through which they challenge the status quo of the current social order (p. 160).

In short, CRE is the use of culture, rigor, and critical …

Cross-Institutional Collaboration And Exhibit Making: “On The Gold Mountain: Chinese Mining History And Heritage Of Idaho” At The Idaho Museum Of Mining And Geology, Jordan Kathleen Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gold Rush, which brought many new immigrant communities to the American West, made a permanent impact on American culture by prompting the development of many Western towns. However, the Chinese immigrant mining population in the Boise, Idaho area has had little museum representation despite the more than 300,000 Chinese people who emigrated to the US between the 1840s and 1880. To rectify this, the Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology (IMMG), in collaboration with members of the Payette National Forest, the Asian American Comparative Collection, Boise State University/US Army Corps of Engineers, and the University of Denver, developed an …

Natural Resource Conflict And Socioenvironmental Resistance In Arctic States: Assessing Domestic Risks To Circumpolar Security, Jen Evans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How does climate change contribute to domestic natural resource conflict and socioenvironmental resistance in the Arctic? The literature assumes that developed Arctic nations possess sufficient state capacity to overcome risks of domestic conflict and unrest posed by regional development and environmental change. Arctic policy correspondingly focuses on natural resource competition, disputes, and conflict at the international level. The mechanisms and processes of domestic natural resource conflict and socioenvironmental resistance in the Arctic have thus been largely ignored in the literature, even though 27 cases of contention have occurred since the ‘shock’ sea-ice melt of 2007.

In this study, I draw …

Empowering Voices: Exploring The Career Trajectories Of Women Of Color Hr Professionals Amid Disruptive Change, Brandi R. Muñoz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated strategies to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives in organizational leadership, focusing on supporting women of color in the workplace. The specific problem addressed was the underrepresentation and barriers faced by women of color in leadership positions despite their potential contributions to organizational success. The study employed a qualitative approach, combining qualitative interviews with socioeconomic data analysis. Data collection methods included semistructured interviews with women of color and a survey to gather demographic and employment information. The sample consisted of 16 women of color human resource professionals working in various industries and organizational settings across the …

Social Identity And Self Determination: A Case Study Exploring What American Indian Elders' Perspectives Of Residential Boarding Schools Tell Us About The Lasting Effect Of Historical And Intergenerational Trauma, Jessica Boyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically, American Indian youth have faced educational challenges due to the lack of American Indian perspective in history, culture, and knowledge in public education. Distrust in public education due to Eurocentric educational policy, addressed in this study that provides American Indian elders' experiences for finding solutions to self-identity for American Indian youth. Investigating the historical trauma barriers further addressed implications on the high-school retention of American Indian students. This qualitative case study involved a group of 10 elders, both men and women, who self-identify as Little Shell Chippewa American Indian Elders. Through semistructured interviews, the results of this study spoke …

A Phenomenological Study Of School Psychologists: The Influence Of Implicit Bias On The Disproportionate Identification Rates Of African American Students Evaluated For Emotional Disturbance, Sonya Coe-Milo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As advocates, school psychologists remain ethically responsible and uniquely positioned to identify social injustices and promote nondiscriminatory practices in prekindergarten through grade 12 public education institutions. Implicit bias and its influence on African American students is one such practice. In public education, implicit bias contributes to discipline disproportionality, differentiated teacher support, pedagogical practices, and adult perceptions and expectations of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. These factors directly correlate to the disproportionate identification rates of African American students for special education and related services. Therefore, this phenomenological qualitative study examined the personal, lived experiences and perceptions of school psychologists regarding implicit bias …

The Impact Of Resilience On A Middle Manager’S Resistance To Organizational Change, April D. Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Change is never ending in organizations, as it is necessary to maintain a competitive advantage. Although change is needed, research shows most change implementations do not succeed.

Middle managers (MMs) are considered the main facilitators of change. They receive directive for change and are tasked with not only processing and accepting the change but also communicating the directive down into the ranks and executing upon it. This basic qualitative study explored how resilience can aid an MM when implementing change, where resistance is present. The conceptual framework for this study included Lewin’s (1947) three-stage model of change theory and the …

Improving Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Education In Undergraduate Nursing Programs, Robin E. Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ongoing competency validation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills is not a routine practice in nursing school. Basic Life Support training and certification is obtained before or during nursing school with little opportunity for practice. Poor quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills can affect the confidence level of the performer and the patient outcome. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of training nursing faculty on the adoption of cardiopulmonary resuscitation technology into nursing school curriculum to provide improved cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills to nursing students. Using a pretest-posttest, this study followed the Kirkpatrick model of evaluation of continuing education, which …

Effectiveness Of Antibiotic Stewardship For Healthcare Providers At Urgent Care Clinics, Helen T. Adewole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Antibiotics have revolutionized modern medicine; however, the overuse in urgent care and primary care significantly contributes to the global burden of infections resistant to available antimicrobial medicines. Approximately 30% of the antimicrobials prescribed in acute care settings are unnecessary. Patient demand for antibiotics has seemingly skyrocketed following the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Practitioners must be knowledgeable about antibiotic stewardship initiatives, such as the wait-and-see approach, to reduce antibiotic overuse and improve the trajectory of antibiotic resistance and patient health outcomes. The gap in practice was the limited awareness of scientific evidence-based tools to partner with patients and improve antibiotic prescription patterns. …

Acculturation And Seeking Campus Counseling Services Among Saudi International Students In The United States: An Intrepretative Phenomenological Analysis, Abdullah Almutairi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study adopts a phenomenological qualitative approach to explore and examine the acculturation process of Saudi students living in the United States, particularly in relation to their access to campus counseling services. The findings of this study identify five themes: 1) premigration expectations and realities, 2) journey of cultural adaptation, 3) navigating academic adaptations, 4) coping with acculturation and academic pressures, and 5) expectations of services provided by campus counseling experiences. This study highlights that the acculturation journey is a complex experience that affects Saudi students’ psychological well-being, which hinders their access to campus counseling services. The purpose of this …

Design Of Topical Ocular Drug Delivery Systems For Management Of Eye Keratitis, Chuntian Cai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to the complexity of the anatomical and physiological barriers in the eye, ocular drug delivery presents significant challenges. The poor solubility of many drugs and short retention times on the ocular surface results in low bioavailability from traditional topical dosage forms. Various types of eye infections, such as bacterial keratitis (BK) and fungal keratitis (FK), can become critical and lead to serious visual disabilities. Therefore, this research study aims to enhance the solubility and corneal permeation of two drugs, Ciprofloxacin (CIP) for BK and the antifungal agent Natamycin (NT) for FK, using nanoemulsion (NE) and cyclodextrin (CD) based technologies.

"A Transient Veil": Appropriation Of Exclusionary Form In Eighteenth-Century Women's Writing, Andrea Ferniany

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“’A Transient Veil’ : Appropriation of Exclusionary Form in Eighteenth-Century Women’s Writing” is an exploration of how women writers of the eighteenth century strategically and subversively appropriated patriarchal, often misogynistic, literary idioms to expand literary discourse and craft flexible, alternative, and feminine literary forms. It emerges from the desire to underscore what rhetorical features of women’s writing can tell us about the creative agency of women writers. By exclusionary form, I mean to reference both rhetorical conventions and aesthetic traditions that excluded women writers by assuming a male subject position or by the explicit objectification of feminine figures. This dissertation …