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Prevention Of Elderly Pedestrian Injury - A Comprehensive Approach And Analysis, Carl I. Schulman

Open Access Dissertations

The mortality rate for elderly pedestrians struck by vehicles is the highest of any age group, approaching 30% in several large series. Currently, there is a lack of epidemiological studies of the risk factors associated with elderly pedestrian injury; in particular, few prospective studies of elderly pedestrian injuries have been performed. The primary purpose of this project was to identify risk factors that will lead to the development and implementation of effective prevention strategies to reduce the risk of pedestrian injury in this vulnerable population. The project had three phases. In phase 1, pilot studies were performed and identified potential …

American Women And The Modern Summer Olympic Games: A Story Of Obstacles And Struggles For Participation And Equality, Cecile Houry

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on American women and the modern summer Olympic Games. It retraces the history of women's participation in this significant and global sporting event to study the obstacles generated by social, economic, political, and cultural gender patterns while providing a forum for female Olympians to give voice to their journeys and how they dealt with and eventually overcame some of these obstacles. The findings herein support other scholarly works, arguing that despite progress, the Olympic Games, and by extension the institution of sport in general, is and will remain a hegemonic space that allows men to maintain and …

Exposures To Multiple Environmental Chemicals (Lead, Methylmercury And Polychlorinated Biphenyls) Among Childbearing-Aged Women In The U.S., Marcella Remer Thompson

Open Access Dissertations

It is estimated that 5 to 20% of neurodevelopmental disabilities in children are caused by environmental toxic exposures. Lead, methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are known to have neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental consequences in animal models and human population studies. Bioaccumulation and exposures during gestation transfer from mother to fetus via the placenta and to an infant and young child through lactation. Little is known about multiple environmental chemical exposures, especially among childbearing-aged women.

This descriptive and exploratory study involved analysis of existing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a national probability sample. Lead, methylmercury and the …

Application Of The Transtheoretical Model Parent Facilitation Of Healthy Anxiety Management In Their Children, Cailtin Burditt

Open Access Dissertations

Anxiety disorders represent one of the most common and debilitating forms of psychopathology among children, with prevalence rates estimated to be between 12% and 17.3%. Although a number of efficacious treatments for child anxiety exist, there is a distinct need for prevention programs as well. Moreover, research suggests that parents play a crucial role in how their children manage anxiety, underscoring the importance of involving parents in both the treatment and prevention of child anxiety. For a variety of reasons, parents may be at different levels of readiness to engage in behaviors that promote their child's healthy coping with anxiety. …

"I'M Telling On You": A Natural History Of Disclosure Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Trudy-Ann K. Gayle

Open Access Dissertations

The body of research that exists on disclosure of childhood sexual trauma is rich. However, the literature on disclosure has a noticeable shortcoming. For example, there is little or no research that explores the relationship between a victims' perceived response to disclosure and whether this response has any impact on subsequent help-seeking behavior. As a result of their experience of disclosure, do adult survivors of sexual abuse resort to secrecy or maladaptive coping behaviors aimed at controlling the stressful situation (e.g., use of drugs, alcohol, distraction, avoidance, engaging in sexual risk-taking behaviors)? Or do survivors of CSA utilize constructive strategies …

Objectification, Femininity Ideology, And Sexual Assertiveness: A Model Of Women’S Sexual Functioning, Patricia King Williams

Open Access Dissertations

Numerous research studies have investigated the relationship between sexual objectification and women's experience of their bodies, while fewer have focused on the possible role of endorsement of traditional femininity ideologies in helping to explain adult sexual functioning. The studies that do exist concentrate primarily on illuminating the differences between men and women versus exploring how endorsing particular attitudes or roles may affect women's experience of their bodies. This study investigated the relationships among traditional femininity ideology, sexual victimization, and self-objectification as well as how these variables related to body monitoring, sexual assertiveness for initiation and refusal, body shame, and appearance …

Theoretical Frames And Teaching Styles Of Physical Therapy Faculty Who Lead International Service-Learning Experiences, Jennifer Gail Audette

Open Access Dissertations

Purpose:

International service-learning (ISL) is popular in higher education, and many physical therapy educational programs are adding ISL opportunities to their curricula because doing so aligns with student interest and the increasingly global nature of the profession. The faculty leading these experiences have not been studied. Nearly all faculty in physical therapy programs are educated as therapists and not as teachers. Most do not have any background in pedagogical practice or educational theory. The purpose of this study was to describe faculty leading ISL experiences in physical therapy educational programs and compare them to faculty who do not participate in …

Experiences Of Postpartum Psychosis From The Perspectives Of Women With The Diagnosis And Psychiatric Nurses, Inger Engqvist

Open Access Dissertations

Postpartum psychosis occurs in approximately two out of every 1000 women after childbirth. Although rare, it is a very serious illness with a potential for suicide and infanticide. The suffering associated with this illness and the effects on the entire family system are severe. Nurses need a comprehensive understanding of this disorder, how women present and experience the illness and the nursing care required to keep women and their newborns safe. They also need to promote early detection to facilitate prompt treatment. To date, there is little research examining the women’s experiences and the nursing care provided to this population. …

Haunting Witnesses: Diasporic Consciousness In African American And Caribbean Writing, Brandi Bingham Kellett

Open Access Dissertations

This project examines the ways in which several texts written in the late twentieth century by African American and Caribbean writers appropriate history and witness trauma. I read the representational practices of Toni Morrison, Ernest Gaines, Paule Marshall, and Fred D'Aguiar as they offer distinct approaches to history and the resulting effects such reconstituted, discovered, or, in some cases, imagined histories can have on the affirmation of the self as a subject. I draw my theoretical framework from the spaces of intersection between diaspora and postcolonial theories, enabling me to explore the values of the African diaspora cross-culturally as manifested …

Relationship Of Vulnerability To Coercive Control And Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv) Among Latinas, Susan Dee Watson

Open Access Dissertations

IPV is the most common cause of violence-related injury to women in the United States and greater than one-third of all female homicide victims in the U.S. were killed by the victims' husband or partner. Nationally, intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a public health issue, and internationally gender inequality is the number one human rights issue. In addition to risk factors identified among multicultural samples, characteristics that increase Latina vulnerability to IPV may relate to the specific cultural scripts between partners that are expected and supported within Latino culture. Latinas in the United States are affected by …

Personality Style And Hiv Risk Behavior Among Adolescent Substance Abusers, Stephanie E. Diamond

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between four personality styles and two important indications of HIV risk behavior, at intake and 3-month follow-up, among a sample of adolescents participating in court-mandated substance abuse treatment in conjunction with an HIV prevention intervention. This study involved a secondary analysis of data from a NIDA funded project (1R01DA011875-01, R. Malow, PI). Predictor variables included levels of antisocial (unruly), dependent(submissive), avoidant (inhibited), and borderline (borderline tendency) personality styles drawn from scales of the Million Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI). Criterion variables included number of sexual partners and percentage of sex acts unprotected, …

American Ethni/Cities: Critical Geography, Subject Formation, And The Urban Representations Of Abraham Cahan, Richard Wright, And James Baldwin, Joshua S. Stone

Open Access Dissertations

By drawing upon aspects of critical geography to explore three writers' representations of urban space and subject formation, American Ethni/Cities develops and advocates for a new methodological approach to the study of literature. Predicated on theories devised by Henri Lefebvre, David Harvey, Edward Soja, Gil Valentine and other geographically-minded thinkers, this spatially conscious literary practice has the potential to enhance one's understanding of literary texts, power dynamics, identity construction, and the spaces one inhabits. Each of the chapters comprising this study aims to demonstrate what this interdisciplinary partnership between geography and literature can reveal. By focusing on Cahan's representation of …

Psychophysiological Responses To Disgust: Cardiovascular And Facial Muscle Patterns Associated With Different Functional Domains, Robert Oum

Open Access Dissertations

This study examined the distinguishing physiological characteristics of the disgust reaction across different domains. According to an evolutionary analysis, disgust is a heterogeneous emotion with features that are specific to three distinct domains: pathogens, sex, and morality. Each domain is predicted to take as input information specific to the adaptive problem it evolved to solve and regulate behavior accordingly. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether there are any adaptive physiological differences associated with the disgust response across domains. Participants were asked to imagine acts that elicit pathogen, sexual, and moral disgust. It was hypothesized that there …

Caregiver Behaviors As Moderators Of The Relation Between Children's Joint Attention Skills And Subsequent Language In An At-Risk Sample, Dolores Farhat

Open Access Dissertations

The positive link between children's joint attention skills and subsequent language outcomes is well established. There is also abundant evidence that responsive caregiver behaviors lead to optimal language outcomes. Though directive behaviors are generally considered detrimental to children's growth, specific types of directive behaviors which extend or build upon a child's behavior are thought to promote children's learning. No study has examined how caregiver behaviors interact with children's joint attention skills to affect subsequent language. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to examine how three different caregiver behaviors (Responsiveness, Supportiveness, and Intrusiveness) measured at 18 months moderated the …

Perspectives On Choral And Solo Singing: Enhancingcommunication Between Choral Conductors And Voice Teachers, Matthew August Ferrell

Open Access Dissertations

Concepts of choral and solo singing diverge among the masses of pedagogues, teachers, and conductors who have differing opinions about healthy vocal technique and training. These differences have generated tension within some university music programs, with choral faculty and voice faculty sometimes on opposing sides. This document presents answers from professional singers who engage in choral and solo singing while maintaining a healthy vocal technique. All subjects interviewed for this document were asked to speak in detail to vocal adjustments made to sing in different styles. In addition, they were asked to identify any vocal faults that may arise from …

The Roles Of Nitric Oxide Signaling And Camp Response Element Binding Protein In Fear Conditioning, Jonathan Burke Kelley

Open Access Dissertations

Pavlovian fear conditioning has face validity for acquired anxiety disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and specific phobias. Memory formation mediated by synaptic plasticity, including long-term potentiation (LTP), underlies fear conditioning. The established roles of nitric oxide (NO) signaling in synaptic plasticity and LTP suggest that NO signaling may be critical for fear conditioning. Therefore, my research objectives were to investigate the roles of NO signaling in the acquisition and consolidation of fear memory following fear conditioning. I hypothesized that genetic and pharmacological inhibitions of NO signaling will impair fear conditioning, and that pharmacological facilitation of NO signaling will …

Risk Factors And Suspected Child Maltreatment, Lilia Diaz Pino

Open Access Dissertations

Maltreatment affected an estimated 794,000 children in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in 2007 (United States Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2009). The purpose of this study was to examine the risk factors of young maternal age, parents' marital status, multiple birth, preterm birth, birth defects/disability, low economic status, and parental substance abuse related to suspected maltreatment of children 3 years of age or younger from the prospective of pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs). A cross-sectional survey design, using the Tailored Design Method, was used in this study. A convenience sample consisting of the …

Doctoral Program Quality And Scholarly Productivity, Steven G. Shenouda

Open Access Dissertations

The present study was undertaken to examine the relationship between the reputation of doctoral programs in Interpersonal Communication and the degree of research productivity associated with the faculty offering the program. Authors, institutional affiliation, number of authors, position of article, and related information for every article published in Communication Monographs and Human Communication Research from 1994 through 2004 were recorded. Based on this analysis, productivity factors were calculated for faculty of every Ph.D. program in the National Communication Association (NCA) reputational study (2004) focused on Interpersonal Communication. Data analysis was conducted to explore possible statistical associations between quality assessments of …

Examining Preschoolers' Trajectories Of Individual Learning Behaviors: The Influence Of Approaches To Learning On School Readiness, Michelle Filomena Maier

Open Access Dissertations

This study integrated variable- and child-centered techniques to investigate trajectories of four learning behaviors (initiative, persistence, planning, and problem-solving flexibility) and their influence on Head Start preschoolers' academic school readiness. Variable-centered findings revealed differential, quadratic growth trajectories for each of the four learning behaviors. However, where children began the year (intercept), how much they changed across the year (slope), and how much their rate of change changed across the year (quadratic) differed depending on the learning behavior. Initiative and problem-solving flexibility emerged as significant predictors of end-of-year academic school readiness skills, controlling for persistence and planning. There was no evidence …

Applying Ecodevelopmental Theory And The Theory Of Reasoned Action To Understand Hiv Risk Behaviors Among Hispanic Adolescents, Johis Ortega

Open Access Dissertations

The number of adolescents in the U.S. who engage in risk behaviors such as alcohol and drug use and unsafe sexual practices has reached alarming levels, with Hispanic adolescents in particular reporting high rates of substance use and sexual activity. This study explored risk and protective factors that influence high-risk behaviors in Hispanic adolescents. A theoretical model was developed based on an integration of Ecodevelopmental Theory and the Theory of Reasoned Action to investigate individual and social factors that affect the risk behaviors of Hispanic adolescents. This study was a cross-sectional, descriptive, secondary investigation of the baseline data of a …

Psychotropic Medication Use In The Pediatric Cancer Population, Mary Whitney Ward

Open Access Dissertations

Psychotropic medications commonly used with children have been associated with side effects significant enough to warrant warnings from the Food and Drug Administration. The risks of these side effects are potentially increased in children who are long-term survivors of childhood cancer because of damage to the heart and central nervous system (CNS) due to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. There are few empirical studies addressing whether children treated for cancer have greater exposure to psychotropic medications than the general population, the reasons for use of psychotropic medications in cancer survivors, or whether risks associated with cancer treatment are considered when psychotropic …

Travel, Migration And Hiv:Comparing Risk Behaviors Betweennative And Migrant Jamaican Persons Infected With Hiv, Yoran T. Grant

Open Access Dissertations

Migration and travel have been significant factors in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic since its emergence in 1981. Understanding the current effects of migration and travel on HIV/AIDS transmission and survival is essential to intervention efforts, especially for immigrants. Previous research highlights differences between immigrants and native ethnic minorities, but few studies compare immigrant groups to their peers in the country of origin. The overall objective of this study was to explore the relationship between migration, travel and risk behavior among Jamaicans infected with HIV. This dissertation study analyzed HIV/AIDS registry data from the New York City Department of …

Fighting Bias With Statistics: Detecting Gender Differences In Responses On Items On A Preschool Science Assessment, Ariela Caren Greenberg

Open Access Dissertations

Differential item functioning (DIF) and differential distractor functioning (DDF) are methods used to screen for item bias (Camilli && Shepard, 1994; Penfield, 2008). Using an applied empirical example, this mixed-methods study examined the congruency and relationship of DIF and DDF methods in screening multiple-choice items. Data for Study I were drawn from item responses of 271 female and 236 male low-income children on a preschool science assessment. Item analyses employed a common statistical approach of the Mantel-Haenszel log-odds ratio (MH-LOR) to detect DIF in dichotomously scored items (Holland & Thayer, 1988), and extended the approach to identify DDF (Penfield, 2008). …

Examining School-Based Sport, Parental Involvement, And College-Preparedness Among U.S. Public High School Students: A Path-Analytic Assessment, Simone T. O'Bryan

Open Access Dissertations

Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), this study extends research on school-based athletic participation and youth development. First, a conceptual model was developed to assess the impact of 10th grade school-based athletic participation and 10th grade parental involvement, along with other known correlates of academic success, on the college preparedness of high school seniors attending public high schools. The primary dependent variable, college preparedness, is the factor score of whether a student applied to college, sought college entrance information from a variety of sources, took the SAT or ACT college entrance exam, as well as the …

Neuropsychological Performance After Unilateral Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation In Parkinson's Disease, Ilona Buscher Marion

Open Access Dissertations

The current study examined cognitive effects of unilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Neuropsychological evaluations were conducted at baseline and follow-up. Data was collected from 28 unilateral STN DBS patients (15 English- and 13 Spanish-speaking), and 15 English-speaking matched PD control patients. English-speaking DBS patients demonstrated significant declines in verbal fluency and attention/executive function, whereas PD control patients did not experience significant cognitive decline. Cognitive performance did not differ based on side of DBS. Spanish-speaking DBS patients experienced significant declines in verbal fluency, confrontational naming and visuospatial abilities. Among Spanish-speaking DBS patients, older …

Problem Representation And Mathematical Problem Solving Of Students Of Varying Math Ability, Jennifer Lee Krawec

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in math problem solving among students with learning disabilities (LD), low-achieving (LA) students, and average-achieving (AA) students. The primary interest was to analyze the problem representation processes students use to translate and integrate problem information as they solve math word problems. Problem representation processes were operationalized as (a) paraphrasing the problem and (b) visually representing the problem. Paraphrasing accuracy (i.e., paraphrasing relevant information, paraphrasing irrelevant linguistic information, and paraphrasing irrelevant numerical information), visual representation accuracy (i.e., visual representation of relevant information, visual representation of irrelevant linguistic information, and visual representation of …

The Error Related Negativity (Ern) In Response To Social Stimuli In Individuals With High Functioning Autism, Camilla M. Hileman

Open Access Dissertations

In this study, behavioral (post-error response time) and electrophysiological (ERN amplitude and latency) indices of error-monitoring were examined in individuals with autism and typical development. Participants were presented with a series of faces, and they were asked to quickly and accurately determine the gender or the affect of the faces. Younger participants showed post-error slowing for the Gender Task, while older participants showed post-error slowing for the Affect Task. With age, participants showed a greater differentiation between correct and incorrect responses on both ERN amplitude and ERN latency. For the Gender Task only, participants with typical development showed a greater …

Negative Is Not The Absence Of Positive: The Relationship Of Daily Positive And Negative Processess To Outcomes In Newlywed Marriage, Jacqueline L. Blue

Open Access Dissertations

This study simultaneously examined the relationship of daily positive processes, daily negative processes, and the relative impact of each on marital satisfaction and likelihood of divorce in newlywed couples over time. Within six months of marriage, 120 newly married couples were asked to complete measures of relationship quality as well as daily diaries for 21- consecutive days to assess several positive and negative processes (i.e., positive and negative affect, positive and negative behaviors, and responsiveness of partner to attempts of social support and capitalization). This study used a dyadic path analysis in a structural equation modeling framework to examine the …

The Role Of Ethnicity And Perceptions Of The Family Environment In Self-Determination Among Students With Disabilities, Raymond J. Rodriguez

Open Access Dissertations

Considerable research exists on the importance of self-determination in the transition of students with disabilities from high school. Much of this research has focused on conditions in the family that may nurture and support the development of self-determined motivation. These conditions, as described by Self -Determination Theory, include support for autonomy, relatedness and competence. Little data exists, however, on whether the conditions in the family environment associated with self-determination vary depending on students' ethnic backgrounds. Participants consisted of 138 Latino and Anglo students with disabilities enrolled in six high schools within a large urban school district. Self-determination was measured using …

Substance-Related Health Disorders In Women: A Retrospective Study Of Women In A Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Facility, Elaine D. Kauschinger

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the health profiles of women seeking residential treatment for substance abuse with women in the community. These 2 data sets consisted of a total of 621 participants. An additional aim of the present study was to examine whether these health profiles differ between the monosubstance abusing and polysubstance abusing women within the treatment group. There were a total of 257 participants in this group. All analyses controlled for the effects of age, insurance, marital status, employment and race/ethnicity. Binary logistic regressions were used to compare between and within the specified groups on …