Digital Commons Network^™

Spirituality And Counseling In Holistic Health: Toward Integration In Actualizing Full Potential, Mary Ann Kniess

Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between spirituality and counseling in holistic health . Forty clients and forty therapists, both male and female, from varying economic and educational backgrounds completed a one- page self-report attitudinal survey regarding the place of religion and spirituality in their life and therapeutic sessions. Each ranked issues such as forgiveness, prayer, healing in relationships, grief, death, and afterlife as to the frequency with which they arose in therapy . Participants who returned surveys on site or by mail from Missouri and Illinois were volunteers who attended Joseph Zinker ' s Gestalt …

Patient-Focused Care: The Restructuring Of Healthcare, William E. Brown

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of restructuring or redesigning the current healthcare delivery system. with a primary emphasis on the concept of patient-focused care. Patient-focused care is defined as the redesign of patient care so that hospital resources and personnel are organized around patients. rather than around various specialized departments.

An overview of the healthcare delivery system prior to 1980 pointed out that healthcare expenses were increasing at far too rapid a rate. The number of Americans without healthcare benefits was climbing and medical record management was out of control. Hospital information systems were obsolete and professional territorialism …

Mergers And Acquisitions: A Primer For Successful Employee Transition, Jan Dunlap

Theses

This thesis will focus on the 'human side' of mergers and acquisitions. It will show the impact on employees and ways in which management can ease these employees through the transition.

Research has shown that there are many more failures than successes, when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. Even with all the failures that exist, mergers and acquisitions are more prevalent than they have been in the past. Everyday the newspapers, news casts and radio stations mention a merger that is in the works.

If mergers and acquisitions are going to continue, and research shows that they will, then …

Utilizing Aromatherapy To Reduce Situational Anger In An Academic Setting, Karen R. Duncan

Theses

This study examined the effectiveness of aromatherapy in promoting a positive affect, or emotion, by reducing situational or state anger in an academic setting. Seventeen graduate level counseling students in a Research Methods and Statistics class participated in the study one time per week over a period of four weeks. Subjects completed the state anger portion of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXJ) during each of the four weeks. During two of the weeks, participants were exposed to the scent of rose oil; during the other two weeks no aroma was introduced into the classroom. While a decrease in the …

Business Ethics...A Contradiction In Terms?, Kimberly Rose Crawford

Theses

Business ethics occupies a unique position in the field of ethics. It consists of uneasy applications of some very general ethical principles (ie: duty or utility) to rather specific and often unique situations and crises. Unlike the professions of medicine and law, business ethics is concerned with an area of hum.an enterprise whose practitioners do not, for the most part, enjoy professional status and whose motives, to put it mildly, are often thought (and said) to be less than noble. Breed is often cited as the sole purpose of business, and much of the history of business ethics, accordingly, is …

Motivating Sales Personnel, Kel T. Denker

Theses

The purpose of this study is to develop a reference manual for managers to examine on a periodic basis and refresh their memories about the motivational process and its importance in the field of sales.

Research has shown that individuals are motivated differently to achieve specific goals and those who are positively motivated definitely out perform those who are not. In the field of sales, this is extremely important. This project illustrates motivational theory, personality types, a managers role, a sales persons role, and a variety of different motivational techniques.

This project is not intended to teach managers how to …

Getting Ready For Total Joint Replacement Surgery: A Pre-Operative Education Program, Jason R. Delaney

Theses

Today's health care system is in a state of constant flux attempting to merge, decrease jobs and increase profits. A method to accomplish the goal for increased profits is to have a decline in the number of days any patient remains in the hospital. One such facility attempting to achieve this goal is a 340 bed acute care hospital in the Midwest.

ln the view of the author it seems possible for the physical and occupational therapy departments to have the ability to improve outcomes and decrease the total amount of time any patient remains hospitalized. With this in mind, …

Cost-Effectiveness Of Activities In Extended-Care Facilities, Nancy Marie Knapp

Theses

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of activities in extended-care facilities. The life expectancy of older adults and housing options is presented in the introduction to this project. A literature review highlights the need for activities to maintain and restore the health of older adults in extended-care facilities. The literature shows that activities help to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of older adults. Meeting these needs leads to life satisfaction for the residents in extended-care facilities. The importance of evaluation in determining the cost-effectiveness of activities in extended-care facilities is also presented in the …

Employee Motivation: What Works, What Doesn't, Michelle A. Koenig

Theses

Corporate America has seen a multitude of changes in the last century, but the change with the greatest impact is that of the employees. In the 'old' days, it was an employer's market. Employees felt lucky just to have a job. Companies did not spend time or money worrying about whether or not their employees were happy or motivated. The majority of jobs required manual labor and little or no education. This made replacing an unhappy or unmotivated worker much easier. In addition, there weren't as many U.S. or foreign companies competing for employees.

In today's competitive market, hiring and …

The New American Family, And A New Generation Of Young Americans Entering The Workforce, Flo A. Kistner

Theses

This thesis focuses on the dysfunction of a significant proportion of America's youth and shows how it can be attributed directly to lack of parental presence or parental control. Today's youth are in total chaos. Research shows there is a definite lack of quality time with today's children from their parents. This lack of parental involvement plays a crucial role in the development or lack of development of today's youth and tomorrow's workers.

The purpose of this study is to examine the changes in the structure of the American family, and the resulting need for management to assume a more …

Kenyatta International Conference Center: A Proposed Marketing Plan, Rose M. Kwena

Theses

This study will focus on analyzing the marketing capabilities of the America's Center and the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission (CVC) in the conventions and exhibitions industry, with the aim of preparing a marketing plan to be implemented by Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC) in Kenya based on the success of St. Louis CVC. The information gathered from researching published data and personal interviews will be used to develop strategies and recommendations.

Kenyatta International Conference Center was not purposely built to host events of large magnitude as exhibitions and conventions. The center was built with public funds by the …

Immigration Issues Of Indian Women, Hema Srikanta

Theses

There are a few thousand Indian families living in St. Louis at the present time. Most of them came here in pursuit of higher education and a better life. Now this population is growing old. Here most of the Indian women are working outside of their homes. Their lives are totally different than that of their mothers and grand mothers. The values they grew up with in India are totally different than what they are experiencing in America. Most of the Indian population has made a home in America; they are growing old here and are going to retire here. …

Competitive Intelligence, Victoria Ann Stamps

Theses

The focus of this project is competitive intelligence. According to Larry Kahaner in Competitive Intelligence, "Competitive intelligence is a systematic program for gathering and analyzing information about your competitors' activities and general business trends to further your own company's goals."

Facing an information overload, business people are beginning to realize that information must be analyzed to produce actionable intelligence. Actionable intelligence has an impact on the bottom line. This new field is growing at an astonishing rate as business people realize that analyzing this information is vital to success.

The purpose of this study is to investigate why business people …

Corporate Communication With The Intranet, Carol J. Sonderman

Theses

This project will focus on the study of the intranet through a review of literature and interviews to determine its value as a corporate communication tool. Currently, the intranet is in the early "innovator and adaptor" stage of development. However, it is moving rapidly forward to the early maturity stage within the corporate world.

Intranets can connect every person, every document, and every application within an organization, no matter where they are physically located. Intranets help companies reduce their paper costs in core areas of communication such as company telephone directories, employee benefits handbooks, manuals, and interoffice or department newsletters. …

Taoist Medical Practices In Taiwan, Da-Chen Sun

Theses

Taiwan has a strange combination of Taoist practices, high education rate, and quality of medical care. This thesis will explore the various, aspects of Taoist medical practices and identify the root and future of Taoist medical practices in Taiwan.

There are various types of Taoist medical methods and each one has developed its own distinctive system. We will focus on how Taoist medical practices fit the needs of the society.

Various theories including mental, classical, and superstitions, advantage and disadvantages in analyzing Taoist medical practices in Taiwan. The mental theory, which focuses on the psychological analysis, belongs to the sphere …

The Positive Effects Of Differing Communication Styles On An Organization, Julie A. Saylor

Theses

This project explores the issue of communications between people who have different educational backgrounds, experiences, and social styles, yet who are bound together as a team through membership in an organization.

A common definition of the word team is "a group of individuals working collaboratively toward a common goal" John Scott). Teamwork can be accomplished by utilizing communication, cooperation, and collaboration. An easily remembered acronym is:

Together Everyone Achieving More

This study will establish ways that people of varying communications and social styles can work together in a way that will ultimately prove to positively effect …

Opening A Child Care Facility: Tomorrow's Stars, Star E. Seeger

Theses

This thesis focuses on the child care industry and the feasibility of opening a child care center in the O'Fallon, Missouri area. It takes a look at the industry from both a national level as well as a local level, analyzing the history, business philosophy, marketing strategies, financial components, competition, management needs, and the service itself.

Research shows there is a definite lack of quality child care centers to care for the number of children in the United States who are between the ages of six months and twelve years. This is also the case in the O'Fallon area where …

Cultural Transformation: Desire To Change?, Arthur L. Seaman

Theses

Gaining knowledge about what motivates people working in an environment afflicted with laws, statutes, policies, regulations, procedures, standards and jobs threatened by political movements is considered valuable information. This thesis is a focused study of human motivation theory, with the intent of learning why past attempts to change the culture of the United States Army Aviation and Troop Command (ATCOM) and the co-located Aviation Program Executive Office (PEO) organizations have failed to produce lasting results.

It is theorized that past attempts to bring about lasting change to the culture of ATCOM and the PEO organizations have failed in part because …

Caring For Our Elders: An African-American Perspective, Wilma Virginia Saunders Schmitz

Theses

Wilma Virginia Saunders Schmitz's study explores the caregiving networks that support African American elders, emphasizing the intersection between informal and formal care. Informal care, often provided by family, friends, and faith communities, remains a primary means of elder support within African American culture. The thesis examines how cultural traditions, religious involvement, historical factors, and socioeconomic barriers shape caregiving practices. Schmitz highlights the importance of the extended family concept, the "village" approach, and the critical role of faith communities in providing both emotional and practical assistance. The study also addresses challenges such as limited access to formal care services, economic disparities, …

Familiar Stories: Plain-Spoken Poetry From A Missouri Woman, W. Carolyn Smith

Theses

This project started as an exercise in a creative writing cluster class. Then I paid a visit to my mother and heard a couple of stories about two nephews that were poignant, yet amusing. I wrote them as I heard them, in conversational style, and the format of my story-poems was born.

The first three chapters cover my background, my training, the influences on my writing, and specifically, examples of three authors whose writing encouraged me to write. The training emphasized factual writing in business communications and journalism. Because of this training, most of the facts in the poems are …

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Gender Differences Among Washers And Checkers, Jennifer Leigh Siervo

Theses

This research project thoroughly examines Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to see if there are any gender differences between compulsive washers and checkers. The null hypothesis is that there are no gender differences between the compulsions of washing and checking. Thirty-one subjects from a local self-help group voluntarily participated in this study. Of the thirty-one participants, thirteen were men and eighteen were women. The Maudsley Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory was used to obtain total obsessions scores, as well as washing and checking scores. The mean scores for men and women for the total obsessions scale were compared. The women reported a higher number of compulsions …

Intravenous To Oral Medication Streamlining Manual, Christina Cognata Smith

Theses

This thesis will examine intravenous to oral medication streamlining in hospitalized patients.

For multiple reasons the cost of healthcare has been rising over the past ten years. As a result of rapidly escalating expenditures, pharmacoeconomic strategies that center on reducing costs without adversely affecting patients' outcomes are commonplace throughout the pharmaceutical industry.

The literature demonstrates that the early transition from intravenous to oral medications is an opportunity to decrease hospital and patients' costs without compromising patients outcomes. It is important to note that an inappropriate or careless transition can result in a drastic increase in cost, therefor, patients should be …

Parental Perceptions On Full Inclusion For Children With Sensory And Cognitive Disabilities, Marsha Sledge-Bryant

Theses

This investigation was designed to compare the perceptions of parents who have children with sensory, cognitive or multisensory disabilities in relationship to full inclusion within the educational setting. Eighty-one parents participated in the study by completing a questionnaire designed by the researcher. It was hypothesized that parents of children with sensory impairments would have greater resistance to the practice of full inclusion for their own child(ren). Results indicated no significant differences between the three groups' perceptions about full inclusion. In fact, all parents supported the concept of full inclusion, but did not agree that it was an appropriate educational service …

The Place Of Automation In National Healthcare, Ted J. Macinski

Theses

This cumulating project will focus on the development of the current U.S. healthcare system and the involvement of government, especially the federal government in this process.

The focus is on the proposal to use advanced information systems technology to establish cost control for the healthcare sector of the economy.

The issues which are addressed are what role the federal government plays in the current healthcare system, the proposed use of a comprehensive federal health data bank which would include data on all U.S. residents, and alternative applications of systems technology which are operational or under development by private and state …

Attitudes Of Student Nurses Toward Domestic Violence, Phyllis Jean Messing

Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if student nurses needed more education about domestic violence. Nurses, more than any other profession, are frequently in a position to identify and assist the victims of abuse. Presently, however, rather than addressing the hidden problem of family violence, nurses may inadvertently contribute to it, due to their lack of awareness and knowledge. Nurses, including student nurses, need to fine tune their knowledge in order to recognize the signs and symptoms surrounding family violence. Once identified, it will take an expanded level of awareness and enhanced skills to deal effectively with this …

A Study Of Body Dissatisfaction And Drive For Thinness Between African-American And Caucasian College Women, Suzanne M. Monroe

Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the similarities and/or differences in body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness between Caucasian and African-American college women. The Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2) as well as questions measuring hours spent reading women's magazines and family, close friends, and significant other's view on the importance of physical thinness was distributed to 18 to 25 year old African-American and Caucasian college women at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE). The EDI-2 is a self-report questionnaire that consists of 91 questions which generate 11 independent subscales. Only 3 of the II subscales were analyzed: I) Drive …

Employee Benefits, Kimberly Elinor Miller

Theses

This paper discusses how group benefits have changed over the past ten years, what corporations are offering their employees such as medical insurance, employee assistance programs, wellness training programs, child care programs, flexible compensation plans, continuing education benefits and retirement benefits and how each one of these benefits is set up. Employers want not only to implement benefit programs which will help them meet their organizational goals, but also to attract, retain and motivate employees. In order to succeed in these efforts they must install a program of benefits that is both cost effective and will meet organizational profit goals. …

The Link Between Established Psychological Type Preferences And Academic Achievement In Elementary School Students, Shelley Nacke

Theses

Sixty-four third through eighth grade students from a rural parochial school were tested using the Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children (MMTIC). Students were divided into three groups on the basis of the MMTIC scores: those showing no undetermined preferences, those showing one undetermined preference and those showing two or more undetermined preference. Grade point averages (GPA) were used to determine academic achievement for these students. Mean GP A scores for the three groups were compared using the t-test. Those students with two or more undetermined preferences showed significantly lower mean GP A scores than those students with no undetermined preferences.

The Integration Of The Long Term Care Continuum Into A Seamless Health Delivery System, Viriginia E. Moseley

Theses

A seamless continuum of healthcare services is necessary to serve older adults, caregivers and the community. Personal knowledge and experience of the author, a nurse and skilled nursing facility administrator, is combined with a literature review to determine a vision for serving older adults and caregivers. A vertical integration of long term care into a health delivery network traditionally focused on acute and primary care is proposed.

An Analysis Of Price Discrimination Of Alcoholic Beverages: Marketing Towards African-American Vs. Anglo-Americans In St. Louis Communities, Tamara L. Morrow

Theses

This thesis will focus on the analysis of price discrimination of alcoholic beverages marketed towards African-Americans in St. Louis. Missouri.

Research has indicated that alcoholic beverages cost more in predominantly African-American communities compared to predominantly Anglo-American communities. Previous studies indicate certain factors that play a major role in identifying price discrimination. Some of these factors include social class, type of retail store and brand names and images.

However, an investigation of price discrimination of alcoholic beverages can indicate other reasons why prices are higher in certain areas. The percentage of alcohol and consumer demand in particular areas may pre-determine the …