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Advance Directives And Communication Styles In A Lower Rio Grande Valley Health Facility, Armando G. Dominguez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study explores physicians' decision-making communication styles at end-of-life and advance directives in a hospital. Participant observation, case studies and a survey questionnaire are used. Egalitarian communication style is found to have moderate reliability. A .6969 coefficient, is measured by Cronbach's Alpha model. Authoritative communication style, yields a less than moderate alpha coefficient of .4278. Regression analysis using these two variables as the independent variables obtains insignificant results. However, sixty-three percent of the respondents speak Spanish moderately or very little. Eighty percent of the surveyed sample do not have training to administer advance directives. Twenty-two percent of the respondents have …

An Analysis Of Risk Factors Associated With High Rates Of Cesarean Births In Three Selected Northeast Tennessee Hospitals., Karen Stewart-Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study consists of an analysis of hospital discharge data from three Northeast Tennessee hospitals to identify maternal demographic factors that may be linked to higher rates of cesarean sections in this region of Appalachia. Maternal age, race, insurance status, length of stay, and birth weight were evaluated to identify regional trends in the prevalence of these factors over a two-year period.

There were 1,678 (23.3%) singleton live births by cesarean section of which 7.6% were repeat cesarean section deliveries. Less than one percent of the 7,181 births were vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC) delivery. Overall, insurance and maternal age …

Vicarious Traumatization: An Examination Of The Effects Of Exposure To Traumatic Material In Child Abuse Counselors, Stacey A. Waller

Masters Theses

Counselors who deliver services to children who have suffered maltreatment confront on a daily basis horrific examples of human suffering inflicted on society's most vulnerable members. Such repeated exposure may put these professionals at risk for adverse psychological consequences, including vicarious traumatization (VT), which can include symptoms similar to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present study examined the unique effects of providing trauma services to children on 34 counselors who work primarily with child survivors of maltreatment. While the prevalence of PTSD symptoms in this sample was low, respondents reported higher levels of depression and emotional exhaustion than found in …

The Relationships Among The Stimulus Functions And The Clinical Effects Of Methylphenidate In Children Diagnosed With Adhd, Emily K. Macdonald

Masters Theses

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed childhood psychiatric disorder in the United States. Approximately 90% of children receiving pharmacological treatment for ADHD receive the stimulant methylphenidate (MPH). MPH is associated with positive effects across many behavioral domains, yet the mechanisms through which it exerts clinical effects have not been conclusively determined. MPH produces reinforcing and subjective effects, however it is not understood how these functions relate to clinical effects. The present study examined the relationship among several stimulus functions and the clinical effects of MPH. Participants were 5 children (aged 10-14) diagnosed with ADHD who were …

Allosteric Tuning Of Ruthenium 2,2’-Bipyridyl Luminescent Sensor Systems, Daqing Gan

Masters Theses

A series of new ruthenium bipyridyl crown supramolecular sensor systems containing two binding sites were synthesized. The crystal structure and photophysical properties of the developed sensor systems were thoroughly studied using x-ray, nuclear magnetic resonance and photoscopy methods. It turned out that the chelation of transition metal on the remote sites of the bipyridyl crown ligands greatly reduced the reactivity of the crown cavity. It is believed that the chelation of transition metal on the nitrogen atoms forces the bipyridyl function towards coplanarity and restricts the conformational freedom of the crown ring. The conformational rigidity in turn influences the binding …

Breastfeeding Personal Efficacy Beliefs Of Women University Students, Ann Pollard Cleveland

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Many women do not initiate breastfeeding although breastfeeding promotes their baby's health. Three reasons why women do not breastfeed are women's mental organization, cultural beliefs about breastfeeding, and women's breastfeeding personal efficacy beliefs. The conceptual framework for personal efficacy beliefs is Bandura's social-cognitive theory (1992, 1995, 1997). This dissertation used a new research instrument to examine women university students' breastfeeding personal efficacy beliefs. The instrument was tested by mail survey techniques that resulted in a 70.6% respondent rate. University women's personal efficacy beliefs about breastfeeding factored into five factor subscales. In order of magnitude, the personal efficacy belief factors were …

Development Of A Membrane Resistance Based Modeling Framework For Comparison Of Ultrafiltration Processes, David Albert Masciola

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A parametric study was conducted to develop a more general modeling framework as a basis for comparison of ultrafiltration membrane modules and separation processes. Discrete experiments were performed to examine the effects of operating parameters on permeate flux behavior in the tubular and high-shear rotary ultrafiltration (HSRUF) systems using a synthetic metal working (MW) fluid as a surrogate feed stream due to its relevance in industrial process and treatment applications. The conventional thin-film model was successfully applied to permeate flux data collected at low feed oil concentrations; however, model predictions at high concentrations were physically meaningless due to the formation …

Process Control Of Applied Laser System For Enhanced Glass Production, Liyun Zheng

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Existing glass crack-off methods often result in considerable loss of glassware and require subsequent edge finishing that is labor intensive. The main objective of this dissertation is to contribute to the development of a laser-enhanced cutting and finishing method that will decrease waste and improve productivity in the manufacturing of handblown glass.;The main objectives of this dissertation were to perform modeling and simulation of the laser glass interaction, to contribute to the lab prototype machine construction, to participate in experiments to investigate the process parameters governing successful glass cutting, and to pursue the design and validation of controls for the …

Prognostic Factors For Treatment Outcome In Young Children With Autism, Susannah Grimm Poe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Over the past decade, systematic applications of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) have proven an effective means of improving the prognosis for many young children with autism. But in every study indicating that a number of participants have experienced good outcomes from these interventions, there remain a sizeable number of participants who have not had the same success. This study was undertaken to examine the differences between the parental rankings for each of eight characteristics across three points in time for children with autism to determine who succeeds with this kind of treatment and who does not. These parental reports were …

A Modest Proposal: The “Reasonable Victim” Standard And Alaska Employers’ Affirmative Defense To Vicarious Liability For Sexual Harassment, Kamla Alexander

Alaska Law Review

No abstract provided.

Anchorage: Gaming Capital Of The Pacific Rim, A. Gregory Gibbs

Alaska Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Report On Internship At The New Orleans Museum Of Art, Kari Yamakazi

Arts Administration Master's Reports (1984-2016)

From May through August of 2000, I served for the New Orleans Museum of Art in New Orleans, Louisiana, as an intern. The institution provides a variety of museum experiences for both locals and tourists, and counted as one of the South's premier art museums. The Museum, however, has numerous issues and challenges. Although the institution is continuously expanding, the next decade will be a test for the Museum's staff members regarding management, programming, and competition. The following report provides overview of the Museum's mission, history, collections, as well as its organizational structure. I explain my internship in terms of …

A Report On An Arts Administration Internship With The New Orleans Museum Of Art, Signe Cutrone

Arts Administration Master's Reports (1984-2016)

The internship program at the New Orleans Museum of Art provides graduate and undergraduate students from universities and colleges with on-site training in various museum responsibilities under the guidance and training of a senior level staff member. Internships are available in the administration, curatorial, development or educational departments of the Museum. I chose the public relations department for my internship because public relations is an art organization's essential contact with its public through communications that are not entirely based on publicity, and as such I wanted to learn more about the operation of the department. Because public relations work requires …

A Report On An Arts Administration Internship With The Philadelphia Museum Of Art, Summer 2000, R. Sofya Belair

Arts Administration Master's Reports (1984-2016)

A one-semester internship with an arts organization is required of all graduate students to complete their degree in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans. The student must then submit a detailed internship report to his/her Graduate Committee in order to be approved for graduation. This student has an interest in visual arts, with the goal of a career in the museum field. Seeking to gain further museum experience, I pursued and was accepted into a summer 2000 internship program at one of our nation's finest art museums. The report provides the reader an overview of the Philadelphia Museum …

Effect Of Gate Leakage Current On Noise Properties Of Algan/Gan Field Effect Transistors, S. L. Rumyantsev, N. Pala, M. S. Shur, R. Gaska, M. E. Levinshtein, M. Asif Khan, Grigory Simin, X. Hu, J. Yang

Faculty Publications

The effect of the gate leakage current fluctuations on noiseproperties of AlGaN/GaN heterostructurefield effect transistors(HFETs) has been studied in conventional HFET structures and in AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductorheterostructurefield effect transistors (MOS-HFETs). The comparison of the noiseproperties of conventional AlGaN/GaN HFETs and AlGaN/GaN MOS-HFETs fabricated on the same wafer, allowed us to estimate the contribution of the gate currentnoise to the HFET’s output noise. The effect of the gate current fluctuations on output noiseproperties of HFETs depends on the level of noise in the AlGaN/GaN HFETs. For the transistors with a relatively high magnitude of the Hooge parameter α∼10⁻³, even a …

Proteolytic Enzymes In The Marine Bacterium Pseudoalteromonas Atlantica: Post-Secretional Activation And Effects Of Environmental Conditions, Monica Hoffman, Alan W. Decho

Faculty Publications

Production and activities of cellular and extracellular proteolytic enzymes associated with the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas atlantica were examined in response to physiological state and changing environmental variables under laboratory conditions. Enzymes evidenced by zymography were metalloproteases, as defined by substrate preference and susceptibility to inhibitors (EDTA and 1, 10-phenanthroline). Distinct bands (i.e. molecular-weight [MW] size classes) of enzymes were isolated from within cellular and extracellular compartments. Susceptibility of extracellular enzymes to environmental stressors was related, in part, to the MW size classes of the enzymes. While all bands of enzymes showed some degree of inhibition when pH was decreased, the …

Depot Antipsychotics. Patient Characteristics And Prescribing Pattern, Mohammed A. Al-Sughayir

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prescribing pattern of depot neuroleptics and the clinical characteristics of patients attending depot clinic. METHODS: A case series of chronic psychotics attending the depot clinic in the day care center at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Riyadh, over 10 years. Data was obtained from hospital records, patients interview and contact with patients9 relatives and social workers. RESULTS: The total number of patients was 69 (55% were males). The majority were single schizophrenics between 25 and 45 years. Fifty-one percent of patients lost contact with the service. The Chlorpromazine equivalent depot dose was 188.5 mg/day. CONCLUSION: Patients …

Obstetric Handling Of A Deaf Patient, Mohamed S. Mustafa, Mohamed H. Addar

Saudi Medical Journal

We report our experience of obstetric handling of a deaf pregnant patient antenatally, in labor and postpartum. The patient was deaf from childhood. The attending obstetrician had no training in the necessary skills for communication with the deaf. Fortunately, the patient could read and write English very well and communication was carried out through pen and paper. This proved to be difficult, time-consuming and required a lot of patience. The clinical, psychological and human aspects of the management were gratifying. The patient brought up interesting aspects that need to be considered when dealing with similar patients. Experience of deaf mothers …

Clinical Approach To Patient Treatment By Traditional Cauterization., Latif A. Khan, Sarosh A. Khan

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

The Utilization Of Spirituality In Occupational Therapy: Beliefs, Practices, And Barriers, Jennifer S. Collins

Masters Theses

Spirituality has become an increasingly important topic in healthcare and specifically in occupational therapy. Previous studies of spirituality in occupational therapy indicated that while therapists believed spirituality was important to health and rehabilitation potential, few therapists reported incorporating spirituality into treatment (Engquist, Short-DeGraff, Gliner, & Oltjenbruns, 1997; Howe, 1996; Rose, 1999). This study utilized a survey design to examine occupational therapists' current beliefs and practices regarding spirituality, as well as asking therapists to identify barriers to the use of spirituality in treatment.

The results of this study indicate that beliefs and practices regarding spirituality in occupational therapy may be changing. …

Chronic Hypoxia, Exercise Training, And Skeletal Muscle Capillarity: Angiogenic Regulation And Morphological Consequences, Ivan Mark Olfert

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Angiogenesis is important in health and disease. In particular, exercise training is known to increase skeletal muscle capillarity, providing there is sufficient training intensity. The stimulus for this may be intracellular hypoxia activating angiogenic growth factor gene expression. Acute hypoxia alone has been shown to increase the gene expression of several key angiogenic regulators, e.g. vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and to a lesser degree transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), an endogenous negative angiogenic regulator. Paradoxically, however, chronic hypoxia is generally not found to increase mammalian skeletal muscle capillarity. Accordingly, we hypothesized that …

Effect Of Size Level And Fiber Coarseness On Ink-Jet Printability Of Size Press Coated Paper, Falguni Mehta

Masters Theses

In recent years, matte coated paper has enjoyed wide spread usage for ink-jet applications. The coating performance is strongly influenced by base sheet properties including fiber coarseness and base sheet absorbency. Base sheet absorbency, which is elevated in terms of internal sizing, is a crucial property of ink-jet paper.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of size level and fiber coarseness on ink-jet print qualities. A secondary objective was to examine the size reversion phenomena and to quantify the effect of size level, pigmented coating, and fiber coarseness on size reversion.

The results showed that the …

Interview With Thomas Lickona, Mary Peter Travis

Journal of Catholic Education

No abstract provided.

University As Church: Fides Et Ratio As A Source For Ecclesiology, M. J. Iozzio

Journal of Catholic Education

John Paul II’s Fides et Ratio has taken a back seat in scholarly literature due to the attention given the juridical norms surrounding Ex Corde Ecclesiae. This article dissects the message of Fides et Ratio, calling for a new relationship between the disciplines of theology and philosophy. Collegiality is discussed not as a characteristic of persons but as the quality that should animate university departments in order to sustain cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary pursuits. The article concludes by articulating a functional ecclesiology: university as church.

Organizing The Unorganizable: Private Paid Household Workers And Approaches To Employee Representation, Peggie R. Smith

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Collecting Sales And Use Tax On Electronic Commerce: E-Confusion Or E-Collection, Brian S. Masterson

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bayes Optimal Metasearch: A Probabilistic Model For Combining The Results Of Multiple Retrieval Systems, Javed A. Aslam, Mark Montague

Computer Science Technical Reports

We introduce a new, probabilistic model for combining the outputs of an arbitrary number of query retrieval systems. By gathering simple statistics on the average performance of a given set of query retrieval systems, we construct a Bayes optimal mechanism for combining the outputs of these systems. Our construction yields a metasearch strategy whose empirical performance nearly always exceeds the performance of any of the constituent systems. Our construction is also robust in the sense that if ``good'' and ``bad'' systems are combined, the performance of the composite is still on par with, or exceeds, that of the best constituent …

Currencies And The Commodification Of Environmental Law, J.B. Ruhl, James Salzman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The success of several environmental trading markets (ETMs) has led to proposals for broader use of ETMs in environmental and resource management policy. The successful ETMs all share a basic feature-they exchange units of trade that are fungible, such as tons of sulfur dioxide or kilos of fish. This feature of trading promotes resource allocation efficiency while advancing environmental protection. But most commodities exchanged in current and proposed ETMs, such as wetlands and endangered species habitat, exhibit nonfungibilities across the dimensions of type, time, and space. Using ETMs to trade these commodities is no longer trading "environmental apples for apples," …

The Effect Of Presentation Media On Student Reading Comprehension, Jeffrey T. Conklin

Dissertations

The purpose o f this study was to investigate the effect of display media on reading comprehension in students with learning disabilities. This research examined two types o f display media, computer screen and paper.

Three groups of subjects were used in this study: (1) readers with learning disabilities, (2) low achieving readers, and (3) average readers. Three instruments were used to gather performance data in this study: a) a standardized measure o f reading comprehension, b) a measure of individual passage comprehension, and c) a measure of vocabulary knowledge using words from the experimental passages.

The data presented in …

An Evaluation Of The Self-Esteem Of At-Risk Middle -Level Youth With Intervention Of The Mentorship Program, Lisa Marie Sterba

Student Work

This study concentrated on the self-esteem of at-risk middle school students in a mid-west city involved in an alternative school Mentorship Program. This study examined two aspects of a structured mentorship program for at-risk youth attending an alternative middle school. The first purpose of the study was to evaluate the possible effect of the mentorship program on the self-esteem of the student, while the second purpose was to examine the perceptions of the program's participants. The first method was examined utilizing a quasi-experimental, design and the second employed a qualitative methodology. The Mentorship Program had 16 planned sessions to engage …