Digital Commons Network^™

An Ethnographic Examination Of The Hourly Rounding Process, Lynn M. Deitrick Rn, Phd, Kathy Baker Rn, Mph, Hannah D. Paxton Rn, Mph, Michelle D. Flores Rn, Bsn, Deborah Swavely Rn, Msn

Administration & Leadership

No abstract provided.

Talking Circles: The Art Of Communication For Physician Leaders, Erica T. Mahady Ma, Jody Millard Ma, Jarret R. Patton Md

Administration & Leadership

No abstract provided.

Psychometric Testing Of The Children's Resourcefulness Scale, Jaclene A. Zauszniewski, Abir K. Bekhet, Elizabeth Bonham

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

PROBLEM: Resourcefulness is known to reduce depression in adults, but its effects on children are less well known, possibly for lack of a psychometrically sound measure.

METHODS: This study examined the reliability and validity of the 32-item Children's Self-Control Scale (C-SCS), which measures resourcefulness, in 122 school-aged children.

FINDINGS: Standard scale refinement methods produced a 10-item scale with α = .72 and correlations with the C-SCS (r = .86), positive thoughts (r = .38), and depressive symptoms (r = –.32). Factor analysis revealed two factors: problem-solving and delay of gratification.

CONCLUSIONS: The 10-item scale may be …

Psychometric Properties Of A Measure Of Acceptance Of Long-Standing Health Problems, Patricia Mcdonald, Jaclene Zauszniewski, Abir K. Bekhet

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Acceptance of chronic illness is important for health promotion and for improving the quality of life of elders with chronic conditions. Thus, a reliable and valid measure of acceptance is needed for this population. Currently available measures of acceptance do not focus specifically on accepting chronic conditions. This study of 176 elders with chronic conditions examined the psychometric properties of an adapted measure of acceptance—the Ideas About Long-Standing Health Problems (IALHP) questionnaire. Although the findings provided beginning evidence for internal reliability and construct validity to support its potential usefulness in elders, further scale development is recommended.

Engaging Alumni And Prospective Students Through Social Media, Eric A. Kowalik

Library Faculty Research and Publications

Social media provides institutions an opportunity for a new level of engagement with prospective students, alumni, donors and community members. This chapter begins with an overview of social media in higher education, who is using it and for what, then provides a few talking points to consider with others before beginning a push into social media. The remainder of the chapter includes a few examples of ways in which social media are used to engage alumni and prospective students, including utilizing Twitter as a free SMS service to provide updates to prospective students during their recruitment, creating an iPhone application …

Report On The Heads Of Library Technology Interest Group Panel Presentation: Emerging Technologies: Virtualization In Libraries, American Library Association Annual Conference, Washington, Dc, June 2010, Edward Sanchez

Library Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Advancing Our Knowledge Of Adhd In Latino Children: Psychometric And Cultural Properties Of Spanish-Versions Of Parental/Family Functioning Measures, Lauren M. Haack, Alyson C. Gerdes, Brian W. Schneider, Gabriela Dieguez Hurtado

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

The lack of available Spanish versions of assessment measures contributes to insufficient research and underutilization of mental health services for Latino children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Thus, the goal of the current study was to examine the psychometric and cultural properties of several Spanish versions of parental/family functioning measures commonly used in comprehensive ADHD assessments (i.e., the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, and Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale). Participants included 68 Spanish-speaking, Latino parents in Southeast Wisconsin. In general, the Spanish translations of the measures demonstrated good reliability and validity. Furthermore, the psychometrically-sound measures were significantly related …

Culturally-Modified Recruitment Strategies For Latino Families In Clinical Child Research: A Critical First Step, Lauren M. Haack, Alyson C. Gerdes, Bethdalie Cruz, Brian W. Schneider

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

The goals of the current study were to develop and employ culturally-modified recruitment strategies utilizing flexibility and creativity to combat practical and cultural barriers to Latino participation in clinical child research, as well as to quantitatively examine individual and cultural factors related to the different recruitment strategies. In total, 45 Latino parents were successfully recruited and primarily included married mothers of Mexican origin with varied socioeconomic backgrounds. To address the first study goal, an initial culturally-modified recruitment strategy (i.e., postcard strategy, n = 23) was developed to combat both practical and cultural barriers; an augmented strategy (i.e., face-to-face strategy, n …

Advancing Nursing Education Science: An Analysis Of Nln's Grant Program 2008-2010, Joanne R. Duffy, Marilyn Frenn, Barbara Patterson

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

The National League for Nursing has responded to the increasing need for nursing education research through its grant program. Significant growth in proposals has intensified competition for funds and challenged the Nursing Education Research Advisory Council’s review process. The purpose of this article is to explore the NLN’s nursing education research proposals from 2008 to 2010 in order to improve performance and provide guidance to future nursing education researchers. Beginning with the 2008 grant cycle, a database was developed to assist in performance improvement. A total of 113 proposals were submitted; of those, 24 were funded for a success rate …

Dog Models Of Naturally Occurring Cancer, Donna O. Mccarthy

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Studies using dogs provide an ideal solution to the gap in animal models for natural disease and translational medicine. This is evidenced by approximately 400 inherited disorders being characterized in domesticated dogs, most of which are relevant to humans. There are several hundred isolated populations of dogs (breeds) and each has a vastly reduced genetic variation compared with humans; this simplifies disease mapping and pharmacogenomics. Dogs age five- to eight-fold faster than do humans, share environments with their owners, are usually kept until old age and receive a high level of health care. Farseeing investigators recognized this potential and, over …

The Influence Of Contraception On Abortion Among Women Of Reproductive Age In The United States, Richard J. Fehring

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

There is a common notion that contraception is necessary for women (and couples) to avoid unwanted pregnancies and abortions. The thesis of this paper is that contraception actually will lead to more (not less) abortions. On the other hand, the use of natural family planning (NFP) and the acceptance of fertility lend itself to the openness to life. The specific purpose of the paper is to describe the influence of contraceptive use and NFP on the likelihood of having an abortion among United States (US) women of reproductive age as found in Cycle 7 of the National Survey of Family …

Identifying Potential Geothermal Resources From Co-Produced Fluids Using Existing Data From Drilling Logs : Williston, North Dakota, Anna M. Crowell

Theses and Dissertations

With the current need for technology that will allow for environmentally-friendly power generation, geothermal power has become an attractive resource given its low environmental impact and potential cost savings. One specific resource is co-produced water from oil wells that are not currently producing, but can yield formation waters that are both high enough in temperature and fluid volume to operate the turbines of binary geothermal power systems. The data required to identify sites, i.e. bottom-hole temperatures (BHT), latitude, longitude, total depth of hole (TD) in meters, the identification number, and the amount of water produced in gallons, can be mined …

Nietzsche’S “Toys Of Desperation” Or The Birth Of Tragedy As Dramaturgical Alternative, Adam Sheaffer

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis provides a close reading of Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy, with particular attention paid to his use of the “principle of individuation.” The major question this thesis confronts is whether Nietzsche’s text might provide illuminative insights for the study of contemporary dramatic literature. Another question addressed by the thesis is whether Nietzsche’s text may offer dramaturgical alternatives to the strictures of naturalism. These questions are considered in relation to the play Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl. In considering how Ruhl’s play might be reflective of Nietzsche’s own ideological and artistic investments, the author found …

Factor Structure Of The Assessment Of Qualitative And Structural Dimensions Of Object Representations (Aor) Scale, Gregory Pouliot

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Early childhood interactions with parents form parental representations (PR) that have been empirically associated with psychopathology. The Assessment of Qualitative and Structural Dimensions of Object Representations scale (AOR; Blatt et al., 1992) is one measure of PR that benefits from measuring implicit processes and minimizing self-presentation; however, little research has examined its factor structure. The present study used archival data from four previous studies containing clinical and nonclinical samples totaling 722 participants. Individuals were divided into two groups: the first was analyzed using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the second underwent a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the EFA …

The Motivating Factors Of Secondary School Assistant Principals In Southeast Michigan And Their Impact On Job Mobility, David M. Schmittou

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Recent research identified two broad categories of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic. These two forms of personal motivation play a large role in determining individuals‟ level of job satisfaction. By affording a level of perceived empowerment, the environment of the workplace is a contributing factor toward encouraging or discouraging individual satisfaction.

This study demonstrates the relationships that exist between personal motivation needs, workplace empowerment, and the attempted job mobility or stability of assistant principals, a select group of public school administrators.

Prior studies have argued that when an individual possesses both high levels of personal intrinsic motivation needs and high levels …

Characterizing The Oligomeric Structure And Catalytic Activity Of The Dihydroorotase And Aspartate Transcarbamoylase From The Bacterium, Bacillus Anthracis, Reshma Kankanala

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Bacteremia refers to bacterial presence in the blood. Bacterial proliferation in the blood requires that the organism adapt its metabolism to available nutrients. Nucleotide precursors that could be used are present at low levels in the blood, and thus the invading bacteria must rely on de novo nucleotide biosynthesis for survival. The dihydroorotase domain is a key enzyme in pyrimidine biosynthesis and a promising drug target. The genes encoding the dihydroorotase (DHOase) and aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) of Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis) were cloned for expression in Escherichia coli (E. coli). The proteins were purified by affinity …

Creating Simulation-Based Training Tools For Customer Relationship Management With Service-Oriented Architecture, Jeffrey Guevin

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Simulation-based training offers significant benefits for employee education, but many software packages do not offer tools that can easily accommodate this type of training. This paper argues that the use of Service-Oriented Architecture can make it possible to create software-assisted simulated business environments as a method of training employees. I present the advantages and challenges of simulation as a training paradigm. I then discuss the obstacles to the creation of simulations for CRM training and offer web services as a possible solution. I describe in detail a software application that makes use of the web services interface of a CRM …

Perceptions Of Masculinity And Career Specific Gender Stereotypes, Brian A. Golden

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Career gender bias is the tendency for men or women to resist work in careers that tend to be dominated by individuals of a specific gender (nursing, public relations, elementary education, child-care, police, fire, manufacturing). This study posits that current university students exhibit career gender bias and classify certain Bureau of Labor Statistics job classifications as male, female or unisex occupations. Furthermore, with use of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (Bem, 1974) scale, this study attempted to understand if masculinity, femininity, or androgyny gender identity influences college students’ perceptions of career gender stereotypes and ultimately their view about the growing or …

Examination Of Factors Contributing To The Achievement Gap Of Native American Students In Select School Districts In Michigan, Thomas R. Harwood

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Most of the studies on student achievement gaps involve the Black-White achievement gap due to the availability of significant sample populations in order to draw scientific conclusions from the analysis of the student achievement data. However, there are few empirical quantitative studies that analyze a similar gap in achievement between the Native American student and their White cohort. Such studies have been limited due to a small and isolated Native American population in regions across the nation. In Michigan, less than 1% of the student population in the schools is Native American. This study identified 20 select school districts (both …

A Comparative Analysis Of Genocidal Rape In Rwanda And The Former Yugoslavia: Implications For The Future, Jessica Kruger

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This work examines the genocidal rape policies that occurred in the Rwandan and former Yugoslavian conflicts. Traditionally, rape has been considered an unfortunate yet inescapable consequence of war. In the early 1990s, the Hutu and Serbian regimes developed a new tactic and utilized rape as a genocidal weapon. Following a comparative analysis framework, the present study will examine the similarities and differences of the genocidal rape in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Five points of comparison were established: perpetrators, victims, global economics, social disorder, and militias. Results of this analysis show that Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia possessed common pre-genocidal …

Norms, Attitudes, Perceptions, And Intentions For Benzodiazepine Prescription Drug Abuse Among Adolescents, Angela K. O'Neill

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

A cross-sectional, quantitative study was utilized to test the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) regarding the prediction of adolescents’ behavioral intentions for benzodiazepine abuse. Subjective norms, perceived harm, and perceived behavioral control were measured to predict intentions to abuse such drugs. Similar measures for alcohol and marijuana also were assessed for comparison purposes. A survey was administered to 371 students in 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th grades from the Chelsea School District (CSD) in March 2011. Inferential statistics, including binary logistic regression, chi-square, and repeated measures ANCOVA were used to test the null hypotheses. It was …

The Long Road Home: Alfred Andersch, Hans Werner Richter, And The German Search For Meaning In Catastrophe, Aaron Dennis Horton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary subjects of this dissertation are the post-World War II German authors Alfred Andersch and Hans Werner Richter. Drawing from a mixture of the authors’ writings and previously-researched as well as new archival sources, this study will examine their roles as editors of the U.S. Army-sponsored POW newspaper Der Ruf, as founders of the postwar West German journal, also titled Der Ruf, and, most famously, as founding members of the influential postwar West German literary circle Group 47. Each of these developments led directly to the next, and this study will explore the various processes that linked them together. …

Exploring The French Flute School In North America: An Examination Of The Pedagogical Materials Of Georges Barrère, Marcel Moyse, And René Le Roy, Sarah Kate Gearheart

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The discussions that surround the topic of the French flute school and its approach to flute playing have yielded many conflicting assessments. Specifically, different opinions regarding who carried on the French school’s tradition of flute playing have produced different ideas about its lasting influence. At the center of this topic is a lack of clarity as to what constitutes the pedagogical approach that Paul Taffanel initiated and passed on to his flute students at the Paris Conservatory. In order to determine what this approach consists of as well as who passed it on, this study presents an examination of the …

Hbcu Crises And Best Practices In The Discourse Of Renewal: A Crisis Communication Case Study Of Three Institutions, Erica Courtney Taylor

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Crises have been a part of all societies over the course of time. Leaders of small, primitive societies may have dealt with these crises by directly communicating with their citizens or by taking other hands-on approaches to crisis management and recovery. However, in large post-modern technological societies, leaders must find more efficient ways to handle and recover from crises. This qualitative study examines three crises that occurred at three Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs) in the last six years. Crisis communication planning and practices are explored with a special focus on elements of the discourse of renewal theory each …

The Impact Of Oral Fluency And Silent Fluency On The Comprehension Of Fourth Graders, Julie Adele Wright

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to discover if a connection exists between oral fluency and silent fluency. Comprehension was used as the consistent measurement instrument for the study. Understanding how oral fluency transitions to silent fluency helps educators understand how to assist students with this process. Most reading done to acquire knowledge after the fourth grade is performed silently. Students need to be an effective silent reader to be successful in school. In addition, reading comprehension and most other parts of standardized testing is read silently by the student unless accommodations are put in place before testing. If …

The Northern Clergy And The Pilgrimage Of Grace, Keith Altazin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the Pilgrimage of Grace and the Lincolnshire rebellion. Both rebellions occurred in England in 1536 during the reign of Henry VIII. The rebellions were primarily risings of the commons and occurred as the result of several causes. Much of the recent historiography has focused primarily on the causes of the rebellions and the motives of those involved. Most contemporary interpretations of the Pilgrimage of Grace have cast it primarily as either an economic rebellion or a result of social conflict between the commons and gentry. Practically no analysis of the role of the clergy exists, although it …

The Relationship Between Music And Visual Arts Formal Study And Academic Achievement On The Eighth-Grade Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (Leap) Test, Richard Allen Baker Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the policy implications allowing administrators to exempt a student from required arts instruction if the student obtained unsatisfactory scores on the high-stake state mandated tests in English and mathematics. This study examined English language arts and math test scores for 37,222 eighth grade students enrolled in music and/or visual arts classes and those students not enrolled in arts courses. There were more than 12,000 students who were eligible, but not enrolled in arts courses. Methodology consisted of comparing the mean scores of students receiving music and visual arts instruction with the mean …

Nonverbal Communication Among Pointe Coupee Creoles, Elsie Angelique Bergeron Gardner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Interactions are understood through the filter of language and culture. Because of this when people of different cultures interact, miscommunications often result. As both verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication are culturally specific, this paper examines trends in the nonverbal communication patterns of generations of Pointe Coupee Creoles undergoing language shift from Creole French in the older generation to English in the younger. The data demonstrate that nonverbal patterns are decoupled from verbal language to some extent in the degree to which they are maintained down the observable generations of Pointe Coupee Creole participants. This study analyzes videos of naturally …

Playing Class: A Case Study Of Ludic Pedagogy, Jessica Broussard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of transforming traditional classroom content and teaching strategy into a "gamified" version through the use of popular gaming strategy, or, in other words, how a college course can be designed or redesigned to mimic ludic pedagogy, as well as the influence of this pedagogy on student performance in understanding course content and course assessments. The researcher acted as a participant observer and used Constant Comparative Method as data driven teaching focused on student created documents. This research provides an exploration on the use of ludicly styled teaching methodology which includes …

Sources Of Self-Efficacy In Distance Runners, Ashley Ann Samson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997) asserts that people will be more likely to engage in behaviors that they believe they can successfully perform and avoid behaviors in which they feel that they will be unsuccessful. Researchers have concluded that individuals with high levels of self-efficacy are more likely to pursue challenging goals, cope with pain, and persevere through setbacks, while those with low self-efficacy avoid challenges and tend to give up when confronted with obstacles (Llewellyn, Sanchez, Asghar, & Jones, 2008). Endurance sport, particularly distance running, is a domain in which being able to cope with pain and persevere through setbacks …