Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Organizational Learning Dimensions On Availability Of Learning Organization Dimensions In Iraqi Planning Ministry, Fadhil Jameel Taher

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

The aim of this research to study. The dimensions of organizational learning have been defined(learning dynamics, individuals empowerment, knowledge management and technology application) as well as the dimensions of learning organization have been defined (culture values, knowledge transfer, communication and employee characteristics), Asset completion questionnaire was used to collect data of this research from a purposely sample represent forty employees who works in Iraqi Planning Ministry at different positions. The research divided to four parts : The first to the research methodology, the second to the theoretical review of the research, the third to analysis and discuss the empiric results …

Alumni Journal - Volume 82, Number 4, Loma Linda University School Of Medicine

Alumni Journal, School of Medicine

Features:
10 | A Life Well Lived - A look at the work of Dr. Heath Rowsell '54
16 | Todd Westra Takes Charge - Dr. Todd Westra '96 manages operations at the new Ontario Vineyard Medical Center
18 | Scheer Memorial Hospital - Celebrating 50 years of service in Nepal

News:
5 | New Executive Director
7 | School of Medicine News
28 | Alumni Activities
30 | In Memoriam

Regulars:
4 | Editorial
6 | The President's Page
9 | The Dean's Page
32 | They Walked These Halls
36 | Placement Ads

Analyzing The Construction Of The Medical Professional Identity: How Do Doctors Learn To "Do Doctoring?", Lauren Dougall

Honors Program Theses

This study is a qualitative analysis of how primary care physicians within the first five years of practice after residency construct their medical professional identity. An open-ended interview schedule was used to collect data which revealed the main themes of observational learning, dealing with uncertainty, and the importance of communication and education in patient interaction. Each doctor's professional identity was ultimately a refined version of the image they attributed to doctors as a lay-person.

Enriched Vs Impoverished Housing: Food Choice And Consumption, Berenice Martinez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study focused on the relationship between environmental setting, eating choices and food intake. Ten Swiss Webster female subjects were socially housed under impoverished environmental conditions and ten under enriched housing conditions. Subjects were exposed to a nutritious food and sweet fat-laden food diet together with ad lib access to regular tap water on a 12 h light and dark cycle for four weeks. Results showed that an impoverished environment does not lead to an increase in body weight (t(6)= 0.293, p > .05) and environmental manipulations do not delineate a preference for diet type (t(6)= .877, p >.05). Further research …

Patterns Of Gait Variability Across The Lifespan In Persons With And Without Down Syndrome, Beth A. Smith, Nikolaos Stergiou, Beverly D. Ulrich

Journal Articles

Background and Purpose: Greater gait variability has been observed in persons with Down syndrome (DS). An understanding of baseline patterns of variability, how these patterns relate to adaptive control of gait, and whether increasing or decreasing variability is better is necessary for physical therapists to determine whether and when to intervene. Our aim was to describe patterns of gait variability across the lifespan in persons with DS.

Methods: We examined differences in patterns of gait variability in new walkers, preadolescents, and adults with DS and typical development (TD). We collected kinematic data, while participants walked on a treadmill, and analyzed …

Change Detection Memory In Rhesus Monkeys And Humans, Lauren C. Elmore

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) is the storage of visual information over a brief time period (usually a few seconds or less). Over the past decade, the most popular task for studying VSTM in humans has been the change detection task. In this task, subjects must remember several visual items per trial in order to identify a change following a brief delay interval. Results from change detection tasks have shown that VSTM is limited; humans are only able to accurately hold a few visual items in mind over a brief delay. However, there has been much debate in regard to the …

The Role Of Cortisol In The Cycle Of Violence, Joshua Leigh Gowin

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Child abuse and neglect are universal risk factors for delinquency, violence and aggression; this phenomenon is known as the cycle of violence. Despite a wide body of research demonstrating this phenomenon, the processes which mediate this relationship remain largely unknown. One potentially relevant result of abuse and neglect may be disruptions in the development of the body’s stress response, specifically the function of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. The HPA-axis, and its end-product, cortisol, may play a role in regulating aggressive behavior, but this function may be disrupted following abuse and neglect. Another risk factor for aggression, psychopathy, may mediate the …

To Dollars From Sense: Qualitative To Quantitative Translation In Jury Damage Awards, Valerie P. Hans, Valerie F. Reyna

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This article offers a new multistage account of jury damage award decision making. Drawing on psychological and economic research on judgment, decision making, and numeracy, the model posits that jurors first make a categorical gist judgment that money damages are warranted, and then make an ordinal gist judgment ranking the damages deserved as low, medium, or high. They then construct numbers that fit the gist of the appropriate magnitude. The article employs data from jury decision-making research to explore the plausibility of the model.

The Prospector, December 1, 2011, Utep Student Publications

The Prospector

Headline: Good Luck Graduating Miners

Shifting The Language Of Research Using Problem-Based Learning, Mark Dibble

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

When librarians teach students how to conduct research, we need to use language which reflects how faculty conducts research. Faculty do not research topics, instead they are researching problems and questions. Students are often confused about how to apply the research skills they already have to academic research. Generally, they are unsure about how to get started when faced with a large topic. Instead of focusing on a topic, they should be focusing on a particular problem. Using problem-based learning as a teaching method allows librarians to model and instruct students on how research is done.

The Effect Of Varying Levels Of Reading Delimitations On The Ability Of Students With Disruptive Behavior Disorders Admitted To A Residential Treatment Center To Demonstrate Language-Based Pro-Social Behavior Replacement Skills, Tanya D. Wright.

Student Work

Group 1 students (n = 18) with Disruptive Behavior Disorders and co-occurring reading delimitations with measured reading comprehension scores greater than one standard deviation below the mean, pretest beginning compared to posttest ending 12-week behavioral treatment Core Behavior Occurrence measures were all observed in the direction of lower posttest mean scores and student core behavior improvement with eight of the 11 Core Behavior Occurrence measures (73%) found to be significantly different. Group 2 students ( n = 22) with Disruptive Behavior Disorders and co-occurring reading delimitations with measured reading comprehension scores equal to but not more than one standard deviation …

Cognitive Origins Of The “Bimby” Effect: A Mixed Methods Exploration Of Survey Ratings Regarding The Quality Of Public Schools, James Ellis Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract COGNITIVE ORIGINS OF THE “BIMBY” EFFECT: A MIXED METHODS EXPLORATION OF SURVEY RATINGS REGARDING THE QUALITY OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS By James M. Ellis, Jr., Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011. Director: James H. McMillan, Ph.D. Professor of Education, School of Education Public education and public opinion are pillars of democracy. In surveys about education, respondents in aggregate almost always rate schools attended by their children highest, schools in their communities moderately, and schools in the nation poorly. …

Putting Students At The Center Of Legal Education: How An Emphasis On Outcome Measures In The Aba Standards For Approval Of Law Schools Might Transform The Educational Experience Of Law Students, Janet W. Fisher

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

Legal education has been notably absent from the assessment movement that has been underway in American higher education for over twenty-five years.  Accreditors of virtually every other area of professional education in the United States have adopted assessment of educational outcomes as part of their accreditation process.  Legal education is poised to join this movement as the American Bar Association considers revisions to its Standards for Approval of Law Schools that would emphasize educational outcomes.
This Article explores how the assessment of educational outcomes might be implemented in legal education at the institutional, programmatic and course levels.  The Article focuses …

Trajectories Of Psychological Distress Among Low-Income, Female Survivors Of Hurricane Katrina, Sarah Ryan Lowe

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate trajectories of psychological distress among low-income women, primarily unmarried and African American, who survived Hurricane Katrina (N = 386). Data were collected in the year prior to the hurricane, as well as approximately one and three years thereafter. Using Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA), we detected six distinct trajectory groups. Over half of participants fit into a trajectory consistent with resilience; that is, they maintained low levels of psychological distress over the course of the study, but experienced an elevation in symptoms at the first pre-disaster time point, followed by a return …

Expanding A Model Of Female Heterosexual Coercion: Are Sexually Coercive Women Hyperfeminine?, Elizabeth Anne Schatzel-Murphy

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The present study aimed to replicate a preliminary model of female heterosexual coercion and subsequently expand the model with gender- and race-related variables. The preliminary model, which specified sexual compulsivity, sexual dominance, sociosexuality, and prior sexual abuse, as predictors of female heterosexual coercion, was sufficiently replicated with a racially diverse sample of college women. The model was then successfully expanded by adding rape myth acceptance and hyperfemininity to the model. Hyperfemininity was found to be a core predictor of female heterosexual coercion, challenging the notion that sexual coercion is an inherently "masculine" behavior. Actual minority status, perceived minority status, and …

The Role Of Home Environments In Residential Adjustment Decision Making In Later Life, Kimberly Joy Stoeckel

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Using the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study, this research explored the multi-faceted influence of the accessibility of housing environments on the occurrence and characteristics of residential adjustments made by older adults aged 70 or older. A range of housing adjustment outcomes were examined, including home modifications and relocation into age-segregated senior housing. Analysis of the accessibility gains following relocation was also included in the empirical analyses.

The Ecological Theory of Aging (Lawton & Nahemow, 1973) provided the conceptual framework for the research. The longitudinal design of the HRS empirically advanced understanding of the key theoretical constructs by sensitizing the …

The Ecology Of Cognitive Training And Aging, Anya Potter

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Older individuals represent the fastest growing portion of the population in the United States, and are threatened by the loss of mobility and independence. The present study examined the relationship of a computer-based training program, specifically Posit Science Cortex^TM with InSight DriveSharp^TM, and performance on neuropsychological measures and an on-road driving paradigm in a normal aging sample. Participants, ranging in ages 60-75 and randomly assigned to the treatment group, completed the DriveSharp^TM as did, subsequently, a wait-list control group. Identical neuropsychological and on-road assessments were conducted at each visit. Neuropsychological assessment of visual attention included the …

The Social Negotiation Of Ambiguous In-Between Stigmatized Identities: Investigating Identity Processes In Multiracial And Bisexual People, Vali Dagmar Kahn

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

To date, most bisexual and multiracial identity models in psychology capture a largely internal developmental process (Collins, 2000; Kich, 1992; Weinberg, Williams & Pryor, 1994). However, individuals learn to manage their socially stigmatized identities in social interactions (Goffman, 1963). While the demands to socially negotiate stigmatized identity affect all minority peoples, individuals with in-between ambiguous stigmatized identities, such as multiracial and bisexual people, must negotiate also being situated at the margins of their own reference groups (e.g. heterosexual and gay/lesbian). Using a comparative grounded theory approach, this study explored the question: How do experiences of socially negotiating an in-between ambiguous …

What Is Appealing? Sex And Racial Differences In Perceptions Of The Physical Attractiveness Of Women, Rachel Sewell

HIM 1990-2015

In today's society a beauty ideal exists in America, which attempts to define female beauty as fitting into a certain mold. Certain characteristics have been deemed the most attractive when it comes to female physical attractiveness, and an ideal image of beauty has been presented by the media. This research focuses on whether or not everyone buys into that beauty ideal, and examines the impact that a person's sex and race has on the physical characteristics which that individual defines as the most appealing. Surveys were administered to 300 UCF students age 18-35. Participants were asked about ten different physical …

Social Learning And General Strain Theories' Relationship With Prescription Stimulant Misuse For Academic Purposes Among College Students, Julianne Ong

HIM 1990-2015

The instrumental misuse of prescription stimulants as "study drugs", particularly by college students, is a serious issue that needs to be further investigated. Using data from a sample of 549 University of Central Florida Orlando students, the current study tested the relationship between prescription stimulant misuse and social learning theory, as well as general strain theory. Approximately 17% of participants reported misusing prescription stimulants for academic purposes at least once in the past year. Findings show support for social learning theory; the number of friends who use prescription stimulants and the individual's attitudes about the effectiveness of the drugs are …

The Relationship Between Physical Activity And Cognitive Symptoms Of Depression, Katy Manganella

Psychology and Counseling Theses

Existing research on exercise habits typically focuses on the physical health benefits. However, this research tends to neglect the potential psychological benefits of exercise. The present research adopts a different perspective by investigating the relationship between exercise and different symptom types of depression. By establishing the amount of physical activity participants consider to constitute exercising on a regular basis, participants were separated into self-reported high and low-exercise groups and completed the Zung-Self Rating Depression Scale. By employing a factor analysis of the Zung SDS, the results were analyzed assessing each symptom type of depression: Cognitive, affective, and somatic. Results suggest …

Nurses Information Appraisal Within The Clinical Setting, Heather D. Carter-Templeton

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Information appraisal is foundational to information literacy, a necessary skill to support evidence-based practice. Little discussion in nursing literature exists regarding how nurses appraise information. If nurses lack information appraisal skills they cannot safely and effectively apply evidence in practice. Furthermore, if nurses at all levels are to engage in evidence-based practice, information appraisal in the clinical setting must be understood. The research study used an interpretive description design to define and describe the process of information appraisal in the clinical setting. Participants of this study represented a stratified purposeful sample of 44 registered nurses employed at a regional medical …

Military Sexual Trauma Exposure And Heart Rate Variability Outcomes In Female Veterans, Elizabeth Ann Davis Lee

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Area of Investigation and Hypothesis: Decreased heart rate variability (HRV) has been used as a predictor of cardiac and all-cause mortality. Studies have documented decreased HRV in a variety of conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, age, coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus (DM), and tobacco use but improvement with beta blocker (BB) treatment. No prior study evaluated the relationship between military sexual trauma (MST) exposure and HRV outcomes. The hypothesis of this study was that female veterans exposed to MST would have lower time domain HRV measures than a reference cohort reporting non-exposure. Methods and Procedures: Electronic medical …

Enriching Science And Math Through Engineering, Adrienne Redmond, Julie Thomas, Karen High, Margaret Scott, Pat Jordan, Jean Dockers

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This case study reviewed the collaborative efforts of university engineers, teacher educators, and middle school teachers to advance sixth- and seventh-grade students’ learning through a series of project-based engineering activities. This two-year project enriched regular school curricula by introducing real-world applications of science and mathematics concepts that expanded opportunities for creativity and problem-solving, introduced problem-based learning, and provided after-school programming (for girls only) led by engineering students from the local university. This engineering education initiative showed significant impact on students’ (1) confidence in science and mathematics; (2) effort toward science and mathematics; (3) awareness of engineering; and (4) interest in …

Mexican American Youths’ Academic Outcomes: The Role Of Ethnic And Academic Socialization In Buffering Discrimination, Spencer M. Richards

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An increasingly diversifying educational landscape in the United States has accompanied distressing academic disparities among ethnic minority youths. As Latinos represent the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group within the U.S., particular attention to their academic outcomes is warranted. Alarming educational statistics have been reported for Latinos, with some estimating that nearly half fail to complete high school, and only a fraction go on to complete a degree in higher education. As Latinos grow to represent an increasing segment of the American educational system, more attention is required to understand what leads Latinos to engage (or disengage) in the …

The Relationship Of Acculturation And Acculturative Stress In Latina/O Youths’ Psychosocial Functioning, Marsha Tafoya

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was conducted to better understand how acculturation and acculturative stress are related to self-esteem, depression, substance use, and substance use problems in 206 Latina/o youth. Acculturation is the social and psychological process of change that occurs when an individual or group comes in contact with a different culture. The acculturation process can be positive, improving one’s life chances in the new culture, or it could be negative due to the challenging nature of change and adaptation to new cultural and social expectations. This difficulty creates a type of stress, called acculturative stress that has been found to be …

Alignment Within The Software Development Unit: Assessing Structural And Relational Dimensions Between Testing And Development, Jasbir Dhaliwal, Colin Onita, Robin Poston, Xihui Zhang

Faculty Publications

Just as business-IT alignment has received significant focus as a strategic concern in the IS literature, it is also important to consider internal alignment between the diverse subunits within the IT organization. This study investigates alignment between developers and testers in software development to understand alignment within the IT unit. Prior evidence of tension between these sub-groups (and others as well) suggests that all is not necessarily well within the IT organization. Misalignment within the IT unit can certainly make it difficult for the IT unit to add strategic value to the organization. This study is an important initial step …

The Effect Of Acceptance Training On Psychological And Physical Health Outcomes In Elders With Chronic Conditions, Patricia Mcdonald, Jaclene Zauszniewski, Abir K. Bekhet, Laura Dehelian, Diana L. Morris

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

This pilot trial investigated the short and long-term effects of Acceptance Training (ACT) intervention on acceptance, perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression in elders with chronic conditions living in retirement communities (RCs). The ACT intervention combined Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy with music, relaxation, and guided imagery during six weekly 2-hour sessions. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 16 African-American and 46 White elders across four data collection points in six randomly selected RCs using well-established measures of perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression, and a measure of acceptance of chronic conditions adapted from a previous measure of acceptance of …

Does Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (Nsaid) Use Affect Dementia Progression And Survival Rates In Alzheimer's Disease? The Cache County Study, Trevor R. Buckley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has multiple factors that contribute to the disease process. Among these is a state of chronic inflammation that is endured by the brain during the aging process. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) decreases the amount of neuroinflammation sustained by the brain, and greater levels of NSAID use have been demonstrated to be associated with decreased probability of developing AD. This study looked at whether greater rates of NSAID use were also associated with decreased rates of cognitive and funtional decline and survival in a population-based sample of persons with AD. Linear mixed models failed to …

Acute Effects Of Advocare Spark® Energy Drink On Repeated Sprint Performance And Anaerobic Power In Ncaa Division I Football Players, Nnamdi I. Gwacham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Sports drinks, such as Gatorade and Powerade, have been designed to refuel athletes during and after their performance. Specifically they are designed to have optimal levels of carbohydrates to replenish electrolytes and prevent dehydration. In contrast, energy drinks are reported to increase mental alertness and physical performance during exercise. These drinks are designed to have substantial levels of caffeine as the main ingredient. For some years, energy drinks have become widespread both in recreational and trained athletes, because of their presumed influence on physical performance. A variety of energy drinks are currently on the market today and are purported to …