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2014

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Integrated Functioning Of The Mirror Neuron System And Its Role In Imitation Deficits In Autism, Heather Wadsworth Jan 2014

Integrated Functioning Of The Mirror Neuron System And Its Role In Imitation Deficits In Autism, Heather Wadsworth

All ETDs from UAB

Deficits in imitation have been widely reported in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A proposed dysfunction of the mirror neuron system (MNS), the neural network underlying imitation, has been the subject of recent debate in ASD literature. However, while some research has found evidence of MNS abnormalities in ASD, recent studies have cast doubt onto the mirror neuron hypothesis of ASD as it is currently depicted. There is also behavioral evidence that the imitation deficit is not unitary, and therefore may not have one-to-ne correspondence with a malfunction of all aspects of MNS. Since functional imitation involves …

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Employer-Based Wellness Programs; Financial Value To The Organization, Ricky D. Wallace Jan 2014

Employer-Based Wellness Programs; Financial Value To The Organization, Ricky D. Wallace

All ETDs from UAB

The health and wellness of employees is of strategic importance for healthcare organizations to achieve leadership in accountable care and health reform. This study sought to discover whether an organizational program, focused on health promotion and wellness for employees, has a value to the organization. This quantitative evaluation study examines variables of a wellness program implemented at a medical facility in the United States by determining the medical costs among participants and non-participants of the facility sponsored wellness program. The results of the study provide valuation evidence concerning the program's value to the organization.

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Print Vs. Pulpit: Representations Of Religion In The Harlem Renaissance, Sondra Bickham Washington Jan 2014

Print Vs. Pulpit: Representations Of Religion In The Harlem Renaissance, Sondra Bickham Washington

All ETDs from UAB

At the turn of the twentieth century, African American race leaders believed that literature and other creative works could strengthen the fight against the social, economic, and political oppression facing members of their race across the country. However, when younger writers began explicitly focusing their narratives and poems on the more taboo and less religious elements of African American life such as heavy drinking, sensual dancing at jazz and blues clubs, and unmarried sexual relationships, black religious leaders often expressed opposition to their creative work. This sometimes harsh disapproval only served to create a larger gap between the religious and …

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Corrosion Prevention And Control Training In An Immersive Virtual Learning Environment, Rustin Deane Webster Jan 2014

Corrosion Prevention And Control Training In An Immersive Virtual Learning Environment, Rustin Deane Webster

All ETDs from UAB

The majority of military education and training has not veered far from the days of chalk and talk instruction. Often with technological breakthroughs comes the proposal of the next revolution in multimedia instruction. Motion pictures to radios to educational television programs have all seemed to come and gone. The next wave of multimedia learning may involve more than a PowerPoint® presentation and lecture. Researchers continue to propose that Virtual Reality (VR) will find its true application and/or market in education and training. The objective of the project was to develop and provide a low-cost, scalable, and portable VR system containing …

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Understanding The Described Experiences Of Court Judges, Court Appointed Special Advocates (Casa) Volunteers, Department Of Human Resources Caseworkers, And Foster Parents, Mitsy Collier Wilbourne Jan 2014

Understanding The Described Experiences Of Court Judges, Court Appointed Special Advocates (Casa) Volunteers, Department Of Human Resources Caseworkers, And Foster Parents, Mitsy Collier Wilbourne

All ETDs from UAB

UNDERSTANDING THE DESCRIBED EXPERIENCES OF COURT JUDGES, COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES (CASA) VOLUNTEERS, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES'CASEWORKERS, AND FOSTER PARENTS MITSY COLLIER WILBOURNE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to identify the described experiences of court judges, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers, Department of Human Resources' caseworkers, and foster parents in the southeastern United States to enhance the early childhood educational needs and development of children in out-of-home care. The study was designed with cases so various perspectives were examined. Children who were neglected and abused, specifically those who must be removed from their parent's …

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Implicit Category Priming Capacity, Edward Paulus Hahn Jan 2014

Implicit Category Priming Capacity, Edward Paulus Hahn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past research has shown that accessing a memory allows faster subsequent access to the memory activated as well as to related information (priming). There has been much research devoted to implicit category priming (unintentional priming of a category of information), but this research has not determined the number of categories that can be implicitly primed simultaneously. The goal of the present quantitative study was to address that gap. Twenty participants (ages 27-54 years, M=44 years), who volunteered through an online participant pool, were presented with 2 tasks over the Internet. A scrambled phrase task implicitly primed 5 unrelated categories and …

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Employee Locus Of Control And Engagement In Nonprofit Organizations, Jacqueline Myers Jan 2014

Employee Locus Of Control And Engagement In Nonprofit Organizations, Jacqueline Myers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Transformational leadership and employee engagement have been studied in the private sector, yet research in the nonprofit sector is scarce. Addressing this gap is important to improve nonprofit practices, as nonprofit organizations contribute to a myriad of social issues critical to positive social change. Using Burns's theory of transformational leadership, which places emphasis on motivating and inspiring performance through a shared vision and mission, the purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze the effects of transformational leadership on employee engagement in nonprofit organizations. The study also assessed whether locus of control acted as a mediating variable on employee engagement. …

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Impact Of Middle-Level Managers' Well-Being And Happiness On Direct Reports' Performance, Respent Green Iii Jan 2014

Impact Of Middle-Level Managers' Well-Being And Happiness On Direct Reports' Performance, Respent Green Iii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The happy productive worker (HPW) theory states that happy employees perform at higher levels than unhappy employees do. Despite the explanatory power of the HPW theory, it was unknown if a happy middle-level manager would be associated with productive direct reports. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to address that gap by exploring the impact of middle-level managers' well-being and happiness on the performance of their direct reports. Key research questions examined how middle-level managers' well-being and happiness influenced the performance of their direct reports and how middle-level managers' application of the HPW theory influenced social change. Twenty middle-level …

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Increasing Hpv Vaccination Rates Among Adolescent Males: A Toolkit For Parents, Lance Everette Hadley Jan 2014

Increasing Hpv Vaccination Rates Among Adolescent Males: A Toolkit For Parents, Lance Everette Hadley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 14 million new cases of HPV diagnosed each year (men and women combined). The rate of vaccine administration among adolescent males is much less than it is among females. As a result, the CDC has urged health care providers to work with state and local health care providers to improve the utilization of the HPV vaccine. The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop an educational toolkit, one guided by Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action, regarding the value of the HPV vaccine. The toolkit …

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Four Women Of Courage: A Historiography Of Early Childhood Education For African American Children In Alabama, Sharon Webb Abrams Jan 2014

Four Women Of Courage: A Historiography Of Early Childhood Education For African American Children In Alabama, Sharon Webb Abrams

All ETDs from UAB

This qualitative study used a tailored historical narrative approach to raise a con-nection with the reader that is not possible with approaches that are more impersonal and thus illustrated some of the richness of historical techniques. The purpose of this historical narrative study was to explore how early childhood African American women in the state of Alabama perceive the disparity within African American education for young children and advanced early childhood programs and schools based on need, desire, and care. The central questions that the researcher probed within this study included: (a) How did four heroic African American women construct, …

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Combinatorial Effects Of Corexit 9500a And Temperature Stressors On Embryo Development In The Zebrafish Danio Rerio, Erica Davis Anderson Jan 2014

Combinatorial Effects Of Corexit 9500a And Temperature Stressors On Embryo Development In The Zebrafish Danio Rerio, Erica Davis Anderson

All ETDs from UAB

the Kemp’s Ridley Recovery Program during the 2005-2008 nesting seasons. This

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A Comparison Of Aphasia Therapy Outcomes Before And After A Very Early Rehabilitation Programme Following Stroke, Erin Godecke, Natalie A. Ciccone, Andrew S. Granger, Tapan Rai, Deborah West, Angela Cream, Jade Cartwright, Graeme J. Hankey Jan 2014

A Comparison Of Aphasia Therapy Outcomes Before And After A Very Early Rehabilitation Programme Following Stroke, Erin Godecke, Natalie A. Ciccone, Andrew S. Granger, Tapan Rai, Deborah West, Angela Cream, Jade Cartwright, Graeme J. Hankey

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background Very early aphasia rehabilitation studies have shown mixed results. Differences in therapy intensity and therapy type contribute significantly to the equivocal results. Aims To compare a standardized, prescribed very early aphasia therapy regimen with a historical usual care control group at therapy completion (4-5 weeks post-stroke) and again at follow-up (6 months). Methods & Procedures This study compared two cohorts from successive studies conducted in four Australian acute/sub-acute hospitals. The studies had near identical recruitment, blinded assessment and data-collection protocols. The Very Early Rehabilitation (VER) cohort (N = 20) had mild-severe aphasia and received up to 20 1-h sessions …

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A Process-Oriented Measure Of Habit Strength For Moderate-To-Vigorous Physical Activity, J. Robert Grove, Irja Zillic, Nikola Medic Jan 2014

A Process-Oriented Measure Of Habit Strength For Moderate-To-Vigorous Physical Activity, J. Robert Grove, Irja Zillic, Nikola Medic

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Habitual action is an important aspect of health behaviour, but the relevance of various habit strength indicators continues to be debated. This study focused specifically on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and evaluated the construct validity of a framework emphasizing patterned action, stimulus-response bonding, automaticity, and negative consequences for nonperformance as indicators of habit strength for this form of exercise. Methods: Upper-level undergraduates (N = 124) provided demographic information and responded to questionnaire items assessing historical MVPA involvement, current MVPA involvement, and the four proposed habit strength dimensions. Factor analyses were used to examine the latent structure of the habit strength …

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Student Perceptions Of Online Interactive Versus Traditional Lectures; Or How I Managed Not To Fall Asleep With My Eyes Open, John A. O'Rourke, Susan J. Main, Martin G. Cooper Jan 2014

Student Perceptions Of Online Interactive Versus Traditional Lectures; Or How I Managed Not To Fall Asleep With My Eyes Open, John A. O'Rourke, Susan J. Main, Martin G. Cooper

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Universities are increasingly experimenting with the online domain to connect with busy and digital-savvy students and counter the decline in face-to-face lecture attendance More often than not universities are offering videoed lectures or PowerPoints with lecturer voice-overs as a way of delivering content. Evidence suggests that while these techniques may provide the flexibility required, some content needs more personalised delivery. In this article the authors explore the development and delivery of an online lecture format. Using a combination of video, text and interactive cell technology, this online offering was trialed in a unit focused on the education of students with …

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Influence Of Age And Sex On Pacing During Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman And Ironman Triathlons. Part B, Sam Shi Xuan Wu, Jeremiah J. Peiffer, Jeanick Brisswalter, Wing Y. Lau, Kazunori Nosaka, Christopher Abbiss Jan 2014

Influence Of Age And Sex On Pacing During Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman And Ironman Triathlons. Part B, Sam Shi Xuan Wu, Jeremiah J. Peiffer, Jeanick Brisswalter, Wing Y. Lau, Kazunori Nosaka, Christopher Abbiss

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of biological sex and age on the pacing strategies adopted by non-drafting top triathletes during the cycle and run disciplines of a Sprint, Olympic, half-Ironman and Ironman triathlon. Split times of the top 20% non-elite males (n=468) and females (n=146) were determined using official race transponders and a video capture system for pre-determined sections of the cycle and run disciplines of four triathlon distances. Indices of pacing were calculated to compare between sexes and age-groups. Results of this study indicated that different pacing strategies were adopted between athletes of different …

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The Motivation And Identity Challenges For Phd Holders In The Transition To Science And Mathematics Teaching In Secondary Education: A Pilot Study, Robert Whannell, William J. Allen Jan 2014

The Motivation And Identity Challenges For Phd Holders In The Transition To Science And Mathematics Teaching In Secondary Education: A Pilot Study, Robert Whannell, William J. Allen

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Australian secondary education has endured a chronic shortage of qualified mathematics and science teachers for a number of years, particularly in rural and remote areas. A longitudinal research project examining the capacity for the holders of PhD level qualifications in mathematics and science to be utilised as one means of addressing this shortage has been commenced at two regional Australian universities. This paper reports on the pilot study which utilised semi-structured interviews involving five participants at various stages of the transition into secondary school teaching. The interviews examined the motivations of the participants to enter secondary teaching and the challenges …

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Carer Experiences With Rehabilitation In The Home: Speech Pathology Services For Stroke Survivors, Katy Stewart, Natalie Ciccone, Elizabeth Armstrong Jan 2014

Carer Experiences With Rehabilitation In The Home: Speech Pathology Services For Stroke Survivors, Katy Stewart, Natalie Ciccone, Elizabeth Armstrong

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Caring for a stroke survivor can be a complex role with carers at an increased risk of mental health difficulties. Early supported discharge from hospital with rehabilitation in the home (RITH) allows stroke survivors to return home at an earlier stage in the recovery process, potentially placing an extra burden on carers. Being involved in intensive therapy,in the home, in the early days post-stroke may be difficult with the role and experiences of carers in RITH being underresearched. This paper identifies the roles, experiences and preferences of ten carers of stroke survivors with dysarthia and dysphagia. Many carers were involved …

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Talent Retention In Organizations Facing Staff Reductions Via Layoffs, George Edward Lightfoot Jan 2014

Talent Retention In Organizations Facing Staff Reductions Via Layoffs, George Edward Lightfoot

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High voluntary attrition threatens the future of downsizing organizations. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how employee layoff announcements reduces the perception of organizational commitment to experienced, skilled workers in central Wisconsin. The conceptual framework integrated stress response theories including Cannon's cognitive activation theory of stress. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 20 journeyman level artisans who had witnessed the layoff process within 50 miles of Wausau Wisconsin. These interviews were analyzed via the modified van Kaam method to code, cluster, and group the findings into significant themes. Nine themes emerged from the analyses suggesting layoff implementation strategies …

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Factors Associated With Chlamydia Trachomatis Reinfection Among Puerto Rican Adolescents 2008-2012, Flavia Rosado Jan 2014

Factors Associated With Chlamydia Trachomatis Reinfection Among Puerto Rican Adolescents 2008-2012, Flavia Rosado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between Chlamydia trachomatis reinfection rates of Puerto Rican adolescents and failure to follow the retesting protocol, failure of sexual partners to receive treatment, and failure to participate in the sexual orientation program about risk factors. Secondary data analysis, from a historical prospective study from the Health Department of Puerto Rico, was used in this study. Data analysis was restricted to adolescents 15 to 19-years-old who had a positive chlamydia result and reinfection pattern since January 2008 through December 2012. Multiple logistic regression analyses were run to predict Chlamydia trachomatis reinfection. …

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Knowledge, Attitude, Lifestyle Practices, And Quality Of Life In Sporadic Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Patients, Shahpar Vafamand Jan 2014

Knowledge, Attitude, Lifestyle Practices, And Quality Of Life In Sporadic Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Patients, Shahpar Vafamand

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare lung disease recognized by abnormal growth of smooth muscle cells proliferating in lungs parenchyma, developing benign tumors, migrating to the other organs, and ultimately leading to respiratory failure and death. Despite existing literature mainly on clinical aspects of LAM, there is a gap of literature in regards to the knowledge, attitude, and lifestyle practices (KAPs) of LAM patients and their effects on their quality of life. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the KAPs of the sporadic LAM patients as measured by the Bristol Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Knowledge Questionnaire, Beliefs and …

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The Dignity Of The Human Person: Catholic Social Teaching And The Practice Of Criminal Punishment, Dora W. Klein Jan 2014

The Dignity Of The Human Person: Catholic Social Teaching And The Practice Of Criminal Punishment, Dora W. Klein

Faculty Articles

The moral foundation that supports the Catholic Church's opposition to the death penalty is wide and deep. This Article proposes that despite the oft-repeated maxim that "death is different," the same foundation that supports efforts to abolish the death penalty can also support those who seek to achieve other reforms in the practice of criminal punishment.

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Assessing System Congruence By Analyzing The Relationship Between Employee And Patient Driven Outputs, Timothy J. Harlin Jan 2014

Assessing System Congruence By Analyzing The Relationship Between Employee And Patient Driven Outputs, Timothy J. Harlin

All ETDs from UAB

Patients are at risk for employee driven preventable adverse events during hospital stays. These adverse events are varied and include such things as medication errors, pressure ulcers, hospital acquired infections, and falls. Preventable adverse events continue at alarming frequency despite significant academic, regulatory, and management attention to the topic over the past 14 years since the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) To Err is Human report. In addition to being at risk for preventable adverse events, patients experience aspects of the health care system such as ease of access, employee attitude, skill and efficiency of staff, and perceived value. Although purporting …

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An Examination Of The Services That Contribute To Positive Vocational Outcomes In Adults With Developmental Disabilities, Abbey N. Harris Jan 2014

An Examination Of The Services That Contribute To Positive Vocational Outcomes In Adults With Developmental Disabilities, Abbey N. Harris

All ETDs from UAB

One of the most pressing issues concerning persons with developmental disabilities is making sure their needs are met once they reach adulthood. As adults, they should have the abilities and skills to be as independent as possible and to be contributing members of society. Without the proper services and help, though, this may not be possible for a large portion of this population. Research suggests that supportive employment services alone may not be enough to meet their unique vocational needs and to improve the likelihood of their achieving personal and financial independence. The purpose of this study was to determine …

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Owner-Manager Separation And The Structure Of It Governance In Small Business, Jeffrey S. Saffer Jan 2014

Owner-Manager Separation And The Structure Of It Governance In Small Business, Jeffrey S. Saffer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business owners and small business managers tend to favor different information technology (IT) governance structures. Such differences can lead to ineffective management and control of IT in small businesses. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the extent and nature of the association between owner-manager separation in small businesses and the structure of IT governance in the businesses. Agency theory formed the theoretical framework of this study. Data were collected using a web-based survey and randomly sampled 3,697 small business owners and managers located in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Chi-square statistics indicated no significant association between owner-manager …

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Depression And Alcohol Use Disorders As Gendered Phenotypes Of 5-Httlpr, Bryant Walker Hamby Jan 2014

Depression And Alcohol Use Disorders As Gendered Phenotypes Of 5-Httlpr, Bryant Walker Hamby

All ETDs from UAB

The serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) has been associated with both depression and alcohol use disorders in previous gene-environment interaction studies, but these associations have not been consistent. Previous research on mental health has posited that depression and alcohol use disorders are functionally equivalent manifestations of distress, with men displaying alcohol use disorders and women displaying depression in response to stress. This paper assesses whether the presence of the risk-conferring serotonin gene alleles increase an individual's chance of expressing distress as either depression or alcohol use disorders, depending on gender. The hypotheses that more symptoms of depression would be …

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Three Studies On Family Meals: Examining The Predictors Of Family Meals And Its Impact On Adolescent Health, Samantha Sittig Goldfarb Jan 2014

Three Studies On Family Meals: Examining The Predictors Of Family Meals And Its Impact On Adolescent Health, Samantha Sittig Goldfarb

All ETDs from UAB

This three-manuscript dissertation addresses gaps in the literature related to the predictors of family meals and its impact on adolescent health behavior. Sharing dinner as a family has been promoted by the media and many researchers as an ideal environment to enrich the parent-child bond and subsequently reduce adolescent risk behaviors such as substance use and delinquency. This dissertation centers on three topics, in particular: (1) the nature of the family meal literature given the multiple adolescent health behavior outcomes, study designs, and model types investigated and used by researchers, (2) the impact of family dinners on adolescent school problems, …

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Relationships Among Heart Failure-Related Physical Symptoms, Social Support, Social Problem-Solving, Depressive Symptomatology, And Self-Care Behaviors In Individuals Living With Heart Failure, Lucinda Joy Graven Jan 2014

Relationships Among Heart Failure-Related Physical Symptoms, Social Support, Social Problem-Solving, Depressive Symptomatology, And Self-Care Behaviors In Individuals Living With Heart Failure, Lucinda Joy Graven

All ETDs from UAB

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is a chronic condition that progressively worsens over time. The condition is more common in individuals over the age of 65 and commonly causes dyspnea, fatigue, orthopnea, nocturnal dyspnea, edema, and activity intolerance. Prior studies suggest a relationship between HF-related physical symptoms and depressive symptomatology in individuals living with HF. Depressive symptomatology in individuals with HF are linked with a higher mortality rate, decreased quality of life, decreased functional status, and disturbed sleep. Additionally, HF-related physical symptoms impact self-care in individuals living with HF. Previous studies have found that symptom severity and the associated decrease in …

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Development Of A Concept Exploration Based Teaching Methodology For Undergraduate Chemistry Education, Nicole D. Gray Jan 2014

Development Of A Concept Exploration Based Teaching Methodology For Undergraduate Chemistry Education, Nicole D. Gray

All ETDs from UAB

Science in general has traditionally been noted as a difficult subject because of its specialized language, mathematical and abstract concepts, and the amount of content to be learned in a semester. In particular, students are believed to base their attitudes towards science-related disciplines on their perceived abilities in understanding or succeeding in a course. Other factors may also contribute to this lack of interest, such as students' metacognitive skills. Concept mapping and computer-aided tools may be used to assist students in building hierarchical knowledge bases that allow them to visually represent connections between concepts. Therefore, the purpose of this study …

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Cultural Factors Affecting The Development Of An Evidence-Based Information Service In A Third Sector Provider Of Complementary Cancer Care, Matthew Dunstan Breckons Jan 2014

Cultural Factors Affecting The Development Of An Evidence-Based Information Service In A Third Sector Provider Of Complementary Cancer Care, Matthew Dunstan Breckons

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Abstract Cultural factors affecting the development of an evidence-based information service in a third sector provider of complementary cancer care Matthew Breckons Introduction Many people with cancer access complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and a need for high quality information was emphasised in reports by the House of Lords and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Organisational culture, incorporating people’s underlying assumptions, values and actions, has been highlighted as an important factor when attempting to introduce evidence-based practices. Opinion is divided over the relevance of evidence to CAM practice, although the influence that this has on the cultural …

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(Dis)Functions: Marxist Theories Of Architecture And The Avant-Garde, Michael Chapman Jan 2014

(Dis)Functions: Marxist Theories Of Architecture And The Avant-Garde, Michael Chapman

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

This paper investigates the relationship between architecture and theories of the avant-garde in the critical projects of the 1970s, with a focus on the theories of Peter Bürger and Manfredo Tafuri. Both Tafuri and Bürger were writing from within the context of a radicalized Marxism and were fueled by an intellectual pessimism towards the totalizing systems of cultural production that questioned the role of resistance in aesthetics and the inability of the historical avant-gardes to engage within the political and economic fields of contemporary society. While there is a common ancestry to these two approaches, and mutual acceptance of the …

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