Digital Commons Network^™

The Digital Divide Through The Lens Of Critical Race Theory: The Digitally Denied, Stacy Gee Hollins

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine African American community college students’ availability to technological resources and how that availability affects their success. In this study, technological resources include access to the internet, software, hardware, technology training, technology support, and community resources. This study included six community college professors and six African American community college students enrolled in a Midwest community college. A major tenet of Critical Race Theory, storytelling, was used to give voice to students who lack sufficient access to technological resources referred to as the digitally denied. Data from this study can create an …

Transformational Learning: An Investigation Of The Emotional Maturation Advancement In Learners Aged 50 And Older, Susan Lorraine Lundry

Dissertations

Human beings have spent much time and effort in trying to understand themselves, others, and their world. Mankind uses intellect when trying to understand life but the majority of people continue to encounter frustration, confusion, and a variety of obstacles when dealing with daily challenges and people. Theorists and researchers understand that successful existence requires more than mere knowledge; it requires a level of understanding, a form of wisdom foreign to the bulk of the populace. The missing ingredient for this kind of wisdom is the ability to ‘know thyself,’ which is the beginning of establishing a higher level of …

Exploring The Factors Of Persistence For African American Senior Nursing Students, Yolanda Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

African American nursing students experience commonalities within their college experience. Often these students may be faced with challenges, barriers, and/or struggles that may place a hindrance on their success in meeting their educational goals. This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to explore African American female nursing students perceptions of faculty-student relationships and its implications for persistence. Four African American female nursing students and two nursing faculty agreed to participate in this study. This research study offers an examination of past and present research regarding the history of African American nursing students, health disparity, social justice and diversity within the …

Police Contacts And Attitudes Toward Police: A Study Of Race And Policing, Gary Portway

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The way in which police officers engage with general society is often under meticulous watch by countless amounts of citizens. The United States – at an unprecedented point in regards to technological advancement and education – expedites such meticulous watch in a way that it often becomes noticeable criticism. Strategies of policing such as New York City’s “stop-and-frisk” policy have ignited much criticism of police, and have caused the need for many general improvements to the way in which police facilitate. Since the structure of policing often shifts based on changes within general society, it has become a common standard …

2015-12-18-Etsu Names Pat Robertson Award Winners, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

Accent [newsletter]

No abstract provided.

2015-12-18-Mehta Honored For Service To State As Tb Physician, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

Accent [newsletter]

No abstract provided.

2015-12-18-Giant Mastodont Skeleton Discovered At Gray Fossil Site, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

Accent [newsletter]

No abstract provided.

2015-12-18-Ethnomusicologist To Serve As Basler Chairholder In Spring 2016, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

Accent [newsletter]

No abstract provided.

2015-12-18-Etsu Researcher Funded For Study Of Insect Diapause, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

Accent [newsletter]

No abstract provided.

2015-12-18-Professor Visits Nation’S Capital To Discuss Rural Public Health, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

Accent [newsletter]

No abstract provided.

2015-12-18-New Employees, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

Accent [newsletter]

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Dean, Julia Rholes

University of Mississippi News

No abstract provided.

Designing A Care Delivery System Through Interprofessional Coordinated Care In A Medical Neighborhood Setting, Diane P. Kelly

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Abstract

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) has two significant aims: to improve the quality of healthcare and in doing so, to lower the cost of healthcare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and mental health, which in 2005 affected nearly one of every two Americans, continues to increase (CDC, 2010). Chronic health conditions and lack of access to care are both national and local concerns. These challenges will require the exploration of new models for the delivery of care, as needs shift over time …

Development And Implementation Of A Violence Risk Assessment Tool, Mira Aidasani-Diwata

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

The purpose of this quality improvement project was to provide a means to effectively assess patients as they are admitted to the hospitals and to effectively communicate a patient’s violent tendencies within the healthcare setting. Workplace violence is a serious problem that affects all healthcare professionals. Although serious assaults and homicides attract more media attention, the majority of workplace violence consists of non-fatal assaults. Nurses, aides, and patient care technicians suffer the most non-fatal assaults resulting in injury. Due to the growing incidence of assault and injury among healthcare workers, some states are calling for additional study on workplace violence. …

Building A Framework For Professional Nursing Practice Across The Continuum Of Care, Elizabeth S. Bigby

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Nursing professional practice models are designed to unite and align nurses under one vision, set of values, and a professional practice model. The goal of this project was to implement and enculturate a professional practice model of nursing with assistant nurse managers and leaders across the continuum of care at an urban medical center and associated ambulatory medical offices. Staff engagement has been shown to improve satisfaction and decrease turnover and implementation and enculturation of a professional practice model improves engagement. The target population was nurse managers and leaders as they needed to embrace professional practice before the project was …

Patient-Reported Outcomes Screening For Improved Patient Wellness: A Cancer Center Initiative, Alison Morris

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Background: People experiencing serious illness have significant unmet physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. The Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) requires patients to be screened for emotional wellbeing and pain by their second oncology visit. This project details one cancer center’s quality improvement initiative to (a) implement electronic screening of every cancer patient by their second oncology visit, (b) design processes for ongoing assessment and intervention of need(s), and (c) develop measurable and sustainable evaluation metrics to ensure that palliative care needs are met. Methods: In June 2015, we launched electronic collection of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) using the Patient Reported …

Improving The Patient Experience By Implementing Patient-Centered Care In A Community Hospital, Richard A. Billingsley Dnp, Mha, Rn

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Health care is a complex business currently undergoing extensive reform. These changes require new methods of care deliver and ways in which health care organizations are operating. At the forefront of this change effort is the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is transforming health care from a volume-based, fee-for-service process to the delivery of services that have value, improve quality outcomes, increase satisfaction, elicit greater efficiency, demonstrate improved safety outcomes, show cost-effectiveness, promote better access to services, and result in high reliability between providers and organizations. The goal of providing a more positive health care experience is …

Outrage Is The New Black, Derek R. Scancarelli

Capstones

In 1964, legendary comedian Lenny Bruce was brought to court on an obscenity charge after years and repeated arrests for using what was then deemed to be sexually vulgar language. Despite the testimony of fellow artists and intellectuals (Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, James Baldwin), Bruce was convicted. The symbolism of what Bruce stood for is way more important than the four months he consequently spent in a workhouse. It proved that comedy has the power to shake the system- make people challenge authority and question the value of parallel thinking. Now – in 2015 – America is obsessed with outrage. …

A Population Health Approach For Community Health Improvement, Sandra Gregg

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Providence Health & Services (Providence), a not-for-profit Catholic health care system serving five western states, established an organizational vision of Creating healthier communities, together (Providence Health & Services, 2014). This vision served as the catalyst for the alignment of divisional initiatives to positively impact community health status. To effectively achieve its vision, the organization committed to the incorporation of population health principles in the development of an infrastructure to expand the reach and impact of community investments, along with the establishment of effective processes for inter-divisional collaboration and compliance with community benefit mandates. Thus, in 2015, Providence established a community …

Caution: Line-Of-Sight In Icu Designs, Diane C. Bartos

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

It has been estimated that by the end of 2015, the U.S. will spend approximately $200 billion in new healthcare facilities construction. Infection prevention, patient and family satisfaction, and technologies influence contemporary designs of critical care units. All of these impacts have created larger patient care units, with a majority of single patient rooms. These larger spaces have created challenges for the clinicians to maintain the line-of-sight. The line-of-sight is one tool clinicians often use to maintain patient safety.

Since the seminal publication by the Institute of Medicine in 1999, patient safety concerns have escalated after revealing numerous deaths in …

The Role Of A Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner As Part Of A Mobile Health Unit For The Homeless Population, Joan Alviar Fraino

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

An estimated 2.3 to 3.5 million people are homeless in the U.S., often living with chronic medical and mental illnesses. The underserved population, such as the homeless, continues to experience gaps in services, resulting in poor healthcare outcomes and readmission to the hospital setting. They often present in crisis through the emergency room, contributing to an already overburdened healthcare system. Increased spending and overutilization of healthcare services continues to rise in the United States (U.S.). Due in part to advancements in technology and expanded health insurance coverage, American healthcare continues be one of the most expensive commodities in the U.S. …

The Creation And Implementation Of Guidelines For The Appropriate Termination Of Patient-Provider Relationships, Rowena D. Nolasco

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Primary care providers have terminated patient-provider relationships when they deem them no longer therapeutic. Healthcare providers are increasingly considering this an acceptable practice. However, the criteria for this decision remain unclear. As providers discharge challenging or difficult patients from their practices, questions to support this decision arise. Discharged patients face displacement and healthcare is disrupted. This project will (a) describe problematic patient-provider relationships and its effects, (b) identify possible alternatives to the firing of patients, (c) list appropriate reasons for termination, and (d) present recommended procedures to avoid allegations of medical abandonment. The project's product is an Appropriate Discharge or …

Impetus To Transform: Essential Nursing Leadership Development Through Simulation, Mary J. Mette

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Abstract

A nurse manager’s ability to effect positive change and inspire others to higher levels of achievement is related to his or her leadership style in the practice setting, as well as the culture present in the organization as a whole. The aim of this Doctor of Nursing evidence-based change in practice project was to create an educational modality that supported training nurse leaders through innovation and creative problem solving in today’s acute healthcare setting.

A survey was administered to 48 frontline managers in a Northern California healthcare system to access the gaps and voids in their ability to integrate …

The Impact Of A Common Approach To Instruction Within A Nebraska Rural School District, Bret Allan Schroder

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the instructional understanding and effectiveness of a district wide implementation of a Common Approach to Instruction. This research study provided a greater understanding of the affects that such an implementation had on certified staff regardless of grade level, experience, subject, or gender.

This explanatory, sequential, mixed methods study was conducted during the summer, spring, and fall of 2014-2015. The study initially gathered data using an online survey, based on Marzano’s 41 instructional elements, in a single class-B school district in Nebraska. All certified staff members within this school district were …

Bowling For No Reason, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Are you ready for some football? Are you ready for some mediocre football? Are you ready to watch teams that couldn’t break even have their time in the spotlight at some nondescript bowl game?

Examining Employee Knowledge Of The Jennie Edmundson Hospital Active Shooter Policy, Mallory W. Darais

Theses & Dissertations

Nationally, there has been a large increase in the number of active shooter events within healthcare facilities such as hospitals. Due to this increase, government organizations have recently released documents to guide healthcare facilities on implementing active shooter policies and updating emergency operation plans. Currently, recommendations from government entities such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security suggest the “Run, Hide, Fight” approach during an active shooter incident. Jennie Edmundson Hospital, located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and affiliated with the Methodist Health System, currently has an active shooter policy in place. Data was collected from …

Improving Influenza Compliance Using A Reminder System, Beverly N. Motta

Master's Projects and Capstones

Objective: The clinical nurse leader project was to incorporate a reminder system to improve influenza compliance as the large metropolitan hospital is undergoing a decrease in the compliance of screening hospitalized at discharge. Improving the influenza compliance using a reminder system will assist healthcare professionals in implementing a structured screening process, administration of the vaccine, reminders of the importance of vaccination, and provide a standard for the healthcare team to follow. Methods: Create a reminder poster for medical-surgical units to remind nursing staff about influenza season and to vaccinate patients. Nursing rounds were incorporated to remind and educate nurses that …

Supplementing Esl Classroom Activities With Social Media For Young Adult Learners, Clair M. Yeo

Master's Projects and Capstones

The classroom material currently utilized in English as a second language (ESL) classrooms is often disconnected from the real world. Publishers of ESL instructional materials often attempt to bridge this gap by including topics on popular news, films, songs, and famous persons at the time of printing. However, these are often outdated as quickly as they can be printed. As such, many ESL teachers face the challenge of keeping ESL classroom material relevant to the real world while seeking to maintain students’ interests in what they are learning.

The purpose of the project is to make use of social networking …

Fall Reduction With Nursing Interventions, Sin Ting Chan

Master's Projects and Capstones

The aim of the project is to reduce the patient’s fall rate in the medical surgical unit at an acute care hospital through improving the fall precaution process. The unit consists of 37 bed with a population of stroke, medical, and surgical patients. The focus of the nursing staff education using handouts, brochures, and poster will be based on the results from pre and post intervention audits. The goal of this fall reduction project is to have the nursing staff learn, review, and apply fall prevention interventions for fall risk patients in order to help reduce fall rate by 50 …

Digital Lessons For Enhancing Communicative Skills: A Handbook For Turkish Efl Teachers, Hale H. Demirel

Master's Projects and Capstones

It is necessary for English teachers who are interested in exposing their students to the authentic and communicative use of English to have access to model instructional materials. This project sought to develop a handbook and an accompanying website for teachers of English working with intermediate ESL/EFL students at university level. The handbook includes two theme-based lessons that emphasize the development of communicative competence with the help of engaging free digital tools. The content of the handbook can be improvised or modified and adapted to meet the needs of unique teaching-learning situations in case of need.