Digital Commons Network^™

Suicide Prevention Strategies In Tennessee Community Colleges: A Case Study, Sandra Perley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students; annually approximately 1,100 students in institutions of higher education die by suicide. However, most research related to college student suicide was conducted using the sample of 4-year institutions. Community colleges have seldom been included in the sample of suicide research studies. This qualitative case study research explored the student suicide prevention strategies in the 13 community colleges in the Tennessee Board of Regents higher education system. Data were collected from surveys, institutional web sites, and interviews with institutional personnel.

Approximately half of the institutions offer suicide prevention information to …

Teacher Well-Being And Virginia Standards Of Learning, Matthew W. Mccarty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) were created by the Virginia Department of Education as a method to assess student learning. The SOLs were implemented in the mid-1990s and were used as end of grade and end of course assessments for grades 3-8 and secondary courses. The SOLs have taken on a foundational role within the Virginia public schools as they now count toward student graduation and teacher evaluation. Virginia now uses a teacher evaluation system that is in large part based upon student performance on the SOL assessments. This evaluation system is in place in all public school divisions …

Predicting Desired Outcomes From Applicants’ Medical School Admission Data, Mark D. Linville Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Medical schools in the United States serve to train the next generation of physicians, admitting students who will continue to advance each school’s mission. Admission committees are tasked with identifying those candidates who will be successful academically and who promote the objectives of the school with respect to mission. The Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University in northeast Tennessee seeks to attract and retain physicians with an interest in rural and primary care medicine. A total of 630 students were included in this study representing classes from 2001 to 2011. This study examined admissions data including MCAT …

An Examination Of The Perceptions Of Traditional And Nontraditional Student Engagement At Northeast State Community College, Barbara J. Lowe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student engagement and overall satisfaction of traditional and nontraditional students at the community college level at Northeast State Community College.

Three professors, 2 staff, 2 administrators, 5 traditional students, and 5 nontraditional students from Northeast State Community College comprised the sample for the study. A descriptive case study was the qualitative approach used. Data were collected in individual in-depth interviews with participants.

The findings of this study could provide community college administrators, staff and faculty with an understanding of traditional and nontraditional students’ engagement and satisfaction and experiences on …

Characterization Of Sbip68: A Putative Tobacco Glucosyltransferase Protein And Its Role In Plant Defense Mechanisms, Abdulkareem O. Odesina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plant secondary metabolites are essential for normal growth and development in plants ultimately affecting crop yield. They play roles ranging from appearance of the plants to defending against pathogen attack and herbivory. They have been used by humans for medicinal and recreational purposes amongst others. Glycosyltransferases catalyze the transfer of sugars from donor substrates to acceptors. Glucosyltransferases are a specific type of glycosyltransferases known to transfer glucose molecules from a glucose donor to a glucose acceptor (aglycone) producing the corresponding glucose secondary metabolite or glycone, in this case glucosides. It was hypothesized that SBIP68, a tobacco putative glucosyltransferase-like protein glucosylated …

Shifts In Ritual Response To Loss Due To Death: An Assessment Of Funeral Service Mourning Trends Over Time, Lawrence D. Childress

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bereavement, while universal, is experienced and expressed uniquely; it is both ultimate and particular. As the predominant social expression of grief, funerals are purported to be waning and/or transitioning to emergent, less conventional ceremonial forms. In this research, the possible salutary utility of funerals is outlined, and trends relative to the cost, nature (type), and prevalence of funeral services are examined relative to an extant data set from two funeral homes of shared ownership in northeast Tennessee. This data analysis of specific funeral trends in south central Appalachia is juxtaposed against the broader backdrop of current theoretical, clinical, and socio-cultural …

Self-Efficacy And Teacher Retention: Perception Of Novice Teachers On Job Preparation, Job Support, And Job Satisfaction, Suzanne F. Redman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of novice teachers in 1 school district regarding their professional experiences. Novice teacher was defined as someone with 5 years or fewer in the teaching profession. The study was of an emergent design using phenomenological qualitative methods that included face-to-face interviews, triangulation of information, and analyzation with specific adherence given to understanding the social phenomena of the lived experience from the participants’ perspectives. Specifically, the study addressed possible relationships between novice teachers’ experiences and perceptions of success and self-efficacy that contribute to their choice of continuing in the profession …

“Looks Can Be Deceiving”: Adrenal Teratoma Causing Diagnostic Difficulty, Mehwash Nadeem, Muhammad Hammad Ather, M Nasir Sulaiman, Shahid Pervez

Department of Surgery Docs

Teratomas are unusual tumours that derived from totipotent cells with their origin from more than one or usually all three germ cells. Here authors are presenting a case of primary retroperitoneal tumour that is a rare clinical entity. A 19-year-old male presented with right lumbar pain and was found to have complex cyst with large calcification in right adrenal gland on imaging. Intraoperatively, he was found to have a solid mass with areas of soft consistency, which was excised en bloc. On gross examination, the cyst contained pieces of bone, few teeth, and hairs entangled in mucinous material. On histological …

The Role Of Autonomy In The Physician-Patient Relationship, Rachel N. Wagner

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Maintaining the proper physician-patient relationship in health care is vital to the well-being of patients, especially when considering end of life decisions such as euthanasia. Because this topic has been in the forefront of media in recent years, there appears to be a need to understand how the relationship between physician and patient works in these practical situations, as well as understand what the most appropriate model of patient care is in regards to maintaining patient autonomy. However, before this can be done this paper will begin with a brief look at the overall permissibility of euthanasia, using the arguments …

The Relationship Between Pass Completion Percentage And Perceived Player Workload In Ncaa Division I Women's Soccer, Alexa L. Passingham

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In an attempt to demonstrate the interconnecting nature of the pillars of sport (Hacker, 2000) this thesis explores the relationship between physical, psychological and technical variables. Five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Women’s Soccer players were analyzed in four conference matches. The athlete's rate of perceived exertion (RPE) values were correlated to pass completion percentages (PC%) to investigate the potential effect that psychological satisfaction or dissatisfaction of technical performance has on perceived exertion ratings. PlayerLoad^TM (PL) values, gathered through the utilization of a Catapult Minimax S4 GPS device (miniMax-10 Hz, Catapult Innovations, Melbourne, Australia), were used as …

A Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Model For Vancomycin, Rebekah White

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Vancomycin is an antibiotic used for the treatment of systemic infections. It is given

intravenously usually every twelve or twenty-four hours. This particular drug has a

medium level of boundedness, with approximately fty percent of the drug being free

and thus physiologically eective. A physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK)

model was used to better understand the absorption, distribution, and elimination of

the drug. Using optimal parameters, the model could be used in the future to test

how various factors, such as BMI or excretion levels, might aect the concentration

of the antibiotic.

Life In The Lgbtq+ Community: Protective Factors Against Depression In The Community And In Everyday Life, Kristen Paris

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

In this study, we examined potential protective factors against depression in the LGBTQ+ community by determining whether outness, self-esteem, perceived social support, life meaning, courage to challenge or resilience/hardiness, life satisfaction, and hope were correlated with less depression. There were 149 participants in the study, 38 of whom identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community, and 107 of whom identified as heterosexual. Participants completed an online survey that took approximately 30 minutes. It was predicted that protective factors would be negatively related to depression. Results of both correlation and regression analyses revealed no significant relations between protective factors and …

Evaluating The Impacts Of Respondent Errors In Arms: A Case Of Farm Service Agency Loans, Louise Nicole Mcminn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many studies have used the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) to research various aspects involving the agricultural sector in the United States. Since nonresponse and inaccurate reporting may cause significant bias in statistical analysis, research was conducted to determine the magnitude of response error on the farm debt section of the ARMS Phase III. A multinomial logit model identified demographic, structural, and financial characteristics of FSA Farm Loan Program (FLP) borrowers who refused to indicate if they had end of year farm debt, or who accurately or inaccurately classified their farm operations as having end …

Creando Las Estrellas: Determining The Quality Of The Dominican And Cuban Player Development Systems, Samuel C. Hearn

Honors Theses

Recently, there has been a huge rise in the number of Cuban ballplayers, or peloteros, as the baseball playing Latinos are known. Why do Major League Baseball (MLB) teams go to such lengths to sign Cubans, when a heavy presence already exists in Cuba’s Caribbean neighbor, the Dominican Republic? Through the comparison educational systems, statistics of each country’s elite players, and comparative accounts of the Dominican and Cuban player development systems, the contrast between the two systems is evident. Though the Dominican system creates a large return in the investment MLB teams make in the country, the socialized sport system …

Overcoming Barriers To Assist Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities Obtain Employment Outcomes, Cassandra A. Payne

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Age And Undergraduate College On Physical Activity Habits And Alcohol Use, Adam Sparks

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Psychoeducational Approach To Transcendence And Health (Path) Program : An Intervention To Foster Self-Transcendence And Well-Being In Community-Dwelling Older Adults., Valerie Lander Mccarthy, Sharon Bowland, Lynne A. Hall, Jennifer Connelly

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The late-life developmental process of self-transcendence shapes elders’ perspectives on self, others, the nature of this world, and of a dimension beyond the here and now. This qualitative pilot study evaluated the Psychoeducational Approach to Transcendence and Health (PATH) Program, a psychoeducational intervention to promote self-transcendence and well-being in community-dwelling women at a senior center. The intervention involved eight weekly group sessions using group processes, mindfulness practices, creative experiences, and independent at-home practice. The findings supported the underlying theory-based structure and content of the intervention and indicated the intervention may empower elders to attend to self-care, develop acceptance, and learn …

Universal Health Coverage Assessment Pakistan, Muhammad Ashar Malik

Community Health Sciences

No abstract provided.

Are Pre-School Girls More Likely To Be Under-Nourished In Rural Thatta, Pakistan?-A Cross-Sectional Study., Rozina Nuruddin, Wilbur C. Hadden

Community Health Sciences

BACKGROUND:

Pakistan ranks third lowest on a global gender index (2013) and 13(th) highest on the prevalence of underweight among under-five children (2010). Through this population-based study, we examined gender differentials in the prevalence of stunting, wasting and under-weight defined by World Health Organization (WHO) Growth Standard among rural pre-school Pakistani children.

METHODS:

We performed secondary analysis of data collected through a cross-sectional survey of Thatta district during 1992-93. Prevalence ratios were calculated for 1051 children aged 0-35 months from 95 randomly selected villages of rural Pakistan using a clustered adjusted log binomial model. Level 1 variables included child and …

The Impact Of A Classroom-Based Physical Activity Program On Teachers' Perceptions Of Student Engagement, Courtney Lynn Doussett

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to apply a mixed-methods approach using an exploratory case study design to identify the impacts of a physical activity intervention program on student engagement in an elementary school setting. This exploratory case study research examined teachers’ perceptions of student engagement prior to and following implementation of a classroom-based physical activity intervention program, ABC for Fitness. Participants completed the Teacher Assessment of Student Engagement survey of student engagement and behavior, participated in an ABC for Fitness workshop, semi-structured interviews, a question and answer session, a mid-point check-in, and completed daily written behavior incident logs. Results …

Structural Damage Assessment Using Artificial Neural Networks And Artificial Immune Systems, Arthur Q.X. Shi

Master's Theses

Structural health monitoring (SHM) systems have been technologically advancing over the past few years. Improvements in fabrication and microelectronics allow the development of highly sophisticated sensor arrays, capable of detecting and transmitting an unprecedented amount of data. As the complexity of the hardware increases, research has been performed in developing the means to best utilize and effectively process the data. Algorithms from other computational fields are being introduced for the first time into SHM systems. Among them, the artificial neural network (ANN) and artificial immune systems (AIS) show great potential. In this thesis, features are extracted out of the acceleration …

Digestibility Of Two Complete Pelleted Diets By The Horse (Equus Caballus) As A Model Animal For Nondomestic Hindgut Fermenters, Emily M. Schwartz

Master's Theses

Estimating nutrient and energy requirements of exotic animals is a necessary component of nutrition management in zoos and other wildlife facilities. In the absence of species-specific data, domestic animal models are often referenced. Herbivorous hindgut fermenters, such as horses, zebra, and rhinoceros, rely on microbial fermentation in the cecum and colon to utilize dietary structural carbohydrates. The study objective was to measure the digestible energy of two (LOW, HIGH) complete pelleted diets by the horse as a model for nondomestic hindgut fermenters. Seven, individually housed, adult Quarter Horse (Equus caballus) geldings were assigned to one of two diets as 100% …

Ergonomics Analysis Of Touchscreen Utilization As A Function Of Preferred Hand And Gender, Jordan E. Odell

Master's Theses

The growth of touchscreen technology has changed the way users interface with a wide range of computing and communication products and systems. Examples range from personal tablets and laptops to industrial applications such as process control, point-of-sales, and ticketing kiosk systems. An important area of application is the automobile industry which is designing cars with touchscreen control panels to replace the previously designed mechanical knobs and buttons. However, interacting with touchscreens does not provide the same tactile feedback as physical mechanisms, therefore they require more precise movement and visual attention, which distracts the user from the primary task.

The purpose …

Identifying And Predicting Rat Behavior Using Neural Networks, Jonathan A. Gettner

Master's Theses

The hippocampus is known to play a critical role in episodic memory function. Understanding the relation between electrophysiological activity in a rat hippocampus and rat behavior may be helpful in studying pathological diseases that corrupt electrical signaling in the hippocampus, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Additionally, having a method to interpret rat behaviors from neural activity may help in understanding the dynamics of rat neural activity that are associated with certain identified behaviors.

In this thesis, neural networks are used as a black-box model to map electrophysiological data, representative of an ensemble of neurons in the hippocampus, to a T-maze, …

Inductive Monitoring Systems: A Cubesat Ground-Based Prototype, Michelle Haddock

Master's Theses

Inductive Monitoring Systems (IMS) are the newest form of health monitoring available to the aerospace industry. IMS is a program that builds a knowledge base of nominal state vectors from a nominal data set using data mining techniques. The nominal knowledge base is then used to monitor new data vectors for off-nominal conditions within the system. IMS is designed to replace the current health monitoring process, referred to as model-based reasoning, by automating the process of classifying healthy states and anomaly detection. An IMS prototype was designed and implemented in MATLAB. A verification analysis then determined if the IMS program …

Predicting Invasive Range Of Eucalyptus Globulus In California, Anthony J. Lopez

Master's Theses

Eucalyptus globulus is the subject of intense debate in California. Its invasive potential, aggressive growth, reproductive biology, and association with fire make the prediction of spread important in California. Two modeling simulations, Climex and Maxent, will illustrate the distribution and potential growth range of E. globulus in California based on climate and presence. Modeling the potential range of growth will predict invasive spread. The anticipated result is the continued spread of E. globulus in coastal regions with adequate moisture and suitable climate. Predicting the range of E. globulus in California dictates management strategy and is key for preventing further introduction, …

Bit By Bit: Using Design-Based Research To Improve The Health Literacy Of Adolescents, Mega Subramaniam, Beth St. Jean, Natalie Greene Taylor, Christie Kodama, Rebecca Follman, Dana Casciotti

School of Information Faculty Publications

Background: Although a low health literacy level has been found to be among the most powerful predictors of poor health outcomes, there is very little research focused on assessing and improving the health literacy skills of adolescents, particularly those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. The vast majority of existing research focuses solely on reading comprehension, despite the fact that health literacy is actually a multifaceted concept, which entails many different types of skills.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to first mine existing literature to identify the many different skills that have been posited to constitute health literacy, and then, …

Baby Mama: Appellate Court Declares Sherri Shepherd Is The Legal Mother Of A Child Born To Her Via Surrogate, Joanna L. Grossman

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Although surrogacy ostensibly dates to biblical days—Abraham and Sarah’s handmaiden, Hagar, for example—it is quintessentially a modern path to parenthood. In its initial iteration, so-called traditional surrogacy, the arrangement called for artificial insemination of the surrogate carrier with sperm from the intended father, whose wife provided no genetic material but was the intended mother and a party to the contract. As reproductive technology advanced, and in vitro fertilization was first developed and then improved, a new type of surrogacy became the norm. With gestational surrogacy, the carrier provides only the womb, while both egg and sperm come from the intended …

Taking A Stand On Standing: The Third Circuit Widens The Circuit Split By Narrowing Private Antitrust Standing Under The "Consumer-Or-Competitor" Test, Elizabeth Giordano

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Bragging Rights Restored: The Third Circuit Allows Attorneys To Quote Complimentary Remarks From Judicial Opinions For Advertising In Dwyer V. Cappell, Nicole Holden

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.