Digital Commons Network^™

Self-Management Interventions To Improve Skin Care For Pressure Ulcer Prevention In People With Spinal Cord Injuries: A Systematic Review Protocol, J Baron, J Swaine, J Presseau, A Aspinall, S Jaglal, B White, D Wolfe, J Grimshaw

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Pressure ulcers are a serious, common, lifelong, and costly secondary complication of spinal cord injury (SCI). Community-dwelling people with a SCI can prevent them with appropriate skin care (i.e. pressure relieving activities, skin checks). Adherence to skin care remains suboptimal however, and self-management interventions that focus on improving this have been designed. Little is known on their content, effectiveness, or theoretical basis. The aim of the proposed systematic review is to synthesize the literature on self-management interventions to improve skin care in people with a SCI. Specific objectives are to describe these interventions in relation to their content, effectiveness, …

Investigating Community Perspectives On Falls Prevention Information Seeking And Delivery: Older Person Perceptions Regarding Preferences For Falls Prevention Education Using A World Cafe Approach, C Bulsara, L Khong, A Hill, K Hill

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Falls among older people are a significant global socioeconomic problem, and older adults have low levels of self-perceived risk and a lack of willingness to take up existing falls prevention strategies. We believe that given the challenges of delivering falls prevention information, meaningful engagement of community members would create solutions based on an understanding of what would work best for that community. A World Cafe community forum sought the opinions of 70 community-dwelling older people about their preferences on how they would best receive and seek falls prevention information that could prevent falls within their age group. Participants evaluated the …

Models For Community Based Day Care For Older People: A Narrative Review, C Bulsara, C Etherton-Beer, R Saunders

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Objectives: Older Australians are choosing to live within the community and there are a number of initiatives to enable this sector of the population to do so for longer. In an effort to ensure that they remain both physically and psychologically engaged, one initiative has been to provide community based day care (CBDC).

Method: A narrative review was undertaken through searching MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus, Scopus and AgeInfo using keywords related to facility related, target group related and purpose/program of CBDC services.

Results: Results indicated that there is a much research investigating different approaches but little consensus regarding the optimal delivery …

Graduate Catalog, Georgia Southern University

Graduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Promoting Bullying Prevention And Intervention Through Forgiveness Education, Amy Gregory

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

There is growing recognition of the severe, adverse long-term effects that bullying behaviors have, on the victims or on bullies. Although there are many existing anti-bullying programs that are designed to counteract both the behaviors and their potential long-term negative effects, forgiveness education programs may also be used to help create a positive school climate in which bullies can take responsibility for their behaviors and begin to reintegrate into the social fabric of the school. The purpose of this research proposal is to examine the effects of the International Forgiveness Institute's (IFI) forgiveness education curriculum in comparison to an anti-bullying …

“You Can't Ever Find A Place That's Nice And Peaceful”: The Adolescent Identity In J. D. Salinger’S The Catcher In The Rye, Whitney Thacker

Masters Theses

Many consider The Catcher in the Rye the most poignant and popular story of adolescence in American literature, challenged only perhaps by Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Reading reviews, examining the public reception, and uncovering depths of research would evidence this well. However, the value of the novel rests not in its popularity—a simple sign of its inherent value—but in its ability to resonate truth. More than merely telling a story, Salinger creates a life, or at the very least a glimpse of a life, through the actions and attitude of his ornery adolescent character Holden Caulfield. This …

Case Study: Moral And Ethical Decisions Some Students Make Pursuing Their Doctoral Degrees From Accredited For-Profit Universities, Anne Pinchera

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study is to identify issues some doctoral students face in obtaining their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from accredited for-profit colleges and universities. The three participants attended for-profit universities in the past five years and failed to obtain their doctoral degrees. Data collection is through an initial demographics survey, qualification survey, vignettes, and the interview itself. Data analysis from the Coding Manual for Qualitative Research by Johnny Saldana is used to analyze the data collected from problems doctoral students encounter in pursuit of their doctoral degree (Saldana, 2013). The theoretical foundations for this project come …

Facilitating A Change Of Mind About Father God Through Mentoring Of The Fatherless, Stephen Madosky

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The consensus of published research has proven beyond question that fatherlessness is a crisis in America. Textbooks and autobiographies have covered and reported the statistical effects of fatherlessness; nonetheless, there is far less literature dealing with the solution of fatherlessness and even less literature from Church scholars on how the Church may participate in its correction. This thesis presents an understanding of fatherlessness and proposes a resolution to act on behalf of fatherless children. The resolution will be comprised in preparing Church leaders to equip Church laity to understand and to minister to the fatherless in their affliction effectively.

Up Close And Personal : Examining The Role Race Plays In Public Perceptions Of Law Enforcement, Olivia K. Thompson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Perceived racial biases of police officers may impact encounters with Blacks and negatively impact relations between Black communities and police officers. Understanding factors that influence public perceptions of law enforcement may help researchers and policy makers target intervention programs to improve relations. This study examined the role race plays in public perceptions of a routine traffic stop and local local law enforcement. White and Black participants, recruited at public places in a midsize city in Iowa, read a vignette about a Black or White individual who was pulled over by a White police officer. Participants then answered questions regarding whether …

Lingual Pressure Generation In Relation To Saliva And Water Swallowing In Healthy Young Adults, Anna Joerger

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Lingual strength and swallowing pressures have been studied extensively in dysphagia rehabilitation literature; however, little research has considered how lingual pressure generation may relate to parameters of swallowing speed and endurance. Additionally, little is known about the ability of the tongue to generate pressure to a given target, known as lingual control. This project collected measures of lingual pressure and measures of swallowing speed and endurance in 10 healthy, young adults. Specifically it explored if lingual strength or control of the anterior and posterior tongue correlate with endurance or speed during saliva and water swallowing tasks. Significant relations among lingual …

Using One-To-One Computing For Differentiated Instruction In Iowa: An Investigation Of The Impact Of Teachers' Perceptions Of Teaching And Learning, Jodi A. Bermel

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The 1983 seminal work entitled A Nation at Risk recommended that all high school graduates be proficient in the Five New Basics: English, mathematics, science, social studies, and computer science. To address the No Child Left Behind mandates, educators and administrators are evaluating the theory and practice of Differentiated Instruction (DI). One-to-one computer initiatives became an element of DI strategy due to the well-documented advantages in the use of technology to address individual learning needs. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine administrators’ and teachers’ perceptions of using one-to-one computing to differentiate instruction and to identify potential …

"Joy For What It Is": Narratives Of Two Mothers On Raising Their Children With Disabilities, Zeina H. Yousof

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of two mothers of children with disabilities on parenting their children and navigating the world of disabilities. For many parents, the diagnosis of a child with disabilities represents a form of interpersonal loss through the loss of the imagined child. Mothers are often identified as the primary caregivers of their children with disabilities and are often at the front-end of seeking, providing, and advocating for medical, education, and social services.

Employing qualitative research methods, autoethnography and narrative inquiry were used to reveal the mothers’ experiences. Through conversational interviews and journaling, …

By Practitioners, For Practitioners: Informing And Empowering Practice Through Practitioner Research, Cordelia D. Zinskie, Dan W. Rea

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Journal

The National Youth-At-Risk Journal was developed to provide meaningful information and resources for professionals who work with youth placed at risk. In order to further this goal, we are calling on practitioners to communicate directly with their colleagues via the journal. We are especially interested in publishing practitioner reports on effective programs, strategies, or interventions that improve both the practice and well-being of youth. The editors provide an overview of practitioner research, describe three approaches to practitioner research, outline the process for conducting practitioner research, and emphasize the role of practitioner-researchers as agents of change. Resources are provided to assist …

Understanding Forced Sex During Adolescence: An Exploratory Study Of Risk And Protective Factors, Moya L. Alfonso, Robert L. Vogel, Akrati Gupta, Karmen S. Williams

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Journal

The overall purpose of this study was to explore predictors of forced sex among a sample of middle school students. Youth Risk Behavior Surveys were distributed to middle school youth in southeast Florida. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID), and logistic regression. In the final CHAID model, the segment most at risk was comprised of youth who had been harassed for being gay, lesbian, or bisexual and youth who had experienced dating violence. Past exposure with violence yielded the highest association with forced sex. Moreover, having multiple sexual partners, use of prescription drugs, and experiencing …

Idling Women: The Domestic Bildungsroman And The American City, 1830-1900, Jordan L. Von Cannon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In Idling Women: The Domestic Bildungsroman and the American City, 1830-1900, I explore urban narratives of female non-development. In city novels featuring female protagonists, there are two normative arcs of development: either women find new opportunities for marriage, work, and, in some cases, independence in the city, or they fall prey to threats of seduction, poverty, and even death. However, these two plotlines fail to accommodate stories of women who wait to develop, fail at it, or otherwise resist what might be considered character growth. By problematizing distinctions between idleness and the American “work ethic” often tied to the industrialized …

There’S A Skid Row Everywhere, And This Is Just The Headquarters: Impacts Of Urban Revitalization Policies In The Homeless Community Of Skid Row, Douglas Mungin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation tracks the historical shift from containment strategies for managing homeless populations in Skid Row to current strategies of using police and the penal system to periodically sweep the street of these unwanted bodies. This shift hinges on the construction of homelessness as a crisis requiring immediate and ongoing intervention. First, the state produces and reproduces homelessness as a state of crisis by withdrawing or denying support and public services and disallowing alternative, subsistence modes of survival. Then, it issues the performative utterance of the area as unclean or unsanitary. Developers and city officials mobilize the police to erase …

Factors Influencing The Perceived Effectiveness Of The Transition Assistance Program Among Exiting Military Servicemembers At Military Installations In Louisiana, Timothy L. Rose

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As proven in the aftermath of World War II, whenever the U.S. government shifts its efforts from wartime mobilization to peacetime demobilization, the Department of Defense (DoD) faces the complex task of transitioning military personnel to civilian life. In March of 2015, the researcher began an exploratory evaluation of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) employment workshops. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected personal and professional demographic characteristics on the perceptions of the effectiveness of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) in accomplishing its stated purposes among exiting military servicemembers at military installations in Louisiana. …

How Do Social Norms Affect Physical Activity And Performance On An Endurance Task?, Keith David Randazzo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the extensive benefits associated with a physically active life style, less than 50% of US adults engage in recommended levels of physical activity (PA), so finding ways to structure environments to promote PA is an important concern. Social norms, conceptualized as an individual’s perception of peer behavior, provide a framework for exploring factors that influence decisions to be physically active. Although researchers have investigated how social norms influence a variety of behaviors, the PA domain has not been fully explored. The focus of this dissertation is to apply social norms theories to investigate how normative information influences PA intentions …

A Comparative Analysis Of Associate And Baccalaureate Degree Respiratory Therapy Programs' Preparation Of Graduates For Entry Into The Profession, Christine Sperle

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the factors that contribute to or detract from the educational preparation of graduates between associate (AD) and baccalaureate degree (BD) respiratory therapy programs through the use of graduate and employer survey ratings, Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credentialing success, and document analysis of various institutional and program mission, course content, and goals.

This study employed quantitative analyses to compare the perceptions of AD graduates and their employers with the perceptions of BD graduates and their employers regarding the educational program’s ability to prepare graduates for entry into the profession. Graduate …

Lived Experiences Of Freshman Students In Their First Semester Of College, Lisa Marie Burger

Theses and Dissertations

Why do some college students enter, persist, and successfully move through the educational system, while others lose their direction and leave college prior to achieving their academic goals? As students graduate from high school and enter a post-secondary educational environment, some are prepared for the experiences they will encounter, while others struggle through their first semester of enrollment as they attempt to make meaning of their life situations and transitions. This qualitative research study used Schlossberg’s (1981) Transition Theory as well as Baxter Magolda’s (2001) concept of self-reflection as a framework for discovery and understanding in an attempt to gain …

Motivations In Exercise, Amanda Dufner

Theses and Dissertations

College students exercise for a variety of reasons, but specific differences in their motivations and perceptions have not been extensively studied. PURPOSE: The main purpose was to see if students whose primary reason for exercise is to lose fat (FATCON), gain muscle mass (MUSC), or maintain health (HLTH) had differences in their exercise motivations, social physique anxiety, and body image self-perceptions.

A secondary purpose was to explore if the participants’ supplement use reflected their exercise priorities.

METHODS: Data were collected at a university Wellness Center, or from exercise classes. Participants (N = 216) completed a packet of four questionnaires: Multidimensional …

Spirituality And Student Engagement At A Small, Church-Related Private College, Hal Henry Haynes

Theses and Dissertations

The undergraduate collegiate years are filled with growth and development for students. As students experience and progress through their collegiate years, they are often confronted with difficult life questions, such as what is the meaning of life or why am I here? Oftentimes, the question is why do bad things happen? The purpose of this study is to better understand relationship between student engagement and spirituality.

Undergraduate students at a small, church-related private college in the Upper Midwest were surveyed in the Spring 2015 semester using the College Students’ Beliefs and Values Survey (CSBVS).

Alexander Astin’s I-E-O model was utilized …

Concealing Stigmatized Sexual Orientation, Accepting Versus Non-Accepting Attitudes, And Ego Depletion, Nicole Gigi Giordano

Theses and Dissertations

The current study was designed with the aim of increasing the understanding of

how concealing or disclosing a stigmatized sexual identity to a perceived accepting/non- accepting person affects ego depletion. Ego Depletion, (Baumeister, 1998) refers to the idea that certain tasks exhaust a limited pool of cognitive resources. Previous literature has explored how concealing a stigmatized identity is ego depleting; however, an examination of the relationship between ego depletion and the concealment of the specific identity as a sexual minority has not yet been explored. LGBQ individuals are often faced with the challenge of navigating social situations to determine if …

The Impact Of Trauma On Children’S Functioning And The Utility Of The Cbcl Ptsd Profile, Nicola Ashton Herting

Theses and Dissertations

The high rates of trauma exposure among children and adolescents is a major public health concern due to the many ways trauma can adversely impact cognitive, emotional, and social development and functioning. The high rates of comorbidity between posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and other mental health disorders translate to complex diagnostic pictures. When conducting psychological, educational, or neuropsychological evaluations it is therefore imperative that clinicians assess for trauma to accurately diagnose, but ultimately to ensure appropriate recommendations for treatment and interventions are made. Several challenges to screening and assessing PTSS among children and adolescents have prompted the identification of efficient …

Trauma History And Its Differential Relationship To Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder And Body Dysmorphic Disorder Symptomatology, Linda Renee Keenan

Theses and Dissertations

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are often severe and disabling psychiatric conditions. Many similarities have been noted between the two disorders, and it has been suggested that BDD may best be understood as existing along the OCD spectrum. Limited empirical evidence exists to suggest that childhood trauma history may be associated with both OCD and BDD symptomatology, but few studies have compared the two disorders directly in this regard. In addition, some research has indicated that OCD symptom dimensions are differentially related to specific types of trauma exposure. The goal of this study was to examine trauma …

The Protective Roles Of Primary And Secondary Control Strategies Among Familial Caregivers Of Older Adults With Dementia, Nicole Haverstock

Theses and Dissertations

Caring for an older family member with dementia can be extremely stressful, often resulting in diminished psychological health. Prior research has shown that a strong sense of control protects well-being during stressful times. Therefore, greater perceived control may serve to buffer the effects of stress on familial caregivers’ psychological health. According to control theorists (Heckhausen & Schulz, 1995; Rothbaum, Weisz, & Snyder, 1982), a general sense of control is maintained through a dual process involving direct attempts to change the environment (i.e., primary control strategies) and attempts to inwardly adjust cognitions to align with the environment (i.e., secondary control strategies). …

The Repertoire Of Understanding: The Linguistic Patterning Of Repetition And Alignment Within Supportive Conversations, Kaitlin Emily Cannava

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores a fundamental feature of all human interaction, behavioral coordination. Since early work on motor mimicry, scholars of human communication have invested tremendous energy to discover patterns of behavioral adaptation and the impact these patterns have on individual and relational outcomes. Outcomes such as individual health and well-being, as well as relationship satisfaction and divorce are all contingent on the ability to adapt and coordinate actions (Niederhoffer & Pennebaker, 2002; Stehl et al., 2008; Kulesza et al., 2013; Ireland et al., 2011). Several decades of research have advanced our understanding of specific characteristics of supportive messages and their …

Gender Differences In Factors Contributing To Frequency Of Victimization Among Youth In Residential Placement, Chelsey Hukriede

Theses and Dissertations

Violence and victimization are common aspects of life for incarcerated individuals, even youth, with a large majority of offenders reporting experiences of some form of victimization during their stay in custody. Routine activities theory argues that most criminal acts require a convergence of motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardianship. The purpose of this study is to explore quantitatively, facility and individual level factors that may affect experiences of robbery, physical and sexual assault victimization among youth in residential custody, and how these factors might vary by gender. To answer my research question, secondary data from The …

Risky Sexual Behaviors Among College Student Drinkers As A Function Of Drinking Motivation And Alcohol Use, Tess Mone't Kilwein

Theses and Dissertations

Risky sexual behaviors (e.g., sex without protection against pregnancy, sex with multiple partners) are common among college students. In order to decrease these behaviors, it is necessary to understand factors associated with their occurrence, such as alcohol use. Drinking motives are a known predictor of both alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences, which may theoretically include risky sex. However, no research has directly examined drinking motives as a predictor of engaging in a wide range of risky sexual behaviors. Thus, the current study examined whether drinking motives interact with alcohol use to predict risky sex among college students. One-hundred and eight …

Development And Validation Of The Partners’ Approval Of Nonsexual Extradyadic Behaviors Scale, Lindsay Frances Kujawa

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the emergent norm in U.S. society for partnered individuals across all sexual orientations to possess both same-sex and cross-sex friends (Weis & Felton, 1987), and the relative complexity that comes with having friends who belong to the sex to which one is sexually attracted, the field is lagging in its ability to measure and better understand individuals’ attitudes about their partners’ engagement in the various behaviors of which these friendships are comprised. The existing scales of extradyadic behaviors are largely measuring individuals’ attitudes about engagement in sexual behaviors with cross-sex friends within the heterosexual population; therefore, they are inadequate …