Digital Commons Network^™

Strategic Alignment Of Information Technology Projects And Project Success, Joan Barnes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alignment of information technology (IT) projects remains a concern for business executives and negatively impacts IT investments through failed projects. Drawing from the theory of systems thinking and the concept of holism, the purpose of this correlational study was to provide executive leaders with information about influences associated with the independent variables of project alignment and performance outputs, and the dependent variable, project success rates. Accordingly, the research question addressed the relationship between the 2-predictor variables and the outcome variable. Data collection involved a nonprobability, purposive sample of 49 credentialed project managers from Arizona who completed an online survey. Results …

Improving Staff Knowledge Of Hypertension In Psychiatric, Homeless Patients, Maureen Ojose

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hypertension is a serious health problem in the United States. Clinical nurses may serve as facilitators in the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of hypertension. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of an education program on hypertension screening guidelines for nurses working in an outpatient psychiatric clinic. The project was supported by the health promotion model. The project used a pre- and post survey designed by the DNP student to collect data on nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to screen psychiatric patients for hypertension. Surveys consisted of 10 questions using a 5-point Likert-type scale. The results of …

Project Managers' Strategies For Megaproject Success, Nkenamchi Benedict Oputa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Africa, most oil and gas megaprojects exceed their original budget and time deadlines despite advancement in project management processes and systems. This study explored strategies project managers used for megaprojects' success in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, from the perspectives of the owner and contractor organizations. Multiple case study design was utilized to collect data by asking open-ended questions in separate interviews with 4 project managers. Archival project data was also reviewed to eliminate information incongruences. The conceptual framework for the study is the contingency theory that there is no universal management structure for every project. The …

Social Change Initiatives For African-American And Latino Males In Los Angeles County, Kay Ramsey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the 21st Century, many Americans continue to fight battles for men of color who are at the forefront of criminal injustice, unemployment, and low matriculation. With great dominion and urgency, our Nation must ensure all men, regardless of the adversity can succeed and build legacies in their families, communities, and the economy. In this action research study, an ecological system theory was used to analyze the stakeholders who have implemented the following public polices under the Obama Administration: 21st Century Policing, My Brother's Keeper, and Race to the Top. This research answers the question how stakeholders are able to …

Social Media Strategies To Increase Professional Membership Association Dues Income, Robert J. Spangler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social media strategies can play an important and specific role in nonprofits by increasing membership dues income. However, insufficient data exists supporting effective strategies for social media in professional membership associations, potentially

affecting both business managers within those associations and the stakeholders they represent. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore social media strategies that nonprofit marketing professionals used to increase professional

membership association dues income. The sample included 7 nonprofit marketing professionals in a New Jersey-based professional membership association. Social exchange theory and social influence theory formed the conceptual framework. Data

collection occurred using semistructured …

Motivations To Return To A Gang After Severe Physical Victimization, Nora Vlaszof

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Gang violence is a social concern because of the risks of victimization among gang members and their communities. Many gang members have been victims of gang violence, and some choose to remain involved with their gang even after being victimized. Researchers have explored why people join gangs, but less is known regarding the gang-victimization link, which is the focus of this study. Social bond theory guided the study's research question on the motivation of gang members to rejoin their gang after severe physical victimization. A multiple case study design was employed with a purposeful sample of six English-speaking men, …

Factors Associated With Provider Utilization Of The Heath Information Exchange In The State Of Hawaii, Kris K. Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a context where technology is increasingly being incorporated into health care practice, many U.S. health care providers and organizations are finding it challenging to connect disparate electronic documentation systems to retrieve patient information when coordinating care across providers and heath care entities. Local and regional health information exchange (HIE) systems were created to facilitate collecting information into one integrated patient record to address information transfer between heath care providers. Yet, adoption and use of HIEs have been low. The purpose of this study was to review the predictive factors accounting for physicians' use of a HIE in the U.S. …

Objectification Of Gay African American Males In The Bondage Discipline Sadism Masochism Community, Gregory Wayne Jackson Jr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to improve the understanding of Sexual Objectification (SO) of gay African American males in the bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism (BDSM) community. Although many studies have been conducted on SO of women and other minority populations, there is a lack of research on the lived experience of gay African American males participating in the BDSM community. The theoretical framework for this study was Fredrickson and Roberts's objectification theory, with a conceptual framework focused on SO that gay African American males experienced while participating in the BDSM community. The research questions were designed to elicit …

Special Education Teachers' Voices On Co-Planning In A Suburban School District, Corinne Jeffers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Limited co-planning between special education and general education co-teaching partners has been documented in professional literature as a significant problem. Special education teachers do not adequately co-plan for the implementation of accommodations for students with disabilities educated in the general education classroom. The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze the perceptions of special education teachers in one suburban elementary school district in the United States regarding co-planning with regular education teachers. The theory of self-efficacy was utilized as the conceptual framework to understand how teachers' beliefs and experiences influenced planning and goal setting for special education students. …

Investigation Into The Role Of N-Terminal Acetylation Of Esat-6 In Pathogenesis Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Javier A. Aguilera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent for the disease Tuberculosis (TB) in humans, is present as a latent infection in approximately one third of the world's population. Mtb has become more resilient over the years. The vaccine, Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), loses effectiveness 10 years after initial vaccination. Recent research has found 6-kD early secretory antigenic target (ESAT-6) and 10-kD culture filtrate protein (CFP-10) are secreted as a heterodimer by Mtb and play important roles in virulence. Additionally, ESAT-6 has been determined to contain membrane lytic activity while CFP-10 has been suggested to be a molecular chaperone. Studies suggest …

Developing A System Dynamics Model Of The El Paso Water Resources System, Majid Alahmoradi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The city of El Paso is growing rapidly, increasing water demand in a water-scarce region. In this research system dynamics modeling is applied to simulate dynamic behavior of the El Paso water resources system in order to investigate the city's portfolio based upon a supply-demand side and demand side management approach. System Dynamic simulation involves several steps, including system conceptualization, data collection, simulation model development, and model verification and sensitivity analysis. A high-level conceptualization of the El Paso water resources system is presented, including withdrawal sources, water and wastewater treatment facilities, water demands, and flow linkages are will be presented. …

Characterization & Extraction Of Extracellular Matrix From Porcine Adipose Tissue, Rahulkumar Kantibhia Bhoi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Tissue in particular extracellular matrix(ECM) plays a vital role in the growth and the function of each cell types and promote tissue regeneration and repair an impair organs. Many techniques have been developed so far to decellularized porcine tissue for the purpose to use as regenerative medicine and in tissue engineering. We aimed to optimized a method to decellularized porcine tissue while effectively eliminating xenogeneic epitopes, lipids and to retain necessary component of it intact without disrupting ECM. We have developed 2-week protocol to optimize well preserved ECM component that may keep xenogeneic biomaterial for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. …

Seeds Of Neocolonialism In Development Discourse: A Study Of Neoliberal "Megarhetorics" Of Global Development And Ecofeminist Resistance, Moushumi Biswas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This paper is based on a case study of www.monsanto.com, the official website of biotech company Monsanto, and transnational voices of resistance as exemplified by eco-critical activist Vandana Shiva. My rhetorical inquiry concerns the future of the global farming sector and allows for an interdisciplinary exploration of transnational development discourse through the overlapping but complementary lenses of ecofeminism and critical discourse analysis (CDA). The purpose of my study – spanning rhetoric, composition, critical theory, cultural theory, communication studies, business ethics, and postcolonial studies – is to trace new notions of discourse creation in the 21 st century using a combination …

4-Nonylphenol Induces Neurodegeneration By Altering Cytoskeleton, Cynthia Carreon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

4-nonylphenol (4-NP), an endocrine-disrupting compound (EDC), has been shown to affect brain development and may cause neurodegeneration. In the environment, 4-NP arises as a degradation product of alkylphenol polyethoxylates, compounds widely used as nonionic surfactants in commercial production, as well as in herbicides, pesticides, polystyrene plastics, and paints and has been shown to undergo a high level of accumulation in biological tissues. However, the mechanism by which 4-NP exerts its effect is not understood. Recent results from our laboratory indicate that Gβγ, an important component of the G protein-signaling pathway, induces neuronal outgrowth and differentiation by modulating microtubule (MT) assembly, …

Organic-Inorganic Graphite And Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Based Composites For 3d Printing, Jorge Alfredo Catalan Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This project was multipronged to help fuse together topics of additive manufacturing and two-dimensional (2D) layered materials, and studying the mechanical and electrical properties of the composites produced. The composites are made from the thermoplastic polymer acting as a matrix and the graphite and 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) serving as the filler or reinforcement. Different concentrations of TMD's were added to the matrix to study the effect of composition on the mechanical and electrical properties. To shed insights into the mechanical properties, test coupons were produced as "dog bone" structures for tensile testing using the ASTM D638 type 5 …

From The Fangs Of Monsters: Gender, Empire, And Civilization In The Pacific, 1800-1850, Michael David Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As the nineteenth century commenced, contact between Pacific Islanders and Anglo-Americans increased as did the concern for what resulted from those interactions. In the United States, antebellum restrained men––those who upheld their Protestant faith, self-reliance, and familial values––used ideals of gender to combat the perceived “savagery” of Pacific Islanders and the corruption of American sailors among them. In the mission field, restrained men consciously sought after Anglo-American women’s influence often believing them to be the moral authority of a softer form of empire. This particular form of empire was not government led; nor did it entail the immediate conquest of …

Cultivating Social Capital In Undergraduate Research: Key Sources And Distinctions By Gender, Heather Ann Daniels

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Women are outpacing men in overall educational attainment, however this is not the case in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields when women fall behind men. Establishing strong social connections is important to retention in STEM fields and persistence in the STEM pipeline. This study qualitatively examines what serves as social capital in STEM-focused undergraduate research and how social capital is accrued and deployed differently by men and women in ways that could be contributing to the gender gap in STEM. 17 students participating in external summer research programs at 12 different universities were interviewed at 3 points in …

A Study Of Hippocampal Microglia Distribution In Pre-Adolescent Mice Chronically Exposed To Lead, Salvador Dominguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Lead is a major unresolved child health hazard. Children are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of lead exposure, which include disruption of brain development and brain function. How lead exposure alters brain development and brain function is not currently known. Our laboratory has been developing a mouse model to understand effects of low-level lead exposure in the developing brain. In previous studies, we have shown that early chronic low level lead exposure diminished the number of microglia in the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus, an area responsible for learning and memory. Building on the results of the previous …

Predicting Individualized Treatment Effects Via Random Forests Of Interaction Trees, Annette Pena Franco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Abstract Not Available

A Behavioral And Neuroimmune System Model Of The Effects Of Chronic Low-Level Lead Exposure In Young Male C57bl/6j Mice, Mayra Gisel Flores-Montoya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chronic low-level lead exposure reduces memory in children however the brain mechanisms mediating these effects are not known. In previous studies we showed that early lead exposure reduced olfactory memory and exploratory behavior in young mice, and reduced microglia cell density in hippocampus/dentate gyrus. The present studies aimed to identify additional behavioral tests that were sensitive to early low-level lead exposure in young mice; and to examine whether microglia upregulated factors known to promote cell migration. Seventy-two C57BL/6J male mice were exposed to 0 ppm (controls), 30 ppm (low-dose), or 430 ppm (high-dose) of lead acetate via dams' milk from …

Evaluation Of Pertussis Knowledge Within The Child Daycare Staff And Management In The El Paso, Texas, Diana Jaqueline Gomez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Child daycare centers have an enormous influence on the children's health, which is important to maintain daycare staff and management informed on how to prevent communicable diseases, such as pertussis. Bordetella pertussis (Bp), the causative agent of whooping cough, is a small gram-negative bacterium that infects the nasopharynx of humans, which are the only reservoir. Bp is a highly contagious respiratory disease, which continues to be a severe disease in infants. The disease affects all ages and is easily transmitted from person to person, through respiratory droplets. Even though there is a vaccine available for all ages there are …

Evaluation Of A Gender-Relevant Physical Activity After-School Program, Vianay Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Physical activity rates have decreased in the past 30 years. Physical activity rates decline further among girls as they reach adolescence, yet studies suggest girls are more inclined to participate in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) while among peers. When in close social networks, girls who have more physically active friends report being more active themselves. Several mentor-based programs throughout the United States have increased physical activity among preadolescent girls, indicating that gender-relevant physical activity programs may reverse their declining rates of physical activity.

Purpose: To evaluate if participation in a gender-relevant physical activity after-school program influenced participants' aerobic fitness, …

Arak And Other Stories, Fatima Sausan Masoud

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Set in the West Bank, Arak and Other Stories follows the lives of members of the Al-Hakim family. Through the stories, Palestinian-American, Layla Al-Hakim, uncovers long buried family secrets and discovers deep connections to her Palestinian cousins.

Integration Of Heterogeneous Traffic Data To Address Mobility Challenges In The City Of El Paso, Daniel Michael Mejia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Transportation performance measures are defined as quantitative and qualitative indicators that rely on data or information to explain mobility, traffic congestion, safety, environmental sustainability and other factors. Although performance measures have been used for freeways and other highways, not many have been specified and applied to the freight transportation system. Under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), state transportation agencies and metropolitan planning organizations in the United States are implementing freight performance measurement systems for performance assessment. This research aims to expand the existing limited freight performance measures and organize them into a comprehensive framework that can be …

The Metabolically Sentient Arcuate Nucleus: A Functional, Chemoarchitectural And Connectional Study In The Adult Male Rat, Anais Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As the obesity pandemic continues to increase, so does the incidence rate of related conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders (Yu and Kim 2012). At the level of the brain, the hypothalamus is a key structure for the integratration of autonomic, neuroendocrine and somatomotor functions for the control of metabolism and homeostasis. It has long been implicated as a critical player in the deregulation of an animal's energy status and in the onset of obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome (Elmquist et al., 1999). While many ongoing studies are aimed at preventing or treating these conditions, the underlying mechanisms …

Instilling Positive Beliefs About Organ Donation: An Information Processing Approach, Gerardo Jose Moreira

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The number of those seeking a kidney donation in the United States continues to increase while the number of donors is not growing at the same rate (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services USDHHS, 2010). The lack of donations is more prevalent in low health literate communities which suffer from misinformation and ultimately negative beliefs toward organ donation. Thus, it is important to understand how marketing efforts can effectively change individuals' beliefs about organ donation.

Drawing on the Self-Determination Theory and Schema Theory, I proposed that the effectiveness of health education programs, which is to motivate individuals to be …

Sample Size Estimation For Linear Mixed Models With Dependent End Points, Michael Nsiah-Nimo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The primary objective is sample size estimation in linear mixed model settings. Sample size estimation is an important component of planning a well thought out scientific experiment. Whenever sample size estimation is performed, taking into account a priori model based inferences will provide a sample size estimate that will achieve the desired power without inflating the type I error rate of the study.

One common practice is a traditional approach cited in the literature that uses the largest sample size after you Bonferroni the type I error rate to estimate sample sizes as such. We are going to take into …

Airborne Lead In El Paso, Texas, Usa, Lisa Marie Paz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Despite significant strides to minimize lead in our air, water, soil, food, homes, workplaces, and consumer products, sporadic and systemic lead poisoning persists in industrial societies, e.g., the contemporary Flint (Michigan, USA) municipal water tragedy. Because lead exposure is cumulative, the sum of exposure from all sources, it is important to document and update potential community or neighborhood exposure levels from such environmental compartments as air, water, and housing. Here we present ambient airborne lead levels in El Paso, Texas, USA, parsed by particulate matter (PM) size fraction, geography, and season. Dichotomous samplers at 8 stations collected particulate matter continuously …

New Black Boxes: Technologically Mediated Intercultural Rhetorical Encounters On The U.S.-Mexico Border, Beau Scott Pihlaja

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Activity theory (AT) and actor-network theory (ANT) as theoretical frameworks begin their analysis of the world with the concept of "actors" engaged in activity towards some objective and with other actors in the human and non-human world. In this project, I use AT and ANT to analyze the mediating effect of communication technologies in intercultural rhetorical contexts, in this case a binational small business, and address two questions: 1.) How do common communication technologies (email, phone, IM chat, texting applications) define and transform intercultural rhetorical encounters? And 2.) How do individuals rhetorically engage perceived cultural others using common communication technologies …

Dual Enrollment Participation In The United States: Findings From The High School Longitudinal Study Of 2009, Luis Eduardo Rivera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Today, dual enrollment programs are ubiquitous in the United States' secondary educational system. As a form of accelerated coursework, policy makers and school districts push dual enrollment as a means to improve college readiness and attainment. This paper studies the composition and characteristics of dual enrollment participants in the United States. Employing the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 restricted dataset, three discrete logistic models are created to estimate the probability of a high school student participating in any dual enrollment coursework across the United States. The results from these models suggest that gender, prior academic achievement, and family socioeconomic …