Digital Commons Network^™

Long-Term Effects Of Early Parental Divorce On Parent-Child Relationships, Mental Health, And Alcohol Use, Tuba Demir Dagdas

All ETDs from UAB

The primary objective of this study was to fill a gap by examining the effects of early parental divorce on multi-dimensional views of parent-child relationships (e.g. support, strain, contact), mental health, and alcohol consumption among adult children. Many studies have shown that parental divorce has impacts on children’s well-being, however, few studies have examined the long-term effects of parental divorce on adult health. Thus, this study aimed to examine the effects of early parental divorce on adult children’s depressive symptoms and alcohol use via relationships with parents. Drawing from the life course paradigm and the stress process model, I examined …

Home Healthcare And Performance: Development And Application Of A Typology For Home Health Agencies, Ronique Nechelle Evans

All ETDs from UAB

This three-paper dissertation sought to examine the existence of strategic groups in the home health industry, the application of Porter’s generic strategies (cost leader, differentiator, “stuck-in-the-middle” and both cost leader/differentiator) in identifying these groups, and the association of group membership with agency performance. The findings of this study will provide researchers and managers with a highlight of the current strategic makeup of the home health industry and its relationship with quality and financial performance. The results of this dissertation provide some evidence that strategic groups do exist in the home health industry and can be described along the basis of …

Exploring Prenatal Maternal Self-View, Early Home Environment And Toddler Socioemotional Development In First-Time Teen Low Education And Adult High And Low Education Mothers, Bethany Stenger

All ETDs from UAB

Maternal self-perception and children’s early home environment have been linked to a number of areas of child development. This study looked at the influence of both prenatal maternal parenting self-efficacy and personal mastery, coined as the concept maternal self-view (MSV), on children’s 4-month home environment and 1-year socioemotional development. The effect of 4-month home environment, as measured by the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) including the Supplement to the HOME for Impoverished Families (SHIF) and by the Family and Maternal Life History (FMLH), overall and in regards to the presence of television and crowding, on 1-year child …

The Role Of Cognitive Reserve In Recovery From Traumatic Brain Injury, Kayla Steward

All ETDs from UAB

Objective: To examine whether cognitive reserve (CR) attenuates the initial impact of TBI on cognitive performance (passive model) and results in faster cognitive recovery rates in the first year post-injury (active model), and whether the advantage of CR differs based on the severity of TBI. Setting: Inpatient/outpatient clinics at academic medical center. Participants: Adults with mild TBI (mTBI; n=28), complicated mild TBI (cmTBI; n=24), and moderate-to-severe TBI (msevTBI; n=57), and demographically-matched controls (n=66). Design: Retrospective; longitudinal cohort assessed at 1-, 6-, and 12-months post-injury. Main Measures: Outcomes were 3 cognitive domains: processing speed/executive function, verbal fluency, and memory. Premorbid IQ, …

Bullying Is Not Just For The Playground: Teacher Experiences With Administrator Mistreatment In The Workplace And Its Impact On Instruction, Tiffany Nicole Russell Thomas

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of early childhood teachers in Central Alabama who have reportedly been bullied in school settings by their administrators. The study was guided by two central research questions: (1) What is the lived experience of early childhood teachers who have been bullied in the workplace by their school administrators? (2) In what ways do early childhood teachers describe the connections between workplace bullying and its perceived effects on teaching and learning? The theoretical foundation used to conduct this study was Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system’s theory. Five early childhood teachers participated in this …

An Investigation Of The Neurobiological Heterogeneity In Autism, Adhd, And Typical Development, Melissa Thye

All ETDs from UAB

Standard fMRI studies of healthy as well as clinical populations rely heavily on group-level averages to draw inferences about brain and behavior. This presumes neural and behavioral homogeneity within diagnostic groups resulting in group-level models which may not capture individual variability. This problem is especially relevant for studies of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) which clinically present with widespread individual differences. The prevalence of comorbidity between these disorders is roughly 28% highlighting the possibility that there may be shared behavioral and neural markers which cut across the diagnostic boundaries delineating the …

Effects Of A Cooking Program On Social Skills, Adaptive Functioning, And Dietary Behavior Of Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Eva Phui Phui Trinh

All ETDs from UAB

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by two domains: 1) deficits in social interaction and communication, and, 2) restricted and repetitive behavior, interests, or activities. Poor adaptive functioning skills is an associated feature of ASD and leads to concerns for establishing independence as adolescents with ASD transition into adults. The dietary behavior of adolescents in the United States do not meet national standards for healthy eating, which could lead to poor health outcomes. Eating and feeding problems are more prevalent in children with ASD compared to their typically developing peers. Independent skills and health are a main source of stress …

Patient Safety: Organizations, Culture, And Information Technology, Soumya Upadhyay

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore factors that influence patient safety culture and patient safety outcomes, and whether patient safety culture affects hospital performance. The findings of these studies have important implications to hospital managers in the context of macro environmental changes regarding quality and safety. As managers look for ways to improve patient safety, results from this dissertation suggest strategies (for example, RN staffing; EHR presence) that may help improve safety culture and hospital performance. Specifically, having at least basic EHR as compared to not having any EHR supports safety culture to positively influence quality and financial …

Familial Support And Mental Health Service Use: Differences Among First- And Second-Generation Asian American And Latino Older Adults, Jessica Lynn Valles

All ETDs from UAB

While several studies have shown that US-born Asian Americans and Latinos are more likely to use mental health services than their foreign-born counterparts, the effects of generation status and familial support is unclear. Furthermore, little is known about these associations and how they affect older adults. According to the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST), as adults begin transition into advanced age, they begin to withdraw from broader social networks to focus on more intimate relations, such as those with children. In applying modernization theory to the family and aging, this theory would suggest that the status of older adults in families …

Optometric Case Finding For Glaucoma In Ireland: An Investigation Of Current Practice Patterns., Catriona Barrett

Doctoral

Optometrists play a vital role in the detection of glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness. As population screening for glaucoma is neither cost effective nor viable, glaucoma is primarily detected through opportunistic case-finding during routine eye examinations. The present study provides new insight into optometrists’ practice patterns for glaucoma detection in Ireland. Chapters 3 and 4 report on a national survey. The results show that optometrists are well equipped to carry out the traditional glaucoma case finding triad. However, moving towards enhanced services such as monitoring glaucoma suspects or ocular hypertension cases would require some investment in equipment and …

Law And The Modern Mind: Consciousness And Responsibility In American Legal Culture (Book Review), Edward A. Purcell Jr.

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

"Then To Death Walked, Softly Smiling": Violence And Martyrdom In Modern Irish Republican Ballads, Seán Ó Cadhla

Articles

This article critically considers the representation of death within the song tradition of modern Irish Republicanism. I explore how such representations have changed in parallel with the various ideological metamorphoses that Irish Republicanism has undergone, specifically in the twentieth century. I argue that the centrality of self-sacrifice has resulted in the development of ballad narratives that deliberately obfuscate on the issue of Republican violence, resulting in the deaths of all Republican militants (regardless of cause or context), ultimately portrayed as a form of heroic self-martyrdom.

San alt seo, déantar anailís chriticiúil ar léiriú an bháis i dtraidisiún amhránaíocht Phoblachtach na …

School-Level Correlates Of Perceptions Of Violence And Safety In Middle And High Schools, Jonathan Adams

All ETDs from UAB

Witnessing school violence predicts poorer academic performance and psychological well-being among adolescents. Violence rates and students’ feelings of safety vary across schools, and some variance can be attributed to school-level variables. The present study examined relationships among school-level variables and perceptions of violence and safety. Middle (grades 6-8) and high (grades 9-12) school students (N = 26,313; 52.9% middle school, 47.2% female; mean age 14.44 years; 50.1% African American, 38.0% Caucasian, 11.9% other or undisclosed) from two large urban and suburban school districts self-reported how often they perpetrated violence with and without weapons, were victims of violence, or felt unsafe …

Exploring Factors That Predict Kuwaiti Preservice Kindergarten Teachers' Intentions To Use Web 2.0 Technologies In Their Future Kindergarten Classrooms Using The Decomposed Theory Of Planned Behavior, Laila Alazemi Alazemi

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this research was to explore factors influencing Kuwaiti kindergarten preservice teachers’ intentions to use Web 2.0 technologies in their future Kuwaiti kindergarten classrooms and their perceptions of using Web 2.0 technologies to enhance kindergarten student learning. This mixed methods study employed parallel collection of qualitative and quantitative data, separate analyses of the data, and then a merging of the findings. Gathered data were evaluated using the decomposed theory of planned behavior (DTPB) to predict the factors that influence Kuwaiti preservice teachers’ intentions to use Web 2.0 technologies in their future kindergarten classrooms. The central research questions of …

Panel 1: Perspectives On Transactions In Comic Books, David Gallaher, Larry Hama, Lillian Laserson, Matthew Tynan, Thomas Crowell

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Virtual Reality Surveillance, Gilad Yadin

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

This Article challenges government cybersurveillance norms and practices by introducing virtual reality, a unique digital environment that may be justifiably subject to constitutional physical privacy protection. In liberal democracies, government surveillance is driven by public security and enforcement interests, and is checked by individual privacy rights. In recent years, however, this balance has been gradually shifting. Government surveillance of cyberspace has become extensive and constant, effectively unhindered by legal restrictions and judicial oversight; surveillance ofphysical spaces, subject to the Fourth Amendment, is neither as prevalent nor as unrestrained.

We are in the midst of a virtual reality renaissance; new virtual …

Neuroanatomical Correlates Of Antisocial Traits In Adolescent Males, Emma Sartin Goodman

All ETDs from UAB

Prior research suggests that antisocial traits and behaviors often found in psychopathy are also present during childhood and adolescence. Thus, understanding the neurobiology of children and adolescents who are displaying early-signs of antisocial behavior can enhance the pace of diagnosis, allow for earlier and more effective intervention, and allow for researchers to record the developmental trajectory of these traits more accurately. This project used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) to examine the neuroanatomy of gray and white matter in 25 adolescent males, which were further analyzed using a regression model and the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory …

Effect Of Parents’ Adhd Status, Parents’ Sleep Hygiene, And Child Sleep Hygiene On Sleep Of School-Aged Children With Adhd, Laura Gray

All ETDs from UAB

EFFECT OF PARENTS’ ADHD STATUS, PARENTS’ SLEEP HYGIENE, AND CHILD SLEEP HYGIENE ON SLEEP OF SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN WITH ADHD LAURA GRAY NURSING ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine effect sizes for the relationships between parents’ attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, parents’ sleep hygiene, and child sleep hygiene, and to determine effect sizes for the amount of variance in ADHD child sleep explained by parent ADHD symptoms, parent sleep hygiene, and child sleep hygiene. Children who have ADHD are more likely to have sleep problems than peers without ADHD. Sleep problems can exacerbate or even mimic ADHD symptoms. Consistent …

Correlation Of Preoperative Analysis Of Cbct Gray Value With Implant Primary Stability, Luis Gerardo Guzman Suarez

All ETDs from UAB

Objective: This study aims to investigate the correlation between the gray values (GV) of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) analyzed by two commonly used implant planning software (coDiagnostiX, and Simplant®) and the primary stability of dental implants by measuring insertion torque value (ITV) and Resonance Frequency Analysis (ISQ). Materials and Methods: Thirty-eight patients planned to receive a total of 102 dental implants (Straumann Bone Level Tapered) were enrolled in the study. At time of implant placement, ITV in Ncm with a Bien-Air iChiropro implant console, resonance frequency analysis (ISQ) with an Osstell device, and the surgeon’s estimated torque of placement …

Ci Therapy And Neuroplasticity After Brain Injury: Repurposing Brain Structures, Michelle Haddad

All ETDs from UAB

assumption of homoskedastic errors is violated, the statistical model is incorrectly

The Effect Of Cultural Competency Training Programs On Expatriate Nurses' Levels Of Cultural Competence In Saudi Arabia As Measured By The Inventory For Assessing The Process Of Cultural Competence (Iapcc-R), Naof Faiz Saleem Al-Ansary

All ETDs from UAB

The study examined the relationship between cultural competence training programs and the levels of cultural competence among expatriate nurses in Saudi Arabia. Cultural competence training programs are believed to increase the awareness of expatriate nurses in Saudi Arabia in regards to issues that might arise from cultural differences between patients and healthcare providers. Healthcare professionals, and healthcare organizations, emphasize the importance of culturally competent healthcare environments in providing optimum healthcare services to individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Findings from the study suggested that participation in cultural competency training is associated to higher cultural competency scores. Additionally, age was positively associated …

An Examination Of The Neuropsychological Construct Executive Function And How It May Be Impacted By Cognitive And Exercise Interventions, Erica Schmidt

All ETDs from UAB

Background: There is a growing body of literature supporting the beneficial effects of cognitive training and exercise training on executive function (EF) in older adults. More recently, evidence is amassing that interventions which combine cognitive and physical activity, for example, exergames, may confer even greater cognitive benefits. Comparison of EF interventions for older adults requires more investigation and would benefit from improved operationalization of the EF construct and better understanding of factors which predict baseline EF in older adults. Methods and Results: Fifty-seven sedentary, non-gamer, community dwelling older adults were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups (computerized cognitive …

Comparison Of Bone Augmentation Techniques In Extraction Sockets: A Soft And Hard Tissue Wound Healing Analysis, Pragya Sharma

All ETDs from UAB

The use of bone grafting materials in sockets after tooth extraction has become a common technique for the preservation of alveolar ridge dimensions for future dental implant placement. A number of growth factors have been used to accelerate healing and shorten the healing period between extraction and implant placement. This study presents a novel application of amniotic tissue allograft used as an adjunct to bone grafting with mineralized bone allograft after tooth extraction. Amniotic tissue contains a myriad of growth factors such as Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGF-β), Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF), Platelet Derived Growth Factor …

The Impact Of Voice On Trust Attributions, Ilaria Torre

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Trust and speech are both essential aspects of human interaction. On the one hand, trust is necessary for vocal communication to be meaningful. On the other hand, humans have developed a way to infer someone’s trustworthiness from their voice, as well as to signal their own. Yet, research on trustworthiness attributions to speakers is scarce and contradictory, and very often uses explicit data, which do not predict actual trusting behaviour. However, measuring behaviour is very important to have an actual representation of trust. This thesis contains 5 experiments aimed at examining the influence of various voice characteristics — including accent, …

Obesity And Dental Caries In Children In Plymouth, Martha Paisi

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Background: Obesity and dental caries are two of the most common conditions affecting children and both have significant implications on children’s wellbeing and future health. Even though research into the relationship between the two conditions has been conducted for many years, results to date remain equivocal. Furthermore, the majority of the studies only examined individual-level determinants of the two conditions. Aim: The current work aimed to examine the nature, direction and effect size of the relationship between obesity and caries in children in Plymouth, United Kingdom. It also aimed to better understand the individual and the broader environmental determinants of …

Source Memory For Actions, Nicholas Lange

Other Faculty of Health Theses

This thesis investigates source memory for performed and observed actions in recall and recognition tasks. The motor simulation account predicts that motor activation during action observation results in source misattributions of observed actions as self-performed. Alternatively, source judgements at test may be based on the evaluation of source features (source monitoring framework) or memory strength (relative strength account). Experiments 1, 2 and 3 in Chapter 2 test if the motor simulation account explains false memories of self-performance after observation. Interfering with participants’ ability to encode the motor trace during observation does not reduce participants’ propensity to falsely recall observed actions …

Optimal Response In Decision Making: An Experimental Investigation Of Decision Strategies, Valerio Biscione

Other Faculty of Health Theses

A decision process can be conceptually separated into a perceptual process and a decision strategy. The former includes all the different mechanisms that contribute to accumulate information relevant to the decision, whereas the decision strategy determines when enough information has been accumulated and a decision can be taken. Although perceptual processes have been extensively investigated in the last decades, decision strategies have received comparatively little attention. The main aim of this work is to fill this gap by analysing four decision strategies with two different experimental paradigms. We also focus on ancillary decision-making topics, such as the effect of stimulus …

Foot, Ankle And Lower Limb Somatosensory Dysfunction In Stroke, Terry Gorst

Other Faculty of Health Theses

The extent to which sensory impairments in the foot, ankle and lower limb persist into the chronic phase of stroke is unclear. Furthermore, the extent to which these impairments influence walking, balance and falls is not well understood. This thesis investigated the prevalence, functional importance and measurement of lower limb somatosensory impairments in ambulatory people with chronic stroke. Methods This thesis comprised three studies: the first, a qualitative investigation, explored the views and experiences of people with chronic stroke (n=13). This led to the second study: a cross sectional observational study in which the prevalence, distribution and functional relevance of …

High Dependency Care Provision In Obstetric Units Remote From Tertiary Referral Centres And Factors Influencing Care Escalation: A Mixed Methods Study, Alison James

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Background Due to technological and medical advances, increasing numbers of pregnant and post natal women require higher levels of care, including maternity high dependency care (MHDC). Up to 5% of women in the UK will receive MHDC, although there are varying opinions as to the defining features and definition of this care. Furthermore, limited evidence suggests that the size and type of obstetric unit (OU) influences the way MHDC is provided. There is robust evidence indicating that healthcare professionals must be able to recognise when higher levels of care are required and escalate care appropriately. However, there is limited evidence …

The Moderating Effect Of Intergroup Climate On The Prejudice-Reducing Effects Of Intergroup Contact, Jaysan Charlesford

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Drawing upon intergroup contact theory (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew 1998) and the emerging literature on intergroup climate (e.g., Christ et al., 2013, 2014), I utilised various antipathetic intergroup relationships (e.g., Black people vs. White people; non-Muslims vs. Muslims), and various models of contact (e.g., Pettigrew, 1998; Koschate & van Dick, 2011) to test whether the effect of higher quality contact on less prejudice was facilitated by perceptions of a more positive intergroup climate. Results supported Allport’s (1954) classic model of four contact conditions independently predicting prejudice, although the conditions of ‘equal status’, ‘goal interdependence’, and ‘cooperation’ loaded strongly onto a separate …