Digital Commons Network^™

Fostering Compassionate Care For Persons With Alzheimer's Disease In Nursing Facilities., Sam Gilbert Cotton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this dissertation study was to examine the impact of the implementation of a new Compassionate Care (CC) curriculum on the quality of care provided by Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) to residents with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). More specifically, this dissertation used Kirkpatrick’s model of evaluation to assess the reactions, learning, and behavior change of the CNAs exposed to the curriculum, and ultimately the impact of the curriculum on the stress levels of residents with AD. To accomplish this, we had two studies that aligned with the Kirkpatrick model of evaluation. For Study #1, the evaluation of the compassionate …

Microaggressions In Lgb Individuals: The Protective Role Of Positive Lgb Identity., Ghazel Tellawi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine LGB identity from a multidimensional approach in the context of microaggressions. The aims of the study were as follows: 1) to examine whether positive and negative facets of LGB identities are correlated; 2) to determine whether positive LGB identity facets served as protective factors against the negative impact of microaggressions; 3) to explore the unique contribution of having a positive LGB identity against the negative impact of microaggressions when compared to other protective factors (social support and outness). Participants were 135 undergraduate students recruited through the University of Louisville’s research participant …

Sexual Violence And The Institutional Integration Of First Year College Students., Ann Katherine James

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this study is to explore the relationships among identity, sexual violence, reporting choices, perception of campus climate and institutional integration. Student affairs professionals and other educators are particularly concerned about the effects of sexual violence on college students because of the deleterious effects that such violence has on factors critical to student success. Research indicates that 1 in 5 students will experience actual or attempted sexual assault while in college (Fisher, 2000). Students with greater levels of social and academic integration have a greater commitment to their college or university and thus graduate at higher rates (Tinto, …

"Why Am I In School?": A Mixed Methods Investigation Into Stopping Out Of College., Kathryn Gardner Adamchik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Higher education research often looks at student retention as a dichotomous outcome, either students stay enrolled or not; however, students’ enrollment pathways are more complicated than that as they frequently transfer, swirl between institutions, and stopout and return. This study was designed to explore students who stopout and return to the same institution within their six-year graduation window. More specifically, I sought to learn who stops out, why they stopout, what happens while out, why they come back, and what may be different upon their return. Four conceptual frameworks were applied to understand students’ experiences with stopping out including Tinto’s …

Counter Narratives: A Phenomenological Study Of High Achieving African American Male High School Students., De'nay Lanise Speaks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined the contributing factors to the success of high achieving African American male high school students who attend an all-male, predominantly Black, college-preparatory academy. The study took place in an urban, Midwestern school district and highlighted the lived experience and perspectives of students who have at least a 3.0 grade point average. Through the lens of Critical Race Theory, this study was an effort to bring attention to counter narratives to the otherwise deleterious image portrayed of African American males. The history and plight of the African American male is included to provide a comprehensive understanding of the …

Understanding The Relationship Between Anti-Transgender Bias, Non-Affirmation, And Post-Traumatic Stress: A Model Of Internalized Transphobia-Mediated Post-Traumatic Stress., Sebastian Mitchell Barr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transgender people’s increased risk for negative mental health outcomes, when compared to cisgender peers or the general public, has been well documented in the psychological literature. Researchers have begun to establish empirical support for a relationship between anti-transgender bias, non-affirmation of gender identity, internalized transphobia, and other transgender-specific minority stressors. Although little work has explored the mechanisms of this relationship, some psychologists have proposed conceptualizing these factors as potentially traumatic experiences and understanding the poor mental health outcomes as manifestations of complex post-traumatic stress. In this dissertation, I examine whether there is empirical support for this framework by evaluating the …

Arab-Islamic And Folk Health Models: New Perspectives On Syrian Refugee Resettlement In The Us., Ghina Kheir

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research builds upon the framework of the Health Traditions Model (HTM) as described in 1994 by Rachel Spector, a scholar and practitioner of a cultural care model of health among multicultural populations. I integrate this model into a study of Syrian refugees’ resettlement experience in Louisville, Kentucky. Syrian refugees’ voices and narratives of their corresponding Arab-Islamic and folk approaches to health, illness, and healing are the launch site for this project. I argue that approaching the resettlement experience from the refugees’ own cultural and Arab-Islamic perspectives toward health, illness, and healing aids in achieving a pluralistic health care system …

Present But Not Accounted For: A Phenomenological Study Of Gifted African American Males., Ronda Elizabeth George

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to explore the lived experiences of gifted African American males in grades 6-8. Specifically, the study examined how gifted African American males perceived and understood their participation in a gifted program and how their sense of self-efficacy shaped their disposition and approach toward academic persistence. Much of the literature published on the social, emotional, and academic success of gifted African American males has focused on college-aged students, therefore the current study is crucial in contributing to the body of knowledge on African American males, in particular, those identified as gifted during early adolescence …

Japanese-English Translation: "Absolute-Contradictory Self-Identity"--Nishida Kitarō, Translated By Christopher Southward, Christopher Southward

Comparative Literature Faculty and Student Scholarship

Complete draft translation of Nishida Kitarō’s “Absolute-contradictory Self-identity” (First published in Thought, No. 202, March, 1939, Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo, Japan) [「絶対矛盾的自己同一」、千九百三十九年三月初発、『思想』、岩波書店、東京]. Introduction, conceptual apparatus/glossary, substantive line edits, corrections, revisions, and notes underway. Please contact translator before citing. All rights reserved, Christopher Southward (2018). Source, Aozora Bunko (a digital archive of Japanese-language works in the public domain): Current text: https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000182/files/1755_53374.html; General: https://www.aozora.gr.jp/

Alcohol Expectancies Among Students In The City Of Pokhara, Nepal, Niran Tamrakar

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Alcohol plays a vital role in various aspects of Nepalese society. It also presents public health risks. Though adolescents in Nepal are at high risk for negative consequences from alcohol use, there is limited information available on their alcohol behaviors and beliefs. The present study aims to describe alcohol expectancies among a sample of secondary students in Nepal to identify and understand motivations underlying their alcohol-related behaviors. A self-report survey was administered to 591 students from different Englishmedium schools in the city of Pokhara. This study began with the Chinese Adolescent Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (CAAEQ), then used qualitative methods to …

Evaluation Of The Feasibility Of A Two-Method Measurement Design For The Assessment Of Healthy Physical Activity Behavior In Youth, Amelia A. Miramonti

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Purpose: Assess the reliability and validity of self- and parent-report survey responses regarding physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviors, and PA self-efficacy and determine if these data can be combined with objective physical activity monitor data to model the latent construct healthy physical activity behavior (HPAB).

Methods: 126 underserved 4^th-5^th grade students participated in a 12-week after-school nutrition, cooking, and physical activity program (WeCook: Fun with Food and Fitness). Participants and parents (n=103) completed surveys pre- and post-program and participants wore PA monitors for one week at PRE and POST. Unidimensionality and internal consistency reliability were …

The Development Of A Situational Judgment Test To Assess Collegiate Judgment: A Pilot Study, Jared Stevens

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Traditionally, colleges and universities have focused primarily on cognitive predictors (e.g., ACT/SAT scores, high school GPA), and have struggled to find an accurate and objective way of measuring non-cognitive skills, often resorting to personality measures or interviews, or deciding not to measure them at all. Recently, there has been a push for alternative forms of student selection that result in less adverse impact and do not ignore important skills and traits that are necessary to be successful in college (Peeters & Lievens, 2005; Atkinson, 2001).

Growing evidence suggests Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs) may be one way to achieve this goal. …

Spatial And Temporal Structure Of A Canid Community In Nebraska, Lucia Corral Hurtado

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Understanding patterns of space-use by individuals, their distribution, and how they coexist with ecologically similar species is crucial to address various issues in ecology, evolution, conservation biology, and wildlife management. However, the study of such patterns challenging because the relationship among species and their environment is shaped by multiple ecological processes, many of which are acting at different scales, often in a hierarchical manner. In the Canidae family, for instance, where interference competition appears critical, larger species such as coyotes (Canis latrans), can often affect smaller species, such as red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and swift fox …

Managing For Vegetation Heterogeneity On Rangelands: An Exploration Of Rancher Attitudes, Stephanie Marie Kennedy

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Grasslands provide food, fiber, and numerous ecosystem services to human populations as well as habitat for wildlife. They are also some of the most endangered ecosystems in the world because of their productive soils and open topography. This problem is exacerbated by the accelerating conversion of grassland to cropland and encroaching trees and shrubs. The quality of remaining grasslands will be of increasing importance because of the biodiversity and vital ecosystem services they provide. Heterogeneity is a term specific to rangeland science that is illustrative of grassland health. Grassland species require very specific and differing habitats and without the variation …

Addressing The Nitrogen Challenge: Footprint Tools And On-Farm Solutions, Allison M. Leach

Doctoral Dissertations

Nitrogen management presents a unique dilemma: We must use nitrogen to grow our food and sustain life on earth, but excess reactive nitrogen that accumulates in the environment contributes to a cascade of negative impacts to human and ecosystem health. Addressing this nitrogen challenge will require a suite of solutions. This dissertation presents and explores three nitrogen management strategies: 1) The first ever integrated carbon and nitrogen footprint tool for campus sustainability management; 2) Exporting compost to improve a farm’s nitrogen efficiency; and 3) Methods for reducing gas emissions from aerated static pile heat recovery composting.

Nitrogen footprint tools connect …

Perceived Risks And Enjoyment Of Access-Based Consumption: Identifying Barriers And Motivations To Fashion Renting, Chunmin Lang

Faculty Publications

Access-based consumption, a growing trend in today’s society, provides the consumer with an opportunity to have access to new and diverse products without the burden of ownership. As one form of access-based consumption in the fashion industry, fashion renting still lacks development and popularity. The purpose of this study is to identify how perceived risks and frugal shopping affect the attitudes, perceived enjoyment and further behavioral intention toward the adoption of fashion renting. An online survey was conducted with 452 participants in the United States. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. The results confirmed the negative …

The Transition Of The College Quarterback To The Nfl: Why The Hardest Position In Sports Is Getting Easier, Derik Abbott

Theses

The NFL is changing. Score boards are being lit up by young quarterbacks like never seen before. Rookie quarterbacks are playing like 10 year veterans. Offenses are playing at light speed paces. But why? This Thesis paper looks to uncover why college quarterbacks are playing at MVP caliber levels at such a young age. With research in multiple fields such as analytics, neuroscience, youth football developmental leagues and artificial intelligence,, this paper seeks to determine the relationship between what strategies front offices and coaching staffs are using and the high success rate of young quarterbacks in the National Football League. …

Using Case Work As A Pretest To Measure Crisis Leadership Preparedness, Johnette (Jay) Caulfield

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Today’s leaders must thrive in a world of turbulence and constant change. Unstable conditions frequently generate crises, emphasizing the need for crisis leadership preparedness, which is missing from many business curricula. Thus, the purpose of this work was to develop a learning module in crisis leadership preparedness. As a baseline measure or pretest, 217 graduate students were asked to analyze two crisis leadership cases during the first week of an entry leadership class. Content analysis provided the method to identify where student analyses fell short. These gaps in learning then informed the creation of student learning objectives. Applying inquiry-based learning, …

The Effects Of Musical Training On The Well-Being Of Older Adults., Brianna Nicole Berry

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Objective. The current study sought to examine the effects of early musical training on the quality of life of older adults. Method. 58 older adults, at least 65 years old, were divided into three groups based on their levels of musicianship: non-musicians, low-activity musicians (less than ten years of lessons), and high-activity musicians (more than ten years of lessons). Self-report questionnaires were given to determine musical training and other factors such as physical activities. Quality of life was measured by the Quality of Life-AD, a 13-item survey. Results. The differences between level of musicianship and quality of life were statistically …

The Effects Of Priming Patriotism On Attitudes Toward Immigrants: Do All Americans Respond To Patriotic Images The Same Way?, Norma Elizabeth Garza Reyes

Psychology Theses - Archive

Although immigrants enrich the US culture and provide intellectual and economic stimulation, there has been a rise of anti-immigration movements, making the acculturation process more difficult for the immigrant. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how patriotism influenced negative attitudes toward immigrants, especially among individuals who were higher on right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), national identity, and/or group narcissism. This thesis study addressed these issues by priming patriotism with unpatriotic and patriotic pictures and then examining attitudes toward immigrants/immigration. This data (N = 192) linked self-reported individual difference measures (e.g., right-wing authoritarianism (RWA)) of college students that was collected prior …

Peer Relationships, Gut Microbiota, And Health In Emerging Adulthood, Erin Quinn Austin

Psychology Dissertations - Archive

Research has consistently shown that chronic stress has negative effects on overall physical and psychological wellbeing across the lifespan. The biological mechanisms through which stress exerts its effects on the body and the mind includes the recently discovered microbiome-gut-brain axis, the bidirectional communication between the brain and the enteric nervous system that is modulated by the microorganisms residing within the gastrointestinal tract. This dissertation examined the impact chronic psychosocial stress (e.g., peer victimization, daily hassles) had on gut diversity and the relative abundance specific bacterial groups in a diverse sample of emerging adults (N = 126, Mean age = 20.07). …

Health Outcomes Of Adolescents And Young Adults After Traumatic Injury: The Role Of Stress Resilience And Social Support, Belanie Peavy

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background: Traumatic injury is a major health problem and has been linked to mental and physical disability following injury. Although it is the leading cause of disability in the United States (US) for adolescents and young adults, there is a paucity of evidence in the literature regarding association(s) of perceived stress on the outcomes of anxiety and depressive symptoms and the moderating role of resilience and social support in which to develop prevention and treatment interventions for this patient population.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of perceived stress on anxiety and depressive symptoms …

Factors Contributing To Lower Cancer Screening Utilization In A Sub-Sample Of United Way 2-1-1 Callers, Jason M. Rhoton

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

This dissertation was a secondary analysis of data from a Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)-funded [grant # PP100077 & PP120086] cancer-control intervention with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health and United Way 2-1-1. The aims of the three dissertation papers were addressed by examining a sub-sample of 2-1-1 callers that were drawn from the parent study baseline data. Participants were required to need at least once cancer prevention service to be included in the parent study and dissertation analyses. This dissertation was a cross-sectional analysis of de-identified data examining the …

Sex-Specific Effects And Gene-Sex Interactions In Serum Metabolome Levels: The Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study, Zhe Wang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Metabolomic signatures associated with complex disease have been identified. Metabolomic profiling and the integration of genomic data have proven to be powerful tools to investigate genetic effects underlying intermediate phenotype levels and may facilitate improved understanding of pathophysiologic processes of disease. However, most published studies did not consider sex as an effect modifier, analyze sex-specific effects, nor gene by sex interactions. One reason can be incomplete knowledge of the power of statistical methods used in a given dataset.

I first investigated sex-specific genetic effects by performing sex-stratified exome-wide association studies for 271 chromatography-mass spectrometry measured metabolites in the Atherosclerosis Risk …

Relating Rsv Genetic Diversity To Global Transmission Dynamics, Rebecca J. Fisk

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Many studies of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) have relied on analyses of the Major Surface Glycoprotein G gene (G gene). Global transmission patterns have not been well studied due to lack of systematic global surveillance efforts. This study used phylogenetic analysis of full genome data, categorized by geo-region, to determine the sources of RSV A and B infection in Chile and Houston, Texas. Additionally, disease severity studies have generally focused on outcomes associated with a single genotype. In this study we developed a statistical phylogenetic approach to explore the relationship between tree topology and disease severity. Disease severity data included …

Bayesian Based Semiparametric Multidimensional Approaches To Analysis Parkinson's Disease, Jun Zhang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

In the slow progression of Parkinson's Disease (PD), impairments arise and affect multiple domains (e.g., motor, cognitive, and behavioral). Mixed types, multivariate longitudinal data are commonly used in PD studies. Challenges exist in assessing PD status and investigating disease progression due to lack of biomarkers and ubiquitous impairment in the disease. We proposed a model framework by combining the semi-parametric approach and multi- dimensional framework, and used the proposed model to investigate the heterogeneous disease development and the non-linear treatment effects in the multiple domains predefined in PD.

Furthermore, we extended the semi-parametric multidimensional approach to the data with multi-types …

Censored Count Data Analysis – Statistical Techniques And Applications, Xiao Yu

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Count data are commonly used to report frequency statistics of diverse health outcomes. However, some data are marked intentionally to avoid leaking information that could be used to identify individuals when population sizes are small. The situation hinders the further use from those data in public health research. Thus, an accurate and efficient method for dealing with censored count data is needed.

We developed Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation algorithm to censored Poisson regression model to deal with censored count data and improve the computational efficiency. In addition, we applied three methods to deal with censored count data: 1) multiple imputation …

Observed Cooking Behaviors Of Families With And Without Childhood Cancer Survivors And The Development Of A Healthy Cooking Assessment Tool, Margaret Pleta Raber

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Diet is a modifiable risk factor for several cancers and other chronic diseases. Cooking skills are a target for dietary intervention, with much of the general population reporting infrequent and inadequate home preparation of meals. Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are a population at high risk of several chronic conditions including secondary cancers that may be influenced by home cooking behaviors. We conducted observations of food preparation practices in 29 parents of healthy school-aged children and 11 parents of CCS. Observations included an audio and video recording of one evening meal per family. Parents were asked to wear a small body …

Chagas Disease Awareness Amongst Texas Physicians, Gerardo J. Pacheco

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

An estimated 300,000 people in the U.S. are living with Chagas Disease (CD), many of whom may not yet know they are infected. Approximately 20% to 30% of individuals with CD are expected to develop clinical symptoms that may manifest as heart disease and result in death if left untreated. The prevalence of CD in humans is not well understood. Given its asymptomatic manifestation and the rarity in cases seen by physicians in general, CD may be under-recognized by physicians.

The purpose of this research was to explore the understanding and knowledge of CD in Texas HCP populations (cardiologists, infectious …

Sequential Monitoring Of Adaptive Randomized Clinical Trials With Sample Size Re-Estimation, Jun Yu

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Clinical trials are complicated and involve human beings. Therefore, lots of ethical and efficient objectives are expected to be achieved. These objectives include maximizing the power of detecting the treatment effects, assigning more patients to the better treatments, saving the cost and time, and controlling the type I error rate. A variety of adaptive designs have been proposed to achieve different aims, among which sequential monitoring and sample size re-estimation are very popular in real clinical trials. In addition, adaptive randomization designs sequentially update the allocation probability aiming to target different allocation proportions and achieve different aims. Hu and Rosenberger …