Digital Commons Network^™

Efficacy Of Pain Scales In Athletic Populations And Paired With Aglometric Measurements, Elisabeth Anne Ohrnberger

Online Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Pain is the most common symptom and reason for why affected individuals seek out medical attention for injuries. The most common pain scales are: the numerical rating scale (NRS), 5-point verbal rating scale (VRS-5), and visual analog scale (VAS) but there is no gold standard established to measure unidimensional pain intensity. Algometry is an objective technique to measure pain pressure threshold and tolerances. However, there is little research on which scale is best suited to assess pain intensity in different demographics; including athletic populations and other types of groups; as well as, whether subjective pain scale measurements can be …

Types Of Social Support In Distance Education And Academic Performance At A Southwestern Historically Black College And University, Jennifer Paige Miles

Online Theses and Dissertations

As a result of rapid growth in distance education, increasingly more students are enrolling in online courses. Nearly 81% of all U.S. postsecondary institutions offered “at least one fully online or blended course” in 2003 (Jones & Davenport, 2018). Previous research has demonstrated African American students site “convenience” as an influence in enrolling in an online course (Kwun et al., 2012). While online learning offers benefits to both institutions and students (Anderson, 2008), research has also found students may exhibit stress and anxiety as a result of isolation and loneliness caused by distance learning (Duranton & Mason, 2012; Heinman, 2008; …

Blue Lives Memorialized: Collective Memory And The Production Of Ideology And Injustice In American Policing, Douglas Hyatt Peach

Online Theses and Dissertations

Police memorials are physical objects in public spaces, objects which seed our own cultural and personal ideologies, beliefs, and behaviors and which command our collective attention. Using qualitative research methodology, this visual ethnography looks at the unique and inherent power of police memorialization through the 2015 death of officer Daniel Ellis of the Richmond, Kentucky police department and the subsequent actions of the surrounding community and state officials. The purpose of this study was to document the widespread visual culture and iconography associated with memorialization, including the origin and placement of physical memorials made in honor of Ellis, thin blue …

Body Composition Assessment Results And Predicting Injury Patterns In Collegiate Musicians, Ellen Reinhold

Online Theses and Dissertations

Objective: It is known that a higher body mass index (BMI) is associated with increased risk of injury, but it is unknown whether there is an association between increased risk of injury and body composition. Currently the data comes from competitive sports, with little data in performing arts, specifically marching band. The primary aim of this study was to determine if body composition assessments can predict musculoskeletal injury (MSI) occurrence in marching band participants. Methods: Body composition was measured using a duel X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan at the beginning of both the fall 2018 and 2019 seasons. Data on injuries …

Assessment Of Indiana Bat Reproductive Condition, Recapture Trends, And Temperatures Of Artificial Roosts In Kentucky, Michaela L. Rogers

Online Theses and Dissertations

Recovery of bat species impacted by white-nose syndrome (WNS) will necessarily require population growth. I assessed reproductive capability of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) in Kentucky, where WNS was first detected in hibernacula in April 2011. Due to loss of fat reserves associated with WNS infection, coupled with the energetic expenditures associated with pregnancy, I hypothesized mass of reproductively-active females captured during the maternity season would decrease across my data collection period (2017-2019). Further, I predicted that reproductive rates in the study population would be lower than historic rates for Kentucky. Mist net surveys around artificial maternity roosts at …

Guerilla Government And Policy: Lessons From The Trump Administration’S Family Separation Policy, Omar Salinas Chacon

Online Theses and Dissertations

In early 2017, two asylum officers went to reporters at Reuters to warn the public of a new immigration policy. This policy would see thousands of children separated from their parents; a humanitarian crisis engineered purposefully by the administration would be underway for the next years. Along the way, dissenters would try to stop the administration’s policy. In her seminal work The Ethics of Dissent: Managing Guerilla Government, O’Leary (2019) describes these types of events as guerilla government. Guerilla government occurs when public servants work against the desires of their superiors either out in the open or covertly. This is …

Understanding The Occupational Therapy Perspective Of Working With The Homeless Population: Self-Care Interventions, Marisa Leigh Sparbanie

Online Theses and Dissertations

Successful interventions, focused on self-care, have been implemented by occupational therapists in homeless populations. Yet, no study has attempted to explore experiences of occupational therapists implementing self-care interventions. This qualitative, descriptive study sought to understand the experience of occupational therapy practitioners implementing self-care interventions for individuals experiencing homelessness. The interventions took place in various healthcare practice settings. Four participants, recruited through purposive sampling, engaged in semi-structured interviews pertaining to their experiences. The interviews were transcribed and coded using an emergent approach. Three major themes emerged from the data, including experiences in different settings, client-centered care, and institutional barriers and supports.

Abundance Of Songbirds In Eastern Hemlock Stands Following Chemical Treatment For Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, Natalie Sweeting

Online Theses and Dissertations

In the 1960’s the invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae [hereafter, HWA]) began to spread west across the hemlock stands of the Eastern U.S. killing a significant number of Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). While chemical treatments, primarily with the active ingredient imidacloprid, have been implemented, their effects on hemlock dependent avian species are largely unknown. A 2009 study, which took place as HWA was beginning to invade Kentucky, identified six indicator species that were positively and negatively correlated with eastern hemlock stands throughout the Appalachian Mountain region of Kentucky. Our study repeated bird and vegetation surveys at the same 65 …

Effects Of Nutrient Overload And Environmental Conditions On Algal Bloom Formation: A Case Study Of Water Sources In Eastern Kentucky, Lauren Sutton

Online Theses and Dissertations

Eastern Kentucky is home to many private ponds used for agricultural and recreational purposes. Each year, the owners of these ponds observe harmful algal blooms (HABs) that release toxins into the water, potentially limiting the use of these ponds. A pilot study in summer 2018 observed a harmful algal bloom (HAB) occurring in one pond in Madison Country that roughly correlated with a rise in water sulfate levels with no detectable levels of nitrate or phosphate present. A follow-up study of this pond and others in the area was conducted during Summer 2019. The purpose of this project was three-fold: …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Impact Of Stroke On Marriage: Life Satisfaction And Occupational Performance In Daily Life, Melissa Arwood

Online Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Following a stroke, an individual may experience physical, cognitive, and emotional changes. For individuals in a marital relationship, the spouse’s life is also impacted post-stroke. The majority of current literature regarding the impact of stroke on marriage focuses on one spouse. This study sought to address this gap by exploring the impact of stroke on the marital dyad.

Method: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used for this study. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi’s method as explained by Shosha (2012).

Findings: Four couples, eight participants were included in this study. One …

Exploring The Relationship Between Teacher Caring, Teacher Job Satisfaction, And Burnout In Alternative School Teachers, Sandra Hope Davis

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the relationship between teacher caring, teacher job satisfaction, and burnout in Kentucky alternative school teachers. The methodology was a cross-sectional, correlational web-based survey. Instrumentation included the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), Teven’s Teacher Self-Report of Caring Survey, and the Teacher Job Satisfaction Scale (McCroskey’s Generalized Belief Measure). The independent variables were the three sub-dimensions of the CBI: Personal Burnout, Work Related Burnout, and Client Related Burnout. The dependent variables were Teacher Caring and Teacher Job Satisfaction. For context, teachers were asked about the size, location, and type of school they served, and the length of their teaching experience …

The Effects Of The Estrus Cycle On Microbiota Composition And The Opportunistic Pathogen Listeria Monocytogenes Infection Process In Murine Models, Ryan William-Thomas Donkin

Online Theses and Dissertations

In the U.S., Listeria monocytogenes accounts for less than one percent of foodborne illnesses but has a 28% mortality rate. Infection in healthy individuals causes colonization of the intestinal lumen and subclinical noninvasive listeriosis. However, translocation of L. monocytogenes across the intestinal epithelium produces invasive systemic listeriosis with central nervous system involvement. Little is known of the gastrointestinal stages of L. monocytogenes pathogenesis. Enteric pathogens such as L. monocytogenes interact directly with the host-microbiota during the gastrointestinal phase of pathogenesis. Recent research has recognized that microbiota plays a role in activating immune response and protecting against invasive pathogens. Individual host …

Living With A Chronic Condition: Perspectives Of College Students At A Public Institution Of Higher Education, Kelley Lynn Harlan

Online Theses and Dissertations

Chronic conditions are ongoing, have a pattern of recurrence or deterioration, and produce consequences impacting an individual’s quality of life. An estimated 164 million Americans are expected to be affected by chronic conditions by the year 2025 (Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, 2016). College students with chronic conditions face unique challenges making it difficult to succeed in traditional degree programs due to unpredictable shifts in wellness. The purpose of this qualitative research was to discover the lived experience of college students with chronic conditions. Eight adult, full-time, traditional university students with chronic conditions were recruited and participated in a one-time, …

Experience Of Play Participation And Use Of Lower Extremity Orthoses In Children With Cerebral Palsy: Case Study, Lakyn Elizabeth Jolly-Burchell

Online Theses and Dissertations

This case study sought to understand the experience of a single family of a child with cerebral palsy (CP) using lower extremity orthoses (LEOs) in natural play contexts. CP is the most commonly occurring motor disability in childhood. Associated with CP, impairments in functional mobility, spasticity, varying degrees of muscle tone, ROM, and impaired gross and fine motor control are barriers to meaningful play experiences in this population. LEOs are widely prescribed devices for children with CP, used as walking aids and to improve/offset some of these performance deficits and body structures. Although, the true efficacy of LEOs is yet …

“He Denieth None That Come Unto Him” The Mormon-Jewish Relationship During The Holocaust And World War Ii, Erica Lauren Shaw

Online Theses and Dissertations

The Church of Latter-day Saints of Jesus Christ stumbled into fruition and global recognition after decades of oppression and resistance from its contemporaries. Despite its rocky beginnings, the Church’s membership remained largely friendly to anyone who expressed interest in their gospel. Among those whom they shared a positive relationship with were the Jewish people. The research presented here explored the history of that relationship from its doctrinal significance to its greatest test: the Holocaust and World War II.

Impacts Of Driving Factors On Annual Cicada Emergence In Relation To The Seasonal Abundance Of Eastern Copperheads (Agkistrodon Contortrix), Jesse Christian Sockman

Online Theses and Dissertations

For many species, life history events are cyclical and often correspond to specific environmental conditions. As a result of environmental variability, the optimal conditions that regulate the range and activity of highly regulated cyclical organisms, like cicadas, are subject to temporal change. Variability in cicada emergence and abundance has been shown to impact the species that rely on the rapid influx of nutrients. One such predator is the Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) that has been noted feeding on emerging cicadas throughout their range. In eastern Kentucky, observations of copperheads congregating to feed on cicadas has been documented in recreational areas. …

Development Of Novel Analytical Methods For Detection And Determination Of Tamoxifen In Oral Fluid And Discrimination Between Regioisomeric Aromatase Inhibitors For Doping Control Purposes, Brooke A. Sutton

Online Theses and Dissertations

The use of SERMs (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators) – most notably the drug Tamoxifen – has significantly increased among athletes over the past decade to enhance athletic performance and/or negate certain side effects of using anabolic steroids. This “doping” is always banned by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) for all athletes, but SERMs can naturally increase testosterone production so they are a tempting alternative to using steroids or androgenic supplements that can cause significant health problems (e.g. acne, breast development, frequent urge to urinate, low libido, etc.). Similarly, the use of AIs (Aromatase Inhibitors) has also increased among athletes for identical …

Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex: A Narrative Inquiry Of Women's Experiences And Perceptions, Brandi Winchester

Online Theses and Dissertations

Background

Dysphoric milk ejection reflex is an idiopathic condition experienced by some breastfeeding women that is characterized by an abrupt experience of negative emotions or sensation prior to milk let-down. Many women struggle to make sense of the condition, and report barriers to communicating with others about their experiences and accessing support from healthcare providers. Dysphoric milk ejection reflex is often reported by women to impact self-efficacy and contribute to secondary psychological effects.

Research aim

Exploration of the experience of Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex. Investigation of the impact of diagnosis on the sense of wellness and self-efficacy of affected mothers. …

Somebody Told Me You Died, Barry E. Maxwell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Somebody Told Me You Died is a sampling of works exploring the author’s transition from “normal” life to homelessness, their adaptations to that world and its ways, and their eventual efforts to return from it. The collection dovetails into a final essay examining the struggle to comprehend and rise above a racist upbringing.

Nerve Endings, Danielle Nicole Cooney

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

P O E T R Y

Hear Me Roar, Abigail R. Seethoff

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Hear Me Roar, a compilation of personal essays interspersed with short forms, grapples with the nuances of compliance versus autonomy in the context of the male gaze, beauty standards, and pop culture. The collection also explores what it means to treasure something—another person, an object—and how to express and deepen that affection.

Experiences And Perceptions Of Students With Disabilities In Higher Education, Lauren O'Toole

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The following study includes the investigation of academic and social perspectives of students with disabilities (SWD) and their relationships with university faculty members as it pertains to the use of accommodations. Participants frequently talked about accommodations as being a large part of their experiences in their college career. Graduate students with disabilities use of accommodations leads to many different topics of negative and positive experiences, which can influence perceptions and behaviors of SWD. This study was designed to be qualitative by collecting the interviews of participants who identify as having a disability and attend a university in the Midwestern United …

Trajectory Of Trauma: The Experiences Of Black Girls In The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Heather Nicholson-Bester

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This critical ethnographic research utilizes participatory action research (PAR) and case studies to explore the impacts that zero-tolerance policies have had on the lives of Black girls and women. This work contributes to a small but growing body of work on the intersectional struggles faced by Black girls within the School-to-Prison Pipeline. An aim of this research was to work with the participants to amplify their voices and center them as experts on their own lives. Working with a small sample of three girls and women enabled the creation of detailed narratives of their experiences. These narratives point to the …

Principal Leadership And Student Academic Achievement, Brigitte Karin Manns

Education Dissertations

This case study is an analysis of the relationship between principal leadership and student academic achievement. This research is based upon two dominant leadership theories from the past four decades, namely transformational leadership, which has been studied extensively by Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio among others, and instructional leadership, which has been researched most notably by Philip Hallinger and colleagues. More recently, several researchers have proposed that transformational leadership and instructional leadership may be related to increases in student learning when used simultaneously by a school leader. This case study is an examination of the leadership style of a principal …

Mfpa: Mixed-Signal Field Programmable Array For Energy-Aware Compressive Signal Processing, Adrian Tatulian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Compressive Sensing (CS) is a signal processing technique which reduces the number of samples taken per frame to decrease energy, storage, and data transmission overheads, as well as reducing time taken for data acquisition in time-critical applications. The tradeoff in such an approach is increased complexity of signal reconstruction. While several algorithms have been developed for CS signal reconstruction, hardware implementation of these algorithms is still an area of active research. Prior work has sought to utilize parallelism available in reconstruction algorithms to minimize hardware overheads; however, such approaches are limited by the underlying limitations in CMOS technology. Herein, the …

A Legacy Of Community And Mourning: Aids & Hiv In Central Florida, 1983-1993, Andrew Weeks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Given the primacy of Florida, and in particular Orlando, as an urban center with an above average rate of AIDS and HIV, this study examines how the outbreak of a deadly disease can affect a community. Complicating the response to this scourge, those who were most at-risk were marginalized groups such as those in the LGBTQ community, drug users, and often people of color. As a result, those who occupied positions of political power felt little incentive to curb the epidemic and mocked it by deeming it "the gay disease." As a result of neglect and the lack of investment …

Party For One: A Monologue Of The Importance Of Oneself Through Book Arts, Jacob Zhefu Wan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis explores the importance of oneself through sexuality, context, and introspection in the art of book arts. I work with memories, imagination, and consciousness in the form of book arts to express the importance of the self from my personal experience. Through the use of colors, materials, spatial compositions, and other visual components to manifest the content of my art, I want to illuminate the awareness of otherness including gender issues and an individual's vulnerability. Playing with the texts of Chinese and English, I intend to create narratives with languages, images, and other mixed media. In addition to crafting …

Breaking The Cycle Of Intergeneration Literacy Deficits: Describing Linguistic Interactions Between Adolescent Mothers And Their Young Children, Diana Abarca

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this pilot descriptive study was to begin the exploration of adolescent mothers' and their children's sociodemographic characteristics and language and literacy skills, the home literacy environment (HLE) provided by adolescent mothers, and the quality of linguistic interactions between adolescent mothers and their children. Eight adolescent mother-child dyads were recruited from local school counties. Data were collected through demographic and HLE questionnaires, various language standardized measures (i.e., Preschool Language Scales, Fifth Edition and Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fifth Edition), and scored interactions between mother-child dyads using the Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes …

The Precariat And The Pandemic: Assessing The Wellbeing Of Metro Orlando's Hospitality Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Caroline Austin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In 2018, the Orlando metro area was visited by 126.1 million tourists, a new record which the area has broken for its eighth year (Sanata 2019). As the number of visitors to the area continues to rise, so has the number of people employed by the hospitality industry which currently makes up the largest sector of the area's job market, employing 280,000 workers as of December 2019 (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Consistent growth in various insecure and unstable jobs of this kind have prompted the development of theory regarding the emergence of a new class known as the precariat. The …

The Relationship Of Professional School Counselors' Self-Efficacy And Motivation To Their Counseling Service Delivery, Jon Borland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between professional school counselors' perceived self-efficacy of mental health counseling skills (as measured by the School-Based Mental Health Survey; developed by A. D. Waliski & A. Barthel; adapted and published by Carlson & Kees, 2013) and level of situational motivation (as measured by the Situational Motivation Scale; Guay et al., 2000) to the extent of counseling services provided to students (as measured by the School Counselor Activity Rating Scale; Scarborough, 2005). Based on the principles of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT; Bandura, 1986) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2017), …