Digital Commons Network^™

Increasing Awareness And Communication To Decrease Catheter Days In The Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Kamila Fortney

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem Nurse-driven removal protocols (NRDPs) have been shown to reduce indwelling urinary catheter (IUC) days and prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). Communication barriers prevent consistent implementation of the NDRP, leading to delayed IUC removal and increased risk of CAUTIs. Context The project was conducted in a 16-bed adult surgical intensive care unit (ICU) at a teaching hospital in a major metropolitan area. Interventions Urinary catheter reminder posters displaying IUC days were posted at each bedside to prompt discussion of IUC indication and removal. An email describing the project background was sent to all nurses and physicians by the unit …

Determining The Impact Of Mindfulness Activities To Increase Joy In Work And Decrease Burnout: An Integrative Review, Kimberly Gleason Bogart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This integrative review aims to evaluate whether mindfulness effectively increases joy in work and decreases nursing burnout. A lack of joy leads to feelings of burnout and negatively affects nurses and their desire to leave the profession. Nursing is often accompanied by intense emotional and physical demands that can lead to job dissatisfaction, anxiety, and stress. Burnout diminishes the quality of care and negatively impacts nurses’ well-being. This integrative review aims to explore mindfulness interventions to increase joy within nursing and potentially alleviate burnout. Drawing upon existing literature, this paper examines various mindfulness interventions and factors contributing to burnout among …

Wellness In Licensed Professional Counselors: Counselor Perception Of Documentation Expectations On Professional Satisfaction, Aleta Seay Gibbs

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Counselors are important parts of a community, helping people heal and learn to cope with life. Communities are seeing staffing shortages, counselors leaving the field, and increasing mental health needs of residents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, regulations concerning documentation requirements and service provision rapidly changed, often several times. Counselors were permitted different ways of doing things in light of the constraints imposed by the virus. This included a reduction of how much documentation is required and might have included reductions in paperwork, policy changes, and service provision exceptions for licensed professional counselors (LPCs), like switching to telehealth for health and …

K-12 Teachers’ Experience With Professional Development On Implementing Intervention For Cognitive Reading Disorders And Dyslexia: A Qualitative Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Rosemary Balestieri

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand the experiences of the 10 K-12 teacher participants who may implement instruction and interventions for students who struggle with cognitive reading disorders and dyslexia. Instruction for intervention of cognitive reading disorders at the K-12 education level was generally defined as the multisensory approach more commonly found in schools. Instructional methods of 10 teachers at the K-12 education level for cognitive reading disorders was explored by implementing the central research question (CRQ), “What are the experiences of K-12 teachers who receive professional development to provide cognitive reading instruction with interventions specific to …

Virtual Coaching, Self-Directed Learning, And The Implementation Of Evidence-Based Practices: A Single Qualitative Case Study, Elisabeth Myers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this single instrumental case study was to understand how a virtual coaching program provides opportunities for self-directed learning during the implementation of evidence-based practices for adults at Navigator Coaching. The theory guiding this study was Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory as conceptualizations of self-directed learning described in the literature mirror descriptions of self-determination. The central research question was: How does a virtual coaching program provide opportunities for self-directed learning during the implementation of evidence-based practices? As a single instrumental case, the setting for this study was one virtual life-coaching program in North America. The sample of participants …

Impact Of Leadership Decisions On Police Officer Well-Being: A Covid-19 Response, Jason N. Spencer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative dissertation research project is to determine the impact that law enforcement leaders, their leadership styles, and decision-making processes have on the well-being of police officers. This study sought to understand this impact by focusing on the perspectives of frontline police officers, detectives, and first-line supervisors from various law enforcement organizations in the Central Virginia Region and within the context of leadership decisions made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the constructivist grounded theory approach to research design, 12 participants responded to an initial qualitative questionnaire, followed by a semi-structured interview to gain the rich, …

The Patterns And Structures Of Information Technology Departments In Higher Education, Curt Herridge

Education Policy and Leadership Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the patterns and structures of the Information Technology (IT) department in US colleges and universities. It seeks to understand to whom the Chief Information Officer (CIO) reports, how the top level of the IT department is organized, and what functions the IT department offers. It then examines the university factors that are associated with variations. This quantitative case study uses primary data from the EDUCAUSE Core Data Survey (CDS) and IPEDS, combined with a novel dataset collected from university websites and AAU membership. The study employs Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) using IT variables to classify institutions into …

Early Career Women Of Color As Social Justice Change Leaders, Amy Anh Hoang Dinh

Master's Theses

The student affairs profession is predominantly female, but women, especially women of color (WOC), are disproportionately in entry-level positions. The majority of student affairs professionals also believe social justice is important but desire more support for their social justice work. This study examined how early career WOC perceived the power dynamics that they encountered in their social justice-oriented organizational change efforts, the strategies and tactics they utilized to lead change efforts, and the aspects of their identities that were the most salient to them during their change efforts. The study design used a phenomenology methodology and an intersectionality theoretical framework. …

Challenging The Cancer Of Consumerism Ravaging The American Protestant Church, John A. Thompson Ii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The American Protestant church is sick and, in some cases, dying. The primary factors adversely influencing the church contribute to church members’ warped view of Christianity. The American church is suffering from individualism, consumerism, and uncommitted Christianity. The church may be described as critically ill, and in the I.C.U. The purpose of this study was to address the effects of this cultural illness as it has impacted the people and ministry of Kingdom Life Community Church. This topic is chosen because of the researcher’s experience serving as the church’s lead pastor, observing members approach the church with a consumer bias. …

Special Education Teacher Perspective On Implementation Of Assistive Technology Among Students With High-Incidence Disabilities, Olga Volkov

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of implementing assistive technology with students who have high-incidence disabilities for special education teachers at a large school district. The theory guiding this study was Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. Self-efficacy is one’s belief in one’s capabilities to organize a course of action to achieve a desired outcome. Self-efficacy determines how individuals think, behave, and self-motivate. Previous studies that investigated technology utilization in schools found that teachers’ self-efficacy is one of the key factors in determining and predicting technology integration. The study employed hermeneutic phenomenology as its research methodology. A …

Formalized Succession Planning: A Need In East Tennessee Health Departments, Elizabeth A. Maples

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Gaps in employment competencies can hinder the government from serving the public and the community. The lack of succession planning and the turnover of employees can cause unnecessary strain and unstable situations within an organization. This problem can lead to decreased productivity. Undefined criteria for potential candidates remain an issue of succession planning because leaders have no best way to compare or evaluate applicants. With a growing need to fill jobs, employers complain about a lack of qualified workers. While research included the importance of succession planning, this study will include the need for a formalized succession planning process with …

Reducing Delirium In Post-Surgical Patients Through Pre-Operative Risk Assessment Screening: A Policy Option, Skye Porter Berg Msn, Fnp

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

One of the major complications and reasons for prolonged stay amongst patients who undergo surgery is related to the occurrence of hospital associated delirium. Unfamiliar environment, previous comorbidities, age and anesthesia can alter and affect cognitive status in the general population. While there is substantial evidence previously listing high risk patients through demographics as well as prior medical history, this study collectively gathers information based upon prior evidence-based practice data to determine the benefit of prescreening patients through use of a predictive indicator tool. Based on the literature review and inclusion data gathered from fifty patients undergoing surgery, it was …

The Lived Experiences Of High-Performing Black Male Students With Advanced Placement Courses, Griselda Almonte-Delgado

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Black male students are underrepresented in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Studies on the perspective and experiences of high performing Black male students with Advanced Placement (AP) is limited. Available research indicates that high performing Black students are enrolled at half the rate of White students both nationally and locally in Advanced Placement (AP) courses (Dept. Of Civil Rights, 2021). Research uncovers multifaceted factors influencing enrollment, ranging from personal motivation to systemic barriers. To qualitatively address this dissonance, this research used Attribution Theory as its framework to examine the lived experiences and perceptions of eight high performing Black male students from …

[Re]Thinking Digital Infrastructure: Centering Humans In Integrated Systems Work, Mark Lane, Bodeene Amyot Cairdeas, Rebecca B. French, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

In this talk, librarians and archivists from an academic library will discuss establishing and cultivating a Digital Infrastructure Working Group (DIWG). The DIWG was born out of a need to create interoperability between metadata, preservation, discovery, and access systems for archival materials, and demanded a radical rethinking of prior organizational approaches to digital asset curation, including leveraging available APIs and vendor contracted system development. Learn how team members approached technological work by centering each other’s well-being and intentionally making visible the often-invisible human labor invested in developing and maintaining digital infrastructure. We will share how the DIWG challenged organizational silos, …

Perceptions Of Georgia Alternative School Principals Regarding Their Leadership Preparation Programs, Anterro Graham

Ed.D. Dissertations

Abstract

Alternative schools were characterized by numerous risk factors that impacted

student learning, teacher retention, and access to essential resources. The

implementation of self-efficacy was crucial in tackling and successfully finishing

difficult tasks. Studies were scarce regarding the impact of school principals'

self-efficacy on their leadership behaviors when running an alternative school.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how principals perceived their

self-efficacy, which was influenced by their participation in principal preparation

programs in Georgia. Additionally, I examined the impact of self-efficacy on their

leadership behaviors, the risk factors associated with leading an alternative

school, and how principals …

Sustaining Principals In Native Serving Schools, Marsha Hubbell-Espinosa

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Rural schools struggle to recruit and sustain quality educational leaders and systems that contribute to student success. Rural Native American schools pose more of a challenge because of the unique cultures that play a role in sustaining leaders in their communities. I explored the reasons for high principal turnover in rural Native American serving schools. I conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to collect narratives related to turnover from eight current, former, and retired principals. The stories of these principals provide a direction for recommendations for approach, strategy, and fundamental culturally responsive leadership that is unique to rural Native …

Expediting Stroke Transfers: Improving Door-In Door-Out Times In A Community Hospital Emergency Department, Susan E. Maynard

Dissertations

Patients with acute ischemic stroke are at high risk for death and disability without rapid treatment. Thrombectomy is a time-sensitive procedure that can restore blood flow to the brain.

Examining The Mtss Framework Implementation At The Elementary Level, Michelle Santiago

Dissertations - ALL

Current literature exists centered on Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework, its components, and ways in which MTSS is intended to support all students. Yet, there is a gap in the literature that examines how elementary schools are implementing it. This dissertation study sought to understand what the MTSS framework implementation at the elementary level looks like in practice. The theoretical framework used to help guide this study was Implementation Science. The research question used to guide this study was: How are elementary schools implementing the MTSS framework? There were three elementary buildings within the same school district in Central, …

The Impact Of Electronic Health Record Unintended Consequences On Quality Of Care Within A High Complexity Healthcare Organization, Joetta Powell

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

“Unintended consequences are unexpected, and unwanted outcomes that can limit the value of EHR implementation and adversely affect quality of care and patient safety” (Lee & Kang, 2021, p. 898). Few organizations have redesigned the EHR to improve usability to mitigate potential patient safety concerns. This study aims to identify unintended consequences in patient care workflows and determine educational needs related to EHR usability. A mixed method approach was used to investigate unintended consequences in deidentified patient safety reports submitted Jan 1, 2020, through December 31, 2023. The data was analyzed to identify error types and educational deficits. The Acute …

Experiences Of Women Trustees: A Qualitative Multi-Case Study Of Women Trustees At Private Religious Colleges In The South, Amanda Main

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

In the United States, women are underrepresented on college governing boards and trusteeships, occupying only about one-third of those positions (Madsen & Longman, 2020). In the Southern United States, female representation is dramatically lower, with women holding somewhere between 11-15% of those board positions (Madsen & Longman, 2020). Feminist research identifies persistent sexism as the reason for the continued gender inequities. Sexism in social and organizational structures may present as microaggressions, a lack of agency, lack of female role models and mentors, explicit and inherent gender-based biases, lack of flexibility in work arrangements, and women being assigned work that does …

An Examination Of Cardio-Vascular Patients’ Experiences In A Rural Food Prescription Program, Julia Hansen

Honors Theses

The burden of diet-related chronic diseases in rural communities has prompted the implementation of food prescription programs in rural areas to investigate the impact of more affordable and accessible fresh produce on these vulnerable populations. Because there is little research on the impact of food prescription programs on cardiovascular patients in rural areas, this study will focus on how food prescription programs can benefit this at-risk population. Another goal of this study is to receive feedback from participants to improve food prescription programs to better suit cardiovascular participant needs. To accomplish these goals, a series of questions were asked to …

Indigenous Leadership: Leading The Journey So Others Follow, Ophelia M. Sanchez

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Leadership is a ceremony. All leaders need to envision a sense of purpose as the journey begins. I examined interactions among attitudes, perceptions, and decisions through Indigenous female leaders’ personally identified leadership styles and how to integrate Indigeneity for positive change in their environment. The purpose of this study was to help guide school leaders through initiating educational change and to give courage to Indigenous female leaders to continue to lead or step into leadership. In exploring these interactions, I examined Indigenous women’s leadership experiences, values, and beliefs. This study provided valuable insight to women of all ages, educators, school …

A Phenomenological Study On The Impact Of The Experience Of A College Merger On Employee Engagement, Satisfaction, And Burnout In Faculty, Staff, And Administrators At Minnesota North College, Molly Elise Franz

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Higher education institutions were becoming more competitive due to meeting the needs of changing demographics of prospective students, increasing costs of tuition, fees, and operations, meeting workforce demands, providing access to high quality technology tools, and more. A merger process impacted employee engagement, satisfaction and burnout. It was important for administrators in higher education to create and maintain a supportive and inclusive culture for employees, especially during each stage of the merger process. It was also important to clearly communicate the purpose of the merger, and to provide employees an opportunity to engage with the planning and implementation stages of …

Contributing Factors To Special Education Teacher Burnout And Retention, Amy Schulz

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Teacher burnout is an increasing concern as Minnesota state data indicates more teachers leaving the profession in the first five years of their career and fewer individuals emerging from teacher preparation programs. The area of special education continues to be an area of need as the state continues to report special education licenses as areas of deficit to meet the need across the state. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a correlation between burnout and attrition in special education teachers and to analyze the factors contributing to these issues. A voluntary questionnaire was emailed to …

Msw Portfolio, Mallory Phillips

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Skill Bias Perceptions Of Unskilled Workers' Self-Perception And Self-Efficacy, Cheryl M. Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A common phenomenon witnessed in the United States health care industry is a division between skilled and unskilled workforces. The division results from skill bias perceptions that strip the appreciation and value of certain job titles and responsibilities. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study focused on the human capability approach theory was to ascertain the differences in perception between the two types of workers and whether skill bias perceptions predict self-perception and self-efficacy. The goal was to recognize and support the innate human capabilities of unskilled workers as valuable human capital resources. From stratified sampling, 172 skilled and unskilled …

The Effects Of Work-Life Balance, Teleworking, And Deia On The U.S. Federal Employee Job Satisfaction: Towards Developing A Contemporary Needs Theory, Latara Marie Arterberry

Theses and Dissertations

The study of work-life balance, teleworking, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility are increasingly studied among scholars using different theoretical frameworks. However, no study examines work-life balance, teleworking, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as needs in these contemporary times that, when met, lead to higher employee job satisfaction. Existing scholarship suggests that employee job satisfaction is a function of needs. However, with globalization, human needs have changed to include social justice concerns and the desire to have a more fulfilling family life. When organizations respond to these needs, it leads to employee job satisfaction, which ultimately improves organizational performance. …

Importance Of Intergenerational Leadership In Organizations, Kelta Tabaku Ms.

M.S. in Leadership

Abstract

This study delved into the details of leadership within intergenerational settings, spotlighting the pivotal role of effective communication and cultural comprehension. It underscores how intergenerational leadership shapes organizational dynamics, necessitating innovative methods and meticulous succession planning. The research emphasizes the imperative of acknowledging each generation's distinct contributions and the deployment of leadership training and mentorship initiatives to cultivate inclusive leadership spanning generations. This capstone research thesis aims to explore the challenges in executing effective intergenerational leadership practices in contemporary organizations, potentially uncovering issues like communication barriers, change resistance, or generational misunderstandings. The hypothesis posits that adeptly implemented intergenerational leadership …

Leadership Practices And Instructional Strategies To Advance Student Achievement In Title 1 Elementary Schools, Paula Michelle Watson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative single case study aimed to explore how administrative team members perceived their leadership practices and instructional strategies that advance student academic outcomes on annual mathematics and literacy state assessments. Transformational leadership was the conceptual framework for data collection and analysis. Three research questions focused on how elementary administrative team members perceived leadership practices to advance student achievement in mathematics and literacy, their perceptions of the effectiveness of the leadership strategies used, and their perceptions of instructional strategies used to advance student achievement in mathematics and literacy. This single case study included the cases of three elementary school administrative …

Teachers’ And School Directors’ Perspectives On Standardizing A Learning Management System For Blended Learning, Alfredo Felipe Rivera-Mejías

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The introduction of standardized learning management systems (LMSs) for blended learning (BL) in K–12 education in Puerto Rico signifies a pivotal shift towards enhancing educational environments with technology. This qualitative study was conducted to understand the perspectives of teachers and school directors on the LMS adoption process. Grounded in the concerns-based adoption model as its conceptual framework, the study aimed to elucidate the stages of concern and levels of use among educational stakeholders, shedding light on the multifaceted challenges and opportunities that technology integration brings to schools. Employing semistructured interviews with a selection of seven teachers and school directors, this …