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A Predictive Correlational Analysis Of Ninth And Tenth Grade Students' Perception Of Culture Of Excellence And Their Attitude To Stem, Mofoluwake Abiola Laleye

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, predictive correlational study was to determine if ninth and 10th grade students’ attitude toward Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), specifically in mathematics and science can be predicted from their perceptions of culture of excellence (CoE). The continued disparity in academic performance and the representation of minority in STEM workforce has prompted the need to explore the effect of CoE on their attitude to STEM. Data for this study were collected from 177 ninth and 10th grade students attending a public charter school predominantly serving underrepresented minorities in southeastern Tennessee. The primary instruments were Student …

An Analysis Of Burnout Among Mental Health Practitioners By Types Of Work, An Examination Of Differences By Religious Affiliation And Personal Time Off As Coping Strategies, Kenzi Turpin-Miller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Burnout influences turnover, job satisfaction, and quality of life of employees across various occupations. Mental health practitioners are considered a high-risk population for burnout because of demanding work conditions, but little research exists exploring the differences in this population by type of work, religious affiliation, and time-off. Most current research on burnout focuses on individual types of work and lacks a comprehensive approach to the population. This study examined whether there were differences in the level of burnout among mental health practitioners based on religious affiliation, time off, and type of work. This study distributed a voluntary survey, which included …

A Causal-Comparative Examination Of The Impact Of Male And Female Secondary Students' Social Anxiety Enrolled In Blended Courses, Tabitha C. Batts-Turner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine if a difference existed in male and female students’ social anxiety scores in the pedagogical approach of blended learning. This study was essential because social anxiety impacted students' quality of life, affecting them long after leaving high school. The ramifications of social issues impacted future earnings, relationships, and psychological well-being; therefore, this study added to the literature on social anxiety and blended learning pedagogy. The sample was comprised of 79 students in blended learning with flipped instructions and 79 enriched virtual. All students were from a rural high school in …

The Invisible Struggle: Exploring The Experiences Of African American Women Diagnosed With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (Pcos) And Their Interactions With Healthcare Providers, Trulissa L. Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of African American women diagnosed with PCOS, focusing on their interactions with medical providers, perception of healthcare, and overall well-being. The cultural competence framework guided this study, and the patient-centered care model is a theory that operated within the broader cultural competence framework. The cultural competence framework and patient-centered care model took into consideration the systemic and individual issues that affect African American women diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. This study examined the difficulties African American women diagnosed with PCOS faced in healthcare, as well as their mental …

Vocal Pedagogy Training For Vocal Music Education Students, Melissa N. Hinds

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory research is to investigate choir teachers’ perceptions of their undergraduate vocal pedagogy training. The problem is that choir teachers may enter the profession with insufficient vocal pedagogy training to teach their choral ensembles adequately. The rationale for this study is to help close the gap by creating a vocal pedagogy curriculum designed for preservice vocal music educators. The foundation of the created curriculum is the participants’ perception of their undergraduate training. The research questions that guided this study are as follows: (1) How do secondary-level choral conductors’ perceptions of their undergraduate vocal pedagogy …

Christian Leadership In The Information Age: Has Unlimited Access To Information Influenced Truth, Robert J. Houk

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to understand and explore what influences and effects, if any, may be identified as church leaders interact with congregants that have been exposed to a wide array of information in pursuit of truth obtained from various sources. At this stage in the research, the Information Age is being examined to determine if it has had any influence on the pursuit of truth as people seek answers to life's fundamental questions. Previous research had identified growing changes within young people’s beliefs as they sought higher education thus leading to a decline in enrollment …

The Mental Health Of Latino Immigrants, Brenda Gallardo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research study explores the daily challenges, coping strategies, and mental health outcomes of undocumented adult Latino immigrants currently residing in the United States of America. The purpose of the research was to address the critical gap in scientific literature regarding the mental health of Latino immigrants residing in the United States. The healthy immigrant effect theory guided the study, which posits that immigrants' health declines the longer they live in a foreign country. Data collection occurred through a qualitative case study design using the first-hand accounts from 18 Latino immigrants residing in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. Each participant …

Phenomenological Qualitative Study Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Women With Terminal Degrees Related To The Gender Gap In Education Leadership Roles, Ashley Walker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the gender gap within education leadership for female teachers with terminal degrees within a Midwestern suburban school district and geographically similar educators recruited via Facebook. The theory that guided this study was Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy as it explains the relationship between self-efficacy and the choice to pursue professional leadership roles. Using purposeful and snowball sampling, 10 women were selected to participate in this study. Nine women who fit the selection criteria were recruited from the XYZ school district, and one participant was recruited via Facebook. Data were collected through …

Motivating And Retaining Alabama Band Directors: A Comparison Of Rural, Suburban, And Urban Band Directors, Brandon Jay Benson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite existing challenges in rural, suburban, and urban communities, band directors face a lack of motivation due to burnout and insufficient resources. This study examines the motivational factors of forty-two Alabama band directors who teach in rural, suburban, and urban communities. Guided by a correlational research design, this mixed-method research study identifies motivational factors that still need to be explored to highlight the motivational factors that drive band directors to continue teaching in their current Alabama communities. This study explores the motivational factors of forty-two Alabama band directors based on their responses to a Likert-type survey and emailed interview questionnaire. …

Brainspotting And The Strong Black Woman Schema: A Pretest–Posttest Study On Psychological Wellness, Iiesha Lasha Ricks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Black women in the United States experience disproportionate health disparities resulting from the intersecting effects of racism and sexism. Although researchers widely acknowledge these disparities, they have given less attention to how race- and gender-based oppression affect mental health outcomes. Brainspotting (BSP) is a trauma-informed approach emphasizing clinician attunement and a nonjudgmental space for processing distress. While BSP has shown promise with diverse populations, few studies have specifically examined its use with adult Black American women. This quantitative pretest–posttest study investigated the efficacy of BSP in improving psychological wellness among Black women and whether endorsement of the Strong Black Woman …

A Phenomenological Study Of Rural North Carolina Middle School Teachers’ Motivational Factors Influencing Achieve3000 Implementation, Catherine Anne Schwoebel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the perceived teacher motivation of rural middle school English Language Arts Teachers at Cape Fear County Schools. The theory that guided this study was Deci and Ryan’s theory on self-determination. The central research question was how rural middle school ELA teachers’ perceptions of the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness influence their motivation to implement Achieve3000 in the classroom. This transcendental phenomenological study employed individual interviews, analysis of journal prompt responses, and focus groups to explore the perceptions of motivational factors influencing Achieve3000 implementation among rural North …

The Perspectives Of Secondary School Science Teachers Regarding The Next-Generation Science Standards In Fostering Critical Thinking Skills In The Rural Public High Schools Of A Southeastern Coastal State: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Janakikutty Vipin Das

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of secondary school science teachers regarding the Next-Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in fostering students’ critical thinking skills in rural public schools in a southeastern coastal state. The theory guiding this study was Bandura’s social cognitive theory (SCT), which helps describe the interconnected personal, behavioral, and environmental factors that explain teachers’ challenges in implementing NGSS. SCT provided a framework for answering the central research question: What are the perspectives of secondary school science teachers in rural public secondary schools of a southeastern coastal state regarding the Next-Generation Science Standards …

Workplace Violence: A Paradigm Shift, Ann Marie Hutchens

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Workplace violence (WPV) has reached epidemic proportions. WPV poses devastating results on the healthcare industry: affecting quality of care and patient outcomes, contribute to the development of physical and psychological conditions for nurses, and reduce the healthcare teams’ level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The United States is already facing a nursing shortage due to baby boomers retiring and an increase chronic disease and the elder population. Although strongly prevalent, WPV is significantly underreported. It is believed that the low rate of reporting is a consequence of apathy that violence is an occupational hazard, and that nothing will change. …

Perceptions Of Educators Of Native American Students In Special Education And Why They Were Placed In Special Education, Megan N. Rose

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of educators of Native American students related to the disproportionality of Native American students who are placed in special education in a school in the Southeastern U.S. The theory that guided this study was critical race theory and its relationship to the disproportionality of Native American students being placed in special education. The central research question that guided the study was: What are educators' experiences with the placement of Native American students in special education? The participants included eleven teachers of Native American students who were placed in …

Play, Instruct, Lead: Investigating The Influence Observing Same-Gender Role Models Has On Leadership Development Of Collegiate Women Student-Athletes Coaching At Youth Sports Camps: A Phenomenological Study, Mercy-Nora Osei

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe how observing same-gender role models influenced the leadership development of collegiate women student-athletes (CWSA) when coaching at youth sports camps (YSC) at NCAA institution campuses in the United States. The theory that guided this study was Albert Bandura’s theory on social learning, as it explained the relationship between observational learning and the influence role modeling had on leadership development. The central question was: How does observing same-gender role models influence the leadership development of collegiate women student-athletes when coaching at youth sports camps? This study used a transcendental phenomenological design to …

Lift Every Voice: A Qualitative Descriptive Phenomenological Study, Janet Singleton Wooten

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many teacher preparation programs include coursework in special education; however, music educators often begin their careers without adequate training to effectively teach students with special needs, particularly those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Music can serve as a vital avenue for communication and belonging for students with ASD, underscoring the importance of inclusive choral education as a research focus. A review of existing literature revealed a gap in pedagogical preparation and a lack of attention to inclusive practices in secondary choral classrooms. Although specialized training could enhance educators’ understanding of how students with ASD learn and thrive, further research is …

Effective Technology Integration Strategies Supply Chain Managers Use To Enhance Profitability, Wayne Benson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information technology (IT) supply chains need innovative technology integration strategies to create and maintain a competitive advantage. IT supply chain managers who lack effective technology supply chain integration strategies risk decreased competitive advantage and reduced profitability. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to identify and explore the effective innovative technology integration strategies supply chain managers use to enhance profitability. Participants consisted of six IT and supply chain managers with at least 5 years’ experience in integration of technology into supply chains. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and a review of …

In-Depth Understanding Of Binge Eating Behavior Among African American Women, Maria Ramia Dibbs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counselor educators lack an in-depth understanding of the unique needs and experiences of African American women with binge eating behavior, leading them to be ill-equipped to train counselors to meet these culturally specific needs. As a result of this study, counselor educators were able to understand how African American women experience binge eating behavior, enhancing training for counselors. This qualitative study included a transcendental phenomenological approach and focused on providing answers regarding the lived experiences of African American women with binge eating behavior during their binge eating episodes. Semistructured interviews with eight African American women with binge eating behavior were …

Telehealth, Access To Care, And Perceived Lived Experiences Of Seniors Living In Sumter, South Carolina, Taquisha Anquinette Howard-Sanders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Telehealth has emerged as a transformative approach to healthcare delivery, particularly for populations facing geographic, financial, and mobility-related barriers. In rural communities such as Sumter, South Carolina, seniors 50 and older continue to experience challenges in accessing timely care, including limited transportation, provider shortages, digital illiteracy, and financial constraints. Conducted by Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use (ABMHSU), this qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of seven seniors in Sumter to understand how telehealth influences engagement in healthcare. This study was guided by three research questions (RQ) that examined seniors’ experiences using ABMHSU, focusing on predisposing factors, enabling …

Navigating The Shadows: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Psychological Well-Being Of Coachees From Strengths-Based Coaching, Lorenzo Moultrie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations may experience negative impacts, such as the loss of valuable employees and disruptions in team dynamics, when coaching interventions lead to challenges against organizational norms or policies. Coaching industry leaders must understand the negative impacts as indicators of workplace vulnerability affecting employees and productivity. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore how coachees describe their lived experiences of strengths-based coaching (SBC) and its impact on their psychological well-being (PWB). The SBC’s dual outcomes on PWB, using a conceptual framework that integrates positive psychology coaching, Ryff’s model of PWB, and social exchange theory, grounded this study. The …

Final Master's Portfolio, Annie Seboe

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio showcases scholarly research into technical and professional writing, exploring themes like binaries in the feminist writing classroom, New Rhetoric theory vs. traditional technical communication theory, and genre pedagogy as a solution for the dichotomies in technical communication.

Communication Strategies Finance Leaders Use To Increase Employee Productivity And Organizational Profitability, Tricia Ashbourne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract A lack of effective communication strategies to increase employee productivity and profitability is a concern among leaders in the finance industry. This problem is important because, without such strategies, organizations might experience decreased employee morale and misalignment, which could reduce productivity and profitability. Grounded in leader–member exchange theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to identify and explore the effective communication strategies that senior finance leaders use to increase employee productivity and organizational profitability. Participants were six senior leaders from the finance industry in the Cayman Islands, each with at least 5 years of executive responsibility over …

Nursing Home Leadership And The Connection To Fostering Quality Care In Nursing Homes, Daphne Hicks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nursing homes in the U.S. state of Mayland experience a high volume of reports for abuse and neglect and are poorly ranked for responding to complaints, leading to a low overall rating. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore leadership practices that could result in improvement in quality of care and reductions in abuse and neglect, using a needs assessment and development of a logic model as a precursor for a formative evaluation. The framework applied was Lead Self, Engage Others, Achieve Results, Development Coalitions, and Systems Transformation. Eight nursing home administrators were interviewed to collect primary data, …

“Mijo, You Can Do It- Just Spit On It A Little!” Rasquachismo In Education: Latina Teachers’ Unique Skills In Building Student Rapport, Janie Rivera

Masters Theses (Archived)

This qualitative case study examined how the upbringing of five Latina educators shaped their teaching philosophies and interpersonal skills in establishing strong rapport with students. By exploring the experiences of these five Latina educators (ages 34-57, with teaching experience ranging from 1 to 27 years) alongside our 75-year-old mother of Mexican descent, the research investigated the impact of cultural upbringing—particularly within the framework of rasquachismo—on ethical care and teacher-student relationships. The study examined how Latinx upbringing and life experiences influence teaching styles and the development of student relationships, ultimately promoting care and success in the classroom. The findings highlighted …

A Proteogenomic Gene Signature Defines Prognostic Subgroups Highlighting Pi3k/Akt/Mtor Signaling Pathway As A Therapeutic Vulnerability In Myeloid Malignancies, Fan He, Shuyang Lin, Bei Gao, Varun Ramesh, Alexander B Kim, Tim Kong, Daniel A C Fisher, Christopher T Letson, Molly Brakhane, Mary Fulbright, Yanbo Yu, Marco Sardiello, Jorge Di Paola, Stephen M Sykes, Stephen T Oh

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Myeloid malignancies, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), exhibit overlapping pathophysiology. Chronic MPNs can transform into secondary AML (sAML), which is associated with poor prognosis and limited treatment options. However, the process and prognostic significance of leukemic transformation remain incompletely understood.

METHOD: Through a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, we showed that genetic liability to MPN significantly predicts the risk of developing AML, establishing MPN as the precursor to leukemia. To identify mediators of this risk, we integrated population-level plasma proteomics data, identifying 55 proteins associated with MPN. Upon integrative analysis with the BEAT-AML cohort, …

Holter Monitor Qt Dispersion And Qtc-Dispersion In Pediatric Long Qt Syndrome And Development Of A Diagnostic And Arrhythmia Risk Prediction Model, Hadeel Allam, Na Le Dang, Edita Karasalihovic, Nathan Miller, Lisa Roelle, William B Orr, Dustin Nash, Anthony G Pompa, Jennifer N A Silva

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Holter monitors can provide temporal QT analysis, allowing for calculation of QT dispersion and corrected QT dispersion over time. We describe the results of the QT dispersion and corrected QT dispersion over a 24-hour period in pediatric patients with long QT syndrome (LQTS), compared with a normal cohort, and develop 2 new machine learning models for diagnosis and arrhythmia risk prediction in LQTS.

METHODS: A single-center retrospective case-control study was conducted comparing patients with congenital LQTS and normal controls who underwent a clinically indicated Holter between January 2022 and May 2024. After identifying patients with cardiac events, 2 neural …

Baseline Ecg And Cardiovascular Outcomes In People With Hiv: Insights From Reprieve, Aya Awwad, Shashwatee Bagchi, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: With antiretroviral therapy, people with HIV (PWH) have an increased burden of cardiovascular disease. The REPRIEVE (Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV) trial demonstrated that pitavastatin reduces major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) among PWH at low to moderate traditional atherosclerotic risk. Electrocardiographic abnormalities are common in PWH, but little is known about their association with MACEs. We sought to examine whether baseline electrocardiographic abnormalities are associated with increased MACE risk among a global primary cardiovascular disease prevention cohort of PWH in REPRIEVE.

METHODS: In this observational analysis, entry electrocardiographic abnormalities were adjudicated and classified as major or …

Intracranial Injection Of Genetically Modified, Mosquito Non-Transmissible Zika Virus: Safety In Primates And Ramifications For Brain Tumor Therapy, Alec J Hirsch, Amanda De Andrade Costa, Emilie Russler-Germain, Ashwani Kesarwani, Yuping Li, Michael S Diamond, Milan G Chheda, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Glioblastomas (GBMs) are incurable brain tumors. Zika virus (ZIKV) has specificity in killing GBM stem cells, which drive treatment resistance. In mouse models of GBM, ZIKV also generates an anti-tumor inflammatory response and prolongs survival. To support clinical development and address safety concerns for intra-tumoral treatment, we assessed the effects of injection of an immune-sensitized ZIKV (Δ10 3'-UTR ZIKV), which cannot be transmitted by mosquitos, into non-tumor-bearing rhesus macaque brains. After injection, the primates showed no clinical signs of illness. Histologically, as expected, ZIKV infection elicited mild inflammation, which resolved within 2 weeks. No infectious virus was detected in the …

Exploiting Large Language Models For Diagnosing Autism Associated Language Disorders And Identifying Distinct Features, Chuanbo Hu, Wenqi Li, Mindi Ruan, Xiangxu Yu, Shalaka Deshpande, Lynn K Paul, Shuo Wang, Xin Li

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Diagnosing language disorders associated with autism is a complex challenge, often hampered by the subjective nature and variability of traditional assessment methods. In this study, we explored large language models (LLMs) to overcome the speed and precision obstacles by enhancing sensitivity and profiling linguistic features for autism diagnosis. This research utilizes natural language understanding capabilities of LLMs to simplify and improve the diagnostic process, focusing on identifying autism-related language patterns. We showed that the proposed method demonstrated improvements over the baseline models, with over a 10% increase in both sensitivity and positive predictive value in a zero-shot learning configuration. Combining …

Disposal, Yihan Su

Theses

Disposal is a mixed-media animated short film created as a graduate thesis project. The story explores the protagonist’s search for meaning in life and his defiance of a predetermined fate. At the beginning, he is an ordinary, guileless figure without remarkable qualities. In his world, life revolves around constant competition, and one’s worth is measured by their position on a ranking board. Only the top three may pass through the golden gate, a symbol of transcendence. Others must continue the endless cycle of contests, while the lowest seven face incineration in the Disposal. Despite his efforts, the protagonist falls into …