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Mental Health Of Adults With Down Syndrome, Brian Chicoine

Advocate GME

Mental health is an integral part of overall health and well-being for people with and without Down syndrome. In this presentation, Brian Chicoine, MD will describe common characteristics of individuals with Down syndrome that are important to understand when supporting their mental health promotion efforts. He will also discuss diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions in people with Down syndrome and provide case examples of some of the mental health challenges that people with Down syndrome may experience. Additionally, Dr. Chicoine will highlight different types of resources that can be used by adults with Down syndrome and those who …

3d Nano-Architected Polymer Shell Enables Reconfigurable Stabilized Blue Phase Soft Crystals, Sephideh Norouzi, Yazael R. Morales-Flores, Tadej Emersic, Jeremy Money, Otillo E. Rodriguez-Lopez, Andrew Casale, Juan J. De Pablo, Jose A. Martinez-Gonzalez, Monirosadat Sadati

Faculty Publications

Blue phases (BPs), formed through the self-assembly of chiral liquid crystal molecules into 3D nanolattices with cubic symmetries, exhibit dynamic photonic bandgaps in the visible spectrum, offering transformative opportunities for advanced optical circuits, sensing and communication technologies. However, their thermal stability is restricted to a narrow temperature range (0.5–1.0 K), limiting practical applications. Polymer stabilization of bulk BPs has extended thermal stability but often compromises the dynamic behavior essential for fast-response functionalities. Here, experimental and computational approaches are integrated to investigate the effect of curvature and interfacial interactions on BP polymer stabilization. It is demonstrated that photo-polymerization of reactive monomers …

Social Communication Implementable And Applicable Lens: A Framework For Addressing Assessment Of Social Communication, Louise C. Keegan, Jerry K. Hoepner, Leanne Togher, Mary Kennedy, Elise Bogart, Melissa Brunner, Sheila Macdonald

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

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Fostering Belonging: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Nontraditional Students In Higher Education, Gina M. Bolin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the sense of belonging for nontraditional students in online higher education environments. The conceptual framework that guided this study was the CoI, which emphasized the importance of social, cognitive, and teaching presence to foster a supportive and positive student experience. The central research question was: How do online nontraditional students in higher education describe their experiences of academic and social belonging within their learning communities? This study employed a transcendental phenomenological design. Participants included 15 nontraditional students enrolled in fully online degree programs at various U.S. institutions. Data collected through …

The Torchbearer Project At The Whitefield Center Lessons Learned From Developing An Adolescent-Level Christian Discipleship Program, Kenneth Reed Vaughn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In this dissertation, the author discussed the lessons learned regarding building and administering Christian discipleship programs for adolescents. The discussion involved three institutions influenced by the work of the Reverend George Whitefield, all of which have recently faced challenges related to forced organizational transformation or renewal for sustained growth and service. At Bethesda Academy, founded by Whitefield in 1740 as an orphanage, the need for transformation arose from the decreased necessity for the academy to continue providing that service, prompting Bethesda to seek a new purpose. In the case of Christ Church Anglican, founded in 1733, where Whitefield served as …

Irony In Luke's Gospel: Christological Revelation, God's Superior Kingdom, And A Charismatic Theology Of The Spirit, Todd Boulware

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation considers Luke’s use of irony as a strategy of theological significance—a topic not often thoroughly analyzed throughout the history of Lukan scholarship even though many scholars have noted Luke’s narrative artistry. Prior inquiries have acknowledged Luke’s use of irony and other figures of speech, but comprehensive analysis of irony as a theological motif remains largely unaddressed. This is striking since Luke uses irony throughout, starting in Luke 1 and continuing through Luke 24. In this study, narrative and rhetorical critical analysis of the Third Gospel demonstrates that Luke uses the device of irony strategically for his primary theological …

Cybersecurity Strategies For Effective Proactive Response To Cyber Attacks, Tony L. Perry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Malicious cybersecurity attacks threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of organizational data. This issue concerns organizational leaders and cybersecurity professionals who must address these threats to prevent operational disruptions, financial losses, reputational damage, and declining stakeholder trust. Grounded in organizational learning theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore the strategies information technology security professionals use to proactively respond to evolving cybersecurity threats. The study involved 16 cybersecurity professionals, each with a minimum of five years of experience in implementing both offensive and defensive cybersecurity strategies within their organizations. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and a …

Examination Of Evidence-Based Practices Implementation And Perceived Job Satisfaction With Mental Health Providers, Rafael Montoya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Job satisfaction among mental health providers continues to be an important area of inquiry, particularly in relation to professional development and training. However, limited studies have evaluated whether training in evidence-based practices (EBPs) is associated with different levels of job satisfaction compared to traditional training models. The purpose of this cross-sectional, quantitative study was to examine whether a statistically significant difference in job satisfaction exists between mental health providers trained in EBPs and those trained using traditional approaches. The study was guided by Spector’s multidimensional job satisfaction model, which categorizes job satisfaction into nine key domains. Data from 81 mental …

Development And Exploratory Factor Analysis Of A Multicultural Competence Assessment Scale For Primary School Teachers, Nanthaka Supreeyaporn, Nongluck Kienngam, Nannaphat Saenghong

Journal of Education Studies

Multicultural competencies are essential for teachers to provide education that fosters cultural diversity of learners and creates an inclusive learning environment in which every student feels accepted and included. However, research on teachers’ multicultural competence remains limited, particularly regarding the development of valid assessment tools. This study aimed to develop and explore the construct validity of a multicultural competence assessment scale for teachers. The sample consisted of 351 primary school teachers from culturally diverse urban schools. The research instrument was a 40-item multicultural competence scale, with an overall reliability coefficient of  = .977. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and exploratory …

Effects Of Blended Learning On The Self-Directed Learning And Academic Achievement Of First-Year Nursing Students Studying Metabolic Biochemistry, Yuree Chaopipat, Pimrat Tokun, Jerapa Srithahai

Journal of Education Studies

This study examined the impact of blended learning on the self-directed learning and academic achievement of the first-year nursing students studying metabolic biochemistry. This quasi-experiment research recruited 150 first-year nursing students at one of the nursing college. A blended learning intervention, combining face-to-face instruction and various online activities, was implemented. Data were collected using a self-directed learning scale, pretest and posttest, and a final exam. Results indicated that blended learning significantly enhanced students' self-directed learning (t = -2.847, p = 0.005) and academic performance. Post-test scores across all chapters significantly improved after the intervention (t = -10.63, p …

“Health Insurance Is A Worthwhile Investment” Language And Ideology In The Discourse Of Health Insurance Advertising: A Critical Discourse Analysis Perspective, Patamaporn Mingcharoenwong, Sirirat Rakchat, Sirawat Kavilanan

Journal of Letters

This research aimed to examine the relationship between linguistic strategies and the ideology of “health insurance is a worthwhile investment” as well as the discourse practices and socio-cultural practices in health insurance advertising, using a critical discourse analysis framework based on Fairclough’s (1995) three-dimensional model of discourse. The data were collected by selecting the top three most popular and reputable life insurance companies in the 2024 Thailand’s Most Admired Brand survey (A.Kanitha, 2023): AIA, Thai Life Insurance, and Muang Thai Life Assurance. The findings revealed two sets of ideologies: 1) health insurance as an investment for financial security and 2) …

Associations Between Daytime Sleepiness, Obesity, And Sleep Apnea Severity Among Caribbean Women, Melaine F. Mcleod

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of sleep-disordered breathing. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a global health epidemic that is associated with the obesity pandemic and daytime sleepiness. This quantitative cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to examine associations between daytime sleepiness measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, obesity measured by body mass index (BMI), and severity of OSA measured by the apnea-hypopnea index among Caribbean women residing in the Cayman Islands. The health belief model served as the theoretical framework to guide this research. Daytime sleepiness and obesity were independent variables; the dependent variable was the severity of OSA, …

Provision Of Transportation To Psychiatric Follow-Up Appointments, Eliane Sandrine Tueche Fankam

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This quality improvement initiative is focused on the lack of transportation as a significant barrier to obtaining health care services for patients with severe psychiatric disorders. Transportation issues remain an important factor that hinders the attainment of health care services by the members of this population. Transportation challenges should be addressed as much as possible for improving healthcare accessibility and providing timely care. Prior to the implementation of the transportation service, only 30% of patients with severe mental illness (SMI) attended their scheduled appointments, demonstrating the need for intervention. This project focused on whether providing transportation services would improve compliance …

Visualizing Data For Diabetes Management In Patient Portals, Eric Yang, Lakeidra Salazar, Usha Rijal, Yang Gong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Effectively managing diabetes requires active patient engagement in monitoring crucial health metrics, such as HbA1c and glucose levels. However, many existing patient portals present this information in complex and confusing formats, hindering understanding and communication. This study established a prototype for a user-centered dashboard for diabetes management, designed to enhance patient comprehension and interaction with their health data by utilizing principles of relational data display. By applying Gestalt principles and theories of distributed representation, our dashboard optimizes data visualization through Google Looker Studio, ultimately reducing cognitive load and aiding patients in self-management. The findings emphasize the benefits of user-friendly and …

Implementation Of An Education Program For A Ptsd Screening Tool To Increase Knowledge Among Providers Within The Primary Care Setting, Kimberly Inez Schat

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is frequently underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed in primary care settings, leading to delays in treatment and poorer patient outcomes. This scholarly project aims to enhance primary care providers' knowledge and application of PTSD screening tools, specifically the PC-PTSD-5, through a structured educational intervention. The project follows a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design, assessing providers' baseline knowledge, delivering targeted education, and measuring changes in knowledge and confidence post-intervention.

Data analysis revealed a statistically significant improvement in providers' ability to identify PTSD symptoms, utilize appropriate screening tools, and refer patients for timely treatment. The project highlights the clinical significance of routine …

Quantifying Experiences Of Religious Abuse Among Sexual And Gender Minority Populations, Joshua Sink

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A niche venue of research around religious trauma and spiritual abuse has demonstrated adverse outcomes of individuals who feel manipulated or harmed by institutions or individuals holding an imbalance of religious power. While general claims are often made that religion is a positive force on health and psychological wellness, religious trauma is usually associated with PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other pathological symptoms. Interestingly, an area where religion is not related to positive outcomes is among sexual and gender minorities, who show poorer health, higher suicidal rates, and poorer psychological well-being correlated with higher religiosity. While research has been conducted to …

Collegiate Music Recruiting: Using Athletic Recruiting Best Practices To Transform The Industry, Larry Jay Giddens Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The recruitment of new students is vital to every music program and can have a tremendous impact on its success. As technology evolves and the needs of the world change, so do the methods of student recruitment and retention in music departments, music schools, and colleges of music. This study covers the perspectives of collegiate music unit recruiters and compares current and potential strategies. Using a mixed methods approach, this research employs surveys to identify current music unit recruiting trends and challenges. Online recruiting, scholarship availability and facilities/staff emerge as themes within the small body of existing literature and personal …

Maternal And Child Nutrition: Nutrition And Weight Management In Pregnancy, And Nutrition In Children Up To 5 Years-Summary Of New Nice Guidance, Shalmali Deshpande, Samantha Ross, Sharangini Rajesh, Maija Kallioninen, Kate Maslin

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.

Grid Fragility, Blackouts, And Control Co-Design Solutions, Mario Garcia-Sanz

Faculty Scholarship

The grid is undergoing a large-scale transformation, including a significant reduction of synchronous generators, a high penetration of inverter-based resources and renewables, substantial demand growth, new extra-large loads, aging infrastructure and a concerning vulnerability to contingencies. Some of the recent massive blackouts in Spain/Portugal, Chile and Texas are exposing the fragility of the grid as we know it today. This paper introduces new solutions to stabilize the grid under undesired dynamic interactions and extreme contingencies, with the goal of avoiding cascading failures and blackouts. Using control co-design methodologies, the paper proposes three interdependent categories to improve the reliability and controllability …

Flourishing: A Plan To Strengthen Public Legal Education And Information, The Bc Plei Ecosystem Project, Catherine Dauvergne, Aara Johnson, Shannon Srivastava

All Faculty Publications

The Public Legal Education and Information (PLEI) Sectoral Planning Project, headed by Dr. Catherine Dauvergne, K.C., was commissioned by the Law Foundation of British Columbia with the goal of making recommendations about how to improve public legal education and information in the province. The project was co-sponsored by the Law Foundation and the province’s Ministry of the Attorney General. We have come to understand this constellation of resources and organizations as the “public legal education and information ecosystem.” There is a wide array of high-quality, easily accessible, clearly written, legal information available in British Columbia. Ecosystem leaders are at the …

Physical Activity And Functional Mobility In Adults With Hearing Loss: A Series Of Embedded Studies Within A 6-Month Clinical Trial With Hearing Aids, Sarah L. Bochat

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adults with hearing loss engage in low levels of physical activity and demonstrate poor performance on measures of functional mobility. The impact of hearing rehabilitation on these outcomes is not fully understood. Previous investigations were largely quantitative and focused on older adults ≥ 65 years of age who may respond differently to hearing intervention than relatively younger adults. They also tended to focus on exercise rather than global engagement in physical activities and did not report hours of hearing aid use, an important indicator of intervention success. One purpose of this dissertation was to determine the feasibility of collecting accelerometry-assessed …

Teaching Word Combinations Using Matrix Training Via Serious Gaming In Minimally Verbal Children, Nataly Innamorato

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the communication challenges faced by minimally verbal children who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), often limited to one-word expressions. The approach used involves gamifying matrix training, an empirically supported method for teaching word combinations and promoting the generalization of language skills. Across three studies, the development of an instructional game is described and evaluated with two populations, typically developing children and children who are minimally verbal. First, it introduces a gamified application of matrix training that provides training in an interactive digital environment. Second, a proof-of-concept was obtained via a multiple baseline across participants with typically …

Progressive Release Of Informational Materials For People Living With Dementia And Their Informal Carers, Jonathan Turner, Siobhán O’Neill, Damon Berry, Julie Doyle, Harish Kambampati, Orla Moran, Suzanne Smith, Michael Wilson, Dympna O’Sullivan

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

We describe a process for selecting informational material for people living with dementia that is most appropriate for their stage of dementia. This material provides information on the disease, on ways of living with the disease, and on activities that may delay the progression of the disease, with a view to maintaining an individual’s independent living at home. Informational material is suggested according to both an individual’s overall clinical disease progression and progression along seven cognitive domain axes that contribute to the overall progression, for example ‘working memory’ performance or ‘attention’, with scores for these axes being derived from clinical …

Ties That Bind: A Study Of Relational Networks And Spiritual Formation, Joshua Michael Leborious

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In His earthly ministry, Christ tasked the church with the responsibility of making disciples. Today, God calls leaders into professional ministry to discern specific means of doing so. The calling does not make that task easy and the methods for making disciple vary greatly, leaving Christian leaders overwhelmed by trying to figure out how to disciple the people in their care. A mountain of sources suggest that a relational approach has remarkable potential for making disciples. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to explore the potential relationship between relational networks and quantifiable habits of spiritual formation for adult, …

The Failure Of Change Management Projects In Strategy Implementation, Brandon S. Cupp

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Change management is critical to strategy implementation, yet organizations frequently struggle to integrate change initiatives, leading to high failure rates. This study explores the systemic challenges associated with change management projects within strategy implementation programs, identifying key factors contributing to success or failure. The research, using a flexible qualitative case study, examines the perspectives of executives, middle managers, and front-line employees in a U.S.-based public safety apparel company. Findings reveal that ineffective communication, insufficient training and support, lack of leadership accountability, employee resistance, generational and cultural differences, and misalignment between strategic vision and operational execution significantly contribute to change management …

Apologetics Curriculum In A Chinese International School, William Kiel Nation

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christian schools face the challenge of engaging students whose biblical views are being secularized by a culture that is individualistic and materialistic. At International Christian School Hong Kong, in response to such secular challenges, the overreliance on classical and evidential apologetics in the Bible curriculum has led to student disengagement, as these methods often fail to address the presuppositions of secular youth. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a presuppositional apologetics curriculum, grounded in Tim Keller’s Making Sense of God, compared to the traditional classical approach grounded in Keller’s The Reason for God, to determine which method better …

Student And Teacher Perspectives On Blending Popular Music Pedagogies Into Kodály-Based Elementary Music Classes, Maurine Floyd Parker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Kodály instructors in the United States train music educators to use American folk songs and classical Western European music as a foundation for students’ lessons; however, American music classrooms today look very different from the 1940s Hungarian classrooms when Zoltán Kodály developed his philosophy for teaching music, and there is a current need to include music that reflects the diverse student population within our schools. While Kodály “purists” may be hesitant to add music outside the realm of folk songs and art music, doing so may provide today’s learners the relevancy to stay engaged as valued members of the music …

Changes In Royal Air Force Aviation Technology, Tactics, And Strategy From World War I To World War Ii, Daniel J. Heiser

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The changes in aviation technology, strategy, and tactics in the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed at the end of World War I and throughout the Second World War would later sculpt the future of the modern era. This dissertation aims to explore the changes the RAF made which would ultimately help the Allied Forces win the Second World War and fill in the gaps of history that has seemed to have forgotten. The research shows that with the advancement of radar systems in the interwar period and the focus on fighter plane production the RAF became an outstanding fighting force. …

To Use Or Not To Use Exclusionary Discipline In Early Childhood Education? A Phenomenological Analysis Of Pre-Kindergarten Teachers In Alabama, Christal C. Coker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to examine the lived experiences of pre- kindergarten teachers in Alabama regarding their use of and restraint from using exclusionary discipline. The study aimed to find outcomes that could potentially improve social contexts in Alabama's preschools by creating more equitable learning environments. The problem addressed by the study is that the lived experience of preschool teachers regarding their use of and restraint from using exclusionary discipline when students misbehave at school remains to be discovered. A purposive sampling strategy was employed to recruit seven preschool teachers licensed in Alabama for a one-on-one semi-structured Zoom …

Exploring The Stigma Of Mental Health In Oneness Pentecostal Churches From A Pastoral Perspective, Jannett Liburd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the stigma of mental health in Oneness Pentecostal churches in the Northeast from a pastoral perspective. The theory guiding this study is Sigmund Freud’s object relational theory (ORT), as it focuses on the past experiences an individual has with an object, person, or event, and how the experience, whether negative or positive, shapes the person’s attitude and behavior in the future. Mental health stigma is a phenomenon with which individuals may have had a harmful experience. In the study, the central research question was: What are the lived experiences of Oneness …