Digital Commons Network^™

Best Practices In Traditional Project Management For Innovation And Cost Control Activities In The Biopharma Industry, Swarali Lele

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of accelerated drug development and approval has been well-resonated throughout the world. However, the drug development process is tedious, takes enormous time and resources, and requires regulatory approval. Innovation and financial efficacy are crucial to speeding up the process as industries strive to balance these two parameters. Through qualitative methodology, this research provides project management-related measures to improve innovation and cost control activities in the biopharma industry. It discusses the factors impacting innovation and sustainability and action items for the organization to improve its quality.

Con Respeto Y Dignidad: Transforming Educational Experiences For Students Of Color By Addressing Disproportionate Discipline Practices, Selene Munoz

Dissertations

Discipline practices wield significant influence over the social dynamics within educational settings and profoundly impact students’ ability to attain academic and social gains crucial for their success. The racialization of school discipline has been linked to negative effects on student’s academic trajectories and life outcomes. Consequently, school administrators can play a crucial role in effecting cultural change within their organizations to support disciplinary practices that uphold students’ educational dignity. This study looked at the strategies employed by secondary level administrators to shift their school cultures aimed at addressing disproportionate disciplinary practices. Using a mixed methods approach, this study draws upon …

Increasing Resiliency In Front-Line Nurse Managers, Adrianne N. Bunyard-Fallquist

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem

According to Membrive-Jimenez et al. (2020), 29% of nursing managers experience emotional exhaustion due to work overload, conflict mediation, and a lack of support from senior leadership. In a central California hospital, front-line nurse managers struggle to meet organizational goals and support their teams, with 64% indicating dissatisfaction in their roles in fall 2023. This highlights the need to improve job satisfaction and retention.

Context

A large healthcare system in Northern California has implemented Caring Science (Foss et al., 2015) and HeartMath® (HeartMath, 2023) techniques in a rural hospital to improve nurse manager retention and job satisfaction. The project …

Developing Literacy Through Play, Molli Vanderjagt

Masters Projects

The loss of play in the classroom has had a significant impact on children’s foundational literacy skills. It has hindered children’s language development by reducing their verbal skills and language comprehension and decreasing vocabulary. Child development has not changed, and yet we continue to put more academic pressure on our youngest students. This project addresses the need for play in early education classrooms. It then provides research why play is important in developing foundational literacy skills, such as oral language and vocabulary, comprehension and recall and higher-level thinking, and possible classroom applications. The project concludes with a presentation for administrators, …

Improved Robustness For Deep Learning-Based Segmentation Of Multi-Center Myocardial Perfusion Mri Datasets Using Data Adaptive Uncertainty-Guided Space-Time Analysis., Dilek M Yalcinkaya, Khalid Youssef, Bobak Heydari, Janet Wei, Noel Bairey Merz, Robert Judd, Rohan Dharmakumar, Orlando P Simonetti, Jonathan W Weinsaft, Subha V Raman, Behzad Sharif

Heart and Vascular Articles

BACKGROUND: Fully automatic analysis of myocardial perfusion MRI datasets enables rapid and objective reporting of stress/rest studies in patients with suspected ischemic heart disease. Developing deep learning techniques that can analyze multi-center datasets despite limited training data and variations in software (pulse sequence) and hardware (scanner vendor) is an ongoing challenge.

METHODS: Datasets from 3 medical centers acquired at 3T (n = 150 subjects; 21,150 first-pass images) were included: an internal dataset (inD; n = 95) and two external datasets (exDs; n = 55) used for evaluating the robustness of the trained deep neural network (DNN) models against differences in …

Indoor Environment Sensor Systems For Healthier Homes: A Feasibility Study In Social Housing, Tim Walker, Sarah Buckingham, Tamaryn Menneer, Gengyang Tu, Lewis R. Elliott, Markus Mueller, Catherine Leyshon, Michael Leyshon, Lucia Pratto, Emma Bland, Karyn Morrissey

School of Nursing and Midwifery

This study examines the feasibility of using an indoor environment sensor system to improve property management and health in social housing. Over a 6-year period, sensors were installed and maintained in 280 homes to monitor temperature, humidity, and air quality, with the sensor data provided to residents and the Housing Association (HA) through co-designed dashboards. Employing a mixed method sequential research design, feasibility was evaluated using the RE-AIM model. From the residents’ perspective, monitoring the indoor environment was acceptable, but adoption rates of the dashboard were low and there was minimal evidence of its effectiveness in prompting changes in behavior. …

Characterization Of Population Pharmacokinetics And Associated Interindividual Variability Of Drugs Used In Mass Drug Administration Against Lymphatic Filariasis, Abdullah Alshehri

Theses & Dissertations

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a mosquito-borne filarial infection that affects the lymphatic system. The progression of the disease is associated with severe comorbidities and social stigma among patients. The World Health Organization has categorized the disease as a public health problem, and it has been targeted by mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns over the past two decades. Several preventive chemotherapies have been used in MDA campaigns against LF, including a combination of three anti-filarial drugs (IDA therapy): albendazole (ALB), diethylcarbamazine (DEC), and ivermectin (IVM). Other antiparasitic drugs, such as moxidectin (MOX), are still under investigation for their activity against LF. …

Body Length Determines Flow Refuging For Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Behind Wing Dams, Terry R. Dial, Laura A. Collins, James C. Liao, Bret W. Tobalske

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Complex hydrodynamics abound in natural streams, yet the selective pressures these impose upon different size classes of fish are not well understood. Attached vortices are produced by relatively large objects that block freestream flow, which fish routinely utilize for flow refuging. To test how flow refuging and the potential harvesting of energy (as seen in Kármán gaiting) varies across size classes in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss; fingerling, 8 cm; parr, 14 cm; adult, 21 cm; n = 4 per size class), we used a water flume (4,100 L; freestream flow at 65 cm s^-1) and created …

Syntheses, Characterizations And Reactions Of Acene-2,3-Dicarbaldehydes, Glen Miller, Qian Liu

Faculty Publications

Here, we report improved syntheses, detailed characterizations and reactions of a series of acene-2,3- dicarbaldehydes including tetracene-2,3-dicarbaldehyde. DFT calculations corroborate and complement the experimental results. Tetracene-2,3-dicarbaldehyde and the benchmark organic semiconductor pentacene have isoelectronic p-systems and similar HOMO–LUMO gaps. Tetracene-2,3-dicarbaldehyde is soluble in a host of organic solvents (e.g., DMF, toluene, THF, chloroform, dichloromethane) and shows excellent photooxidative resistance in solution phases exposed to light and air. Further, it is readily sublimed from the solid-state without decomposition, and can be functionalized using different chemistries. We have demonstrated the utility of acene-2,3-dicarbaldehydes as reactants in the syntheses of novel diaryl-2,3-acenedimethanols and …

A Hybrid Model For Assessing Safety Implementation And Project Success In The Construction Industry, Aya Hassan, Ali Hassan

Civil Engineering

Construction projects are prone to accidents and injuries, necessitating a focus on implementing safety programs. However, the implementation of such programs is influenced by various factors. Developing countries often have poor safety performance in their building sectors, with limited research in this area. This study aimed to identify essential safety program activities (SPAs) specific to the building sector. Through a literature review and survey, 25 SPAs were identified and validated via a pilot survey involving building sector experts. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 105 participants from the construction industry and academia. They were then categorized into four interconnected measurements …

Synergizing Bim And Value Engineering In The Construction Of Residential Projects: A Novel Integration Framework, Ahmed Gouda Mohamed, Mohamed Ahmed Nabawy Dr

Civil Engineering

This study explores integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Value Engineering (VE) to enhance cost management and project value optimization in residential construction. The primary aim is to develop a comprehensive framework that synergizes 5th Dimension Building Information Modeling (5D BIM) with VE processes to identify and evaluate the most cost-effective construction alternatives. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this research includes an extensive review of existing practices, an integrated BIM-VE framework proposal, and the application of 5D BIM principles to improve visualization, cost estimation, and scheduling. The findings reveal that integrating BIM and VE significantly enhances project efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness. …

A Qualitative Study Exploring Preservice Educators' Mindsets Regarding Training In Identifying Pre-Violence Indicator Patterns, Aaron Glenn Walp

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological study was to understand the mindsets of preservice educators regarding mandatory training in pre-violence indicator patterns at XYZ University. Pre-violence indicator patterns are defined as behaviors symptomatic of violent or aggressive behavior. The theory guiding this study was Dweck’s implicit theory of intelligence. The central research question was: What is the mindset of preservice educators regarding mandatory training in pre-violence indicator patterns? Qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological methods were used to study the beliefs of 12 preservice educators through a questionnaire, individual interviews, and a group discussion. The data were examined through line-by-line coding and …

Fallenness, Sustainment, And Judgment: Analyzing Coherency In The Thematic Trajectory Of Qohelet, Albert R. Portillo Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study has sought to establish a basis for coherency in Qohelet’s theological appeal by analyzing a thematic trajectory underpinned by the rhetoric of Qohelet’s emphasis on vanity, joy, and judgment. These emphases follow what have been labeled projectile themes, which aim at particular points, carrying the audience from one thought to another. These thoughts are deeply correlated and best recognized as the substance forming Qohelet’s framework from which Qohelet’s teaching flows. In other words, Qohelet’s thoughts, revealed by his thematic emphasis and endpoint, function as an evangelistic appeal to a theological worldview, whereby the minds and hearts of his …

Creating Thinking Classrooms In Music Education: Teacher And Student Perspectives Of Twenty-First-Century Instruction, Dave Mcgarry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite changes to provincial documents in British Columbia, many music educators still rely on traditional teaching methods. This convergent mixed methods case study aimed to understand student and teacher perspectives on twenty-first-century instruction in the music classroom, providing insights to enhance and enrich experiences in musical learning. Data were collected from thirty-one students in a singular grade nine to twelve instrumental band class through interviews, lesson journals, direct observations, surveys, student artifacts, field notes, and pre-and post-test measures. The study analyzed students' musical self-confidence inventories and examined the effects of a twenty-first-century student-centered curriculum over six weeks. This curriculum emphasized …

Disciple-Making At St. Louis Baptist Church, Vasquez R. Granberry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In careful reflection, the members at St. Louis Baptist Church need a more structured way to train on disciples making disciples. The purpose of this DMIN action research project is to develop and deliver a structured small group training process for making disciples who will become St. Louis Baptist Church disciple-makers. The current thesis for a Doctor of Ministry degree focuses on disciple-making. The objective is to learn and teach the membership how to become disciple-makers within the St. Louis Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas. Allowing these matters to address disciple-makers will also enable the researcher to discover the topics …

Grounded In Faith: Maintaining And Appreciating A Relationship With God, Oneself, And Others In An Ever-Changing World With New Ears And Eyes, Antoinette Marie Reaves

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The declining Mass attendance and participation in campus ministries at Cabrini University prompted this action research project. It was designed to engage students in guided dialogue defending key Christian doctrines to boost their Mass attendance and deepen their spiritual engagement. By involving seventeen students and employing interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaires, and surveys, the intersection of religion and spirituality among young adults was explored. Insights highlighted the participants’ perspectives regarding declining Mass attendance and disengagement from institutionalized religion. Meaningful dialogue around fundamental Christian doctrines, such as God’s existence and Jesus’ death and resurrection, was fostered to motivate students to increase …

Perspective-Taking, Self-Talk, And Social Connection: A Phenomenological Study Of How Individual Practices Reduce Loneliness During The Menopausal Years, Sarah Joy Groff

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Menopause is a stage of the life cycle known for physical, mental, and emotional changes. Many women report feeling isolated and lonely during this time due to changes in hormones and physical appearance, lack of sleep, uncertainty about their role after raising children, and cultural pressures to remain thin and beautiful. Due to the lack of education and normalization of this life change, women often withdraw and become increasingly depressed or anxious, as a result. Loneliness is associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, suicidality, premature death, and a variety of other physical ailments. However, previous research suggests that the …

The Relationship Between High-Impact Educational Practices (Hips) And Institutional Integration And Persistence: A Predictive-Correlational Design, Amy L. O'Dell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, predictive-correlational research study was to examine how well a linear combination of predictor variables, including course structure, is able to predict the levels of integration and rates of reenrollment among students at a regional, comprehensive university in the southwest. Higher education has a problem with attrition. Approximately 50% of undergraduates who begin their post-secondary education leave without completing a degree. Innovative classroom techniques, like high-impact practices (HIPs), may be a way to reduce student attrition. This study sought to investigate the affect that a unique HIP has on students’ levels of integration and rate of …

The Impact Of Social Media On Young People And Christian Chaplains, Darrien Defederico

Masters Theses

Social media is a ubiquitous form of technology in the modern world. It encompasses not only cell phone applications such as Facebook, but also gaming platforms and even the Internet itself. Social media has negative effects on not only psychological development but also on spiritual development. It has far-reaching influence, can be extremely addicting, and can dull spirituality. However, with the right training, social media can be used for beneficial psychological and spiritual development. There is research that social media largely amplifies the mindset users are already in. This can result in spiritual growth if that is the user’s intent. …

“The Soviet Union Is Different From Us”: The Sino-Soviet Relationship And Split From The Chinese Perspective, Enfeng Wang

Masters Theses

The thesis demonstrates and explains the complex relationship between the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from the late 1940s to 1969. The period of the Sino-Soviet relationship was marked by initial military and economic cooperation followed by increasing ideological divergence and political and diplomatic tensions. The paper briefly introduces the historiography of the Sino-Soviet relationship. The thesis starts with the establishment of the PRC in 1949 and the subsequent alliance with the USSR, rooted in shared communist ideologies and mutual strategic goals. The paper shows the gradual deterioration of the Sino-Soviet relationship after the death of …

Transitioning To English: Teaching Foundational English Literacy Skills In Early‬ ‭Exit Transitional Bilingual Classes, Kate Wiegman

Masters Projects

Students enrolled in a transitional bilingual education program receive instruction in their native language with increasing amounts of English each year. This is an attempt for efficacy on the part of the United States school system, but English learners still consistently score lower on reading assessments than their White classmates. The White-Hispanic fourth grade reading achievement gap is evidence of this (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). While there are several different bilingual instructional models in use throughout the U.S., transitional bilingual education (TBE) classrooms are one of its weaker forms (Wright, 2022, 120). This is why teachers in TBE …

Phonics Intervention Supports In 3rd-6th Grade, Nicole Embury

Masters Projects

Older students have gaps in their foundational literacy skills, especially phonics. This project explores the causes of the literacy skills gaps and what types of interventions and instruction can support closing those phonics skills gaps in students who are in third through sixth grade. Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory framework provides systematic, explicit instruction to support students in their phonics and reading skills. Although this research focuses on students' skills, how teachers supply the instruction is essential to helping students. This project provides various assessments to narrow down where a student is missing a skill and some activities to support the student …

Research-Based Early Literacy Practices For Lower Elementary Educators, Erica Joy Austin

Masters Projects

Low literacy rates are a significant issue in the United States. Low literacy skills correlate with many notable societal issues including poverty, higher chances of unemployment and incarceration, and even poor health. There are many significant contributors to the issue of low literacy including but not limited to poverty, teacher attrition, chronic student absenteeism and tardiness, lack of literacy practices taking place in homes, and lack of research-based literacy practices taking place in elementary classrooms. Although all of these issues significantly affect the literacy rates in the United States, among all of these issues, teachers have the most control over …

Exploring Leadership Characteristics And Their Effects On Sustaining Federally Qualified Health Centers, Eleace E. Sawyers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An argument can be made for the continued existence of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) because of the level of importance of the service they provide to society. The problem addressed in this research is that despite the millions of people in need of affordable health care, the leaders of many FQHCs are fighting to keep facilities open amidst financial struggles. The purpose of this research was to identify leadership characteristics that promote FQHCs’ success by assessing effective leadership styles. This study applied a quantitative, descriptive non-experimental approach. Probability sampling was used to select the sample size and the Multifactor …

Anticipatory Grief Narratives Of Caregivers Of Children With Cockayne Syndrome, Emily T. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Knowledge of the impending death of a loved one has been connected with experiences of anticipatory grief. Specific grief experiences such as caring for a parent with dementia and caring for a child with cancer have been explored. Other rarely occurring anticipatory grief experiences have yet to be explored. The occurrence of Cockayne syndrome (CS) is 2.7 births in 1,000,000 worldwide. CS caregivers begin grieving the moment they learn of their child’s diagnosis, and counseling professionals are ill prepared to counsel the bereaved in even the more typical post death situations. Therefore, this qualitative, narrative study asked the question: what …

Effect Of Superabsorbent Polymer On 3d Printing Characteristics As Rheology-Modified Agent, Yu Cun Gu, Kamal H. Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study aims to investigate the effects of two superabsorbent polymer (SAP) types, S1 and S2 (with continual absorption and rapid desorption, respectively) as rheology-modified agent on 3D printing characteristics. Three base mixtures were selected with different thixotropic behaviors (i.e., mixtures with high re-flocculation (τfloc), high structuration rate (Athix), and both low τfloc and Athix, respectively). The initial mini-slump flow of 190±10 mm was secured by adjusting superplasticizer (SP) or water demand (increasing w/b by either 0.025 or 0.05). An extrudable region was determined within the range of τfloc (200-890 Pa) and Athix (15-60 Pa/min). The use of the S2 …

Coupled Effect Of Fiber Type And Reinforcement Ratio On Flexural Behavior Of Reinforced Beams Cast With Super Workable Concrete, Jingjie Wei, Le Teng, Kamal H. Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study investigated the effect of 5-dimensional hooked-end fiber (5D) on the structural performance of beams and compared its efficiency with other fibers in strengthening structural performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams with an increase in reinforcement ratio (ρ). The potential of using fibers to reduce the longitudinal rebar based on various design criteria was investigated. The fibers included 5D, a combination of 80 % 3-dimensional hooked-end and 20 % short steel fibers (STST), and two combinations of macro synthetic fibers A and B (MSF). Experimental results indicated that, compared to non-fibrous beams, using 5D was the most efficient in …

Simulation Of Calcium Carbonate Nucleation Processes In Confined C-S-H Nanopores With Different Calcium-Silicon Ratios, Jiao Yu, Kerui Wang, Peixuan Yang, Mengmeng Li, Biqin Dong, Zuquan Jin, Shuxian Hong, Hongyan Ma

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Carbonation curing technology plays an important role in carbon cycling and improving the properties of cement-based materials, while the nucleation and growth mechanism of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) is still unclear. Based on molecular dynamics simulation, the formation process and nucleation mechanism of CaCO₃ in confined C-S-H nanopores with different calcium-silicon ratios were studied. The results show that the clustering behavior of CaCO₃ in C-S-H nanopores filled with saturated CaCO₃ solution can be divided into three phases, rapid agglomeration stage, slow cluster stage, and stable cluster stage. The aggregation is mainly dependent on ionic bonding for …

Healthcare Assistance Challenges-Driven Neurosymbolic Ai, Kaushik Roy

Publications

Although Artificial Intelligence technology has proven effective in providing healthcare assistance by analyzing health data, it still falls short in supporting decision-making. This deficiency largely stems from the predominance of opaque neural networks, particularly in mental health care AI applications, which raise concerns about their unpredictable and unverifiable nature. This skepticism hinders the transition from information support to decision support. This presentation will explore neurosymbolic approaches that combine neural networks with symbolic control and verification mechanisms. These approaches aim to unlock AI’s full potential by enhancing information analysis and decision-making support for healthcare assistance.

We Are Better For Having Survived: Tejanas In World War Ii, Ashleigh Champagne

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The contributions of women during World War II were significant to the Allies’ success. Women in the United States took on responsibilities that were typically not within their traditional roles. Latinas also impacted the war efforts, and their contributions have garnered less attention. Specifically focusing on the Mexican American women in Texas, this paper uses oral histories from archives located in Texas colleges, universities, and public libraries to highlight the ways these Tejanas were essential to society during wartime, how it challenged their traditional and cultural identity, and how that change inspired them to organize to fight for their communities …