Digital Commons Network^™

Mississippi School Accountability, Instructional Leadership, And Data Use; A Formula For Success, Teresa Duke

Dissertations

The following quantitative research study was conducted to determine if differences exist between “A-rated” and “F-rated” districts in Mississippi when it comes to how data are used for preparation of student academic achievement, how that data is used to influence instruction, and what beliefs school leaders have concerning the development of a data-based decision-making culture. Mississippi was chosen based on its unique accountability model.

The survey method was used for this study. Over 100 school leaders from across the state participated from 12 different school districts. Their responses provided some indication of the differences that exist between “A” and “F” …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Exploring Relationships Among Professional Preparation, Professional Development, And The Implementation Of Sex Education In Mississippi, Joyee Washington

Dissertations

The state of Mississippi has led the nation in high rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents, despite mandating sex education in public schools for over a decade (SIECUS, 2011; SIECUS, 2016; SIECUS, 2017). Although studies conducted among Mississippi sex educators in the K-12 setting have shown that teachers receive very little to no professional development and desire more training, there is little supporting evidence to understand the position of professional development relative to sex education implementation in the state (Kolbo, Werle, Ismail, Arrington, Harbaugh, & Esters, 2015; Arrington, Ismail, Werle, Esters, Frederick, Ellis, & Kolbo, 2018). …

Copolymer Microphase Separation, Properties, And Applications, Daniel Weller

Dissertations

Copolymers represent a broad, but critically important class of materials. Often having properties superior to either of its constituents, copolymers are used in virtually all industries including automotive, aerospace, coatings, packaging, and cosmetics. Certain copolymers microphase separate to form nanosized domains that improve the physical properties of the copolymer. The polymer community already has a thorough understanding of how phase separation occurs, but the commercialization of phase separating copolymers lags significantly behind academia. Many of the copolymers that exist that have been undercharacterized and underutilized. This dissertation examines two such polymers. The first, a hard polystyrene material with soft nanodomains. …

Receptor-Doped Organic Transistors: Transducing Anion Binding From Mixed Ionic-Electronic Transport, Anthony Benasco

Dissertations

Organic semiconductors based on π-conjugated polymers show remarkable properties such as high tolerance to structural defects, low processing temperature requirements, biocompatibility, ease of fabrication, and tunable properties. Conjugated polymers integrated into device arrays can exhibit collective properties sensitive to minor perturbations in the surrounding media. However, these devices rely on serendipitous sensitivity to the analyte of interest, and strategies for specific detection remain a considerable change. There remains a compelling, global need for technologies to monitor phosphate due to its prevalence in agricultural runoff, leading to fish kills and economic decline for commercial and recreational fisheries. The strong hydration energies …

Perceptions Of Perinatal Nurses Caring For Perceived Stigmatized Patients During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Perinatal Settings: A Qualitative Study, Deborah Tucker

Dissertations

Perinatal nursing consists of caring for women before, during, and shortly after the birth experience, providing a unique opportunity for nurses to care for women and families in a fundamental moment of life (Simpson et al., 2020). This qualitative descriptive study design allows for straight descriptions of phenomena to evaluate perceptions of nurses caring for perceived stigmatized patients in the perinatal setting during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. As research gaps were identified, the following research questions were developed and used to guide this study:

1. What are the perceptions of caring in perinatal nurses who deliver care to perceived stigmatized …

The Covid-19 Experience: An Intensive Care Nursing Perspective, Adrianna Watson

Dissertations

In December 2019, a new virus reared its head and within a matter of months demanded the attention of the world as health care was challenged to full capacity. Frontline healthcare workers struggled to care for the patient after patient with limited knowledge of pathophysiology, risk of contagion, and resources. As the waves of patients became increasingly critical, the task of everyday human connection and care, as well as extraordinary life-saving measures, fell upon the shoulders of intensive care nurses. Little is known about how these nurses understand their experiences caring for patients with the novel coronavirus, or how their …

The Search For Neutrality: A Discourse Analysis Of Language Use In Higher Education Title Ix Sexual Misconduct Policies, Cristin Reynolds

Dissertations

Title IX, a federal law passed in 1972, was designed to ensure that equal access to any educational environment receiving federal assistance (20 U.S.C. § 1681). Title IX forced institutions of higher education (IHE) to address the pervasive nature of sex discrimination within their educational environments, prevent the recurrence of sex discrimination, and remedy any effects of sex discrimination. To do this IHEs developed Title IX sexual misconduct policies. These policies are required by federal law to be impartial, neutral, and equitable to all parties accessing or participating in the resolution process addressing sexual misconduct.

The purpose of this study …

A New Model For Predicting The Drag And Lift Forces Of Turbulent Newtonian Flow On Arbitrarily Shaped Shells On The Seafloor, Carley R. Walker, James V. Lambers, Julian Simeonov

Dissertations

Currently, all forecasts of currents, waves, and seafloor evolution are limited by a lack of fundamental knowledge and the parameterization of small-scale processes at the seafloor-ocean interface. Commonly used Euler-Lagrange models for sediment transport require parameterizations of the drag and lift forces acting on the particles. However, current parameterizations for these forces only work for spherical particles. In this dissertation we propose a new method for predicting the drag and lift forces on arbitrarily shaped objects at arbitrary orientations with respect to the direction of flow that will ultimately provide models for predicting the sediment sorting processes that lead to …

The Identification And Quantification Of Organophosphate Flame Retardants In Raw Materials Utilized In Polyurethane Production, Lindsay Tudor

Master of Science in Chemical Sciences Theses

Flame retardant additives are utilized in various polyurethane applications to comply with industry and flammability standards. Federal regulations and restrictive standards continue to tighten controls on certain impurities found in flame retardant blends. These restrictions include the limitation of organophosphates. Extensive research has been conducted to examine the effects of organophosphates in humans. To date, researchers have predominantly focused on the final product, mainly furniture and bedding products, rather than the raw materials utilized in production. Industrial chemists continue to grapple with the development of an effective method for detecting and quantifying organophosphate compounds in various flame retardant mixtures as …

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (Stds) In The Mountain West, 2015 - 2019, Kristian Thymianos, Saha Salahi, Zachary Walusek, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet examines data on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the Mountain West as originally reported in the “STD Surveillance Report 2019” published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). This includes data for Mountain West states and metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) on the following STDs: chlamydia, gonorrhea, and primary and secondary syphilis.

Undergraduate Holocaust Education And Biomedical Ethics: What's The Connection?, Tatiana Thompson

Psychology Department Student Scholarship

This poster represents the research results of two studies used to examine Holocaust education in undergraduate colleges and universities.

Sprouting Systems, Abaigeal Aydt, Cassidy Smith

Honors Program: Expanded Learning Clubs

After taking a class at UNL about environmental awareness, two honors students paired up to start a hydroponics club at a local Lincoln school. In reaching out to the LPS director of sustainability, they were paired up with Prescott Elementary School. Over the course of a semester, they developed a club that got a hydroponic grow tower functioning for the school and taught students about nutrition and sustainability. This club is only in its beginning stages, but the impacts that it is making around the school can already be seen.

Barriers For Learners In Postsecondary Education In The Age Of Covid: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Michael C. Farris

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Postsecondary education changed dramatically in March of 2020. Colleges and universities across the nation were forced to acknowledge the immediacy of the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic and completely transition their learning and academic support models to a virtual environment. This transition, in many cases, took place over a matter of days, to ensure some measure of continuity for their students. At Central Virginia Community College (CVCC), a public, two-year college serving approximately 3,400 students in the greater Central Virginia region, the transition occurred expeditiously, and with a strong sense of purpose—helping the students we serve stay connected to …

Improve Primary Care Advanced Practice Nurse's Knowledge Of Depression By Educational Interventions And Treatment Recommendations, Dorothy Adams

Doctoral Projects

Poor medication adherence is one of the significant barriers to treatment for depression, often due to fears about side effects and insufficient knowledge among nurses. Educating primary care advanced practice nurses can help to improve understanding about symptoms of depression and the treatment recommendations. Education can help engage the primary care advanced practice nurses to improve patient understanding and thereby support better adherence measured as improved refill rates and follow-up reports. The refill rates will show if the patients under the primary care advanced practice nurses ‘care have been following the medications prescribed in the right frequency and dosage. The …

Decreasing Hospital Readmission With Post-Hospital Discharge Primary Care Clinic Appointments, David Snodgrass

Doctoral Projects

ABSTRACT

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continue to apply costly financial penalties for hospital readmission. Hospital readmission can stem from multiple causes which can lead to poor health outcomes or increased healthcare financial costs. However, with the use of an implemented 14-day post-hospital follow-up appointment with a primary care provider, hospital readmission could be reduced, and patient care improved. The multiple factors that can lead to hospital readmission include non-adherence to medication, socioeconomic factors, patient-related factors, condition-related factors, or health system-related factors. Through the implementation of post-hospital discharge follow-up visits within 14 days of discharge, hospital readmissions …

The Effect Of Vmat2 Inhibitors On Tardive Dyskinesia Symptoms In Patients With Schizophrenia, Ada Kelly

Doctoral Projects

Prior to the FDA approval of VMAT2 inhibitors for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia (TD), few concrete treatment options were available for TD. The most common management strategy would include switching a patient from an FGA to an SGA while discontinuing any anticholinergic medications the patient was currently taking. Other options included changing, decreasing, or discontinuing the antipsychotic. Augmenting stable antipsychotic regimens, however, may not be feasible in the management of schizophrenia as antipsychotics are foundational in the treatment of schizophrenia. A retrospective chart review was performed on 70 records that were chosen through a convenience sample of patients being …

The Impact Of Social Determinants Of Health On Hypertension, Lakenya Forthner

Doctoral Projects

ABSTRACT

Nearly 43% of African American men have Hypertension (HTN). HTN is a major reversible health problem for young adult, African American males. Identifying health behaviors to enhance longevity is essential due to the “excess burden of preventable, chronic diseases and premature death among African American men. The “role of social determinants of health (SDOH) on outcomes, and the possible role these determinants play in disparities have largely been ignored” (Haggart, 2018, pp. 2, 8).

Interventions that address SDOH must take a multicomponent approach. Evidence has been established that adhering to a healthy lifestyle reduces the burdens and risks associated …

A Quality Improvement Project: Streamlining The Post-Surgical Process In Total Knee And Hip Replacements With An Evidence-Based Guidance And Practice Protocol, Bianca Bullie

Doctoral Projects

ABSTRACT

The rates of total joint replacements, such as total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA), are on the rise in the United States and are expected to rise further in the next 20 years (Singh et al., 2019). Implementing an ERAS protocol coupled with current orthopedic practices will decrease a vast number of postoperative issues such as length of hospital stays, the financial burden on the facility, and overall patient satisfaction. The DNP project proposed a multidisciplinary protocol to standardize the care of patients undergoing THA or TKA and identified if this surgical process would be adopted …

Madden-Julian Oscillation Influences United States Springtime Tornado And Hail Frequency, Douglas E. Miller, Vittorio A. Gensini, Bradford S. Barrett

NIU Bibliography

The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is the dominant mode of intraseasonal variability in the tropics and has a documented influence on extratropical extreme weather through modulation of synoptic atmospheric conditions. MJO phase has been correlated with anomalous tornado and severe hail frequency in the United States (US). However, the robustness of this relationship is unsettled, and the variability of physical pathways to modulation is poorly understood, despite the socioeconomic impacts that tornadoes and hail evoke. We approached this problem using pentad MJO indices and practically perfect severe weather hindcasts. MJO lifecycles were cataloged and clustered to document variability and potential pathways …

Temperature Across Vegetation Canopy-Water-Soil Interfaces Is Modulated By Hydroperiod And Extreme Weather In Coastal Wetlands, Xiaochen Zhao, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Chunyan Li, Ivan A. Vargas-Lopez, Robert V. Rohli, Z. George Xue, Edward Castañeda-Moya, Carlos Coronado-Molina

Faculty Publications

Environmental temperature is a widely used variable to describe weather and climate conditions. The use of temperature anomalies to identify variations in climate and weather systems makes temperature a key variable to evaluate not only climate variability but also shifts in ecosystem structural and functional properties. In contrast to terrestrial ecosystems, the assessment of regional temperature anomalies in coastal wetlands is more complex since the local temperature is modulated by hydrology and weather. Thus, it is unknown how the regional free-air temperature (TFree) is coupled to local temperature anomalies, which can vary across interfaces among vegetation canopy, water, and soil …

Resilience Is Part Of The Culture At Fhsu, May 12, 2022, Tisa Mason Ed.D.

Heart of a Tiger Columns

No abstract provided.

Vista: May 12, 2022, University Of San Diego

USD Vista (1965-)

No abstract provided.

Frameworks Used To Measure The Societal Influences & Effectiveness Of Impact Investing, Mya E. Baptiste

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

The purpose of this thesis is to learn how capital generates positive returns for society through impact investing. I address the different forms of impact investments along the spectrum and examples of companies that are grouped into each category. Afterward, I highlight the various pre-existing frameworks being used by the industry to properly measure their social returns and then provide insight into my personal experience working with Citigroup, Inc. Impact Fund. This paper includes an empirical study to address my hypothesis that companies who invest in producing social returns receive a positive impact on their financials. It was concluded that …

Frameworks For Patient Safety In The Nursing Curriculum, Theresa M. Chenot

Dissertations

Patient safety (i.e., the degree to which patients are free from accidental injury) has received a great deal of media coverage during the past few years. Professional and regulatory agencies have indicated that patient safety education should be provided to healthcare workers to improve health outcomes. The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to gain a better understanding of the current status of patient safety awareness among pre-licensure nursing students. To this end, six research questions guided the study:

1. Will interpretable item constructs be identified when responses to the Healthcare Professional Patient Safety Assessment Curriculum Survey (HPPSACS) are …

Notes From The Stacks, Spring 2022, Friends Of The Brooks Library

Friends of the Brooks Library

No abstract provided.

Fantasized Masculinity Performed In American War Narratives, Shea O'Scannlain

English Honors Theses

In this thesis I wanted to explore the ways that masculinity has been written in history through the genre of fiction. The first chapter discusses traumatized white masculinity in Kurt Vonnegut's novel SlaughterHouse Five and Oliver Stone's film Born On The Fourth of July. The second chapter deals with the female Black experience in response to the white patriarchy in Toni Morrison's novel Home and HBO's television series LoveCraft Country. And finally chapter 3 deals with mythologized masculinity redeemed through violence in Martin Scorsese's film Taxi Driver and Frank Miller's comic book series The Dark Knight Returns. …

Improving Readiness For Nursing Practice Via Simulation In Workplace Violence Mitigation, Paul J. Weingartner

Doctoral Projects

Workplace Violence (WPV), a significant problem in health care in the United States and worldwide, causes emotional and physical harm to nurses, negatively affects quality care delivery, and contributes to burn out, job dissatisfaction, and attrition. Clinical simulation was used to educate registered nursing students about WPV and train them in mitigation techniques in an effort to improve their awareness and readiness for professional nursing practice. Data from 37 students in their final semester of nursing school were collected anonymously prior to and after reviewing online materials about WPV and attending a 3-hour simulation experience in which two scenarios were …

Adaption, Retention, And Readaptation Strategies For Unfamiliar Leka (Lower-Extremity Knee Angles), Leea M. Perry

Honors Capstones

This capstone aimed to look into individuals’ abilities to adapt, retain, and readapt a newly-provided, typically over-exaggerated, goal knee angle for their right leg based upon feedback received and accuracy of examined gait pattern. Research was carried out using individuals aged 18-25, looking at the potential of “learning” per say, a new pattern for their rather instinctual previously formed habits for walking. Knee angle, both baseline and individuals’ attempts at goal angle, were measured with a knee brace worn throughout data collection. Participants for this study were blind in terms of what their goal LEKA (lower-extremity knee angle) was. The …

Addressing Systemic Inequities: A Psychoeducational Group For Advocating For African Americans, Jaree' Barnwell

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

This paper will discuss and describe the development of an open psychoeducational group that will empower people of the community through education to advocate for African American/Black people within institutions that may perpetuate barriers. Acknowledging that one in four people struggle with mental health issues, it is imperative to consider an appropriate treatment modality that destigmatizes mental health and equips participants with information. This group is especially relevant as one in three African Americans, who struggle with mental health concerns, will never receive the appropriate care comparatively afforded to white populations. This thesis will concisely discuss the education system, the …

Beyond Broaching: Existential Meaning Making Of Blackness Within Therapeutic Work, Monica M. Cooper

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

This integrated literature review explores the mental health field’s contribution towards the subjugation of Black people through the means of researching human existence that affirmed white supremacy and bolstered the dehumanization of Blackness. This paper also explores how this negligent behavior on the part of the mental health field trivialized the deep pain and suffering experienced by Black people and provided the means to further dehumanize Blackness. The author provides frameworks to better understand the existential trauma experienced by the Black collective due to racism being embedded in societal narratives and history with the help of the mental health field. …