Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The First Ten Years: A Descriptive Analysis Of Presentation Abstracts Of The Sso: Usa, 2002 To 2011, Amanda Schneider

Online Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods study of the first ten years of presentations at the Society for the Study of Occupation: USA (SSO: USA) yields important information about the development of occupational science as a disciplinary body of knowledge. A descriptive, quantitative analysis of the abstracts of peer-reviewed presentations at the first ten annual meetings of the SSO:USA was separately and then collaboratively completed by a group of three researchers. This ten-year study used descriptive statistics with an ex-post facto design to portray research trends in occupational science over the first ten years of the Society. Implications of the study for the …

Expectation Vs. Perspective: A Personal Experience Of Completing Transition From High School To Community, Katherine Steinman

Online Theses and Dissertations

A challenging transition occurs when students with intellectual disabilities leave high school, yet there is little data in the literature covering this period of secondary transition. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the perspectives of a young adult with an intellectual disability who completed the secondary transition process, his parent, and a vocational specialist. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview with each of the three participants about their experiences during the secondary transition. Three themes emerged from the data, including "I had no expectations": Expectations of the parent and transition plan; "He can do all those …

A Look At The Deaths Of Career And Volunteer Firefighters In America: Who Has The Higher Rate Of Death?, Matthew Joseph Flanagan

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study will look at whether career or volunteer firefighters are more likely to die while engaging in firefighting activities, including training. Also, it will look at the causes of death and determine the leading cause of death for both career and volunteer firefighters. This will be done through looking at the numbers of firefighter deaths reported and applying statistical analysis. Only municipal fire departments will be included in this study.

Examining The Value Of Fire Prevention Inspections In Commercial Occupancies, Philip Steven Gairson

Online Theses and Dissertations

This research paper will evaluate the value of conducting fire prevention inspections within the commercial occupancy and the associated reduction in the occurrence of fires. While the fire problem within the United States has experienced a decline in the number of fires and fire related injuries, the reality is that the nation continues to experience significant fire loss. With the introduction of more comprehensive codes and standards, the enforcement of fire regulations becomes paramount in maintaining a fire safe community. Typically, fire prevention enforcement is accomplished through annual fire inspections performed by the fire department. While personnel within the fire …

Suicide Terrorism: Understanding The Mindset And Motives, Joshua Daniel Goss

Online Theses and Dissertations

Suicide Terrorism plays major roles in devastating and destructing cities and their people while communities try to fight the Global War on Terrorism. The devastation and destruction can either be focused on individuals or a certain infrastructure. There are two tactics of executing the acts of suicide terrorism; strapping explosives to their bodies and or steering some sort of transportation into a place of gathering. The methodology of this study is an auto-ethnography. The auto-ethnography is designed to find understanding of personal experiences using a qualitative method of study. Understanding the motives and mindset of suicide terrorist can be very …

The Effects Of Fatigue On A Dual-Task Postural Control Measure, Allisha R. Guzdial

Online Theses and Dissertations

CONTEXT: Concussions are a major concern in sport and healthcare professionals are recognizing its profoundness in the impact it has on athletes. There may be limitations in the current approach to assessments among each individual evaluation involved; however, the combination of all three assessments adds to its strength and determining the overall understanding of the concussion and its effects. Any measure of assessment that connects underlying issues arising from concussion to help decrease long-term impairments by returning to play prematurely, risking further injury, is essential. The need for a dual-task assessment delivers an increased sensitivity to the assessment by combining …

Safety On A Drilling Rig: Is It Safety Culture?, Jonathan Wade Henson

Online Theses and Dissertations

Why do workers on a modern offshore drilling rig continue to make decisions leading to unsafe conditions, acts or incidents? In a perfect world, workers in any industry would go to work and come home in the same condition as they started the day: no incidents. Worker injuries and deaths are all too common in the workplace whether on land or at sea. On a modern drilling rig, operating hundreds of miles offshore, far from the nearest hospital, working in all kinds of weather presents an industry ripe with risks. The worker or rig hand holds the key to making …

Impact Of Disability On Celebration Of Wedding Anniversaries, Emily Lemaster

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how married couples observe their wedding anniversaries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 couples (four of which one partner has a disability) to determine how they celebrate their wedding anniversaries. This data was compared to how having a disability within the couple affects anniversary celebrations. Several themes emerged that were common among all participants including: an exchange of items, participants, reminiscing about the past, change within the marriage and celebration (which encompasses ritual and tradition). Few differences were noted in the couples who are living with disability. The most prominent is being …

Children With Asd And Their Experience Of Friendship And Co-Occupation, Joshua Eric Line

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study set out to answer four questions regarding the friendships of children with ASD: 1) what elements of friendship are most important, 2) what elements of friendship are most common, 3) do these elements change with peer exposure, and 4) how do these children experience co-occupations? Phenomenological methods were used to analyze interviews of three children with ASD (age 10). Literature review included discussion of definitions of friendship, and definitions of co-occupation, as relevant to the study. Identified themes include the lunchroom as a social context, reciprocity through co-occupations, trust, keeping friends means being a good friend, engagement in …

The Sensory Processing Patterns And Activity Choices Of A Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Mixed-Methods Case Study, Valerie Miller

Online Theses and Dissertations

It is estimated that up to 95% of children with autism spectrum disorder experience sensory processing problems. Minimal research is available on the relationship between specific sensory processing patterns, activity preference and behavior patterns in children. It is hypothesized that if children participate in play activities that support their sensory needs, they will experience less behavioral problems, more self-regulating behavior and a higher quality of life. This mixed-methods case study examines how a child with autism spectrum disorder participates in activities and looks at if those activities support sensory needs, thus reinforcing self-regulatory behaviors.

Preparing Rn’S For The Online Learning Environment, Jayne Josephsen, Vivian Schrader

Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Adult learners returning to online education can face considerable barriers to the successful completion of their degree. These obstacles may be due to work and family obligations, lack of familiarity with course and academic requirements, the use of educational technology, or lack of self-direction in their learning. The authors conceptualized, developed, and implemented a preparatory course in an RN-BS Online Completion program designed to familiarize students with online learning and technological and personal skill requirements that could lead to academic success. This article outlines course development and implementation, syllabus and course objectives related to distance learning, and assignments and rubrics …

Synthesis Of Pyrazolo[3,4-D]Pyrimidine Derivatives And Evaluation Of Their Src Kinase Inhibitory Activities, Anil Kumar, Guofeng Ye, Xianfeng Gu, Yuehao Wang, Gongqin Sun, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

A series of pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for the Src kinase inhibitory activities. Compound 6e and 10c exhibited inhibition of Src kinase with an IC50 value of 5.6 and 5.1 μM, respectively. Hydroxamate derivative 15a was found to be a metal-mediated inhibitor for human Csk with an IC50 value of 2.0 μM showing 56-fold selectivity over Src kinase inhibition.

Strategic Project/ Canteen Ireland, Yvonne Feehan

Students Learning with Communities

CanTeen Ireland is an organisation set up to support, empower and develop young people who have or have had cancer between the ages of 12 and 25. Set up in May 1990, the nationwide support group provides members with a place where they can simply be young people, away from the day to day pressures that come with living with cancer in the hospital or at home. Having no dedicated wards in Irish hospitals for teenagers with cancer, CanTeen is an important resource for the country and steps up where the HSE falls down. CanTeen does not rely on the …

Random Assignment Of Schools To Groups In The Drug Resistance Strategies Rural Project: Some New Methodological Twists, John W. Graham, Jonathan Pettigrew, Michelle Miller-Day, Janice L. Krieger, Jiangxiu Zhou, Michael L. Hecht

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Random assignment to groups is the foundation for scientifically rigorous clinical trials. But assignment is challenging in group randomized trials when only a few units (schools) are assigned to each condition. In the DRSR project, we assigned 39 rural Pennsylvania and Ohio schools to three conditions (rural, classic, control). But even with 13 schools per condition, achieving pretest equivalence on important variables is not guaranteed. We collected data on six important school-level variables: rurality, number of grades in the school, enrollment per grade, percent white, percent receiving free/assisted lunch, and test scores. Key to our procedure was the inclusion of …

The Conceptualization And Communication Of Risk Among Rural Appalachian Adolescents, Jennifer J. Moreland, Janice L. Krieger, Michael L. Hecht, Michelle Miller-Day

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study employs a meta-theoretical perspective for examining risk perceptions and behavior in the rural, Appalachian cultural context, an area that remains largely unexplored. In-depth interviews were conducted with 113 rural adolescents to describe how youth conceptualize risk and how risk is communicated in the rural environment. Analyses revealed adolescents viewed behavior as risky when they had personal or vicarious experiences resulting in a loss of control or physical harm. Elements of the rural Appalachian culture including activities, familism, and community ties can both prevent and promote adolescent risk-taking in various forms. This study demonstrates the conceptualization of risk and …

Adapting School-Based Substance Use Prevention Curriculum Through Cultural Grounding: A Review And Exemplar Of Adaptation Processes For Rural Schools, Margaret Colby, Michael L. Hecht, Michelle Miller-Day, Janice L. Krieger, Amy K. Syvertsen, John W. Graham, Jonathan Pettigrew

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

A central challenge facing twenty-first century community-based researchers and prevention scientists is curriculum adaptation processes. While early prevention efforts sought to develop effective programs, taking programs to scale implies that they will be adapted, especially as programs are implemented with populations other than those with whom they were developed or tested. The principle of cultural grounding, which argues that health message adaptation should be informed by knowledge of the target population and by cultural insiders, provides a theoretical rational for cultural regrounding and presents an illustrative case of methods used to reground the keepin’ it REAL substance use prevention curriculum …

The Effect Of Visual Wulst Lesions And Trigeminal Nerve Sectioning On The Discrimination Of Magnetic Inclination In The Homing Pigeon (Columba Livia), Merissa Acerbi

Honors Projects

The ability of homing pigeons to return to their loft from unknown places has fascinated scientists for centuries. It is well established that homing pigeons, like migratory birds, posses an innate magnetic inclination compass to determine direction by measuring the angle between the magnetic field vector and the Earth's surface. Recent work has indicated that the avian magnetic compass is light mediated and appears to mediate magnetic information to the brain. This occurs via a visual pathway with processing in the visual Wulst area of the forebrain. There is, however, also evidence from other avian species that magnetic direction may …

The Impact Of The Internet On The Sexual Health Of Adolescents: A Brief Review, Julia Springate, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The object of this review is to summarize the impact of the Internet on the sexual health of adolescents. This article examines the use of websites, blogs and chat rooms as sources for sexual health information for adolescents. The influence of Internet pornography on sexual behaviors and attitudes is addressed. The use of the Internet as a place to find sexual partners is also assessed. During a time of great physical, emotional and sexual change, the Internet is playing a huge role in the decisions adolescents are making, both positive and negative.

Exploring Biopsychosocial (Bps) Facets Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Copd) In Patients In An Acute Inpatient Physical Rehabilitation Facility (Irf), Ronnetta Williams

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

From a BPS perspective, COPD and other chronic diseases may have a significant negative impact on those living with them and may be associated with higher rates of depression and anxiety and lower levels of health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Certain factors, such as spirituality, may influence the negative impact of chronic disease on the relationship between mood and functional independence and HRQOL. Also, gender may influence the relationship between mood, spirituality, and HRQOL for men and women living with chronic diseases. The current study included 136 patients undergoing physical rehabilitation at an IRF. Anxiety, depression, spirituality, HRQOL, and functional …

The Psychological Impacts Of False Positive Ovarian Cancer Screening: Assessment Via Mixed And Trajectory Modeling, Amanda T. Wiggins

Theses and Dissertations--Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the fifth most common cancer among women and has the highest mortality of any cancer of the female reproductive system. The majority (61%) of OC cases are diagnosed at a distant stage. Because diagnoses occur most commonly at a late-stage and prognosis for advanced disease is poor, research focusing on the development of effective OC screening methods to facilitate early detection in high-risk, asymptomatic women is fundamental in reducing OC-specific mortality. Presently, there is no screening modality proven efficacious in reducing OC-mortality. However, transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) has shown value in early detection of OC. TVS presents …

Task-Based Noise Exposures For Farmers Involved In Grain Production, Michael J. Humann, Wayne T. Sanderson, Kelley J. Donham, Kevin M. Kelly

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Few studies have been done examining noise exposures associated with agricultural tasks. This study was conducted to address that research gap by calculating the noise exposures for tasks and equipment associated with grain production and assessing the variability in those exposures. An additional aim of this study was to identify tasks and equipment that could be targeted for intervention strategies as a means toward reducing the total noise exposures of farmers and farm workers. Through the use of personal noise dosimetry and direct observation, over 30,000 one-minute noise exposure measurements and corresponding task and equipment data were collected on 18 …

Memory, Cognition, And The Effect Of A Music Intervention On Healthy Older Adults, Shannon L. Bowles

Theses and Dissertations--Gerontology

Music is a powerful modality that can bring about changes in individuals of all ages. This research employed both an experimental and quasi-experimental design to identify the effects of music as it influenced psychological well-being, memory, and cognition among older adults. Specifically, it addressed three aims: (a) To determine to what extent learning to play a music instrument later in life influenced psychological well-being and cognitive function of non-institutionalized healthy seniors, (b) To determine the effects of the amount of music involvement on psychological well-being and cognitive function (c) To determine the benefit of music for those with limited/no music …

Offspring And Maternal Health Benefits Of Exercise During Pregnancy, Lindsay G. Carter

Theses and Dissertations--Nutritional Sciences

Maternal lifestyle and nutrient intake during pregnancy can have long-lasting effects on the health of offspring as well as the mother. This dissertation focuses on the impact of maternal exercise during pregnancy on offspring insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake and the maternal effects of exercise during pregnancy.

The first aim of this dissertation was to investigate if exercise prior to and during pregnancy and nursing would improve glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity in mice and rats. In both mice and rats, it was concluded that maternal exercise could enhance whole-body insulin sensitivity and increase glucose uptake into skeletal muscle and …

An Investigation Of Perinatal Polychlorinated Biphenyl Exposure On Body Composition And Glucose Homeostasis, Cetewayo S. Rashid

Theses and Dissertations--Nutritional Sciences

Recent advancements have uncovered environmental contributions to obesity and diabetes etiology. In fact, perinatal malnutrition resulting in low birth weight (LBW) has been shown to correlate with later life obesity and impaired glucose tolerance in aged offspring. LBW can result from a myriad of developmental perturbations including macronutrient restriction, hypoxia, maternal stress and toxin exposure.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that bioaccumulate in the food chain resulting in dietary exposure in humans. Maternal and cord blood PCB levels are inversely associated with birth weight, and recent studies indicate that perinatal exposures to PCBs contribute to gender-specific obesity development …

A Community-Based Participatory Research Approach To Developing The Harvest For Healthy Kids Curriculum, Betty T. Izumi, Amanda M. Peden, Jennifer A. Hallman, Dawn Barberis, Brie Stott, Sandy Nimz, William R. Ries, Angela Capello

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced risk of diet-related chronic diseases. However, fewer than half of children in the United States consume the recommended amount.

Objectives: This article describes the community-based participatory research (CBPR) process used to develop the Harvest for Healthy Kids curriculum.

Methods: Harvest for Healthy Kids is a intervention research project designed to increase access to and intake of fruits and vegetables among preschoolers enrolled in Head Start. The curriculum is composed of eight kits, each focusing on a different fruit or vegetable.

Results: The Harvest for Healthy Kids curriculum was …

Is There A Role For A Traditional Herbal Formula In The Treatment Of Hepatitis C?, Jenny Lam

Quill & Scope

Perspectives on the role of traditional and alternative treatments for hepatitis C, and the challenges facing practicing physicians on its relationship to established guidelines.

Parasitic Poetry, Zachary Loverde

Quill & Scope

Six short poems about parasites, intended as mnemonics.

Balancing Change, Ramsey Saba, Jordan Whatley, Amin Esfahani, Michael Rahimi

Quill & Scope

A series of photographic essays

Delayed Onset Muscular Soreness: A Look Into Post-Exercise Pain, Christopher Meltsakos

Quill & Scope

Delayed onset muscular soreness (DOMS) is a common problem that is experienced by elite athletes and weekend warriors alike. The typical characterization of dull aches, stiffness, and tenderness in one’s muscles 24-72 hours later are a hallmark of this exercise condition that is postulated to result from damage to muscular ultra- structures obtained during eccentric muscle contraction. Because of the prevalence and general lack of awareness for this muscular phenomenon, the purpose of this paper is to provide a definition and summary of DOMS, to discuss the various theories regarding the mechanism of action resulting in muscular damage, and to …

The Need For An Automated Acuity Tool For Children With Special Health Care Needs, Kartik Telukuntla, Lee M. Sanders

Quill & Scope

Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) often require extended and continuous contact with health care professionals due to their chronic conditions. Additionally, some of these children have other non-health burdens, including multiple problems with access to care, that make it even more difficult to treat their medical illness. These extra obstacles illustrate that effective care for CSHCN requires proper care coordination among a network of doctors, nurses, and care coordinators. Unfortunately, care coordination has been inadequate due to large caseload assignments. An automated acuity tool that reassesses the child’s acuity (low, medium or high) regularly would help balance the …