Creating a Culture of Completion in Two-Year Institutions: Examining the Influence of Participation in the Community College Completion Corps on Institutional Stakeholders

This applied dissertation assessed the effect of participation in Community College Completion Corps and associated activities on campus stakeholders’ perceptions of a culture of completion. The national initiative to increase completion rates at community colleges has resulted in a heightened awareness of this performance measurement. A number of community colleges have participated by hosting a C4 signing event, the hallmark activity associated with the movement. This inaugural event served as a public declaration of the two-year institution’s intention to provide an environment in which policy and practice, as well as theory and application, focus on supporting and increasing student completion. Post-event, the expectation is that community colleges will enact measurable activities, projects, and changes in key areas to influence completion. The researcher analyzed the perceptions and evidence of a culture of completion at two- year institutions that hosted a C4 signing event between 2010 and 2015. As most signing events include representation from campus stakeholders that include administrators, faculty, staff, and student leaders, this study included a representative of each of the identified groups, interviewed with the same questionnaire to determine their perceptions of any shifts in the campus’ culture and to identify changes in policy, programs, and initiatives that influenced student completion. An analysis of the data revealed a variety of institutional themes related to campus completion barriers and facilitators. Community college completion ceremonies served to highlight the importance of completion on campus and promote college-wide engagement and support of the initiatives. The interviews supported that these events provided an introductory and public showcase for institutional commitment to promoting community college completion and improved graduation rates. However, the study identified additional institutional focus on completion and alignment of administrative and academic policies and procedures to instill a culture of completion necessary for making substantive improvements in institutional completion rates

An Investigation of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching and its Possible Influence on Experienced Teacher Retention: A Companion Dissertation

The purpose of this companion, qualitative case study was to examine the degree to which the residential professional development model at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) possibly influenced the retention of experienced teachers. The researcher sought to discover the ways and to what degree NCCAT had discharged its mission as a program of professional development, as well as understanding what experienced teacher participants’ perceptions were on how the NCCAT experience differed from other forms of professional development. Field study observational data, participant interview data, individual journal entry data, and document analysis informed this study. Themes of adult learning, professional development, NCCAT, and teacher retention were examined. Findings suggest that NCCAT was a unique program that was discharging its mission as a program of professional development. There appeared, however, to be no direct link between NCCAT participation and teacher retention

Leadership and Gender: School Counselors’ Experiences of Girls’ Leadership in Secondary Schools

There has been a proliferation of girls’ leadership programs to stymie the leaking pipeline of women’s leadership and resulting gender leadership gap. School counselors are advocates and change agents in the schools and play a key role in student development and leadership programming. School counselors’ training in their counseling programs may impact their support and assessment of girls’ leadership programming. This phenomenological research utilized the open-ended questions of an online survey to understand school counselors’ experiences of girls’ leadership. The themes, (a) Formal Approach to Girls’ Leadership, (b) Informal Approach to Girls’ Leadership, (c) No Girls’ Leadership, and (d) Non-Gender Specific Approach to Girls’ Leadership were discovered. Themes are discussed and suggestions for school counselors and counselor educators are offered

Leadership and Gender: School Counselors’ Experiences of Girls’ Leadership in Secondary Schools

There has been a proliferation of girls’ leadership programs to stymie the leaking pipeline of women’s leadership and resulting gender leadership gap. School counselors are advocates and change agents in the schools and play a key role in student development and leadership programming. School counselors’ training in their counseling programs may impact their support and assessment of girls’ leadership programming. This phenomenological research utilized the open-ended questions of an online survey to understand school counselors’ experiences of girls’ leadership. The themes, (a) Formal Approach to Girls’ Leadership, (b) Informal Approach to Girls’ Leadership, (c) No Girls’ Leadership, and (d) Non-Gender Specific Approach to Girls’ Leadership were discovered. Themes are discussed and suggestions for school counselors and counselor educators are offered

Effected Cancer Region and Psychiatric Disorders in Smoking Cessation

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Purple urine bag syndrome

Background: Purple urine bag syndrome (PUBS) is a rare complication of urinary tract infection in the setting of indwelling catheters, leading to purple discoloration of urine and tubing. Reported prevalence varies in the literature with poorly described incidence and management recommendations. It is noted to be associated with bedbound, constipated patients and history of end stage renal disease. We present a classic case of this unusual, but distinct finding. Case Presentation: 74 year old female with past medical history of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, chronic anemia, essential hypertension, and end stage renal failure on hemodialysis presents from dialysis by nephrologist request for evaluation due to purple urine discoloration. Her urinary catheter was exchanged, and preliminary urine culture demonstrated Enterococcus infection. Final sensitivities revealed vancomyin resistant enterococcus. Her antimicrobial regimen was empirically started as cefepime and advanced to vancomycin upon preliminary results. Infectious disease was consulted upon final sensitivity result with recommendation to discontinue antibiotics, presuming colonization rather than acute infection. She was placed on a bowel regimen and did have restoration of normal yellow urine prior to discharge. The remainder of her hospital course was uneventful and she was discharged back to the nursing home. Discussion: In patients with indwelling foley and chronic urinary tract infection, PUBS may arise. This is thought to be due to gastrointestinal metabolism of tryptophan by gut bacteria. Tryptophan conjugates undergo oxidation within the urine, leading to indigo and indirubicin pigmentation. This produces the consequential and notable urinary discoloration. Constipation allows for bacterial overgrowth, and renal failure decreases clearance of these metabolites Together this leads to predisposition to purple urine. In summary, despite the striking appearance PUBS is a relatively benign condition with the limitation of no well-established treatment guidelines. Most sources recommend multimodal treatment with addressing the predisposing factors such as treating constipation in addition to changing of foley bag materials regularly

Development of a new diabetes medication self-efficacy scale and its association with both reported problems in using diabetes medications and self-reported adherence

Background: Although there are several different general diabetes self-efficacy scales, there is a need to develop a self-efficacy scale that providers can use to assess patient’s self-efficacy regarding medication use. The purpose of this study was to: 1) develop a new diabetes medication self-efficacy scale and 2) examine how diabetes medication self-efficacy is associated with patient-reported problems in using diabetes medications and self-reported adherence. Patients and methods: Adult English-speaking patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited from a family medicine clinic and a pharmacy in Eastern North Carolina, USA. The patients were eligible if they reported being nonadherent to their diabetes medicines on a visual analog scale. Multivariable regression was used to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and the number of reported diabetes medication problems and adherence. Results: The diabetes medication self-efficacy scale had strong reliability (Cronbach’s alpha =0.86). Among a sample (N=51) of mostly African-American female patients, diabetes medication problems were common (6.1±3.1) and a greater number of diabetes medications were associated with lower medication adherence (odds ratio: 0.35; 95% confidence interval: 0.13, 0.89). Higher medication self-efficacy was significantly related to medication adherence (odds ratio: 1.17; 95% confidence interval: 1.05, 1.30) and inversely related to the number of self-reported medication problems (β=-0.13; P=0.006). Conclusion: Higher diabetes medication self-efficacy was associated with fewer patient- reported medication problems and better medication adherence. Assessing medication-specific self-efficacy may help to identify medication-related problems that providers can help the patients address, potentially improving adherence and patient outcomes. Keywords: diabetes, adherence, self-efficacy, literac

The Relationship between Glaucoma Medication Adherence, Eye Drop Technique, and Visual Field Defect Severity

The purpose of the study was to examine: (a) how patient adherence and eye drop technique were associated with visual field defect severity and (b) how general glaucoma adherence self-efficacy and eye drop technique self-efficacy were related to visual field defect severity

Asymmetric intergroup bullying: the enactment and maintenance of societal inequality at work

What does inequality mean for dysfunctional organizational behaviours, such as workplace bullying? This article argues that workplace bullying can be understood as a manifestation of intergroup dynamics originating beyond the organization. We introduce the construct of asymmetric intergroup bullying: the disproportionate mistreatment of members of low status groups, with the intended effect of enhancing the subordination of that group in society at large. Analysis of data from 38 interviews with public and private sector workers in Turkey depicts a pattern of asymmetric intergroup bullying, undertaken to achieve organizational and broader sociopolitical goals. Respondents reported bullying acts used to get rid of unwanted personnel, with the goal of avoiding severance pay, or of removing supporters of the former government from positions of political and economic influence. Bullying was also described as working towards the dominance of the sociocultural worldview of one political group over another. We discuss asymmetric intergroup bullying as one mechanism through which acute intergroup hierarchy in the broader society corrupts management practice and employee interactions, in turn exacerbating economic inequality along group lines