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Troponin elevations are frequent during critical illness and associated with higher short-term mortality. Whether troponin elevations in that population independently confer a worse prognosis remains a matter of debate and how to manage patients with troponin elevations in the intensive care unit is unknown. Myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery is a well-defined entity, but can the same criteria be applied in patients who transition in the intensive care unit? Most patients present a troponin elevation early after coronary artery bypass surgery. How should a myocardial infarction be defined in these patients? This thesis comprises 7 chapters that inform these knowledge gaps. Chapter 1 is an introduction providing the rationale for conducting each of the included studies. Chapter 2 reports on the PROTROPIC pilot study evaluating the feasibility of a larger study to assess whether troponin elevations in critical illness independently predict mortality. Chapter 3 presents the use of secondary cardiovascular prevention medications and cardiac risk stratification in the PROTROPIC pilot study participants. Chapter 4 is a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of statins in critically ill patients. Chapter 5 describes patients admitted to the intensive care unit after noncardiac surgery in the VISION cohort. This substudy also evaluates whether admission to the intensive care unit modifies the prognosis associated with myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery. Chapter 6 evaluates the prevalence and prognosis associated with different definitions of myocardial infarction after coronary artery bypass grafting using data from the CORONARY trial. Finally, Chapter 7 discusses the conclusion, limitation, and implications of the research presented in this PhD thesis. / Thesis / Doctor of Science (PhD)

This qualitative study examines the experiences of patients who have undergone renal transplant surgery. Interviews were conducted with six patient informants who received renal transplants one to six months prior to the study. Participants’ narratives offered insight into: the variability of transplant preparation, hopes, experiences, and perspectives of recovery, meanings of recovery, significance of social and economic supports in recovery, and the role of professional staff in providing support and resources during the transplant journey. Their stories are explored in relation to literature on psychosocial aspects of renal transplant and through a critical disability studies lens. The nuances of the social work role in relation to patients’ pre- and post-operative renal transplant journey was explored in depth. Based on the findings and relevant literature, recommendations and suggestions are made on how to expand the social work role in the pre- and post-transplant clinic at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2999-01-01

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Techniques for inserting critical thinking instruction into content while teaching specific subjects have been discussed in the educational literature pertaining to critical thinking and instruction. The purpose of this study was to determine if inserting a brief critical thinking lesson related to course content into a culinary arts laboratory course which provides a setting for career oriented active learning would lead to gains in critical thinking ability. The general structure of the methodology was adapted from work completed by Rose (1997). An experimental, pretest-posttest control group design was employed (Campbell & Stanley, 1963) to determine treatment effects on the variables identified. Participants were randomly selected and consisted of an experimental group of 14 students and a control group of 13 students. A culinary arts laboratory course was chosen for the stud y. The course operated nine consecutive six-hour days for a total of 54 hours of instruction. Experimental group participants received a 45-minute lesson on critical thinking during the second hour of the first class day, after the pretest was administered. Control group participants received normal instruction and did not receive the infused critical thinking lesson. At the end of the class during the 54th hour both groups completed the posttest. All participants' critical thinking skills were assessed using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (Faciane, 1991), form A (pretest) and form B (post test). Multiple Analyses of Variance (repeated measures) were conducted on overall CCTST scores as well as scores on the subscale items of analysis, evaluation and inference to determine whether there were significant differences on the dependent variable (post-test CCTST B scores) according to the independent variable of method of instruction. An alpha level of p <.05 was employed to assist in preventing a Type I error. Analysis of overall scores and the scores on the subscale items of analysis, evaluation and inference yielded no significant findings. These results suggest that inserting a brief critical thinking lesson into course content is not an effective instructional strategy for teaching critical thinking. Further research on inserting critical thinking instruction into active learning environments using a longer intervention is suggested along with broader research in formulating more authentic measures of critical thinking ability to better determine if inserted instruction is effective or ineffective. / 2999-01-01

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

This qualitative case study sought to gain a deeper understanding of the obstacles that students from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia face when learning English in a writing course that implements critical thinking and writing process pedagogy. The study took place over five months at the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute in spring 2012. While ten participants--six female and four male Saudi Arabian ESL students--participated in this study, these findings focus primarily on one male and one female student. The aim of this focus was to give a rich and in-depth description of the two students. Two main queries guided this study: 1) How do sex differences affect Saudi students' perception of their teachers' and peers' authority? 2) How do those perceptions affect their development as writers and critical thinkers when learning in an intensive writing course at the high intermediate level? The researcher documented data through three sources: classroom observation, interviews with ESL students and teachers, and student writing samples. / Ph. D.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / PROBLEM: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of high school readers' attitudes and reading comprehension abilities to critical reading responses. The two topics of communism and Negro racism were chosen for the articles about which critical reading responses were to be made. PROCEDURE: Four articles were written on each topic to provide information upon which students could make judgments. A set of questions consisting of three types, fact-opinion, interpretation of conclusions, and evaluation of arguments, was constructed for each article. Attitude scales on each of the topics were also constructed. A test-retest procedure verified their reliability. Standardized tests administered to the population were: the NelsonDenny Reading Test, Revised, Form A; the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Revised, Form YM; the Otis Quick-Scoring Mental Ability Test: New Edition, Gamma Test. The experimental population comprised 270 students, 145 boys and 125 girls, in ten college preparatory English classes in grade eleven. The author administered the attitude scales and the standardized tests. After completion of the testing the classroom English teachers presented the articles and questions on alternate days over a period of three weeks. The topics were also alternated. Each student responded to every question [TRUNCATED] / 2999-01-01

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Thesis advisor: Michael Russell / Intersectionality theory garners increased attention from researchers interested in understanding the many ways in which oppression impacts lived experiences. In any given present and evolving context, oppression leads to advantages for some social positions and disadvantages for others (Collins & Bilge, 2016; Crenshaw, 1989). Quantitative researchers have attempted to adapt statistical modeling methods to reflect intersectional identities as a proxy for oppression and advantage in their models (Bauer et al., 2021; Schudde, 2018). This dissertation expanded on existing knowledge about the statistical limitations of three methods of modeling intersectional analyses on a continuous outcome variable: 1) Interaction, 2) Categorical, and 3) MAIDHA (multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and individual accuracy). Using a Monte Carlo simulation, four demographic data characteristics were manipulated to explore the three models under different scenarios which manipulated: a) the number of demographic categories (and thus intersections); b) the proportion of the sample represented by each demographic group; c) the within-intersectional-group variance in the outcome variable of interest; d) overall sample size. Each scenario and model were replicated 1000 times; results summarized performance of the intersection estimates and effect detection using the outcomes: bias, accuracy, power, type 1 error, and confidence interval coverage. The fundamental questions that guided this dissertation were: 1. What are the statistical advantages and disadvantages of each model under different demographic data characteristics? 2. In what ways does each model perform differently from one another under each demographic data characteristic condition? The findings of this dissertation contribute to intersectional quantitative research methods by providing greater insight into how each model performs under more complex data scenarios. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics & Assessment.