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Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Texas, May, 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

1 volume

The nursing shortage in the United States is increasing and directly affects the turnover of staff in the adult burn center of the facility that is the focus of this project. In addition to the institution's traditional leadership education, which includes preceptor and charge nurse modules, a burn-focused supplemental preceptor preparation education program (SPPEP) was developed and delivered to address the expressed needs of the staff preceptors. The purpose of this quality improvement evidence-based project was to develop and deliver a program evaluation tool for the adult burn center leadership to assess the effectiveness of the SPPEP in this specialty area, including whether a supplemental preparation program for adult burn center preceptors would increase their confidence and competency, and lower attrition rates of nurse orientees. A preprogram survey was administered to all participating preceptors identifying perceived gaps in preparation to fulfill the expectations of the preceptor role. Benner's novice-to-expert and Knowles's adult learning theory concepts provided the framework for the SPPEP. The quality improvement program evaluation was based on reported confidence and the perception of competence of the preceptors who participated (N = 11). This research revealed that the SPPEP increased the preceptor's confidence and perceived competence level from 64.12% to 89.28% after the first SPPEP delivery. By systematically preparing the preceptors, the SPPEP can reduce overall orientation expenditure while improving patient outcomes, preceptor confidence, perceived competence, and the satisfaction of registered nurses.

The purpose of this study is to analyze medical dosimetry programs in the United States with regard to their assessment data and specific program characteristics. I identified participating programs through the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) program directory web page for medical dosimetry programs. Once I acquired the email addresses of each program director for all 18 programs, I emailed the program directors requesting their participation in the study. Six program directors responded to the email request and sent all the needed data for the study. The specific data evaluated in this study is assessment data for all four student learning objectives (SLO’s) identified by the JRCERT and program effectiveness data (i.e. certification pass rates, job placement rates for graduates, and attrition rates). I correlated the assessment data and program effectiveness data for each program to look for significance in comparison to the length of time a program received accreditation by the (JRCERT), length of each program academically, and the degree granted by each program. For the variables, I ran a Pearson Correlation and a linear regression, which also provides a significance value for the linear regression. The findings of the study illustrated no significance within the data when comparing it to the specific program characteristics. The study did illustrate some predictability within the linear regression, but did not illustrate any significant linear regression among the data points. This illustrates the dependent variables do not correlate with the independent variables, but are able to explain some of the variability in the dependent variable. Program accreditation is an important aspect for any medical dosimetry program and should be an integral part of the daily mechanisms. Educators need to continually look for ways to improve their assessment endeavors to help improve their programs and student success. Based on the findings of this study, research should continue on assessment data in the field of radiologic sciences and specifically in the field of medical dosimetry with larger population groups.

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This research examined how the North Carolina A & T State University Cooperative Extension program has helped limited-resource farmers realize economic, environmental, and social outcomes through its 1890 Extension education program. Since1990, there has been little research on recent contributions of 1890 Extension programs for this audience. This inquiry described educational collaborative efforts among the North Carolina A & T Extension program, North Carolina State University (NCSU), other 1862 land-grant universities, community-based organizations, and government agencies providing nonformal education and services to limited-resource farmers. Personal interviews were conducted with two Extension specialists, one associate, two agents, and two agricultural and natural resource technicians. A focus group was conducted with nine limited-resource farmers.The findings revealed that the Farmers Adopting Computer Training (FACT), Plasticulture, and Pastured-Swine programs have helped enhance limited-resource farmers' economic, environmental, and social outcomes. In addition, the participants confirmed caring, trust, and relationship building as qualities that encouraged their participation. However, participants indicated that scheduling Extension programs that conflict with planting and harvesting season and programs that do not address farmers' needs and issues prevent their participation in Extension programs. Furthermore, North Carolina A & T Extension programs involved farmers in program planning through advisory committees and mentoring other farmers. Participants indicated that NC A & T collaborates with North Carolina State University, community-based organizations, and other government agencies to meet the needs of limited-resource farmers.The data suggest that the following improvements and changes for the North Carolina A & T Extension program: (a) use the outcome-based evaluation approach to evaluate Extension programs, (b) provide training for Extension faculty on program planning models, (c) continue the FACT, plasticulture, and pastured-swine production programs, (d) educate faculty in other schools and colleges at NC A & T State University about Extension programs, and (e) develop joint programs with other schools and colleges at North Carolina A & T State University. / Ph. D.

Over the years, participation in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) has increased, on both state and national levels. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) offers free breakfast to all students regardless of income. The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of principals and school food service workers regarding the benefits, barriers, attitudes and beliefs about the implementation of the CEP. A survey was sent to principals and school food service workers. The majority of the participants were satisfied overall with the CEP and the nutritional quality of foods served for breakfast. The majority of the participants did not see any major barriers to CEP implementation; however, they acknowledged several benefits. Future research should combine qualitative and quantitative methods to explore these perceptions and gather information on why participants feel the way they do in regards to CEP implementation.

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2019 / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 69-70). / Thermoelectric power generators (TEGs) convert a temperature difference into electricity. This temperature difference can be created from waste heat. Since up to 50% [1] of US industrial energy input is lost as waste heat, an economical means of recovering waste heat and converting it into useful electricity could represent significant energy savings. Coupled with our integrative system design which involves creating application specific thermoelectric arrays, this technology can also help enable low power generation for off-grid needs in the developing world. Although conversion efficiencies as high as 20.9% [2] (heat to electrical energy) have been predicted from simulations of TEGs systems, in practice the efficiencies are typically only a few percent. Moreover, conventional systems often require expensive components to manage heat flow through the system. / As a result of the low efficiency and high system cost, electricity generated by thermoelectric energy harvesting from waste heat is currently not competitive with conventional electricity generation on a dollars-per-watt basis. This realization has led researchers to not only focus on increasing TEG device efficiency limits but to devise cheaper manufacturing processes and methods. A system design constraint that has not been fully investigated is the coupling of thermal and mechanical properties in thermoelectric materials. The extent to which this coupling affects the performance of the TEGs will be studied. This thesis develops an approach for decoupling the thermal and mechanical properties and tests it through a variety of simulations. We propose a mechanically compliant attachment strategy which could be integrated in various waste heat recovery applications. / The strategy involves breaking the thermal and mechanical bond formed by the brittle thermoelectric elements and its substrate. Copper wire, which is more pliable, is then used to connect the thermoelectric element to the substrate. A system analysis was performed for waste heat recovery from a vehicles exhaust pipe. We found that utilizing the proposed strategy should not only lead to increased mechanical compliance but can also lead to cost savings on a dollars-per-watt basis. We found that 84% power retention could be obtained when up to 16x less material is used under most apparent conditions¹. / by Corey D. Christian. / S.M. in Engineering and Management / S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2019 / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. "February 2019." / Includes bibliographical references (pages 79-83). / It is widely believed that we are currently living in the digital age. Advances in technologies enabling connectivity, data aggregation and analysis, and aritificial intelligence/ machine learning are making it possible to obtain insights into human and machine behaviour like never before. Companies are rushing to take advantage of this new resource called data for competitive advantage. Yet, while many are aiming to pursue a Digital Transformation strategy within their organization, there appears to be a range of different opinions that professionals/ experts carry when it comes to identifying capabilities required to become a Digital Enterprise. This thesis is aimed at helping professionals in two ways. First, it identifies required capabilities at functional level from first principles. Second, it defines maturity levels for key generic capabilities at the company level for professionals to measure and guide their organization's progress towards becoming a Digital Enterprise. / by Bahubali Shah. / S.M. in Engineering and Management / S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program