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EXPLORING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF BLACK WOMEN LEADERS IN U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Full text linkThe purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of Black women leaders in U.S. higher education institutions from the lens of Black feminist theory and intersectionality and to provide implications for HRD research and practice. Given the limited empirical research on Black women leaders in higher education and the existing gap in the literature regarding their experiences, this study aimed to understand the challenges and opportunities that Black women leaders encounter in U.S. higher education institutions.
Using a basic qualitative research design (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), I conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 Black women leaders holding executive positions across both two-year and four-year higher education institutions. I interviewed via Zoom, following Lester et al.’s (2020) seven-phase approach. In the process, I identified, four major themes: intersectionality in navigating discrimination, identity challenges, opportunities and support networks, and resilience and eight subthemes: microaggressions and silencing, lack of representation, navigating stereotypes, belonging and tokenism, leadership development, mentorship and sponsorship, faith and spiritual resilience, and embracing Black identity as strength. The study findings demonstrate the necessity of integrating intersectionality frameworks into leadership development, examining cross-cultural mentoring, and faith and spirituality as professional development resources. This research provides evidence-based guidance for designing inclusive leadership development programs, implementing strategic mentoring and sponsorship initiatives, addressing systemic organizational barriers, and creating authentic inclusive environments that support the expression of identity rather than isolation
Stop the Brain Drain: A Higher Education Collaborative Autoethnographic Change Study Using a Soft Systems Approach
Full text linkKnowledge loss is a common challenge within IHEs—highly educated and skilled individuals leave—often taking the knowledge to do their job well with them. Turnover in IHEs is currently at an all-time high. There is a strong correlation between knowledge management practices and organizational performance. This paper (in progress) explores this phenomenon using collaborative institutional ethnography, enabling a critical analysis of how power dynamics and uncertainty shape both individual experiences and broader workplace social structures. Participants include six IHE employees (in various IHE roles) from three separate universities in the eastern region of Texas. We aim to uncover the internal experiences and perceptions of institutional processes, emphasizing the intersection of personal and organizational life.
We turn to a novel approach borrowed from the systems engineering field, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) as a theoretical lens to analyze complex scenarios and data, offering solutions for mitigating knowledge attrition. This study highlights the diverse and often conflicting perspectives—such as faculty prioritizing academic continuity and administrators focusing on efficiency—that contribute to knowledge loss. The novelty of this paper lies in positioning knowledge management within IHEs as a system of interconnected activities that can be sustained through SSM.https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/student_posters/1045/thumbnail.jp
Mentoring and Change Management: Integrating Organizational Mentorship with Change Initiatives
Full text linkChange is an inevitable and defining force in organizations. While structured change management frameworks provide critical guidance, they often overlook the human dimensions of change. We investigate mentoring and argue that it should not merely support change initiatives but serve as a strategic driver of successful transformations, serving as a multidimensional driver of cognitive alignment, emotional support, and behavioral adaptation, and introduce a mentoring framework that addresses these areas while bridging the gap between the procedural and human-centric change elements.
By interviewing participants who have been involved in mentoring programs yet experienced significant organizational change, we will identify their support experiences and perceptions of adaptability during the change management process. Identification of specific support structures, participant perceptions, and organizational outcomes will provide organizations with a resilient foundation for innovative human-centric change management practices.https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/student_posters/1046/thumbnail.jp
“EVERYBODY HAS A SOUL”: PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND NURSING STUDENTS CO-CREATING LIFE STORIES
Full text linkLack of meaning and purpose in life can increase disability, stress, mortality, and the risk of cognitive impairment. Finding meaning and purpose helps people with dementia adjust to the diagnosis and can be accomplished via expressions of identity such as life review, a formal process of systematically reviewing and reflecting on one’s lived life. Digital storytelling involves telling a story using computer technology to record and share an individual’s narrative. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceived benefits of nursing students and people with dementia (the mentors) described after digitally co-creating the mentors’ life story. Allport’s Intergroup Contact Theory and the Lifestory as Legacy protocol guided intervention development. The study was approved by Institutional Review Boards and participants signed informed consent. Ten mentors and 13 students co-created the mentors’ life story during seven online meetings and completed qualitative interviews using an interview guide. Colaizzi’s process of data analysis was used to analyze data. Students and mentors described what it was like to co-create the mentor’s life story, what the experience meant to them, and what they learned. Mentors described how the student did and made them feel, importance of sharing their story with family, and advice for future health professionals regarding dementia care. Students commented on preparation to elicit their mentor’s stories and the perceived effect on their mentor. Co-creation of life stories online is feasible and had positive effects for nursing students and mentors with dementia
Exploring the Adoption Phenomenon of Artificial Intelligence by Doctoral Students Within Doctoral Education
Full text linkThe adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in academia is an emerging field of interest. However, there is scant literature that explores the phenomenon of AI adoption by graduate students in doctoral education. This study employs collaborative autoethnography to explore and better understand the nuances of how doctoral students experience AI technologies within academic pursuits. A critical analysis of data revealed that the collective researcher-participant experiences offered the primary overarching theme of adoption strategy, with four distinct subthemes: adoption fear, adoption resistance, adoption feasibility, and adoption ethics. The findings suggest a balanced approach to AI adoption depends on the development of comprehensive strategies that are informed by a deep understanding of both the technological capabilities and the human factors involved. We urge both doctoral students and educators involved in doctoral programs to think critically about these identified themes. For doctoral students, this analysis offers valuable insights into challenges associated with integrating AI technologies into formal learning environments, potentially enhancing a management strategy for their doctoral studies. Educators tasked with integrating and evaluating AI technologies for doctoral coursework may develop a deeper understanding of the challenges their students may encounter during the adoption process
Best Practice: Implementation of a Central Line Bundle to Reduce Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections
Full text linkCentral line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are among the most frequent health care-associated infections and are reported to be correlated with an increased number of inpatient days, higher cost, and attributable mortality rates (Devrim et al., 2016). For this reason, central line bundles (CLB) have been widely used in hospitals to aid in the decrease of CLABSIs. Through implementation of the prevention strategies included in CLBs, CLABSIs can be reduced by greater than fifty percent (Devrim et al., 2016). A decrease in CLABSIs is clinically significant with the avoidance of negative patient outcomes and a decrease in healthcare costs (Rinke et al., 2013).
Approximately 85% of pediatric hematology/oncology patients have long-term central venous access catheters, which places them at an extremely high risk for CLABSIs (Devrim et al., 2018). CLABSIs are increasingly recognized as a preventable health care-associated infection (Ziegler et al., 2015). This indicates that nurses, patients, and their families all play a crucial role in minimizing the risk of central line-associated bloodstream infections. Compliance with performing all components in a CLB is a significant factor in the decrease of CLABSI incidence rates (Devrim et al., 2018). By understanding the importance of CLB, especially in the pediatric hematology/oncology population, an increase in CLABSIs can be avoided and patients’ quality of life can be improved. The PICOT question that will be used for this best practice project is: On a pediatric oncology unit (P), does adherence to a central-line bundle (I) compared to non-adherence (C) prevent or reduce (O) central line-associated bloodstream infections within 12 weeks (T)
USING VIRUS LIKE PARTICLE CONJUGATES OF SYNTHETIC TARGETING COMPOUNDS TO DELIVER CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC DRUGS TO CANCER STEM CELLS
Full text linkCancer stem cells are a type of cell that have the properties of both cancer cells and stem cells. They can differentiate into other types of cancer cells, are resistant to conventional chemotherapeutics, and seem to contribute greatly to the metastasis and recurrence of cancer. Due to these properties, eliminating cancer stem cells would be greatly beneficial in the treatment of cancer. While there have been approved therapeutic methods for the removal of a few of the cancer stem cells types, treatment for most types of cancer stem cells are still in the experimental phase and have yet to be used in a clinical setting.
This paper discusses the synthesis of the virus like particle conjugates of a breast cancer stem cell targeting compound that binds preferentially to breast cancer stem cells. Once in the cell, it is designed to release a chemotherapeutic drug to initiate apoptosis. This research can potentially be used in the future to help treat breast cancer, and be used as a model for treating other types of cancer as well
DNP Final Report: CENTRAL LINE DRESSING CHANGE REGIMEN TO DECREASE CENTRAL LINE-ASSOCIATED BLOODSTREAM INFECTIONS
Full text linkCentral line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) are dangerous and costly occurrences in healthcare facilities. This evidence-based project\u27s purpose is to implement interventions to reduce CLABSIs in a healthcare facility that has higher than the national average of reported cases. The practice problem PICOT question is: In inpatients with indwelling central venous access devices at the facility, (P) how does implementation of evidence-based guidelines for central line dressing changes every seven days and as needed (I) compared to the current practice of dressing changes on Fridays (C) affect CLABSI rates over a three-month period (O). The body of evidence obtained in the project supported following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for central line insertion, care, and maintenance. The facility reviewed and amended policies and procedures to incorporate the guidelines and developed processes for adherence. The goal was to reduce the occurrences of CLABSI by 50% in the upcoming year. The outcome was met with a reduction of CLABSI cases from 40 in 2021 to 11 cases in 2022. The impact of these results shows improvement in patient outcomes with fewer patients developing CLABSI and less unrecoverable costs to the facility to treat CLABSIs. The policies in place and the dedication of the nursing leadership in the facility will make the project interventions sustainable as well as amendable as needed
The stability of epigenetic variants that can act as loci causing phenotypic change
Full text linkEpigenetic variations are a possible source of heritable phenotypic variation. In this study I focus on phenotypic alterations seen in epigenetic Recombinant Inbred Lines (epiRILs) of Arabidopsis thaliana. These epiRILs allow me to study the effects differentially methylated regions (DMRs) have on phenotypic variance. In a study performed in 2014 by Cortijo et al., they found that DMR’s affect flowering time and root length when grown under greenhouse conditions. In this study, I replicated the Cortijo et al. (2014) study, with some changes, to see whether the same significant eQTL regions are found. I found that, some of the eQTLs that were found in the Cortijo et al. (2014) study overlapped with those in this study. While there were some discrepancies, this could be due to insufficient power to detect the eQTL regions that were missed, as well as differences in the experimental conditions between my study and Cortijo et al.(2014), the fact that I found any eQTLs at all suggests that the epigenotypes of the epiRILs are largely the same as when they were constructed. Otherwise, I would not have found any significant eQTL regions at all. Overall, this work adds weight to the observation that methylation changes can be heritable and stable across generations, and that these changes can alter phenotypes -- all of the ingredients needed for evolution -- independent of any DNA sequence changes
The Dueling Ambitions of High Achieving Women: A Family Development Pilot Case Study
Full text linkAt some point prior to their children turning 18, roughly 70% of mothers will hold the position of breadwinner in their family. The increasing number of breadwinning mothers is reflective of the shifting roles of women in families. Although a family role shift is evident for mothers, the centrality of women in the development of families across the lifespan remains unchanged. The centrality of mothers to family development is obvious in the family life cycle. Embedded in the traditional family structure, the family life cycle is a commonly used assessment model for family lifespan development despite its incongruence with professional counseling ethics and curriculum standards. The incongruence highlights the need for a family development model appropriate for diverse family structures. Therefore, a pilot case study approach guided this study as an initial exploration into the family development of high achieving women. An in-depth semi-structured interview with a single participant was conducted and then analyzed using a phenomenological approach. Four themes emerged from the participant\u27s experience: self-efficacy and hustle, supportive relationships, resources used, and barriers faced. The findings from this study demonstrated a clear need for additional research. Additionally, the researcher recommends that counselor educators and family counselors should be cautious in their utilization of existing family development assessment models with diverse families