The University of Texas at Tyler
Scholar Works at UT Tyler (University of Texas at Tyler)Not a member yet
5042 research outputs found
Sort by
DNP Final Report: Conquering RN Turnover: Implementing Flexible Scheduling to Improve Job Satisfaction
Get PDFNurse turnover is a complex problem for the nursing profession, especially in the behavioral health setting, where turnover rates are higher than the overall RN national average. The consequences of high nurse turnover include increased health costs, low-quality patient care, and staffing constraints. The association between nurse turnover and job satisfaction is profound because of their reciprocal relationship; therefore, implementing an intervention to help mitigate nurse dissatisfaction is essential to overcoming nurse turnover. Flexible scheduling is an intervention that gives nurses independence with their schedule which improves work-life balance and promotes nurse retention (Wright, 2017). The following PICOT question was thus developed: In registered nurses working in behavioral health (P), how does implementing flexible scheduling (I), compared to traditional scheduling (C), affect job satisfaction over three months (T)? Based on a systematic review and critical appraisal of the literature, flexible scheduling was implemented in a behavioral health setting with a nurse turnover rate of 31.22% at the start of the project. The goal was to decrease RN turnover rates by 5%, improve job satisfaction by 7%, and reduce absences by 12%. Five months after implementation of flexible scheduling, there was a 52.4% decrease in RN turnover rate, 33.33% improvement in job satisfaction, and 28.6% decrease in absences. The evidence-based intervention of flexible scheduling was successful in the unit in which it was implemented, which increases the potential for expanding and sustaining the changes
Neither Meek nor Docile: An Analysis of Margaret Hale and Jane Eyre in Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre
Get PDFThe Victorian period was an era of societal change in Great Britain. Viewing gender in hetero- and CIS- normative terms, the “woman question” – what to do with unmarried women – became a topic that was widely debated. Activists such as Barbara Leigh Smith, Francis Power Cobbe and Josephine Butler advocated for better education and employment opportunities for women emphasizing the need for women to find dignity and fulfilment outside of the private sphere to which they were relegated. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell reflect the issues facing middle-class women during this period, including the desire to find fulfilment and dignity in their lives. My paper examines the protagonists of these two novels, Jane Eyre and Margaret Hale, as examples of women who were beginning to question their role in society. Using the works of scholars such as Elaine Showalter, Ellen Moers, Barbara Leah Harman, Patricia Ingham and Nicola Thompson, it examines how these two characters both subvert Victorian expectations for women and conform to them. It posits that while historically Brontë has been viewed as a radically feminist writer, Gaskell is more successful in subverting Victorian notions of gender roles, for she successfully offers her audience a more admirably free and dignified yet still respectable female protagonist, one who is not only about to be happily married but who is also a land owner and sponsor of a “master of industry.
CAMPUS-LEVEL TEACHER TURNOVER IN TEXAS PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP FACTORS AND SCHOOL DEMOGRAPHICS USING HEIRARCHICAL LINEAR MODELING
Get PDFThe 2022 Texas Teacher Survey conducted by the Charles Butt Foundation reported that in the past year 77% of public school teachers in Texas considered leaving their positions or the teaching profession, an increase of 19% since 2020. A secondary finding was that the presence or absence of administrative support was a key factor in the decision making about whether to leave. Teachers are the backbone of the U.S. education system which exists to educate future generations of citizens and leaders, and the teacher–student relationship is one of the most important school-related factors to student learning and success (Ronfeldt et al., 2013). The loss of this relationship is a problem for schools. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of campus-level variables on campus teacher turnover in Texas public elementary schools. The variables were student socioeconomic status; the number of students in the school; the percentage of English language learners in the school; the campus principal’s tenure in the role of principal and at their current campus, and whether the principal has attended the Texas Instructional Leadership Program, as well as the district-level variable of district geographic classification. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) techniques were used to examine turnover at the campus level in public elementary schools in the state of Texas. School- and district-level variables were examined to determine their relationship to campus turnover. Data were obtained directly from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website and through Public Information Request (PIR) to the TEA. This study was underpinned by systems theory (von Bertalanffy, 1968) and its component theory cybernetics (Wiener, 1961), both of which examine the structure and functioning of multifaceted systems and their component parts.
The findings confirmed previous research that student socioeconomic status is a key indicator of teacher turnover (Holme et al., 2017), noting that the tenure of the principal on the campus can decrease the amount of teacher turnover. The variables of English language learner and number of students in the school had minimal positive impact on campus teacher turnover. The HLM process identified that the principal tenure variable has more impact between school districts than within districts. The research implications include the need for continued study of factors impacting teacher turnover and continued use of HLM to highlight the impact of variables at different levels. Practice implications suggest continued principal leadership development that includes components of communication, relationship building, and creation of a productive, supportive school culture
Should Pharma Companies Waive Their COVID-19 Vaccine Patents? A Legal and Ethical Appraisal
Get PDFPharmaceutical companies, like many other types of companies, are incentivized to create, manufacture, and distribute new products, in part due to the legal protections of patent law. However, the tension between patent rights and the public good has been heightened as pharma companies developed new vaccines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Wealthy governments paid well for vaccines and received ample supplies, while low- and middle-income countries struggled to obtain access to any vaccines. Some countries called for pharmaceutical companies to waive their patent protections for vaccines in order to facilitate the worldwide manufacture and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. This paper will examine the rationale of patent protection and patent waiver issues, then compare these concepts with ethical constructs and a Jewish perspective
THE EFFECT OF A PERSONALIZED LEARNING MODEL ON THE MATHEMATICAL ACHIEVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY STUDENTS
Get PDFThis is a two-year mixed-methods study designed to discover the effects of a personalized learning model on the mathematical achievement in elementary. The setting is a university laboratory school that utilizes a distinct instructional math model based on mathematical best practices, problem-based learning (PrBL), and the use of personalized learning (PL) through stations, small-group pull-outs and a designated software program (IXL). The evaluation study was conducted over the course of a year. Teacher observations were used to understand the implementation of the model as well as the teacher’s perceptions. Student data from the previous year’s state assessment, State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR), were used as baseline data for improvements as well as the students’ mathematical functional level in IXL. The results of year one revealed that while some gains were seen academically, the model was not implemented to fidelity. Therefore, year two consisted of an intervention of a job embedded professional development plan for teachers in the PL model in order to determine the effect of mathematical achievement. The same measures as year one were used with the addition of a teacher survey given the middle and end of year. Overall, the study found that the job embedded professional development plan for teachers did have a positive impact on the achievement scores for both STAAR and functional levels in IXL. Subsequent years of data would need to be collected to be able to make recommendations for future studies as well as the impacts on the field at large
IMPACT OF RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION ON ACHIEVEMENT
Get PDFThe Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice focused on an initial comprehensive assessment of the Response to Intervention (RtI) framework, implemented in a district in East Texas, and its impact of student achievement. Following the evaluation, a subsequent improvement iteration concentrated on the impact of RtI, with the use of job-embedded professional learning, on student achievement. Both iterations utilized a mixed-methods case study using an embedded experimental model with a one-phase approach. The findings highlighted that student achievement did improve with statistically significant results except for in the second iteration where there was not statistically significant results in fifth and sixth grade reading from winter to spring and eighth grade reading overall. Additionally, the data showcased the need for targeted professional development on Tier Two and Tier Three instructional strategies as well as a documented RtI framework guide
Safe Staffing, Safe Patients Benchmark Project
Get PDFWith the most recent pandemic, nurses have been overworked, overwhelmed, and understaffed at dangerous levels. Nurses are leaving full time employment at this facility in droves to seek better wages through traveling. In turn, our patient outcomes have taken a large hit, with an increase in falls, pressure ulcers, and catheter-acquired urinary tract infections, to name a few. This is costly for the hospital, not to mention the damper it puts on the hospital’s vision and goals. With the implementation of a nursing incentive program, the hospital could cut overall spending in half within 2 years with an investment of $2 million dollars. The evidence suggests that retention could increase by 50%, increasing hospital efficiency and profits.
The nursing incentive program includes an increase in baseline pay rate, transparent communication between administration and employees, and the implementation of a career ladder to assist staff in growing their career at our facility. The hospital is currently paying agency nurses a large sum of money to keep staff levels at minimum. If the hospital increases base pay for its own nurses, they are more likely to stay employed full time and recruit other nurses to join the organization. The system does a wonderful job with communication, but transparency from administration is necessary. The career ladder would offer nurses an opportunity to research evidence-based information and submit works for the hospital, improve their education level and possibility for promotion, and increase their pay rate
THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE IN THE TELEWORKING CONTEXT IN THE U.S. PUBLIC SECTOR: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL CASE STUDY
Get PDFThe global shift to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic has redefined work environments and created challenges and opportunities for the public sector. This study addressed a significant gap in the existing literature by exploring the relationship between employee engagement and performance in the context of COVID-19. This study explores employee engagement and performance in teleworking environments within the federal public sector. This study adopted a phenomenological case study design focused on understanding the experiences of public sector employees who shifted to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research and interview questions were developed to uncover employee engagement and performance experiences in teleworking environments within the federal public sector following the global lockdown. The participants represent a diverse range of roles, education levels, ages, races, and departments to identify the impact of telework on employee engagement and performance within a federal public sector organization. Following a purposive sampling process, ten participants were selected and interviewed for the study. Through 535 open codes, three categories of findings, tech-based telework, engagement, and performance, with nine themes that emerged: flexibility, work-life balance, time-saving effect, economics, less stress, networking, technology, physical interaction, and socialization. The findings revealed benefits from pandemic-induced telework such as increased flexibility, reduced stress, economic and time savings, and improved work-life balance. Meanwhile, challenges were identified related to social isolation, reduced networking, less physical interaction, and potential interruptions with technology. The study also found that public sector characteristics in formalization, administrative routines, and goal ambiguity influenced employee engagement and performance in teleworking environments. This study contributed to both theoretical and practical realms by describing the complexities of employee engagement and performance among teleworkers in the public sector. Employee engagement has repeatedly been linked to organizational outcomes in literature and practice. Further, practitioners and researchers have yearned for credible and trustworthy scholarly insight to support the workforce during significant crises. Therefore, this study offers new insight on employee engagement and performance experiences in a telework environment in the federal public sector and contributes to the growing body of literature in employee engagement and performance. This study provides important implications for human resource development (HRD) research and practice
Predictability Augmentation by In-silico Study to In-vivo and In-vitro Results of Lung Doses of Airborne Fine and Ultrafine Particles Inhaled by Humans at Industrial Workplaces
Get PDFThis study correlates computational predictions with in vivo and in vitro experimental results of inhaled fine and ultrafine particulate matter (PM) transport, dissemination, and deposition in the human respiratory airways. Epidemiological studies suggest that workplace exposure to anthropogenic pollutant PMs is a risk factor for increased susceptibility to acute bronchopulmonary illnesses. However, investigations on detailed human inhalation and PM transport processes are restrictive from time, cost, and ethical perspectives. Computational simulation based on the Multiple Path Particle Dosimetry (MPPD) model was employed to quantify the risks associated with workplace exposure of these PMs. Here, the physical, mechanical, and electrical properties of PMs of carbon black (CB) and ultrafine particles (UFPs) from wire-cut electrical discharge machining (WEDM), with mass median aerodynamic diameter (CMAD) in the range of 1 nm to 1000 nm, were used as input parameters of MPPD. Additionally, it mimicked occupational workers’ age, body mass index, and oronasal-combinational nose and mouth breathing exposure time. The deposition results were compared with several vivo and in vitro experimental data reported in the literature, and satisfactory agreements were found. For example, a total lung dose of CB-PMs of 100 nm is the highest (28%), while a 380 nm dose is the lowest (15%). Afterward, deposition increases with particle size, reaching 26% for 1000 nm. In the case of WEDM-UFPs, about 98% of all 1.0 nm inhaled particles remain in the lung. Subsequently, the deposition dose decreases with the particle size and reaches up to 28% for 100 nm particles. Approximately 51% of deposited WEDM-UFPs are of CMAD ≤ 5 nm. The images of lung geometry also observed the maximum deposited mass and mass flux rate in the head, tracheobronchial, and pulmonary airways
Mitigating Fatigue in the Triage Process: A Creative Solution to Shorter Shifts
Get PDFTriage is a critical assessment process performed by a registered nurse by which Emergency Rooms (ERs) sort patients who present for a medical evaluation. With ER visits increasing, pressure on staff to move patients through the department is often palpable. Whether a patient decides to walk in, or come in by ambulance, the first person to assess the patient is the triage nurse. They determine the appropriate level of care needed for the presenting complaint.
After a review of literature, it was found that fatigue is correlated with shift length in triage with the highest level of fatigue being at the 8th hour of the shift. However, literature also showed that nurses overall preferred a 12-hour shift length for work-life balance, thus a creative solution was warranted to decrease risk of mis-triaging and triage error. To accommodate both findings, the plan for this project is to rotate triage nurses every four hours utilizing mid-shift nurses that are already staffed in the Emergency Room (ER). This project requires no additional cost to the hospital system as the nurses are already hired and staffed. Although not implemented yet, the goals of this creative solution are to decrease triage error, decrease nurse triage fatigue and decrease negative outcomes for patients in the ER due to an error in assigned acuity level