East Tennessee State University

The Link Between Opioid Misuse and Suicidal Ideation Is Strongest Among Sexual Minorities

ABSTRACT Opioid misuse and suicidal ideation (SI) are significant public health concerns in the United States, and incidence rates may be elevated among sexual minority people. We used data from the 2021 National Survey on Drug and Health (heterosexual, n = 39,647, lesbian/gay n...

“I Was Determined to Take Control of My Own Body”: Self‐Managed Abortion in the US Appalachian Region

ABSTRACT Background Many people living along the Appalachian mountain region, which spread down the eastern side of the United States, experience limited access to abortion care and report high levels of distrust in health care providers. Therefore, Appalachians are likely to hav...

The Acute Kinetic, Kinematic, and Jump Performance Responses to Different Set-Rep-Loading Schemes of the Back Squat

The purpose of the current study was to elucidate the mechanical outputs and acute neuromuscular performance response to different set-rep-loading schemes of the barbell back squat. Eleven resistance trained subjects (9 males, BS 1RM 1.9 ± 0.2 x BW; 2 females, BS 1RM 1.4 ±0.3 x B...

Reapplication and Credential Completion Among Non-Selected Community College Health Science Applicants: A Social Stratification Perspective

Reapplication and Credential Completion Among Non-Selected Community College Health Science Applicants: A Social Stratification Perspective by Donna Whitehouse Community colleges serve as primary access points for healthcare workforce preparation, yet thousands of qualified appli...

Tennessee High School Teachers' Perceptions of Culturally Inclusive Curriculum and Its Impact on African American Students’ Achievement Motivation

This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study examined Tennessee high school teachers’ perceptions of culturally inclusive curriculum and its perceived influence on African American students’ achievement motivation. Guided by one overarching research question and three sub-...

Educator Experiences of Schoolwide PBIS Discipline Implementation: Exploring School Culture in Private PK–12 Schools

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore educators’ lived experiences implementing schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) discipline systems and to understand how those experiences influenced school culture in private PK–12 schools. Hist...

Investigating the Role of CD11b in Recovery from Olfactory Injury: A Glial Perspective

The olfactory system is comprised of multiple cells that allow an organism the sense of smell. Olfactory sensory neurons in the nasal cavity bind to odorants and transmit signals interpreted by the brain as a scent. Throughout life, this population of neurons undergoes regular ce...

A Qualitative Study Using Thematic Analysis to Explore Medical Education post-Dobbs

In June of 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, challenging the validity of the historical decision of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case from 1973 establishing a constitutional right to abortion and esta...

Modeling Mean and Variability of Anxiety in Ecological Momentary Assessment Data Using Mixed-Effects Location–Scale Models

Ecological Momentary Assessment is a method of collecting repeated measures of people in real time within natural environments. This results in hierarchical data that has a significant amount of variation at the person level. The traditional linear mixedeffects models assume that...

Distributed Leadership Applied: The Role of Professional Learning Communities in the Emergence and Development of Teacher Leadership

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to examine the processes through which teacher leadership is fostered and sustained among elementary and middle school educators who participate regularly in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), with a focus upon scho...

Acute and Delayed Responses of Three Resistance Training Types Throughout a Block Periodized Off-Season on Athletic Performance and Fatigue

The author’s purposes in this dissertation were: 1) to evaluate neuromuscular, morphological, and performance adaptations across three sequential resistance training blocks (Strength-Endurance (SE), Basic Strength (BS), and Power) during an 11-week block-periodized off-season (St...

Bridging the Gap: Educator Experiences Supporting Students During the Transition from Middle to High School

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of middle and high school educators supporting students during the transition from middle to high school. This study contributes to the literature of middle to high school transition pract...

Understanding College Student Expectancies of Simultaneous Engagement in Multiple Risk Behaviors: A Measurement Development and Model Testing Study

Risky behaviors, actions that may cause physical, psychological, social, or economic harm to oneself or others, are prevalent among college students. While significant research has focused on single high-risk behaviors of alcohol use, drug use, gambling, and gaming separately, st...

Gender, Immigration, and the Republican Coalition: Attitude Activation Versus Attitude Change in the 2020–2024 Electoral Transition

The 2024 presidential election resulted in the following paradox: despite unprecedented affective polarization, mega-partisan identity alignment, and historical party loyalty, Donald Trump expanded his electoral coalition. This thesis aims to demonstrate how this seemingly parado...

Characterization of Catechol-Type Siderophore(s) from P. mosselii CFML 90-83

Iron is essential for many biological processes, where it is used as a cofactor. Even though it is abundant in the Earth’s crust, it is in an insoluble form unavailable to microorganisms in the soil. To overcome this, bacteria produce siderophores, which are secondary metabolites...

Identifying Who Benefits Most: Predictors of Reduced Fear of Falling in a Statewide Community-Based Fall Prevention Program

Background. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related morbidity and mortality among older adults and represent a growing public health challenge as the population ages. Fear of falling (FOF) contributes to this burden by promoting activity restriction, functional decline, and...

Disruption, Recovery, and Divergence: How Prepandemic Achievement Levels Shaped Learning Loss, Recovery, and Spending Efficiency in Tennessee Public High Schools

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant and uneven learning loss in Tennessee public high schools. The statewide ACT composite average fell from 20.2 in 2019 to 19.1 in 2021. By 2024-2025, it recovered only to 19.3. During the same period, Tennessee received approximately $3.86...

Testing P300-Based Biometric Authentication Paradigms

Bench research suggests that P300 amplitude is greater in response to self-relevant stimuli compared to familiar stimuli. This effect could enable a novel method of biometric authentication based on the self-relevant P300. This dissertation aims to: (1) determine the optimal pres...

Computational Studies of the Spin Trapping Potential of Gallic Acid and its Derivatives in the Reactions with Hydroxyl Free Radicals

Gallic acid (GA) and its derivatives are naturally occurring phenolic antioxidants that have been proposed as spin-trapping agents to study radical reactions in vivo. Despite significant interest, this has not been previously studied using computational chemistry methods. To asse...

Race, Sex, and Age Disparities in Homicide Clearance Rates in Tennessee: An Intersectional Approach

Demographic factors can influence homicide solvability. This study examines the relationship between victim characteristics and homicide clearance rates in Tennessee from 2001 to 2023. Using an intersectional approach, it assesses whether victim characteristics both individually...