Masters Theses
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ItemDo You Like Me? First Impressions on LinkedIn(Middle Tennessee State University, 2023)This study explored first impressions derived from LinkedIn profiles. Two independent factors were manipulated: viewing a hiring manager's LinkedIn profile and completing LinkedIn Learning courses. Four LinkedIn profiles were created to evaluate hiring manager's impressions of a job candidate. Participants were randomly presented with one of the four profiles and answered questions about their overall impressions of the candidate and their likelihood to invite the candidate for a job interview. Initial findings suggested that hiring managers provided more positive ratings for applicants who did not complete LinkedIn Learning courses. Further analyses, using only participants with correct manipulation responses, revealed no significant results for viewing a hiring manger's profile, completing LinkedIn Learning, or an interaction between the two on a hiring managers impression of a job candidate.
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ItemDoes This Building Make Me Look Fat? The Relationship Between Work from Home, Barriers and Facilitators to Nutrition and Exercise, and the Role of Stress By(Middle Tennessee State University, 2023)Work-related stress has become a public health crisis, which is deeply concerning given the detrimental effects it can have on an individual's mental and physical well-being. It was hypothesized that barriers and facilitators of healthy decision making would be associated with healthy decision making. It was also hypothesized that work from home would be associated with barriers and facilitators of healthy decision making, as well as that barriers and facilitators would be associated with stress. Lastly, a mediation relationship was hypothesized of work from home and stress through barriers and facilitators of healthy decision making. A total of 214 participants engaged in a daily diary survey over a span of five consecutive workdays, reporting their daily dietary and exercise choices, daily factors that acted as barriers or facilitators of those choices, daily stress, and whether they worked from home. This study found support for the association of facilitators with healthy decision making, as well as support for the potential of remote work to decrease the barriers and facilitators of healthy decision making. There was also no support for the mediation relationship hypothesized. Organizations can use the knowledge of various barriers and facilitators of healthy decision making to redesign the organizational practices, create healthy interventions, and promote employee well-being to make it easier for employees to make healthy decisions. Implications and future directions are also discussed.
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ItemDevelopment of a PNN Pincer Ligand and Its Iron and Cobalt Complexes for Selective Catalytic Amide Synthesis(Middle Tennessee State University, 2023)The formation of amide bonds from carboxylic acids and amines has been the commercially available route for decades, enabling the synthesis of various compounds used in industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to polyurethanes. However, these conventional methods of synthesis have significant sustainability challenges, as they generate copious amounts of waste, produce harmful by-products, and rely on the use of toxic chemicals. Given the increasing demand for amide-containing compounds and the environmental drawbacks associated with traditional synthesis routes, researchers have been prompted to explore more sustainable approaches to amide bond formation, aligning with the principles of Green Chemistry. [1], [2], [3] In this paper, we report the design and synthesis of cobalt (II) and iron (II) complexes with a new type of PNN pincer ligand to facilitate selective amide formation during an alcohol and amine coupling reaction. We propose two new pincer ligands, PhPNHN and iPrPNHN, that are designed to allow for modes of metal-ligand cooperativity (MLC) in order to expand on the versatility of their chemical functions. The metal complexes provide an opportunity for a fundamental understanding of the key mechanistic steps in selective amide formation in addition to structure-reactivity relationships to improve future catalyst design. With the support of single crystal X-ray crystallography, 31P NMR, 1H NMR, elemental analysis, and high-resolution mass spectrometry we report the successful synthesis of a new type of PhPNHN pincer ligand and two new organometallic complexes.
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ItemThe Prevention of Type II Diabetes in African Americans Consuming a Plant Based Diet(Middle Tennessee State University, 2023)The purpose of this study is to investigate if type II diabetes can be prevented in African Americans by consuming a plant-based diet. This study aspires to answer the following research question: Can type II diabetes be prevented in African Americans by consuming a plant-based diet? A plant-based diet is free from all animal products such as meat and dairy and is substituted with plants such as fruits and vegetables. This is a systematic review aimed at answering the previously mentioned research question. Many black people assume that because their parents and great-grandparents were diagnosed with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, or cancer, it is set in stone that they too will have the same health disadvantages and hardships. This study aims to break that stigma by examining the relationship a plant-based diet can have on the prevention of illness.
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ItemLEARNING PURITY: EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN GROWING UP CATHOLIC IN THE U.S. DEEP SOUTH(Middle Tennessee State University, 2023)This qualitative research design examines the experiences of individuals who were raised as girls and young women in the Catholic church in the United States Deep South. I conducted 17 semi-structured interviews. I ask, how have women and girls in the Catholic church learned what it means to be “pure”? How, and what, did women and girls who grew up in the Catholic Church learn about reproductive beliefs and freedom? How, and what, did women and girls who grew up in the Catholic Church learn about intimacy? How, and what, have women and girls in the Catholic church been taught to think of pregnancy and children? I conceptualize “doing purity” as a theoretical concept to explain how women and girls in this context learn how being a woman or a girl is inextricably linked with their purity and acting and being pure. Findings include the themes: “doing” purity, sex education, intimate relationships, and pregnancy and children. “Doing” purity provides the groundwork for an analysis of what it means for Catholic and Christian institutions to uphold sexualized violence, sexual abuse, women’s submission, and traditional gender roles. Effects on participants are discussed in the results section of thesis, and the conclusion provides a discussion about sexualized violence and effects of “doing purity.” Limitations and future research are also discussed.