Matching Items (4)
Filtering by
- Creators: Department of Supply Chain Management
- Creators: Allen, Kelly Anne
- Creators: Gress-Smith, Jenna
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
An increasing number of military veterans are enrolling in college, primarily due to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which provides educational benefits to veterans who served on active duty since September 11, 2001. With rigorous training, active combat situations, and exposure to unexpected situations, the veteran population is at a higher risk for traumatic brain injury (TBI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and depression. All of these conditions are associated with cognitive consequences, including attention deficits, working memory problems, and episodic memory impairments. Some conditions, particularly mild TBI, are not diagnosed or treated until long after the injury when the person realizes they have cognitive difficulties. Even mild cognitive problems can hinder learning in an academic setting, but there is little data on the frequency and severity of cognitive deficits in veteran college students. The current study examines self-reported cognitive symptoms in veteran students compared to civilian students and how those symptoms relate to service-related conditions. A better understanding of the pattern of self-reported symptoms will help researchers and clinicians determine the veterans who are at higher risk for cognitive and academic difficulties.
ContributorsAllen, Kelly Anne (Author) / Azuma, Tamiko (Thesis director) / Gallagher, Karen (Committee member) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This thesis looks at a short-term solution to the truck driver shortage: transitioning U.S. military veterans into truck driver roles. Due to the adoption of self-driving trucks, the shortage is projected to end in 2022; however, freight companies may not be able to keep up with growing freight volumes until then. In the meantime, providing commercial driver's license (CDL) training on military bases has the potential to alleviate the shortage and veteran unemployment. A number of journal articles were read and interviews were conducted to determine the practicality of this solution. This thesis includes those findings and a number of considerations that should be made before implementing it.
ContributorsPatel, Nikhil (Author) / Kellso, James (Thesis director) / Maltz, Arnold (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The goal of this project is to improve the efficiency of operations for Quincea Social Enterprise. I aim to achieve this goal by interviewing market participants to make recommendations for how Quincea Social Enterprise can best utilize resources to deliver vegetables, fruits and herbs to their key institutional customers (schools, churches, hospitals, group homes and corporate cafeterias). This thesis views Quincea through the lens of the Social Enterprise Business Model and compares its organization to serve underemployed groups including veterans and adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD Adults) 1. Throughout my research, I use supply chain theory and network structure to inform supply chain strategy, optimize logistics, and integrate the supply chain organization, processes and technology. My insights are grounded in the supply chain literature, and a comparison with other non-profit operations. This thesis identifies the resources, capabilities, and partnerships needed for a successful social enterprise. The key findings include: a) Quincea’s unique business model exhibits promising potential for cost-effectively creations of jobs for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities; b) an important strength is the depth of its public and private sector strategic partnerships; c) another important organizational advantage is its emphasis on operational efficiencies and being price competitive, rather than having its social mission drive sales d) its efforts to document its strategies and operating plans, along with securing many partnerships with national corporations, should facilitate program geographic expansion; e) the emphasis on social impact metrics should make it easier to measure program effectiveness and to attract additional strategic partners; and f) the economic self-sustaining business model exhibits promising potential to expand operations, while having reduced dependency on government, foundation and individual donor subsidies to scale operations.
ContributorsStephens, Natalie (Author) / Richards, Timothy (Thesis director) / Hall, Jonathan (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Chronic pain is devastating and highly prevalent among Veterans in the United States (Johnson, Levesque, Broderick, Bailey & Kerns, 2017). While there are various treatment options for chronic pain, opioids remain high in popularity. Although opioids are fast-acting and effective, potential consequences range from unpleasant side effects to dependence and fatal overdose (Baldini, Korff & Lin, 2012; Park et al., 2015; Kaur, 2007). The effects of opioid treatment can be further complicated by a history of alcohol abuse. Past alcohol abuse is a risk factor for opioid misuse (McCabe et al., 2008). One alternative to opioid medication is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP). CBT-CP has shown small to moderate effects on chronic pain after the end of treatment (Naylor, Keefe, Brigidi, Naud & Helzer, 2008). The current study examined the effect of CBT-CP on opioid prescriptions, as well as the role of past alcohol abuse in CBT-CP efficacy, through an archival data analysis of Veterans Affairs patient charts. In order to determine the effect of CBT-CP on opioid prescriptions, an opioid change score was calculated from treatment start date to twelve months post-treatment. An analysis of 106 patient charts demonstrated no statistically significant difference in opioid prescriptions between Veterans who were referred and attended treatment (n = 24) and those who were referred but did not attend (n = 82). Veterans from both groups showed a reduction in prescribed opioids during a 12-month period. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference between Veterans with versus without a history of alcohol abuse in terms of the change in opioid prescriptions over a 12-month period (both groups showed reductions). This research suggests that opioid prescriptions may decrease over time among Veterans referred for CBT-CP, even among those who do not participate in the groups. More work is needed to understand the relationship between opioid prescriptions and actual opioid use over time among Veterans who do and do not choose to participate in CBT-CP. Continuing to address poly-substance use in chronic pain patients also is critical to ensure that Veterans suffering from chronic pain receive appropriate intervention.
ContributorsMiller, Stephanie C (Author) / Roberts, Nicole (Thesis director) / Gress-Smith, Jenna (Thesis director) / Burgess, Lisa (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05