Digital Commons Network^™

Social Reproduction In The New England Community College System: A Critical Cultural Studies Perspective, Sarah Marmon

Masters Theses

Statistical data on community colleges confirms how vast the community college institution is: Serving 46% of all undergraduates in the country, or 12.4 million students. A large body of literature exists on the specifics of social reproduction in four-year universities; as well as the specifics of social reproduction in racially and economically segregated high schools. However, there exists a blind spot in this literature when it comes to social reproduction at the community college.

Through conducting interviews with students, faculty and staff at three local community colleges, this ethnographic study explores this theoretical and empirical blind spot by using a …

Open Source And Open Learning, Ryan Beare, Vidhi Goti, Seth Trojacek

Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) Conference Proceedings

We are the Geospatial Information Systems Club from Texas A&M University - Commerce in Commerce, TX. Over the past year, we have cultivated an incredible community of researchers, data analysts, programmers, and writers to make our club one of the top academic clubs on our campus. Our first project even won a first place award. How did we do it? We used Foss4G software. As beginners, we came together as a community of close friends, learned QGIS and undertook a project that highlighted and celebrated the rich 125 year history of our university. Together we continue to use QGIS to …

Implicit Bias In Pre-Service Teachers: A Mixed Methods Approach, Tara Pepis

Doctoral Dissertations

Research Goals/Questions Colleges of Education, through educator preparation programs, have applied a scattershot approach to addressing diversity through multicultural teacher education programs. These programs have not been shown to reduce bias levels in pre-service teachers and are not systematic or uniform. (King & Butler, 2015). This study focuses on an alternative approach to preparing pre-service teachers to work with diverse populations. It measured the levels of implicit bias in a sample population of pre-service teachers and attempt to reduce their implicit bias levels. The aim of the dissertation was to answer the following questions:

1. Can a brief, computer-based intervention decrease …

An Educational Toolkit To Promote Lung Cancer Screening In Primary Care, Courtney Cloonan

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States for both men and women. Lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) demonstrates reductions in lung cancer mortality and all-cause mortality, and improved rates of early stage diagnosis in high-risk current and former adult smokers. Evidence-based screening guidelines include annual LDCT in high-risk current and former adult smokers; however, these guidelines have not been fully translated into clinical practice. The purpose of this project was to create a toolkit for lung cancer screening to assist primary care providers in educating and screening their patients at high-risk …

Oral Sex And Hsv-1 Knowledge Among College Freshmen Females, Karen Hendry

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Herpes simplex 1 (HSV-1) disease transmission to the genitals has life long health consequences for young women. The aim of this DNP project was to assess knowledge among female college freshmen regarding HSV-1 transmission to the genitals during oral sex.

A voluntary and anonymous online survey was e-mailed to 648 female college freshmen using their college e-mail account. A 19% (N=121) survey response rate was achieved. Seventy-three percent of the college females reported receiving oral sex. Ninety-five percent of the college females knew the possible risk of HSV-1 transmission during oral sex. Ninety-six percent of the female students …

Education And Mindfulness In The Treatment Of Substance Use Disorders, Terri Morris

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Background: The complex psychological and social needs of patients with substance use disorders present challenges for healthcare providers. A multidisciplinary approach that includes medications, psychosocial treatment, and education to assist the patient with disease management is common. This approach improves outcomes and promotes recovery. Evidence clearly suggests that tailored treatment programs incorporating medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in conjunction with behavioral modification and psychotherapy yield positive treatment outcomes (NIDA, 2016). Purpose: The purpose of this project was to determine whether an educational program coupled with existing treatment modalities was comprehensive and innovative in MAT approaches. The educational program focused on …

Improving Latino Diabetes Patients' Physiologic Measurements Utilizing Culturally Competent Interventions, Christine Hoogasian

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Latinos have a high risk of developing poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, which may be at least partly due to their cultural beliefs. Many health care clinics lack consistent use of culturally competent educational interventions when providing diabetes education to Latinos. The literature demonstrates that clinics using culturally competent interventions tend to accomplish significant clinical improvements in outcomes such as lower glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C) levels, weight loss, increase in daily steps walked, and improved diabetes knowledge. The purpose of this Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to use Latino-tailored culturally competent diabetes education to achieve a reduction in weight, …