Digital Commons Network^™

Rape Shield Laws: A Call For Reform, Ava Cunningham

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Rape shield laws were originally created during the 1970s to prohibit the admission of a victim’s past sexual history as evidence in court. Such laws aimed to prevent prejudicial questioning that could alter the jury's perceptions. However, they are deeply rooted in gendered biases, do not ensure fairness in the courtroom, and fail to keep pace with advancing technology. This paper argues that a thorough reexamination of rape shield laws is necessary to address these limitations and achieve impartial legal outcomes. Authors of the justice community display widespread support for reform of such laws. Researchers such as Flowe et al. …

Militarized Policing In Democratic Societies: Origins, Firearms Proliferation, Impacts, And The Erosion Of Democratic Governance, Carlos Alcantar

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Police militarization has become a global trend in recent decades across many democratic societies, often justified as a necessary improvement in policing to address contemporary threats. This shift not only changes police agencies’ equipment but also their organizational structure, training, operations, and culture, raising concerns about its impact on democratic policing practices, public safety, and civil liberties. This study examines the historical and structural developments behind this trend, focusing on military-grade equipment transfers, firearms availability, and the global diffusion of militarized security models as key drivers. Using a qualitative comparative case analysis, the research finds that police militarization is shaped …

The Night Stalker: The Killer Who Learned To Kill, Briana Farias

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Richard Ramirez’s criminal career can be best understood through Akers’ Social Learning Theory, which explains deviance as a learned behavior shaped by social interactions. This paper analyzes Ramirez’s childhood exposure to abuse, violent role models, and criminal reinforcement to demonstrate how his behavior may have developed over time. It draws on empirical studies demonstrating that social learning influences offenses such as adolescent drug abuse, gang affiliation, stalking, and sexual aggression. The analysis suggests Ramirez’s violence was not random, but the product of a social environment that rewarded violence. The paper concludes that understanding learned violence is essential for prevention efforts, …

Headset To Reset: Virtual Reality Therapy In Postoperative Heart And Lung Transplant Patients, Michaela Sanchez

Doctoral Projects

Postoperative heart, lung, and heart-lung transplant recipients are at increased risk for anxiety and depression, both of which have been associated with increased risk of complications and higher mortality rates. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement a mindfulness-based virtual reality (VR) therapy intervention for postoperative transplant recipients at a Northern California academic medical center and to evaluate its feasibility, tolerability, and acceptability during the index hospitalization. Over a 15-week period, five participants completed a total of eight VR sessions. Participants selected from immersive mindfulness-based environments, including guided meditation and other relaxation experiences. Anxiety and depression were …

Librarians' Perspectives On Integrating Gardens Into Academic Library Spaces: Perceived Benefits, Challenges And Opportunities, Comfort Akosua Boatemaa Asare, Millicent Asah, Gregory Kuttin Asare, Adamu Awudu, Samuel Bentil Aggrey

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study examined the perspectives of academic librarians on the integration of indoor gardens into library spaces. Data were obtained from 33 librarians through the use of a structured questionnaire. The collected data showed that 78.8% of the respondents indicated a favourable attitude towards garden integration. The respondents identified a number of benefits that academic libraries could derive from garden integration, including aesthetic appeal, environmental awareness, student well-being, and improved learning. Among the challenges stated were space constraints, maintenance demands, budgetary allocations, and a lack of horticultural expertise. Strategies that could aid effective garden integration within academic libraries include developing …

Increasing Near-Miss Reporting: An Evidence-Based Approach, Rosalud H. Sanchez-Lozada

Doctoral Projects

Near-miss events, defined as errors intercepted before reaching the patient, offer valuable opportunities for learning and prevention, particularly in high-acuity intensive care units (ICUs). Despite the availability of electronic reporting systems and national emphasis on patient safety, near-miss reporting remains inconsistent in many critical care settings. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project evaluated the impact of a structured educational intervention on near-miss reporting within a cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) at a large academic medical center. A single-group pre–post design was used to examine changes in reporting trends following a three-week intervention that included staff education, leadership …

Improving Health Literacy And Self-Management In Adults With Heart Failure: A Nurse-Led Virtual Intervention In Outpatient Support Groups, Vivian Efosa Osunde

Doctoral Projects

Heart failure is a leading cause of morbidity and hospital readmissions, with limited health literacy contributing to poor self‑management and adherence challenges. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice project was to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a nurse‑led, virtual education-intervention designed to improve health literacy, self‑care behaviors, and medication adherence among adults with chronic heart failure who participate in an outpatient support group. A quality improvement design was used. Convenience sampling yielded nine adult participants with a documented diagnosis of chronic heart failure who attended at least one virtual support group session. The intervention consisted of …

Weighted Blankets: Implementation Of A Quality Improvement Pilot Project In The Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit, Anita Musafar

Doctoral Projects

The weighted blanket quality improvement pilot project was implemented at Stanford Healthcare (SHC) to address the limited number of nonpharmacological interventions available for agitation management in the critical care setting. Patients within the Neurosciences ICU (NSICU) at SHC are clinically complex and uniquely vulnerable to experiencing agitation. The objectives of this initiative were to understand nurses' perceptions surrounding weighted blanket use in the critical care setting and assess whether there was a decrease in Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) scores with this intervention. From September 2025 to December 2025, the nurses within the NSICU implemented the use of weighted blankets for …

Mindset Versus Circumstance: How Fatalism And Food Insecurity Shape Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption In Young Adult Latinas, Mi Zhou, Elba Nohely Vidal, Giselle Pignotti, A. Susana Ramírez

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This study examined the association between fatalism and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption among young adult Latinas, with food insecurity as a moderating factor. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 829 Latina women aged 18–29. Measures included fatalism, food insecurity, daily SSB intake, education, and income. Moderation analyses showed that fatalism was positively associated with SSB consumption (β = 5.22, p = 0.002), as was food insecurity (β = 20.40, p = 0.010). A significant interaction between fatalism and food insecurity (β = −4.85, p = 0.024) showed that fatalism predicted higher SSB intake among food-secure participants but not among …

Huebner, Thomas G., San Jose State University

Emeritus and Retired Faculty Biographies

University of Hawai'i, Linguistics, Ph.D. 1982

University of Pittsburgh, Linguistics, M.A. Certificate: TEFL/TESL

University of Wisconsin‑Milwaukee. Majors: English and Secondary Education, B.S.

Implementing A Buddy System To Enhance Float Pool Nurses’ Experience And Unit Integration, Nancy Kairia

Doctoral Projects

Float pool nurses play a vital role in maintaining hospital operations; however, they often experience role ambiguity, inconsistent integration, and reduced psychosocial empowerment, which may negatively influence engagement and retention. This Doctor of Nursing Practice project implemented and evaluated a structured buddy program designed to enhance psychological empowerment among float pool nurses in a large academic medical center. Guided by Gretchen Spreitzer’s Psychological Empowerment Framework, the project examined changes across four domains: meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact. A pre-post design was used to assess outcomes before and after implementation. Five nurses completed the preintervention survey; of these, four completed the …

Exploring The Benefits Of Yoruba Indigenous Knowledge And The Herbal Medicine System, Sunday Opene Ozonuwe 7317673, Ayobami Aderonke Ogungbade, Faith Ohwofasa

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The Yoruba people are one of the West African's main ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups. They have an impressive indigenous knowledge and herbal medicinal system. They pre-occupied Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Kwara, Ondo, Lagos and Koji state. The researchers developed seven (7) research objectives and seven (7) research questions to investigate the nature, forms, benefits and methods of preparing and administering Yoruba Herbal Medicine. Descriptive research design was adopted for the study, interviews and observations were the instruments used for data collections. Eight (8) herbal medicine practitioners were interviewed in Oyo and Ogun state. The result of the interviews was also presented …

A Peer Support Model For Nursing Faculty: Stay And Thrive, Ngoc N. Hua

Doctoral Projects

Projections show a major nursing shortage over the next decade. Although many state and local efforts aim to expand the workforce, there is often less visibility into the nurse educators responsible for the healthcare pipeline. Moving clinicians into teaching roles presents unique challenges. Specifically, clinical skills do not easily transfer to classroom management,​ which can be jarring for new faculty. This "reality shock" frequently results in faculty turnover​ due to a lack of support during this important transition.​ This project looked at nursing faculty perceptions of a structured peer mentorship​ program at a Northern California community college. The intervention was …

A Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluating Factors Influencing Patient Experience With Virtual Reality During Awake​ Interventional Radiology Procedures, Quynh Dao-Payne

Doctoral Projects

Procedural anxiety and pain are common among pediatric patients undergoing awake interventional radiology (IR) procedures and may negatively affect patient comfort, cooperation, and overall patient experience. Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising nonpharmacologic intervention to reduce anxiety and improve patient-centered outcomes. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate patient-reported experiences and perceived outcomes associated with VR use during awake pediatric IR procedures at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.​ A qualitative descriptive quality improvement design was utilized. Twenty pediatric​ patients ages 10–21 years undergoing awake IR procedures with VR as part of standard clinical​ care completed structured …

Posttraumatic Symptoms As Predictors Of Engagement With A Mobile App For Coping After Military Sexual Trauma: Public Usage Data Analysis Study, Shilpa Hampole, Shannon Mccaslin-Rodrigo, Valerie Carr, David Schuster, Sofia Reyes, Sarah Senti, Kelly M. Ramsey, Jason E. Owen, W. Christopher Skidmore, Amy E. Street, Katherine Taylor, Margaret Anne Mackintosh

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Military sexual trauma (MST) can have significant adverse effects on mental health and well-being, often leading to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and maladaptive beliefs. Although effective psychotherapies exist, stigma, confidentiality concerns, and systemic barriers often hinder help-seeking among service members and veterans. Mobile mental health apps offer an accessible and anonymous support alternative, potentially addressing such barriers. However, app effectiveness depends on user engagement and emerging evidence suggests that engagement may be shaped by symptom severity. Objective: This retrospective observational study aimed to explore the relationship between posttraumatic symptom severity and user engagement with Beyond MST (US Department …

A Quality Improvement Project To Strengthen Hospice Spiritual Care Delivery, Patricia Boudreau

Doctoral Projects

Spiritual care is an essential component of holistic end-of-life nursing, yet it is inconsistently provided in home hospice settings. For this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project, we developed and implemented the Compassionate Spiritual Comfort Integration Program (CSCI), a brief, theory-based educational intervention to strengthen hospice nurses' spiritual care practices. Grounded in Kolcaba's Comfort Theory and Jinpa's Compassion Framework, the CSCI was delivered as a prerecorded webinar. A quasi-experimental single–group pretest–posttest design was used to evaluate changes in spiritual care behaviors, measured with the 17-item Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale (NSCTS) and a single-item confidence measure. Twenty-two nurses …

Nurturing The Nurturers: Caritas Literacy Wellness Program, Pakeeza Ali

Doctoral Projects

Burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotional exhaustion remain significant concerns among oncology staff in high-demand ambulatory settings. This quality improvement project implemented the Caritas Literacy and Resilience Training Program (CLARITY), a microlearning-based intervention grounded in Watson’s Caring Science Theory, to support self-caring behaviors and emotional resilience among oncology staff in an ambulatory cancer center. A quasi-experimental, mixed-methods design was used, incorporating pre- and post-intervention survey data and qualitative focus group feedback. Quantitative outcomes were assessed using the Watson Caritas Self-Rating Score (WCSR) and post-intervention ratings of perceived effectiveness of the microlearning format. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to examine pre-post change …

Ischool Student Research Journal, Vol.16, Iss.1

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Impact Of A Meaningful Recognition Bundle On The Health Of The Emergency Department Work Environment And Emergency Nurse Burnout, Sean Truesdell

Doctoral Projects

Background: The health of the work environment significantly influences emergency nurse practice. The Emergency Nurses Association and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses have called for the establishment of a healthy work environment (HWE) to improve outcomes, reduce burnout and turnover, and increase job satisfaction. Meaningful recognition is consistently among the lowest-performing HWE standards. Purpose: To implement a bundle of meaningful recognition elements in the Emergency Department (ED) and evaluate the outcomes. Methods: A quality improvement project was conducted in the ED of a non-profit community health system in Northern California. The Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) and Oldenburg …

A Pilot Project On Improving Icu Nurses’ Confidence In Early Defibrillation, Adetutu Obadina

Doctoral Projects

Early recognition of shockable cardiac rhythms and timely defibrillation are critical components of effective resuscitation during in-hospital cardiac arrest. Despite established guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA), nurses may experience uncertainty or reduced confidence when identifying shockable rhythms and delivering timely defibrillation during cardiac arrest events. The purpose of this project was to examine whether a structured educational intervention incorporating simulation-based training could improve intensive care unit (ICU) nurses’ confidence and knowledge in recognizing shockable rhythms and performing timely defibrillation. A pre-and post-intervention design was implemented among ICU nurses at a large academic medical center between September and October …

Exploring The Impact Of A Brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention On Autonomic Functioning: A Multisystem Approach, Li Shen Chong, Rachel C. Bucher, Edward Merritt, Elana B. Gordis

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Previous work on brief mindfulness-based interventions (bMBI) reveals that they consistently alleviate stress, but their impact on biological stress response systems, such as the autonomic nervous system (ANS), varies. Nevertheless, most of this work has focused on only a single physiological response system or a specific biomarker, limiting insight into how multiple systems work together. The present study tested whether bMBI alters ANS markers and coordination across ANS subsystems. Participants were young adults (bMBI: n = 44, M age = 18.64 years; control: n = 47, M age = 19.00 years) who completed two sessions of either a brief mindfulness …

Spartan Daily, April 22, 2026, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2026

Volume 166, Issue 36

Scholarly Networking In A Rural Indian University: A Study Of Academic Social Networking Site Use Among Research Scholars At Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya, Deepali Jain Ms.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The present research focuses on how Academic Social Networking Sites (ASNS) can influence perceived outcomes of research in scholars by going beyond the adoption-centered methods to an outcome-centered perspective. The study deconstructs the effects that the primary dimensions of ASNS usage, namely the awareness, access, purpose, and challenges, have on research-related benefits using a quantitative research design. Results indicate that functional and behavioural factors are more decisive determinants of results as opposed to sheer awareness. Specifically, the availability of digital platforms and intentional interaction have a strong positive effect on the effectiveness of the research, and the issues related to …

Development Of Telenutrition Education And Counseling Protocol To Improve Diet Quality In Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury, Adrianne Widaman, Benjamin Dirlikov, Ramya Gopalan, Shelley Wood, Maria Sol Casas, Kazuko Shem

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Cardiometabolic disease (CMD) is a leading cause of death for individuals living with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), with a mortality rate due to CMD being higher than individuals without SCI. Telenutrition (TN) interventions tailored to health and accessibility needs of individuals with SCI may mitigate cardiometabolic risks. Objectives: To describe the development and validation of a telehealth-based medical nutrition therapy (MNT) within a clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of modifying diets to improve cardiometabolic health in persons with chronic SCI. Methods: The adaptive module-based MNT education content was developed in 3 phases by a multidisciplinary team. The first …

Nightlights For Older Adults: Enhancing Bedroom-To-Bathroom Transitions With Community Resident Feedback, Yue Luo, Aubrey Contreras, Susana Valdivia-Rivas, Yuhao Chen, Boyi Hu

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This study aimed to inform nightlight design by analyzing older adults’ subjective feedback and kinematic responses during evening activities. Twenty-seven older adults (mean age: 81 ± 6 years; 14 females) participated in the study. Their preferences for nightlight illuminance and hue were surveyed, and gait and posture adaptations under two illuminance levels were analyzed using spatiotemporal comparisons, principal component analysis (PCA) based analysis, and waveform reconstruction. The results revealed that older adults preferred low illuminance over high illuminance, with warm white and cool colors as the favored choices for evening lighting. Significant differences were observed in spatiotemporal gait variables, particularly …

Decolonizing The Academic Library: Examining The Successful Indigenization Of Ubc And Unm’S Library Services, Emily T. Villars

School of Information Student Research Journal

This article examines decolonization and indigenization initiatives at two academic libraries: the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of New Mexico (UNM). It asks how these institutions have implemented indigenization in their libraries and what lessons can inform broader reconciliation work across North America. Through a comparative lens, it analyzes how national and organizational frameworks, such as the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA-FCAB) Truth and Reconciliation Report and Recommendations and the American Indian Library Association’s (AILA) organizational goals, can shape these efforts. The study highlights three core strategies: decolonizing access and classification, transforming library spaces, and expanding …

Agentic Hallucination Risk Scoring For Medical Llms Via Uncertainty Quantification And Clinical Knowledge Injection, Mayank Kapadia, Mohammad Masum

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Large Language Models (LLMs) have witnessed significant adoption across numerous domains since 2020, but their proclivity to hallucinate creates unacceptable dangers in high-risk environments like healthcare, where wrong outputs can directly jeopardize human safety. While present systems focus on pre-generation mitigation strategies, they cannot ensure the safety of individual outputs during inference. We provide a post hoc Hallucination Risk Scoring (HRS) methodology that intercepts questionable outputs before they reach patients via an agentic pipeline. Given a medical question, a domain-specific LLM generates an initial response from which five complimentary uncertainty signals are computed, which are then separated into a decision …

Spartan Daily, April 16, 2026, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2026

Volume 166, Issue 34

Beyond The Stacks: Borrowing Of Immersive Technologies And Smart Eco Systems To Reimagine Libraries., Vuppala Lingaiah

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This theoretical Chapter explores the paradigm shift of knowledge access, user experience, and institutional viability through the integration of immersive technologies, such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT), within the new paradigm of funky libraries, and how these technologies are changing knowledge access, user experiences, and the institutional sustainability of various library environments. Methodology: The research approach is non-empirical and exploratory-conceptual, based on a synthesis of systematic literature, thematic clustering of the existing literature, and theoretical critique of recent peer-reviewed findings. The chapter is based on more …

Spartan Daily, April 15, 2026, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2026

Volume 166, Issue 33