Digital Commons Network^™

Mythopoeic Awards Finalists Discussion, David Lenander, Grace Moone

Mythcon

General Discussion of the Finalists for the 2026 Mythopoeic Awards. We expect some committee members to offer their opinions and experiences and invite others to share their reactions to the books! Discussion of the awards process and suggestions for the future are also in order. Find out how to become involved for next year. What books did we miss?

Gondor Calls For Aid! Volunteering And Running For Office With The Mythopoeic Society, Janet Brennan Croft, Megan B. Abrahamson, Phillip Fitzsimmons, Alicia Fox-Lenz, Victoria Gaydosik, Tim Lenz

Mythcon

We often talk about volunteering and about serving as a Society officer at the membership meeting at the end of Mythcon. But this more intimate panel will give you the opportunity to hear from Stewards and Managers directly about their experiences as volunteers and ask questions about how you can get involved -- and why you should think about it! Panelists will talk about how they got started, how rewarding it is, what kind of time commitment it takes, the differences between being a Steward and a Manager, and other long and short term volunteer opportunities.

Illustrating Lothlórien As A Faerie Space In The Lord Of The Rings By J.R.R. Tolkien, Marie Bretagnolle

Mythcon

In The Fellowship of the Ring, when the travelers step in Lothlórien, their perceptions of their surroundings and of time are altered. Numerous papers have considered the literary devices used by J.R.R. Tolkien to convey the sense of otherness that makes this Elven realm an equivalent to Faerie in Middle-earth. In their turn, how do visual artists tasked with illustrating The Lord of the Rings transpose these effects in their pictures? In this paper I continue my research into Tolkienian illustrations by analyzing the visual devices used by Mary Fairburn, Alan Lee, and the duo formed by the Queen …

Glen Goodknight's International Narnia Collection, David L. Emerson

Mythcon

In 1975, Glen GoodKnight, founder of the Mythopoeic Society, began to take serious interest in translations of the Narniad, collecting editions from over 40 different countries. By 2004, he had begun to make his wonderful collection of non-English editions available to the world through his website, inklingsfocus.com. With his passing in 2010, the site was due to be shut down, but I participated in preserving the images of these foreign book covers, assisting Lewis fan Gordon Greenhill in reconstructing the gallery on his site called The Disordered Image.

This presentation will be a slide show of many of these …

Perception As A Gateway Of Faërie In Owen Barfield’S Philosophy Of Language, Sylwia Wilczewska

Mythcon

Since Verlyn Flieger showed the importance of Owen Barfield’s account of poetic language outlined in Poetic Diction for the metaphysical structure of Tolkien’s universe (cf. Flieger 33-44), Barfield’s writings have been an object of increased scholarly attention. While the point most often commented upon is the impact of Barfield’s vision of the evolution of language on Tolkien’s theory of sub-creation, the traces of Barfield’s influence can also be found in other Inklings. Here I would like to offer some speculations on the connection between Barfield’s idea of language and the way in which the writings of the Inklings depict discovering …

Remembering Lee Speth, Megan B. Abrahamson

Mythcon

Do you have memories of Lee Speth you want to share? Please join us as we remember a beloved Mythsoc member and Steward, and consider how best to memorialize his presence in the future of the Society.

Predictors Of Possible Sarcopenia And The Role Of Psychomotor Frailty In People With Schizophrenia, Pei-Yi Chen, Yia-Ping Liu, Chiu-Yueh Yang

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: People with schizophrenia commonly experience physical health decline, including reduced muscle mass and strength due to medication and a sedentary lifestyle, leading to sarcopenia and greater health risks. In 2019, the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) introduced "possible sarcopenia" to promote early detection and prevention.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the prevalence and predictors of possible sarcopenia in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder.

Methods: This multicenter cross-sectional study recruited 216 participants aged 18–65 from two psychiatric teaching hospitals in northern Taiwan through convenience sampling. Structured questionnaires assessed demographics, the Frailty Assessment Scale for Schizophrenia (FASS), Positive and …

Factors Influencing Self-Efficacy Among Nurse Practitioners In Taiwan, Shu-Ting Tseng, Hsiu-Ju Chang

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: Unlike in Western countries, where nurse practitioners (NPs) have greater autonomy, NPs in Taiwan face regulatory restrictions that may affect their self-efficacy. However, how these structural and cultural factors shape their experiences remains underexplored. This study aims to examine how Taiwan's healthcare environment and policies influence NPs' self-efficacy.

Methods: This phenomenological study used online focus group interviews with licensed hospital-based nurse practitioners in Taiwan (Jan–Jul 2025). Participants were recruited through a purposive sampling strategy and snowball sampling. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi's method with NVivo, supported by peer debriefing, reflective journaling, and expert-validated interview guidelines (S-CVI = 0.91–0.98).

Results: …

Human-Centered Ai For Nursing Workload Optimization: Advancing Clinical Quality And Reducing Burnout, Alexis Collier

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Nursing professionals face increasing administrative and cognitive burdens that contribute to fatigue, burnout, and compromised patient safety. Despite the proliferation of electronic health records (EHRs), current systems often amplify rather than alleviate workload complexity. This study, developed under the AIM-AHEAD CLINAQ Fellowship, explores a human-centered artificial intelligence (AI) framework to optimize nursing workload distribution while promoting clinical equity and efficiency.

The project applies design-thinking methodology and interdisciplinary collaboration across informatics, data science, and clinical practice. Using EHR-derived activity logs and observational data, a predictive model was developed to identify high-intensity workflow patterns and recommend task reallocation strategies. The algorithm integrates …

Advancing Graduate Nursing Education: Innovative Curriculum For Global Leadership And Health Equity, Stacey Grenier, Jennifer A. Wentzel, Stephanie Gingerich, Gudrun Jonsdottir, Judith Pechacek, Helga Bragadóttir

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: For over a decade, the international academic partnership between universities in the United States and a Nordic country has enriched graduate nursing education through a global leadership immersion course grounded in partnership theory (Bragadóttir et al., 2020; Eisler & Potter, 2014; Gingerich et al, 2024). This past year, faculty intentionally redesigned the week-long course using innovative curriculum design principles, integrating the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) Nurse Leader Core Competencies (AONL, 2024), Sigma's Global Nursing Leadership Competency Framework (Sigma Nursing, n.d.), and Liberating Structures (Liberating Structures, n.d.).

Purpose: This forward-thinking approach leveraged innovative curriculum design to transform an …

Family Support As A Correlate Of Self-Care In Older Adults With Diabetes In The Us, Solomon Tagbor, Diane E. Berish

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Family support and the maintenance of functional ability are crucial for managing diabetes among older adults (OA). In the United States, diabetes affects 29.2% of OA, and its management is complicated by frailty, polypharmacy, and hospitalizations (Bellary et al., 2021). Supporting individuals’ self-care ability and activities of daily living (ADL) independence can help to support diabetes management. Family support may influence the self-care ability needed for independent diabetes management, but it is less studied. The social-ecological model guided this study (Tudge et al., 2022).

Purpose: To examine the association between family support and self-care ability among OA with diabetes …

Advancing Equity In Hiv Prevention And Care For Women: A Nurse-Led Model In Ontario, Roya Haghiri-Vijeh, Karen Campbell, Molly Bennerman, Grace Chiutsi, Tamara Barnett, Ramesh Venkatesa Perumal, Mia Biondi

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Cisgender and transgender women experience persistent inequities in HIV prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, often compounded by systemic barriers and stigma (Threats et al., 2021; Sanchez et al., 2025). Nurse-led, women-centered models of care offer promising strategies to address these gaps, yet evidence on their implementation remains limited (Relf, 2022).

Purpose: This study explored barriers and facilitators to HIV/STBBI prevention and treatment within women-led, nurse-facilitated models of care in Ontario, Canada, to inform the co-design of inclusive, trauma- and violence-informed approaches.

Methods: Guided by community and service provider advisory boards, five stakeholder groups were engaged: women with lived/living experience, AIDS …

Advancing Global Health Equity Through Co-Produced Hypertension Care In Rural Ghana, Sandra Peniston

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Introduction: Hypertension, often called the “silent killer,” is a leading cause of preventable death and disability from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide. Its disproportionate burden in low- and middle-income countries highlights global health inequities, where limited access to primary care, diagnostics, and long-term management perpetuates avoidable suffering. In Ghana’s rural Savannah Region, hypertension often remains undiagnosed and uncontrolled. The Co-Produced Hypertension Adult Intervention (CO-HEART) addresses this inequity by strengthening primary health care (PHC) through a community-and provider-driven, context-specific approach.

Methods: Guided by Participatory Action Research, decolonising principles, and the Six Steps in Quality Intervention Development framework, CO-HEART engaged nurses, clinicians, district …

Virtual Reality Simulation For End-Of-Life Communication: Case Development And Pilot Implementation, Kathryn M. Ledwin, Kylene Abraham, Karen Parker

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Registered nurses have reported feeling unprepared and lacking proper skills for critical end-of-life discussions with patients and their families (Kerr et al., 2020). Virtual reality (VR) simulation presents a novel approach to providing immersive opportunities to support learning and skill development (Liu et al, 2023; Sinurat et al.,2025). VR has been successfully integrated into nursing education to support clinical skill development (Foronda et al. 20220; Liu et al, 2023), however less research has focused on specific applications for complex medical discussions.

Purpose: This project aimed to develop and examine the feasibility of using VR simulation as an educational intervention …

Embedding Nursing Student Researchers In Health System Change: Insights From An Ontario Health Team, Adam Bursey, Izzar Linares, Rosanra Yoon

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Embedding nursing students as researchers within health systems provides meaningful opportunities for experiential learning and mutual capacity building (Menzies et al., 2021). Students gain hands-on experience navigating interdisciplinary environments, while health system partners benefit from added analytic support and strengthened academic connections (Menzies et al., 2021). Despite its value, opportunities for nursing students to participate in embedded research remain limited and are shaped by program structures and funding availability (Corbett et al., 2023). Expanding such experiences is essential to prepare future nurse leaders with the competencies needed to address complex health system challenges (Slattery et al., 2016). This reflexive …

Communication Innovation: Developing A Bilingual Communication Board Validated By Lawshe’S Cvr, Natalie Palau, Amy Valenta

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Hospitalized families with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) can encounter communication barriers during routine interactions due to limited interpreter access, increasing the risk for adverse events and reducing satisfaction. At a freestanding pediatric hospital neurology unit, 67.3% of nurses reported difficulty communicating basic needs and 60% felt dissatisfaction with current LEP communication methods. To address these challenges and enhance communication, a bilingual communication board, featuring English and Spanish captions alongside illustrative icons, was developed and validated.

Experts, identified as nursing staff and Spanish and English-speaking caregivers, evaluated each icon and caption for clarity and accuracy using a four-point scale. Analysis using …

Predicting Providers Intent To Screen For Opioid Use Disorder And Refer To Methadone Treatment, Gregory Carter, Wendy Miller

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Nurses are often the first point of contact for individuals with opioid use disorder, yet screening and referral rates for methadone treatment vary among healthcare providers. To address this gap, our study explored how provider demographic factors, practice characteristics, and Theory of Planned Behavior constructs predict intentions to screen for opioid use disorder and refer patients to methadone treatment. A national survey of n=1,033 providers (registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, and physician assistants), assessed attitudes, norms, perceived control, opioid stigma, vicarious trauma, and screening intention. Hierarchical regression analyzed predictors across demographic, theoretical, and contextual factors.

Registered nurses exhibited a significantly …

Between The Unexpected And The Unknown: The Liminal Transformation Of Bilbo Baggins And Travelers Along Route 66, Logan O. Uber

Mythcon

Much like Bilbo Baggins in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit travelers along Route 66 knew where their journey would take them, but not how it would change them. Applying liminal theory this paper demonstrates that Route 66 and Tolkien’s road function as transformative threshold spaces where travelers leave behind familiar identities to enter landscapes marked by uncertainty, danger, and possibility. Dust Bowl Migrants—individuals and families fleeing the Depression for better opportunities—and Bilbo all set out to find a better, if not different future. Their journeys transform and change them, making them more than what they once were. Route 66 exists as …

Mythic Roads: Tolkien's Literary Network And Cosmopolitan Imagination, Hayden Bilbrey

Mythcon

Journeys and roads are central to J.R.R. Tolkien's stories in Middle-earth, but the significance of these pathways extends beyond physical landscapes. This paper argues that Tolkien's legendarium constructs a network of texts, cultural traditions, and temporal frameworks. Drawing on concepts from Caroline Levine's concept of literary networks, this paper examines how Tolkien integrates elements of Christianity, Norse, and other mythological systems to create a cohesive mythopoetic structure. Not merely just coexisting; these influences form interconnected nodes with a larger network that readers traverse through the narrative. Thus, Middle-earth becomes not only a setting but a cosmopolitan mythic space shaped by …

No Body, No Sacrament: Tolkien’S Route From Children Of The Valar To Marriage As An ‘Association’ In The History Of Middle-Earth Drafts, Nicole Duplessis

Mythcon

Rather than overt religious symbolism or over-reliance on the trappings of Catholicism, like Marian or Eucharistic imagery, that also appear in his works, Tolkien infused Middle-earth with his own sacramental imagination, possibly through both conscious and sub-conscious creative choices. This sacramental imagination helps explain how obvious pagan influences and seemingly contradictory readings of Tolkien’s works can coexist with his assertion that the work is fundamentally Catholic. One area in which this sacramental imagining can be followed, as a route through his drafts, is in his development of the Valar as non-corporeal beings alongside his alteration of their marriage relationships from …

Spacing Out Of The Shire: Spatiomagus And Spatial Nomadism In The Lord Of The Rings, Kieran Strand-Leeds

Mythcon

As a text, The Lord of the Rings is obsessed with the natural and the magical in the mundane. However, what is often neglected in Tolkien studies is the idea of the space in which the natural and the magical exist. Here, I present the theory of spatiomagus to help us understand space in fantasy literature. Building off the Deleuzoguattarian theory of smooth/striated space, spatiomagus asserts that space in fantasy texts is influenced physically and/or created virtually by the magical “light” and “dark.” This intersection of magic and space can create, destroy, and alter places via metaphysical means, and spatiomagus …

Eucatastrophe: J.R.R. Tolkien As A Christian Apologist, Donald T. Williams

Mythcon

Williams will explore the ways Tolkien defined eucatastrophe, and also provided numerous examples of eucatastrophe in his legendarium. In doing so, Tolkien develops a Christian apologetics.

Orc Road Trip; Or, We’Re Taking The Hobbits To Isengard!, Robert T. Tally Jr.

Mythcon

“Leg it!” Ever wanted to “foot it through the Horse-country” with Uglúk? Cross the Great River with Grishnákh? Travel with goblin messengers “to and fro between all their cities, colonies, and strongholds,” by “tunnel or under dark,” to “Gundabad of the North,” their “capital”? Or perhaps you can “slip off” with Gorbag and “a few trusty lads” to places “where there’s good loot nice and handy, and no big bosses”? It might be enough to join those who’ve just “come all the way from the Mines” to “avenge our folk” and “then go back north”? And if you’re feeling a …

Fundamentally Linguistic, John Rosegrant

Mythcon

We know that although Tolkien wrote that his legendarium was “fundamentally linguistic in inspiration. . . To me a name comes first and the story follows”, in fact legendarium content preceded Tolkien’s invention of Elvish languages. I will argue that nevertheless the first part of the quotation is true: the legendarium was fundamentally linguistic in inspiration. Tolkien used symbolic language to access the musical and body-related aspects of language that the symbolic has distanced us from, simultaneously uniting two aspects of our nature while recognizing their inevitable separation. When we as children master the symbolic function of language we lose …

Fangorn Forest As A Rerouting To The Ecological Contemplative In The Two Towers, Nicholas Birns

Mythcon

In The Two Towers, Fangorn Forest initially appears as an uncanny diversion when Merry and Pippin flee into its shadowy depths to escape Saruman’s Uruk-hai. Their encounter with Treebeard awakens the Ents, providing unexpected and devastating flow to the power of Saruman the White. Far from actually being scary or horrifying, though, the forest is actually the gateway to two very important qualities in The Lord of the Rings: a sense of deep psychology, of caring for the land so much that sentient being has become actually bound up with natural entities, and of contemplation, as Treebeard Who …

Local & Experiential: Exploring Embodied Ethnogeomythology Through Ttrpg, Gregory Fields, Teagan Brady, Dakota Dalota, Claira Hickman, Gina Manygoats, Donovan Mcbride, Ryan Pillmore

Mythcon

The panel will focus on an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach anchored to research applications of AAC&U High Impact Practices in integrative learning, learning communities, place-based writing, project-based learning, and gamification studies (Chou). Framed through a synthesis of ethno-geology and mythology, I developed a collaborative assignment that asked my intro to mythology students to develop their own mythologies based on Arizona specific cultures or geological features and oddities. After conducting their own background research, undergraduate students developed locally-based mythologies that answered at least one of the four big questions of existence. Then, they anchored those mythologies within one of the more readily …

The Future Of The Mythopoeic Society, Megan Abrahamson, Mythsoc Stewards

Mythcon

As technology and membership patterns change, what do you want to see in the future of the Mythopoeic Society? What do you want to get out of your membership? How do we want to bill ourselves to younger generations? This panel, made up of the Stewards, will be a discussion for members of the Society or those looking to become members and will serve as a preliminary conversation to the Members Meeting on Monday. The Society’s new AI policy will also be discussed.

Opening Ceremonies / Scholar Guest Of Honor Keynote - The Rhetoric Of The Road: The Romantic Journey As A Map Of Myth, Memory, And Majesty, Joe R. Christopher

Mythcon

OPENING CEREMONIES and SCHOLAR GUEST OF HONOR KEYNOTE ADDRESS: The Rhetoric of the Road: The Romantic Journey as a Map of Myth, Memory, and Majesty

Virtual Reality Communication Training In Health Professions Education: A Multi-Country Evaluation, Mohamad M. Saab, Mark O'Donovan, Irem Koç, Jennifer Kenny, Jan Hrdlička, Jiri Wild, Martin Zielina, Lucie Hrdličková, Katerina Rusinová, Martin Loučka, Aleksandrina Skvortsova, Liesbeth M. Van Vliet, Madelief Medema, Arianne D. Pieterse, Claudia Bausewein, Sabine H. Krauss, Johannes Rosenbruch, Stephanie Stiel, Kambiz Afshar, Malte Klemmt, Vasco Silva-Neves, Salomé Pinho, Ana Carolina Monteiro, Cathy Payne, Irene Hartigan

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: Virtual reality (VR) is transforming nursing and medical education by providing immersive, safe, and realistic environments for developing skills [1-4]. The use of VR for teaching emotionally complex communication, such as delivering bad news, is underexplored [5,6]. This study evaluated the feasibility, usability, acceptability, and satisfaction with VR-based communication training among nursing and medical students and educators in Europe.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted across six universities in five European countries. Two VR scenarios simulating “breaking bad news” were developed using the NURSE [7] and SPIKES [8] communication frameworks. Participants took part in a pre-briefing session, then engaged …

Professional Identity, Nurse Educator Competencies, And Job Satisfaction In Academic Nurse Educators, Lexi A. Ayala, Desiree Hensel

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background. A strong professional identity in nursing has been linked to safe practice and job satisfaction. However, the influence of professional identity on role competencies and job satisfaction in academic nurse educators is unclear. The ongoing nursing faculty shortage underscores the urgency of understanding this influence to help recruit and retain educators.

Purpose. Framed within the International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing domains and definitions and Benner’s Novice to Expert theory, this study investigates the relationships among professional identity, academic nurse educator competencies, and job satisfaction in US academic nurse educators.

Method. A total of 165 US nurse faculty …