Digital Commons Network^™

Electroanalytical Characterization And Applications Of Two Novel Cells Developed Specifically For Screen-Printed Electrodes, Issa Adeeb Waswas

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

The present thesis describes the development and electroanalytical characterization of two novel cells intended to extend the use of screen-printed electrode chips (SPECs) to applications that are not readily accommodated by currently available cell designs. There are two main objectives for this thesis: first, to redesign the previously described universal batch cell (UBC) into an enhanced format with simpler operation, wider applicability, and quantitative hydrodynamic behavior comparable to that of the rotating disc electrode (RDE); and second, to construct a compact eight-channel batch cell for simultaneous voltammetric applications in unstirred solutions. To achieve these objectives, the Enhanced Universal Batch Cell …

The Spatial Distribution Of Coccidia In Arkansas Freshwater Snails, Julia R. Pye, Taylor M. Fiedor, Jason M. Post, Kyle D. Gustafson

Create@State

Coccidia are obligate, intracellular parasites that infect the digestive tracts of many animals and cause coccidosis, which can result in vomiting, diarrhea, and in severe cases, death. At broader scales, the disease contributes to substantial economic losses in agriculture. Our study examined the distribution of Pfeifferinella ellipsoides, a coccidian parasite in freshwater snails. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that (1) there will be statistically significant spatial clustering in northern Arkansas and (2) the parasite will be found exclusively in two snail genera, Physa and Planorbella. We sampled 17 snail species and surveyed feces for oocysts from 1,920 snails and …

Critical Arteries: Prioritizing Economic Vitality And Emergency Access In Local Networks, Jeremy Hunter

Local Transportation Asset Management Conference

Standard Asset Management Plans (AMPs) often rely heavily on Pavement Condition Index, Paser ratings, and Bridge Condition Ratings to dictate repair schedules. However, a strictly condition-based approach may neglect the economic and safety criticality of specific routes. This presentation proposes a multi-variable evaluation framework for counties, cities, and towns. I will explore methods for overlaying industrial data—specifically for heavy-haul sectors like logging, masonry, and agriculture—to identify and fortify the "economic lifelines" that sustain local revenue. Furthermore, I will address the necessity of resiliency planning within the AMP. By integrating hydraulic data and flood-prone area mapping, agencies can ensure that routes …

Umcur 2026 Program Pdf

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

This program includes the schedule for oral presentations and posters.

Rethinking Psychological Safety In The Work Environment: Nursing Students' Perspectives, Olivia Nyarko Mensah, Elizabeth Boatemaa, Anita Fosua, Egya Gyanzah Eshun, Mary Ani-Amponsah

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: When the right working environment is created, it fosters the right behaviour in employees, A conducive environment is one that allows people to freely express themselves and escalate their concerns without fear of repercussion, victimization or undue consequences, it helps enhance work satisfaction (Ip et al., 2025; Turner et al., 2023). The classroom and the clinical work environment if appropriate and conducive should be such that it allows and not hinder free expression which can go a long way to ensure participation, satisfying individual concerns and group achievement (O’Connor et al., 2022). The central problem of the study was …

Night To Light Revive Before You Drive, Imelda S. Oca, Mary Ann Sison

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

At times, night shift nurses had little or no recollection of their commute home emphasizing the exhaustion experienced after working an overnight shift. Night To Light Revive Before You Drive is a project aimed to increase safety awareness to combat drowsy driving among night shift nurses through targeted interventions promoting wellness and safety. This in turn, positively enhanced the work environment, decreased the job burnout scores and lowered the night shift RN Vacancy and Turnover rates.

The Night to Light Revive Before You Drive is a pre-post interventional study design with an implementation timeline of twelve months focused on awareness …

The Clinical Passport: Documenting Competency Across Undergraduate Nursing Education, Sandra Rogers, Cindy Hudson, Jesse B. Stallsworth

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Exposure of undergraduate nursing students to essential clinical skills and the opportunity to perform those skills under appropriate supervision, is often variable and limited. Contributing factors are most likely multifactorial including the increasing time constraints placed upon lab and clinical faculty and the irregular and unstructured way that clinical skill instruction is delivered within some nursing programs. These factors have contributed to variability in students’ clinical preparedness and confidence in performing fundamental nursing skills. The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate a Clinical Passport for the tracking of clinical skills in an undergraduate nursing program.

Intervention: …

Lol! Laugh Out Loud With Laughter Yoga, Shalini Shrikanth

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Laughter Yoga (LY) is a structured mind-body practice that combines deep breathing techniques from yoga with intentional, simulated laughter. There are no jokes, cartoons, or comedy involved, laughter begins as a voluntary action and soon becomes genuine through the shared social energy of the group. The body responds to this intentional laughter with the same physiological and psychological benefits as spontaneous laughter. Sessions last 20-30 minutes and include rhythmic clapping, gentle movement, deep breathing, and playful laughter exercises performed in groups. Research consistently supports LY as an effective, low-cost intervention to reduce stress and anxiety. Physiologically, LY lowers cortisol and …

Transforming Workers' Compensation Into A Workforce Optimization Strategy, Tina Marie Santos, Kathleen Jancek

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Purpose: The personal, physical, and financial toll of workplace injuries on workers is enormous, with many experiencing isolation and depressive symptoms.

Objective: This quality improvement project aimed to improve the Workers' Compensation (WC) program to enhance workforce retention, productivity, team member well-being and reduce liability.

Approach: The project implemented a structured, iterative process grounded in baseline data to inform and refine process improvement and outcomes. Strategies for improvement included: (1) foster professional well-being through an accommodation model that emphasized belonging and meaningful contributions during recovery; (2) creative and flexible solutions leveraging team members' abilities rather than limitations that aligned with …

Building The Bridge: Infusing Collaboration Into Frontline Oncology Practice, Tara Ridgeway

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Significance/Background: Outpatient oncology infusion areas are high-volume, high-acuity environments where nurses must rapidly adapt to evolving therapies. Yet, nurse-centered education often lags behind, contributing to frustration, workflow inefficiencies, and safety concerns. A newly created NPD specialist role—dedicated to infusion/procedural areas—offered an opportunity to close persistent gaps.

Environmental scanning revealed inconsistent, pharmacy-driven education lacking nursing-specific content (e.g., hypersensitivity risk, treatment parameters, symptom management). Nurses described feeling overlooked and unprepared.

Interdisciplinary collaboration was viewed as ineffective, and last-minute education failed to support safe administration of high-risk therapies.

Purpose: To advocate for nursing representation in decision-making, establish interdisciplinary partnerships, and deliver timely, relevant …

New Beginnings: A Well-Being Program For The New Graduate Nurse, Adriana Rumoro

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Graduate nurses are valuable to an organization because they bring a fresh outlook, enthusiasm, and dedication to providing excellent patient care. It marks a new beginning in their professional development. However, along with these new beginnings, they also face feelings of inadequacy, uncertainty, and workload pressure during the transition from student nurse to registered professional nurse (Asseiri et al., 2025). Transitioning into the workplace presents a variety of stressors for new graduate nurses, who experience both psychological well-being and distress during their first year of practice (Jarde, et al., 2021). Starting a new career can be the best of times, …

Your Workforce Sustainability Kit: Is Debriefing The Underutilized Tool For Safety And Well-Being?, Maggie Runyon, Tara Ryan Kosmas

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Purpose: To pilot a professional development offering providing a comprehensive debriefing model inclusive of quality, safety, and clinician well-being concerns. This is responsive to main gaps identified in recent systematic reviews exploring the evidence for debriefing to support emotional well-being of clinicians.

Theoretical Framework: Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior guides this professional development and evaluation by examining behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs.

Project: This program evaluation explored baseline gaps identified by 17 nurses who attended a comprehensive debriefing workshop in Maryland. Data was collected before the workshop to assess baseline exposure to debriefing behaviors and practice norms. The …

Empowering Nurse Educators Through Cognitive Rehearsal, Mary Kathryn Sanders, Teresa B. Bailey

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Creating and sustaining healthy work environments in nursing education requires educators to be proficient in evaluation, feedback, and communication. Traditional preparation programs lack structured training in these areas⁶. Gaps in giving and receiving constructive feedback span health professions education, and early career nurse attrition is frequently linked to perceived bullying, inadequate preparation, and poor clinical support^1,4. These challenges affect psychological safety and professional development for students and new graduates.

Cognitive rehearsal has shown promise in preparing nurses to respond to incivility and enhancing self-efficacy^2,3. While used in faculty development, its integration into formal …

Effects Of A Fun Friday Intervention On Behavior Of Elementary Students In An After School Program, Faraz Shahbazi, Xithlaly Diaz, Rafael Romero

Service Learning Showcase

This project examines whether a structured “Fun Friday” intervention can improve student behavior among 4th-6th graders in a group of the ASES program at Claudia Landeen. Fellows randomly select and monitor 10 students over the course of the program. Using student chosen aliases to protect anonymity while allowing for individual tracking. Following each session one team member records the frequency of pro-social behaviors, anti-social behaviors, and significant incidents requiring adult intervention. Pro-social behaviors are defined as observable actions that reflect cooperation, this could be positive peer interaction and promoting participation. Anti-social behaviors include actions that disrupt activities, interfere with learning …

Researching And Designing A Concept For The Little Manila Rising Resiliency Hub, Julian Chheng

Service Learning Showcase

A resiliency hub or resiliency center is a designated space where residents can access essential needs such as water, non‑perishable food, and shelter during natural disasters like floods, storms, and fires. The purpose of this SPA research project was to conduct the foundational research and design work needed for Little Manila Rising to create a Resiliency Hub. The Little Manila Resiliency Hub will be located at the Little Manila Rising Center (LMR) in Stockton. The project emerged from a key issue identified in Community Resiliency Collaborative (CRC) meetings, where Stockton and nearby residents voiced their concern for the lack of …

Strengthening Mentorship Through Structure: Developing An Iyt Mentor Handbook, Annika K. Gumm

Service Learning Showcase

Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT) is a non-profit mentorship program that supports young men of color by providing academic guidance, college and career preparation, and social emotional support across both middle and high school settings. While middle school programming often focuses on relationship building and early academic engagement, high school mentoring places a great emphasis on college readiness and long-term goal setting. Through consistent mentorship and relationship building, the program aims to increase student engagement, confidence, and long-term academic success. By creating spaces where students feel supported both academically and personally, IYT plays a critical role in shaping positive educational and …

Bridging The Gap: Impacting Student Engagement Through Stem Outreach, Ezekiel B. Morente

Service Learning Showcase

During Bridge, the after-school program provided at Ansel Adams Elementary, observations revealed a lack of student engagement despite being offered extracurricular activities such as sports, band, and art. A gap in STEM opportunities was identified as a potential reason for their disinterest. This project designed an intervention to integrate student-led STEM activities into the Bridge curriculum, designed to provide K–6 students with hands-on activities aimed towards increasing their STEM self-efficacy and future academic interest. While the project's full implementation was impacted by material acquisition delays, this focuses on the preliminary phase of the project, such as the plan for integration …

The Build-A-Together Seminar (B.A.T.S.), Faiza Abdullah, Simarveer Gill, Mia Moralez

Service Learning Showcase

The Build-A-Together Seminar (B.A.T.S.) Project for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Sacramento - Sierra Vista were workshops that grew from biweekly sessions to mutliple times per week. It encourages students to work in teams, especially with peers they do not usually interact with, in order to strengthen relationships and build a more inclusive club culture.The project focuses on developing collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills through structured activities and shared goals. These activities include creating safe spaces, organizing supply lists, and promoting anti-bullying efforts. Students are encouraged to contribute their individual strengths while also learning how to support and …

Life Beyond Highschool, Andre Aguilar, Jenifer Ortiz, Luz E. Cisneros, Nancy Sanchez Cruz, Nathalie Godoy

Service Learning Showcase

While volunteering at our community host site; Parklane Elementary, we developed a two day interactive simulation upon which students in grades 3rd through 6th experienced and learned about careers that can be pursued after high school. During our time at our site, we learned that a lot of our students were both misinformed and/or uninformed about the post-secondary options available to them, often viewing it as unattainable for their future. In response, we created a presentation that highlighted and explained multiple post-secondary options such as four year universities, trade schools, certification programs, and jobs that don’t require a four year …

Preserving Moments: Visual Storytelling In Middle School Engagement, Carlos Mosqueda, Anicia Ortiz

Service Learning Showcase

This project addresses a common gap in K–12 enrichment programs: the lack of intentional documentation and representation of students’ everyday experiences, relationships, and growth. As College Corps Fellows placed with Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT) at Van Buren Elementary in Stockton, California, we worked with 7th and 8th grade students to design a digital and printed collage that captures moments of engagement, teamwork, and authentic student interaction throughout the program. The goal of this project was twofold: to create a lasting artifact that students can revisit as a reflection of their middle school experience, and to develop a visual storytelling tool …

Impact Of Stem Career Presentations On Elementary Students, Mannat K. Gill, Mathais Xiong, Elisa Ceja, Fariel Enyong

Service Learning Showcase

During our service as College Corps members in elementary school classrooms (1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th grades), our group consistently observed a lack of student engagement, particularly during science-related lessons and activities. The goal of our project was to increase student interest in science and introduce accessible pathways into STEM and healthcare careers. To achieve this, our group designed and delivered structured, age-appropriate presentations based on our own academic backgrounds, including biology on a pre-dental track, chemistry, and psychology.  The project also emphasized building students’ confidence in their ability to pursue science-related fields. By presenting ourselves as relatable role models …

Stockton Service Corps Building Block Fellowship Takes A Trip To Sacramento State Capital, Evelyn A. Martinez

Service Learning Showcase

As a College Corps fellow serving at Stockton Service Corps, most of my service has been centered on supporting community initiatives and youth leadership, including the Building Blocks program.  Building Blocks is a youth leadership initiative focused on showing youth the power of their voice and letting them lead the conversations. This semester project assignment, a trip to the State Capitol, was designed to give Stockton Service Corps Building Block fellows the opportunity to step into government spaces, see how change happens, and realize how they can engage.  This trip had a primary goal of creating a civic learning experience …

Multicultural Celebration, Ash Leslie, Minerva Soto Saavedra, Glennmarie Louise Arnold, Marilyn Estrada, Sarah Jeon

Service Learning Showcase

Unbound Stockton Community School is a new charter school that has a diverse fourth through eighth grade community. Currently, the community has issues with students engaging in cultural micro-aggressions and racism. To address this issue Unbound staff and the Fellows from College Corps have come together to create a reflective culture night festival, utilizing the talents of the Fellows and working together with local organizations, such as the Stockton Mexican Heritage Society to make dance performance and craft accessible to all students and family members. The goal is to raise awareness and cultural sensitivity not to only the students but …

Voices In Action, Ravleen Grewal, Alyssa Pham, Diego Castro, Robert Torres, Noah Valdez

Service Learning Showcase

Throughout our service at Colonial Heights Elementary School, we observed that many students lacked academic self-confidence, which contributed to anxiety surrounding public speaking. The purpose of this SPA project was to introduce public speaking skills early in students’ academic careers and to help build confidence in an academic setting. This project was primarily implemented through the after-school program (ASES) and served students across multiple grade levels. Because public speaking is a common fear, the project focused on guiding students through structured practice and engaging activities designed to strengthen oral communication, writing, and critical thinking skills. The project included three rounds …

Oakwood "Future Pathways" Legacy Project: Career Exploration & Curriculum Library, Adrian Rodriguez-Mandujano, Victoria Garibay, Bassam Hanania, Alana Yuzon, Paul Consuelo-Valencia

Service Learning Showcase

The main objective of our SPA project was to develop multi-subject lesson plans that better support fifth- and sixth-grade students in Oakwood Elementary’s Bridge Program as they explore future career pathways. This project included lesson plans representing a variety of academic disciplines, including Pharmacy, Engineering, Criminal Justice, and Music.

Each lesson incorporated an interactive, career-focused activity such as Mock Drug Counting (Pharmacy), a Musical Career Showcase (Music), Creating a Claw (Engineering), and Who Did It? (Criminal Justice). These activities were designed to help students gain a better understanding of different subjects and professions while actively engaging in hands-on learning.

In …

San Joaquin Emergency Foodbank College Corps Resource, Karla Ordaz, Julio Gonzalez Martinez

Service Learning Showcase

At the San Joaquin Emergency Food Bank, we gathered different resources from all across Stockton and the San Joaquin Area. These resources are often missed by our clients due to transportation, scheduling, or even awareness issues. This project addresses the issue and makes an effort to keep job security stable and reduce some of the major social and economic problems. By having a clear image and layout of all of the resources available to the residents of Stockton and San Joaquin County are able to live a bit more comfortably knowing they have something to fall back on. The first …

Tutoring And Bilingual Support Program, Amy V. Estrada, Brenda Ochoa, Mia Junez

Service Learning Showcase

Tutoring can strengthen academic skills, build confidence, and support language development for young learners. At Clairmont Elementary through the Lodi USD Bridge Program, we implemented a Tutoring and Bilingual Support Program for first- and second-grade students during enrichment hours. The program focused on improving early reading skills while providing language support for bilingual students. Sessions combined guided reading practice with engaging, hands-on activities designed to make learning enjoyable and accessible. Activities included storytelling, interactive games, and creative projects that reinforced vocabulary and comprehension. The program created a supportive and inclusive environment where students felt comfortable practicing both English and their …

Bridging The Gap: Expanding Educational Access For Male Students Of Color Through Parent Empowerment, Salwa Abdulla, Asrar Abdulla

Service Learning Showcase

Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT), a program that aims to increase the number of young men of color to attend and graduate from colleges and universities.Their vision is a nation in which young men of color are overrepresented in higher education, underrepresented in the criminal justice system, and leaders in their community. Educational equality continues to limit college access and success for many male students of color often due to limited resources, systematic barriers, and the lack of family engagement in their students' academic success. We explored how parent empowerment can help bridge this gap between parents, students, and schools. Our …

Encouraging Outdoor Education At Mable Barron Elementary School, Keira Harris, Axel Bennett, Jonathan Floresca

Service Learning Showcase

Our goal with this project was to encourage students in the ASES (After School Education and Safety) program at Mable Barron Elementary School to learn in a fun and engaging way. After doing research on the benefits of outdoor learning, we decided to fulfill our goal by utilizing the garden at Mable Barron. For our project, we restored the garden with new plants and created a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt was designed to push students to learn about plants and gardening in a fun way with the activity still being educational. We began our process by creating labels for …

Brainteaser Club, Destiny Vasquez

Service Learning Showcase

The main objective of this SPA project is to create a club that increases middle school students’ (grades 6–8) interest in academic subjects such as mathematics, science, and history. At Aspire Benjamin Holt Middle School, the after-school program currently offers a rotating set of clubs on Fridays. Students typically choose between two activities, such as a cooking club or a game club. However, many students show limited interest in mathematics and often struggle with their math homework.

To address this need, a new club called Brainteaser Club will be added to the Friday rotation. This club will focus primarily on …