Digital Commons Network^™

From Classroom To Real Life: Chinese Esl Learners And Sex-Related Taboo Language, Yusi Chen, Gage Weston

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Sex-related taboo language (SRTL) is common in everyday English but often absent from English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction due to teacher discomfort, limited training, and perceived inappropriateness (Gale & Fernández, 2016). However, SRTL is important for expressing emotion, building social relationships, and negotiating interpersonal boundaries (Jay, 2009). Without instruction, learners may misinterpret these expressions, causing embarrassment, social challenges, or increased vulnerability in contexts involving consent, discrimination, or safety (Dewaele, 2004). Understanding when and how to use such language is essential but under-addressed in ESL curricula (Kremin, 2017). Limited prior exposure to sex-related language among Chinese ESL learners (Shi …

A Network-Based Fmri Approach To Decoding Second-Language Proficiency In Advanced And Intermediate Speakers, Onila Rasanjala Narayana Mudalige Don

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Individual differences in second-language (L2) proficiency are not always well captured by traditional voxel-wise fMRI analyses. Network-level representations provide a more stable and interpretable framework for characterizing how the brain supports L2 processing, particularly in the presence of substantial inter-individual variability. In this study, we investigated whether large-scale brain networks can differentiate advanced and intermediate L2 speakers, and which network features carry the strongest proficiency-related signal.

Using fMRI data from Spanish–Basque bilinguals performing a semantic animacy judgment task, we applied group-level Principal Component Analysis (PCA) across all participants and both language conditions to identify shared spatial brain networks. Subject-specific component …

There Is No Intonation Rule For Yes-No Questions In Blackfoot, Chance Lockwood

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Cross-linguistically, the intonation of questions differs from the intonation of their declarative counterparts. For example, the intonation of an English question is normally raised at the end of the sentence, while the intonation of a statement is not. Also, in some languages the range of pitch is greater in questions than in statements. However, to my knowledge there are no intonation studies on Blackfoot that focus on questions, only on other elements of intonation, such as pitch movement, stress predictability, and rhythm. Using Praat, a program designed for acoustic speech analysis, I examined the intonation patterns of 19 statement-question pairs …

The Enduring Need For Literature: Cognitive Benefits And The Prospect Of Its Disappearance, Imane Labiad

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

One would think that defending the usefulness of teaching literature in schools and universities should no longer be a matter of debate. However, with the emergence of new media and technologies such as AI, this discussion resurfaces. This presentation argues that literature will not disappear from educational settings for two main reasons: the scientific evidence demonstrating its impact, and a fictional scenario that warns against its extinction. Numerous empirical studies have shown the wide range of benefits literature has fostered for centuries. One significant finding concerns the persuasive power of fiction reading (Braddock & Dillard, 2016). Research demonstrates that through …

Adoption Under Constraint: Testing Rodger’S Diffusion Of Innovation Model In Rural Appalachia, Stewart Rebecca Williams

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Model is one of the most used frameworks for research in evolutionary archaeology. It assesses how populations adopt innovations and how innovations spread between groups. The model emphasizes social and community communication networks as well as adoption phases that include testing and potentially adapting an innovation to better fit a population's needs.

However, I believe that this model assumes a level of personal and community agency and access that is simply not present in many populations in our post-industrial, globalized world. I use rural Appalachia as a case study for constrained or limited agency due to …

Human Identification Through Forensic Skeletal Analysis: Three Case Reviews, Shelby Feirstein

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Human identification through forensic skeletal analysis: three case reviews

Article Co-authors: Joe Adserias-Garriga*, Shelby Feirstein, Dakota Bell, Hannah Skropits and Dennis C. Dirkmaat (https://doi.org/10.1093/fsr/owae053)

Establishing a positive identification of human remains found in a forensic setting is often accomplished through DNA, fingerprints, or odontology. However, when these primary identifiers cannot be applied, practitioners can rely on combining points of concordance derived from other identification modalities, such as antemortem trauma, pathology, or unique skeletal morphologies, to build up a case for identification. In order to conduct these comparisons, forensic anthropologists must be well trained and experienced in human skeletal variation and …

Mothering And Mental Health: Exploring Expressive Arts In The Postpartum Period, Beth Loudon

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Maternal mental health (MMH) conditions are mental health conditions that occur during pregnancy and/or in the year after giving birth (Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, 2025). These conditions are responsible for 23% of maternal deaths in the United States (Centers for Disease Control, 2025) and affect approximately 1 in 5 women (Fawcett et al., 2019). Unfortunately, while evidence-based treatment exists for many of these conditions, barriers to care exist, including (a) poor screening, (b) childcare limitations, (c) transportation, and (d) monetary constraints, amongst others (Place et al., 2024). Accordingly, traditional talk therapy is often inaccessible for these women, particularly disadvantaging …

Education In The Age Of Ai, Cecelia E. Monroe

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

This project argues that a central challenge in contemporary education is an incoherence between the inherited purposes of schooling and the realities young people now face. While schools continue to emphasize siloed content and performance measures, students are entering a rapidly changing, AI-mediated world that demands critical thinking, adaptability, collaboration, and reflection. Integrating research on depth of learning, interdisciplinary scholarship, and a practitioner case study, this project proposes competency-based learning as a practical structure for supporting deeper learning, increased relevance, and a renewed orientation toward wellbeing in the age of artificial intelligence. 

The paper employs a literature review and theoretical …

Advisors Are Ambassadors, Catherine Thogersen

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Advisors are Ambassadors

We can improve UM’s graduation rates by increasing our students’ levels of hope. (Snyder et al, 1999) found a significant positive correlation between student Hope Scale scores and graduation rates. In this study, about 56% of students with high hope graduated on time, compared to only about 40% of those with low hope (Snyder et al, 1999, p. 824). They further found that through consistent interaction with others, hope could be either increased or decreased. Snyder’s (2002) Hope Theory attributes hope to a combination of agency- a person’s willpower and confidence in their ability to accomplish …

Using Adaptive Management To Understand Elk Population Dynamics In Northwest Montana, Andi Stewart, Nicole Bealer, Jesse Devoe, Zackary Farley, Christopher Hansen, Joshua Millspaugh, Kelly Proffitt

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Uncertainties about population dynamics may hamper the ability of state agencies and commissions to make informed wildlife management decisions. In hunting district 121, Montana, bull elk harvest has declined since 2012. Minimum counts suggest populations have been stable; however, it’s unknown if these counts reflect actual abundance and there are no vital rate data available for the region. Due to these uncertainties, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks developed an adaptive management project to address data gaps and uncertainties. From 2022-2025, we GPS collared 124 adult females, 18 adult males, and 185 neonate or 6-month-old calves. Across all years, the average …

Creating Supportive Learning Environments For Novice Nurse Educators: The Advanced Academy Experience, Judith M. Jarosinski, Tina P. Brown Reid, Lisa A. Seldomridge, Nicole Hall, Brad Hauck, Beverly Payne

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Purpose: The Faculty Academy and Mentorship Initiative of Maryland (FAMI-MD), a grant-funded collaborative of nursing programs, universities/colleges, and healthcare organizations, develops clinical faculty while promoting a healthy work environment during their transition from clinician to educator. FAMI-MD offers two curricula: an Introductory Academy providing foundational content for new educators; the Advanced Academy developed in 2019 for nurses with teaching experience.

This presentation explores how the Advanced Academy prepares experienced nurses for new roles as clinical teachers equipped with skills effective in reducing incivility and promoting a safe learning environment (Layne et al., 2019).

Background: There is a need to increase …

A Collaborative Approach To Supporting Nurses' Well-Being Across An Integrated Health And Care System, Grace M. Cook, Joanne P. Bosanquet, Chris Caldwell, Claire J. Shaw

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

An Integrated Health and Care System in England with workforce priorities including staff wellbeing and equality, inclusion and diversity, together with the Foundation of Nursing Studies, wanted to develop a programme that supported the psychological wellbeing and development of resilience for nurses across the region.

Resilience-based Clinical Supervision (RBCS) is an evidence-based model of restorative clinical supervision (Stacey et al., 2017; Stacey et al., 2020) that is structured using compassionate mind theory (Gilbert, 2010; Gilbert and Simos, 2022). It is also underpinned by an ecological viewpoint on resilience which considers the roles of communities and systems as a response to …

Impact Of A Self-Care Intervention Program On Clinician Health And Well-Being, Melissa Rouse, Joanna Carrega

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Purpose: The health and well-being of healthcare clinicians has become a national priority. More than half of the nurses and health care clinicians report symptoms of burnout.^1-2 Burnout can lead to decreased overall wellness an increase in medical errors, and negative patient outcomes.^3-4 The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the self-care management program on clinician health and well-being over six months. This study aimed to answer the following questions: 1) Among clinicians practicing in an acute care setting, does participating in a self-care management program impact perceived health and well-being at six months? …

Nursing Faculty Job Satisfaction During Covid-19: A Mixed Methods Study, Laura C. Sessions, Michelle M. Ness, Hayley D. Mark, Bo Kyum Yang

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Aim. To understand stress, resilience, and compassion satisfaction of nursing faculty during COVID-19 pandemic and identify factors related to their job satisfaction.

Background. The impact of COVID-19 on faculty stress, resilience, compassion satisfaction, and job satisfaction were unknown.

Methods. A mixed methods survey was distributed electronically to nursing faculty in the US. A convergent parallel mixed methods study design allowed us to measure and analyze quantitative and qualitative findings concurrently to support a fuller understanding of the results (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2017). A list of department leaders (chair, dean, or director) names and contact information was obtained from …

Survive Or Perish: Violence As A Survival Strategy For Abandoned Youth In Mayotte In Natacha Appanah’S Tropique De La Violence., Lydia Gyamfi

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

No abstract provided.

1990s Alt Music Slang And Socioeconomic Precarity In Despentes’ "Vernon Subutex" Series, Daniel J. Lightfoot

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

In a time of widespread cynicism and disillusionment with the political and economic status quo in France, how can literature give a voice to those discontents while inspiring hope? My contribution will explore Virginie Despentes’ use of slang from 1990s French alternative music subcultures in her narrative depictions of contemporary economic precarity and social alienation in the Vernon Subutex series (2015-17). I will discuss how Despentes uses French slang to establish a distance between economically marginalized characters and more affluent Parisians, highlighting how the former draw on vocabulary from Anglophone indie rock and hip-hop subcultures as an expression of a …

Adapting Identities: Multimodal Expressions Of African Women’S Agency In Francophone Film​, Alicia M. Hilaire

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

No abstract provided.

Why The Film Was Banned And Its Significance During The Colonial Era And Aftermath, Sawel Awuni

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

This paper examines the usefulness of film according to the figure widely known as the father of African cinema, Ousmane Sembène. In 2008, Annett Busch and Max Annas published an edited volume of Sembène’s interviews titled Ousmane Sembène: Interviews, which compiles a wide range of conversations conducted with him during his lifetime. This compilation offers insights into his films and the stories surrounding each production. Drawing on this collection, this presentation aims to highlight the significance of film during the twentieth century, the reasons why certain films were banned, and what Sembène believed should be the purpose of filmmaking.

This …

On Literature And Inclination, Maria Laura Cucciniello

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

I would like to discuss how literature can serve as an antidote to self-isolation and how it functions as a means to create relationships between humans, thereby providing meaning for life itself. To address this topic, one could recall Judith Butler’s reinterpretation of Adriana Cavarero’s theory of inclination (2021: 46-62). In the philosophical field of ontology, inclination works as an illustration of two different ways of existing: inclined and vertical. Both positionalities correspond to two different ontologies, namely one of caring and one of self-sufficiency. As interesting as the philosophical instances brought by Cavarero and Butler are per se …

“The Written Word, What For? Exploring Genre As Written Memory And Connection Over Time”, Hallie-Blair Quatro

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

Why is it so important to continue reading modern and contemporary French and Francophone literature? And what does this mean for a real relationship between author and reader that can grow and change over time? Through the literary analysis of two contemporary French novels-- Maryse Condé’s Tales from the Heart: True Stories from My Childhood (1999) and Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter (1979)—I demonstrate how it is each author’s use of mixed genre that allows for a connection of author to reader, but also reader to self. In each work, this mixed genre can become a generative, reconciliatory space …

Civil Liability Of The Lawyer For Professional Errors In Light Of Technological Developments: A Study Under Uae Legislation, Hureyya Matar Alqaydi

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

This study aims to examine the provisions of the legislative texts governing the civil liability of lawyers for their professional errors by clarifying the position adopted by the UAE legislator regarding professional mistakes that may be committed by a lawyer while practicing the profession considering modern technological developments, and by defining the limits, scope, and legal nature of the lawyer’s civil liability. The study also seeks to identify the nature of the obligations imposed upon the lawyer in the performance of his or her professional duties and to clarify the way damages incurred by the client because of the lawyer’s …

The Role Of Optical And Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellites In Military Intelligence, Khalifa Alnaqbi

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that while optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites are the two most powerful remote sensing tools in military intelligence, neither is sufficient on its own. This research aims to articulate their distinct operational roles and argue that their synergistic integration, together with other intelligence assets such as unmanned aerial vehicles, signals intelligence, and human intelligence, is essential for achieving comprehensive situational awareness in modern warfare. To establish this, the paper will first analyze the role of optical satellites in target identification and Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites in persistent detection and monitoring, detailing …

Evaluating The Impact Of Self-Care Strategies Incorporated Into Undergraduate And Graduate Nursing Curricula: A Systematic Review, Roseanne Moody Fairchild, Salena Tully

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background/Significance: Self-care is defined as a person’s capacity to partake in preventative measures promoting emotional, physical, and spiritual health to maintain one’s well-being. Registered nurses represent a majority of the healthcare workforce, and a 2017 report by American Nurses' Association found nurses have elevated risk for: a) being overweight, b) lacking adequate rest and sleep and, c) experiencing high levels of stress. As effects of the Covid-19 pandemic rapidly spread, substantial proportions of nurses reported heightened levels of anxiety, depression, and burnout. Impact of the pandemic has brought forth increased awareness regarding the need to encourage self-care practices among nurses …

Relationship Between Gratitude And Job Satisfaction In Nursing Leadership, Tammy P. Aiken

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

In the current healthcare climate, retaining our workforce has become increasingly important. Even more so the retention of nursing leadership has become even more crucial, as the need to have nurse leaders guide the profession during tenuous and difficult times is now even more apparent. Looking at ways hospital organizations can potentially increase their retention of leaders, which would assist in the retention of their staff, would be instrumental in easing labor shortage and therefore improve the quality of care. There has been a great deal of research that has shown that gratitude plays a significant role in a person’s …

Burned-Out By Example: A National Survey Of Academic Nurse Leaders’ Perceptions Of Staff Burnout, Adrienne S. Martinez-Hollingsworth, Linda Y. Kim, Jennifer L. Saylor, Jennifer Evans, Dawn Goodolf, Annette Hines, Delsa Richards, Nia Martin, Dajanae Gresham-Ryder, Uzo Nwankpa

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Purposes: Burnout is a challenge to health systems and clinical outcomes (Maslach & Leiter, 2016). Recently, negative impacts on clinical faculty and trainees have also been recognized (Low et al. 2019; Hammoudi, Soltani, Dalli, Alsarraj & Malki, 2023). While the US population increases, higher education struggles to meet a growing need for nurses over the next decade (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023). Downward trends in nursing program enrollment following the Covid-19 pandemic, insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, and budget constraints (American Academy of Colleges of Nurses [AACN], 2023) have highlighted a need for explorations on how burnout may structurally …

Factors Contributing To Turnover Among Critical Care Nurses During The Transition To Practice Period, Paula M. Gellner

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: New nurses are the major source of hiring for most hospitals. They fill vacancies left by seasoned nurses. As a result, an experience-complexity gap is created. The turnover of new graduate nurses is as high as 85% in the first two years of employment. Despite previous efforts to improve the transition to practice, turnover at the local level remain high.

Purpose/Specific Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the most important factors contributing to turnover and the opportunities to mitigate or reduce turnover in the critical care setting.

The specific aims were to evaluate the perceptions of …

Caring For Future Caregivers: Using The Faculty Toolkit Of Teaching Strategies To Support Well-Being For Health Sciences Students, Erica Sciarra, Alice M. Teall

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Current literature supports the positive impact creating a culture of wellness has in promoting individual and organizational wellbeing. Faculty and institutions of higher learning have a responsibility to create a physically and psychologically safe learning environment. Modeling effective ways for students to prioritize their mental health and wellness within the context of the ten dimensions of wellness is paramount. The National Wellness Action Alliance (NWAA) Workgroup recognized and responded to the need to provide faculty with valuable strategies to promote wellness among health sciences students that can be implemented by individual faculty members as well as serve as a springboard …

Osha’S Knocking! A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Analysis Of Inspections At Private Universities In Florida., Acuna Gonzalez Santiago

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

Section 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) empowers OSHA to conduct inspections and enforce standards prescribed in Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations; however, limited literature and lack of descriptive statistics exist regarding oversight and inspection patterns across Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in Florida. Assessing these patterns is paramount for aiding higher education stakeholders in evaluating their hazard identification and control techniques. This descriptive cross-sectional study examined OSHA's inspection database — January 1, 2015 to October 20, 2025 — indexed by NAICS code 611310, analyzing all 32 four-year non-profit HEI with at least 1,000 …

Effects Of Burnout And Resilience On Turnover Intention In Long-Term Care Nurses Post-Covid, Rosemary Fromer, Rhonda Oldham, Hannah G. Callaway

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Nurses constitute the most significant proportion of the healthcare workforce providing care for residents in long-term care (LTC) facilities (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2023, July). The number of licensed practical or vocational nurses who typically care for the most vulnerable populations in LTC has declined by 33,811 since the pandemic (Martin et al., 2023; National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2023, April 13). LTC patients and staff accounted for 23% of COVID-19-related deaths in the United States (Chidambaram, 2022, February 3). A cross-sectional study conducted by Aiken et al. (2023) at magnet hospitals in the United States …

Creating A Healthy Work Environment To Improve Nurse Retention: An Evidence-Based Practice Project, Megan Hignight

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background/Significance: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, a community emergency department (ED) faced a critical staffing shortage with nursing turnover rates as high as 46.2%. Strategies to mitigate the staffing shortage were primarily focused on recruitment methods without an intentional focus on evaluating why the nurses were leaving. Understanding the interdependent relationship between nurse attrition and the work environment, the ED Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) led an evidence-based practice project to improve the work environment. The purpose of the project was to create an environment in which nurses feel valued, respected, and fulfilled in their work; ultimately leading to decreased nurse turnover. …