Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing The Impact Dynamics Of Less Lethal Ammunition, Steven Bermejo

Student Theses

Less-lethal ammunition is widely used by law enforcement as an alternative to lethal force during crowd control, on-street confrontations, and other situations requiring force. Although these projectiles are intended to reduce risk of fatal injury, serious injuries and fatalities have been reported, highlighting the need to better understand the factors that influence their impact behavior. This study evaluated the impact dynamics of four types of 12-gauge less-lethal ammunition, including rubber buckshot, single rubber ball, double rubber ball, and Byrna kinetic projectile, using kinetic energy calculations derived from projectile mass and velocity measurements. In addition, Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared …

College Sports Clubs: Engines Of Emotional And Social Development, Robert Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationship between structured campus involvement and the development of campus connectedness among students at Rowan University. While the transition to university life is a critical period marked by social, emotional, and academic adjustments, this study highlights how sport clubs serve as a primary social anchor to facilitate successful integration. Utilizing a qualitative thematic analysis of focus group data across diverse campus organizations, this research clarifies how these spaces foster identity formation and resilience. Findings reveal that participation in sport clubs significantly enhances student wellbeing by providing support networks that mitigate early feelings of isolation. A key …

Depictions Of Girls With Adhd In Contemporary Picturebooks: A Critical Content Analysis, Madison Briann Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how girls with ADHD are depicted in contemporary picturebooks through the theoretical framework of critical disability studies (CDS). While research has increasingly explored disability representation in children's literature, depictions of girls with ADHD remain underexamined despite the ways in which ADHD manifests in female populations and the historical underdiagnosis of females with the condition. Using critical content analysis (CCA), six contemporary picturebooks featuring female protagonists with ADHD were analyzed for their visual and textual representations of neurodiversity. Findings were organized into two overarching themes: strength-based and deficit-based depictions. Strength-based portrayals emphasized creativity, identity formation through adult mentors, …

Chronotivity: Concurrent And Prospective Influences On Creative Performance Among College Students, Hreem Mahadeshwar

Theses

Creativity is increasingly understood as a dynamic process influenced by biological, psychological, and contextual factors. Previous research has linked chronotype, sleep quality, affect, curiosity, and creative self-efficacy to creative performance; however, relatively little is known about how these factors jointly relate to creativity among college students or whether they predict creative performance over time. The present study examined concurrent and prospective relationships in undergraduate students at RIT (T1: n = 210; T2: n = 38), between these variables and creative performance using a two-timepoint design. Creative performance was assessed using the Alternative Uses Task and scored for creative quality and …

The Method And The Machinery: Gloria Steinem, India, And The Cold War Making Of American Second Wave Feminsim, 1956-1972, Rashida Shafiq

History Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation argues that Gloria Steinem became one of the most visible feminists of her generation because two political inheritances — postcolonial India and the Cold War liberal United States — converged in a single career. In 1957 and 1958, on a Chester Bowles Asian Fellowship, Steinem spent eighteen months in India, where she moved from elite intellectual circles in Delhi to Gandhian and Sarvodaya peace work in the villages of Ramnad. Walking with Bhoodan fieldworkers through caste-riot-stricken communities, she absorbed a repertoire of organizing practices — listening across difference, lateral and leaderless structure, decision by consensus, and the conversion …

Measuring Cosmic Expansion From Early To Late Times Using Quasars, Galaxies, & Local Supernovae, Rajeev Vaisakh

Physics Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the evolution of cosmic expansion across a wide redshift ($z$) range by combining measurements from quasars \& galaxies in the distant universe $(z > 0.8)$ with those obtained from stripped-core collapse supernovae observations from the nearby universe $(z < 0.1)$. Using the DESI spectroscopic survey, we analyze large-scale clustering from quasars over $0.8 < z < 2.1$ and emission line galaxies over $0.8 < z < 1.6$, contributing to DESI DR2 BAO and full-shape measurements of cosmic expansion and structure growth. Combined with BBN in flat $\Lambda$CDM, DESI DR2 BAO gives $H_0 = 68.51 \pm 0.58$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$, while combinations of DESI BAO with CMB and supernova data show a preference for evolving dark energy, with representative constraints such as $w_0 = -0.752 \pm 0.057$ and $w_a = -0.86^{+0.23}_{-0.20}$ for DESI+CMB+DESY5. Using the ROTSE-III Supernova Survey and the expanding photosphere method (EPM), we measure distances to a sample of six supernovae for which the thermal phase can be clearly identified. This analysis focuses on testing whether reliable EPM distances can be obtained for this population. The resulting distances will eventually be compared with independent estimates from the literature. Establishing consistency with these external measurements represents an important step toward applying this methodology to larger samples, with the eventual goal of using ROTSE supernova distances to provide an independent measurement of the local Hubble constant.

Statistical Methodologies For Count Time Series Analysis And Topological Data Analysis Of Medical Images, Yuhyeong Jang

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses two distinct topics related to count time series analysis and topological medical image analysis, respectively. The first part of the dissertation comprises an application of a count time series model to analysis of US monthly sex trafficking data and development of a new model for multivariate count data that exhibits serial dependence and overdispersion. By imposing a family of multivariate mixed Poisson distributions on the count random vector, the proposed model can accommodate a broad range of overdispersion as well as positive contemporaneous correlations. For maximum likelihood estimation, a computationally feasible EM-type algorithm is derived based on …

Leveraging School Leadership To Strengthen Teacher Retention In Urban High-Needs Schools, Sharri Zachary

Education Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study, supported by descriptive quantitative data, examined the leadership practices that principals in urban high-needs schools use to influence teacher retention while leading their schools and navigating external conditions and educational policies. The study was grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of human development and reframed the traditional focus on family and social development to examine principal-teacher interactions within school environments. The study addressed the lack of clarity regarding how teacher retention is defined, measured, and interpreted, particularly in relation to principals’ efforts to recruit, develop, and support teachers under shifting conditions and accountability expectations. Descriptive quantitative data provided …

Same-Day Cancellation Reduction In An Ambulatory Surgery Unit, Anthone Dalit Vengersammy

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem: Same-day surgical cancellations in the outpatient surgery setting remain a significant operational and patient care challenge. Preventable cancellations negatively affect patient experience, operating room efficiency, staff productivity, and healthcare costs. 

Context: A microsystem and organizational culture assessment identified several factors contributing to same-day cancellations, including unclear preoperative instructions, incomplete medical clearance, inconsistent patient education, lack of standardized workflows, unclear staff responsibilities, and communication gaps among interdisciplinary teams. SWOT and gap analyses were used to identify opportunities for improvement and guide intervention planning.

Interventions: Quality improvement interventions were implemented through iterative Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles. Strategies included revising preoperative patient instructions, …

Sense Of Purpose As The Guiding Light In Nursing Practice: A Grounded Theory Study, Kathleen Casler

Theses & Dissertations

Problem: As a prosocial profession, individuals may enter the practice of nursing because of an interest in helping and caring for others. However, over time, nurses may be challenged with experiences of burnout that can impact both their relationship with the profession and patient outcomes.

Background/Significance: A sense of purpose has been associated with positive physical, behavioral, and psychological outcomes. In a professional context, a sense of purpose may provide support for navigating complex work environments. It is currently not known what nurses’ experience of sense of purpose may be in relation to nursing practice and how their sense of …

Consumer Behavior In End-Of-Current-Use Electronics: A Multi-Method Approach To Improving Sustainability Outcomes, Payam Saeedi

Theses

The proliferation of network-connected consumer electronics has created a sustained challenge for sustainability and data security at the End-of-Current-Use (EoCU) stage. In the United States, devices accumulate in storage rather than entering reuse or recycling pathways, and a substantial share of devices change hands without proper data sanitization. This dissertation characterizes and quantifies consumer behavior at EoCU of consumer electronics in the U.S., with the goal of supporting the design of interventions that improve sustainability and data security outcomes. A survey of 4,000 U.S. respondents (3,747 after data cleaning) was developed and deployed across 10 categories of network-connected devices, capturing …

Archaeal Signal Peptide Prediction Through Integration Of Proteomics And Machine Learning, Anjali Kaur

Theses

Signal peptides are short N-terminal amino acid sequences that direct proteins through cellular secretion pathways and play an essential role in protein localization and function. Computational tools such as SignalP are widely used to predict signal peptides. However, prediction accuracy for archaeal proteins remains lower than for bacterial and eukaryotic proteins, likely because relatively few archaeal proteins were available for model training. The goal of this study was to determine whether expanding the archaeal training data used by SignalP 6.0 could improve archaeal signal peptide prediction. Archaeal proteomics datasets from five archaeal species were analyzed to identify proteins with experimentally …

Dynamics Of Microscale Droplets In Respiratory Airways, Md Shamser Ali Javed

Mathematics Theses and Dissertations

We investigate trajectories of microscale evaporating droplets in a stagnation point flow near a wall of a respiratory airway. The configuration is motivated by the problem of advection and deposition of microscale droplets of respiratory fluids in human airways during transmission of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and COVID-19. Laminar boundary layer equations are solved to describe the air flow while the equations of motion of the droplet include contributions from gravity, aerodynamic drag, and Saffman force. Evaporation is accounted for at both the droplet surface and the wall of the respiratory airway and is shown to delay droplet deposition …

Measurement Of Pollution Emissions From Natural Gas Stoves: Preparation For An Induction Cooktop Intervention Study, Jessica Zanella Lorensi

Dissertations and Theses

Humans spend ∼90% of their time enclosed in buildings. Indoors environments can be a source of pollutant which can affect health and productivity. Appliances that combust fossil fuels indoors, like stoves, are a critical source of a range of pollutants, like carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). In the US, the usual cooking fuel is natural gas (NG), presented in more than 30% of households in the country. Some studies in the literature linked cooking pollutants, including those specific to gas combustion, to various health conditions, including heart and respiratory diseases. Nitrogen dioxide, for example, can be …

Effects Of B422 Bacteriophage Resistance Mutations On Pectobacterium Versatile Fitness And Virulence, Alex Cherry

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This Honors thesis project examines the impact of lipopolysaccharide mutations on the virulence of a bacteria susceptible to a bacteriophage suspected of using LPS structures as the basis for infection. In my prior work in the lab, I isolated a novel lytic bacteriophage against P. versatile. From host range testing performed in the lab, it is known to infect two strains of P. versatile, B422 and B35. The phage was then used to select for resistant mutants in a pool of B422 transposon mutants, and 20 phage-resistant mutants were identified. 60% of these mutants were found to have differences in …

Staff Education To Improve Mindfulness Knowledge Among Rns, Nps, And Mas In A Behavioral Health Setting, Barbara Buxton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Burnout is a recurrent problem for healthcare workers and is associated with staff turnover, a decline in the quality of care, emotional fatigue, and risks to patient safety. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) staff education initiative created a mindfulness-based training program to expand the knowledge of registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and medical assistants on mindfulness practices in a behavioral health setting. Baseline assessment data identified a need for support to address emotional fatigue, absenteeism, and staff disengagement, with a mean pre‑education knowledge score of 66%. A structured, in‑person educational program addressing burnout awareness, stress reactivity, and helpful mindfulness methods …

A Proposal For A Program To Deliver Equitable Nursing Assignments, Laporsha Glover

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was conducted at an inpatient rehabilitation hospital that provides comprehensive interdisciplinary rehabilitation services for adults. Due to the diverse clinical needs of the rehabilitation patient population, nursing workload varies considerably based on patient acuity, functional status, cognitive impairment, medical complexity, and the intensity of nursing interventions required. This creates a practice gap that contributes to inequitable nursing assignments. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Nine studies were critically appraised using the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice (JHNEBP) Evidence Appraisal Tools (Bissett et al., 2025). The …

A Multifaceted Surgical Suite Quality Improvement Initiative, George Tazvitya Mhosira

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice project focuses on modernizing an acute care hospital’s surgical suite, enhancing environmental safety, and supporting the growing complexity of surgical care. As surgical procedures become more advanced, the physical environment must evolve to maintain sterile technique and reduce microbial presence. Current operating room configuration, characterized by overcrowding and outdated ventilation systems, introduces environmental risks that compromise patient safety and limit perioperative efficiency. Modernization is essential to align the surgical environment with contemporary safety expectations and organizational performance goals. The proposed initiative includes a comprehensive renovation and expansion of surgical spaces, integrating advanced air decontamination technologies, …

The Relationship Between Employees’ Involvement, Process Improvement, And Customer Satisfaction In Manufacturing Industries, Nawres Fouad

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Customer satisfaction remains a challenge for some manufacturing organizations despite the widespread implementation of TQM practices. Manufacturing leaders must improve customer satisfaction because it enhances customer retention, organizational competitiveness, and long-term business performance. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationships between employees' involvement, process improvement, and customer satisfaction. The expectancy-disconfirmation theory grounded the research project. Participants were 68 middle managers employed in manufacturing organizations in Ontario, Canada. Data were collected through an anonymous online survey using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) and the TQM Practices Scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s …

Improving Adolescent Antidepressant Medication Adherence In An Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic Through Teach-Back And Motivational Interviewing, Sandra Ajao

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Antidepressant medication adherence among adolescents is a significant concern in outpatient psychiatric care. Adolescents may miss doses because of stigma, forgetfulness, side effects, limited understanding of medication instructions, or inconsistent caregiver support. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice project was to improve antidepressant medication adherence and adherence-focused communication among adolescents in an outpatient psychiatric clinic through staff education on teach-back and motivational interviewing. The practice-focused question examined how teach-back combined with motivational interviewing, compared with usual care, affected medication adherence and depressive symptoms during the implementation period. Staff education included use of a previsit questionnaire, structured visit script, …

Standardized Metabolic Monitoring Protocol For Adult Outpatients Who Are Prescribed Antipsychotic Medications, Abel Bueno Gonzalez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This doctoral project was an organization change process evaluation of a quality improvement initiative in a masked outpatient mental health clinic. The practice challenge was poor metabolic monitoring and documentation among adult outpatients taking antipsychotics that were not in line with guidelines. This problem is relevant to nursing practice because use of antipsychotic medications raises risk for weight gain, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and glucose abnormalities, and not monitoring risks may delay referral or management. The practice-focused question was: According to evidence, among adult patients who are prescribed antipsychotic medications in an outpatient mental health clinic, what is the impact of implementing …

Predictive Analytics For Nurse Staffing Optimization And Patient Outcomes, Rhonda Lynn Fisher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This evidence-based quality improvement project assessed the use of a Predictive Analytics Staffing Decision-Support Tool (PASDST) to enhance nurse staffing alignment, workforce planning, and patient outcomes in an acute care setting. Traditional staffing relied mainly on historical census data and fixed nurse-to-patient ratios, with limited real-time information on admissions, discharges, census, and patient acuity. Guided by the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Model, a 12-week pilot of PASDST was conducted on one acute care unit. Baseline data from 30 stakeholders—five nurse managers and 25 bedside nurses—were collected. Quantitative responses were analyzed via frequencies and percentages, while open-ended responses underwent thematic analysis. …

Staff Education To Improve Depression Screening And Management Using Phq-9, Elizabeth Aja

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This doctoral project was a staff education initiative. It was motivated by the realization that depression is often under-recognized when standardized screening practices are not consistently implemented. The identified practice gap was inconsistent administration, interpretation, and documentation of the PHQ-9 by the nursing staff. The practice-focused question examined whether a staff education intervention would improve nurses’ knowledge and confidence in using the PHQ-9 for depression screening. The purpose of the project was to implement and evaluate an evidence-based educational program on PHQ-9 administration, scoring, interpretation, and documentation. Data analysis included descriptive statistics on pretest and posttest scores from 14 participating …

Staff Education To Improve Whiteboard Utilization To Focus On Nurse Communication And Patient Experience On A Medical-Surgical Unit, Charline J. Bethea

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inconsistent use of standardized whiteboards in patient rooms may contribute to ineffective nurse communication and lower patient experience scores. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project evaluated whether an evidence-based staff education program improved nursing knowledge, intent to use standardized whiteboards, and whiteboard utilization on a medical-surgical unit. Guided by the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) instructional design model, the intervention included a standardized educational presentation, pre- and post-education knowledge assessments, a workflow integration guide, competency validation, and weekly compliance audits. Thirty-five staff members, including registered nurses and patient care technicians, participated in the project. Following …

Implementation Of Standardized Suicide Risk Screening With Staff Education In An Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic, Gwendoline Nfotiog

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice project was a quality improvement staff education initiative focused on improving suicide risk screening and documentation in an outpatient psychiatric clinic. Inconsistent use of validated screening tools and documentation practices created risks for missed identification of patients at risk for suicide. Addressing this gap was essential to improve patient safety and support evidence-based behavioral healthcare. In the project, I examined whether implementing standardized suicide risk screening with staff education would improve screening and documentation consistency over 12 weeks. The purpose was to increase staff knowledge, screening compliance, and documentation accuracy. Pre- and postimplementation chart audits, …

An Exploration Of Successful Cloud Database Migration Strategies Used By Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises Leaders In The United States, Ashli Jarrett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cloud database migration can improve organizational performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but SME leaders are concerned about ineffective migration strategies, which can increase risks to data security, regulatory compliance, and operational continuity. Grounded in diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to explore the effective strategies SME leaders use to manage secure cloud database migrations, mitigate risks, enhance data security, ensure regulatory compliance, and improve organizational effectiveness. The participants were 10 SME leaders in the United States who had successfully adopted cloud-based database systems. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and publicly …

Addressing Obesity In Rural Health Clinics, Morgan P. Trusley

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 2 in 5 adults in the United States are obese (CDC, 2024a). In a rural primary care clinic in South Carolina, approximately 70% of patients are obese and there is no current intervention in place to help educate and guide these patients in weight loss strategies.

PICOT: In obese adults over the age of 18 at a rural health clinic with a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30, does implementing weekly virtual and in person multicomponent behavioral intervention educational sessions compared to …

Improving Fluoride Varnish Application Rates In A Pediatric Primary Care Microsystem, Roman G. Roxas

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem

Childhood caries is a preventable public health issue disproportionately affecting the underserved. National guidelines recommend fluoride varnish (FV) application during well‑child visits. In California, fewer than 15% of children under age six received FV. In a pediatric primary care clinic, baseline performance was 11% in 2025.

Context

A six‑month quality improvement project was implemented. Key barriers included reduced team cohesion, workflow variability, unclear roles, and underutilized electronic health record (EHR) prompts.

Interventions

The change package standardized medical assistant–led workflows, activated EHR prompts, and provided targeted education. Leadership reinforcement through regular huddles supported adoption, consistency, and team engagement.

Measures

Outcome …

Optimizing Life Care Planning For Palliative Home Health Care Patients, Lilian Muraya

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem: In this home health palliative microsystem, many seriously ill patients begin care without timely goals‑of‑care conversations or documented advance directives, leading to fragmented communication and potentially avoidable emergency visits and rehospitalizations.

Context: This quality improvement project took place in a hospital-based home health palliative care program in Northern California, where an interdisciplinary team identified inconsistent Life Care Planning (LCP) practices and variable staff comfort with conducting goals‑of‑care discussions.

Intervention: A structured LCP workflow was developed so that newly admitted palliative home health patients receive a goals‑of‑care discussion and advance directive review within 7 days of start …

Emergency Nurses' Perceptions Of Interpersonal Empathy When Caring For Department Superusers, Makeba K. Cavette

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compassion fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a significant challenge for healthcare professionals, particularly nurses in the emergency department (ED), due to the demanding, high-pressure nature of their work environment and their increased exposure to human suffering. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological descriptive study, guided by Nursing Theory of Personal Empathy, was to describe the meaning of ED nurses' interactions with superuser patients and how these interactions affect ED nurses' empathy and susceptibility to developing CFS. A purposive sample of 8 ED nurses with at least 3 years of experience as ED staff nurses working with superuser patients participated in semistructured …