Digital Commons Network^™

Back To The Drawing Board: Revisiting The Supreme Court's Stance On Partisan Gerrymandering, Robert Colton

Fordham Law Review

In the United States, state legislatures have drawn voting districts to achieve desired election results for hundreds of years. Dating back to the James Madison presidency, various legislatures and iterations of the U.S. Supreme Court have wrestled with the legal and constitutional issues that stem from the practice known as “gerrymandering.” While courts and legislatures have, at times, been successful in eliminating some of the more sinister uses of the tactic, such as racially motivated district-line drawing, gerrymandering inspired by partisan motives remains. Continual improvements in technology coupled with an increasingly divided political culture mean that partisan gerrymandering is at …

Roadblocks To The Implementation Of Problem-Oriented Policing In Montevideo, Federico Del Castillo

Student Theses

In the broad context of Uruguay’s police reform, the Ministry of Interior is implementing a pilot Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) program in Montevideo since late 2012. This research examined the obstacles confronted by the program throughout its implementation. Using a grounded theory approach, qualitative data was collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with members of the Uruguay National Police (UNP) of different ranks. Findings were analyzed based on the following categories: a) contextual factors; b) theoretical and practical inaccuracies; c) characteristics, skills and actions of project managers; d) resistance and motivational issues; e) resources; f) external support and cooperation. Consistent with research …

911 Dispatchers: Their Role As Evidence Collectors, Brittany P. Kassis

Student Theses

911 dispatchers are often the first point of contact after an individual is in an accident, needs emergency assistance, or witnesses a crime. In an emergency involving a crime, a dispatcher can play an important role in assisting the investigative process and collecting evidence, such as an eyewitness’ description of the suspect. While trained in how to gather situational and locational information from a caller so that relevant first responders can be notified, dispatchers may not be trained on how the specific language they use with a caller can impact the caller’s memory for the event. Thus, if dispatchers are …

Study Of Self-Similarity In Brain Data, Jennifer Holst

Student Theses

In the area of computer science, past research has found that the concept of self-similarity is present in local and Internet-based network traffic. This study considers the possibility that data traveling through the neuronal network in the human brain is also self-similar. By analyzing publicly available raw EEG data and estimating its Hurst parameter, we find indications that brain data traffic may in fact be self-similar.

Multiple Perpetrator Sexual Assault: The Relationship Between The Number Of Perpetrators, Blame Attribution, And Victim Resistance, Yi Jin Genevieve Lim

Student Theses

Sexual assault has been and continues to be a prevalent public health and social problem that can lead to severe ramifications for the victim. There has been growing research on multiple perpetrator sexual assault (MPSA) and how it qualitatively differs from single assailant offenses. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating the differences between sexual assault perpetrated by duos versus three or more individuals and how it affects victim behavioral responses and blame attribution. This study aimed to examine the relationship between the perceived level of victim blame and the number of perpetrators in MPSA cases contingent on the …

Mitochondrial Fission After Traumatic Brain Injury, Tara Fischer

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a central feature in the pathophysiology of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Loss of mitochondrial function disrupts normal cellular processes in the brain, as well as impedes the ability for repair and recovery, creating a vicious cycle that perpetuates damage after injury. To maintain metabolic homeostasis and cellular health, mitochondria constantly undergo regulated processes of fusion and fission and functionally adapt to changes in the cellular environment. An imbalance of these processes can disrupt the ability for mitochondria to functionally meet the metabolic needs of the cell, therefore resulting in mitochondrial damage and eventual cell death. Excessive fission, …

Characterization Of Notch1 And Pi3k-Pten-Akt/Mtor Pathway Interaction In Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Kyriante' Henry

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) affects various mucosal sites of the upper aerodigestive tract, including the nasal and oral cavities, the nasopharynx, and the oropharynx. More than five hundred thousand new cases of HNSCC occurred in 2011 alone, with 50,000 reported cases in the United States. This trend made HNSCC the seventh most common non-skin cancer worldwide (Ferlay et al., 2015). Although significant epidemiological and pathological advancements have been made, survival rates have not improved much over the last 40 years, leaving a mortality rate that remains at approximately 50%. An unbiased drug screen demonstrated that HNSCC cell …

Modeling Post Stroke Respiratory Dysfunction, Apneas And Cognitive Decline, Anthony Patrizz

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Modeling Post Stroke Respiratory Dysfunction,

Apneas and Cognitive Decline

Anthony Patrizz, B.A.

Advisory Professor: Louise McCullough M.D., Ph.D.

Stroke is a major cause of mortality and the leading cause of long-term disability in the US. More than 60% of individuals suffering a first time stroke develop respiratory dysfunction, prolonging recovery and increasing mortality. Post-stroke cognitive decline is a major contributor to disability and nursing home placement, therefore the cognitive consequences of Stroke Induced Respiratory Dysfunction (SIRD) need to be explored if we hope to enhance functional recovery. The first step towards treatment of the negative consequences of SIRD is the …

An Analysis Of The Size And Impact Of Digital Footprints, Whitney Nielsen Maxwell

Theses and Dissertations

Personal information available online is known as a digital footprint. While many have a digital footprint, few if any, know what it encapsulates or how to control it. Technology and personal information are becoming more intertwined as technology becomes more integrated with everyday activities. Personal information can be defined as details that apply to a person such as race or shopping habits. Shopping habits are considered personal information by many corporations who spend money to track, or even predict purchases of individuals, whereas more traditional forms of personal information are details like gender, birthdate, and home town. With a wide …

Project Management: Skills, Tools, And Knowledge Construction Professionals Consider Important For Keeping Projects On Schedule, Lyle Scott Davies

Theses and Dissertations

Project managers have a major role in the construction and completion of projects. Much of their work consists of reviewing, clarifying, and coordinating information required by the field management and subcontractors performing the work on the job site. The assistance they give with the transfer of information helps with successfully completing projects. For many people, the largest indicator that a project was successful is that construction activities were completed on schedule. While finishing on schedule may be the primary focus of those involved with construction activities, projects still struggle to finish on time. The purpose of this study is to …

Advancements In Radio Astronomical Array Processing: Digital Back End Development And Interferometric Array Interference Mitigation, Mitchell Costus Burnett

Theses and Dissertations

The Brigham Young University (BYU) Radio Astronomy Systems group, in collaboration with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the Center for Astrophysics at West Virginia University (WVU), and the Green Bank Observatory (GBO) have developed, and commissioned, a broadband real-time digital back end processing system for a 38-element phased array feed (PAF) with 150 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth. This system is capable of producing coarse and fine channel correlations, and implements a real-time beamformer that forms 7 simultaneous dual-polarized beams. This thesis outlines the hardware and software development for the digital back end and presents on-telescope commissioning results. This system …

Longitudinal Relations Between Interparental Conflict And Adolescent Self-Regulation: The Moderating Role Of Attachment To Parents, Lisa Tensmeyer Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

This study used growth curve analysis to investigate associations between interparental conflict, attachment to parents, and adolescent self-regulation outcomes. Using data from 681 families in the Flourishing Families survey obtained in two western U.S. cities, associations between interparental conflict, mother and father attachment, and initial and growth levels of adolescent self-regulation were analyzed across five time points. Adolescent self-regulation showed steady growth across a five-year period during adolescence, suggesting that self-regulation may continue to develop generally throughout adolescence, a finding not revealed in prior research. Adolescent self-regulation increased significantly more in the first city over the five years of the …

Investigating If Multidisciplinary Or Homogenous Teams Are More Innovative In A Higher Education Setting, Blake Howard Hoover

Theses and Dissertations

This study is derived from the claim that multidisciplinary groups are more innovative than homogeneous groups; a claim that has flooded the business industry and has become criteria for accreditation in higher education. However, the impact of disciplinary diversity in work groups is a growing area of research; therefore, it is yet to be thoroughly understood. The purpose of this study is to answer the question: are multidisciplinary teams more innovative than homogenous teams. To accomplish this university students from differing majors were sorted into multidisciplinary and homogeneous groups while participating in a two-day innovation course. The course taught the …

Analysis Of Safety Impacts Of Access Management Alternatives Using The Surrogate Safety Assessment Model, Kyung Min Kim

Theses and Dissertations

In a traditional safety impact analysis, it is necessary to have crash data on existing roadway conditions in the field and a few years must pass before accumulating reliable crash data. This is a time-consuming approach and there remains uncertainty in the crash data due to the random nature of crash occurrences. The Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM) was developed for resolving these issues. With SSAM, a conflict analysis is performed in a simulated environment. A planned improvement alternative under study is modeled and no physical installation of the alternative is needed. Hence, the method using a simulation software along …

Emotional And Cognitive Engagement In Higher Education Classrooms, Kristine C. Manwaring

Theses and Dissertations

This is a multi-article format dissertation that explores emotional and cognitive engagement in higher education classrooms. Student engagement in higher education classrooms has been associated with desired outcomes such as academic achievement, retention, and graduation. Student engagement is a multi-faceted concept, consisting of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive components. A deeper understanding of how these components interact would allow instructors and course designers to facilitate more engaging learning experiences for students. The first article is an extended literature review that investigates the extant empirical research on the relationship between emotional and cognitive engagement, and between emotional engagement and academic outcomes in …

An Investigation Of Elementary Teachers<'> Self-Efficacy For And Beliefs About The Importance Of Engineering Education, Khristen Lee Massic

Theses and Dissertations

In order for the United States to regain its global standing in science and engineering, educational and governmental organizations have started to re-emphasize science, technology, engineering, and math content in k-12 classrooms.While some preliminary research has been conducted on student and teacher perceptions related to engineering, there has been little research conducted related to teachers beliefs about the importance of engineering content in their classrooms and relatively few studies have investigated elementary teachers teaching engineering self-efficacy. Current studies have investigated the impact of professional development on teachers teaching engineering self-efficacy but these studies were conducted with limited sample sizes, for …

Foxes At The Henhouse: Occupational Licensing Boards Up Close, Rebecca Haw Allensworth

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The dark side of occupational licensing-its tendency to raise prices to consumers with dubious effects on service quality, its enormous payout to licensees, and its ability to shut many willing workers out of the workforce-has begun to receive significant attention. But little has been said about the legal institutions that create and administer this web of professional entry and practice rules. State-level licensing boards regulate nearly one-third of American workers, yet, until now, there has been no systematic attempt to understand who serves on these boards and how they operate. This Article undertakes an ambitious and comprehensive study of all …

International Law In The Post-Human Rights Era, Ingrid (Wuerth) Brunk

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

International law is in a period of transition. After World War II, but especially since the 1980s, human rights expanded to almost every corner of international law. In doing so, they changed core features of international law itself, including the definition of sovereignty and the sources of international legal rules. But what might be termed the golden-age of international human rights law is over, at least for now. Whether measured in terms of the increasing number of authoritarian governments, the decline in international human rights enforcement architecture such as the Responsibility to Protect and the Alien Tort Statute, the growing …

Transforming (Perceived) Rigidity In Environmental Law Through Adaptive Governance, J.B. A. Ruhl, Hannah Gosnell, Brian C. Chaffin, Craig A. Arnold, Et Al.

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is often portrayed as a major source of instability and crisis in river basins of the U. S. West, where the needs of listed fish species frequently clash with agriculture dependent on federal irrigation projects subject to ESA Section 7 prohibitions on federal agency actions likely to jeopardize listed species or adversely modify critical habitat. Scholarship on Section 7 characterizes the process as unwaveringly rigid, the legal hammer forcing federal agencies to consider endangered species needs when proposing operations and management plans for federally funded irrigation. In this paper, we identify barriers to an integrated …

Linking Centralized And Decentralized Nursing Education, Sarah Nagy, Shellie Scribner

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

A large multi-hospital system adopted an innovative strategy to unite the system NPD practitioners in the centralized education department and decentralized unit based NPD practitioners. The goals of this approach were to: develop a standardized approach and process to professional development and training across the system; create and promulgate effective training and development to advance the mission and strategy of the organization; and to share knowledge and best practices across the organization.

Several strategies were developed. First, was the development of the Clinical Education Team Lead (CETL) role. This position serves as liaison between the centralized system education department and …

Utilizing Shared Governance Model To Develop A State Of Nursing Report, Elizabeth Rolston

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

Nursing Professional Development Specialists are often called upon to collect evidence about direct care staff achievements and the condition of the patient care units in which they practice in preparation for Magnet®. An innovative strategy to meet this challenge is the development of an annual State of Nursing report. Through a Shared Governance Model, the Nursing Professional Development Specialist and the direct care nurses create a living document of past, present and future unit based activities. These activities include but are not limited to: certifications, continuing education, Evidenced Based Practice initiatives, Quality Improvement projects and Best Practice strategies. The State …

Using Avatars In A Phased Approach Behavioral Health Education Series, Samantha Marotta

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

Patients seeking care at health care facilities not only need their medical health care needs addressed, but "the majority of patients receiving services through their health care provider also suffer from psychological and psychosocial problems" (Wodarski, 2014, p. 302). According to Ramos et al. (2013), in the younger population between the ages of 12 and 15 years old, 13% of patients met "diagnostic criteria for a mental health disorder within the previous year" (p. 712).

Currently, staff education does not specifically address behavioral health or give employees the knowledge and tools for use in behavioral health crises. In an ideal …

Preceptor Workshop: "I Wish I'D Known That", Vanessa Gant Clark

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

The nurse preceptor class was formulated to introduce the preceptor to the many facets to precepting. Precepting not only entails validation of technical skills but a realm of other vital components to include critical methods of time management for preceptee, identifying learning styles and how to teach based on the learning style of the preceptee, social interaction and the ward/unit routine and layout just to name a few.

The preceptor may have the knowledge but lack the skills necessary to effectively preceptor a new employee. Precepting requires that the preceptor is well educated on how to teach the adult. This …

Npd Practitioner Role In An Interprofessional Safe Patient Handling Culture, Sarah Lesniak, Colleen Neary, Erin Sugarman

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

Musculoskeletal injuries related to patient movement and handling are among the leading causes of injuries for healthcare professionals. In January 2016, state legislation was enacted requiring hospital compliance with a comprehensive Safe Patient Handling (SPH) program. The role of the NPD Practitioner was utilized to coordinate an interdisciplinary, organization-wide SPH initiative at a large academic medical center. The NPD Practitioner and a clinical bedside nurse were appointed to co-chair the comprehensive committee with collaboration from the Medical Center's Environmental Health and Safety Specialist. An extensive committee was formed including 45 key stakeholders from various interprofessional and ancillary departments.

Objectives of …

Who Wants To Be A Nurse? — Gaming Methods For Teaching Nursing Students, Vanessa Gant Clark

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

Gaming is an innovative tool for teaching nursing students that is both fun and competitive. Gaming promotes learning activities that encourages critical thinking, active participation, and retention of information for longer periods of time. Gaming is a teaching methodology with preset rules that are familiar to the nursing student. This teaching method helps to promote interactive learning that helps the nursing student with putting classroom theory into practice. Research has shown that gaming increases the student's enjoyment of learning. In addition to promoting active participation, gaming facilitates opportunities for students to work together, increase communication and think "outside the box. …

It's Big, And It's Not Easy: Implementing A Transition To Practice Program, William Parrish, Valerie Stalsbroten

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

Implementation of an evidence-based (EB) transition to practice (TTP) program has been shown to improve retention of new graduate nurses in the hospital setting (Spector et al, 2015). A twelve-month EB TTP curriculum was developed through a collaborative effort by nursing professional development (NPD) practitioners across a large multi- hospital system. Curriculum elements, based on the eleven EB best practice elements for TTP programs (Hansen, 2015), include preceptor training, clinical orientation, simulation, professional development opportunities, and completion of an EB practice project. Clinical orientation and simulation content was developed to build upon the knowledge and skills acquired as a student …

Increasing The Reach Of The Npd Practitioner: Using A Specialized Team, Lesley Worsley-Hynd

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

Within most work environments, the NPD Practitioner feels they are unable to provide enough continuing education to existing staff. This is especially true in Emergency, ICU, Pediatric, and Trauma settings, where decisions must be rapid and often based on limited research. Since the NPD Practitioner is limited in the time they have to dedicate to the classroom, the best option is to create a specialized team to provide education. The Specialized Team consists of bedside staff who are interested in optimal patient care, positive outcomes, and evidence based practice. The NPD Practitioner and a member of leadership should help provide …

Supporting Clinical Nurses In The Dissemination Of Best Practices, Tara Serwetnyk, Stephanie Von Bacho

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

The Best Practice Showcase at a large, academic medical center, coordinated by a Nursing Professional Development (NPD) practitioner, provides the support and structure for nurses to disseminate research and performance improvement projects to the interprofessional healthcare team through a formal poster presentation. The showcase began in 2010 as a National Nurses' Week event and has evolved to incorporate formal training and mentoring for staff nurses. The event is judged by nursing leadership and nursing shared governance council members and is an opportunity to celebrate achievements.
The NPD practitioners in the Center for Nursing Professional Development collaborated with the Nursing Clinical …

Preparing For A Massive Influx Of New Graduate Nurses, Brian Harradine, Mazurah Smith-Ransaw, Diane Rupp

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

This organization will present the scenarios encountered when preparing for and training a large group (over 50) new graduate nurses starting at one time. The presentation will focus on planning steps, execution steps, and lessons learned over the yearlong training of these new graduate nurses entering the organization. Speakers will also present the organizational barriers encountered during the planning and implementation processes.

Teaching Preceptors Using The Cognitive And Affective Domains, Jennifer Bodine, Darlene Listopad

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

The organization experienced a lack of standardization of training for preceptors, and a lack of resources for the orientation of new hires. Numerous conversations with new hires throughout the organization indicated that they were dissatisfied with their preceptors and onboarding experience. In response, upper-level management mandated the creation of a preceptor development program to customize the orientation experience while utilizing standardized resources and skills.

The theory used for this class was transformational learning, which assumes that people use personal experiences as a frame of reference to shape their beliefs and actions (Mezirow, 2009). The dialogue that occurs during the class …