Digital Commons Network^™

Too Little Too Late For City Spending On Workers Cooperatives, Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech

Capstones

New York City spent $606.7 million in 2016 on Career Pathways, a national workforce development strategy designed to increase education, training, and learning opportunities for the current and emerging workforce. A small portion of that money has gone to worker cooperatives, a business entity that is worker-owned and worker-controlled. Female immigrant entrepreneurs have taken to the model. But the model's strength might prove to be its weakness.

http://alejandraoconnell.com/2017/12/27/too-little-too-l…ers-cooperatives/ ‎

Hair Is The Root Of A Revolution: How Black Women Are Embracing Their Identity With Hair, Shanel Dawson

Capstones

For years, black women have been demeaned for their features; their noses, complexions and hair. Straight hair and wavy hair have been considered “good hair.” And for centuries these ideas have been perpetuated by images in the media, cultural messages and even policies in schools and professional settings.

Today black women, nationwide, are rejecting straightening chemicals and embracing their natural hair as a point of pride. I spoke with several black women who are attempting to distance themselves from these negative narratives by honoring their roots.

For black women in America, hair has been the easiest way to connect on …

Utah's Black Hole Of Tax Incentives, William Mathis, Claire Molloy, Kevin Breuninger

Capstones

In Utah, a state job-creation program gives out millions of dollars a year to private companies. Over the course of a semester, our team looked through hundreds of pages of court documents, EPA violations and workplace safety violations to uncover what kinds of companies the Utah state government pays to expand there. We also analyzed employment data to show, for the first time, which companies create the jobs they are supposed to and which do not.

http://mcgillmathis.com/projects/capstone/index.html

Two-Way Contracts: The Solution For The Nba, Stefan Anderson

Capstones

This project takes a look into the NBA's first season introducing it two-way contracts. These contracts allow players to be in both the NBA and its developmental/minor league, the Gatorade League–widely known as The G-League at the same time. With the two-way being established it opens the door for many other things. This project goes more in depth on it.

https://sportswithstef.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/two-way-contracts-the-solution-for-the-nba/

Poisoned By My Government: How The Military Let Families Drink Contaminated Water For Decades And Didn’T Learn From It, Alana Pipe, Lori Freshwater

Capstones

This story is about a quest to find classmates from Camp Lejeune and put together a record of a school, where in the early 1980s the children drank and breathed heavily contaminated water and air. Not only were the children involved in what is widely accepted as the worst water contamination case in U.S history, they were there during the years when the levels of chemical contaminants peaked. The United States Marine Corps knew this at the time and did nothing to protect the children in its custody. While looking into the past contamination on Camp Lejeune, it was discovered …

Displaced Once More: Armenians Flee Syria To Montreal, Sean A. Shoemaker

Capstones

Since 2012, the Armenian community in Syria has sought refuge in Montreal, less than one hundred years since they left their homes and relocated to Syria as a result of the Armenian genocide that took place in 1915.

https://seanshoemaker.exposure.co/displaced-once-more

Mental Hell, Jesenia De Moya, Hanaa' Tameez, Maritza Villela

Capstones

Mental Hell explores how difficult it is for low-income Latinos in New York City to access mental health care. Through explanations from experts and the personal stories of three Latinas New Yorkers who have gone through the process of trying to get the care they need, the story guides the reader through the many roadblocks this demographic encounters specifically under the insurance of Medicaid.

This is an extremely important topic that affects many New Yorkers, and we believe something needs to be done to make this type of healthcare more accessible for Latinos. New York City has a very high …

The Unspoken Truth, Cherese Butler

Capstones

This documentary aspires to inform the public about the discrimination dark-skinned black women face within the entertainment and beauty industry. The census has predicted the United States of America will get more brown, but dark-skinned black women still feel underrepresented in the media. I decided to show my journey to confidence in the documentary in addition, to the process of figuring out how dark-skinned women can gain more exposure in these industries. Over the course of 10 months, I interviewed dark-skinned women in the beauty and entertainment industry, as well as women in other professions to find out how years …

Detrás De La Industria De Heroína Del Bronx, La Sede Central Del Tráfico En El Noreste, Monica Cordero, Constanza Gallardo, Maria Camila Montañez, Joaquín Torres

Capstones

El proyecto muestra cómo la heroína llega de México al Bronx a través de los casos judiciales de los personajes que componen la cadena de distribución de la droga.

https://monicacorderosancho.github.io

Palm Papers, Nicole Rothwell

Capstones

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) came into possession of a secret dataset of property owners of the Palm Islands, the elite high-end artificial islands on the coast of Dubai.

With over 250 neighborhoods on Dubai’s waterfront, a group of journalists around the world has been investigating who these individuals are that can afford the posh and pricey real estate. While most fall into the uber-rich category, some also have corrupt to criminal backgrounds leading to questions such as if the Palm Islands are truly a real-estate paradise, or instead a refuge for the corrupt.

The task for …

Food Plight, Pauliina Siniauer, Rahimon Nasa, Lizeth Beltran, Jeremy Ibarra

Capstones

At Public School 398 in East Flatbush, elementary school children on March 20 were offered a lunch of beef patties, zucchini and pears.

A city health inspector found conditions were not appetizing: in the cafeteria and kitchen, the inspector spotted live roaches and close to 600 fresh mice droppings, ample evidence of rodent infestation – all conditions primed to cause illness.

http://foodplight.nycitynewsservice.com/home/

Road Dust Correlated With Decreased Reproduction Of The Endangered Utah Shrub Hesperidanthus Suffrutescens, Matthew B. Lewis, Eugene W. Schupp, Thomas A. Monaco

Western North American Naturalist

Roads associated with energy development have fragmented much of the Uinta Basin, the Colorado Plateau in general, and other areas of western North America. Beyond reducing available habitat, spreading exotic species, and creating barriers to dispersal, unpaved roads also increase dust loads on plants and pollinators, which may reduce plant growth and reproduction. We studied the effects of an unpaved road on reproduction of an endangered Utah endemic shrub. We measured the size and reproductive output of 156 plants and the dust deposition in plots at increasing distances from the road. We also hand outcrossed 240 flowers from 80 plants …

The Common Lot Of Nature: The Stoic Concept Of Death In The Writings Of St. Ambrose, Nathan Michael Falls Hall

Master's Theses

The Common Lot of Nature is a comparative analysis which questions the completeness of St. Ambrose’s Christian faith. The comparison focuses specifically on notions of death, and how one should deal with its presence in one’s life. This emphasis was chosen because Ambrose was a Christian bishop who was heavily influenced by Stoicism, and these two worldviews held contrasting beliefs on how death fits into the lives of human beings. The paper begins with an outline of other research regarding Stoicism or its potential connections with Christianity. The following two sections discuss how Stoics and 4th century Christians conceptualized death …

Traditional Ecological Knowledge In Collaborative Forest Restoration In The Sierra Nevada, Michael Boero

Master's Theses

Forest restoration in the Sierra Nevada is receiving increased attention due to climate change, increasing populations in the wildland-urban interface, and the historical mismanagement of some forests, evidenced in part by the increasing frequency and severity of wildfires in recent years. In response to an urgency to implement restoration in the absence of consensus on the best ways to proceed, public land managers practice collaborative management approaches to ameliorate antagonism between stakeholders and allow restoration projects to proceed when agreement is difficult to achieve. Stakeholders often include representatives from local community groups, environmental organizations, private industry, and—notably—tribal groups, who hold …

Geophysical Characterization Of A Rare Earth Element Enriched Carbonatite Terrane At Mountain Pass, California Eastern Mojave Desert, Kevin Denton

Master's Theses

Mountain Pass, California, located in the eastern Mojave Desert, hosts one of the world's richest rare earth element (REE) deposits. The REE-rich rocks occur in a 2.5 km- wide, north-northwest trending zone of Mesoproterozoic (1.4–1.42 Ga) stocks and dikes, which intrude a larger Paleoproterozoic (1.7 Ga) schist-gneiss terrane that extends ~10 km southward from Clark Mountain to the Mescal Range. Several REE-enriched bodies make up the Mountain Pass intrusive suite including shonkinite, syenite, and granite comprising an ultrapotassic intrusive suite and the Sulphide Queen carbonatite body.

Two-dimensional modeling of gravity, magnetic, and electrical resistivity data reveals that the Mountain Pass …

Hmong In America: An Emergence Of The American Identity, Nkauj Hli Melinda Lo

Master's Theses

The historical background of the Hmong ethnic group and immigration in regards to how the emergence of the American identity has impacted their cultural identity is examined in this thesis. A qualitative study was conducted to better understand the impacts of immigration and the reasons that younger generations have pushed to be one with the American identity. Drawing upon 10 in-depth interviews of second-generation children of Hmong immigrants, the findings show that the Hmong identity has lost its preservation through the Hmong ethnic group’s experiences in the United States. The researcher found that the American identity affects the Hmong cultural …

A Full Factorial Analysis Of Polymerization Conditions Of Sodium Alginate Beads To Determine The Effect On Diffusivity And Concentration Limit Of Tryptophan And Glucose, Allison Schulkins

Master's Theses

The purpose of this work is to develop an experimental setup with associated mathematical analysis to analyze the changes in diffusivity through calcium alginate gel beads made under different polymerization conditions. The diffusivity of the solutes glucose and tryptophan was calculated by measuring the concentration change over time as solute diffused out of the alginate spheres and into the bulk. The alginate beads were generated using different polymerization conditions following a two-level, three-factor, full-factorial matrix with alginate concentration, cross-linker concentration, and cross-linking time as the factors. The diffusivities showed variations between different conditions, which were analyzed to determine the main …

Developmental Effects Of Nicotine Exposure In Drosophila Melanogaster, Lisa Janet Wong

Master's Theses

Approximately 12%-20% of pregnant women smoke at some point during pregnancy, and 10% of pregnant women are reported to have smoked during the last 3 months of pregnancy. Smoking during pregnancy leads to developmental health risks for the fetus and child, including increased mortality, low birth weight, and developmental delays. The direct molecular targets of nicotine are nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) due to the similarities in structure between nicotine and acetylcholine. However, in many cases, it remains unclear what molecular events downstream of nAChRs lead to the deleterious effects of nicotine on development. We have established Drosophila melanogaster as a …

Preparation And Characterization Of A (Viologen) Containing Main Chain Peg-Carbon Nanotubes Phase For Hybrid Supercapacitor Application, Kanishka Rana

Master's Theses

Supercapacitors (SCs) and batteries are recognized as the two most important electrical energy storage devices. SCs have some distinct advantages such as high-power density and long cycle life when compared to batteries. However, they have yet to match the energy densities of batteries. In an effort to improve the energy density of SCs, a hybrid supercapacitor was developed using a pair of single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes and two polyethylene glycol (PEG-400) gel-polymer electrolytes (GPEs) containing redox additives of viologen (V) and ferrocene dicarboxylic acid (Fc), respectively. The introduction of V and Fc, was expected to improve the energy performance of …

Examining The Role Of Arts Education Partnerships In Sustaining Arts Programs In California Elementary Schools, Marie-Helene Bauguil

Dissertations

This study investigated three arts education partnerships in California elementary schools. The research questions that guided the inquiry were exploratory in nature and intended to reveal the day-to-day functioning of these partnerships, the challenges they faced, and the factors that contributed to their success, through the recounted experiences of the various institutional actors involved. The participants (n=21) comprised school principals and teachers, arts organizations administrative staff, and teaching artists. Qualitative inquiry methods (in-person interviews, classroom observations, and review of relevant documents) were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that the schools’ administrators and faculty appreciated the arts residencies, …

Latino Male College Students' Identities, Psychological Stress, And Coping Mechanisms, Ana E. Ramirez

Dissertations

Latino male college students’ identities impact their personal experiences, academic achievement, and well-being. This qualitative study uses a narrative inquiry approach to research Latino male college students’ racial and ethnic, gender, and academic identities and to investigate how these identities impact their psychological stress and the coping mechanisms they implement to manage their stress. Latino males undergo an identity development in which they engage in negotiating their gender identities in order to prioritize higher education academic requirements. When Latino males are determined to achieve a college degree, they are able to adjust their familism gender role expectations and shift their …

Reduce The Incidence Of Pressure Ulcer In The Rehabilitation Unit, Harkanwal Sandhu

Master's Projects and Capstones

Reduce the Incidence of Pressure Ulcer in the Rehabilitation Unit

Abstract

Pressure ulcers have been a concern for the population in the healthcare setting. The purpose of this evidence-based practice was to determine if the implementation of pressure ulcer reduction brochures, along with staff education, reduces the incidence of pressure ulcers in the rehabilitation unit. The CNL Internship Project aims to improve patient care by reducing the incidence of pressure ulcers by 50 percent in the rehabilitation unit by the end of March 2018, by creating educational brochures to continue educating the staff regarding pressure ulcer reduction. The site for …

Reducing Turnover Time To Improve Efficiency In The Operating Room, Myrna Jafari

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to improve efficiency by reducing turnover time in the operating room (OR) that can consequently enhance patients’ and physicians’ satisfaction, promote teamwork, and decrease the cost of operating room delays. The increasing trend of turnover time (TOT) requires attention for microsystem improvement in the OR of Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. The intervention to improve efficiency is to educate the OR team members on roles and responsibilities to establish a standard workflow which can promote accountability and teamwork during the turnover process. Havelock’s theory of change is used as a framework for the action …

Improving Nurses' Proficiency And Confidence In The Use Of Aromatherapy For Patients In The Hospice Setting, Erika Bigwood-Keaton

Master's Projects and Capstones

The Institute of Medicine noted patient centered care as one of the six priority areas of improvement for the U.S. healthcare system. Recognizing that patients in hospice require specialized care to address the physical, emotional and spiritual needs that are associated with a terminal illness, the focus of this project is to improve the hospice nurses’ knowledge of and confidence in the use of aromatherapy for symptom management. There is recognition within the field of healthcare that patients are interested in having options for treatment. With little to no side effects, aromatherapy has been shown to be an effective alternative …

Saving The Brain Matter(S): Improving Stroke Outcomes Utilizing A Direct To Ct Workflow, Robert Schambach

Master's Projects and Capstones

Saving the Brain Matter(s): Improving Stroke Outcomes Utilizing a Direct to CT Workflow was a project implemented to improve outcomes for acute ischemic stroke patients arriving at a rural emergency department. The project focused on a revision of the emergency department workflow for acute ischemic stroke patients with an aim of lowering the door to needle time to under sixty minutes. An interdisciplinary team used lean methodology and the PDCA cycle to examine and revise the workflow. The workflow was revised to eliminate testing no longer required under the national clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of ischemic stroke. Within …

Pregnancy Loss In The Emergency Department, Gudrun Reiterhiltebrand

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

The aim of this project is to improve the care for patients experiencing pregnancy loss in the emergency department (ED). Objectives are to enhance understanding of staff about the patients’ experience and their knowledge on how to best care for emotional needs, thus improving quality of patient care, work satisfaction, knowledge, confidence and comfort levels, while decreasing experienced stress. The project was implemented in a midsized community hospital with 117 beds, which discharged 74 patients with “interrupted pregnancies” over the previous year from the ED. The project was directed toward nurses, doctors, care partners, chaplains, and social workers. The …

Data Aggregation Reporting Tool For Implementation In Home Health Fall Reduction Program, Jose Alberto Cruz

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

Falls are a major preventable problem in healthcare that affects people of all ages but disproportionately affects the frail and elderly. Fall reduction programs play a significant role in reducing falls and fall related injuries and are a critical component in Home Health settings. This project takes place in a home health and hospice services agency. The purpose of the project consisted of aggregating fall data for benchmarking metrics to bring the agency’s Fall Reduction Program closer to compliance with state and national fall prevention guidelines. Two hundred and three fall event reports were analyzed and a problem arose …

A Roadmap For The Journey Home - A Supplemental Tool Guiding Patients From Hospital To Home, Michelle Basco

Master's Projects and Capstones

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) have recognized readmission rates as a public health problem. CMS incentivizes hospitals to reduce readmission rates and reduce payments for hospitals with high readmission rates (Berry et al., 2013). Patient education and discharge planning are associated with decreased readmission rates. I gained fieldwork experience at Children’s Health System of Texas in Dallas. Children’s Health, a pediatric non-profit, is the 8th largest pediatric health care provider in the U.S. Prior to discharge patient education occurs on topics related to their diagnosis, plus patients are provided discharge instructions including their diagnosis, medications, and simple instructions for …

Nonprofit Hiring And Retention Practices And The Representation Of Women Of Color In Museum Leadership, Breanne Batara

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

This museum studies capstone project centers on the nonprofit hiring and retention practices with an emphasis on the lack of representation of women of color in museum leadership. The literature review encompasses peer-reviewed literature on nonprofit leadership and management and peer-reviewed literature from the museum field as well as secondary sources that encapsulate anecdotal sentiments on this issue. I propose a comprehensive recruiting program that would take place in museums in Oakland, California as one step to attracting people of color, and specifically women, to the museum field.

Keywords: Diversity, Gender, Hiring, Human Resource Management, HRM, Inclusion, Minority, Museum …

Improving Early Sepsis Identification On Inpatient Units, Hannah Pari

Master's Projects and Capstones

Sepsis is a life threatening medical emergency that if left untreated could ultimately lead to death. It is defined as the body’s extreme response to infection which can rapidly worsen if not identified and managed quickly. As sepsis worsens, it leads to extended hospital stays, poor patient prognoses and increased hospital costs. In an effort to combat these negative outcomes, efficient protocols must be implemented hospital wide. A 5 P’s microsystem assessment was preformed to assess the purpose, patients, professionals, processes and patterns. Additionally, assessments were conducted to collect baseline nursing knowledge regarding sepsis criteria, treatment, and hospital protocol. A …