Digital Commons Network^™

New York's Fight For $15: Who Wins, Who Loses?, Piter Ortega

Capstones

2016-17 State Budget: A $15 minimum wage plan is passed that will increase the earnings of more than 2.1 million low-wage workers in New York.

Link to capstone:http://www.piterortegaprojects.com/minimum-wage/

The Fight Before The Fight: Weight-Cutting In Mixed Martial Arts, Michael T. Desantis

Capstones

For professional mixed martial artists, fighting may not even be the most dangerous aspect of the job. Many of these athletes consider weight-cutting to be a fight itself, one that could have deadly consequences. Fighters, coaches, doctors, nutritionists and other experts discuss the state of weight-cutting in MMA, why it's done, how it's dangerous, and the potential solutions to making it safer.

https://medium.com/@michaeltdesantis24/the-fight-before-the-fight-weight-cutting-in-mixed-martial-arts-6a920ad5e37b

The Capital Of Dying Languages, Masahiro Ogamino Mr.

Capstones

- Headline

The Capital of Dying Languages

- Reporter

Masa Oga

- Abstract

While there is no precise count, some experts believe New York is home to as many as 800 languages. New York City is definitely the capital of language density in the world, says Daniel Kaufman, an adjunct professor of linguistics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. However, he predicts that half of those 800 languages will be extinct in the near future. “We’re sitting in an endangerment hot spot where we are surrounded by languages that are not going to be around …

The Capital Of Dying Languages, Masahiro Ogamino Mr.

Capstones

- Headline

The Capital of Dying Languages

- Reporter

Masa Oga

- Abstract

While there is no precise count, some experts believe New York is home to as many as 800 languages. New York City is definitely the capital of language density in the world, says Daniel Kaufman, an adjunct professor of linguistics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. However, he predicts that half of those 800 languages will be extinct in the near future. “We’re sitting in an endangerment hot spot where we are surrounded by languages that are not going to be around …

The Cult Of Names, Shaydanay A. Urbani

Capstones

The Mormon church keeps extensive records of its members. This is a personal story about how I tried to get my record removed, 15 years after leaving the church, as well as a short history of naming, women, and theology.

The Saint Of The Sick & The Poor, Itzel Castro

Capstones

The Saint of the Sick and the Poor

One man’s mission to celebrate his Mexican village saint here in NYC, for those who can’t go back home

By Itzel Castro

New York City, United States  — Amid an altar covered with offerings of marigold flowers, stands a porcelain statue of San Lucas. Known also as “Luke the Evangelist,” the three feet tall figurine is dressed in intricately-designed vestments, made of real red silk and covered with crucifix patterns woven in gold thread. A crown on its head glimmers under the lights.

“He is the saint of the village,” said Alejandro …

Island Of Harm Reduction, Trevor T. Boyer

Capstones

New York City's Rikers Island has a medically assisted treatment (MAT) program for detainees who are addicted to opioids, providing buprenorphine or methadone. For many locked up there, though, Rikers is only a way station before a trip upstate to prison. Even now, over 30 years after its treatment program began, only six other correctional facilities in New York offer pilot opioid treatment programs, which are available only to limited segments of their respective populations.

So for those taking medication in the form or methadone or buprenorphine on Rikers Island pretrial and awaiting sentencing, they're tapered off their doses to …

From Virtual To Physical: Video Game Streaming Communities, Avery Miles

Capstones

This is an exploration of the inner lives of video game streamers, how they interact with their audiences and the social phenomenon of live streaming. It encompasses streamers, viewers, professional eSports athletes and indie game designers.

www.averykmiles.com

Art That Heals, Christina Cardona

Capstones

Beryl Brenner was a creative arts therapist for 40 years, and helped veterans heal from war traumas through art all across the city. For the past 11 years, she was at the Brooklyn Campus of the VA NY Harbor Healthcare system in Bay Ridge, where she developed the art therapy program. https://christinacardona1.wordpress.com

Telling The Good News, Allyson R. Escobar

Capstones

In light of recent clergy abuse scandals, cover-ups and leadership shake-downs, it is a divided time in the Catholic Church: but this isn’t the whole story. My final capstone project is a critical essay of how Catholicism (and religion overall) is represented in mainstream media--particularly in secular news publications and entertainment (horror films) in the United States. By examining the coverage and how conversations differ within members of the Catholic Church--from journalists and critics to active Catholics, religious men and women--this project calls for greater accountability, fairness, faith representation in all media, and the overall claim that there are Catholic …

Linda Collazo: A Bronx Aria, Jose A. Giralt

Capstones

This video project follows Linda Collazo, a mezzo-soprano from the Bronx, as she prepares for various performances during fall of 2018. She describes the training in vocals, music, and acting she undergoes in order to break into the highly competitive field of operatic singers.

https://giraltjschool.exposure.co/linda-collazo-a-bronx-aria

Dios, Drogas, Dinero: ¿QuiéN Gana Con El Traslado De Adictos De Puerto Rico A Ee.Uu.?, Claudia E. Irizarry Aponte, Eliana Y. Perez

Capstones

For the last 25 years, evangelical leaders have been shipping off opioid addicts in Puerto Rico to cities in the mainland US, mainly New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia--under the promise they’ll receive state-of-the-art rehabilitation treatment, only to end up in unregulated transitional homes and flophouses where they don’t receive proper medical care or psychotherapy. In turn, many of these unregulated transitional homes, also run by evangelical leaders, may charge Medicaid kickbacks from their “patients.”

While this so-called “air bridge” from Puerto Rico to the U.S. goes back decades, it gained momentum from 2005 to 2014, when evangelical leaders joined …

America's New Favorite Food, Laura E. Duclos, Sshiva Tejas M

Capstones

America's New Favorite Food focuses on the culinary shift the United States is making. The days of burgers and fries are dwindling and tacos are taking over. This short documentary series follows four people who hold distinctive views on Mexican cuisine. Viewers are also able to experience Mexican food in augmented reality, where they can tinker with the models via computer or phone.

LINK TO PROJECT: DuclosTejasCapstone.weebly.com

Adapting To $15: As The Minimum Wage Approaches $15 In Nyc, Business Owners Are Finding Ways To Make It Work, Alexandra Semenova, Sharif Paget

Capstones

This project examines the impact of minimum wage increases across major industries in New York City and State and concludes they have been manageable and even fueled broader economic growth. Since the incremental wage hikes were first signed into law in 2015, data and anecdotal evidence has shown business owners have been able to make it work and many of critics' concerns that the higher labor costs would lead to disemployment have been misplaced. The story provides an in-depth analysis of how restaurant and food establishments, health care and retail employers have adapted to higher labor costs by innovating their …

Climate Grief Hits The Self-Care Generation, Avichai Scher

Capstones

As the effects of climate change intensify, emotional anguish over the future of the planet is emerging. This piece looks at a 10-step program to deal with climate grief "Good Grief."

At Uplift Climate, a conference on climate change for people under 30 held annually, the creators of Good Grief presented their program. The conference focused on climate justice for Native Americans, who have been dealing with climate grief for a long time.

The setting highlighted the class divide of who is affected by climate change. The effects of climate change are now so strong, that climate grief is hitting …

Public Charge Proposal Spawns “Chilling Effect” Within Immigrant Hiv Community, Say Service Providers, Karina Hernandez

Capstones

New regulations from the Trump administration are leaving immigrants living with HIV in New York City reluctant to continue or seek treatment, according to service providers.

As The Clothing Industry Is A Major Polluter, Sustainable Fashion Is Rising, Gabe Herman

Capstones

That the fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world is one of the industry’s best-kept secrets — it uses a quarter of the chemicals produced globally, and its share of the world’s CO2 emissions is expected to rise from 2 percent to 26 percent in the next 30 years. Developing nations — where many factories are located — are most affected. Every year in Bangladesh, for example, tanneries dump enough toxic waste into rivers to fill three Olympic-sized swimming pools. Advocates and some in the fashion world are working to not only get the word out, …

Caritas Intervention To Reduce Stress And Increase Resilience Among Caregivers, Randy L. Williams Ii

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Problem

Workplace stress and burnout consistently rank among the highest concerns in surveys of caregivers. A gap analysis was conducted among a group of patient care coordinators and medical social workers. The gap analysis identified a need for tools to address stress, feelings of being overworked, and irritability.

Context

The setting is an acute care trauma facility providing care to general medical–surgical adult patients, cardiac care, pediatrics, and maternal child care. This facility exists within a larger integrated health care system, consisting of more than 20 acute care facilities in Northern California. The participants were patient care coordinators and medical …

Teamstepps: A Foundation For Shared Governance In A High-Risk Obstetrical/Neonatal Service Line, Genevieve Wright

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Abstract

Problem: Declining registered nurse (RN) engagement in the maternal child health (MCH) department, despite improvements in RN staffing, some reductions in nurse-patient ratios, the addition of support staff resources, and a focus on quality and safety.

Context: The project setting is an MCH department of a 184-bed community hospital, part of a large national organization, serving a diverse population in Northern California. The initial stakeholders included RNs, managers, and assistant managers; the team was later expanded as the project developed (see Appendix A).

Intervention: The original aim of this project was to improve nurse engagement among frontline nurses through …

Improving Management Of Obstetrical Emergencies: Using Simulation-Based Training, Amira Amatullah

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

The aim of this Executive Leadership Doctorate in Nursing Practice project was to assess the effectiveness of simulation-based training as a strategy to ensure patient safety and quality care by improving the knowledge and confidence of obstetric nursing staff. Collateral goals included the development of a simulation-based interactive training program to improve staff response to obstetric emergencies and the establishment of an Interprofessional Simulation Training Center.

The use of simulation-based training is widely accepted ans used in healthcare education. Several benefits of simulation-based training include a learner-centered approach, safe acquisition of technical skills training and development of effective communication skills. …

The Struggle Is Eternal, Joseph R. Fitzgerald

Civil Rights

Many prominent and well-known figures greatly impacted the civil rights movement, but one of the most influential and unsung leaders of that period was Gloria Richardson. As the leader of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee (CNAC), a multifaceted liberation campaign formed to target segregation and racial inequality in Cambridge, Maryland, Richardson advocated for economic justice and tactics beyond nonviolent demonstrations. Her philosophies and strategies—including her belief that black people had a right to self–defense—were adopted, often without credit, by a number of civil rights and black power leaders and activists.

The Struggle Is Eternal: Gloria Richardson and Black Liberation explores …

2018 Fall Commencement Program: Winona State University, Winona State University

WSU Commencement Programs

This is the Winona State University Fall 2017 commencement program. Commencement was on Friday, December 14, 2018.

Mineralogy, Petrology, And Geochemistry Of The Unique Silica-Rich Ungrouped Achondrite Northwest Africa 11575, Mya Ann Habermann

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

We report here on a unique, newly discovered, silica-rich ungrouped achondrite Northwest Africa 11575 (NWA 11575). NWA 11575 is one of four known silica-rich ungrouped achondrites, presenting evidence for igneous processes resulting in evolved compositions early in the history of the solar system. It is unique from the other silica-rich ungrouped achondrites in that it has pyroxene compositional trends matching those of lunar samples and martian meteorites; contains quartz and potassium feldspar; and contains oxygen, hydrogen, and chromium isotopes that are similar to those of LL chondrites. Together, these four silica-rich ungrouped achondrites provide evidence for evolved compositions resulting from …

Student Perspectives On Working In Interdisciplinary Teams To Implement Mhealth, Elina Chun

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Interprofessional education of students in healthcare professions can lead to positive outcomes for students that are unique in a university setting. The purpose of this thesis is to describe benefits and challenges students encounter when working with students of other majors. This study used a convenience sample of students working on a university project to implement mHealth. Participants responded to two surveys with quantitative and qualitative questions. Students reported greater appreciation for diversity, the necessity of communication skills, and self-awareness of their own responsibilities in a team.

Short Sleep Duration And Obesity Among Children: A Meta-Analysis, Katherine Faye Real Villar

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

This meta-analytical study examined whether there is an association between lesser sleep duration and risk of childhood obesity and to determine which gender is more common in childhood obesity.

Writing For An Audience: The Griselda Translations, Christine Houchins

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

An author’s purpose in translating a work was to shape the literary piece into a framework that would best connect with his intended audience. This essay focuses on the moral and characterization changes within the Griselda tale throughout medieval translations. Giovanni Boccaccio wrote The Decameron X, 10 highlighting the instability of his Italian vernacular in order to undermine authorial intentionality, thereby presenting his work as a matter of interpretation. Francesco Petrarch wrote the Tale of Griselda in Latin to maintain his reputation as a public intellectual with the elite and embedded a religious moral within the tale. Finally, Geoffrey Chaucer …

First-Generation Students: Who Are They? Why Are They At Risk? How Can We Promote Their Success?, Joe Cuseo

eJournal of Public Affairs

Approximately one third of all undergraduate students in the United States today are first-generation students—that is, students with parents whose highest level of education was high school. This article examines the characteristics of first-generation students, identifies reasons why they are at risk for attrition, and offers specific strategies for improving their rate of college completion.

Improving College Outcomes For First-Generation Students, Janet K. Holt, Laura B. Winter

eJournal of Public Affairs

In this article, the authors describe a multi-site case study of five 4-year postsecondary institutions in Missouri that used evidence-based strategies to support first-generation students in their efforts to persist in and complete college. In the case study, data from qualitative interviews of university administrators in academic and student support services, as well as focus groups of underrepresented students, were analyzed and coded using grounded theory. The resulting themes were compared to prior research on first-generation students, resulting in three broad areas of evidence-based practice with potential to increase college success for first-generation students. These institutional practices included providing (a) …

The First-Year Seminar: A Program Evaluation Of Students’ Public-Affairs Awareness, Yasuko Kanamori, Tracey A. Glaessgen, Jeffrey H. D. Cornelius-White

eJournal of Public Affairs

Similar to the public-welfare aim of many universities, Missouri State University (MSU) was granted a specific statewide public affairs mission in 1995 comprising three pillars: community engagement, cultural competence, and ethical leadership. Since the implementation of this mission, the university has engaged in various efforts to promote and foster public-affairs awareness among students, including through its first-year seminar (FYS). This article details a study conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the FYS in enhancing students’ public-affairs awareness. The researchers solicited input from students in the first and last weeks of their first semester at MSU using the Public Affairs Scale–Short …

Improving Nursing Communication Outcomes Through The Tell-Us Card, Brittney Pilker, Jillian Cule, Laura Le, Nina Park, Jeffrey Salao, Maricarmen Reyes

Master's Projects and Capstones

Nursing communication plays a pivotal role in patient-centered care. However, statistics have shown that failures in communication exist in more than 20% of all hospital settings (Sethi & Rani, 2017). Within the explored microsystem, a gap in patient communication was identified through the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys. Reports revealed that the microsystem was performing at 69%, which is 11% below the national average for nursing communication (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [CMS], 2018). After performing a microsystem assessment, there was a measurable communication opportunity between the patients and nurses. It was determined that …