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Full Issue, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

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El Camino Real, From Old Trails To Modern Highways 1890-1945, Timothy Ross Reed

History Theses - Archive

An examination of El Camino Real's development and importance in twentieth century Texas.

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Diversity Matters: The Effect Of Campus Racial Diversity And Cultural Competence On Job Choice, Jillian Daugherty

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

This study investigated the effect of campus racial diversity and level of cultural competence on students’ post-graduate job choices. Two methods were used to answer the research question: 1) a survey of undergraduate students at two of the most diverse and two of the least diverse Texas public universities and 2) a review of relevant scholarly Management literature. The analysis revealed the diversity of the university was an important consideration for students when choosing their post-graduate job. Similarly, analysis revealed cultural competence is an additional indicator of students’ desire for diversity during their job search. These revelations suggest interacting with …

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Adolescent Birth Expectations And Psychological Birth Trauma: A Mixed Method Approach, Faith Akinmade

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Published research often describes risk factors for birth trauma among adult populations yet risks for trauma and stress disorders have been found to be higher in adolescents. The aim of this study was to explore birth expectations among a diverse group of low-income adolescents and determine if unmet birth expectations correlated with psychological birth trauma, and to see if younger age (13-16) adolescents held different expectations of birth than older age adolescents (17-19). The Impact of Event Scale (IES) was used to measure psychological birth trauma, and written narratives reflected adolescents’ expectations. Results indicated that birth expectations were not found …

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Remote Sensing Of Soil Moisture Content, Susav Shrestha

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Ex-situ measurement systems for dynamic soil properties have been well studied over the years; however, they require physical extraction of soil which is an often laborious and undesirable task. A wireless remote sensing unit consisting of two stainless-steel probes were studied to correlate the changes in the input impedance to the soil moisture content. Theoretical simulations of this design were performed by modelling the soil using the complex dielectric permittivity and by using electromagnetic transmission line theory to compute the optimal spacing, length, and frequency of operation. The analysis of the simulated results shows that a design with 50 cm …

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Electrochemical And Photoelectrochemical Properties Of Oxide And Chalcogenide Semiconductors, Farinaz Firouzan

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting via inorganic semiconductors has shown interest in technical applications such as harvesting sunlight as sustainable fuels. Chalcogen-based (S, Se, Te) semiconductors are important in numerous technology applications especially related to photovoltaic solar conversion, fuel cells, hydrogen generation etc. On the other hand, oxide semiconductors are great candidates due to their unique properties namely electrolyte stability, a wide range of bandgaps and easy access. In this vein, we investigated the quaternary metal chalcogenide, Ca(La1−xCex)2S4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) photoelectrochemical behavior in an aqueous redox electrolyte. These solid solution series were synthesized in Prof. Macaluso’s laboratory by …

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Heterogeneous Transcoding For Next Generation Multimedia Video Codecs For Efficient Communication, Shreyanka Subbarayappa

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Innovations in the communication systems and technology are growing tremendously and the growth seen is unimaginable in the last forty years. In multimedia communication systems, technology has transformed from analog television to digital television in the video domain. Mobile phones are known as smart phones as they are used, not only to make voice calls, but also used to send emails, video calls, transfer data, GPS, taking pictures and so on. Due to the wide spread user applications, compression on data becomes important to save system resources. Video has occupied 75% of major traffic of data transfer and is expected …

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Android Application To Alleviate Stress In Alzheimer Caregivers. An 'Invisible' Crisis: Addressing The Neglect Of Mental Health Burdens In Alzheimer's Caregivers, Chidochashe Pasipanodya

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease characterized by a gradual loss in memory, thinking skills, and the ability to carry out simple tasks. As a result, patients require caregivers to play a critical role by managing household tasks, aiding in personal care, and performing medical procedures. Caregivers often balance family life and/or a career while averaging between 14- 34 hours weekly on patients. This develops into high levels of depression, anxiety, and low quality of life. Limited resources have left this demographic to suffer alone while bearing the burden of caring for a loved one. A mobile application was created to …

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Age And Modernity: The History Of The Modern Art Museum Of Fort Worth, Jessica Costa

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is the oldest art museum in Texas. As such, it has a rich history that deserves to be explored. Photographs, newspapers, articles, videos, and books were analyzed to piece together the full story. Chartered in 1892 and opened in 1901 as the Carnegie Public Library Art Gallery, the museum changed names five times before it became The Modern in 1987, and currently focuses on art from World War II to the present. The growth of the museum was influenced by its physical location within the cultural district and the two other art museums …

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Variances Of Pro-Phenol Oxidases In The Melanin Synthesis Cascade Between Human And Cnidarian Species By Using Cassiopea Xamachana, Ivan Ponce

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

With the rise of global temperatures, cnidarians are becoming more susceptible to disease within oceanic environments. Cnidarians rely on innate immunity through the melanin synthesis cascade using the pro-phenol oxidase (PPO) “tyrosinase” to combat pathogens. Although the function of vertebrae PPO immune response is well annotated, it is tragically used as a cascade model to understand cnidarian immunity. This study focuses on the relationship between cnidarian, utilizing Cassiopea xamachana, and human melanin synthesis cascades. Bioinformatic programs such as Composition Profiler, Mega-X, SWISS-MODEL, and PFAM were used to analyze these species’ tyrosinases. The data show there were major differences between the …

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Emergency Alerts And The Application Of Location Sharing, Martha Taffa

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

With the advancement in technology, a lot of work has been done for the welfare and betterment of people globally. Nevertheless, there are not as many systems implemented to inform deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) people when an emergency alert is going off, or when a similar situation is taking place. This project is about the implementation of a mobile app that gives different pop-up alerts when detecting emergency sounds. The paper mainly focuses on the implementation of the audio classifier and the feature that lets a user share their location with family and friends. The Google Maps application …

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Mr-Compatibility Of An Isometric/ Dynamic Plantarflexion Ergometer, Ramtin Behbahan

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Plantarflexion Ergometry (PE), in conjunction with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), has shown to be a useful technique in the research and study of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) in patients' extremities. A number of studies have conducted PE experiments with favorable results. However, the devices reviewed lack the MRI compatibility option. They are often not designed to measure angular displacement, which accounts as the displacement variable within the calculated torque and work function. In this research, a fully MRI compatible PE was constructed using commercially available parts. To reduce interference and imaging noise during MRI PE, RF (Radio Frequency), magnetic shielding …

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Principles, Design, Fabrication, And Characterization Of Subwavelength Periodic Resonant Metasurfaces, Hafez Hemmati

Material Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Since the emergence of diffraction gratings containing periodic unit cells, innumerable advances in theoretical studies and practical applications have emerged. Recently, these classic structures have been categorized as subsets of “meta-surfaces” or “meta-materials” in which periodically aligned wavelength-scale features manipulate all key properties of the electromagnetic waves in a desired manner for a wide variety of applications. This includes manipulating of amplitude, phase, spectral distribution, polarization state, and local mode structure of light in the various available spectral expressions. Among the significant characteristic properties of metasurfaces is the coupling of incident light to laterally propagating leaky Bloch modes in the …

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Adult Literacy In The United States: Comparative Study Of Immigrant And American-Born Adults, Adam Keith Stein

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Despite its status as a wealthy, developed nation, the United States is plagued by widespread deficiencies in adult literacy. The problem is quite severe among individuals who were born in country, yet the situation for the nation’s immigrant population is nothing short of alarming. Using the U.S. portion of the data set for the international 2012/2014 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), the study explores the impact of everyday practice on the development of literacy skills among adults aged 16 to 74. Where other studies typically focus on the literacy crisis among America’s school-age children, the present …

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Mining For Gold: Reimagining The Role Of Curricular Texts In Writing Instruction, Carrigan Price

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Secondary schools in northern Utah frequently combine literature and composition studies into a single English Language Arts course, limiting the time English teachers have to teach the skills and content important to both. Literature and reading often overshadow writing instruction in this situation, leading to concentrated writing instruction dependent on pre-made writing curriculum and texts. The way curricular materials used during writing instruction in ELA courses present the purpose of writing, the process of writing, and the identity of writers can impact student learning and academic identity in the short- and long-term. A rhetorical analysis, looking specifically at the writing …

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Capacity Building: A Study Of Career Academies And Student Career Self-Efficacy., Shawn Timothy Hinds Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The phrase “College and Career Readiness” echoes throughout the halls of schools and districts across the United States. Politicians pass legislation aimed at ensuring the readiness of every student graduating from high school. Despite these efforts, the United States is falling further behind in a global race for economic wellbeing and academic preparedness based on one of the most respected global measures of student achievement, the Programme for International Student Assessment (Murphy & Adams, 1998; Tucker, 2016). Even as the social fabric of the country changes and the number of Students of Color and students in poverty increase, there have …

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Perceptions Of Executive Functions And Self-Care Actions In Major Depressive Disorder., Melanie G. Walters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation encompasses a study of the effect of impaired executive functions on decision-making and self-care of depressive illness. The first chapter provides an introduction and summarizes the body of literature on the executive functions and its association with depressive symptoms. The second chapter contains the second of two systematic reviews which examines conceptualizations of executive functions, classical and current measures used to assess the executive functions, and challenges and limitations related to current methods of assessment. The third chapter describes the development of a vignette technique and its use in a study to examine the association of depressive symptoms …

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Demographics, Accuracy, And Impact Of Feed Laboratories In The United States, Jerald H. Severe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Feed analysis is very important to modern society. In the United States feed analysis is used to optimize production of food animals. Feed analysis is also used as a tool to place value on crops. As important as feed analysis is to society, little research has been done that describes which feed laboratories are the most popular and why people use them. It has been thought by some patrons that different results from the same feed sample are obtained by different laboratories. Is this true? If so, what is the effect on those that use feed laboratories to produce animals, …

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A Phenomenological Study Of Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Students In The Age Of Kindergarten Readiness., Adam Nelson Stephens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Kindergarten has changed dramatically from a play-based, social experience a generation ago to the literacy- and numeracy-based curricula of today. With this shift in academic expectations, children now take a kindergarten readiness assessment at the beginning of the school year to determine their likelihood of success based on their pre-kindergarten preparation. While previous studies have examined teachers’ perceptions of current kindergarten practices, expectations, and students, few use teachers’ descriptions as the data (Abry et al., 2015; Hustedt et al., 2018). This phenomenological study reports how kindergarten teachers at three Central Kentucky elementary schools describe their attitudes about their own kindergarten …

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Overcoming The Myth Of The Contemporary “Starving Artist”: An Exploration Into The Fusion And Viability Of A 21st-Century Career In Art And Design, Miranda M. Myles Jackson

Masters Theses

This research explores the myth of the “starving artist” surrounding the pursuit of a career in the arts. Artists are often dubbed as starving due to the pre-conceived notion that careers in art do not provide longevity or financial stability. Due to this stigma, budding creatives are often dissuaded at home, school, or both from pursuing a career doing what they love. Arts programs are often cut and or remain underfunded, mainly due to this biased perception. Research indicates that careers in the arts have expanded exponentially due to its merge with various fields. According to both the STEM vs. …

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Nexgen Create: Graphic Design Interface, Mary Kate Elizabeth Morgan

Masters Theses

Students today do not have many options for college or career preparation in the artistic or creative fields. There are many options when it comes to creative careers that students and parents do not know about. There were 266,300 graphic designers recorded in the US in 2019. Based on the additional graphic designers entering the field and those retiring, in the next 10 years, it is expected that the US will need 16,700 new graphic designers to fill those positions. (See Graphic Designer Overview) This project focuses on teaching the next generation skills in graphic design to apply to college …

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Christmas In The Lutheran Tradition: A Worship Service Of Music And The Word, Brian E. White

Masters Theses

Christmas in the Lutheran Tradition is a worship ministry project originally designed to fulfill the desire for a Christmas Cantata with a focus on the Lutheran love of music as part of worship service. The thesis includes discussions about the early origins of the Christmas celebration and Martin Luther’s incorporation of congregational singing as part of worship service. The thesis details the author’s original concept and the multiple alterations that became necessary as the community, state and nation continued to struggle with the Covid-19 pandemic in the year 2020. The thesis briefly discusses the North Dakota responses to the increasing …

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Staves & Stones: The Truth Of Runic Tradition, Josiah John Duff

Masters Theses

The research problem and task for this thesis was in the analysis of the Old Norse Futhark, or written runic language and how it has been represented through history. In order to educate the reader with a greater understanding and put the runes in context, the runes are analyzed thoroughly before being compared and contrasted to other runic systems that have been represented in modern media. The objective being to identify these similarities and differences in each language and maintain a consistent criteria to measure each language, via original use, design and form, and in-mythos development. Using this criteria and …

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Disservice: Disabled Library Staff And Service Expectations, Kelsey George

Library Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

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Designing A Collaborative Learning Experience Around The Framework, Samantha Godbey, Xan Y. Goodman

Library Faculty Research

In late 2015, we presented a three-hour workshop on the nascent ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education at the European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL) in Tallinn, Estonia,1 after which we were approached about preparing a more in-depth learning experience on the Framework for a group of international librarians. These librarians were part of the AMICAL Consortium, a consortium of twenty-nine liberal arts institutions in Europe, Asia, and Africa. At this point, we had already led several active learning–filled workshops on the Framework, including the one at ECIL. We were also working on a coedited book on the …

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Improving Suicide Screening And Safety Plan Documentation Rates In Behavioral Health Clinics, Brandi Hrasdzira

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States with over 47,000 people dying in 2017 from suicide alone (NIMH, 2019). In the United States, one in three people who die by suicide were seen by a behavioral health provider within the same year (McCabe et al., 2018). The purpose of this project was to determine if suicide screenings and safety plans are being completed and documented properly; how many patients are refusing to complete the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and is there a pattern present in these patients. Objectives are to improve the rates of suicide …

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Improving Colorectal Cancer Screening And Testing In A Primary Care Clinic, Leslie Michelle Dubois

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide (World Health Organization, 2019a). In the United States, CRC was the fourth most common cancer in 2016 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019a). The American Cancer Society (2020a) estimated that there will be 147,950 estimated new cases and 53,200 estimated deaths of CRC in the U.S. in 2020. The purpose of the project was to improve CRC screening completion rates and follow up referrals from 27.5% to 35% for adult patients, 50-75 years of age, within a family medicine clinic …

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Patient-Centered Implementation Of Statin Therapy In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, Giovanna P. Favarato

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Heart disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Americans with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The American Diabetes Association recommends statins and lifestyle modifications for all patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus for the prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events. A patient-centered approach to primary prevention is encouraged, yet there are no specific instructions regarding implementation. The Statin Choice Decision Aid is a tool designed to facilitate shared decision-making between the patient and the provider in the clinical setting. The 2018 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for the primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease for patients with …

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Increasing Adherence To Measurement-Based Depression Management In Primary Care, Renad Saadat

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Background and Review of Literature. Approximately 11 million Americans 18 years or older experienced a severe symptom of depression leading to impairment in 2017. The severity of depressive symptoms is often miscalculated in primary care as measurement-based tools for the diagnosis and ongoing reassessment varies. Purpose. The purpose of the project was to increase provider adherence in using the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for ongoing evaluation of the severity of depressive symptoms in patients with depression at a primary care clinic in San Antonio, Texas. Objectives. The main objective of this Doctor of Nursing Practice project is …

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Blackness As Fighting Words, Etienne C. Toussaint

Faculty Publications

The resurgence of worldwide protests by activists of the Movement for Black Lives (BLM) has ushered a global reckoning with the meaning of this generation’s rallying cry – “Black Lives Matter.” As citizens emblazon their streets with this expression in massive artistic murals, the Trump administration has responded with the militarized policing of non-violent public demonstrations, revealing not merely a disregard for public safety, but far worse, a concerted dismantling of protestors’ First Amendment rights. Nevertheless, BLM protests have persisted. Accordingly, this Essay considers the implications of this generation’s acclamation of Black humanity amidst the social tensions exposed during the …

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Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Full Issue, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

El Camino Real, From Old Trails To Modern Highways 1890-1945, Timothy Ross Reed

History Theses - Archive

Diversity Matters: The Effect Of Campus Racial Diversity And Cultural Competence On Job Choice, Jillian Daugherty

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Adolescent Birth Expectations And Psychological Birth Trauma: A Mixed Method Approach, Faith Akinmade

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Remote Sensing Of Soil Moisture Content, Susav Shrestha

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Electrochemical And Photoelectrochemical Properties Of Oxide And Chalcogenide Semiconductors, Farinaz Firouzan

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Heterogeneous Transcoding For Next Generation Multimedia Video Codecs For Efficient Communication, Shreyanka Subbarayappa

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Android Application To Alleviate Stress In Alzheimer Caregivers. An 'Invisible' Crisis: Addressing The Neglect Of Mental Health Burdens In Alzheimer's Caregivers, Chidochashe Pasipanodya

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Age And Modernity: The History Of The Modern Art Museum Of Fort Worth, Jessica Costa

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Variances Of Pro-Phenol Oxidases In The Melanin Synthesis Cascade Between Human And Cnidarian Species By Using Cassiopea Xamachana, Ivan Ponce

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Emergency Alerts And The Application Of Location Sharing, Martha Taffa

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Mr-Compatibility Of An Isometric/ Dynamic Plantarflexion Ergometer, Ramtin Behbahan

2020 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Principles, Design, Fabrication, And Characterization Of Subwavelength Periodic Resonant Metasurfaces, Hafez Hemmati

Material Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Adult Literacy In The United States: Comparative Study Of Immigrant And American-Born Adults, Adam Keith Stein

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Mining For Gold: Reimagining The Role Of Curricular Texts In Writing Instruction, Carrigan Price

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Capacity Building: A Study Of Career Academies And Student Career Self-Efficacy., Shawn Timothy Hinds Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Perceptions Of Executive Functions And Self-Care Actions In Major Depressive Disorder., Melanie G. Walters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Demographics, Accuracy, And Impact Of Feed Laboratories In The United States, Jerald H. Severe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A Phenomenological Study Of Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Students In The Age Of Kindergarten Readiness., Adam Nelson Stephens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Overcoming The Myth Of The Contemporary “Starving Artist”: An Exploration Into The Fusion And Viability Of A 21st-Century Career In Art And Design, Miranda M. Myles Jackson

Masters Theses

Nexgen Create: Graphic Design Interface, Mary Kate Elizabeth Morgan

Masters Theses

Christmas In The Lutheran Tradition: A Worship Service Of Music And The Word, Brian E. White

Masters Theses

Staves & Stones: The Truth Of Runic Tradition, Josiah John Duff

Masters Theses

Disservice: Disabled Library Staff And Service Expectations, Kelsey George

Library Faculty Research

Designing A Collaborative Learning Experience Around The Framework, Samantha Godbey, Xan Y. Goodman

Library Faculty Research

Improving Suicide Screening And Safety Plan Documentation Rates In Behavioral Health Clinics, Brandi Hrasdzira

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Improving Colorectal Cancer Screening And Testing In A Primary Care Clinic, Leslie Michelle Dubois

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Patient-Centered Implementation Of Statin Therapy In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, Giovanna P. Favarato

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Increasing Adherence To Measurement-Based Depression Management In Primary Care, Renad Saadat

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Blackness As Fighting Words, Etienne C. Toussaint

Faculty Publications