Digital Commons Network^™

Reflections On A Career Unplanned, Robert A. Glazer

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Sometimes life takes unexpected turns. I never planned to be a marine biologist; yet, after a long and unpredictable journey, that’s exactly where I found myself. After obtaining my B.S. in Fishery Biology from Colorado State University, I found myself meandering from job to job like a golden retriever following some vague scent. At first, I was hired by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to work seasonally in Grand Teton National Park on the freshwater trout fisheries. Soon thereafter, I found myself cultivating oysters, clams, and other shellfish in California. The skills I developed there as an algologist led …

Investigating The Electrostatics Of Mucins As Key Contributors To Mucus Stasis In Cystic Fibrosis, Elex Skylar Rose

All ETDs from UAB

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, which encodes a channel responsible for the transport of chloride and bicarbonate ions across the apical cell surface. In the respiratory tract, defective CFTR results in viscous and adherent mucus that becomes static within the airway, which leads to chronic infections, progressive lung damage, and early mortality. Historically, CF mucus stasis has been attributed to significant airway dehydration; however, growing evidence has demonstrated that aberrant electrostatic properties of mucins also contribute to mucus stasis in CF. Mucins are large, polymeric glycoproteins …

International Coastal Cleanup: A Wave Of Change, Declan Ridgeway, Alexander Lavin, Julia Kruger, Luke Flajole

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2023

The Service-Learning Marine Conservation and Restoration class organized and planned an International Coastal Cleanup that was held at Canaveral National Seashore on September 23, 2023. We operated educational tables that allowed for community engagement and provided an understanding of the presence of microplastics in the ecosystem. The team created promotional posters to inform the public about the event and what would be taking place throughout the day. We shared these posters in our spheres and garnered interest from those in the UCF community and abroad. We had the opportunity to remove harmful debris throughout many crucial habitats of the Canaveral …

Theater Studies In Creative Drama - A Journey Of Transformation, Alyne S. Montenegro

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2023

The Theater Studies in Creative Drama project at UCF aimed to explore and implement Drama-Based Instruction (DBI) in education, with a specific focus on creating a lesson plan for children in hospitals. The project began by delving into the significance of play in childhood and its connection to theater. Through interdisciplinary collaboration with UCF nursing students, the team crafted a dynamic lesson plan, incorporating theatrical elements to enhance the educational experience for young patients. The To-Go Package, designed for children unable to attend in person, extended the impact of the project. The key activities involved reflection on personal experiences, connecting …

Advent Health Downtown Orlando Heroes, Madisyn M. Burchfield

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2023

My service-learning project that I partnered with Advent Health Downtown Orlando to join in accomplishing is synonymous to their mission: extending the healing ministry of Christ. While volunteering with Advent Health and the city of Orlando, I was able to work with patients from all works of life alongside the hardest working healthcare professionals that I call the heroes of downtown Orlando. The biggest act of love and support you can give to this world is serving one another with your time- which is exactly what Advent Health does. While volunteering with Advent, I was given the opportunity to shadow …

Excess Body Weight And It’S Association To Diabetes Mortality Among Florida Adults, Shivanie M. Sharma

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2023

“Excess Body Weight and Its Association to Diabetes Mortality” is a topic that has been highly studied and researched. However, there has yet been a study that looks at excess body weight and its association to Diabetes Mortality among Florida Adults. Specifically, by utilizing data from the Florida Health Charts. This includes the analyzation by Person (Florida Blacks versus Whites), Place (Florida counties), and Time (rate of diabetes mortality though the years in Florida). This study further provides information on the idea of the “obesity paradox.” But, it also sheds light on the implications and limitations based on previous epidemiological …

The Effects Of Social Media, Milo Rasmussen

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2023

In an ever evolving era of technology, the invention of social media has seen a profound impact on individual lives as it has become increasingly accessible to larger swaths of people. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (X) have enabled a sense of global connection, connecting people from all around the world. With this relatively recent invention that influences the daily lives of many people, one such population that we will delve a little more into is the consequences and affects that using social media has on the mental health/ wellbeing of people. This poster aims to understand and …

Shepherd's Hope, Rory J. Fall

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2023

I did my service learning project at a nonprofit called Shepherd’s Hope. Shepherd’s Hope works to provide free healthcare to uninsured individuals. During my time there I fulfilled the roles of the front desk. This involved me checking in and checking out patients into the online patient manager. I also helped discharge patients, giving them their paper prescriptions and notes from the doctor. While there I learned about the impact of having no insurance can have on a family, or an individual, and how stressful that can be. I also witnessed the wide range of patients that came into the …

Improving Educational Access, Quality, And Environment In Rural Intabazwe, South Africa, Divya Joshi

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2023

Despite the rapid modernization and urban development in South Africa in the 20^th and 21^st centuries, many of the country’s citizens in its rural and underdeveloped areas struggle with meeting their basic needs such as food security, sanitation, and education due to mismanagement of resources and government corruption. Through my Service-Learning Project, I aimed to try to lessen these disparities through targeting educational access, quality, and environment in the rural town of Intabazwe, South Africa. For access to education, I wanted to have a menstrual product drive since millions of South African girls miss a large part of …

Knight-Thon, Yael Litwak

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2023

Knight-Thon is something I have been passionate about since the beginning of my experience at UCF. I discovered Knight-Thon through my sister, who had been involved during her college years, and soon followed her footsteps to become involved. I discovered this passion through my sorority's team and am now serving on an Impact Team to further my time, support and involvement in Knight-Thon. I have learned so much about the operations, behind the scenes with the Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, and working and meeting the miracle families. I have loved my time getting to further my love …

Childhood Mental Health Outcomes Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: An Evidence-To-Practice Review Leona J. Keller, Ms, Atc*; Sooji M. Berthiaume, Ms, Atc†; Karis J. L, Leona J. Keller, Sooji M. Berthiaume, Karis J. Landry, Alyssa L. Bolno, Zachary K. Winkelmann

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Concussions can have lasting symptoms in children such as depression, anxiety, hyperactivity, or failure to control anger. If diminished mental health outcomes are not monitored and do not improve after concussion, children may need additional treatment as a result of sequela. The purpose of the guiding systematic review was to determine if there are increased mental health symptoms in pediatric patients who sustained a concussion as compared to pediatric patients who have not sustained a concussion. The guiding systematic review and meta-analysis authors used seven different databases for articles published from 1980 to 2020. Selected articles had mental health outcomes …

Attitudes Toward Implicit Bias Among Ncaa Medical Support Staff, B J. Warner, A P. Jacobsen, M Decker, S A. Cage

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction: Implicit biases are unconscious attitudes, emotions, or stereotypes that have the potential to negatively affect behaviors, actions, and decisions. Recent research has shown that healthcare workers do not provide equitable care to patients from different demographics. When patients are receiving different levels of care, there is a potential for different patient-related outcomes. One of their first steps in many implicit bias interventions for healthcare professionals is identifying one’s implicit bias. The purpose of this study was to describe the attitudes toward implicit bias among non-athletic training healthcare professionals who provide care to collegiate student-athletes. Methods: An electronic survey was …

Exploring English As A Foreign Language (Efl) Saudi Arabian Teachers' Perceptions Vis-A-Vis The English Education Context In Primary And Secondary Schools, Mona Abdullah A. Al Mogeerah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The education system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is given a great deal of attention by the government as it is keen to provide an educational system that caters to teacher and student needs. Because English has the potential to provide access to resources that may facilitate advancement in science and technology, it is difficult to deny or underestimate the importance of the English language in Saudi Arabia. Despite the history of EFL teaching and resources allocated to the teaching of English in Arabia, the quality of Saudi students' English language skills has raised many concerns. Saudi students currently …

Muslim Americans’ Experience Of The Pandemic At The Intersection Of History, Culture, And Gender, Enaya Othman, Lee Za Ong

Arabic Languages and Literatures

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Muslims in the U. S during the COVID-19 pandemic. Religion has been playing an important role in individuals’ experiences of the pandemic. Many studies were essays on how to utilize a theological approach to respond to and cope with the pandemic. There is limited research on the impact of how Muslim communities in the U. S responded to the pandemic, particularly from the lens of Islamic history, religious beliefs, and attitudes, and being minoritized in a predominantly Christian country. Using an oral history approach, individual virtual interviews were conducted. …

The Next Phase In Patient Safety Education: Towards A Standardized, Tools-Based Pathology Patient Safety Curriculum: A Call To Action From The Association Of Pathology Chairs' Residency Program Directors Section Training Residents In Patient Safety Workgroup, Cynthia K. Harris, Yigu Chen, Erin L. Alston, Ali Brown, Devon Chabot-Richards, Suzanne M. Dintzis, Mark L. Graber, Ronald Jackups Jr, Lesley C. Lomo, Jennifer Laudadio, Priscilla S. Markwood, Kaitlyn J. Nielson, Von Samedi, Barbara Sampson, Richard L. Haspel, Nadeem Zafar, Kathleen T. Montone, John Childs, Kristie L. White, Yael K. Heher

Pathology Research and Scholarship

Patient safety education is a mandated Common Program Requirement of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in all medical residency and fellowship programs. Although many hospitals and healthcare environments have general patient safety education tools for trainees, few to none focus on the unique training milieu of pathologists, including a mix of highly automated and manual error-prone processes, frequent multiplicity of events, and lack of direct patient relationships for error disclosure. We established a national Association of Pathology Chairs-Program Directors Section Workgroup focused on patient safety education for …

Lego And How It Represents Concepts Of Psychology, Adam Skousen

A with Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Strengths-Based Case Management With Military Veterans: Building Protective Factors Against Suicide, Meredith Wingard Lange

DSW Capstone Projects

Abstract

Veteran suicide deaths remain between 16 and 18 daily despite over two decades of research and programming focused on suicide risk identification, therapeutic intervention, and suicide prevention. As research on suicidality among veterans and active-duty military continues, so do the efforts to develop new suicide prevention plans, interventions, and programs. When does one admit that suicide prevention strategies alone are not working? This paper introduces the application of a strengths-based case management approach to mitigating suicidality using a veteran’s inherent and communal protective factors. A new approach to mitigating suicidality emerges through the in-depth analysis of existing literature, a …

Engaging Predominantly White Churches In Racial Justice Work, Christopher B. Rakestraw

DSW Capstone Projects

Over the past three years, the tragic deaths of many people of color have renewed nationwide discourse on racial injustices and racism. White churches seeking to become anti-racist are confronted with a number of obstacles. This capstone project addresses the topic of Engaging Predominantly White Churches in Racial Justice Work through three interconnected scholarly products. Each product draws from the research of sociology, psychology, social work, education, and religion to investigate a different aspect of the overarching subject.

The Systematic Literature Review examines the impact of white racial identity on the racial attitudes of Predominantly White Church (PWC) congregants. Evidence …

Treatment Of Borderline Personality Disorder: Re-Envisioned To Mitigate Stigma And Enhance Treatment Effectiveness, Abigail Lorraine Steinkamp

DSW Capstone Projects

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and the characteristics that define it are often viewed negatively by therapists and other mental health providers. Terms to describe these clients commonly include “manipulative”, “attention-seeking”, and “always in crisis.” Because of this jargon, there is a deep-set stigma that surrounds the disorder. Therapists and treating clinicians base their decisions and treatment protocol on hearsay of the disorder and already have an image of their prospective BPD client before the client enters their office. This capstone project seeks to inform clinicians about the present stigma and provides tools that are proposed to reduce stigmatizing beliefs within …

Leadership Strategies For New Supervisors On Leading A Diverse Workforce, Christie L. Watson

DSW Capstone Projects

The title leader, supervisor, or manager, alone does not describe the qualities it takes to develop a workforce that is engaged, empowered, inclusive, diverse, and psychologically safe. To retain employees, one must understand these qualities and learn how to put them into action. It is said that people spend more time at work than they do at home. According to a study completed by Andrew Naber (2021) at Gettysburg College says, on average, people spend one-third of their life at work (p. 1). Having a poor experience in the workplace leads to turnover, decreased productivity, disengaged employees, and poor customer …

Social Media Advertising: The Persuasive And Invasive Fundamentals, Madison Falvey

Honors Theses - Providence Campus

Over the past century, consumption of commodities and material goods has drastically increased. Americans today appear to consume more than they ever did in the past. This poses the question, why? What has caused society to consume habitually? Many researchers have discussed the persuasive methods used in advertising and the psychology behind consumer behavior. These researchers have primarily focused on TV commercials and newspaper advertisements. However, research has yet to dive deep into social media's role regarding conspicuous consumption. This thesis will explore how the fundamentals of social media have created the most persuasive advertising modality ever seen. This thesis …

Veteran Status Affecting Health, Brittney Landry

Honors Theses - Providence Campus

No abstract provided.

Insights On Motivation Of Tiktok Users Over 18-Years-Old Post-Completion Of Dangerous Challenges, Christine Wong

Honors Theses - Providence Campus

TikTok is known for 15 second to 10-minute videos instead of text posts with limited characters, characteristic of Twitter, and users have used the platform to share dangerous challenges or their attempts. Much research has been done on why children and adolescents participate in these challenges with few studies focusing on young adults. Here, a survey was created and advertised on well-known social media sites, seeking TikTok users over 18-years-old who participated in one or more dangerous challenge. The goal was to gain insight into the motivations for participating, so the questions regarded their experience in attempting the challenge(s). While …

Just Because We Are Black: Exploring The Impact Of Racial Trauma On African American Adults And Introducing An Approach To Assessment, Charessa L. Mcintosh

DSW Capstone Projects

Racial trauma, also referred to as race-based traumatic Stress (RBTS), is a significant problem that African Americans experience. Racial trauma refers to people of Color and Indigenous individuals' (POCI) reactions to dangerous and threatening events and real or perceived experiences of and exposure to racial discrimination. RBTS can be experienced by other racial minorities, but it is the most frequently experienced by African Americans. The origins of racial trauma include racism, exposure to racism, experiencing and witnessing physical violence, the threat of injury, and numerous other emotionally traumatic events involving race. It is not uncommon for secondary traumatic stress disorder …

Sexual Reproductive Healthcare: Reproductive Autonomy, Access Inequity And The Call For Service Expansion, Elizabeth Johnson

DSW Capstone Projects

Sexual Reproductive Healthcare (SRH) is a key component of not only women’s healthcare but healthcare for every one of every age. SRH impacts not only physical health and social emotional well-being but foundations of families, communities and society including the economic impacts and the challenges of inequity. By examining the history of sexual reproductive health care, including advances in access and subsequent barriers, funding and lack thereof, the impact bias in obtaining care and the ever-changing law, policies and regulations impacting care this Capstone highlights the current yet ever changing status of sexual reproductive health care in the United States. …

Eliminating The Stigma Surrounding Mental Illness In Healthcare Settings: Examining Provider Training Using Anti-Oppressive Instruction And Contact (Aoic) Training, Janice M. Knapp

DSW Capstone Projects

Disparities in healthcare settings for individuals with mental illness is a pervasive issue that can create dire circumstances for one’s health. However, research into ways in which to eliminate the biases and stigma that lead to these disparities has not yet been thoroughly studied. Innovative interventions using effective strategies combined with a theory such as the anti-oppressive approach are poised to address the biases and stigma that surround mental illness, thereby reducing or eliminating entirely the disparities that exist in healthcare today.

The first product is a systematic literature review that focused on primary research that evaluated the effectiveness of …

Body-Image Distress In Breast Cancer Survivors And Their Evaluation Of Medical Tattooing Following Surgery, Miranda Proctor

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

A review of the literature reveals a high incidence of body-image distress among breast cancer survivors who have undergone surgery, which is a natural response to the significant changes in their appearance. Reconstructive surgery, utilizing implants or flaps, may be employed to restore breast size and shape. Medical tattooing can simulate the nipple-areola complex and decorative appliques can conceal scars and skin color variations. Both reconstructive surgery and medical tattoos are associated with patient-reported satisfaction, yet further research is necessary to understand their combined impact on body-image distress. To investigate this, a survey was distributed among national breast cancer support …

Aadej Comm 9 1 2023

AADEJ - The Communicator

The Communicator is the official journal of the American Association of Dental Editors and Journalists (AADEJ). It is published quarterly, distributed digitally via email to members, and posted on the Association's website, AADEJ.org. Each issue includes regular updates from the editorial team and AADEJ board, as well as feature articles on current issues in the field.

Aadej Comm 9 3 2023

AADEJ - The Communicator

The Communicator is the official journal of the American Association of Dental Editors and Journalists (AADEJ). It is published quarterly, distributed digitally via email to members, and posted on the Association's website, AADEJ.org. Each issue includes regular updates from the editorial team and AADEJ board, as well as feature articles on current issues in the field.

Deep Learning Approaches For Automatic Colorization, Super-Resolution, And Representation Of Volumetric Data, Sudarshan Devkota

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This dissertation includes a collection of studies that aim to improve the way we represent and visualize volume data. The advancement of medical imaging has revolutionized healthcare, providing crucial anatomical insights for accurate diagnosis and treatment planning. Our first study introduces an innovative technique to enhance the utility of medical images, transitioning from monochromatic scans to vivid 3D representations. It presents a framework for reference-based automatic color transfer, establishing deep semantic correspondences between a colored reference image and grayscale medical scans. This methodology extends to volumetric rendering, eliminating the need for manual intervention in parameter tuning. Next, it delves into …