Digital Commons Network^™

Immigration Securitization And Educational Access: The Impact Of U.S. Immigration Policy On International Students, Cossir Carter

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study examines the securitization of international students within the broader transformation of United States immigration policy from the post-9/11 era to the present administration. Following the September 11 attacks, immigration governance was increasingly reorganized under a national security framework, significantly altering the regulatory environment surrounding student visas. Subsequent policy shifts have intensified monitoring mechanisms and administrative controls that directly shape international students’ access to education and mobility. Given the sensitivity of immigration-related participation in the current political climate, this research employs qualitative policy analysis rather than direct student surveys. Under the Trump administration, this securitization intensified through stricter visa …

Findings And Recommendations From The State Of The Art (Sota) Conference On Nursing Research To Improve Veteran Outcomes, Amelia E Schlak, Sarah Krein, Laura A Petersen, David Atkins, Catherine Battaglia, Elizabeth Burkhart, Renee Colsch, Marguerite Daus, Heather Gilmartin, Nipa Kamdar, Melissa Knox, Ann Kutney-Lee, Christine M Olney, Kathryn Rugen, Tracy Weistreich, Sheila Cox Sullivan, On Behalf The Nursing Sota Planning Committee

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the largest employer of nurses in the United States, has more than 120,000 nursing personnel providing care to over 9 million Veterans across diverse settings. Despite nursing's central role in delivering and sustaining care, research on strengthening the nursing workforce and optimizing nursing practice has remained underdeveloped in VHA. To address this gap, VHA's Office of Research and Development, in partnership with the Office of Nursing Services, convened a State of the Art (SOTA) conference in November 2023 focused on nursing. The Nursing SOTA brought together nurses, researchers, operational leaders, and other stakeholders to review …

Strategies And Challenges For The Recruitment Of Young Healthy Participants In The Dietary Approaches To Longevity And Health (Dial Health) Pilot Trial, Hannah E Cabre, Courtney M Peterson, Gareth R Dutton, Kimberly L Drews, Stephanie T Broyles, Robert Dubin, Laura Q Rogers, Catherine Champagne, Dennis T Villareal, Daniel S Hsia, Leanne M Redman, Corby K Martin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Understanding the impact of nutrition on human aging requires long-term trials in young, healthy, unmedicated adults. As part of the Dietary Approaches for Longevity and Health (DiAL Health) pilot project, we evaluated strategies for recruiting this population for aging-related dietary intervention studies.

Methods: We analyzed recruitment costs to enroll 70 participants (ages 25-49, BMI 22.0-29.9 kg/m2) across two DiAL Health sites and used NHANES data (2017-March 2020) to estimate the proportion of U.S. adults meeting partial trial eligibility. Additionally, a formative study surveyed 492 U.S. adults (≥18 years) to assess interest in aging-focused dietary trials.

Results: Of 2049 applicants …

Evolving Burden Of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease And Its Complications In A Us Nationwide Healthcare System, Basim Ali, Ronald Samuel, Jennifer R Kramer, Liang Li, Xian Yu, Yumei Cao, Roxanne Desiderio, George Cholankeril, Steven M Asch, Hashem B El-Serag, Fasiha Kanwal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a growing public health problem. Measuring the burden of cirrhosis and its complications in people with MASLD is important to inform health care delivery.

Methods: We aimed to quantify the changes in the burden of MASLD-related cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a nationwide U.S. healthcare system. We used data from the Veterans Health Administration to examine temporal trends between 2010 and 2021 in the annual incidence and prevalence of cirrhosis and HCC in a large cohort of patients with MASLD, and to compare them to those in patients with hepatitis C …

Predictors Of Inpatient Rn Turnover In Rural And Urban Vha Hospitals, Katherine G Bay, Chase S Eck, Melissa K Knox, Paras Mehta, Laura A Petersen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: The rising demand for health care delivery and an aging workforce is of particular concern in rural areas, where health care access depends upon an adequate nursing workforce. To address this shortage and optimize care, it is essential to measure when registered nurses (RN) leave inpatient direct care positions (ie, inpatient RN turnover) and identify modifiable factors correlated with RN turnover.

Objectives: Apply a novel method for characterizing inpatient RN turnover to understand factors associated with variation in RNs leaving inpatient positions at rural and urban Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals.

Project design: Retrospective cohort study.

Subjects: Direct care …

Using Medication Pass Analysis To Examine Longitudinal Changes In Va Inpatient Nurse Staffing And Workload Before And Through The Covid-19 Pandemic: 2019-2022, Melissa K Knox, Chase S Eck, Lynette Dorsey, Paras D Mehta, Christine Yang, Laura A Petersen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in extended disruption to the health care system. National-level data-driven comparisons of inpatient nurse staffing and workload before and during the pandemic have been limited.

Objectives: Assess the extent to which registered nurse (RN) staffing and workload changed from prepandemic levels in a national integrated health care system.

Research design: Longitudinal descriptive analysis. Medication pass analysis using bar code medication administration data for the peak-time medication pass (PTM) assessing year-over-year changes from 2019 to 2022. To assess significance of year-over-year changes in means we used the Welch 2-sample t test.

Subjects: Staff (N=42,999) administering PTM …

Relationship Between Number Of Assigned Patients And Rn Time To Administer Medications During The Peak-Time Medication Pass, Chase S Eck, Melissa K Knox, Paras D Mehta, Christine Yang, Laura A Petersen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Inpatient nurse staffing affects patient outcomes. Less is known about the mechanism of this relationship and how lower overall staffing in a unit affects individual RN activities at the bedside.

Objectives: Estimate the relationship between the number of patients assigned to an RN and time spent on medication administration at the peak-time medication pass (PTM), a common nursing task.

Research design: Estimate the association using multivariable linear regression to adjust for patient severity and staff and unit fixed effects.

Subjects: All 9272 RNs administering medications during the PTM on 243 inpatient units in 113 VHA hospitals in 2019.

Measures: …

Anything But Endo: Diagnostic Buck-Passing In Endometriosis Diagnosis, Rita Dexter, Megan Kitts, Heather Welty, Melanie Jeske

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

People living with endometriosis, a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows elsewhere in the body, often experience prolonged diagnostic journeys because of symptom variability, normalisation of period pain and other symptoms, and lack of awareness of the condition. In this article, we analyse the endometriosis diagnostic journey through the lens of epistemic injustice. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 52 people living with endometriosis in the United States, we introduce the concept of diagnostic buck-passing to characterise the phenomenon wherein individuals who seek treatment for their symptoms end up stuck in a cycle of seeing …

The United States' Nuclear Deterrent Outlook: Strategies, Challenges, And Future Prospects, Jonathon L. Beening

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This study contends that the United States cannot sustain a credible nuclear deterrent through the mid-21st century without modernizing its aging nuclear arsenal and revising its nuclear doctrine to address emerging technological, geopolitical, and strategic threats posed by both near-peer adversaries and non-state actors. Through an examination of deterrence theory, historical developments, current force posture, modernization initiatives, doctrinal debates, counterarguments, and prospective geopolitical scenarios, this research assesses the adequacy of existing policies in maintaining strategic stability. The analysis concludes that credible deterrence in the coming decades will require integrated modernization, doctrinal clarity, and strategic adaptability to face any future threat …

Workforce Review Of Health Information Technology Associate-Degree Graduates: 2017-2024, Debra Hamada, Karima Lalani, Melanie Brodnik, Susan H Fenton, Angela Kennedy, David T Marc, Velma L Payne, Rebecca Reynolds

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The career path of associate-degree health information technology (HIT) graduates continues to change quickly as quality and payment regulations, technology requirements, and workforce expectations evolve to meet the demands of the changing health care environment. Although HIT professionals play an essential role in accuracy, regulatory compliance, and the overall function of health information systems, there is limited research describing HIT workforce trends.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used with 587 survey responses. Quantitative data were standardized by job category, including a newly developed "health information management (HIM) operations" group, and career movement was visualized using a Sankey diagram. Qualitative …

Factors Associated With Opioid And Antibiotic Prescribing At Us Academic Dental Institutions: 2011 To 2020, S Tungare, A-I Yansane, S Gantela, K K Kookal, S Mccurdy, T M Krause, S Sharma, M Walji

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: In the United States, dentists are one of the leading prescribers of opioids and antibiotics. Because dental schools are the training grounds for future dentists, it is crucial to understand how prescribing has changed and why these medications are being prescribed in academic settings.

Objectives: The objective of this research was to describe the prescribing trends and factors associated with opioid and antibiotic medication prescribing at US academic dental institutions between 2011 and 2020.

Methods: Data from electronic dental records collected through the BigMouth data repository from 9 anonymized dental institutions between 2011 and 2020 were used. Prescribing rates …

Food Delivery Services For Enhancing Participation In The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program For Women, Infants, And Children (Wic) In The United States: Bridging The Wic-Eligible Access Gap, Jingjing Gao, Muinat Abolore Idris, Lilian O Ademu, Bryan Colby Griffin, Yue Zhang, Yun Hang, Gabriela A Gallegos

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Diet-related health disparities among U.S. children persist despite the availability of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits to eligible women, infants, and children. Participation remains suboptimal: only 51.2% of eligible individuals were enrolled in 2021. Transportation and food-environment constraints pose salient barriers, especially for caregivers of infants in food deserts. Emerging online ordering and delivery options may reduce access frictions, but grocery delivery coverage is limited, and fees are often not covered by benefits.

Methods: We linked USDA Food and Nutrition Service state-level WIC participation data (November 2024 vs. September 2025) with demographic, …

Evaluating Differences In Nonsyndromic Orofacial Clefts By Infant Sex: National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2011, Victoria A Salinas, Natalie P Archer, Layla R Lustri, Katherine L Ludorf, Timothy Ihongbe, Wei Yang, Eva M Williford, Marilyn L Browne, Adrian M Michalski, Lindsay A Williams, Wendy Nembhard, Eirini Nestoridi, Gary M Shaw, Andrew F Olshan, A J Agopian, National Birth Defects Prevention Study

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To investigate nongenetic factors that may contribute to observed differences in nonsyndromic orofacial clefts by infant sex.

Study design: Using data for 1997-2011 deliveries from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, a case-control study, we separately examined associations between 23 maternal factors and cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) and cleft palate alone (CP) using multivariable logistic regression stratified by infant sex.

Results: We compared 2986 infants with CL/P and 1557 with CP to 11 271 control infants without birth defects. After adjusting for maternal age at conception and education, lower odds of nonsyndromic orofacial clefts were …

Enhancing Data Compatibility In An Evolving Landscape: Medical Cannabis And Polysubstance Use Protocols In The Phenx Toolkit, Anne Buu, Johannes Thrul, Amanda Bunting, Tamara Haegerich, Wayne Huggins, Christian Hopfer, Denise Vidot, Cataia Ives, Ryan Mcneil, Sarah Zemore, Corrie Vilsaint, Elizabeth Fallon, Christine Hill, Carol Hamilton, John Kelly

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: With increasing legalization of medical cannabis and prevalence of polysubstance use in the United States comes the need for standard psychometrically validated measures to study these substances' health effects in the population. The PhenX (consensus measures for Phenotypes and eXposures) Toolkit (www.phenxtoolkit.org) is a freely accessible catalog of recommended measurement protocols to promote data compatibility across studies, but this extensive catalog did not include measures in these important areas.

Methods: In 2024, a PhenX Working Group of experts followed a well-established consensus process to identify and recommend measurement protocols suitable for inclusion in studies on medical cannabis and polysubstance …

A Case Of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Deepa Nuthalapati, Natalie Kuo-Hsuan Yang, Rajiv Shah, Valerie Sinkler

South Atlantic Division GME Research Days 2026

No abstract provided.

An Insidious Interstice: Understanding Cognition And Language Behaviour Through The Eyes Of Juvenile Justice Professionals, Anne M. Perrotti, Allison T. Chappell, Tancy Vandecar-Burdin

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Introduction

Despite evidence suggesting language and cognition deficits are prevalent for justice involved youth, little research explores how juvenile justice personnel experience language and cognition behaviours in the youth they serve.

Aims

This qualitative study explored how juvenile justice personnel understand language and cognition skills and deficits in justice involved youth.

Methods

Twenty-two U.S. juvenile justice professionals participated in individual, semi-structured interviews. Questions focused on individual understanding of receptive language, expressive language, social communication, and cognition (i.e., problem-solving, predicting consequences and impulsiveness) in juveniles served. Using a phenomenological lens, transcripts were coded identifying themes and sub-themes of participant responses.

Results …

Successful Evangelism, Or, Life And Labors Of Rev. E. A. Fergerson, W.B. Yates

Heritage Material

No abstract provided.

Physical Activity, Telomere Length, And Cardiometabolic Syndrome In Older Women: The Cardiovascular Health Study, Jeni Page, Melissa Richard, Elizabeth Lyons, Elizabeth Baumler, M Terese Verklan, Michelle C Odden, Elizabeth Lorenzo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) affects approximately 39% of US women and increases risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke. Telomere length, a biomarker of cellular aging, is associated with CMS and may be influenced by physical activity (PA), potentially mitigating telomere shortening. Black women have higher CMS prevalence compared to white women and may exhibit distinct telomere length dynamics influenced by interactions between CMS and PA.

Methods: Data were drawn from the Cardiovascular Health Study and included black and white women who provided data on PA, CMS risk factors, and telomere length (N = 417). Linear regression models examined the …

Congenital Syphilis: From Near-Elimination To Crisis, Chad J Abresch, Irene A Stafford, Regan M Johnson, Kayode Olabanji, Ashleigh M Sutphen, Helen E Cejtin, Ashley Hoover

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This analytic essay examines the transformation of congenital syphilis (CS) in the United States from near-elimination to crisis. Drawing from the January 2025 Congenital Syphilis Summit in Atlanta, Georgia-convening public health leaders, Tribal health departments, the National Coalition of STD Directors, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts-we contrast prevention systems during near-elimination (1998-2005) with the current crisis (2018-2025). Evidence revealed how dismantling public health infrastructure produced dramatically different outcomes, with CS cases increasing 937% over the past decade and racial/ethnic disparities worsening. American Indian/Alaska Native communities face rates up to 100 times higher than White populations in some …

Contralateral Breast Cancer After Radiotherapy And Hormone Therapy In Two Cohorts Of Us Breast Cancer Survivors, Lene H S Veiga, Gretchen L Gierach, Susan A Smith, Rebecca M Howell, Matthew M Mille, Monjoy Saha, Rochelle E Curtis, Cody Ramin, Clara Bodelon, Heather Spencer Feigelson, Erin J Aiello Bowles, Diana S M Buist, Sheila Weinmann, Jacqueline B Vo, Choonsik Lee, Amy Berrington De Gonzalez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Radiotherapy increases contralateral breast cancer risk, while hormone therapy reduces it; their combined effects are unclear.

Methods: Data from two US retrospective cohort studies of 5-year breast cancer survivors (stage I-III, ages 20-84), Kaiser Permanente (KP, 1990-2012) and SEER (1990-2013), were analysed. Contralateral breast radiation doses were estimated for the KP cohort. Multivariable Poisson regression estimated relative risks (RRs) and excess relative risks per Gray (ERR/Gy), stratified by hormone therapy use.

Results: KP cohort (n = 9053) included 353 contralateral breast cancer cases (73% ER+); SEER cohort (n = 244,834) included 10,470 cases (72% ER+). Among women with ER+ …

Insulinemic And Inflammatory Dietary Patterns And Colorectal Cancer Risk: A Dietary Data Harmonization Study Of One Million Participants In The Consortium Of Metabolomics Studies (Comets), Ni Shi, Rachel Hoobler, Rhea Harewood, Amanda E Toland, Demetrius Albanes, Emmanouil Bouras, Marc J Gunter, Linda M Liao, Steven C Moore, Fulvio Ricceri, Jerome I Rotter, Rashmi Sinha, Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon, Anne Tjønneland, Alexis C Wood, Danxia Yu, Mary C Playdon, Fred K Tabung

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: Inflammatory and insulinemic dietary patterns have been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, but generalizability across diverse populations with heterogeneous food supplies and dietary behaviors has not been established.

Objectives: We harmonized disparate dietary and covariate data on a large scale to compute the reverse Empirical Dietary Index for Hyperinsulinemia (rEDIH), reverse Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Pattern (rEDIP), and Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 scores, and tested their associations with CRC risk.

Methods: We leveraged data among 501,892 women and 407,390 men from 6 cohorts across the United States (NIH-AARP, Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian, SCCS) and …

Can – And Should – The Un Charter Be Saved?, Steven Ratner

Articles

World leaders from Canada’s Mark Carney to Germany’s Friedrich Merz have announced the demise of the international rules that provided some degree of order to international relations since the Second World War.2 The immediate cause is clear to them and others – a seeming abandonment of international law, and the UN Charter in particular, by the United States government, its chief architect and advocate. The U.S. actions and rhetoric over Venezuela and Iran – wars the United States has started – as well as Greenland and Ukraine seem to have confirmed the worst about the future of international law.

Knowledge, Interest, And Willingness Of Hematologists And Oncologists To Care For Adults With Vascular Anomalies, Bryan A Sisk, Anna M Kerr, Sally Cohen-Cutler, Margaret T Lee, Katie Harmoney, Alexandra Borst, Shelley E Crary, Shelbie Fishman, Stephanie Chen, Danielle Cicka, Stephanie Milam, Christine Bereitschaft, Kristen M Sanfilippo

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Vascular anomalies (VAs) are rare diseases that cause significant morbidity. Adults with VAs struggle to access expert care. Hematologists and oncologists in adult medicine are positioned to provide expert care, but no prior studies have characterized their openness to this role.

OBJECTIVES: This study characterized the experience, confidence, willingness, and motivating factors for hematologists/oncologists to care for adults with VAs.

METHODS: We surveyed United States hematologists and oncologists in adult medicine between October 2024 and March 2025. The questionnaire assessed knowledge, experience, confidence, and willingness to care for adults with VAs, as well as open-ended questions assessing factors influencing …

Patterns, Pressures, And Pathways : An Ethnographic Study Of Discipleship In Nepali-Speaking Immigrant Churches In The United States, Ram Kumar Budhathoki

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

From Aid To Looting: Justice And Sovereignty Issues In The Ukraine–U.S. Mineral Deal, Petra Gümplova

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

This essay identifies three central moral and political issues with the the Ukraine–U.S. Mineral Deal. First, by linking financial and military assistance to access to Ukraine’s natural resources, the deal entrenches a form of resource conditionality that is highly problematic from the moral standpoint of international justice and other ethical principles. Second, the absence of a commitment to a just peace—including the restoration of territorial integrity, reparations, and security guarantees—renders the conditions for secure, long-term investment in Ukraine’s extractive economy a distant prospect, while raising the risk that a substantial portion of Ukraine’s resource wealth unlawfully seized by Russia will …

The Impact Of Pasifikas In Medicine On Pacific Islander Medical Student Experiences, Devon Hori Harvey, Micah Ngatuvai, Siale Vaitohi, Paige E. Faasuamalie, Maegan Tupinio, Lisa H. Smith

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

BACKGROUND: Pacific Islanders experience significant health disparities. One contributing aspect to these disparities is the lack of racial concordance as Pacific Islanders are underrepresented in the U.S. physician work force. Several factors contribute to this underrepresentation including lack of support systems for Pacific Islander premed and medical students. Pasifikas in Medicine (PiM) is a recently established national student organization founded to provide support for Pacific Islander premed students, medical students, residents, fellows and attending physicians. This study seeks to understand the impact of PiM on medical student experiences.

METHODS: An anonymous survey was distributed to the PiM listserv and to …

Us Drug Policy Does Not Align With Experts’ Rankings Of Drug Harms: A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, Michael Broman, Alan K Davis, Stacey Armstrong, Adam Levin, Kaltum Ahmed, Gustavo A Angarita, Brooke J Arterberry, Cecilia Bergeria, Mitch Earleywine, Kathryn S Gex, Tom Gregoire, Jamey J Lister, David S Mathai, Nicky J Mehtani, Nathan Menke, Charles D Nichols, Hillary Shaub, Alayna P Tackett, Brandon Weiss, Nefize Yalin, Lawrence D Phillips

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: United States drug policy is primarily based on the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and largely contradicts scientific evidence about how to mitigate drugs’ harms. Expert consensus on drug harms could inform policy that improves the health of people who use drugs while reducing negative societal impacts of drug use. Therefore, this study adapted and extended the relevant 2010 United Kingdom multi-criteria decision analysis, rating drug harms by criteria comprising health and social impacts to people who use drugs and their families, communities, and society.

Methods: Seventeen experts on drug use in the US, including three with lived experience …

Star Wars And Gender In 1980s America, Melissa Ulmer

Rushton Journal of Undergraduate Humanities Research

This research paper examines the role of gender in the franchise Star Wars. With the first installment of the trilogy released in 1977, many expected this film would turn out like many before. However, the world that George Lucas created was an instant hit and continues to be today. This paper focuses on how the franchise was set apart from other science fiction films based on a defiance of typical gender roles that were prevalent in the late twentieth century, specifically focusing on the two leading roles, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, and employing analysis of the films, cast …

The Politics Of Style: How Black Fashion Redefined Identity In The Civil Rights Movement (1950s-1970s), Ava Saleh

Rushton Journal of Undergraduate Humanities Research

This paper explores how fashion served as a powerful political tool during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-70s, tracing its evolution from the polished Sunday Best to the Afro and militant style of the Black Panther Party. By examining respectability politics, the rise of the Black is Beautiful movement, and the Black Panthers’ visual strategies, this research explores how clothing and style reflected shifting approaches to resistance. It argues that Black Americans used fashion to challenge Eurocentric standards, reclaim heritage, and express pride, leaving a legacy of empowerment that continues to influence social movements.

China's Spy Network In America: A People's War Against An Open House: America Needs To Confront The Reality Of The New Cold War, Shaomin Li

Management Faculty Publications

The article discusses China's extensive espionage activities in the United States, framing it as part of a broader "people's war" strategy employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It highlights historical cases of espionage, such as those involving Qian Xuesen and Bo Jiang, to illustrate the ongoing threat posed by Chinese intelligence efforts, which leverage both state-sponsored and civilian participation. The article contrasts the CCP's ruthless approach to espionage with the U.S. legal system's more restrained response, emphasizing the asymmetry in their respective strategies. It concludes by urging the U.S. to recognize and confront the realities of this new Cold …