Digital Commons Network^™

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes Feb 20, 2026, A-State Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Minutes

No abstract provided.

Project Score Program Manual, M. Barnard, T. Johnson, A. Ford-Wade, M. Godfrey, C. Compretta, E. Dehon, S. Nasruddin, B. Wade, W. Sparkmon, M. Presley, A. Jones-White, W. Qualen

Faculty and Student Publications

Project SCORE (student-centered outcomes research experience) is an NIH-funded year-long informal public health education program and mentored research experience utilizing a youth participatory action research (YPAR) approach and near-peer mentors (NPMs) to increase science engagement, interest in college participation, and contribute to a diverse and community-engaged health sciences pipeline.

Genetic Modifiers Of Apoe-Ε4-Associated Cognitive Decline, Alex G. Contreras, Skylar Walters, Jaclyn M. Eissman, Derek B. Archer, Alexandra N. Regelson, Alaina Durant, Michelle Clifton, Subhabrata Mukherjee, Michael L. Lee, Seo Eun Choi, Phoebe Scollard, Emily H. Trittschuh, Jesse Mez, William S. Bush, Brian W. Kunkle, Carlos Cruchaga, Adam C. Naj, Katherine A. Gifford, Murat Bilgel, Amanda B. Kuzma, Balebail Ashok Raj, Kristin Fargher, Amanda Smith, Lisa Raudin, Gloria Chaing

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The APOE-ε4 allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. However, APOE-ε4 is not deterministic, highlighting the need to identify additional genetic and environmental factors. APOE-ε4 has been linked to accelerated cognitive decline, so we sought to investigate genetic factors that modify APOE-ε4–associated cognitive decline. We conduct cross-ancestry APOE-ε4-stratified and interaction GWAS using harmonized cognitive data from 32,778 participants, including 29,354 non-Hispanic White and 3,424 non-Hispanic Black individuals. Our primary outcome is late-life cognition, measured using harmonized composite scores for memory, executive function, and language, modeled as continuous traits reflecting both normative cognitive aging and disease-related decline. …

Unleash The “Potential” Of The Collective Action Mechanism In Flsa Suits, Anthony Decaprio

Catholic University Law Review

Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide relief to low-income workers at risk of being taken advantage of by their larger, more sophisticated employer. The FLSA provides a collective action mechanism that allows similarly situated workers to bring suits together against a common employer outside the strictures of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. To ensure all potentially similarly situated workers have sufficient notice of the suit in order to affirmatively opt-in, the Supreme Court authorized the district courts to facilitate notice to all “potential plaintiffs.”

The circuits are currently split regarding the standard …

Digital Twin Enabled Robot Collision Detection Using Time Series Forecasting, Fadi El Kalach, Mojaba A. Farahani, Philip Samaha, Thorsten Wuest, Ramy Harik

Faculty Publications

The advent of Industry 4.0 has reshaped modern manufacturing, driven by breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies. A key example is the widespread deployment of sensors, which capture and transmit large volumes of operational data. This data surge has fueled the development of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, enhancing manufacturing intelligence and efficiency. A key enabler of such intelligence is Time-Series Forecasting (TSF), which leverages historical data to predict future trends and events, thereby providing actionable insights for proactive decision-making. In parallel, Digital Twin (DT) technology has gained significant prominence due to its capacity for bidirectional communication with physical manufacturing systems, enabling …

February 20, 2026 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

For What? Resolving The Causation Split For Fmla Retaliation Claims, Lucy Wess

Catholic University Law Review

For over thirty years, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has provided working Americans the opportunity to maintain their professional careers while juggling personal and familial health care needs. Like many other employment law statutes, the FMLA prohibits retaliation by employers against employees who exercise their rights under the statute. However, a circuit split as to the correct causation standard for FMLA retaliation claims leaves plaintiffs and defendant employers uncertain of case outcomes as well as the legality of the employer’s conduct. The Fourth and Eleventh Circuits held that the but-for causation standard is the proper standard in such …

2026-02-20 Minutes Of The Academic Senate, University Of Dayton. Academic Senate

Academic Senate Minutes

Approved minutes of a meeting of the Academic Senate of the University of Dayton.

Building Health Career Pathways Early: A Community- Engaged Mini Medical School Model For Urban 4th Graders, Riley Kilzer, Liliana Bronner, Shirley F. Delair

Posters and Presentations: Family Medicine

No abstract provided.

Fsec Meeting Minutes February 20, 2026, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

The Role Of 15-Minute Cities In Promoting Sustainable Urban Development: A Stakeholder-Centered Project Management Approach, Pamela O. Nkwantabisah

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

The 15-minute city is an innovative urban planning approach that aims to enhance sustainability, accessibility, and quality of life by placing essential services within a 15-minute walk or cycle radius. Despite its popularity globally, the majority of projects fail to realize their objective due to ineffective stakeholder engagement, competing priorities, and inadequate communication throughout the project procedure. This study addresses the urgent problem of limited stakeholder involvement in 15-minute city planning and implementation. The purpose of the study is to determine challenges of stakeholder engagement and develop a stakeholder-centric approach rooted in project management best practices. Guided by the Stakeholder …

Why We Must Commune: Rethinking The Role Of Marketing Communications In Turbulent Times, Javier Garcia

Publications and Research

“Communications” is often thought of as a noun, representing the messages we receive on a daily basis from people, brands, and institutions alike. 

"Communications" is also often associated with an industry that exists to produce such messaging in service of capitalism, with a commercial or otherwise actionable outcome desired from its receiving audience. 

This presentation, hosted by two-time CCNY graduate and senior marketing communications professional and Assistant Professor Javier Garcia, will examine the urgency and opportunity in rethinking the value and study of marketing and communications. 

In his presentation, Professor Garcia will offer suggestions on how to guide students towards …

Improving Lunch Break To Enhance Nurse Happiness And Job Satisfaction, Evelyn O. Dumkwu

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Nurses frequently forgo scheduled lunch breaks due to high workload demands, inadequate staffing, and organizational cultures. Consistently skipping breaks has been associated with reduced happiness and lower job satisfaction, which may ultimately compromise the quality of patient care. This quality improvement (QI) project examined whether the structured observance of scheduled lunch breaks enhances nurses’ subjective happiness and job satisfaction. Guided by Lewin’s Change Theory and the Donabedian Theoretical Framework and implemented using the Plan–Do–Study–Act (PDSA) framework, the project employed a quasi-experimental pre–post design during a six-week implementation period. Ten full-time nurses participated in the project. Investigator-designed Subjective Happiness and Job …

Law Students Start Spring Semester With A Competitive Edge, Marisa C. Atkinson

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – While many students enjoyed the last two weeks before the spring semester began, first-year students at the University of Mississippi School of Law gained skills and practice in contract drafting and negotiations that set them apart from peers at other schools.

Exploring The Impact Of Team Culture In High-Pressure Jobs, Such As Investment Banking And Consulting, And How Project Management Can Be Applied, Mayavathi Lal

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

Toxic team cultures remain a pressing issue in high-pressure environments such as investment banking and consulting, where long hours, and hierarchical norms often undermine employee well-being and compromise project delivery. Previous studies have documented how workplace stress, exclusionary leadership, and cultural rigidity fuel burnout and turnover. However, limited research has explicitly examined these cultural dynamics through the lens of project management frameworks such as resource management, stakeholder engagement, and agile practices. This study employs a qualitative research approach by leveraging semi-structured interviews with analysts and associates, to capture the lived experiences of culture and its impact on team coordination and …

Social Support And Mental Toughness As Predictors Of Perceived Stress Among College Kinesiology Students, Jianmin Guan, Wan Xiang Yao, Xiaofen D. Hamilton, Gaofeng Lu

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Drawing on Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional theory of stress and coping, this study examined the associations of age, gender, three types of social support (family, friends, and significant others), and mental toughness with two dimensions of perceived stress (helplessness and coping inefficacy) among 666 college students majoring in Kinesiology. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that male college students, as well as those with higher levels of mental toughness and family support, reported significantly lower levels of helplessness and coping inefficacy in managing stress. Additionally, greater support from friends was significantly associated with lower levels of coping inefficacy, while younger students …

A Qualitative Research Study Exploring Icu Nurses' Resilience During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Teenu Xavier, Rebecca C. Lee

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

ICU nurses faced numerous demands and adversities during the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly impacted their well-being. Developing strategies to promote resilience was crucial for ICU nurses to overcome these workplace adversities. The purpose of this study was to explore the strategies used by ICU nurses to promote their resilience and cope with the additional stressors brought on by the pandemic. Two theories provided the overarching theoretical framework which guided this study. These are Polk's middle-range theory of resilience A Focused Ethnographical approach provided the overarching framework for this research project. ICU nurses working in adult ICUs who had cared for …

Quality Improvement Project: Effectiveness Of Staff Education On Fall Prevention, Theresa Oahre Okoyomo

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Falls increase injury and mortality rates and decrease patients' quality of life. Hospital falls also incur enormous financial burdens on hospitals. In 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) stopped reimbursing hospitals for fall-related injuries. The problem addressed in this quality improvement project was staff confidence in fall prevention and hospital fall rates. The purpose is to improve staff confidence and reduce fall rates by 95 % within six weeks. The 2025 CDC/STEADI Algorithm for Fall Risk Screening, Assessment, and Intervention was the program of choice because it aligns with the hospital's fall-prevention policy. This project design is …

Improving Structured Handoff Documentation In A Pediatric Emergency Department, Deborah Hammett, Rebecca Matta, Jody Kieffer, Jillian Savage, Courtney Nelson

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: The I-PASS handoff tool guides provider handoffs and reduces adverse events in the inpatient setting. Transitions of care occur frequently in the emergency department (ED), and the unpredictable environment can lead to less structured handoffs. Our goal was to increase the percentage of handoff notes that include all 4 I-PASS components by 20% within 6 months.

METHODS: We developed a handoff note template for the pediatric ED that included 4 key I-PASS elements: illness severity, patient care summary, action list, and situational awareness/contingency planning. Our primary outcome measure was the percentage of handoff notes that contained all 4 I-PASS …

Agenda (2-20-2026), California State University, San Bernardino - Associated Students, Incorporated

Associated Students, Incorporated records

No abstract provided.

Analytical Review Of Current Educational Public Policy For California Department Of Education Common Core Curriculum Guidelines Pertaining To Law-Related Education For Grades K–12, Aubray Mcpherson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was the lack of a mandated statewide law-related education (LRE) requirement within the California K–12 curriculum. Existing research linked structured LRE exposure to greater civic knowledge, stronger legal understanding, increased social responsibility, and reduced delinquency risk among disadvantaged youth. However, a gap exists due to the absence of integrated qualitative analyses combining prior LRE research with stakeholder perceptions. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the potential social, emotional, and economic implications associated with implementing a statewide LRE public policy. Guided by the conceptual framework consisting of new public administration and the …

Psychological Safety And Prosocial Rule Breaking Within Leader–Member Exchanges In A State Government Agency, Larry Standfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Psychological safety is often insufficiently supported in organizations, leading to strained leader-member exchanges (LMXs), reduced employee well-being, and diminished overall organizational performance. Government agency leaders need to understand this concern as a primary indicator of job satisfaction and organizational effectiveness. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how employees of a state government agency described leader support of psychological safety and prosocial rule breaking in their LMXs and how these LMX exchanges influenced their psychological safety and organizational performance. Psychosocial safety climate theory and LMX theory provided the grounding for this study. The participants consisted of 10 …

Depressive Symptoms Predict Cannabis Initiation Among Mexican American Young Adults, Srishty Arora, Caroline North, C. Nathan Marti, Seth J. Schwartz, Bara S. Bataineh, Liza Talavera-Garza, Alexandra Loukas, Anna Wilkinson

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Background: Factors contributing to cannabis initiation among Hispanic young adults remain understudied. Methods: We examined the independent and interactive roles of depressive symptoms, family cohesion, and family conflict on cannabis initiation one year later among 616 18-29-year-old cannabis-naïve Mexican American college students in Texas. Results: Mixed-effects logistic regressions indicated that greater depressive symptoms predicted cannabis initiation one year later. Neither family cohesion nor family conflict moderated the depressive symptoms-cannabis initiation association. Conclusion: Mexican American young adults experiencing depressive symptoms may initiate cannabis use to cope with emotional distress. Additional research should examine the factors that drive cannabis initiation in this …

A Holistic Modelling Framework For Functionally Safe Software Architectures In Embedded Control Systems, Thomas Barth

Doctoral

Embedded control systems are integral to most modern electrified products and an essential backbone of ongoing digitalisation [1]. In this context, these systems increasingly perform safety-critical functions where failures can lead to severe personal injury, environmental damage, or significant economic loss [2]. Consequently, they fall more often within the scope of regulation such as IEC 61508 and its derivatives [3]. At the same time, driven by hardware evolution and market demands, embedded control systems continue to grow in both integration density and functional complexity [4]. These demands necessitate structured development methods that balance compliance with cost-efficiency and development agility. A …

Administrators

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Betting Against America: The Axis Powers’ Views Of The United States, Thomas Bruscino

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Harry Yeide

Reviewed by: Thomas Bruscino, professor, operational art and theater planning, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College

What if the Axis powers had seen America clearly before launching into war? Betting Against America dives into the flawed intelligence, cultural biases, and strategic miscalculations that led Germany, Japan, and Italy to underestimate the United States. Through intercepted communications and insider reports, Harry Yeide reveals how these fatal errors shaped the course of World War II.

Sustaining A Healthy Work Environment With Leadership Staff Rounds, Sarojini V. Seemungal

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Globally, HCWs have reported worsened mental health since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened the well-being of 51% of healthcare workers (HCWs). In 2020, Mental Health America reported that 93% of HCWs experienced stress, 86% experienced anxiety, 76% reported feeling burned out, and 75% felt overwhelmed.

Problem: A 2023 employee engagement survey, conducted at a Certified Home Health Agency, revealed 72% overall favorability among HCWs. The lowest favorability rating was related to managing work and personal life (52.3%), feeling supported to do the job (60%), and receiving recognition from one’s manager at (61.2%).

Methods: …

Exploring Moral Distress In Icu Nurse Practitioners: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study, Steven L. Bocchese

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Nurse Practitioners (NPs) working in the intensive care environment experience clinical and operational anxiety, such as moral distress. Moral distress occurs when an individual knows the ethically correct action but cannot take it due to internal or external constraints or violation of their professional core values. Causal factors of moral distress in nursing include inadequate staffing, prolonged patient pain and suffering, ethical conflicts in end-of-life care, lack of transparency and false hope, disruptive or aggressive family, and ineffective leadership. Historically, nurses have experienced moral distress at higher levels than other healthcare professionals, especially those in intensive care units (ICU). Because …

From Waitlist To Activation: Exploring Patient Barriers And Team Interactions In Kidney Transplant Readiness, Judith I. Eguzoikpe

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

Kidney transplant candidates frequently experience prolonged inactive waitlist status due to incomplete readiness requirements, yet limited understanding exists regarding how patient barriers and team interactions intersect to influence activation timelines. This transcendental-phenomenological study explored how patient barriers and team dynamics contribute to delays in kidney transplant readiness, guided by Team Theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 participants (8 patients, 8 healthcare professionals) between December 2025 and February 2026. Data were analyzed using systematic phenomenological methods to identify patterns that address patient barriers, team interaction effects, and the teamwork improvements needed for earlier activation. Five interconnected themes emerged: Navigating a …