Digital Commons Network^™

A Story Of Service: Thoughts On Commemorative Architecture And The Anti-Monument, Cody D. Williamson

Architecture Theses

United States service members and their courageous actions have been the subject of countless monuments and memorials. Most of these are dedicated to events of the past. Never has design told a story about current military members and some of the unseen battles they fight on a regular basis. This thesis will seek to understand individual and communal memory faculties as well as learn from contemporary artistic expressions that focus on the recall of the past. The anti-monument will serve as a case study and combine with these insights to create a memorial that is dedicated to soldiers who have …

Resilient Land Development Strategies For Hurricane-Prone Communities In Grand Bahama, Garrett Lieberg

Landscape Architecture Theses

This thesis explores resilient, off-grid land development strategies for hurricane-prone communities on Grand Bahama Island, with a focus on post-disaster housing, integrated stormwater management, and mangrove restoration. Designed in response to systemic failures during Hurricane Dorian, this project proposes a decentralized community model supported by modular container homes, solar power, and rainwater harvesting systems. Emphasis is placed on using nature-based solutions—especially the protective role of mangroves—to reduce flood risk and enhance long-term resilience. The site design integrates stormwater retention landscapes with ecological buffers, providing both environmental protection and community benefit. Drawing from interviews, local site conditions, and precedent studies, the …

Ecosymphony: The Human-Nature Dialogue: Restoring The Ohio River Through Landscape Architecture In Louisville, Kentucky, Jayden Nadgwick

Landscape Architecture Theses

Riparian areas are delicate ecological zones that support a wide range of ecosystems, that work together to create rich and healthy habitats. Today, these zones are under threat due to pollutants, flooding, and industrial development along riverbanks. The Ohio River, ranked as one of the most endangered rivers in the United States, is a clear example of how these threats impact the health of the rivers. These threats have led to significant habitat loss and declining health of ecosystems, impacting not only the natural environment but also the well-being of surrounding communities.

Based in Louisville, Kentucky, along the Ohio River. …

From Institution To Inspiration: A Student-Centered Vision For Horace High, Mason Stanius

Architecture Theses

This thesis proposes a High-School design that is centered around biophilic design, optimized daylight strategies, and attention to special arrangements in classrooms. To which, is all intended to revolve round, and support the direct user, the student. Careful attention to school layout and design allows students to thrive in educational environments, by addressing the root cause of distractions, resentment of school, and academic performance outside of curriculum changes. Intimate classrooms where students can focus in a dynamic environment, supplied by plentiful natural light, and subtlety cloaked in biophilic and biomimic design throughout the campus. Through these biophilic forms, thoughtful organization, …

Establishing A Comprehensive Cancer Center: Integrating Holistic Care To Enhance The Well-Being Of Patients Undergoing Cancer Treatment, Morgan Rae Nelson

Architecture Theses

Cancer treatment is both physically and emotionally taxing, often intensified by care environments that prioritize clinical efficiency over holistic patient well-being. Thoughtful architectural design has the potential to transform these spaces into therapeutic environments that address the mental, emotional, and physical needs of patients. While holistic care models have gained traction, many facilities lack design elements that promote mental resilience, relaxation, and community connection.

Despite advancements in cancer care, a significant gap remains in how design addresses the mental and emotional well-being of patients. Many facilities continue to prioritize functionality over creating environments that foster holistic healing. This thesis investigates …

Cultural Sustainability In Architecture: A Reinterpretation Of Kensington's Narrative, Madeline Elizabeth Knoll

Architecture Theses

Kensington is often defined by a narrative of crisis and neglect, yet beneath this surface lies a resilient, creative community. This thesis reframes Kensington through cultural sustainability, envisioning the neighborhood as a mosaic of identities shaped by reflection, learning, and growth. The architecture becomes a living palimpsest, where history and resilience converge. Strategies like cross-cultural variation, social design, place attachment, and well-being inform every spatial and programmatic decision. The Kensington Cultural Center is conceived as a mosaic, with each space expressing spirit and identity, and connective paths binding the whole. Materials reference the area’s industrial past, while the carved exterior …

Networked Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning Framework For The Provision Of Ancillary Services In Hybrid Power Plants, Muhammad Ikram, Daryoush Habibi, Asma Aziz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Inverter-based resources (IBRs) are becoming more prominent due to the increasing penetration of renewable energy sources that reduce power system inertia, compromising power system stability and grid support services. At present, optimal coordination among generation technologies remains a significant challenge for frequency control services. This paper presents a novel networked multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (N—MADRL) scheme for optimal dispatch and frequency control services. First, we develop a model-free environment consisting of a photovoltaic (PV) plant, a wind plant (WP), and an energy storage system (ESS) plant. The proposed framework uses a combination of multi-agent actor-critic (MAAC) and soft actor-critic (SAC) …

Using Machine Learning To Detect Vault (Anti-Forensic) Apps, Michael N. Johnstone, Wencheng Yang, Mohiuddin Ahmed

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Content hiding, or vault applications (apps), are designed with a secondary, often concealed purpose, such as encrypting and storing files. While these apps may serve legitimate functions, they unequivocally present significant challenges for law enforcement. Conventional methods for tackling this issue, whether static or dynamic, prove inadequate when devices—typically smartphones—cannot be modified. Additionally, these methods frequently require prior knowledge of which apps are classified as vault apps. This research decisively demonstrates that a non-invasive method of app analysis, combined with machine learning, can effectively identify vault apps. Our findings reveal that it is entirely possible to detect an Android vault …

Using Natural Language Processing And Machine Learning To Detect Online Radicalisation In The Maldivian Language, Dhivehi, Hussain Ibrahim, Ahmed Ibrahim, Michael N. Johnstone

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Early detection of online radical content is important for intelligence services to combat radicalisation and terrorism. The motivation for this research was the lack of language tools in the detection of radicalisation in the Maldivian language, Dhivehi. This research applied Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to detect online radicalisation content in Dhivehi, with the incorporation of domain-specific knowledge. The research used Machine Learning to evaluate the most effective technique for detection of radicalisation text in Dhivehi and used interviews with Subject Matter Experts and self-deradicalised individuals to validate the results, add contextual information and improve recognition accuracy. The …

Young People’S Perceptions Of Harm From Accessing Online Sexual Content, Despina Chronaki, Debra Dudek, Giselle Woodley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Harm—and the ways in which it is interpreted, negotiated, discussed, and unpacked by adolescents themselves—is a key term in almost all debates about young people’s experiences with online pornography. This essay situates the topic of this special issue—adolescents’ perceptions of harm from accessing online sexual content—within a broader context of the discourses and practices that inform research in this field. We show how discourses of harm and risk circulate around the figure of the innocent child in need of protection and argue for more nuanced understandings of and research about childhood that take into account the lived experiences and perspectives …

Crises In Australian Education, The Push For Educational Technology And The Medium-Oriented Perspective Of Neil Postman, Andrew Hutcheon

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

From teacher shortages to declining literacy, the Australian education system faces multiple crises. This paper turns to the work of Neil Postman, who started as a high school teacher but later turned towards communication and media studies, to provide an alternative account of parts of this crisis, especially those around the role of technology in education. In his early works, his concern is attached to the concept of education as a ‘subversive concept’ and then a ‘conserving concept’ – first aiming to create young people engaged in civic society, then aiming to preserve written culture against television. After a middle …

Empirical Evidence Of Factors To Improve Student Engagement From Experiential Learning Activities, Lara Molendijk, Ross H. Taplin, Andrew J. Brennan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Experiential learning activities (ELAs) are student-centered activities, such as case studies, that have benefits derived by students being active. Although the literature contains advice on which characteristics enhance ELAs, empirical evidence measuring the impact of these characteristics on engagement is scarce. This paper aims to fill this gap by comparing student engagement from 34 ELAs with varying levels of six characteristics the literature claims are beneficial. Data from a student questionnaire are analyzed with regression and content analyses. The results suggest engagement is most effectively improved when ELAs are authentic and contain the right level of detail and, to a …

Mapping Outdoor Alcohol Advertising Around Waterways In An Exploration Of Where And What The Advertisements Feature, Justine E. Leavy, Paula Hooper, Gina Trapp, Renee N. Carey, Gemma Crawford

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: In Western Australia (WA) social activities occur in aquatic environments where alcohol promotion and consumption may be prevalent creating an aquatic alcogenic environment. This poses a challenge for drowning prevention efforts. Restrictions on alcohol advertising placement near aquatic environments require an evidence-base of how prevalent alcohol outlet availability and promotion is in aquatic environments. We aimed to quantify the presence and content of outdoor alcohol advertising in metropolitan WA and map liquor outlet density and licensed venue proximity. Methods: An exploratory, cross-sectional, observational study investigated the geospatial characteristics of five WA coastal precincts. Digitised navigation maps were produced in …

Mapping The Voices: Spanish Boat Owners And Marina Operators On Non-Indigenous Marine Species—Knowledge And Key Informants, Gemma Martínez-Laiz, Kaeden Leonard, Chi Thai Uyen Le, Chad Roy Le Hewitt, José Manuel Guerra-García, Carlos Navarro-Barranco, Sara García-Garrido, Marnie L. Campbell

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The public need to be aware of non-indigenous species (NIS) and how they spread to effectively manage this marine biosecurity risk. In most countries, the management of biosecurity risks associated with recreational boating relies exclusively on vessel owners and marina managers engaging in pro-environmental behaviours. To understand if this management approach is feasible, stakeholders’ perceptions first need to be identified. Surveys assessed people’s knowledge, awareness about NIS and channels involved in risk communication in three countries with different management scenarios and marine biosecurity histories: Spain, Australia and New Zealand. There was a mismatch between perceived and actual knowledge of NIS …

Advancing Marine Animal Movement Studies Using An Open Innovation Framework, Jacob Levenson

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the application of open innovation to migratory marine animal movement studies, addressing critical challenges in understanding, managing and ultimately conserving highly mobile and migratory species (HMMS). The species examined herein, including manta rays, sea turtles, and marine mammals, face threats including habitat disruption and behavioral changes to adapt to anthropogenic stressors. Traditional monitoring techniques, while valuable, are often costly, limited in scale, and protected by proprietary intellectual property, all of which decrease accessibility. Ambitious conservation goals, such as protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030, require more data that are indubitably sharable and thus will need to …

Impact The Utilization Of Evidenced Based Practices Has On Post Kidney Transplant Patient Outcomes, Judith Bautista, Vicky Loren Dela Cruz, Ervieneth Martin, Jennifer Mauricio, Alf Bernardino

Covenant Nurses Week 2025

No abstract provided.

Breaking Bread And Building Bonds: The Impact Of Meal Sharing In The Workplace, Emilia Garcia, Whitney Ferguson

Covenant Nurses Week 2025

No abstract provided.

Skip The Grid: An Impactful Solar Installation Project In The Navajo Nation, John Ryan Strain

Construction Management

Over the past four years, a team of interdisciplinary students and faculty from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), Heart of America, and generous industry sponsors (SOLV, Goal Zero, NextTracker, Elite, and TCB Builders) have brought their time, effort, and resources together to complete a service trip, called Skip the Grid. The trip’s primary goal is to provide a reliable source of power, light, and refrigeration to families with school age children in the Navajo Nation where these resources are absent or unreliable otherwise. This year’s trip took place over Cal Poly’s academic break from March 23rd …

Plansyncc - A Construction Document Translation Software, Easton Richard Abreo, Ashton Lee Gandrup, Javier Solis

Construction Management

PlanSyncc was born from shared construction internship experiences, where the team observed significant language barriers between supervisors and tradesmen, leading to miscommunication, inefficiencies, and safety risk. Motivated by this problem, PlanSyncc developed an AI-powered translation software to bridge the gap by translating construction documents in real-time. To bring PlanSyncc to life, the team divided the project into three key deliverables: a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), a business plan, and a pitch deck. The MVP involved creating two Python-based translation codes, one for specifications and another for complex construction plans using tools like PyMuPDF, Tesseract, mtranslate, and others. The business plan …

Brand Loyalty And Repurchase Intention In The Face Of Opportunistic Recalls: The Moderating Role Of Perceived Dialogical Csr Communication, Shahid Hussain, Pi Shen Seet, Asim Qazi, Abdul Salam, Saalem Sadeque, Sanaullah Shar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Product recalls, particularly when perceived as opportunistic, can trigger severe consumer backlash, undermining brand loyalty and escalating protest behaviors that threaten long-term consumer-brand relationships. This study integrates expectancy violation theory and situational crisis communication theory to understand the implications of opportunistic recalls for brand loyalty and repurchase intention. A survey with 425 responses from car owners in the United States was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). It found that opportunistic recalls significantly exacerbate negative brand personality and directly influence protest behavior and brand loyalty. A counterintuitive finding emerges with protest behavior positively impacting brand loyalty, an …

Factors That Influence International Nursing Students’ Experiences And Perceptions Of Their Learning Environments: A Scoping Review, Fatch Welcome Kalembo, Sally Wilson, Terena Solomons, Irene Ngune, Eric Lim, Anna Bosco, Paul Kebble, John Taplin, Janie Brown

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objective: The objective of this review was to explore factors that influence international undergraduate nursing students’ experiences and perceptions of their learning environment. Introduction: In the past 2 decades, international student enrollment in tertiary education increased globally, with English-speaking countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States attracting a significant majority of these students. Many of these international students are attracted to studies in health professions and related sciences, particularly nursing. Despite their economic and cultural contributions to the host country, international nursing students face numerous challenges that affect their learning experiences. Inclusion criteria: Peer-reviewed studies …

A Multivariate Analysis Of Reported Quality Of Life Among Medical Students In Jordan Using The Whoqol-Bref, Mohammad Hamad, Saba Al Smadi, Diana Arabiat

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

BACKGROUND: Low quality of life (QoL) in university students is often associated with unhealthy lifestyle and negative impacts on students' ability to learn and succeed. To date, no research has examined the QoL of medical students in Jordan or the demographic factors that may associate with lower QoL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A quantitative, cross-sectional study with a descriptive design was chosen for this study. Participants were 512 medical students from one public university in Jordan. The Arabic version of the World Health Quality of life-brief survey (WHOQOL-BREF) was used to collect data online from students. RESULTS: Regarding the overall QoL, …

The Importance Of Voice: American Indian Experiences With Their Healthcare, James Zimmer

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects

American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AIAN) have faced inequity and discrimination since colonization. Specifically, within the healthcare system, AIAN individuals have experienced maltreatment, poor quality services, and the dismissal of cultural and personal practices. Health disparities among this population have led to the highest prevalence in many chronic disease categories nationwide (Laffey et al., 2021). A qualitative study with nine respondents was conducted using virtual interviews. Respondents were recruited through healthcare agencies and snowball sampling. Interviews focused on the experiences of American Indians in the Midwest United States with their primary care provider or in a hospital within the last …

Home For The Brave: Housing Program, Amanda Jabr

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Veteran homelessness remains a critical issue across the United States. Since 1996, the Veterans Transition Center (VTC) of Monterey County has been at the forefront of addressing this crisis by providing comprehensive services, housing, therapy, addiction recovery, job training, healthcare, and support for families and pets to homeless and formerly incarcerated veterans. Guided by its mission of “Veterans Supporting Veterans,” VTC has achieved a notable 0% recidivism rate among program participants. This project evaluated the effectiveness of VTC’s housing program through a survey of 40 alumni veterans. The findings indicate that the majority of respondents found the program effective, credited …

How Can Coalitions Positively Impact Michigan’S Rural Communities And Influence Local Policies: A Comparative Case Study, Amanda Bonesteel-Kratt

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

This research explores the impact of coalitions on communities and their influence on local and state policies in rural agricultural communities in Michigan. Nonprofit organizations often utilize coalitions to strengthen their outreach efforts and impact, and in this paper, the author focuses on Farm-to-Power (FTP), a new nonprofit organization in Michigan. FTP advocates for landowners’ rights regarding renewable energy, specifically wind and solar, on a utility scale. This paper explores the best practices concerning effective coalition-building that have the capability to impact policy changes that benefit farming communities through improved economic stability. Access to renewable energy leases for Michigan farmers …

Clinical Nurse Civility And Professional Identity Formation In Nursing Students, Janet Elaine Weeda

Dissertations

Professional identity (PI) formation is an essential objective for nursing education. In 2010, Benner et al. published a landmark document titled Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation, which included a transition from teaching roles and developing professionalism to professional identity formation. In 2018, a ‘Thank Tank’ meeting occurred at the University of Kansas to explore professional identity in nursing, which developed into the International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing (ISPIN; Brewington & Godfrey, 2020). The American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s (AACN, 2021) The Essentials included a core competency that called for the “formation and cultivation of a …

Development And Validity Analysis Of The Pragmatic Assessment Of Role Transition And Onboarding For Midwives (Parto-M) Instrument: An Exploratory Study, Erin Mary Morelli

Dissertations

This exploratory study addressed the significant gap in research regarding the transition of newly qualified midwives to practice. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to identify the areas of strength and domains of challenge for new graduate midwives in their role transition to independent practice. The study sought to answer the following research questions:

Q1 What is essential to measure in an instrument assessing what is necessary for a new midwife to successfully bridge from education to orientation and onward after evaluation by new graduate midwives and subject matter experts?

Q2 What is the calculated content …

The Effects Of Nursing Faculty Approachability On Student Engagement In The Clinical Setting, Kristin Lambert

Dissertations

Despite the emphasis on practice readiness in nursing education, new graduate nurses are still experiencing an education-practice gap with a lack of soft skills such as critical thinking, communication, time management, and collaboration within a team when they enter practice (Mirza et al., 2019). Nursing clinical faculty are in a prime position to decrease this gap and should strive to be approachable to foster a safe learning environment where students feel comfortable engaging in the practice of soft skills. While nursing faculty approachability and student engagement are both desirable in nursing education, no studies had previously been done connecting the …

The Effects Of Retrieval Practice On Knowledge Acquisition And Durable Learning In Undergraduate Nursing Students, Jessica Everritt Gay

Dissertations

Recent reports of unpreparedness and failure to rescue incidents among new graduate nurses are concerning for nurse educators and health care. New graduates must retrieve and apply learned knowledge to make sound clinical decisions, emphasizing the need for durable learning and knowledge acquisition. Durable learning, which involves understanding and recalling learned information days, weeks, or months later is crucial for clinical judgment. Nurse educators should facilitate durable learning through effective, evidence-based learning techniques such as retrieval practice (RP), which has shown promise in health professions education but is underutilized in nursing education.

This study explored the impact of RP on …

Is There A Relationship Between Motivation And Nursing Student Engagement? A Quantitative, Cross-Sectional, Correlational Study, Angela Coes

Dissertations

Nursing education is concerned with helping to alleviate the nursing shortage in the United States; this can be done by graduating safe competent novice nurses. Motivation and engagement levels in nursing students have been tied to better academic outcomes including graduation rates, transition to practice, and first time National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses pass rates. There was a gap in prelicensure nursing education research in the United States concerning the relationship among motivation, engagement, and possible influential variables.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between motivation and academic engagement among prelicensure nursing students in …