Digital Commons Network^™

Queer Life In Nineteenth-Century America: A Historical Literature Review, Vivian Wright

SURF Posters 2025

In recent political discourses, queerness has often been treated as a modern phenomenon, and many people tend to think of queerness as a twentieth-century invention. Historians, however, have shown this to be false; an extensive amount of historical work details the lives of those who did not conform to sexual or gender norms in nineteenth-century America. This review surveys such works, analyzing nearly twenty different works spanning the course of nearly fifty years. By examining these works chronologically, the development of the field of queer history can be understood in the context of social and political developments occurring in the …

U.S. And Russian Responses To The Syrian Civil War: A Comparative Analysis, Grace Dewitt

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Syrian Civil War was among the most devastating conflicts in the 21st century and was defined by the involvement of various international actors, including the United States (U.S.) and Russia. The Syrian conflict was sparked by the Arab Spring movement. The Asad regime, which controlled the Syrian government at the time of the Arab Spring, reacted violently to the civilian protests and calls for reform. This led to the formation of organized rebel groups, creating a complex and violent civil war. The U.S. and Russia, as well as other international actors such as Turkey and Iran, became involved in …

Parents In Action For Change, Faisuly Correa Rojas

Education | Graduate Culminating Projects

This handbook offers a structured framework for parents in Marin County’s advocacy group, aimed at informing them about special education and bullying prevention practices to better advocate for their children's education.

College Students' Identity Differences In Offline And Online Learning Environment And Their Effects On Achievement Motivation, Sang-Soog Lee, Jinhee Kim, Seung Won Yu, Na Li

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The unprecedented evolution of educational technologies has transformed the learning landscape, creating distinct experiences in offline and online learning environments (OLE). However, little attention has been given to exploring students’ identities in the online learning context and how they can influence academic trajectories, limiting the development of a holistic understanding of the nature, effects, and areas of improvement in students’ identity formation in OLE. This study aims to investigate how students’ identity subcomponents differ among offline and OLE students via propensity score matching (PSM) in China, which allows us to find a doppelganger to estimate the counterfactual situation for making …

Identifying Barriers To The Utilization Of Translation Services Among Immigrant Populations With Limited English Proficiency, Adama Barry

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: The number of patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) has increased in the United States, indicating the growing importance of addressing their healthcare needs. Aim: To examine existing translation services and explore the challenges healthcare providers encounter in their use.

Methods: A mixed-methods cross-sectional survey was conducted among providers, registered nurses, and medical assistants at a diverse urgent care clinic in a city in Washington State.

Results: Interpreter availability, technological disruptions, training gaps, and interpreter accuracy emerged as significant barriers.

Implications for Practice: Comprehensive improvements in interpreter service accessibility, technological reliability, and cultural competency training.

Assessing The Impact Of Provider Knowledge Through A Pelvic Floor Health Assessment Tool, Kiana Ghamarifard, Vanessa Trinidad

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Introduction Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (PFD) is a prevalent yet under-addressed concern affecting individuals throughout the course of their lifetime, including within pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause. Health care providers are responsible for providing up to-date education and resources to best support their patients facing PFD. Introducing an effective assessment strategy can prompt discussions regarding pelvic floor health (PFH).

Methods We conducted a primary data analysis of pre- and post- assessment tool surveys submitted by voluntary participants of Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM) in a PFD assessment module. Pre- and post- test surveys were performed using Likert-scale scoring statements from April 2025 to May …

Address The Gap In Nursing Knowledge Regarding Patients At End Of Life In An Inpatient Oncology Setting, Sala Oh, Tracey Trinh

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Nurses often lack the knowledge of providing end of life (EOL) care and do not feel adequately prepared to confidently provide care. Identifying barriers to providing quality care could demonstrate improved symptom management for EOL patients and nursing confidence.

Aims: To identify knowledge gaps for oncology nurses working with EOL patients, develop nursing education, and ultimately improve patients’ symptom management.

Methods: This was a needs assessment of nurses (n=79) working in an inpatient oncology unit. A survey was distributed to obtain barriers in nursing knowledge and an educational module was created. A quality improvement study was then performed to …

Assessing Pain In People With Dementia Using The Pacslac-Ii Scale, Audrey L. M. Breton, Pardeep Singh

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This Doctor of Nursing Practice project aimed to educate caregiving staff on the use of the PACSCLAC-II, a validated pain tool, for residents with advanced dementia unable to selfreport pain. It also evaluated whether training the staff to use the PACSLAC-II enhanced pain assessment accuracy compared to the staff’s clinical judgement when detecting the presence of pain. Participants included on-site caregivers – a nurse, certified nursing assistants, and licensed medical technicians – who provide direct care to residents with dementia. Staff completed an assessment form featuring a Likert scale for staff clinical judgement on one side of the paper and …

Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring Intervention Among Low-Income Pregnant And Postpartum Individuals In Nurse-Family Partnership: A Qualitative Program Evaluation Assessing Self-Efficacy And Health Literacy, Sherilynn Soo, Antonia Powicki

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States, disproportionately affecting low-income and marginalized populations. Blood pressure self-monitoring (BPSM) has emerged as a promising intervention to support management of HDP. This study evaluated the impact of a BPSM program on self-efficacy and health literacy among low-income, first-time pregnant and ostpartum individuals enrolled in Snohomish County’s Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) program.

Methods: This qualitative program evaluation involved semi-structured interviews with 10 participants enrolled in the BPSM program. Interviews were conducted via secure video conferencing, transcribed, and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis supported …

Exploring Prenatal Care Providers' Perceptions Of Barriers To Physical Activity During Pregnancy: A Survey Of Obstacles And Attitudes, Tania Nambo-Escobar

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Despite the well-established benefits of physical activity during pregnancy, most pregnant individuals in the United States fail to meet recommended guidelines. The aim of this quality improvement project, conducted through Seattle University College of Nursing, was to explore prenatal care providers’ perceptions of barriers to physical activity counseling during pregnancy. Using the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework, a mixed-methods survey was distributed to midwives and obstetric nurses at Neighborcare Health clinics. The survey assessed providers' beliefs, perceived barriers, and current practices related to physical activity counseling. Results showed that while most providers acknowledged the importance of physical activity, they …

An Integrative Approach To Diabetes Education In The Immigrant Somali Community, Bilal Kadri, Amina Osman

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with numerous health and financial ramifications, especially for vulnerable populations like Somali immigrants. Effective management of diabetes requires adequate knowledge and management skills. Traditional diabetes education programs are ineffective for Somali immigrants because they do not account for their unique social, cultural, and traditional backgrounds. This study implemented a culturally sensitive, in-person, interactive education session for 14 first-generation Somali immigrants with type 2 diabetes. The effectiveness of the study was evaluated with pre- and post-education tests, as well as the participants’ self-confidence in managing diabetes. Mean test scores and a paired t-test were calculated …

Pain Versus Neuropsychiatric Symptoms In Residents With Dementia: A Nursing Staff Educational Training, Rebecca Hildreth

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

BACKGROUND: Pain assessment in patients with dementia is challenging due to cognitive and communication impairments, making the older adult population highly susceptible to poor pain assessment and treatment.

AIM: The purpose of this project is to accurately identify the cause of agitation in residents with dementia. Specific aims include 1) to collect background demographic data on residents, 2) to educate nursing staff on pain assessment in dementia patients, and 3) to educate nursing staff about the risks associated with antipsychotic medications to prioritize using non-pharmacologic interventions to treat agitation.

METHODS: A chart review of residents residing in a suburban, Pacific …

Infectious Disease Response Preparedness: Survey Of Small To Medium Residential Universities, Tara Hicks

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Objective: To improve the understanding of strategies implemented by institutions of higher education (IHE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, including how those experiences and resulting knowledge influenced staff confidence and preparedness for future infectious disease events.

Participants: Small to medium undergraduate residential IHE in CA, OR, and WA.

Methods: A Qualtrics survey collected data 1/26/25 – 2/24/25.

Results: Over 50% of respondents identified 7 of 9 preparedness needs as a major to critical need of their IHE. Statistically significant associations were found between IHE conducting a review of actions during COVID-19 and both self-confidence (ρ 0.46, p=0.018) and confidence in …

Exploring Barriers And Opportunities For Formally Integrating A Compensated Community Health Worker Program To Manage Hypertension Into The Healthcare System In Puno, Peru, Miye Dittmann

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Hypertension is the leading cause of preventable mortality worldwide. Community health workers (CHWs) can be potential aids in managing hypertension in Peru. CHWs in Peru are currently not formally practicing or compensated for chronic disease management. Effectiveness of CHWs for hypertension care is being assessed in the The Addressing Hypertension and Diabetes through Community-Engaged Systems (ANDES) Trial. Through semi-structured interviews with healthcare providers and healthcare administrators, this study aims to understand scalability and feasibility integrating CHWs into hypertension management into Peru’s national healthcare system. Following transcription of interviews, inductive and deductive analysis identified key themes and subthemes. Participants described a …

Provider Insight And Feasibility Of Screening For Harmful Sibling Aggression In Well-Child Visits, Mindy Gunn, Sara Crauer

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Violence between siblings is prevalent and can have lasting adverse effects, including lowered self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and poor peer relationships.

Aim: Assess feasibility of implementing a sibling aggression tool in pediatric primary care settings and provide resources for support.

Methods: A quality improvement project design, including an educational brief for providers, implementation of the Sibling Aggression Screening Tool, compiled resources for support, and a Post Implementation Provider Survey to collect provider feedback.

Intervention: A Sibling Aggression Screening Tool was implemented over a one-week period with consolidated resources provided for support.

Results: Fifty percent of the providers agreed that it …

Understanding Perceptions And Other Barriers To The Utilization Of Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy In Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: A Provider Needs Assessment, Jessica Cox, Joseph Pfeifer

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background. Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) is fundamental to the management of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), yet its utilization remains suboptimal in clinical practice. Despite strong evidence supporting GDMT’s ability to improve survival and reduce hospitalizations, significant underutilization of these medications persist due to patient, provider, and system-level barriers.

Purpose. This project aimed to assess provider knowledge, perceptions, and barriers to prescribing GDMT for HFrEF within a single regional healthcare system. Data from this project will be used to inform targeted quality improvement strategies to enhance GDMT utilization and, ultimately, patient outcomes.

Methods. A cross-sectional survey was distributed …

Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Perceptions, Knowledge, And Barriers To Accessing Student Mental Health Services, Margot Sprague

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: While improving the mental health of college students is a worldwide goal of the World Health Organization, programs to address student needs in the United States are underresourced, complex to access, and frequently confusing. In 2024, the National College Health Assessment found that 21% of college students scored high in severe psychological distress, 50% were positive for loneliness, 11% reported self-injury over the previous 12 months, and 28% scored positive on suicidal screening. Nursing students have increased levels of depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, stress-related illness, and suicide. Aim: The first aim of this project was to identify perceptions, knowledge, …

Mind The Gap: Supporting Freshmen Voice Students Transitioning To Higher Education Through Coaching Conversations, Erica L. Gabriel

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The experiences one may encounter while matriculating through the K-12 system of education are vastly different from the world of higher education. While one feeds directly into the other, the transition can be a difficult one for young singers also navigating the developmental leap from adolescence to adulthood. This is due to several systematic and instructional differences, compounded with unique challenges encountered by freshman voice students in the first year. Gaps in support systems compiled with new and increasing financial, social, and academic demands can lead to a decline in overall student well-being and an increase in stress.

This increase …

Treating Social Media Addiction In Adolescents: A Scoping Review With Implications For Music Therapy Practice, Roman D. Swain

Theses and Dissertations--Music

With the rapid expansion of online connectivity, concerns have emerged regarding the influence of digital interactions on adolescents’ real-world relationships and mental health. Social media use can expose adolescents to harmful content and disrupt the brain’s pleasure centers, increasing the risk of developing addictive patterns of use. Such disruptions may interfere with daily functioning and contribute to negative mental health outcomes. Given the impact of music on the brain’s reward system, music therapy may offer a beneficial approach for helping adolescents develop mindfulness of social media use and strengthen offline social connections. This thesis presents a scoping review of current …

Statistical Approaches In Evolutionary Biology: Using Threespine Stickleback Fish To Test Fisher's Geometric Model And Evaluate Methods For Handling Missing Data, Aaron Mathew Myrold

Dissertations

This thesis explores two distinct yet complementary aspects of evolutionary biology. The first chapter tests predictions from Fisher's geometric model of adaptation using a finely resolved fossil sequence of Gasterosteus doryssus spanning approximately 21,250 years. I analyze phenotypic changes in three armor traits during adaptation to a new environment and find that while step sizes follow the predicted exponential distribution—with many small steps and few large ones—they do not adhere to the model's temporal prediction that large-effect mutations should fix early in the adaptive walk. This discrepancy likely reflects adaptation from standing genetic variation rather than de novo mutation. The …

Examining The Adjustment, Acculturation, And Well-Being Of International Arab Students In The United States: Implications For Policy And Practice, Hassan A A Kh A A Arab

Wayne State University Dissertations

This paper explored Arab international students studying in the United States to see whether they face acculturation stress, adjustment, or well-being issues. I found that my sample (N=95) experienced moderately high well-being distress and acculturative stress. However, the sample showed resilience and positive adjustment in all aspects, psychological (M=34.7), social (M=38.5), and academic (M=37.4). Moreover, well-being score from a modified GHQ survey came with high SD, indicating some students were dealing with serious mental issues, while others were doing well (M=42.92, SD=5.52). The majority of my participants were males (74.7%), single (75.8%), and graduate students (50.5%). Chi-square analysis found a …

Talking About Cancer And Tobacco (Tact) Study With Lgbtq Patients And Their Care Providers, William Bowling

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Due to multilevel factors, including a high prevalence of tobacco use, the burden of some cancers is disproportionately higher in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community than the general population. Evidence-based tobacco treatment delivery with high rates of tobacco cessation would be a powerful tool for secondary cancer prevention in the LGBTQ community, yet few studies have explored this issue. The current study aimed to 1) uncover both positive and negative aspects related to the lived experience and treatment of LGBTQ cancer survivors who use tobacco, 2) elucidate barriers and facilitators of tobacco treatment and cessation, and …

Enhancing Faculty Self-Efficacy In Student Retention Through Teas Reading Comprehension Score Education, Katina A. Ennis

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Student retention remains a persistent challenge for Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) programs, with significant implications for the nursing workforce amid a national shortage. Faculty self-efficacy in interpreting and utilizing academic readiness data, particularly ATI TEAS reading comprehension scores, is often limited, leading to missed opportunities for early intervention. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project evaluated whether a targeted educational intervention could enhance faculty self-efficacy in using TEAS reading comprehension scores to support at-risk students and improve retention strategies.

The project employed a quantitative pre- and post-intervention design using the validated Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) …

Quality Improvement Project: Empowering Nursing Instructors For Effective Simulation Facilitation, Brittany N. Hilson

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Simulation-based education is vital in nursing education, enhancing clinical skills and decision-making in a controlled environment. The DNP Quality Improvement (QI) project aimed to increase nursing faculty self-efficacy in facilitating simulation-based education by providing targeted training in high-fidelity simulation technology. A needs assessment at the school of nursing project site revealed that the faculty lacked sufficient experience and confidence in using simulation equipment. The impact of the simulation-based intervention was evaluated by applying a paired sample t-test, utilizing pre- and post-assessment data. Following a four-week intervention, the results demonstrated that 69.2% of participants showed a significant increase in self-efficacy, with …

Southern Adventist University Adult Degree Completion Catalog 2024-2025, Southern Adventist University

Catalog, Adult Degree Completion

Southern Adventist University's adult degree completion catalog for the academic year 2024-2025.

Dire Straits In The Gulf: Using The Endangered Species Act To Better Protect The World's Rarest Whale From Industrial Threats, Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Colorado Environmental Law Journal

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Towards Multispecies Environmental Justice, Laura Street Cole

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Holding Fossil Fuel Producers Accountable In U.S. And Other Foreign Courts: A Climate Justice Pathway For Sierra Leone, Jamil Sahid Fofanah

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Environmental Cost Of Intelligence: Regulating The Climate Impact Of Artificial Intelligence, Emilee Calvin

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.