Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Healthcare Provider Confidence And Accuracy In Performing And Documenting The Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale, Victoria Okoani-Nneji

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Monitoring for medication-related movement disorders is essential for adults with schizophrenia receiving antipsychotic medications; however, inconsistent Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) assessment and documentation can limit timely recognition of abnormal movements. This quality improvement project evaluated a six-week structured AIMS education program designed to improve provider confidence and documentation accuracy in an outpatient behavioral health setting in Central Ohio. Guided by Benner’s Novice-to-Expert Model and Kotter’s Eight-Step Change Model, the project used a one-group pretest-posttest design with 15 licensed behavioral health providers. Weekly sessions included instruction, demonstration, guided practice, case-based learning, scoring, interpretation, and electronic health record (EHR) documentation. Descriptive …

Quality Improvement Project: Determining Impact Of Mental Health Screening Provider Training, Sherri Bennett

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Obesity is frequently associated with mental health concerns, yet these conditions may remain under identified when mental health screening is not consistently incorporated into medical weight-loss care. At the project site, fewer than 2% of patients who are overweight or obese were identified as needing mental health services, demonstrating a practice gap in screening and referral. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate whether targeted mental health screening education improved provider confidence. The aim was to increase confidence in conducting mental health screening among nurse practitioners in a medical weight-loss program. The Stetler Model provided the theoretical …

Standardizing Discharge Communication In Urgent Care: A Teach-Back Quality Improvement Initiative, Pearlean Smith

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Deficits in health literacy and inconsistent discharge education contribute to patient misunderstanding and avoidable return visits. This quality improvement project evaluated a standardized teach-back discharge education process at a community urgent care clinic. Lewin's Change Theory guided the change process, the Iowa Model guided implementation, and Donabedian's Structure-Process-Outcome Framework guided evaluation. A quantitative one-group pretest-posttest design included eight participants: three nurse practitioners, two licensed practical nurses, and three medical assistants. Participants completed a 30-minute teach-back educational session followed by a 12-week implementation period. Measures included the five-item Confidence Scale, discharge audits, and aggregate electronic medical record data on seven-day return …

Quality Improvement Project: Improving Nurse Discharge Competency Through Standardized Education And Discharge Tools In An Inpatient Behavioral Health Hospital, Valina Williams

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Inconsistent discharge education and variable use of structured discharge tools can affect the consistency of transitions from inpatient behavioral health care. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice quality improvement project was to improve nurse discharge competency by implementing standardized discharge education and reinforcing use of a structured discharge tool in a rural inpatient behavioral health hospital. A quantitative, quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design was used over 12 weeks with 16 eligible registered and licensed practical nurses. Organizational readiness was assessed at baseline, and nurse self-efficacy was measured before and after implementation. Discharge-tool adherence and 30-day readmissions were also evaluated. …

God’S Angry Men: The Political Legacy Of The John Birch Society, By Carmen Celestini. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2026. 288 Pages. $108.00. Isbn 978-1666973587, Camille Kaminski Lewis

Journal of Hate Studies

Communications studies scholar Camille Kaminski Lewis reviews Carmen Celestini’s God’s Angry Men: The Political Legacy of the John Birch Society, a history of Robert Welch’s anti-Communist organization that relies on extensive archival work. God’s Angry Men focuses on the John Birch Society’s impact on politics, including the 1964 Barry Goldwater campaign, the rise of the Religious Right in the 1980s, and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.

The Legacy Sites: A History Of Racial Injustice, By Equal Justice Initiative. Monacelli, 2026. 280 Pages. $59.95 Isbn 978-1580937320, Roger Davis Gatchet

Journal of Hate Studies

Roger Davis Gatchet, a scholar of communication, reviews The Legacy Sites: A History of Racial Injustice, collectively authored by the Equal Justice Initiative with a forward by founder and executive director Bryan Stevenson. Rich with photographs and written for a popular audience, The Legacy Sites offers an accessible history of race relations and the struggle for racial justice in the United States, organized by chapters devoted to three sites in Montgomery, Alabama: the Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice Museum, and Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. The book’s historical narrative adopts a critical tone that reflects the …

Introduction To “Reviews & Interviews”, Rebecca Barrett-Fox, Jennifer Schlegel

Journal of Hate Studies

An introduction to the 25th anniversary of the Journal of Hate Studies from Rebecca Barrett-Fox, editorial board chair, and Jennifer Schlegel, managing editor.

Proof, Evidence And Hate Crime: A Study In Criminal Jurisprudence, By Tshepo Bogosi Mosaka. Routledge, 2026. 226 Pages. $150.00 Isbn 978-1032764535, Sachin S. Pandya

Journal of Hate Studies

Legal scholar Sachin S. Pandya reviews Tshepo Bogosi Mosaka’s Proof, Evidence and Hate Crime: A Study in Criminal Jurisprudence. While traditional notions of proof separate fact from value and treat proof as apart from procedural rules and practices and from substantive law, Proof, Evidence, and Hate Crime proposes an applied and context-specific model of proof. Mosaka uses non-contact hate crimes motivated by race, religion, and ethnic bias to explore his ideas.

A Conversation About Four For Gideon With Michael Schachter, Michael Beckerman

Journal of Hate Studies

Four for Gideon, composed by American Michael Schachter, is a new setting for four Czech and Polish folk songs, with tunes previously arranged by Gideon Klein (1919–1945) during his imprisonment in the Terezin (Theresienstadt) Ghetto, a concentration camp in the present-day Czech Republic. Klein served as a music director there before being transferred to Auschwitz, where he was murdered. Four for Gideon was commissioned by the Standford Eisenberg Jewish Day School in Knoxville, Tennessee, and was premiered by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (Aram Demirjian, music director) on March 5, 2025, in a performance in honor of Violins of Hope, …

Cowboy Apocalypse: Religion And The Myth Of The Vigilante Messiah, By Rachel Wagner. New York: Nyu Press, 2023. 320 Pages. $35.00. Isbn 978-1479831623, Scot Loyd

Journal of Hate Studies

Scot Loyd, a heritage studies scholar, reviews Rachel Wagner’s Cowboy Apocalypse: Religion and the Myth of the Vigilante Messiah. An Interdisciplinary study drawing from religious studies, media theory, and cultural analysis, Cowboy Apocalypse examines how American video games, film, television, and other forms of popular culture engage redemptive violence, particularly at the hands of lone heroes.

A Fate-And-Transport Model For Diclofenac From Wastewater Treatment Plants To The Diyala–Tigris Rivers, Baghdad, Iraq, Mohammed A. Al-Ameri, Ghyda Y. Al Kindi, Noor S. Mahdi

Engineering and Technology Journal

Diclofenac is a widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that is incompletely removed by conventional wastewater treatment. This study evaluates its fate and transport from consumption and excretion, through the three Al-Rustamiyah wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) units in Baghdad, to the Diyala River, the Tigris River, and the Al-Tuwaitha drinking-water intake. Discrete ``grab'' samples were collected during 12–14 November 2020 from WWTP influent and effluent streams and from river and intake sites. Diyala River concentrations ranged from 0.094 to 2.184 μg/L. At the Tigris confluence, diclofenac was 0.052 μg/L; the two immediate downstream measurements were below 0.01 μg/L …

Lessons Learned: Daniel K. Tarullo, Sophia Alden

Journal of Financial Crises

Daniel K. Tarullo was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) and the Federal Open Market Committee from January 2009 to April 2017. Before his appointment to the Board, Tarullo held several government positions, including assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, deputy assistant to the president for economic policy, and assistant to the president for international economic policy. In addition to his work with the Federal Reserve, Tarullo has extensive experience in law and academia and has spent more than 15 years teaching at Georgetown and Harvard Law Schools. Tarullo …

The Lingering Effects On Junk Bond Spreads Of The Fed’S 2020 Corporate Bond Backstop Facilities, John V. Duca, An Nguyen

Journal of Financial Crises

The US corporate bond market is typically disrupted during financial crises, when uncertainty and risk premiums are high and bond issuance is depressed. During the COVID-19 recession, the Federal Reserve introduced two unprecedented interventions: the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility and Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility. These backstop facilities stood ready to purchase corporate bonds when corporate bond spreads were wide. While existing literature highlights their effects on investment-grade bonds, the implications for high-yield (junk) bonds remain less well understood. We track uncertainty using the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX; Jurado, Ludvigson, and Ng’s measures of macroeconomic uncertainty; and other …

Geotechnical Enhancement Of Noncohesive Coal Mine Overburden Using Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation And Fly Ash Stabilization For Sustainable Pavement Applications, Atul Gautam, Laxmikant Yadu

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The majority of the waste generated from opencast mining, termed as overburden (OB), is dumped adjacent to the mine boundary and poses long-term stability issues. Various studies have been carried out to assess the risk of dump slope failure, and treatment strategies have been accordingly recommended to strengthen this OB dump. However, scant works are reported to sustainably utilize this OB for construction works. This study aims to quantify the performance of stabilized noncohesive coal mine OB collected from Gondegaon opencast mine (OCM) in India. Stabilization was achieved using two techniques, namely microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) through Sporosarcina pasteurii …

Perceptions Of Professional Identity In Nursing By Ambulatory Care Nurses, Susan B. Fowler

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Nursing professional identity (PIN) defines the values and actions of nurses. It is important to study nurses’ perceptions of their professional identity because it communicates what nursing is. There is a gap in knowledge about ambulatory care nurses’ perceptions of PIN.

Methods: The purpose of this study was to describe ambulatory care nurses’ perceptions of their professional identity in themselves and their peers and determine differences based on demographics. An exploratory, descriptive, comparative design was used to address the two study aims. Participants were recruited from AAACN and STTI and completed the Professional Identity in Nursing Scale.

Results: One …

The Student Movement Volume 111 Issue 1: Week Of Prayer, Ai Scare And Chicago Fairs, Kyle Simpson, Corinna Bevier, Megan Constantine, Anna Rybachek, Samuel Ruiz, Matthew Henderson, Maya Thomas, Caleb Chung

The Student Movement v. 111 (2026-2027)

NEWS

News Writer Introductions, News Writers

SILA Welcomes a New School Year With Two Classic Events, Kyle Simpson

"Calling > Career:" Anthony Wagener Smith Delivers Fall Week of Prayer, Corinna Bevier

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Arts & Entertainment Writer Introductions, Arts & Entertainment Writers

Raising Our Voices: Worship During Week of Prayer, Megan Constantine

Exploring Literature and Art at Chicago Street Festivals, Anna Rybachek

IDEAS

Ideas Writer Introductions, Ideas Writers

Should We Be Reading the News?,  Samuel Ruiz

Will AI Kill Us All?, Matthew Henderson

PULSE

Pulse Writer Introductions, Pulse Writers

The Impact of Week of Prayer According to Students, Maya Thomas …

Impacting Provider Knowledge, Attitude, And Practice Care In Adult Autism Spectrum Disorder Through Targeted Educational Interventions, Aganaba Alabi Anike Grace

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Autism spectrum disorder is often considered a pediatric problem. However, undiagnosed autism among adults causes disproportionate healthcare inequities. Conventional ASD research and clinical training focus on pediatric groups, resulting in underdeveloped adult-oriented care and inadequately prepared providers. The project site reported discrepancies in ASD documentation and lack of knowledge in adult autism. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the impact of targeted educational interventions on provider knowledge, attitude, and practice of adult autism. The Iowa Model guided the translation of evidence into practice, whereas Kotter’s eight-step change model guided implementation. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was used among 30 …

Quality Improvement Project: Improving Nurses’ Confidence In Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Assessment Through The I-Decided Framework, Pepe Sanchez

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) remain a patient safety concern because inappropriate management can increase the risk of catheter-related bloodstream infections, prolonged hospitalization, and increased healthcare costs. A vascular access assessment at an acute care hospital identified inconsistent PIVC assessment practices and inadequate documentation, highlighting the need for a standardized approach to vascular access management. This quality improvement project evaluated the impact of education on the I-DECIDED framework on nurses' confidence in PIVC assessment and clinical decision-making. Guided by the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Model and Lewin's Theory of Planned Change, the project used a quantitative, quasi-experimental, one-group pretest-posttest design. …

Determining Impact On Provider Adherence To Current Diabetes Guidelines: A Quality Improvement Project, Rashemia Suber

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The delivery and documentation of evidence-based adult lifestyle counseling for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were found to be inconsistent in a clinic that serves an underserved population. This quality improvement (QI) project assessed whether a provider education program based on the 2025 American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) Diabetes Guidelines would improve provider confidence and documentation of lifestyle recommendations. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design was guided by both Pender's Health Promotion Model as the theoretical framework and Lewin's Change Theory as the change theory. The Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycle guided this project as the implementation framework. …

Not Merely A Workaround: Theorizing Asynchronous Math Talks As A Robust Instructional Routine For Visible Thinking, Participation, And Engagement In Mathematics Teacher Education, Simon Byeonguk Han

Dissertations and Theses

The sudden global shift due to COVID-19 accelerated the need for a better understanding of mathematics learning and teaching in an asynchronous format. Also, despite the popular use of mathematics instructional routines in mathematics classrooms, the field of mathematics education research has very limited empirical studies on instructional routines. This dissertation addresses this by examining Asynchronous Math Talks (AMTs), a structured instructional routine adapted from Number Talks. The central goal of this research is to develop and theorize AMTs not merely as an online workaround, but as a robust instructional model that leverages the unique affordances of digital platforms to …

Nursing Students' Perceived Experience With Virtual Reality (Vr) Simulation: A Qualitative Analysis, Kristi J. Stinson, Leslie Rippon

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background – As healthcare education increasingly adopts immersive technologies, understanding student perspectives on virtual reality is essential for effective curriculum design.

Method – This study explored nursing students’ perceived experiences with the use of virtual reality (VR) technology in classroom-based learning. Data was collected through surveys with nursing students who participated in VR-enhanced learning activity on mass casualty triage and team communication.

Results – Qualitative analysis of the open-ended survey questions revealed four central themes: enhanced confidence and preparedness, technical skill acquisition, communication and teamwork insights, and the value of experiential learning. Students expressed that VR provided a safe environment …

Interventions Addressing Moral Distress In Acute Care Nurses: A Systematic Review, Maira Alejandra Harris, Sarah Owens, Louis Baser, Jean Edward

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background. Moral distress (MoD), or psychological distress resulting from acting against one’s ethics, and its consequences is a growing concern in healthcare. Nurses experiencing MoD are at greater risk of experiencing burnout, workplace stress and fatigue, anxiety, and depression. There is a gap in the literature regarding MoD interventions in nurses working in the acute care setting. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify interventions that reduce MoD in registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) working in the acute care setting.

Methods. We searched PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO in September 2025. Search string results revealed 3,637 …

Cultural Continuity Of Care: First Nations Families’ Experiences In Mainstream Healthcare, Nina Sivertsen, Tahlia Johnson, Janiene Deverix, Julian Grant

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

First Nations women and their infants experience significant health disparities compared to non-First Nations populations, including higher rates of gestational diabetes, preterm birth, and maternal mortality. Timely, culturally safe maternal and child healthcare is critical to addressing these inequities, yet many First Nations families report fear, anxiety, and fragmented care when engaging with mainstream health services. This qualitative study explored factors influencing continuity of care and culturally safe practices during the first 2000 days of life, from conception to a child’s second birthday. Using yarning—a culturally grounded research method—nine First Nations families (19 participants, including mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and one …

The Perceived Impact Of Compassion Fatigue On Clinical Decision-Making Skills In Icu Nurses, Angela Yee

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Intensive care unit nurses (ICU) care for patients in a stressful, high-acuity work environment. They are frequently exposed to emotionally demanding situations. Cumulative occupational stressors place ICU nurses at risk for compassion fatigue. Literature suggests this stress can negatively influence work performance in the ICU; however, there is currently limited research investigating the perceived relationship between compassion fatigue and clinical decision-making skills among ICU nurses.

Purpose: A descriptive phenomenological approach was used to answer the research question: How do ICU nurses perceive their clinical decision-making skills when experiencing compassion fatigue?

Methods: Eighteen ICU nurses at a large academic health …

Older Population-Based Resilience: An Evolutionary Analysis Via Complex Adaptive Systems, Po-Chung Feng

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: To clarify the concept of older population-base resilience to support nursing research, public health planning, and healthy aging strategies.

Background: Older population-based resilience is an important concept for facilitating the adaptation of aging populations to multifaceted adversity networks. While extensive studies has examined resilience among older adults across diverse systems, hierarchical levels, and dimensional perspectives, the conceptual discourse has focused mainly on the individual level. A comprehensive articulation of population-level resilience attributes has been notably absent from the literature. Consequently, establishing a precise conceptualization of Older Population-Based Resilience constitutes an imperative scholarly endeavor.

Methods: A systematic literature search was …

Innovative Techniques In Nursing Education: Evidence-Based Recommendations, Leona Cilar Budler

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Introduction: Nursing education must adapt to technological changes because of evolving clinical practices, growing volumes of digital information, and increasingly diverse learning needs. Traditional pedagogical approaches often fall short in addressing the expectations of contemporary learners who are accustomed to interactive, flexible, and technology-mediated modes of engagement. As a result, teachers are integrating innovative, evidence-based teaching techniques to strengthen learning outcomes, enhance student motivation, and support the development of professional identity in digital contexts. This paper aims to investigate existing interventions that use innovative techniques, like social media, in nursing education and to assess their effectiveness.

Methods: A systematic literature …

Examining Social Support Among Black Dementia Caregivers In The Greater Toronto Area, Deanna Marie Black

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Dementia affects more than 55 million people globally and disproportionately impacts Black populations due to inequities in healthcare access. In Canada, Black communities face higher dementia risk and greater barriers to timely, culturally aligned care. In the Greater Toronto Area, Black caregivers carry major responsibilities while navigating fragmented services shaped by race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Although social support reduces caregiver burden, little is known about how Black caregivers access and use support within intersecting social and structural constraints.

Purpose: This study will examine how Black adult caregivers in the Greater Toronto Area construct, access, and mobilize social support …

Navigating The Midlife Shift: Menopause, Motherhood, And Meaning In Women’S Lives, Michelle M. Ness

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Midlife represents a dynamic and often disorienting transition for women, marked by the convergence of menopause, shifting family roles, and evolving professional identities. This mixed-methods study explores how women navigate these intersecting experiences, particularly focusing on the impact of menopausal symptoms on motherhood, work, and relational well-being.

Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 42 women aged 39–57. Thematic analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s framework, integrating inductive and deductive coding strategies. Themes were identified and refined through an iterative analytic process, ensuring credibility and depth through careful attention to patterns and meaning across participant narratives. Four key themes emerged: …

330 Years Of The Russian Navy. A Conversation With The Commander-In-Chief, July 2026, Russia Maritime Studies Institute, Anna Davis, Richard Moss

RMSI Research

On the 330th Anniversary of the Russian Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseyev gave his first long interview since he assumed his position as Commander-in-Chief two years ago (2024). Speaking with interviewer Aleksey Egorov on the program Voennaya Priyomka (Military Acceptance) on TV Zvezda (Russian Ministry of Defense TV), Moiseyev discussed the Russian Navy's past, present, and future.

Issue 5 - Arete Newsletter - Meet The Fall 2026 Team, Gabriella Miles

Arete Newsletter

Fall 2026 Welcome Issue