Digital Commons Network^™

Performance Outcomes Of Critical Access Hospitals: A Resource Dependence Theory Evaluation Of Change Of Ownership Versus Independence, Colette Christina Martin

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) play a vital role in sustaining healthcare access in rural communities, yet many face persistent financial and operational constraints. A change in hospital ownership is frequently seen as a strategy to sustain these hospitals, improve access to capital, supplement administrative infrastructure, and leverage system-level expertise. However, empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of acquisition for CAHs remains limited and mixed. Guided by Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) and the Balanced Scorecard framework, this study examines whether ownership change is associated with differences in financial performance, utilization, staffing, and quality outcomes among CAHs.

Using Medicare Cost Reports, the American …

Procedural Good Faith In Investment Arbitration—What Is It And What Could It Be?, Meg Kinnear

American University Business Law Review

When I selected the topic of procedural good faith for this lecture, I did not expect it to be as unwieldy as it proved to be. After all, good faith is a fundamental concept for every law student, and it anchors our approach to legal analysis and “thinking like a lawyer.” As counsel, our core belief is that proceedings must be conducted in good faith, and we each have a professional duty to act in good faith in arbitration.

Nonetheless, I am certain that each of you has witnessed conduct during an arbitration—by the opposite party, of course—that struck you …

Creating A Responsible Authorship Culture In Science: Anchoring Authorship Practices In Principles Of Transparency, Credit, And Accountability, Susan Wolf, Véronique Kiermer, Sofia Adams, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Joerg Heber, Mohammad Hosseini, Ana Marušić, Beau Nielsen, Magdalena Skipper, Geeta K. Swamy, Yensi Flores Bueso

Articles

Authorship remains the primary currency of academic credit and a cornerstone of research integrity, yet current practices often fail to reflect the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of modern science and questionable authorship practices persist. We argue that addressing these shortcomings is a collective responsibility shared by researchers, journals, research funders, scholarly societies, and research institutions. We examined authorship guidelines issued by journals and research institutions and found that their recommendations to researchers are highly variable. We propose that fostering a responsible authorship culture requires a shared, principle-based framework grounded in transparency, credit, and accountability. These three interconnected principles highlight when …

Need For Harmonized Terminology In Cryopreservation To Support Reproducibility, Regulation, And Translation, Susan Wolf, Lakshya Gangwar, Lowell Wolfe, Nikolas Zuchowicz, Irina Filz Von Reiterdank, Srivasupradha Ramesh, Bat-Erdene Namsrai, Joseph Kangas, Joseph Sushil Rao, Matthew Powell-Palm, Timothy L. Pruett, John C. Bischof, Korkut Uygun

Articles

As cryopreservation technologies continue to develop, the need for harmonized terminology across the multitude of disciplines where cryopreservation is applied is becoming increasingly acute. Terminology in cryopreservation remains inconsistent, leading to confusion and barriers to progress. Applications of cryopreservation in medicine, food, agriculture, and conservation remain limited by this lack of consensus. Inconsistent terminology contributes to ethical, legal, and societal issues in translating and integrating new cryopreservation technologies. Here we identify the problem with examples of cryopreservation terminology that demand harmonization. We describe the need for terminological consistency by providing examples of effective terminology harmonization projects in related fields. We …

Temple, New Hampshire 2025 Annual Reports For The Year Ending December 31, 2025. Report Compiled By Temple Select Board And Rose Lowry, Temple Town Representatives

Temple, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Making Room For Cultural Humility In An Anti-Dei Space, Shelley Ward Bennett

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

This Article analyzes the intersection of state anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) laws and the American Bar Association (ABA) Standard 303(c)’s cross-cultural competency education mandate and offers suggestions for how these policies can coexist. The surge in anti-DEI laws issued in twenty states over the last four years has created challenges and uncertainty for public law schools and their professors seeking to include cultural competency instruction in their curriculum. Though some have expressed concerns that the requirements of state anti-DEI laws and Standard 303(c) may conflict, this Article proposes that such a conflict should not be presumed because Standard 303(c) …

Reimagining Self-Regulation In Sexual Misconduct Complaints: Trust Through Transfer, Allyson M. Mcbride

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

To increase trust in the judiciary’s ability to self-regulate, any formal complaints about a judge should not be handled by a colleague down the hall, but a judge from a different circuit. In this Comment, I propose automatic transfer out of circuit to improve the handling of sexual misconduct complaints specifically. I first describe the different ways judicial conduct is regulated in the federal system. I then discuss the problem of sexual misconduct in the judiciary. Finally, I outline why it is problematic for judges to adjudicate complaints about their intra-circuit colleagues and recommend that all complaints be automatically transferred …

Community Benefit Spending Decisions At Virginia’S Nonprofit Hospitals, Zelda Hinkle

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Nonprofit Studies Capstone Projects

Nonprofit hospitals play a unique role in the healthcare system: in exchange for tax- exempt status, they are expected to provide “community benefits,” such as charity care, health programs, and community investments. While this spending represents a major opportunity to improve population health and address disparities, stakeholders debate how expectations should be set, measured, and regulated to ensure mission adherence while maintaining nonprofit autonomy. This study explores how community benefit spending allocation is actually determined, leveraging interviews with decision-makers at large nonprofit hospital systems in Virginia. Findings consider the role of factors such as Community Health Needs Assessments and strategic …

Operation Midway Blitz: How Federal Immigration Agents Violated International Human Rights, Sarah Dávila A., Alejandra Palacios, Roberto A. Valdez Jr.

Faculty White Papers

No abstract provided.

Vocational Education And Employment Outcomes For Individuals With Disabilities: Trends, Barriers, And Supported Employment Practices, Taylor John Peterson

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines literature that focuses on vocational education and employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. This paper includes current vocational practices, barriers to employment, and the effectiveness of supported employment for individuals with disabilities. The studies used for this thesis show that work-based learning, career and technical education (CTE), and instruction in employability skills positively affect students’ employment outcomes. There are also barriers to employment for individuals with disabilities. They include employer misconceptions, limited accommodations, and a lack of transition services. Individuals with disabilities who receive supported employment have a much greater chance of obtaining employment. The findings in …

Trustworthy Multimodal Ai For Medical Imaging: Enhancing Diagnosis, Reasoning, And Human-Agent Interaction In Extended Reality, Jai Prakash Veerla

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations

The transition from traditional microscopy to digital pathology has digitized diagnostic data, yet clinical workflows remain constrained by two-dimensional screens and passive, opaque analysis tools that fail to capture the spatial complexity of biological systems. While Foundation Models now promise to reason across histology and genomics, a critical disconnect persists between the richness of this data and the limited cognitive bandwidth of clinicians, who currently lack the immersive interfaces and trustworthy agents necessary to utilize it effectively. This dissertation presents a unified framework for "Embodied Agentic AI," establishing a pipeline that augments physician capabilities through immersive visualization, robust security, and …

Immortal Justice: Why The Henrietta Lacks Family Merits Restitution Today, Suzette Malveaux

Scholarly Articles

Almost three quarters of a century have passed since Henrietta Lacks had her cells biopsied from her cervix without her knowledge or consent. Upon discovering that Henrietta’s cells were immortal, scientists have been able to solve the most vexing medical problems of modern times and save countless lives worldwide. Aware of the cells’ scandalous origins, big pharma has nonetheless commercialized and wildly profited from the HeLa cell line without sharing the benefit with Henrietta’s family, who has been left traumatized and destitute by the initial theft.

Despite the passage of time, Henrietta’s family is seeking restitution today from pharmaceutical companies …

Showpony, George Theodore Ellington

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The poetry collection Showpony focuses on the real-life experiences of a woman in her twenties during the 1970s, who is treated by psychiatrist Dr. Robert J. Stoller at UCLA in a desperate attempt to make her normal. Mrs. G struggles with homicidal and suicidal thoughts, psychosis, as well as her homosexuality and transgender identity. Showpony examines the ways in which psychology has pathologized these experiences and the ramifications for patients, particularly those who have been publicly showcased as examples of their conditions used to train future students. The collection critiques the exploitation of patients by psychiatrists and psychologists, highlighting unethical …

Fashioning The Body Politic: Explorations Of The Political Semiotics Of Fashion In France And England During The French Revolution, Annika F. Gauthier

Scripps Senior Theses

In the midst of the French Revolution, women’s fashion underwent a complete revolution, moving from the multi-layered elaborate gowns of the ancien regime, to light, form-fitting dresses. These gowns reveal the way clothing reflects the political positions of women and the ways the French and the British used clothing to construct national identity and politics. Following research on the political symbolism and role of clothing across France and Britain, this thesis reviews fashion’s overarching connection to politics, revealing its role in the early French Revolution’s conception of women and patriotism, women’s responses to political exclusions, and rival nations’ adaptations of …

Viral Misunderstandings: Reddit Posts And The Covid-19 Infodemic, Julia C. Knutson

Scripps Senior Theses

Information epidemics or “infodemics” became the center of misinformation conversations, due to a global increase in information spread surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. While many academic scholars and institutions, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) attribute the cause of infodemics to anti-science attitudes and the public’s lack of scientific literacy, scholars in Science, Technology, and Society argue that analyzing misinformation within these isolated bounds limits our understanding of its underlying social and historical contexts. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study for misinformation analysis reveals a gap in our current understanding of how people who resonate with or spread …

The Judicial Containment Of Adivasi Rights Across India's Mineral Belt, Sajni S. Sheth-Voss

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines how Adivasi resistance to mining-induced dispossession across India’s mineral belt is increasingly channeled into the judiciary, arguing that this shift functions as a mechanism of containment rather than a pathway to justice. Despite a robust legal framework designed to protect Adivasi land and consent rights, systematic non-enforcement and political closure have hollowed out policy and electoral channels, pushing communities into litigation as a last resort. Drawing on scholarship in political economy, legal studies, and political ecology, alongside primary sources including court documents and activist statements, this study follows how disputes move across institutions and are ultimately reshaped …

Remembering Choices: Feedback, Memory Accuracy, And Context-Dependent Preference Shifts, Cameryn K A Okamura

Scripps Senior Theses

Preferences are often assumed to be stable across time and context, yet research on cognition and behavioral economics suggests otherwise. The present study examined whether false reminders of prior choices amplify susceptibility to the asymmetric dominance effect, commonly known as the decoy effect, and secondly, whether working memory capacity moderates this relationship. Twenty-one participants completed an online experiment in which they first chose between pairs of everyday consumer products or services before receiving accurate, inaccurate, or no reminders of their earlier selections. They then made new choices from triplet sets containing a target (T), competitor (C), and asymmetrically dominated decoy …

John’S Scriptural Testimony (Chapter 3 From Composite Intertextual Allusions In The Prologue And Opening Narratives), Amber Dillon

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

The work of this project picks up where scholarship has left the conversation open regarding the Evangelist’s use of Scripture and its implications for the Fourth Gospel and Judaism through exploring where several Johannine streams intersect in the person of John the Baptist. I propose that his characterization brings together these major conversations and offers another perspective to the discussion regarding the Jewish nature of the Gospel. John the Baptist is portrayed as the archetypal witness to Jesus as his characterization is wrapped up in composite allusions to the Jewish Scriptures. This detailed intertextual weaving is a result of the …

Characterizing Immune Perturbations In Peripheral Blood Following The East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment, Sheridan B. Wagner, Hami Hemati, Siva Gandhapudi, Timothy J. Hilbert, Candace J. Brancato, Erin N. Haynes, Ilhem Messaoudi

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Background: The East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment on February 3rd, 2023, resulted in the exposure of residents and the surrounding area to numerous hazardous chemicals, which included known acute irritants and human carcinogens. Despite evacuation and cleanup, both residents and responders reported high occurrences of symptoms associated with exposure in the months following, such as eye, skin, and respiratory irritation, headaches, and fatigue. The long-term health consequences for residents remain uncertain.

Objective: To assess the potential for immune perturbations resulting from the exposure, we performed a broad investigation of circulating immune cells and mediators from residents of East Palestine, OH, …

Combinatorial Immunotherapy Drives Exhaustion In Tumor Antigen–Specific Cd8+ T Cells Within The Mouse Renal Tumor Microenvironment, Holly R. Stephens, Elizabeth Elkins, Jing Li, Zoey N. Swalley, Henry Nnaemeka Ogbonna, Pia Muri, Zachary Roberts, Francesca R. Dempsey, Md Akkas Ali, Md Hasanul Banna Siam, Richard Kirkman, Jianqing Zhang, Sunil Sudarshan, Daniel J. Tyrrell, Hubert M. Tse, Daniel L. Smith Jr, Lyse A. Norian

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Immunotherapies have greatly improved outcomes for patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), yet response rates remain suboptimal and the factors promoting therapy resistance versus sensitivity are incompletely understood. Currently, no preclinical model of orthotopic renal cancer exists that permits evaluation of tumor antigen–specific (TAS) CD8⁺ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). To address this deficiency, we developed a mouse renal cancer model that permits tracking of adoptively transferred TAS CD8⁺ T cells. Renca-LUC tumor cells were transduced to express tumor ERK (tERK), a model antigen expressing a one-amino-acid change from wild-type ERK, resulting in recognition by tERK/H-2K^d-specific DUC Thy1.1 …

Assessing The Impact Of The 2021 Vwd Guidelines On The Diagnosis/Management Of Low Vwf Patients, Michael Dong, Joanna Larson, Sepideh Saroukhani, Miguel Escobar, Lakshmi Srivaths

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: The 2021 ASH/ISTH/NHF/WFH VWD diagnosis guidelines recommend Type 1 VWD diagnoses for patients with (a) VWF < 0.30 IU/mL or (b) 'Low VWF' 0.30-0.50 IU/mL with the presence of abnormal bleeding. This recommendation recategorizes 'Low VWF' patients with abnormal bleeding into Type 1 VWD.

Aim: To assess the impact of the 2021 VWD guidelines on the diagnosis and management of 'Low VWF' patients.

Methods: A single centre retrospective study was conducted to review all patients presenting for VWD evaluation between January 2000 to September 2024, analyzing for clinical features, ISTH-BAT scores, VWF/FVIII levels, and management of bleeding. 149 patients, totalling 305 clinical encounters, were included in the study.

Results: Seventy five percent of patient encounters had a change in diagnosis from 'Low VWF' to Type 1 VWD …

Evaluation Of Interventions For Cognitive Symptoms In Long Covid: A Randomized Clinical Trial, David S Knopman, Deborah Koltai, Daniel T Laskowitz, Jacqueline Becker, Leigh Charvet, Juan Wisnivesky, Alex Federman, Adam Silverstein, Yuliya Lokhnygina, Giuseppina Pilloni, Michelle Haddad, Henry Mahncke, Tom Van Vleet, Rong Huang, Wendy Cox, Diana Terry, Jeannie Karwowski, Netia Mccray, Jenny J Lin, Grace A Mccomsey, Upinder Singh, Linda N Geng, Helen Y Chu, Rebecca Reece, James Moy, Zoe Arvanitakis, Sairam Parthasarathy, Thomas F Patterson, Aditi Gupta, Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, Jeffrey Parsonnet, Elaine T Kiriakopoulos, Tamara G Fong, Janet Mullington, Sarah Jolley, Nirav S Shah, Sarah Shizuko Morimoto, Joyce K Lee-Iannotti, William D S Killgore, Brigid Dwyer, William Stringer, Carmen Isache, Jennifer A Frontera, Jerry A Krishnan, Ashley O'Steen, Melissa James, Barrie L Harper, Kanecia O Zimmerman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Treatment for cognitive dysfunction due to postacute sequelae of long COVID (ie, symptoms of fatigue, malaise, weakness, confusion that persist beyond 12 weeks after an initial COVID infection) remains a significant unmet need.

Objective: To test evidence-based rehabilitation strategies for improving cognitive symptoms in persons with long COVID.

Design, setting, and participants: This was a 5-arm, multicenter, randomized clinical trial of 3 remotely delivered interventions conducted between August 17, 2023, and June 10, 2024. The study took place at 22 trial sites and included the screening of individuals with cognitive long COVID.

Interventions: Participants were randomized to 1 of …

Bridging Evidence To Practice: Development Of An Evidence- Based Occupational Therapy Protocol For Early Rehabilitation Of Adults With Disorders Of Consciousness, Jessie D. Brian

OTD Capstones

Patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) following critical illness often experience prolonged hospitalization, delayed functional recovery, and limited access to early rehabilitation services. In acute care settings, occupational therapy (OT) plays a critical role in sensory stimulation, positioning, caregiver education, and the promotion of arousal and participation; however, interventions are often delayed or inconsistently implemented. A retrospective review of patient data at Concord Hospital identified low rates of early OT involvement among mechanically ventilated patients with OT orders, highlighting a gap in standardized rehabilitation practices for this medically complex population. The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to develop …

Tiktok, The First Amendment, And Regulating Speech On The Internet, Marriah Binek

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rewriting The Sentence: Second Look Sentencing In Rhode Island, Carter Hazzard

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

A New Middle Ground: The Continuous Treatment Doctrine As A Solution To Rhode Island’S Incomplete Tort Reform, Justin Edward Keyes

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mile V. Kirkbrae Country Club, 331 A.3d 1003 (R.I. 2025)., Taylor Payne

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

State V. Mclean., 337 A.3d 655 (R.I. 2025)., Kelsey Carter

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

State V. Roman, 335 A.3d 782 (R.I. 2025)., Kylie Rau

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

In Re N.O., 336 A.3d 29 (R.I. 2025)., Salvamarie Alifonso

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.