Digital Commons Network^™

Fighting Falls On An Inpatient Cardiovascular Unit: A Quality Improvement Project, Alice Lam

DNP Projects

Background

Patient falls are amongst the most preventable yet costly accidents that occur in an inpatient setting. Research has shown that falls are the most common causes of traumatic brain injuries and hip fractures, which can be detrimental, especially to the aging population. Furthermore, inpatient falls pose a major financial burden on all hospital institutions worldwide. Interventions that have proved to decrease fall rates involve a combination of patient and staff education, proper footwear and accessibility to walking aids, and ensuring that alarms are active and audible, and the patient beds are in lowest position. Therefore, a combination approach to …

Improving The Experience Of Self-Injection In Medical Weight Loss Patients Prescribed Glp-1 Agonists: A Quality Improvement Project, Maegan Wing

DNP Projects

Background/Introduction: Obesity is a chronic disease linked to numerous health complications. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists, including Semaglutide, Liraglutide, Dulaglutide, and Tirzepatide, are effective in weight management but require self-injection. Many patients experience barriers such as needle fear, technique difficulties, and anxiety, leading to early medication discontinuation. Data indicates that only 46.3% of patients continue GLP-1 therapy after 180 days, with adherence rates as low as 27.2% (Gleason et al., 2024). Addressing these barriers through structured provider-led self-injection training is essential to improve adherence, enhance patient outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs. Currently, at this DNP project site, there is a …

Reducing The Use Of Opioids In Post-Operative Pain Management: A Pilot Patient Education Quality Improvement Project, Nia Greene

DNP Projects

Background

The opioid crisis highlights the urgent need for safer postoperative pain management. Many patients lack knowledge about proper opioid use, associated risks, and alternative options, increasing the risk of misuse. This pilot quality improvement project aimed to evaluate the impact of preoperative patient education on opioid knowledge and use at a high-volume orthopedic practice in the Northeast.

Project Goals

The primary goals were to assess the feasibility of implementing a full-scale quality improvement initiative, reduce postoperative opioid use, and enhance patient understanding of opioid therapy, including safe use and alternative pain management strategies.

Methods

Using the Iowa Model of …

2025-04-01 Caudill Connection, Morehead State University. Caudill College Of Arts, Humanities And Social Sciences.

Caudill Connection

Caudill Connection newsletter for April of 2025.

Generative Al's Illusory Case For Fair Use, Jacqueline C. Charlesworth

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Pointing to Authors Guild, Inc. v. Google Inc., Authors Guild, Inc. v. HathiTrust, Sega Enterprises Ltd. v. Accolade, Inc. and other leading technology-driven fair use precedents, artificial intelligence (AI) companies and those who advocate for their interests claim that mass unauthorized reproduction of books, music, photographs, visual art, news articles, and other copyrighted works to train generative AI systems is a fair use of those works. Though acknowledging that works are copied without permission for the training process, the proponents of fair use maintain that an AI machine learns only uncopyrightable information about the works during that process. Once trained, …

Reading Between The Lines: Examining The Literacy Preparation And Classroom Realities Of Teachers Of Color, Dr. Cathy D. Kea, Fanica Young, Joy Banks, Annette Teasdell

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This study examines the importance of literacy preparation in educator preparation programs (EPPs). Specifically, the authors examine the need to merge literacy practices with culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies to increase reading outcomes for diverse students with disabilities. This article reports on a survey that was distributed to 18 dually prepared teachers of color to explore their collective literacy preparation experiences. The participants were graduates of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). The findings indicate that regardless of the institution’s location, EPPs, including those at HBCUs, should be intentional about addressing topics related to diversity. For early career educators …

Church And State Collide: The Constitutional Implications Of Louisiana's Ten Commandments Bill, Kimberly Aliaga

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

: In the summer of 2024, Louisiana’s governor signed House Bill 71 (HB71), which mandated all K-12 schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. While proponents of the bill claim it serves a secular purpose to promote morality and historical literacy, precedent cases like Stone v. Graham (1980) suggest otherwise. By requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms, HB71 is a violation of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause found in the First Amendment. This article analyzes the bill by comparing it to similar cases, and by applying both the Lemon and Endorsement Test to …

Closing The Distance Between Congress’S Intent And Fosta’S Text, Grant F. Gurr, Henry Purser

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

It has now been almost thirty years since Congress enacted the Communications Decency Act (CDA), and during that time, sex trafficking has become deeply intertwined with social networking and online advertisements. Internet service providers not only facilitate and profit from online sex trafficking and related crimes like the distribution of child pornography, but, thanks to CDA Section 230, these companies are largely immune to victim-led legal challenges. In 2018, Congress passed the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) to limit this immunity and provide victims with legal recourse. However, scholarly consensus suggests that FOSTA has failed to achieve its intended …

Administrative Closure: A Codified Shield For Justice And Judicial Efficiency, Abhilasha Khanal

Immigration Law Blog

Immigration Judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals have long fought for the ability to manage their dockets efficiently, often using administrative closure to prioritize high-impact cases and de-escalate low-priority removals. This article explores how the codification of administrative closure safeguards this critical judicial tool against shifting political agendas. By examining the history of administrative closure, from its contentious beginnings to its recent formalization, this article highlights why its preservation is essential for protecting vulnerable immigrants while maintaining judicial efficiency.

Uni Schedule Of Classes: Policies And Procedures, Spring 2025, University Of Northern Iowa

UNI Schedule of Classes

A listing and schedule of the courses being taught as well as policies and procedures concerning attending classes at the University of Northern Iowa.

Rulemaking Behind Closed Doors: Governor Abbott’S Secret Rulemaking. Worse Yet, All State Agencies Are Colluding With The Governor, Ronald Beal

SMU Law Review Forum

In 2019, the Texas Legislature granted the Governor new powers to review the rulemaking process for certain state agencies. Since then, the Governor has apparently extended this authority of review over the rulemaking process to more agencies than he was authorized to. Some journalists and scholars, including this Author, have attempted to access the proposals and comments submitted to the rulemaking process by the Governor’s Office—and yet the records are withheld by the Texas Attorney General under claimed exceptions to the Texas Public Information Act. Despite the Attorney General’s claims, this Author and others maintain that any records of these …

April 2025, Pacific Alumni Association

Alumni News & Events

No abstract provided.

Scientific Educations Among U.S. Judges, Christa Laser

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Should more judges have technical and scientific educations than are currently prevalent in the federal judiciary? This empirical study of the educational background of federal judges reports the undergraduate and graduate majors of active U.S. federal Article III judges. Information on the subject area of study is largely not publicly available, especially for judges appointed decades ago. This is the first and only publicly available research study of the subject areas of study of U.S. judges, collected via phone and email surveys to U.S. judges. The results of this study show that only 7.35% offederal judges have majors in science …

Democracy, History, And Washington And Lee, Christopher B. Seaman

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

At Washington and Lee, it is customary for the new holder of an endowed professorship to deliver a public lecture called a chair talk to mark their installation. This is a lightly edited and footnoted version of Professor Seaman's chair talk on October 8, 2024, given as the new Robert E.R. Huntley Professor of Law.

Life In Limbo: Cryptocurrency And Fosta As The Pillars Of Cyber-Trafficking, Rebecca Liu

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

As the internet continually advances into Web 3.0, human traffickers thrive in using online platforms to prey on their victims, creating a new form of human trafficking: cyber-trafficking. In 2018, Congress passed the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (“FOSTA”) to dampen the stringent protection that 47 U.S.C. § 230 (“Section 230”) offered to internet intermediaries in cyber-trafficking litigation. However, Congress’s intended effect in passing FOSTA failed, as courts continue to interpret FOSTA narrowly, upholding the stringent protection that Section 230 offers internet intermediaries. Beyond FOSTA’s indifferent impact, governmental bodies struggle adapting to Web 3.0’s landscape, neglecting to intervene with traffickers’ …

“Freedom Lives Hence, And Banishment Is Here”: The Weaponization Of Immigration Law To Punish Political Dissidents, Ryan Scott

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

This Note explores the long and bipartisan history of the United States government’s weaponization of the immigration system to control, exclude, and expel percieved political enemies. The near-unlimited power that the federal government has acrrued in immigration matters has been used since the Founders’ generation to purge the country of those whose ideas and speech are seen by the powers that be as threatening or subversive. This Note traces the arc of such efforts from the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 to the explusion of activists under President Trump. The Note also examines attempts to force the courts to …

Assessment Of Obstetric Outcomes For Immigrants And Non-English Speakers In The United States: A Secondary Data Analysis Of The National Survey Of Family Growth, Brendan Prast

Integrative Learning Experience (ILE) Theses

Certain populations are at higher risk of poor maternal health outcomes due to social drivers of health (SDOH). These include language and immigration status. Immigrants in the United States (US) are at particular risk. There is a paucity of research nationally and internationally on immigrant health and language discordance, which this study aims to address. The primary objective of this study is to assess pregnancy outcomes based on language and country of origin.

Using Generative Ai To Procedurally Populate Assets In An Ascii Level, Tianxing Jiang

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on how to make use of generative AI in game level development by procedurally populating assets at a code-based level in a video game. The researcher aims to enhance developers’ efficiency in aesthetic milestone by adapting a pipeline in which generative AI handles decoration process that has less impact on gameplay. Consequently, the researcher creates a pipeline outlining the best practices for conducting the pipeline using generative AI. The researcher constructed a game level in Left 4 Dead 2 to explore the effectiveness of this pipeline. Testers play the level and provided feedback regarding their experiences, especially …

Athlete Decision-Making Process In The Liminality After Career-Ending Injuries, Grace Davie

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the decision-making process of athletes in the liminal period immediately following career-ending injuries. While existing research has examined transition challenges and coping strategies, there remains a critical gap in understanding how athletes actively make decisions that shape their post-sport trajectories during this crucial period. Using Crisis Decision Theory (CDT) as a theoretical framework, this study investigated athletes' overall experience, support systems, injury severity assessment, and response option determination and evaluation during the immediate post-injury decision-making process. Key findings demonstrated that athletes' decision-making processes closely aligned with CDT's three-stage framework: assessing injury severity, determining response options, and …

Otterbein Towers Spring 2025, Otterbein University

Towers Magazine

Around the 'Bein; Brandon Koons '94, MAT'98, P'23: Coach, Role Model, Author; The Otterbein Advantage; Become Here: Graduating Seniors are READY; Forever Friends: The Cardinal Legacy; Coalition for the Good of Otterbein; Philanthropy; Alumni Matters; Class Notes.

Aging In Somerville: A Community Needs Assessment, Ceara Somerville, Caitlin E. Coyle

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA) within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the City of Somerville. The goals of this project were to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Somerville residents age 60 or older by engaging the community regarding their experiences and needs relevant to the Council on Aging’s (COA’s) objective to identify and serve the needs of all Somerville citizens 60 and older.

Endothelial Dysfunction Promotes Age-Related Reorganization Of Collagen Fibers And Alters Aortic Biomechanics In Mice, Liya Du, Jeffrey Rodgers, Nazli Gharraee, Olivia Gary, Tarek Shazly, John F. Eberth, Susan M. Lessner

Faculty Publications

Endothelial dysfunction, defined as a reduction in the bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO), is a risk factor for the occurrence and progression of various vascular diseases. This study investigates the effect of endothelial dysfunction on age-related changes in aortic extracellular matrix (ECM) microstructure and the relationship between microstructural adaptation and the mechanical response. Here, we used groups of NOS3 knockout (KO), NOS3 heterozygotes (Het), and wild-type (WT) B6 mice (controls) to study changes in hemodynamic parameters, collagen fiber organization, and both active and passive aortic mechanics using biaxial pressure myography over a time course from 1.5 to 12 mo. Our …

Revitalizing Passenger Rail: A Sustainable Solution To Environmental And Public Health Challenges In South Carolina, Benjamin Cochran

Theses and Dissertations

South Carolina, a historic leader in passenger rail, has become a heavily vehicle-dependent state. As the population rapidly grows, so does the number of vehicles, vehicle miles traveled, and vehicle emissions, including the greenhouse gas pollutants carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and particulate matter (PM2.5), significantly contributing to air pollution and deteriorating health and environmental outcomes. Despite this, mass transit is nonexistent for the three largest cities in South Carolina, Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville, forcing residents and travelers to drive. This study evaluates the feasibility and the environmental, public health, environmental justice, and economic implications of a passenger rail …

Tobacco Package Health Warnings About Product Manipulations: An Experimental Study Among Australian Adults Who Smoke, Emily Brennan, Claudia Gascoyne, Kimberley Dunstone, Amanda Vittiglia, Gayathri Srinivasan, Jim Thrasher Ph.D., Ma, Ms, Janet Hoek, Melanie Wakefield, Sarah Durkin

Faculty Publications

The tobacco industry manipulates cigarettes to provide sensory cues that mislead people who smoke. We assessed the effectiveness of health warnings (HWs) focussed on the impact of misleading product attributes, including filter ventilation, menthol, and roll-your-own tobacco, which were called Product Attribute HWs. Australian adults who smoke (n = 2544) were randomly assigned to view: control medication warnings; new Standard HWs with smoking harm images; Product Attribute HWs; or Product Attribute HWs plus a video. At baseline, participants were exposed to seven condition-specific warnings (+ video for those in the Product Attribute HWs + Video condition), then they were …

Research Priorities For Drivers Of Food Choice For Food System Transformation In South Asia: Proceedings Of A Collaborative Workshop, Christine E. Blake Ph.D., Rd, Sunny S. Kim, Edward A. Frongillo Ph.D., Purnima Menon

Faculty Publications

Agrifood systems in South Asia are highly productive, but substantial challenges including poverty, climate change, and environmental degradation complicate progress toward achieving sustainable healthy diets for all. The dynamics of food systems and the consequence of their rapid transformation for food choice behaviors that contribute to healthy and unhealthy diets are not well understood. Food choice is defined as a decision-making process through which individuals and households consider, acquire, prepare, distribute, and consume foods and beverages. Understanding drivers of food choice (DFC) is important for achieving sustainable healthy diets, but evidence is lacking. This article outlines collectively derived priorities for …

Telehealth Or In-Person Hiv Care? Qualitative Study Findings On Decision-Making From People With Hiv And Hiv Care Providers In South Carolina During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Valerie Yelverton, Salome Joelle Gass, Daniel Amoatika, Christopher Cooke, Jan Ostermann, Nabil Natafgi, Nicole L. Hair Ph.D., Bankole Olatosi Ph.D., Otis L. Owens, Shan Qiao Ph.D., Xiaoming Li Ph.D., Caroline Derrick, Sharon Weissman, Helmut Albrecht

Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted HIV care services across the United States. Telehealth was rapidly implemented to ensure HIV care continuity. Despite the evidence of unequal telehealth uptake among some people with HIV (PWH), the decision-making processes to determine who received telehealth or in-person care are under-researched. This study assessed which decision criteria and processes determined which HIV care visit type was used by PWH and HIV care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative in-depth interviews with 18 PWH and 10 HIV care providers from South Carolina assessed PWHs’ and HIV care providers’ decision-making criteria and processes for telehealth HIV care …

Adipocyte-Derived Cchamide-1, Eiger, Growth-Blocking Peptide 3, And Unpaired 2 Regulate Drosophila Melanogaster Oogenesis, Chad Simmons, Isaiah Williams, Tancia Bradshaw, Alissa R. Armstrong

Faculty Publications

In addition to energy storage, adipose tissue communication to other organs plays a key role in regulating organismal physiology. While the link between adipose tissue dysfunction and pathophysiology, including diabetes, chronic inflammation, and infertility, is clear, the molecular mechanisms that underlie these associations have not been fully described. We use Drosophila melanogaster as a model to better understand how adipose tissue communicates to the ovary. In this study, we utilized D. melanogaster’s robust genetic toolkit to examine the role of five adipokines known to control larval growth during development, CCHamide-1, CCHamide-2, eiger, Growth-blocking peptide 3, and unpaired 2 in regulating …

Monitoring Opioid-Use-Disorder Treatment Adherence Using Smartwatch Gesture Recognition, Andrew Smith, Kuba Jerzmanowski, Phyllis Raynor Phd, Aprn, Pmhnp-Bc, Cynthia F. Corbett Phd, Rn, Faan, Homayoun Valafar

Publications

The opioid epidemic in the United States has significantly impacted pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD), leading to increased health and social complications. This study explores the feasibility of using machine learning algorithms with consumer-grade smartwatches to identify medication-taking gestures. The research specifically focuses on treatments for OUD, investigating methadone and buprenorphine taking gestures. Participants (n = 16, all female university students) simulated medication-taking gestures in a controlled lab environment over two weeks, with data collected via Ticwatch E and E3 smartwatches running custom ASPIRE software. The study employed a RegNet-style 1D ResNet model to analyze gesture data, achieving …

Unveiling Marginalised Voices: Female Indentured Labourer’S Narratives In Island Literature, Arifah Arum Candra Hayuningsih

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

This study examines the lives of female indentured labourers from Java and India, as portrayed in Liliane Saintomer's La Bayou de Nouméa à Jakarta (2016) and Gaiutra Bahadur's Coolie Woman (2013). Both authors, grandchildren of the central characters, offer personal and historical insights. The research explores how these novels enhance our understanding of the complex identities and lived experiences of female indentured labourers in colonial contexts. It investigates memory as a site of resistance, reclaiming silenced narratives and addressing the shared struggles of Javanese and Indian women in plantation life.

Contributors

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

No abstract provided.