Digital Commons Network^™

The Potential Of Vitamin D As An Adjunct Therapy For Eczema, Kimberly Hill

Graduate Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Academic Libraries Addressing Health Literacy And Misinformation, Brynne Campbell Rice, Emily Petersen, Ian Roberts, Emily Vardell, Deborah Charbonneau

Himmelfarb Library Faculty Posters and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Addressing Anti-Black Racism In Library And Information Science Curriculum, Amber Matthews

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This paper explores the development of the graduate course Anti-Racism in Library and Information Science that was piloted at Western University in 2022 and 2023. The one-semester (13-week) course was designed with Black-led community organizations and students contributed to anti-racist information and memory work through experiential learning partnerships. The course used critical Library and Information Science (LIS) literature alongside Black Canadian scholarly perspectives that were grounded in anti-oppression and anti-racism frameworks. The course goals were for students to develop an understanding of how race and other structural inequities inform lived experiences and tools to support collaborative community-led projects. The LIS-tailored …

The Internist's Post V.1 N.11, The University Of Texas Rio Grande Valley. School Of Medicine, Eunbee Cho, Osiris Fernandez, Hector D. Preciado, Sobia Memon, Diana Acosta Pozo, Corey Haines, Roque Mifuji Lira, Martha Solis, Cesar Gutierrez

School of Medicine Publications

No abstract provided.

How District Administrators Further The Book Banning Agenda, Kim Reichenbach Krutka

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Book banning and censorship in school libraries remain a significant barrier to intellectual freedom. Drawing on ten years of experience as a Texas school librarian, this opinion article highlights how district policies and grievance procedures empower individuals to exclude books representing marginalized identities, particularly queer and Black experiences. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT), specifically the tenets of whiteness as property and counter storytelling, the article explains how these policies uphold white privilege and dominant narratives while silencing counter-stories that validate diverse student identities. The grievance process allows a single hearing officer to overturn committee decisions without transparent reasoning, often restricting …

Examining State Climate Superfund Legislation, Madison Calhoun, Rachel Rothschild, Jonathan Binder, Elenda Mihaly, Justin Mankin, Ben Lippard, Mary Wood

Articles

There has been an influx of “climate superfund” bills introduced and adopted in state legislatures across the country. Modeled after the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), these laws are designed to recover costs from large emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to pay for climate adaptation infrastructure. Following CERCLA’s strict liability framework, major polluters in New York and Vermont would be required to pay into state-managed funds in proportion to their shares of total GHG emissions; California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Oregon have proposed similar bills. On March 19, 2025, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a …

The State Capacity Crisis, David Schleicher, Nicholas Bagley

Articles

Crumbling infrastructure, inadequate housing supply, failing schools, public disorder—few government services seem to work as they should. For a decade, a nascent scholarly movement has been warning that America faces a crisis of state capacity. Although the major figures in this “state capacity movement” have identified the right problem, they concentrate almost exclusively on the federal government. That yields a misdiagnosis of why the American government lacks capacity and leads to solutions that are unlikely to accomplish much. In the United States, it is state and local governments that do most of what “the state” does, and they suffer from …

The New Substantive Due Process, Leah M. Litman

Articles

After the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, commentators made much about the possible demise of substantive due process—the idea that the Constitution safeguards certain substantive liberties that are not specifically or explicitly spelled out in the Constitution. Judges and scholars are debating which substantive due process decisions are next on the chopping block and whether the entire domain of substantive due process is in jeopardy. But a curious thing happened as the Court scaled back and openly questioned the traditional individual-rights line of substantive due process: Rather than eliminating it entirely, the Court seems to have transposed it elsewhere. …

The Three Lives Of Mamengwaa: Toward An Indigenous Canon Of Construction, Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Articles

For too long, tribal judiciaries have been an afterthought in the story of tribal selfdetermination. Until the last half-century, many tribal nations relied on federally administered courts or had no court systems at all. As tribal nations continue to develop their law-enforcement and police powers, tribal justice systems now play a critical role in tribal self-determination. But because tribal codes and constitutions tend to borrow extensively from federal and state law, tribal judges find themselves forced to apply and enforce laws that are poor cultural fits for Indian communities—an unfortunate reality that hampers tribal judges’ ability to regulate and improve …

Ai And Tribal Court Practice, Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Articles

American Indian tribal court practice resides at the intersection of two difficult legal problems. First, because tribal justice systems are usually very young and dynamic, awareness and analysis of tribal law is underdeveloped. Second, because tribal nations are not governed by state or federal law, tribal law is culturally unique. Tribal court practitioners often find that even routine legal matters will involve questions of first impression in the jurisdiction. All of this is to say tribal court jurisprudence is intensely jurisgenerative.

Because tribal law is often unsettled or indeterminate, the costs of discovering and applying this law are occasionally high. …

Keynote: Promoting Disability Equality Behind Bars, Margo Schlanger

Articles

A few years back, I finished a five-year appointment as a “settlement monitor” in a state prison system for a civil rights case about deaf and hard-of hearing people incarcerated there. With the consent of the parties, I had been appointed by a federal court to spend time in the state’s prisons, talking to prisoners and staff, and reviewing records and facilities. I saw some obvious problems. I recall one deaf prisoner; he used American Sign Language to communicate and could not speak at all. He was found to have committed a disciplinary infraction at a proceeding where he could …

Clinicians In The Loop Of Medical Ai, W. Nicholson Price Ii

Articles

As medical AI begins to mature as a health-care tool, the task of governance grows increasingly important. Ensuring that medical AI works, works where it’s used, and works for the patient in the moment is a challenging, multifaceted task. Some of this governance can be centralized—in review by FDA or by national accreditation labs, for instance. Some must be local, performed by the hospital or health system about to use the product in their own, unique environment. But a large amount of governance is left to the individual provider in the room, the human in the loop who presumably knows …

Corporate Tax: Best Tool For Taxation's Regulation Goal, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Articles

In this installment of Reflections With Reuven Avi-Yonah, Avi-Yonah explains the three primary goals of taxation — revenue, redistribution, and regulation — and shows how VAT, the individual tax, and the corporate tax each uniquely match one of the goals. On January 20 President Trump signed two executive orders related to international taxation, marking a sharp policy shift from the prior administration. The first renounced any prior U.S. commitments to the OECD/inclusive framework global anti-base-erosion (GLOBE) project, stating that “the Global Tax Deal has no force or effect in the United States.” The order argued that the GLOBE project infringed …

Implementation Of Teamstepps® In A Peri-Operative Environment In An Urban Medical Center, Chris Chantler

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Problem and Context: Preventable Patient Harm (PPH) continues to occur frequently in healthcare. Failures in communication, poorly functioning teams, and a lack of shared mental models (SMMs) continue to challenge healthcare organizations. The purpose of this PI project was to improve communication and teamwork, among team members in a Peri-Operative setting. TeamSTEPPS® was selected as the training curriculum. Multiple parameters, including perceptions of teamwork, and safety metrics were evaluated pre and post-intervention.

Intervention: TeamSTEPPS® was selected as the training curriculum. TeamSTEPPS® is a highly adaptable curriculum designed to address these gaps and to improve team function in the healthcare setting. …

Implementing A Screening Algorithm For Depression Diagnosis, Management And Referrals In Primary Care, Jorge Correia

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Depression is a major cause of mortality, morbidity, disability, and economic costs in theUnited States. Everyday millions of Americans navigate our complex healthcare field to find the best solution to their problem. Due to a shortage of specialized psychiatric providers, often these people must rely on the primary care settings to get the help they need. However, the lack of knowledge in screening and management of mood disorders causes many of these patients to fall through the cracks or get substandard quality of mental health care. The goal of this quality improvement project was to develop and implement a screening …

A Systems Organizational Model Of Professional Role Development For New Apps: Building A Train The Trainer Program, Abigail H.B. Baugh

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Most Advanced Practice Provider (APP) turnover occurs within the first year of practice. It is often linked to feelings of inadequacy caused by limited professional instruction and immediate expectations of full practice integration. These challenges are compounded further in systems with inconsistent onboarding processes and underprepared trainers, further exacerbating turnover rates. At East Carolina University (ECU) Health System, turnover rates for Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners reached 20% and 12%, respectively, surpassing national averages (ECU Health, 2024), highlighting the urgent need for a structured onboarding approach.A system-based Train-the-Trainer (TTT) program was developed to address these issues, focusing on essential areas …

Exergaming Physical Exercise Program Protocol For Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment, Yushiu Lin

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Physical inactivity is a risk factor for dementia and may accelerate the progression ofmild cognitive impairment (MCI). Older adults with MCI often engage in insufficient exercise, increasing their risk. This clinical intervention evaluated the effects of an exergaming physical exercise program on cognitive function and balance in older adults with MCI. Cognitive function was measured using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), while balance was evaluated with the Romberg Test. The aims involved developing and implementing an eight-week exergaming physical exercise program, using a pre-packaged, non-immersive virtual reality (VR) application. Results indicated a significant improvement in cognitive function following increased physical …

Nursing Innovation As A Solution To Improve Care Delivery, Danielle Therese Huseman-Maratea

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Healthcare in the United States is complex and expensive. The 2023 per capita national health expenditure for the United States was $14,570 and 31% of national health expenditures were related to hospital care (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024). Healthcare innovation is a solution to this problem as it can improve quality and reduce cost (Walker, 2011). The value of nurses’ contribution around innovation tables was demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic (Koszalinski et. al, 2021). A 2020 study conducted by Johnson & Johnson, the American Nurses Association, and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership found that only 46 percent …

Improving The Reporting And Tracking Of Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries, Melinda Rosado

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) affect millions of patients a year, impacting patient safety and creating a significant financial burden for healthcare systems. Inadequate reporting and tracking of HAPIs lead to delays in care, inaccurate data reporting and missed opportunities for quality improvement. This is in large part due to a lack of training and education around HAPIs, poor communication of injuries during hand-off and a lack of system integration. A process improvement program to improve the reporting and tracking accuracy of HAPIs was piloted on two post-surgical units in a large urban cancer center. This initiative combined comprehensive training via …

Cultural Intelligence For Advanced Practice Providers: Moving A Contextually Based Model Forward For Workforce Training, René Padilla

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Cultural Intelligence for Advanced Practice Providers: Moving a Contextually Based Model Forward for Workforce TrainingCultural Intelligence (CQ) among clinicians in primary care for the Hispanic population is inadequate (Da Costa, 2023). Cultural diversity training for patient care has been identified as a need to improve outcomes since the 1960s (Lin et al., 2017). In 2000, the Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the US Department of Health released the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Healthcare and updated those standards in 2013. Mainous et al. (2020) found that only 35% of primary care providers (PCPs) knew of …

Promoting Mental Health Awareness And Reducing Stigma In Spanish-Speaking Communities Through Educational Interventions, Kelly Medina Prado

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Background: Spanish-speaking Latino populations in the U.S. experience significant disparities in mental health access driven by language barriers, low mental health literacy, and cultural stigma. These factors contribute to the underutilization of services, early treatment dropout, and poor outcomes.

Objective: This quality improvement project aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate a culturally and linguistically tailored mental health education intervention designed to increase mental health literacy and reduce stigma among Spanish-speaking Latino adults in a federally qualified health center.

Methods: A total of four group sessions were conducted over an eight-week period. The sessions were delivered in Spanish and included culturally …

Panel: Program For Advancing Nursing Excellence For Leaders, Christopher D. Tarquinio

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Healthcare organizations strive for nursing excellence, evident through prestigious awards like Magnet® Recognition and the Beacon Award of Excellence®. Nurse leaders play a crucial role in fostering a culture of excellence, but many face challenges due to confidence levels. PANEL educates nurse leaders on the connections between nurse satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and nurse quality measures (NQMs). By applying PANEL principles and transformational leadership, healthcare systems can positively impact nurse satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and NQMs. The aims of this project were: to develop a nursing excellence program for nurse leaders within a community-based healthcare system with the goal of connecting the …

Changing The Vantage Point Of Nurses Toward Evidence-Based Practice: Embedding Storytelling Into A Novel On-Demand Micro-Learning Program, Janet Ruscoe

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

CMS withholds billions in payments to fund VBP and incentivize hospitals to improve care. Achievements in TPS, which includes patient satisfaction and safety domains, is an opportunity to earn back incentive payments. Advancing nurses' adoption of EBP helps keep patients safe, improves satisfaction, and supports hospital financial viability (Kemp et al., 2023). However, gaps exist in the competency and application of EBP (Melnyk et al., 2018). A curriculum was developed to improve nurses' perceptions of EBP value. A storytelling, micro-learning approach was utilized to deliver the EBP-relevant knowledge. The digital platform provided on-demand, unlimited re-entry features that optimized flexibility, convenience, …

Provider Mindfulness: Changing Implicit Bias And Improving Perinatal Health Outcomes For Patients With Adverse Social Determinants Of Health, Nina Sarah Simon

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

AbstractProvider Mindfulness: Changing Implicit Bias and Improving Perinatal Health Outcomes for Patients with Adverse Social Determinants of Health Purpose: Implicit bias is an unconscious prejudice or preexisting belief developed over time toward another group. It can influence provider judgement, treatment decisions and levels of care. The purpose of this DNP Quality Improvement (QI) project was to improve patient care and provider knowledge on how implicit bias affects perinatal health for those with adverse social determinants of health (SDOH). Methods: A 53-second daily mindfulness intervention was developed and implemented among 8 obstetric providers caring for a population at risk for bias …

Implementing A Patient-Centered Pediatric Obesity Protocol In A Population With Social And Environmental Risk Factors, Carolyn Walsh

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Children and adolescents exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and negative social determinants of health (SDoH) have an increased risk of developing pediatric obesity. The American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Obesity (2023) recommends assessing these factors in children with obesity. At a School-Based Health Center (SBHC), the standard of care for pediatric obesity did not include ACEs and SDoH screening, highlighting a gap in practice. This Doctor of Nursing Practice project developed, implemented, and evaluated a patient-centered pediatric obesity protocol incorporating ACEs, SDoH screening, and referrals to patient-centered …

A Model For Improving Nursing Homes' Quality Metrics Through Systems' Policy Change In Widespread Antipsychotic Use, Hugo Masangkay Gozos

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

In 2019, more than half of nursing home residents were estimated to have had dementia (PRB, 2023). In 2020, about 300,000 of these residents had been prescribed antipsychotics (Jaffe, 2020). Per the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) (2021), nearly one in three nursing home residents were inappropriately diagnosed to justify the use of antipsychotics. Individuals diagnosed with dementia and prescribed with antipsychotics have a 78% higher risk of death (Kheirbek et al., 2019). Educational training can serve as an effective tool for advancing knowledge of antipsychotics in avoidance of inappropriate use, specifically when directed toward nursing home providers and …

Addressing Intergenerational Retention And Workplace Satisfaction Factors With A Workshop For Nurse Leaders, Elizabeth Labish

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Nursing is a multigenerationally diverse workforce, with up to five generations (Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z) contributing simultaneously (Gerhardt et. al, 2022). Each generation holds varied work preferences and retention drivers, which manifest as unique drivers of preventable turnover. Leaders can reduce turnover and its associated costs by cultivating a multi-generationally preferred work environment (Koehler & Olds, 2022). The purpose of this project was to deliver a workshop for nurse leaders to improve their knowledge about leading multigenerational workforces. Following literature review, A 2.5 hour in-person workshop was created and delivered at a community hospital. The …

Research Methodology Education In Europe: A Multi-Country, Cross-Disciplinary Survey Of Current Practices And Perspectives, Silke Kniffert, Ivan Buljan, Flavio Azevedo, Peter Babinčák, Lucija Batinović, Thomas Rhys Evans, Sara Garofalo, Christopher Graham, Lucianne Groenink, Malika Ihle, Milosav Klugar, Lucia Kočišová, Michal Kohút, Nikolaos Kostomitsopoulos, Seán Lacey, Anita Lunić, Ana Marušić, Thomas Nordström, Charlotte R. Pennington, Daniel Pizzolato, Ulf Toelch, Marta Topor, Miro Vuković, Michiel R. De Boer

Publications

Background

Research methodology education aims to equip students with the foundational knowledge of robust scientific practices, emphasizing deep understanding of scientific inquiry, integrity, and critical thinking in research practice. A literature review reveals that the observed diversity in research methods course design and instruction stems from a lack of consensus about the essential foundations required to critically engage with, design, and execute research in education. This is further compounded by a limited pedagogical innovation. However, no study has yet investigated how research methodology is taught and perceived across European universities. The objective of this study is to examine practices and …

Affective Forecasting With A Chance Of Collective Action: Women’S Anticipated Affect After Acting Against Sexism And Its Relationship To Collective Action Intentions, Adrianna Tassone

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Confronting sexism elicits social costs like name-calling (Mendes et al., 2018) and anticipating these costs inhibits confrontation (Good et al., 2012). But taking collective action can also improve women’s wellbeing and reduce negative emotion (Foster, 2015). How women anticipate their own emotions in response to social cost may be a predictor of action. However, it is not yet known how women anticipate taking action will make them feel, and how perceived costs relate to these predictions and action intentions. The present thesis integrates two previously distinct literatures, affective forecasting (Gilbert et al., 1998) and collective action motivation to assess the …

Coupling Remote Sensing And Modelling To Monitor The Spatial Distribution And Trends Of Surface Temperature And Ice Thickness On Sub-Arctic Lakes, Gifty Attiah

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Lake surface temperature (LST), lake ice thickness (LIT), and lake ice phenology (LIP) play significant roles in the diverse regional processes of freshwater in cold regions. They offer direct indications of regional weather and climate conditions, and their interactions with the atmosphere impact climate processes. Furthermore, lake ice is valuable to northern communities, such as those in the Northwest Territories (NWT). Ice roads, including the longest ice road in the NWT, spanning over 80 lakes, are constructed during winter to haul goods to and from industrial establishments (e.g., mines) and for travel within and between communities. A significant challenge to …