Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Employee Engagement Through Effective Change Management, Whitney Cearrow Sims

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human resources (HR) managers often face challenges due to ineffective change management strategies, which can lead to reduced employee engagement, decreased performance, and increased turnover. This issue is important to HR managers and organizational leaders who seek to improve workforce engagement and retention. Grounded in Kotter’s eight step change management model and Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore the strategies HR managers use to improve employee engagement. The participants were five HR managers from manufacturing companies in the southeast region in Georgia who had implemented effective change management strategies that improved employee engagement. …

Evaluating Large Language Models In Smart Mobility Based On Uncertainty Mathematical Methodologies, Mona Mohamed, Khalid Mohamed, Ahmed M. Abdelmouty

Sustainable Machine Intelligence Journal

The swift development of digital technologies, especially Large Language Models (LLMs), offers a revolutionary opportunity to improve urban mobility. LLMs are used widely in various areas, like traffic prediction, autonomous vehicle (AV) communication, and customized trip assistance. General speaking, users now consider the integration of LLMs in mobility to be intelligent friends. The study’s primary objective is to demonstrate how an integrated LLM in mobility services can significantly increase network efficiency, lessen congestion, and improve each traveler’s experience. Practically speaking, deploying a suitable LLM for providing various services to users is imperative. Additionally, this process is an endeavor due to …

Pulsed Field Ablation Of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation With Continuous Electrocardiographic Monitoring Follow-Up: Advantage Af Phase 2., Vivek Y Reddy, Edward P Gerstenfeld, Boris Schmidt, Jason G Andrade, Devi Nair, Andrea Natale, Walid Saliba, Philipp Sommer, Andreas Metzner, Atul Verma, Troy Hounshell, Anish Amin, Philip Gentlesk, Stanislav Weiner, Frank A Cuoco, Jamie Kim, Mohit K Turagam, Gery Tomassoni, Chinmay Patel, Ziad Issa, Michael Shehata, Allison M Anderson, Thomas J Stoltz, Jonathan D Raybuck, Torri Schwartz, Brad S Sutton, Moussa Mansour

Heart and Vascular Articles

BACKGROUND: There are sparse high-quality safety and effectiveness data for pulsed field ablation (PFA) of persistent atrial fibrillation (PerAF), in which lesions beyond pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) are often placed. In addition, no large trials have used insertable cardiac monitors for continuous rhythm monitoring after ablation in patients with PerAF or after PFA in any atrial fibrillation population. In Phase 2 of the ADVANTAGE AF study (A Prospective Single Arm Open Label Study of the FARAPULSE Pulsed Field Ablation System in Subjects With Persistent Atrial Fibrillation), patients with PerAF underwent PFA for PVI and posterior wall ablation (PWA) and, in …

Adaptation And Standardization Of Two Arabic Communicative Development Inventories For Children Aged 8 To 30 Months And 30 To 48 Months In Egypt, Jordan And Palestine, Alshaimaa Abdelwahab, Caroline Floccia, Samuel Forbes, Zakiyah Alsiddiqi, Khalid Al-Shdifat, Cristina Mckean, Thair Odeh, Anastasia Trebacz, Ghada Khattab

School of Psychology

PURPOSE: Assessing early language skills through parental report is a cost-effective way to screen for language delays when resources are scarce. A pan-Arabic lexeme approach was tested by extending the Egyptian adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) to Jordan and Palestine in infants aged 8-30 months (Arabic CDI Toddler). We also developed a version for children aged 30-48 months (Arabic CDI Child) in the three countries. A fair representation of the population in terms of geographical spread, maternal education, and environmental context was obtained through stratified sampling. METHOD: The Arabic CDI Toddler, containing a 100-word list with dialect …

Edge-Streamer: A Lightweight, Self-Supervised Event Segmentation Model, Lucas Miller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Event segmentation is the practice of autonomously detecting the boundaries of semantically connected sequences of actions within a video. It is connected to many areas of computer vision, including action recognition and event understanding. Nearly all current work requires the entire video to be stored in memory to be processed in multiple passes. This takes up valuable resources, increases processing time, prevents the use of low-power, low-memory devices, and precludes long-form content and live videos from undergoing event segmentation.

This thesis introduces EDGE-STREAMER, a real-time, lightweight, self-supervised, transformer architecture capable of performing event segmentation in a single pass. EDGE-STREAMER uses …

‘They Say There’S More Equality…’: Women’S Perspectives On Progress And Setbacks In Gender Equality In Northern Iceland During Times Of Crisis, Marya Rozanova-Smith, Embla Eir Oddsdóttir, Andrey N. Petrov

Faculty Publications

Enabling gender equality through the empowerment of women to fully participate in modern society is one of the most critical steps toward sustainable development. However, recent UN reports indicate that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have jeopardized the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 5 by 2030 in many countries worldwide, including Iceland, which has consistently been ranked as a global leader in gender equality. The main objective of this qualitative study is to examine the gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by exploring women’s lived experiences during the crisis and its aftermath across the primary domains of gender equality—personal …

Classroom Occupational Performance Issues For A High School Student Following A Concussion: A Case Study, Cortney Day, Hannah Hall, Holly Treber, Clare Belkowski, Janel Ritt

Masters Projects

Abstract

Background: This study aims to understand any occupational performance issues experienced by a high school student in the classroom following a concussion. Concussion symptoms can include difficulty with vision and cognition, impacting a student’s ability to pursue their education. This information may lead to improved management of students following a concussion in support of their academic participation.

Methods: Using purposive sampling, researchers recruited potential participants by contacting athletic trainers affiliated with Grand Valley State University (GVSU) throughout the local Grand Rapids, MI area. Researchers first obtained written permission to recruit on campus from the principals of the …

The Impact Of High-Fidelity Urinary Catheterization Simulation On Occupational Therapy Students In A Graduate Curriculum: A Pilot Study, Haley Blaney, Reagan Schonhard, Maddie Spring, Rachael Eads, Claire Donahue

Masters Projects

The most recent estimate of the annual incidence of spinal cord injury (SCI) in the United States is approximately 54 cases per one million people. Occupational therapy (OT) students may not feel adequately prepared to treat and educate clients with SCIs about bladder management if they are not exposed to real-life scenarios during their graduate curriculum. Using high-fidelity simulations (HFS) offers a high level of interactivity and realism for the learner, often using human patient simulators and taking place in realistic, mock clinical settings. This study aims to examine the effects of a HFS on OT student's confidence with urinary …

The Impact Of Hands-On Learning Of Physical Agent Modalities In An Occupational Therapy Graduate Curriculum: A Pilot Study, Rachael Vance, Kaitlyn Kolk, Lauren Lesky, Jill Arends, Klaudia O'Malley

Masters Projects

Background: Physical agent modalities (PAMs) are used in preparation for or concurrently with occupational-based activities to facilitate a therapeutic response. It is valuable for OT practitioners to be confident and competent in the use of PAMs in healthcare settings. Nevertheless, there is a gap in proper education, creating a barrier to students' learning. The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) standards have only enforced the education of PAMs in accredited programs since 2020. Purpose: This study aims to establish student’s satisfaction with their learning and confidence in using PAMs. It educates clinicians and academic instructors on the …

Drug Recognition Experts’ Perspectives On The State Of Maryland’S Legalization Of Cannabis And Its Impact On Impaired Driving, Raymond D. Brooks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Motor vehicles have become both affordable and practical to own. As a result, law enforcement has been tasked with enforcing laws related to safe vehicular operation on the roadways nationwide. Further, much like alcohol, drug influence causes concern for motorists, and with the introduction of cannabis legalization, there is a clash between use, public interaction and vehicle operation. Cannabis consumption in public, the perception that use is allowed anywhere, and the impact that impairment has while driving can be a concern for those tasked with enforcing laws that some perceive to be allowed. This study introduces cannabis legalization within the …

On Two-Generator Subgroups Of Mapping Torus Groups, Naomi Andrew, Edgar Bering Iv, Ilya Kapovich, Stefano Vidussi, Peter Shalen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

We prove that if (Formula presented.) is the mapping torus group of an injective endomorphism (Formula presented.) of a free group (Formula presented.) (of possibly infinite rank), then every two-generator subgroup (Formula presented.) of (Formula presented.) is either free or a (finitary) sub-mapping torus. As an application we show that if (Formula presented.) is a fully irreducible atoroidal automorphism, then every two-generator subgroup of (Formula presented.) is either free or has finite index in (Formula presented.).

Mitigation Behaviors Of Homeowners And Renters In The Wildland Urban Interface, Aishwarya Borate, Omar Pérez Figueroa, Douglas Houston, Christopher Ihinegbu, Ariane Jong-Levinger, Jochen E. Schubert, Brett F. Sanders

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Residential development within the wildland-urban interface (WUI) has greatly expanded in the United States since the 1990s, amplifying wildfire risk by placing people and structures in greater proximity to flammable vegetation. Household wildfire mitigation actions can vary substantially by cost, knowledge required, and perceived effectiveness, but few studies have examined them separately and how their adoption varies by housing tenure in the context of wildfires. To address this gap, we surveyed residents living in WUI areas within Southern California near recent burn scars in the Santa Ana and San Bernardino Mountain ranges. Drawing on the Protection Motivation Theory and the …

Under Pressure: Performance Loads And Recovery In Ncaa Division I Women’S Soccer During Fixture Congestion, Jade X. Dawson, Fabiano T. Amorim

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Soccer places high physiological demands on athletes, and match congestion—playing more than two games per week—is a growing concern at the NCAA Division I level. Limited recovery time between matches can impair performance and increase injury risk, prompting widespread use of recovery strategies. However, research on their effectiveness remains inconclusive, and most existing studies focus on male athletes, leaving a gap in evidence specific to female players. This review and observational study aim to evaluate non-nutritional recovery strategies in NCAA Division I women’s soccer and examine how recovery duration influences performance.

Match load data were collected from eleven female athletes …

Beliefs About The Causes And Treatment Of Common Mental Illnesses And Suicidality In Rural Uganda, Yang Jae Lee, Rita Mbabazi, Ondine Jevremov, Shakira Nakaweesi, Ella Brodey, Jason Wykoff, Roshan Sivakumar, Rauben Kazungu, Ibrahim Ssekalo, Robert Rosenheck, Alexander C Tsai

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Mental illnesses constitute a large and escalating portion of the global burden of disease, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like Uganda. Understanding community perceptions towards mental illness is crucial for developing effective interventions.

AIMS: To explore beliefs about the perceived causes and treatment of common mental illnesses (depression, anxiety, alcohol use disorder) and suicidality in rural eastern Uganda.

METHOD: Qualitative study using 31 in-depth interviews and 4 focus group discussions with healthcare workers, community health workers, community leaders and general community members in Buyende District, Uganda. Vignettes were used to depict mental illnesses to elicit perceptions, and data …

Long-Term Segregation And Seclusion For People With An Intellectual Disability And/Or Autism In Hospitals: A Critique Of The Current State Of Affairs: Commentary, Tromans Et Al, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Ehealth Technologies In Transitional Care Interventions For Stroke Survivors And Caregivers: A Scoping Review, Orachorn Lumprom, Charuwan Kritpracha, Cansel Kocakabak, Jos M. Latour

School of Nursing and Midwifery

The high rate of stroke disability necessitates extensive care during transitions between hospitals and homes. While many transitional care interventions have emerged, no explicit evidence illustrates the details of those combining or integrating eHealth. The aim of this scoping review was to comprehensively map the literature on eHealth technologies within transitional care interventions for stroke survivors and their caregivers. Studies were included if they focused on transitional care interventions that combined or integrated eHealth technologies for adult and elderly survivors of post-hyperacute stroke, as well as for caregivers aged 18 years and older. A systematic search was conducted from inception …

Modulation Of Redox-Sensitive Cardiac Ion Channels, Rawan S. Orfali, Al Hassan Gamal El-Din, Varnika Karthik, Elisanjer Lamis, Vanna Xiao, Alena Ramanishka, Abdullah Alwatban, Osama Alkhamees, Ali Alaseem, Young-Woo Nam, Miao Zhang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Redox regulation is crucial for the cardiac action potential, coordinating the sodium-driven depolarization, calcium-mediated plateau formation, and potassium-dependent repolarization processes required for proper heart function. Under physiological conditions, low-level reactive oxygen species (ROS), generated by mitochondria and membrane oxidases, adjust ion channel function and support excitation–contraction coupling. However, when ROS accumulate, they modify a variety of important channel proteins in cardiomyocytes, which commonly results in reducing potassium currents, enhancing sodium and calcium influx, and enhancing intracellular calcium release. These redox-driven alterations disrupt the cardiac rhythm, promote after-depolarizations, impair contractile force, and accelerate the development of heart diseases. Experimental models demonstrate …

Current Continuity In Auroral System Science, Jules Van Irsel

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The Earth relies on the Sun's energy, but at times this energy can be overwhelming; the Sun expels plasma which, were it not for our humble magnetic field, would erode our atmosphere (Mars, c. 4 Ga). The protective interaction Earth has with the solar wind results in spectacular auroral displays---one such auroral form is discussed in this thesis: quiet discrete auroral arcs.

Such arcs have long been studied; they are abundant, have usable symmetries, and they can predict magnetic substorms that wreak havoc in our magnetosphere. The auroral emissions, albeit beautiful, are however only the visible end of a self-consistent …

Rapid Access Chest Pain Assessment Clinic: An Australian Virtual Care Experience, Marwan Shawki, Thalys Sampaio Rodrigues, Hussein Al-Fiadh, Karen Sanders Mnursing, Ali H. Al-Fiadh

Journal of the Saudi Heart Association

Background: The Rapid Access Chest Pain Assessment Clinic (RACPAC) streamlines the evaluation of low to intermediate-risk chest pain patients, reducing hospitalisation and healthcare costs. However, there is limited data on the virtual model of care for RACPAC.

Aim: We sought to evaluate the structure, cost-effectiveness, and imaging modalities performance of face-to-face and virtual RACPAC in an Australian setting.

Methods:A retrospective analysis of patients attending the RACPAC within a large Australian quaternary hospital between 2012 and 2021. We described the clinic parameters and imaging modality utilisation with parametric and non-parametric descriptive statics. Patterns of diagnostic modality utilisation were assessed with …

Tripping The Telematic Fantastic: Adventures In Presenting Telematic Musicing At In-Person Conferences In 2024, Tom Zlabinger

Journal of Network Music and Arts

This article documents my challenges, successes, and what I learned while demonstrating what I describe as telematic musicing at six academic conferences in the U.S., Scotland, Finland, and Lithuania in 2024. Through personal narrative, autoethnography, and audience reactions, I share observations and conclusions I drew as a result of demoing telematic musicing to different audiences. I outline the technological and attitudinal challenges I encountered at the conferences and assess whether I was able to resolve them. I also discuss the need to strike and maintain a balance between hardware, software, and what Peter Neumann calls “peopleware.” Finally, I reflect on …

Transmission: Works Of Sarah Rose Weaver And Collaborations (2022–2024), Sarah Rose Weaver

Journal of Network Music and Arts

The Transmission Series took place between 2022 and 2024, primarily in a virtual network music setting. The series consists of my compositions and collaborations for solo, chamber, and large ensemble performance, building on my works and essays since 1998 that engage in-person, hybrid, and virtual spaces. This essay details the artistic and technological strategies employed in the Transmission Series, including audio, video, and score excerpts. The technologies discussed include networked audio and video, along with streaming and recording methods. The works featured in the discussion are “Transcendence Transmission” (2022) for large ensemble, “Sub Way” (2022) for chamber ensemble, “Here Mirror” …

Reconceptualizing The Organ Through Networked Spaces: Interviews With Participants Of The 2023 Global Hyperorgan Concert, Daniil Pilchen, Rebekah Wilson

Journal of Network Music and Arts

This paper examines the Global Hyperorgan concert held at the 16th annual Orgelpark Symposium in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in June 2023. The Symposium aims to reimagine the historically significant yet underused pipe organs. As part of meeting this aim, the concert featured performances linking Amsterdam and Vancouver using the Global Hyperorgan, a system that connects pipe organs via network technology. Interviews were conducted with the participating musicians to explore their experiences with this musical platform. Three key themes of primary interest to these musicians are revealed: alternative control interfaces, space and acoustics, and latency as a creative tool that drives innovations …

Traces Of Presence: Remembering Daniel Pinheiro, Billy Clark

Journal of Network Music and Arts

A tribute article in memory of artist Daniel Pinheiro (1982–2025).

The Zone: Hyperintimacy In Telemersive Performance, Benjamin Burger, Patrick Muller, Joel De Giovanni, Martin Frölich, Eric Larrieux, Hannah Walter

Journal of Network Music and Arts

This article explores how immersive technologies can create intimate connections between physically separated people through the telematic performance titled The Zone. The project links two stage spaces—one for a performer and one for an audience member—using advanced technologies including volumetric video, 3D scanning, spatial audio, motion capture, and augmented reality. Developed at the Institute of Computer Music and Sound Technology at the Zurich University of the Arts, these Extended Reality (XR) tools enable what we call hyperintimacy—an enhanced form of connection that transcends physical distance through immersive telepresence. Despite the artificial technological context, participants experience genuine encounters that balance digital …

Mediating The Exquisite: Aesthetic Affordances Of The Network Arts, Seth Adams

Journal of Network Music and Arts

This paper argues that the Network Arts afford uniquely nuanced aesthetic interactions among humans and between humans and machines. After defining these moments under a new concept I call exquisite musicking, I investigate how distributed networks of human and nonhuman actors create experiences that challenge or complicate traditional notions of agency, ensemble, aesthetics, and synchrony. Using Actor-Network Theory as a lens of inquiry, I explore the exquisite affordances of network-based musicking, discussing how pitch, timbre, and texture are co-created in networked performances. I also examine how exquisite musicking could serve as a fruitful concept in music education, particularly in pedagogical …

Back Matter

The Purdue Historian

Acknowledgments, Contact Information, Disclaimer, and Table of Contents

The Devil’S In The Details: Opposition To Demonology In Early Modern Europe, Abigail Pickard

The Purdue Historian

Common assumptions that believers of witchcraft in the early modern period were uneducated fanatics overgeneralize the complex interplay of early modern science and theology. The study of demons, known as demonology, was considered a science. It was a respected field that was studied and debated. Theologians scrutinized, defended, and revised demonological theories. Thinkers turned over foundational concepts and split hairs over the fine details of theology. Since educated scholars were considered authorities on demonology, they repeatedly wrote, talked, and theorized about the topic in a similar fashion to other ideologies of the early modern era. Due to this, authors of …

Ideological Independence In The Third World: Legacies In Resistance And Anti-Colonial Aid In 20th Century Africa, Evelyn Ohs

The Purdue Historian

The Cold War, despite its central focus on the U.S.–Soviet rivalry, marked a period of rapid geopolitical and ideological transformation in the Third World. These changes were best exemplified by radical revolutionary movements that swept across the African continent. For revolutionary leaders, the spread of anti-colonial, socialist, and nationalist ideas represented more than rhetorical sentiments; they had their own visions of sovereignty and self-determination. Although rooted in shared Third-Worldist, Pan-Africanist, and non-aligned principles, these leaders and their ideas reflected significant variation in approaches to diplomacy, the use of force, and the scope of Pan-African solidarity, which profoundly shaped the nature …

Tumult, Terror, And Tripping: The Roles Of Psychedelics And Radical Politics In The Counterculture, Daniel J. Melbert

The Purdue Historian

From the immense political upheaval of the Civil Rights Movement and anti-war protests to the advent of the hippie counterculture and its psychedelic aesthetic, the 1960s is commonly conceptualized as a significantly transformative period in American history, socially, culturally, and politically. While this is certainly an accurate observation, the political and cultural shifts that occurred within this period are typically approached as separate, if not disparate, segments within the development of the period. The counterculture is often approached solely within the confines of its art, aesthetics, bohemian lifestyle, and perhaps most ubiquitously, the use of psychedelic drugs. As a result, …

Xyy: Why? Science For The People And The Xyy Controversy, Fern Rice

The Purdue Historian

The mid-20th century saw a boom of scientific discoveries in genetics as people sought to understand the American political landscape through genomes. The desire to understand criminality through genetics rose as counterculture surged. The genetic defect known as “XYY syndrome” became connected to criminality through biased medical studies and sensationalized criminal cases worldwide. When the National Institute of Mental Health began to fund studies attempting to prove a link between XYY syndrome and criminality, organizations concerned with scientific justice took notice. The leftist organization Science for the People campaigned against an XYY study in Boston, deeming it unethical and biologically …