Digital Commons Network^™

2026 Utah Conference On Community Engagement Program, Utah State University, Erin Jensen

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

Conference Program

Parent Attitudes Toward Augmentative And Alternative Communication (Aac) In Children With Speech And Language Disorders, Megan N. Wells, Jane Grothaus

Undergraduate Research Journal

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems support individuals who experience difficulty communicating through spoken language. While research demonstrates that AAC can significantly improve communication outcomes, caregiver perceptions play a critical role in the successful implementation of these systems. The purpose of this study was to examine parent and caregiver attitudes toward AAC use among children with speech and language disorders. A fifteen-question online survey was distributed to caregivers of children currently using AAC systems. Responses from caregivers (n = 17) were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of open-ended responses. Results indicated that most caregivers reported improvements in their …

The Battle Between Freedom And Enslavement On The Great Plains, Faith E. Poggioli

Undergraduate Research Journal

The Great Plains region in the United States has many stories embedded within its past that depict the lives and actions of individuals who left a notable mark on American history. While some of these stories may be uplifting, others embody the harsh realities of national tension and human cruelties that took place in a bygone era. Perhaps one of the most well-known aspects of the Great Plains was the issue of slavery in the 1850s. During that time, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed, allowing settlers within the new territories decide if they wanted slavery to be permitted by voting …

Improving Rounding Communication In The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Timothy Burchard, Sarah Brunner, Kathlyn Baharaeen, Katie Macmillan

Research Showcase

Background: Effective communication during rounds is essential for safe, efficient, and high-quality care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), where patient complexity requires timely interdisciplinary collaboration. Despite being standard practice, multidisciplinary rounds face barriers such as inconsistent structure, interruptions, absent team members, and variable attending physician preferences limiting full stakeholders' engagement. Baseline observations in our PICU highlighted a lack of shared mental models, with order read-back occurring only 13% of the time and respiratory therapist (RT) presence in just 31% of rounds. To address these gaps, our team initiated a project to standardize rounds for improved interdisciplinary communication of …

Factors That Contribute To Unemployment In The School-To-Work Transition, Brittany Verrette

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

This paper explores the problem of unemployment for Black or African American high school graduates as well as Latinx graduates. As college increasingly becomes a risk of return on investment, more young adults intend to enter the workforce immediately after high school graduation; however, many Black and Latinx graduates experience difficulty in transitioning from school to work. Using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, this paper explores the contributing factors that make gainful employment difficult for high school graduates of color.

Keywords: unemployment, school-to-work transition, high school graduates, career education, K-12, workforce development

Closing The Global Skills Gap: Employer Panels As Partnership Tools For Industry And Higher Education, Dean Campbell, Emily Workman

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

This paper explores how employer panels function as partnership tools to close the global skills gap between higher education and industry. As workforce demands shift toward adaptability, critical thinking, and intercultural competence, institutions must prepare students with both technical and soft skills. Guided by Communities of Practice and constructivist learning frameworks, two community college case studies—a metropolitan branch campus (BCCC) and a rural college (RCC)—demonstrate how employer panels support workforce readiness. Panels engaged employers, faculty, and students in discussions informed by pre-session surveys and industry insights, highlighting skills essential for navigating a globalized economy. Outcomes show that panels foster collaborative …

Workplace English For Non-Profits: Using Visual And Specific Purposes Pedagogy, Emma K. Brown

2026 Symposium

Between April and June 2025, I designed and taught an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) workshop series for Refugee and Immigrant Connections Spokane (RICS) in Spokane, Washington. The purpose of this workshop series was to provide RICS’s employees, who were advanced English learners, instruction and practice with the nuances of professional communication, especially email communication, and vocabulary unique to their career in a non-profit organization. The workshop was entirely voluntary, provided online over Zoom after their workday had ended, and met once a week for one hour. I designed this workshop series using the pedagogy of ESP: conducting a thorough …

The Paradox Of Protection: How Age Of Consent Laws Fail The Youth They Were Designed To Defend, Christie Smith

Advanced Issues in Criminal Law: Sex Offenses

This paper examines the historical development, modern inconsistencies, and unintended consequences of age of consent laws in the United States and abroad. Tracing the doctrine from its origins in English common law through reform movements in countries such as the United States, India, and Canada, the paper argues that age of consent laws have often reflected shifting political, economic, and patriarchal objectives rather than coherent principles of protection or developmental maturity. The paper explores discrepancies across jurisdictions, contradictions in adolescent autonomy, gender bias in enforcement, and the overcriminalization of consensual relationships between minors. It further analyzes how modern statutory frameworks …

Curriculum Negotiation: Supporting Student Autonomy To Enhance Student Engagement, Brenda L. Thomas, William Reynolds, Jonathan Ponce De Leon, Caroline Sorbara

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Student disengagement has become a prominent concern across higher education in the five years since the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet students who are engaged in learning tend to be more successful academically. Therefore, pedagogies that enhance student engagement increase the probability of students’ success. This qualitative study explored curriculum negotiation as one such pedagogy. Results demonstrated similar behavioral and cognitive engagement from students in traditional and negotiated classes, but greater affective and agentic engagement from those who negotiated the curriculum with their classmates. Additionally, more students in negotiated classes indicated transformative learning than students in traditionally taught classes. We examine the …

Suggesting An Activity While Waiting For An Ai Agent, Benjamin Albert Azose, Jonathan Jerome Azose

Defensive Publications Series

A computing system proactively suggests activities to a user while an AI agent performs a task. An activity list is generated based on user-specific behavioral data and historical metrics. An estimate is made of the expected duration of the task, and the activity list is filtered to identify a subset of options that match the estimated duration. A contextual filter can be applied based on the subject matter of the task, prioritizing topically related activities or selecting disparate activities to provide a mental break. The selected activity is presented to the user, filling the latency period and enhancing user engagement.

Hardware-Decoupled Composition Of Live-Data Overlays On A Dedicated Graphics Plane For A Television Os, Richa Gupta

Defensive Publications Series

A system is described for displaying persistent, live-data overlays on a computing device, such as a smart television or media streaming device, which can reduce interruption to a primary, full-screen viewing experience. The system may use hardware-decoupled composition, where a method can include rendering a primary video stream onto a video plane and a data widget onto a separate graphics plane. These hardware planes can then be combined by a hardware composer. This architecture can utilize an asynchronous, low-frequency refresh mechanism for the widget and a javascript object notation (to vector) data pipeline. This approach may allow the overlay to …

The Living Memory System: A Framework For Transforming Death Care Infrastructure Into A Perpetual Relational Ecosystem For Memory Preservation, Family Continuity, And Citizen-Governed Memorial Stewardship, Joseph Jm Walker

Defensive Publications Series

The death care industry operates under structural conditions that systematically disadvantage grieving families through information asymmetry, compressed decision timelines, relationship termination at the point of transaction, fragmented archival systems, and the absence of citizen-governed transparency standards. Simultaneously, the digital era has created a second layer of fragmentation in which human lives generate vast quantities of meaningful material that remains structurally disconnected from permanent physical memorial locations and inaccessible across generations.

This disclosure presents the Living Memory System — a modular, globally applicable framework repositioning memorial infrastructure from a primarily transactional service category into a long-term continuity ecosystem serving families, communities, …

Identifying And Comparing Communication Challenges Between Nurses And Resident Physicians, Anh Nguyen, Ho-Man Yeung

Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives

Background

Effective healthcare delivery involves coordinated communication between healthcare team members.

Objective

This study compares challenges in communication between nurses and residents.

Methods

This is a single-centered survey study in which 58 Nurses and 54 Internal Medicine residents at Temple University Hospital anonymously completed a 14-item questionnaire between August 2023 and March, 2024.

Results

Approximately 42% (54/128) residents participated. When assessing overall satisfaction, residents expressed lower satisfaction compared to nurses (57% vs 86%; p

Conclusion

Future research should focus on addressing these differences to foster better teamwork and understanding

Pengaturan Kanal Frekuensi Radio Bagi Media Televisi Dalam Perspektif Undang-Undang Nomor 32 Tahun 2002, Tentang Penyiaran Dan Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1999 Tentang Larangan Praktek Monopoll Dan Persaingan Usaha Tidak Sehat, Rahmadan Hasbiansyah

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Demokrasi Imajinasi Dalam Pertanahan, Dian Puspita H.S.

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Budaya Malu, Budaya Salah, Dan Budaya Hukum, Mura P. Hutagalung

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Yurisdiksi Pengawasan Internal Dan Eksternal Terhadap Tanggung Jawab Profesi Hakim (Analisis Kasus Pemeriksaan Hakim Pt Bandung Terkait Sengketa Pemilihan Kepala Daerah Kota Depok), Andi Ahmad Nur Darwin

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Hukum Acara Pidana Dalam Pelaksanaan Peradilan Di Indonesia (Tinjauan Empiris Terhadap Keseimbangan Penegakan Hukum Dan Perlindungan Hak Asasi Manusia), Otto Comelis Kaligis

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Analisis Perjanjian Reklamasi Pantal Teluk Tering Antara Pemerintah Kota Batam Dengan Pt. Batamas Puri Permai (Penelitian Hukum Normatlf), Marliessa Qadariani

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Not The Only Game In Town: Unconsolidated Democracy, Elite Capture, And Shifting Alliances In Georgia, Leah Mayerhauser

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

This paper examines Georgia’s post-Soviet political development to explain why the country, once viewed as a leading candidate for democratic consolidation, has experienced sustained democratic erosion and shifting geopolitical alignment. Drawing on Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan’s theory of democratic consolidation, it argues that Georgia never fully achieved a consolidated democracy after independence, leaving key institutional arenas including civil society, political society, rule of law, state bureaucracy, and economic society, unevenly developed and vulnerable to elite capture. Through a historical and institutional analysis from 1991 to 2026, this paper traces how early failures in state formation, unresolved questions of stateness, …

Staff Education On Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection Prevention Bundle Practices, Ngowari Warmate

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Senior Day 2026, University Of Michigan Law School

Commencement and Honors Materials

Program for the May 11, 2026 University of Michigan Law School Senior Day.

A Practical Leadership Guide For Student Organization President And Officers, Adrian Hernandez

Honors Capstones

This capstone project focuses on the development of a leadership playbook designed to support student organization leaders through practical guidance, organizational strategies, and leadership systems grounded in real experiences. The project was inspired by my experience serving as President of Pi Sigma Epsilon and the leadership challenges commonly faced within student organizations. Throughout my time in leadership, I observed how communication, structure, accountability, and organizational culture directly impacted the success and sustainability of organizations. These experiences motivated the creation of a resource that could help future student leaders navigate leadership responsibilities more effectively while building stronger and more sustainable organizations. …

Parenting Infants With Developmental Disabilities During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Interfaces With Stress, Social Support, And Parenting Behaviors, Elizabeth Dolin

ETD Collection

This study investigated the mental health of parents of children with developmental disabilities and delays (DD), as well as the ongoing effects of COVID-19 on their mental health. Differences in stress, depression, and anxiety among parents with and without infants with developmental delays were explored. Social support and parenting behaviors were investigated as potential moderators of the impact of developmental disability. The sample consisted of 674 parents whose youngest (or only) child was three years old or younger, living within the United States. Three comparison groups were distinguished: 1) parents who had no child identified with a developmental delay or …

Exploring Safety Perceptions On Campus: A Look At Student Responses To Campus Crime And Institutional Effectiveness, Edgar J. Delatorre

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

There is limited research examining safety-related programs and perceptions of Deaf and hard of hearing (HoH) students, especially in respect to how receptive these students are to resources aimed to keep them safe while they are on campus and how these resources are perceived and to what extent they are utilized. Gallaudet University is the only university in the United States established for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, with a bilingual campus where students and staff use both English and American Sign Language (ASL) – making it a unique focus of study compared to other universities that use primarily …

Worldbuilding A Place For The Deaf: An Encyclopedic Approach To Writing Inclusive Narratives, Frederick Scott

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

This honors capstone project centered on existing deaf literature sets the stage for further storytelling projects using creative worldbuilding details written in an encyclopedic informational text. Across a fledgling life spent reading hearing fiction, a shortage of deaf literature has not gone unnoticed. To start addressing this shortage, this project collects necessary information to support further writings/publications of deaf literature. A review of American Signed Language and deaf/disabled representation in literary format shows that various strategies are employed to represent the language and people within their culture. The review identified examples of unique or distinct approaches used for various characters' …

The Importance Of Diverse Characters In Children's Literature For Identity Development, Gabrielle Revaitis

English and Creative Writing Independent Study Projects

This paper aims to explore and examine the function of diverse and realistic representation in children's literature and its effect on their identity development. It asserts that literature is one of the main tools by which children develop their understanding of themselves and their place in the world. Reading about various kinds of diversity and realistic representation of different kinds of identities, whether based on race, gender, and disability, helps them to see diversity and commonality in human experiences. However, this paper will also examine how children's literature has been problematic in representing stereotypes and misrepresenting marginalized groups. It emphasizes …

Virtual Matter: Architecture As A Critical Turning Point, Aden Sterchi

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The materialization of AI infrastructure has outpaced all regulatory frameworks, allowing data centers to proliferate with limited oversight despite their growing environmental and social impacts. Through a review of artificial intelligence’s technological development, the rise of big tech, and contemporary data center expansion, this thesis situates AI infrastructure within a broader pattern of deregulation, delayed accountability, and market-driven governance. Using a qualitative mixed-method approach combining historical analysis, policy critique, regional case studies, and research-through-design, the study examines how existing land use, utility, and environmental frameworks have failed to keep pace with the scale of data center sprawl; The study also …

Justice For None: How The United States’ Sexual-Offense System Fails Victims, Defendants, And The Public, Hannah J. Flannery

Advanced Issues in Criminal Law: Sex Offenses

This paper argues that the United States criminal justice system fundamentally fails in its treatment of sexual offenses by retraumatizing survivors while simultaneously relying on punitive mechanisms that undermine meaningful accountability and rehabilitation. Through an examination of adversarial courtroom practices, prosecutorial discretion, plea bargaining, sex-offender registries, and civil commitment regimes, the paper demonstrates how American law prioritizes punishment, political performance, and moral panic over truth, dignity, and public safety. In contrast, comparative analysis of France, Canada, and the Nordic countries reveals alternative models grounded in consent-based legal frameworks, trauma-informed procedures, and rehabilitative justice. These systems emphasize proportionality, reintegration, and institutional …

Challenges In Fulfilling The Political Rights Of Indonesian Migrant Workers In Taiwan: A Case Study For The 2024 General Election, Ardli Johan Kusuma, Dini Putri Saraswati, Jati Satrio

Jurnal Wacana Politik

Political rights are part of human rights guaranteed by international law and the Indonesian constitution. However, Indonesian migrant workers (PMIs) in Taiwan face various challenges in exercising their right to vote in the 2024 elections. This research analyzes the obstacles faced by PMIs in Taiwan in the democratic process using politic of citizenship framework by Stokke. The research method used is a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews with various relevant stakeholders. The results of this study show that the main obstacles to the implementation of elections for migrant workers in Taiwan are limited access to election information, differences in regulations …