Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Personal, Organizational, And Work Attributes On Long-Term Care Nurses’ Intent To Stay, Marilyn J. Hodgins, Caitlin Mcarthur, Janice M. Keefe, Rick Audas, Carole Estabrooks, Rose Mccloskey, Gail Tomblin Murphy

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

A stable workforce is key to creating and maintaining a positive work environment, enhancing productivity, reducing adverse events, and lowering recruitment and orientation costs (De Vries et al., 2023). Stability in staffing of long-term care (LTC) facilities is particularly important given the vulnerability of the residents and increasing complexity of their physical and psychosocial care needs (Calver et al., 2025; Virdo & Daly, 2025). However, before action can be taken to address high turnover rates among LTC staff (Gandhi et al., 2021), factors influencing such decisions need to be understood.

PURPOSE: To examine extent that LTC nurses’ intent to stay …

Advancing Quality In Online Nursing Education: A Global Perspective, Kaneez R. Odgers, Shantha Franks

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

The global shift toward online and hybrid nursing education has transformed how nurses learn, offering flexible pathways for students across diverse geographic and socioeconomic contexts. As nations continue to face nursing shortages, digital and distance education models have expanded access, yet ensuring high-quality, competency-based preparation in virtual environments remains a major challenge. Concerns include the adequacy of virtual learning for developing clinical reasoning, variability in clinical training standards across countries, and disparities in technological access that directly affect learning outcomes. These issues reflect findings in current literature, showing the need for evidence-based strategies to ensure that digitally educated nurses are …

Harnessing Expert Insights To Strengthen Hiv Care Through Innovative Programme Development, Mebelo Medupe, Deliwe Rene Phetlhu

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop and validate an education programme designed to improve the quality of life (QoL) of people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the Johannesburg Metropole. The Delphi technique was employed to gather expert consensus on the content, scope, and relevance of the program to ensure its appropriateness and effectiveness.

Methods: A three-round Delphi process was conducted with ten purposively selected experts, including HIV/AIDS specialists, practitioners, nurses, and PhD students with relevant experience. Round one involved the development of an initial questionnaire based on literature review and previous research, which …

Usa-Kenyan Primary Care Teams Offer Phq-9 And Gad-7 Screening For Hiv+ Women In Kenya, Janet Meda, Laura L. Van Auker, Stephen J. Cavanagh, Miriam Carole Atieno Wagoro, Mariana Omenda

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: As HIV treatment advances in sub-Saharan Africa, care for women living with HIV (WLWH) shifted from acute AIDS management to chronic disease care, with need to integrate mental health and HIV services. In low-resource settings comorbidities and antiretroviral (ARV) side effects can heighten anxiety and depression. Anemia, diabetes, hypertension, malaria, and ARV-related fatigue, pain, and neuropathy complicate diagnosis and treatment. Mental health screening in primary care improves identification and supports better outcomes. Rural and urban WLWH face different barriers and resources, emphasizing context-specific approaches. Expanding nursing education and advanced nursing roles may help reduce gaps in integrated care.

Objectives: …

Decisions Under Fire: Healthcare Students Reactions To An Active Shooter Simulation, Linda S. James, Sarah Hirsch

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

The Joint Commission (2021) recommended that hospitals train their employees on how to act and respond during an AS event. Students are required to complete agency trainings (i.e. fire, HAZMAT etc.) prior to attending practicum but are not required to complete AS response, sending them into clinical settings ill prepared.

The purpose of this study was to examine healthcare professional students’ moral and ethical challenges experienced from an interprofessional active shooter (AS) simulation. This simulation also explored ethical decision-making and provided students an opportunity to practice critical thinking in high-stress situation and had a secondary impact on their development of …

Metal Oxide Semiconductor Gas Sensors For Exhaled Breath Cancer Biomarker Detection, Guanglan Chen, Huihui Luo, Wenwen Peng, Shiyu Xu, Yuting Li, Huijie Ke, Sihui Zhong, Jiaao Wei, Tong Chen, Xiaokun Li, Youlin Zhang, Wei Chen

Online First

Early cancer screening can significantly improve therapeutic outcomes, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other related gases in exhaled breath, as cancer-specific biomarkers, offer a novel approach for non-invasive diagnosis. Metal oxide semiconductor (MOS)-based gas sensors are pivotal for exhaled breath VOCs detection, featuring compact size, cost-effectiveness, and rapid response. This review summarizes the most recent five-year research advances in cancer biomarker detection and clarifies the core mechanisms of electrical property changes from sensing material-VOCs interactions and key performance metrics including sensitivity, selectivity, humidity tolerance, response/recovery time, stability, and operating temperature. This review highlights the optimization strategies of sensing materials such …

Development Of Nurse-Led Ultrasound-Guided Iv Access Using Novel Diva Scoring Too, Kevin Lamonica

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: To develop and validate a novel Difficult Intravenous Access (DIVA) prediction tool for an urban emergency department (ED) and implement a nurse-led ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous (USGPIV) access program.

Background: Difficult intravenous access affects 10-24% of ED patients, causing treatment delays and unnecessary central line placement (Egan et al., 2013; Loon et al., 2016). USGPIV demonstrates superior success yet procedures remain physician-restricted. Existing DIVA tools developed in European populations may not accurately predict risk in diverse urban settings. Expanding nursing scope requires validated risk stratification and standardized training.

Methods: This multi-phase quality improvement initiative utilized SQUIRE 2.0 guidelines. Phase I: …

The Dual Impact Of Professional And Community Interventions On Recidivism, Anjelika M. Dillard

Master of Arts in Human Services

This capstone project evaluates the effectiveness of professional and community interventions in reducing criminal recidivism and facilitating successful community reintegration for justice-involved individuals. Grounded in the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model, Desistance Theory, and Trauma-Informed Care frameworks, this study synthesizes contemporary behavioral health and criminological literature to examine how institutional programming and post-release community support interact to foster long-term behavioral change. The findings demonstrate that while evidence-based institutional treatments—such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and targeted vocational training—provide essential foundations for cognitive restructuring and skill acquisition, institutional programming alone is insufficient to prevent re-offending. Long-term desistance depends on an …

Impact Of Sleep On Glucose Metabolism In Individuals With Overweight Or Obesity: A Systematic Review, Trudy Abla Sitsofe Accorley, Patricia Casas-Agustench, Gail Rees, Kathy Redfern

School of Biomedical Sciences

INTRODUCTION: The obesity epidemic has coincided with chronic sleep deprivation. Sleep disturbances may contribute to metabolic dysfunction in individuals with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2. This review investigates associations between sleep patterns and glucose metabolism in this population.

METHODS: A PRISMA-guided search across five databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL, and MEDLINE) was conducted through January 2026. Studies examined sleep patterns and glucose metabolism in adults with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2. Quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2.0 and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

RESULTS: Eighteen studies (7715 adults) were included from 2993 records: crossover trials (n = 7), …

A Model Intercomparison Study Of Mixed-Phase Clouds In A Laboratory Chamber, Aaron Wang, Sisi Chen, Steven K. Krueger, Piotr Dziekan, Kotaro Enokido, Fabian Hoffmann, Agnieszka Makulska, Bernhard Mehlig, Gaetano Sardina, Grigory Sarnitsky, Silvio Schmalfuß, Shin Ichiro Shima, Fan Yang, Mikhail Ovchinnikov, Raymond Shaw

Michigan Tech Publications

Supercooled liquid water often persists in mixed-phase clouds for hours to days, even though a simple, well-mixed Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen model predicts rapid depletion of liquid water in the presence of ice. The persistence is well documented, but the relative importance of the maintaining mechanisms remains uncertain. This model intercomparison study addresses this issue by comparing results from 10 model configurations against observations from the Pi Cloud Chamber at Michigan Technological University, which produces cloudy Rayleigh-Bénard convection. To simplify the problem, we exclude ice-nucleating particle processes and assume that the ice crystals are spherical. Each model was first tuned to reproduce the …

Interpretable Multimodal Learning For Integrating Neuroimaging And Genetic Data In Alzheimer’S Disease, Kun Zhao, Siyuan Dai, Yingying Zhang, Guodong Liu, Pengfei Gu, Chenghua Lin, Paul M. Thompson, Alex D. Leow, Heng Huang, Haoteng Tang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Introduction: Early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) requires models that combine brain structure changes with genetic risk, but existing methods struggle to align these different data types.

Methods: We present R-GenIMA, an interpretable multimodal large language model that pairs a region-of-interest vision transformer with genetic prompting to jointly analyze structural MRI and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Each brain region becomes a visual token and SNP profiles are encoded as structured text, letting the model link regional atrophy to genetic factors through cross-modal attention. Tested on the ADNI cohort, R-GenIMA performs well in classifying four groups: normal cognition, subjective memory concerns, …

In-Transit Debris Remediation: Dual-Use Logistics For Sustainable Cislunar Smallsat Constellations, Wanjiku Chebet Kanjumba

Small Satellite Conference

A Debris Crisis Meets A Logistics Boom: Low- and high-Earth orbit keep accumulating debris faster than the atmosphere can clear it, even as NASA's Artemis and CLPS programs establish routine trans-lunar traffic. The 2009 Iridium-Cosmos collision and later anti-satellite tests proved that single fragmentation events can irreversibly degrade critical orbital shells, raising the specter of Kessler Syndrome. 

• 46,600+ objects tracked on orbit today, with ~130 million sub-cm fragments (ESA, 2025)
• $500K-$2M cost per kilogram for dedicated ADR, fiscally intractable at system scale
• 5-10 / yr large objects must be removed to stabilize LEO (Liou & Johnson)

The Unit-Economics Problem: Purpose-built …

Autonomous Microelectronics See Payload For Validating Terrestrial Predictions In Space, Michael A. Blacconiere, Isaac Hudson, John W. Burgoon, Terrance Sacks, Spencer Westfall, Sajal Islam, Davidson Juhke, George Randel, Jared Harvey, Merek Chertkow, Daniel Loveless

Small Satellite Conference

The radiation environment in space is complex and time-varying, causing major risks for microelectronic applications. Terrestrial radiation sources are used to characterize devices before missions to predict in-orbit error rates. However, these predictions are rarely validated in deployment. The payload, designed by IU CREATE and The Radiation Team, the IUB-SAT-1, integrates IU’s RadFX-IC and commercial SRAMs with well-characterized terrestrial radiation responses into a modular payload to collect on-orbit radiation-response data. Results will refine radiation error-rate models and improves confidence in deploying advanced microelectronics to radiation-rich space environments.

F Prime To Flight Faster: Hardware-In-The-Loop Continuous Integration For Accelerated Cubesat Development, Nate Gay, Saidi Adams, Michael Pham

Small Satellite Conference

Flight software teams iterate quickly in development and then slow down at integration, because the software must be validated against real hardware that is itself still changing. 

Bench testing is manual, intermittent, and happens late. Defects surface days after the commit that caused them, once the context is gone and the change has been built on.

Vision-Based Pose Estimation Of A Low-Inertia Robotic Capture Arm, Dane Groves, Willem Jordaan

Small Satellite Conference

The development of CubeSat-integrated robotic arms has expanded the possibilities for In-Orbit Assembly, Repair, and Servicing (OARS). A low-inertia robotic capture arm has been designed previously using remote actuation¹. In the context of CubeSats, this allows heavy actuators to be placed in the base of the CubeSat and lightweight, slender links can be connected to form an arm. This design, depicted in Figure 1, allows for a robotic arm with a low moment of inertia.

The limited 6.5 mm link profile prevents the integration of high-resolution joint encoders, motivating the use of an alternative state estimation technique. This …

Plasma Magnet Propulsion For Smallsat Deep Space Missions: Scaling Laws, Trajectory Analysis, And A Path To Flight Demonstration, Surya S. Kalluri

Small Satellite Conference

The plasma magnet uses a rotating magnetic field (RMF) to drive azimuthal currents in ambient plasma, inflating a spacecraft dipole to kilometre scale so momentum is taken directly from the solar wind. Using plasma currents in place of physical coil proposed for similar concepts previously like Magnetosail, M2P2 etc., eliminates the constraints on size and dynamic pressure of seed plasma. Because the inflated plasma — not a structure — sets the obstacle size, thrust is independent of distance from sun while the required power falls as the antenna grows. Earlier experiments showed >10 kA driven currents, inflation beyond ten coil …

A Comparative Analysis Of Radio Frequency And Optical Inter-Satellite Link Communications For Leo Mega-Constellations, Alexa Houck, Suryansh Aryan, Kevin Schroeder, Samantha Kenyon

Small Satellite Conference

SpaceNet design  

Software-based testbed for simulating large satellite networks, specifically LEO-based constellations to analyze network behavior, connectivity, routing, and overall communication.  

• Phase one focuses on connectivity and routing: Given the topology and link availability over time, how does my network behave? 
• Phase two focuses on network emulation: Given the topology and link availability over time, how does my network behave? 

Arcsecond-Level Pointing Accuracy In A Cubesat: Development And Verification Of The High-Precision Pointing System For The Cubespec Mission, Leonardo Peri

Small Satellite Conference

Mission and objectives 

CubeSpec is a 12U CubeSat mission designed to demonstrate high-resolution stellar spectroscopy from a small, low-cost space platform. 

Its scientific objectives require the payload line-of-sight to remain stable within a few arcseconds. This is beyond the capability of conventional CubeSat Attitude Determination & Control Systems (ADCS). 

To meet this challenge, CubeSpec uses a dual-stage pointing architecture: the spacecraft ADCS provides coarse body pointing, while a High-Precision Pointing Platform applies fast, precise corrections directly to the payload line-of-sight.

Austronauts 3u Cubesat Space Weather Payloads Proposal, Tiana Pendray

Small Satellite Conference

CubeSats are becoming increasingly prominent due to their accessibility, affordability and versatility. An emerging field of satellite application is the monitoring of ionospheric space weather, made possible by sensitive instruments that collect data on plasma potential, temperature and ion density. These parameters vary due to changing solar activity in the form of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and solar flares, which can have severe impacts on satellite navigation systems, radio communication networks and orbital estimations. The AUStronauts team at the University of New South Wales is developing a 3U CubeSat with two space weather payloads – an Electrodynamic Tether (EDT) and …

Microcontroller Debugging Efficiency For Low Cost Cubesat Missions, Koowum Joshi, Tyler Nielson, Tyler Field, Aaron Bounias, Michael Goryll

Small Satellite Conference

This study evaluates the debugging efficiency of different microcontrollers for CubeSat applications by using a “debugging box” system that links two devices to detect faulty code. It compares latency, reliability, and cost to identify the most effective low-cost option. The goal is to improve accessibility to space technologies.

Multi-Phase Guidance And Control For Small Satellite Docking Via Deep Reinforcement Learning, Tanner Gill, Greg Furlich, Nisar Ahmed

Small Satellite Conference

As interest in small satellite Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking (RPOD) grows, so does the need for high-level autonomy in space systems. Current systems relying on constrained hardware and ground-in-the-loop decision-making are ill-equipped for the evolving, contested space domain. Recent research on autonomous spacecraft guidance and control has moved beyond established optimal control and trajectory optimization methods to incorporate Reinforcement Learning (RL), though these efforts have predominantly focused on a single operational phase. This research advances small satellite docking autonomy by formulating the reference scenario as a Hierarchical Markov Decision Process (H-MDP), expanding the scope of the learned guidance and …

Numerical Characterization Of Phase Coherence In Distributed Smallsat Sar Interferometry, Cameron Kaminski

Small Satellite Conference

Distributed SmallSat SAR requires independent spacecraft to maintain phase coherence over long integration times. This work presents a Monte Carlo simulation that combines manufacturer-derived oscillator phase noise, spacecraft thermal dynamics, and orbital perturbations to evaluate passive coherence limits. The results show that oscillator quality alone is insufficient; differential thermal-state evolution becomes a dominant driver of long-duration coherence performance.

Aggiesat6 University Cubesat Ops Prep And Leops, Avery G. Barriga, Garrett M. Stevenson, John F. Connolly

Small Satellite Conference

AggieSat6 (AGS6) is a 6U CubeSat designed and developed by students at Texas A&M University (TAMU) as part of the University Nanosatellite Program (UNP) NS-10 cycle. The mission will demonstrate a space-based radio frequency array for Space Domain Awareness (SDA) applications and collect low-energy electron radiation data to improve existing environmental models. Beginning in January 2025, students at TAMU established mission operations architecture, implemented operator training and certification, and prepared to assume sole responsibility for on-orbit operations. The AggieSat6 bus launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in April of 2026. The AGS6 Mission was supported by the University Nanosatellite Program. …

Processor And Sensor Interfacing On Fpga For Stp-H12-Vantage Space Mission, Christopher Brubaker, Alan D. George

Small Satellite Conference

Previous SHREC Missions

• STP-H5-CSP – Demonstration of CSP and hybrid COTS + rad-hard architecture
• STP-H6-SSIVP – Parallel and distributed computing with multiple CSPs
• STP-H7-CASPR – Onboard processing with next-gen sensors and apps

STP-H12-VANTAGE

• Visual And Neuromorphic Tracking And Geosensing Experiment
• Correlation of neuromorphic and visual sensor data
• Advancing usage of COTS SoMs supplemented with rad-hard monitoring and watchdog circuitry

Promoting Assured Formation Flight Autonomy Onboard Resource Constrained Systems, Ryan Johnson, Maggie Michelsen, Jackson Gardner, Mario Harper, Charles Swenson, Jackson Kulik, Shawn Jones

Small Satellite Conference

Autonomously determining fuel-optimal, formation-keeping trajectories for small spacecraft operating in formation flight is often limited by available processing power. Because SmallSat missions are constrained by size, weight, and power (SWaP), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are an attractive option for onboard computing. Traditional formation-keeping relies on convex optimization to solve for fuel-optimal burns and burn times; however, implementing these solvers on FPGAs is challenging due to limited board resources.

To address the need for fast, reliable trajectory planning onboard space vehicles, we investigate leveraging machine learning to reduce computational cost for real-time, onboard execution. We propose using a deep neural network …

Pulse-Q: Space-To-Ground Quantum Key Distribution At The Cubesat Form Factor, Logan Hanssler, Stewart Kristiansen, Ellisian King, Neha Chandran, Unnathi Venkatesh, Selina Gao, Nelson Chan, Mika Sadikario, Joseph Sorel, Lexi Liu, Eleanor Gentry, Rohan Gupta, Juan Ignacio Prieto Asbun, Lauren Ayala, Vincent Redwine, Tian Zhong

Small Satellite Conference

Motivation 

• Quantum key distribution (QKD) offers provably secure communication regardless of the technology available to potential eavesdroppers.
• Space-to-ground QKD facilitates long-distance key distribution without costly terrestrial infrastructure.
• The Polarization-modUlated Laser Satellite Experiment – Quantum (PULSE-Q) is a 12U CubeSat mission to leverage recent innovations in compact quantum sources and optical communication to achieve space-to-ground QKD.

Onboard Ai At The Orbital Edge: A Mission Debrief From Stp-H7-Caspr, Evan W. Gretok, Linus Silbernagel, Diego Wildenstein, Michael J. Cannizzaro, Seth Roffe, Alan D. George

Small Satellite Conference

Goals: Enable autonomous Earth observation and onboard sensor data processing with novel compute

Motivations: Growing numbers of spacecraft demand autonomy in operation and data collection

Challenges: Harsh radiation and thermal environment of space over four-year mission lifetime

Feedback Indices To Evaluate Llm Responses To Rebuttals For Multiple Choice Type Questions, Justin C. Dunlap, Anne-Simone Parent, Ralf Widenhorn

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present a set of indices designed to characterize Large Language Model (LLM) responses when challenged with rebuttals during a chat. Assessing how LLMs respond to user dissent is crucial for understanding their reliability and behavior patterns, yet the complexity of human-LLM interactions makes systematic evaluation challenging. Our approach employs a fictitious-response rebuttal method that quantifies LLM behavior when presented with multiple-choice questions followed by deliberate challenges to their fictitious previous response. The indices are specifically designed to detect and measure what could be characterized as sycophantic behavior (excessive agreement with user challenges) or stubborn responses (rigid adherence to the …

How To Blow Up An Ai Data Center, Tyler Rife

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This essay advocates a critical pedagogical orientation to AI guided by a politics of refusal. I pursue this advocacy by, first, showing how the social and environmental harms of AI technology outweigh any promises to its social good and then, second, locating resonances between our contemporary technological situation and similar inflection points in the histories of labor organizing and environmental justice activism. Together, these material implications of the emergent technology help form a pedagogical framework for how communication educators can advance critical literacy about AI in the classroom as a constructive counterpoint to its uncritical adoption in the learning process. …

Ai And Agency: Policy As Problem Posing In The Introductory Communication Studies Classroom, Deanna L. Fassett, Nancy Park

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This forum essay examines artificial-intelligence policy in introductory communication courses through the lens of critical communication pedagogy. It identifies a tension between institutional pressures for readily enforceable, surveillance-oriented AI policies and relational approaches that support instructors’ and students’ long-term agency. Drawing on problem-posing pedagogy, the authors argue that prepackaged policies can position teaching assistants as policy enforcers rather than reflective educators. They propose collaborative policy development as a means of fostering dialogue, ethical discernment, human connection, and critical engagement with AI’s role in communication education.