Digital Commons Network^™

Hypertension Prevention Program And Its Effects On Blood Pressure Levels Among Young Adults In A Christian Community In Southwest Michigan, Cindel Hollancid

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background

Although the majority of patients who present are adults over the age of 40 years old; with blood pressures ranging from 140/88 – 190/110 and many times higher readings, it was intriguing and important to assess whether a direct intervention, teaching young adults ages 18 – 39 years the benefits of lifestyle choices would be beneficial as a preventative measure to implement for hypertension reduction patterns as one ages. According to Hinton et al. (2019), hypertension affects 1 in 8 adults between the ages of 20 and 40 years old and is thus common among young people; with the …

Exploring The Impact Of Faculty–Student Interactions Outside The Classroom On The Sense Of Belonging, Engagement, Self-Confidence, And Retention Among Undergraduates In Uae Federal Universities, Mona Malalla Alhammadi

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of Faculty-Student Interaction (FSI) in influencing students' social and academic outcomes and success. In particular, this study sought to investigate the impact of the informal interactions between faculty members and their students outside the classroom on four student outcomes: Sense of Belonging (SB), Engagement (EG), Self-confidence (SC), and Retention (RT). The participants were 570 undergraduate students who were at their first- and second-year of study from three different UAE federal higher education institutions. The study employed quantitative research design while utilizing an online survey as the main data collection instrument. …

Possibilities Of Digitizing And Applying Artificial Intelligence To National Occupational Classification (Noc-2025) In Uzbekistan, Shohrux Nurali O‘G‘Li Narzullayev

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

This article examines the process of digitizing National Occupational Classification (NOC-2025) in Uzbekistan, developed on the basis of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08), and the possibilities of applying artificial intelligence technologies to it. Although this classification exists today in a national form, and its digitization and the introduction of artificial intelligence elements to it based on modern technologies remain a pressing issue. In order to digitize the classification, international systems such as the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08, ILO), European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO), Occupational Information Network (O*NET, USA) and National Occupational Classification (NOC, Canada) …

Living Longer, Working Longer, Michele Dinman, Cal J. Halvorsen

Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging

According to the Pew Research Center, nearly one-in-five Americans ages 65 and older (19%) were employed in 2023, a rate nearly twice that from 35 years ago. They’re also working more hours, on average, than in the recent past. In fact, more than three-in-five older workers (62%) work full time, an increase from the 47% working full time in 1987. Older workers today are also more educated and are more likely to be receiving employer-sponsored benefits, such as retirement savings plans and health insurance, than in earlier decades. While only 4% of the entire labor force was made up of …

Systemic Racism In Canadian Healthcare: A Policy And Equity Analysis, Kola Adegoke, Abimbola Adegoke, Deborah Dawodu, Temitope Kayode

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: In Canadian healthcare, systemic racism subverts commitment to universal coverage by building inequities into the system of governance, regulation, and clinical practice. Although racial disparities have been documented, little attention has been paid to how institutional structures perpetuate these inequities.

Objective: This study critically examines the organizational aspects of racism in the Canadian healthcare system. It aims to identify structural obstacles faced by racialized patients and foreign-trained physicians and to provide policy recommendations grounded in evidence.

Methods: The authors employed a narrative review framework for qualitative analysis of documents. Public inquiries (eg, Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Viens Report), …

Love, Community, Errantry: Relational Approaches Toward Mathematical Mistakes, Melissa Adams Corral, Romina S. Peña-Pincheira, José Martínez Hinestroza

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

In this article we explore ways of approaching what educators and researchers perceive as mistakes that are consistent with views of mathematics that tolerate ambiguity, contradiction, and multiple possible truths. The approaches we describe draw on works within and beyond the field of mathematics education and detail theories from biologist Humberto Maturana, community organizers Bob Moses and Ella Baker, and poet-philosopher Edouard Glissant. These alternative theoretical perspectives are distinctly relational in their approach. They can build on the field’s current conceptualizations of pedagogical responses to errors in ways that attend to calls for broadening what it means to do mathematics …

Depression Polygenicity And Disease Activity And Disability Worsening In Multiple Sclerosis, Ali Manouchehrinia, Kathryn C Fitzgerald, Amber Salter, Ruth Ann Marrie, Lars Alfredsson, Charles N Bernstein, James M Bolton, Gary Cutter, John D Fisk, Lesley A Graff, Carol A Hitchon, Jan Hillert, Ingrid Kockum, Yi Lu, Fred D Lublin, Kyla Mckay, Tomas Olsson, Scott Patten, Amit Patki, Hayley Riel, Klementy Shchetynsky, Pernilla Stridh, Hemant K Tiwari, Jerry S Wolinsky, Kaarina Kowalec

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: A better understanding of factors associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) disease activity and disability is needed. Given the strong link between comorbid depression and MS disease activity and disability, we aimed to determine whether the depression genetic burden, as modelled using its polygenic score, is associated with MS disease activity and disability worsening.

Methods: In this cohort study, we used samples from neurologist-defined adult people with MS (PwMS) followed in clinical care or during a clinical trial from existing cohorts: Canada, the United States (US), and Sweden with extensive longitudinal phenotypes. We computed the depression polygenic score (PGS) and …

Reading The Word And The World: Overstanding Literacy In Aboriginal And Chinese Classrooms, Gui Ying Annie Yang-Heim

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This qualitative comparative case study examines how culturally grounded philosophies of education shape the teaching and learning of reading in two cross-cultural contexts—an Aboriginal Australian classroom and urban Chinese elementary schools. Drawing on interpretive and reflexive methodologies, it investigates how Aboriginal and Confucian epistemologies influence literacy practices and how these practices align with or resist dominant, decontextualized models of reading instruction. Data sources include classroom observations, reading assessments, teacher interviews, and researcher reflections. Conceptually framed by Gadamer’s hermeneutics, Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital, Habermas’s typology of knowledge, and the Caribbean concept of overstanding, this research finds that Aboriginal literacy is …

Technology Discontinuance: A Systematic Literature Review And Research Agenda, Birgit Altrichter, Sabine Benoit

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Technology discontinuance by users who quit digital services such as social media or lose interest in their devices after a few weeks is a common phenomenon. Yet it has received little research attention; the few studies that address it are scattered across disciplines. Research into customer churn is more prevalent, but it implies switching providers rather than halting usage altogether. By moving beyond discipline-based knowledge boundaries and conducting a systematic literature review, the current article proposes a technology discontinuance framework, which details seven technology discontinuance types (overuse, overload, proficiency, disenchantment, social, circumstantial, and solution) and their drivers. For example, guilt …

The Power And Peril Of First Offers In Negotiations: A Conceptual, Meta-Analytic, And Experimental Synthesis, H.M. Petrowsky, L. Boecker, Y.A. Escher, M.L. Frech, M. Friese, A.D. Galinsky, B. Gunia, A.J. Lee, Michael Schaerer, M. Schweinsberg, M. Soliman, R. Swaab, E.S. Troll, M. Weber, D.D. Loschelder

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Is it advantageous to make the first offer and to do so ambitiously? Although initial studies suggested clear advantages across cultures and contexts, recent findings have challenged the robustness of this first-mover advantage. A preregistered meta-analysis of 374 effects from 90 studies (Study 1; N = 16,334) revealed three beneficial effects of making the first offer: (a) a general first-mover advantage (g = 0.42, m = 80), (b) a positive correlation between first-offer magnitude and agreement value (r = 0.62, g = 1.56, m = 53), and (c) an advantage of ambitious (vs. moderate) first offers on agreement value (g …

Managing The Personalization Paradox: Lessons From Spotify’S Ai Dj, Anirban Mukherjee, Hannah H. Chang, Jonathan Wibowo

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This case study uses Spotify’s AI DJ to examine the “personalization paradox,” where product features designed to deepen user connection can instead cause alienation. An analysis of over 1,400 user comments identifies three core frictions: a perceived loss of user agency, mismanaged expectations for the human-like AI, and a scalability bottleneck that led to repetitive content. Students are placed in the role of a product manager tasked with developing a prioritized roadmap to address these issues, forcing them to grapple with the critical trade-offs between technological capability and user psychology.

The Moderating Role Of Affective Engagement On The Relationship Between Learning Autonomy And Cognitive Engagement, Neal Nikko D. Espejo

Ateneo Institute for The Science and Art of Learning and Teaching

The study explores the moderating role of affective engagement on the relationship between learning autonomy and cognitive engagement among university students. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the research examines how affective engagement, characterized by emotional connection and enjoyment in learning, influences the effect of learning autonomy on cognitive engagement. The sample consisted of 178 business and information management students from a university in the Philippines, selected through purposive sampling. Using validated scales for learning autonomy, affective engagement, and cognitive engagement, data was analyzed through moderation techniques and simple slope analysis. The findings reveal that while both learning autonomy and affective engagement …

Assessing Digital Citizenship Among Students And Technology Competency Of Teachers, Mary Anthony C. Sieras

Ateneo Institute for The Science and Art of Learning and Teaching

Digital citizenship and technology competency are vital for effective teaching and learning in today’s technology-driven educational environment (Ribble, 2011). Despite widespread technology use, challenges persist regarding students’ responsible and ethical use of digital tools, highlighting the need for improved digital citizenship education (Ribble & Bailey, 2004). Teachers’ proficiency in integrating technology is key to fostering students’ positive digital practices (Department of Education, 2017). This study aimed to assess the digital citizenship levels of junior high school students and the technology competence of their teachers. Grounded in Mike Ribble’s nine elements of digital citizenship and the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers’ …

The Root Cause Of Perceived Appraisal Politics Using Evidence From The South Korean Public Sector, Jinwoong Yoo, Saeyeon Roh, Mohamed Haddoud, Smita Tripathi

Plymouth Business School

The purpose of this study is to investigate the root causes of Perceived Appraisal Politics (PAP) within the public sector in South Korea. Scholars in the field of Human Resource Management (HRM) have identified the determinants of PAP in an effort to mitigate it. However, the complex interactions among those determinants and root causes have been overlooked. Therefore, we adopt a novel methodology in this study that combines Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and fuzzy-Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (f-DEMATEL). The findings indicate that the root causes of PAP include the presence of cliques, ambiguity of appraisal policies and goal ambiguity …

Foreign Director Exit In The Midst Of Deteriorating Bilateral Political Relations, Xiaocong Tian, Yuehua Xu, Daphne W. Yiu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Amid global geopolitical realism pushing for a race of hegemonic rivalry nowadays, an outflow of global human talents is a pressing organizational concern. Our study draws attention to the underexamined phenomenon of the exit of foreign directors from their host countries during geopolitical tensions. Theorizing from a sensemaking logic, we posit that the deterioration of bilateral political relations serves as an unexpected event that activates foreign directors’ schemas for dual identity conflict, propelling them to react behaviorally to such identity threats by exiting the board in the host country. In addition, we further posit that the sensemaking process is contingent …

Impact Of Sociodemographic, Clinical, And Intervention Characteristics On Pain Intensity Within A Single Music Therapy Session, Samuel N. Rodgers-Melnick, Douglas Gunzler, Thomas E. Love, Siran M. Koroukian, Mark Beno, Jeffery A. Dusek, Johnie Rose

Faculty Scholarship

Several studies support the efficacy of music therapy (MT) for reducing pain, but few have examined which interventions are most effective or which patients are more likely to respond. This study investigated which sociodemographic, clinical, and intervention characteristics are associated with clinically significant reductions in pain intensity (0–10 numeric rating scale reduction ≥2 units) within a single MT session. We conducted a retrospective review of 2039 MT sessions provided across a large health system among 1203 adult patients reporting pre-session pain ≥4/10, a complete post-session pain score, and a complete pre-session stress score. We employed a multivariable logistic mixed effects …

Home And Religion, Emma Alexandra Grimley, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This chapter explores how religious practices and identities intersect with the home as both a construct and physical locale and surveys the social science literature on religion in/and the home. We argue that the shifting space-times of religious practice reflect and influence the changeable and porous boundaries between public and private space, the home and beyond the home. This influence is shown by reference to three areas of focus: the home as a private space of and for religion; the use of religion to cross social and spatial boundaries of home; and the reconfiguration of the home in religious practice …

The Effectiveness Of A First-Year Experience Course: A Case Study From A Public Regional University In The Central United States, Taler J. Alexander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student retention has become an increasingly popular topic for colleges and universities as they look for ways to keep students amid ever-changing budget climates. Research shows that high quality first-year experience (FYE) courses can provide crucial support to new students as they enter the college or university. Additionally, many researchers have found that supporting students through their transition to a new college environment, developing their sense of belonging, and helping them get involved on campus lead to increased student retention. The purpose of this study was to explore the curriculum, format, and delivery of the FYE course at Blue University …

The Heart Of Policing: Exploring The Essence Of The Phenomenon Between Organizational Culture And Police Officer Job Satisfaction, Charles C. Palmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the essence of the phenomenon between organizational culture and police officer job satisfaction among rural law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma. Retaining police officers has become an increasingly challenging task for law enforcement organizations across the United States, as high turnover, costly recruitment, and voluntary resignations continue to strain departments. While previous research has primarily examined demographic and occupational variables influencing satisfaction, limited attention has been given to how organizational culture affects the lived experiences of U.S. police officers. Guided by Edgar Schein’s organizational culture theory, this study examined how …

Leading Beyond The Lecture: A Case Study Exploring How Community College Students Experience Their Instructors’ Positive Leadership Strategies, Mandy Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Positive leadership, an approach to leading individuals to the point of flourishing, has been studied in corporate contexts. While the student-to-instructor relationships only distantly compare to the employee-to-supervisor dynamics, the relationships and power differential have similarities, making the pillars of positive leadership relevant in the context of higher education. Given the critical nature of student success to stakeholders in higher education and the students themselves, discovering instructor strategies that enhance student success can demonstrate an upward spiral of positivity that extends from the student, to the instructor, to the college, and ultimately to the community. Framed by leader-member exchange (LMX) …

Understanding The Retention Of Alternatively Certified Teachers: Key Factors And Insights, Donna M. Hardy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed in this study was the high attrition rate of alternatively certified teachers

who often exit the classroom at greater rates than traditionally trained teachers, particularly

within their first 5 years of teaching. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived

experience of alternatively certified teachers to identify the support, conditions, and leadership

practices that contributed to their persistence. A qualitative phenomenological study was used,

with data collected from 14 alternatively certified teachers who work in a Central Texas school

district, utilizing semistructured interviews. Data collection methods included interviews,

member checking, and researcher field notes. Research …

How School Mentors Build Self-Efficacy In Novice Teachers: A Single Case Study, Christina Olga Sanchez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative single case study with embedded units explored how school mentors build selfefficacy in novice teachers across elementary, middle, and high school settings within a single public school district in Texas. Grounded in Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, which identifies four sources of self-efficacy: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional and physiological states, this study examined the specific strategies mentors use to build self-efficacy and foster confidence and instructional competence in novice teachers. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with eight experienced educators formally designated as mentors. Thematic analysis was employed to identify patterns in mentoring practices and their …

Breaking Barriers: Mentorship Pathways For Hispanic Women In Leadership Roles, Ana Paola Gonzalez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to understand the unique lived experiences of 10 Hispanic Latinas serving in leadership roles in 2-year community colleges in Texas. As the graduation rate of Hispanic women increases, institutions must identify mentorship programs that motivate women who continue to graduate to seek leadership positions within their institutions. Through life stories and lived experiences, the study's findings illustrate that mentorship is essential to creating, but that self-determination and self-advocacy also make it possible to find paths to leadership. Through thematic analysis, three themes emerged from the data: identity and representation, mentorship and support structures, and resilience and advocacy. …

Exploring The Influence Of Self-Efficacy And Cultural Identity On Black Teacher Retention, Cicely Kelly Ward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed the persistent challenge of retaining Black educators in racially diverse U.S. secondary schools. The specific problem was a knowledge gap regarding how the lived experiences of Black teachers connect their self-efficacy and cultural identity to retention. The purpose of this study was to explore these dynamics to inform the development of more effective support strategies. This qualitative phenomenological study involved semistructured interviews with 10 Black secondary school teachers who had 3 or more years of experience in the Southeastern region of Texas. The researcher analyzed the interview data using a thematic analysis framework to identify patterns of …

Effects Of Aromatherapy On Promoting Sleep In Patients With Neurological Deficits, Cherylle R. Reed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reliance on sleep aids in neurological patient population can lead to negative side effects and compromise patient safety. The purpose of this doctoral nursing project was to determine if the implementation of McDonnell and Newcomb’s aromatherapy process will reduce the incidence of sleep-promoting medication administration as compared to the current practice in neurological deficit patients over 4 weeks. A quantitative, quasi-experimental design evaluated effects on sleep quality and pharmacological sleep aids by using McDonnell and Newcomb’s aromatherapy combination of lavender, bergamot, and ylang ylang essential oils placed on a cotton ball at the patient’s bedside each night. The sample included …

The Effect Of Perceived Principal Leadership Styles And School Type On Elementary Teacher Self-Efficacy, Karen M. Gonzalez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of perceived principal leadership styles and school type on elementary teachers’ self-efficacy. The study examined two research questions. The first examined differences between teachers’ self-efficacy in Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools, and the second examined differences in teacher self-efficacy and perceived principal leadership styles (authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire). The convenience sample included 129 elementary teachers from social media teacher groups that taught in various Title 1 and non-Title 1 school districts. I used a quantitative, causal-comparative method to collect data and survey questionnaires that identified trends in leadership styles …

From Personas To Talks: Revisiting The Impact Of Personas On Llm-Synthesized Emotional Support Conversations, Shenghan Wu, Yimo Zhu, Wynne Hsu, Mong-Li Lee, Yang Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The rapid advancement of Large Language Models (LLMs) has revolutionized the generation of emotional support conversations (ESC), offering scalable solutions with reduced costs and enhanced data privacy. This paper explores the role of personas in the creation of ESC by LLMs. Our research utilizes established psychological frameworks to measure and infuse persona traits into LLMs, which then generate dialogues in the emotional support scenario. We conduct extensive evaluations to understand the stability of persona traits in dialogues, examining shifts in traits post-generation and their impact on dialogue quality and strategy distribution. Experimental results reveal several notable findings: 1) LLMs can …

Adasteer: Your Aligned Llm Is Inherently An Adaptive Jailbreak Defender, Weixiang Zhao, Jiahe Guo, Yulin Hu, Yang Deng, An Zhang, Xingyu Sui, Xinyang Han, Yanyan Zhao, Bing Qin, Tat-Seng Chua, Ting Liu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Despite extensive efforts in safety alignment, large language models (LLMs) remain vulnerable to jailbreak attacks. Activation steering offers a training-free defense method but relies on fixed steering coefficients, resulting in suboptimal protection and increased false rejections of benign inputs. To address this, we propose AdaSteer, an adaptive activation steering method that dynamically adjusts model behavior based on input characteristics. We identify two key properties: Rejection Law (R-Law), which shows that stronger steering is needed for jailbreak inputs opposing the rejection direction, and Harmfulness Law (H-Law), which differentiates adversarial and benign inputs. AdaSteer steers input representations along both the Rejection Direction …

Chain Of Strategy Optimization Makes Large Language Models Better Emotional Supporter, Weixiang Zhao, Xingyu Sui, Xinyang Han, Yang Deng, Yulin Hu, Jiahe Guo, Libo Qin, Qianyun Du, Shijin Wang, Yanyan Zhao, Bing Qin, Ting Liu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The growing emotional stress in modern society has increased the demand for Emotional Support Conversations (ESC). While Large Language Models (LLMs) show promise for ESC, they face two key challenges: (1) low strategy selection accuracy, and (2) preference bias, limiting their adaptability to users’ emotional needs. Existing supervised fine-tuning (SFT) struggles to address these issues, as it rigidly trains models on single gold-standard responses without modeling nuanced strategy trade-offs. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel two-stage framework that optimizes strategy selection preferences at each dialogue turn. We first leverage Monte Carlo Tree Search to construct ESC-Pro, a high-quality …

Swiping Rights: Hidden Costs Of Hidden Laws, Rachel Landy

Articles

While many legal regimes have undergone fundamental shifts to account for the online economy, one lags behind: industry-specific mandatory contract rules. These rules, frequently buried in decades-old, nonintuitive statutes, are often overly prescriptive and come with draconian penalties, hampering the goals of entrepreneurship and impeding startup growth.

Much has been written about the intersection of regulation and entrepreneurship. But sparse attention has been paid to the unintended consequences on early-stage companies of more subtle regulatory interventions like contract rules — especially those with inconsistent or conflicting requirements among the states. This Article begins to fill that gap and uses as …