Digital Commons Network^™

Strategies To Improve Patient Satisfaction In Colorado Nursing Homes, Shahnoz Yusufbekova

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Patient satisfaction is a key performance indicator in nursing homes, influencing organizational success, clinical outcomes, and compliance with regulatory standards. This integrative review was conducted to identify strategies for improving patient satisfaction in Colorado nursing homes. By analyzing trends in patient care deficiencies and exploring evidence-based business strategies, the goal of this study was to enhance residents’ quality of life while fostering a patient-centered approach to care. An integrative literature review was conducted, in which peer-reviewed articles, government reports, and quality assessment tools published between 2019 and 2024 were analyzed. Lawton’s quality-of-life framework was used to assess factors influencing patient …

Effective Strategies To Mitigate Supply Chain Disruptions In Manufacturing Organizations, Michael S. Heard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Supply chain disruptions threaten organizational performance by causing production delays, increasing costs, and diminishing customer satisfaction. Supply chain disruptions are a critical concern to supply chain leaders, operations managers, and business executives, as excessive disruptions can weaken operational resilience, competitive advantage, and stakeholder trust. Without effective mitigation strategies, organizational leaders face heightened financial risk and long-term value erosion, making developing robust supply chain practices essential for sustained business continuity and profitability. Grounded in the resource-based view theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to identify and explore practical strategies that some business leaders use to forecast manufacturers’ distribution …

Gonorrhea/Chlamydia Infections: Role Of Age, Sexual Abuse, And Sexual Contact Among African Americans In Nc, Thomika Sprenger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a significant public health (PH) issue in North Carolina (NC) despite efforts to decrease prevalence. Rates are higher in African American (AA) young adults. Studies have investigated STIs, but little is known about the mediating relationship between factors such as the age of first sexual intercourse, sexual abuse, and sexual contact. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess if the age of first sexual intercourse and sexual contact mediate the relationship between sexual abuse and gonorrhea/chlamydia infections among AA young adults in NC. A secondary data analysis was conducted using the 2019 Youth …

Whither Leviathan? The Seepage Of Constitutional Law Into Public-Private Arbitration In The United States, Peter B. Rutledge

Scholarly Works

The chapter analyses how constitutional law influences private-public arbitration in the United States. Its central thesis is that constitutional law exerts a powerful indirect influence on arbitration law. While the US Constitution does not directly regulate arbitration, its underlying norms—such as separation of powers, federalism, and individual rights—impact arbitration law indirectly. The chapter explores the ways in which these constitutional principles influence public-private arbitration through statutory interpretation, treaty design, and private protocols reflecting constitutional norms. This pattern of influence manifests itself in public arbitration (i.e. arbitration involving states or state-owned entities) just as it does in private arbitration. Highlighting how …

Solution-Focused Brief Group Counseling As An Effort To Reduce Phubbing Behavior Among High School Students, Awalya Siska Pratiwi, Arbin Janu Setiyowati, Im Hambali, Siti Syazwani Zulkuple

Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling

The act of phubbing has been observed to disengage from their surroundings, often finding greater comfort in solitude with their mobile phones. The research objective was to ascertain the efficacy of solution-focused brief group counseling to reduce phubbing behavior in high school students. This study employed a quasi-experimental quantitative research methodology with a pretest-posttest control group design. A total of 10 students, exhibiting a high level of phubbing behavior, were divided into two groups: the experimental group and the control group. The results of the Two-Independent-Sample Test-Mann-Whitney U test are presented in the Asymp .sig column, with a value of …

Hybrid Bermudagrass Drought Tolerance In A Cool-Season Climate, Ashley J. Beazer

Theses and Dissertations

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) (KBG) is the most commonly grown cool-season C3 turfgrass. However, as global temperatures rise, KBG struggles to tolerate higher temperatures, leading to increased irrigation demands--a growing concern in arid and semi-arid regions facing escalating drought conditions. In contrast, hybrid bermudagrass (HBG; Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers. x Cynodon transvaalensis Burtt Davy), a warm-season C4 grass, has demonstrated promising adaptability in traditionally cool-season climates. Since 2008, HBG has been successfully grown with minimal winterkill in Provo, UT, USA, and is now being considered for broader adoption in similar climates. Two separate studies were conducted to evaluate the …

Essays In Macroeconomics, Manu Garcia

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is organized into three chapters, each offering novel insights into macroeconomic theory and practice. While the chapters address distinct phenomena, a common thread runs throughout: each study examines a transmission mechanism---whether of monetary shocks, normative change, or academic strategies---and underscores the importance of heterogeneity and dynamic adjustment in macroeconomic outcomes. In Chapter 1, I explore one of the most direct channels of monetary policy transmission---the refinancing window in the housing market. By exploiting comprehensive mortgage data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) spanning several decades, the analysis identifies episodes of heightened refinancing activity as quasi-natural experiments. Regions …

Citizens United: The 2010 Crisis In The Marketplace Of Ideas, Abbagayle Grace Madanat

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

In Citizens United v. FEC (2010), the Supreme Court ruled that corporations, like individuals, have First Amendment rights, enabling limitless corporate spending on political advocacy. This decision, made in the name of free speech, discounted concerns about corruption and destabilized the marketplace of ideas by granting corporations disproportionate influence and effectively drowning out citizens’ voices. I demonstrate how Citizens United deviated from legal precedents and the Framers' intentions for the First Amendment. Drawing from On Liberty, I argue that John Stuart Mill, one of history’s greatest free speech advocates, would have opposed the ruling, recognizing its distorting effects. I further …

The Power Of Personalization: How Tailored Marketing Drives Consumer Engagement, Roberto Alonso-Guma

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

Personalized marketing uses consumer data and advanced technologies to deliver highly individualized content and offers, reshaping traditional one-size-fits-all strategies. Over time, brands have transitioned from broad campaigns to data-driven efforts capable of catering to personal preferences. Consumer engagement evolves beyond basic clicks or purchases, encompassing emotional connection, brand loyalty, and sustained lifetime value. This thesis examines the evolution of personalization and investigates metrics to assess effectiveness. It also addresses the core strategies and ethical concerns of consumers. Ultimately, this work argues that personalized marketing significantly enhances consumer engagement and loyalty by creating individualized experiences grounded in responsible data usage and …

How Effective Are Machine Learning Algorithms In Enhancing Marketing Strategies?, Kassidy Dunn

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

In recent years, machine learning algorithms have become a vital tool in marketing, yet their impact remains underexplored. This study investigates the mechanisms and applications of machine learning algorithms in marketing strategies, assessing whether they benefit or restrict the effectiveness of marketing strategies. Through relevant research and case studies, we argue that while machine learning-driven marketing offers measurable benefits in personalization and return on investment, its implementation must be balanced with ethical considerations to avoid biased outcomes.

Digital Discourse On Alzheimer’S Disease: A Text Analysis Of Crosscultural Sentiments In Online Communities, Maryam Imran

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological condition characterized by a significant decline in cognitive function. Due to its severe effects and the absence of a cure, early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for slowing its progression. My project examines how cultural perceptions of Alzheimer’s disease are reflected in digital discourse. Using Voyant, a text analysis tool, and the NRC Emotion Lexicon, I analyzed Reddit discussions from South Asian, East Asian, and North American individuals, categorizing their posts into three themes: diagnosis perceptions, treatment decisions, and family/social dynamics and classifying sentiments as negative, positive, or neutral to gain a deeper understanding of …

The Impact Of Corruption On Lebanon's Governmental Institutions And The Connection To Terrorism, Joseph Mansour

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

This thesis explores how systemic corruption in Lebanon, deeply rooted in sectarian power structures and elite dominance, has eroded governance, exacerbated socioeconomic inequalities, and created vulnerabilities conducive to terrorism. Applying Dennis F. Thompson’s institutional theory of corruption alongside Seamus Miller’s normative and causal frameworks, I analyze how resource mismanagement, elite capture, and governance failures have degraded public trust and diminished state capacity. Drawing on empirical case studies—including the Beirut Port explosion, the failure of Electricité du Liban, and the manipulation of foreign aid—I demonstrate how corruption has weakened institutional legitimacy and contributed to national insecurity. The study concludes by advocating …

Employability Of International Postgraduate Taught Students In The Uk: A Systematic Literature Review Using Prisma, Fa Wang, Rong Huang, Jingyu Wu, Wai Mun Lim

Plymouth Business School

One-year postgraduate taught programmes in the UK attract global talent through high-quality education, yet the employability and career pathways of these students remain understudied despite their recognised vital economic and cultural contributions. Amid the UK's higher education financial crisis, marked by funding cuts, staff layoffs, rising costs, and reliance on international student recruitment, this study employs the PRISMA 2020 framework to systematically review literature (2014–2024) on international postgraduate taught student employability. Analysing 13 studies from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, the findings reveal gaps in tailored sector-specific career and employability support, access to employment development opportunities and work-integrated …

A Spatiotemporal Machine Learning Framework For The Prediction Of Metocean Conditions In The Gulf Of Mexico: Application To Loop Current And Loop Current Eddy Forecasting, Edward Steele, Marcus Juniper, Ajit Pillai, Ian Ashton, Jiaxin Chen, Sergio Jaramillo, Luz Zarate

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

We are entering an exciting new era of data-driven weather prediction, where forecast models trained on historical data (including observations and reanalyses) offer an alternative to directly solving the governing equations of fluid dynamics. By capitalizing on a vast amount of available information – and capturing their inherent patterns that are not represented explicitly – such machine learning-based techniques have the potential to increase forecast accuracy, augmenting traditional physics-based equivalents. Here, we adapt and apply a promising machine learning framework – originally proposed by the present authors for regional prediction of ocean waves – to the operational forecasting of the …

Intracellular And Extracellular Activities Of V-Domain Ig-Containing Suppressor Of T Cell Activation (Vista) Modulated By Immunosuppressive Factors Of Tumour Microenvironment, Maryam Abooali, Stephanie Schlichtner, Xi Lei, Nijas Aliu, Sabrina Ruggiero, Sonia Loges, Martin Ziegler, Franziska Hertel, Anna-Lena Volckmar, Albrecht Stenzinger, Petros Christopoulos, Michael Thomas, Elena Klenova, N Helge Meyer, Stergios Boussios, Nigel Heaton, Yoh Zen, Ane Zamalloa, Shilpa Chokshi, Luca Urbani, Sophie Richard, Kavitha Kirubendran, Rohanah Hussain, Giuliano Siligardi, Dietmar Cholewa, Steffen M Berger, Inna M Yasinska, Elizaveta Fasler-Kan, Vadim V Sumbayev

Peninsula Medical School

V-domain Ig-containing suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) is a unique immune checkpoint protein, which was reported to display both receptor and ligand activities. However, the mechanisms of regulation of VISTA activity and functions by factors of tumour microenvironment (TME) remain unclear and understanding these processes is required in order to develop successful personalised cancer immunotherapeutic strategies and approaches. Here we report for the very first time that VISTA interacts with another immune checkpoint protein galectin-9 inside the cell most likely facilitating its interaction with TGF-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1). This process is required for protection of lysosomes, which is crucial …

Physician Associate Graduates Have Comparable Knowledge To Medical Graduates., Adele Drew-Hill, Jolanta Kisielewska, James Edwards, Sam Evans, Steven Burr, Daniel Zahra, Ann Rigby-Jones

Peninsula Medical School

BackgroundPhysician associates (PAs) are medical associate professionals who work under the supervision of a doctor within multi-disciplinary teams. Though newly qualified PAs are expected to perform at the same level as newly qualified doctors, no studies have compared the level of medical knowledge upon graduation. The aim of this analysis was to determine the knowledge of PAs in comparison to medical students and Foundation Year 1 (FY1) doctors in the UK.MethodsWe undertook a retrospective analysis of assessment data from identical medical knowledge progress tests taken by PA students, medical students, and FY1 doctors. Student performance data were collated for each …

Mine Closure Planning Must Face The Challenge Of Delivering Nature Positive Outcomes, Luis E. Sanchez, Angus Morrison-Saunders

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The need to address and reverse global biodiversity decline is imperative across all of society including the practices of mine closure planning. Nature Positive is the latest global biodiversity-focused initiative which calls for at least 30% of biodiversity to be enhanced through effective restoration relative to the 2020 baseline. This paper conceptualizes and explains what is necessary in mine closure planning and implementation to meaningfully contribute to this and other nature-positive goals, with some illustrative examples. Issues considered include application of the mitigation hierarchy, rehabilitation in mining and the time lag challenge for restoring biodiversity, biodiversity offsetting, conserving nature while …

Fact-Based Counter Narrative Generation To Combat Hate Speech, Brian Wilk, Homaira Huda Shomee, Suman Kalyan Maity, Sourav Medya

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Online hatred has become an increasingly pervasive issue, affecting individuals and communities across various digital platforms. To combat hate speech in such platforms, counter narratives (CNs) are regarded as an effective method. In recent years, there has been growing interest in using generative AI tools to construct CNs. However, most of the generative models produce generic responses to hate speech and can hallucinate, reducing their effectiveness. To address the above limitations, we propose a counter narrative generation method that enhances CNs by providing non-aggressive, fact-based narratives with relevant background knowledge from two distinct sources, including a web search module. Furthermore, …

Functional Connectivity Between The Visual And Salience Networks And Autistic Social Features At School-Age, Jessica B Girault, Tomoyuki Nishino, Muhamed Talović, Margaret Reynolds, Abraham Z Snyder, Kelly N Botteron, Natasha Marrus, Robert C Mckinstry, Alexandre A Todorov, John R Pruett Jr, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is highly heritable and phenotypically variable. Neuroimaging markers reflecting variation in behavior will provide insights into circuitry subserving core features. We examined functional correlates of ASD symptomology at school-age, while accounting for associated behavioral and cognitive domains, in a longitudinal sample followed from infancy and enriched for those with a genetic liability for ASD.

METHODS: Resting state functional connectivity MRIs (fcMRI) and behavioral data were analyzed from 97 school-age children (8.1-12.0 years, 55 males, 15 ASD) with (n = 63) or without (n = 34) a family history of ASD. fcMRI enrichment analysis (EA) was …

Effect Of Asphalt Content On Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrum And Aging Evaluation Of Asphalt Mixtures, Chenyue Mei, Wei Wang, Junan Shen, Jinkun Sun, Yilin Xu, Jia Che

Civil Engineering & Construction: Faculty Publications

The aging of asphalt mixtures has a significant impact on the service life of asphalt pavements. Currently, the commonly employed method for assessing aging involves the extraction of asphalt from asphalt mixtures using the Abson method. However, this method is known to be detrimental to the extracted asphalt samples, time-consuming, and environmentally unfriendly. This study explored a novel non-destructive method for assessing asphalt aging, known as low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR). It primarily investigated the influence of asphalt content in asphalt mixtures on the patterns of LF-NMR spectra. Specifically, it examined the effect of asphalt content on LF-NMR spectra in …

Ksu Percussion Ensemble

Bailey School of Music Concert Programs

John Lawless, Director

Rural-Urban Disparities In Hospitalisation For Myocardial Infarction In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus In The Usa, Jasvinder A Singh, Sumanth Chandrupatla

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: To assess whether rural-urban disparities exist in people with SLE for hospitalisation with myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods: We used the 2016-2019 US National Inpatient Sample data that contain all hospitalisation data. In people with a diagnosis of SLE, we assessed the multivariable adjusted ORs (aORs) to examine the association of rural patient residence with MI hospitalisation, while adjusting for demographics, payer, income, hospital characteristics and the Deyo-Charlson Comorbidity Index.

Results: We found that the crude rates of patients hospitalised with MI per 100 000 area specific SLE hospitalisations were higher in rural versus urban residents with SLE, 2265 versus …

Founded In Faith. Forward In Mission!: 2024: A Year Of Celebration And Commitment, John Wesley Taylor V

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Improving Access To Mental Health Care Using Telehealth, Lavern Palmer

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

More than half of adults with mental illness in the United States live in mental health deserts—geographic areas with limited access to mental health services and persistent barriers to care. This study investigates the impact of telehealth implementation on patient no-show rates at a rural community clinic in Georgia. The aim was to determine whether the use of telehealth for psychiatric care would decrease the no-show rate of mental health appointments. A retrospective analysis was conducted using patient attendance logs collected 12 weeks before and after the implementation of telehealth services. Quantitative data were analyzed using a Pearson correlation to …

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 04.28.25, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Notre Dame Law School Hosts Inaugural Affinity Alumni Reunion Weekend
• Yusef Salaam shares message of justice, faith, and legacy at Notre Dame Law School
• American Constitution Society selects ND Law's Varun Cidambi as a 2025 Next Generation Leader
• Faculty profile: Professor Svitlana Khyliuk, leading expert in criminal justice and the European human rights system

Faculty Briefs

• Last week, Paolo Carozza was interviewed by a variety of news outlets in connection with 11 new published decisions by the Meta Oversight Board.
• Carter Snead appeared over the weekend on LiveNOW from FOX in a ten-minute interview about the direction …

Interference Management For Next-Generation Dynamic Spectrum Sharing, Jie Wang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The exponential growth of wireless devices and bandwidth-intensive applications has intensified the demand for efficient spectrum utilization, exposing the limitations of traditional static spectrum allocation schemes. Next-generation spectrum sharing has emerged as a transformative solution to enhance spectrum efficiency by enabling multiple wireless systems to coexist opportunistically in the same frequency band and geographic area. However, such dynamism introduces significant challenges, particularly in interference management, which is critical to enabling reliable coexistence, ensuring access priority, and building mutual trust across diverse applications. This thesis advances interference management by developing advanced techniques for interference prediction, monitoring, and control in dynamic spectrum …

Heavy Metals In Spices From Lancaster, Pa: Arsenic, Cadmium, And Lead Exposure Risks And The Need For Regulation, Andrew Huff, Hoi Lam, Anuj Ghimirey, Jay Goldring, Michelle Pimentel, Harriet Okatch

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

Heavy metal exposure is associated with adverse health effects in children including impaired cognitive functioning. Studies have identified spices as a potential source of heavy metals. However, in Lancaster, PA no such studies have been conducted. Hence the aim of this study was to quantify arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in spices from Lancaster, PA. Spices were either purchased from stores in Lancaster or obtained as donations from families in Lancaster. As, Cd, and Pb were quantified using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the median heavy metal concentrations in store-purchased …

Patient-Generated Health Data: Impact On Promoting Patient-Centered Point Of Care Tobacco Treatment In Patients With Cancer, Jessica Liu, Jingling Chen, Nina Smock, Nicholas B Griffith, Ramaswamy Govindan, Paula Goldberg, Jodi Thole, Kristin Daly, James Reddy, Alex T Ramsey, Laura J Bierut, Aimee James, Robert A Schnoll, Ross C Brownson, Li-Shiun Chen, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Guideline-based tobacco treatment is infrequently offered. Electronic health record-enabled patient-generated health data (PGHD) has the potential to increase patient treatment engagement and satisfaction.

METHODS: We evaluated outcomes of a strategy to enable PGHD in a medical oncology clinic from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022. Among 12,777 patients, 82.1% received a tobacco screener about use and interest in treatment as part of eCheck-in via the patient portal.

RESULTS: We attained a broad reach (82.1%) and moderate response rate (30.9%) for this low-burden PGHD strategy. Patients reporting current smoking (

DISCUSSION: PGHD via patient portal appears to be a …

Stability Analysis Of Excessive Carbon Dioxide Gas Emission Model Through Following Reforestation Policy In Low-Density Forest Biomass, Furqan Nezar, Shireen Jawad, Matthias Winter, Anwar Zeb

Baghdad Science Journal

Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas contributing to global warming risk. Forest biomass is crucial for the sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide; however, the rate of decline in worldwide forest biomass is concerning and can be attributed to anthropogenic activities. Reforestation is essential in this situation to decrease the amount of C O₂ in the atmosphere. Efforts at reforestation can be evaluated according to the financial investment required for their execution. This work presents a nonlinear mathematical model that examines the impact of reforestation and the implementation of reforestation initiatives on regulating atmospheric CO₂ levels. The critical …

Fractal Dimension And Entropy Analysis Of Medical Images For Knn-Based Disease Classification, Krishna Mahapatra, Selvakumar R

Baghdad Science Journal

The study of medical image-based disease detection has witnessed a notable surge in interest and success with computational methods. This work proposes a novel framework to detect diseases at earlier stages from medical images, using mathematical model and Machine Learning. Introduce two new quantitative measures for COVID-19 and Tumor disease detection: image uncertainty based on Shannon entropy and image complexity based on fractal dimension. Our result demonstrated that in COVID-19 positive images exhibited skewed pixel distribution due to the hazy regions resulting in lower entropy values for diseased cases compared to healthy ones. The second quantity, fractal dimension was measured …