Digital Commons Network^™

Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection Prevention Staff Education For Medical- Surgical Nurses, Grace Ann Abustan Porciuncula

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Background: CLABSIs remain a significant cause of morbidity, mortality, and increased healthcare costs, particularly in hospitalized patients requiring long-term vascular access. Despite established guidelines, inconsistent adherence to central line dressing change protocols persists within the DNP project organization, often due to insufficient staff knowledge and variability in practice. This practice gap increases the risk of catheter site contamination and leads to preventable CLABSI events, creating a clear need for intervention. Method: A designed educational program that integrated interactive lectures, case studies, and simulation-based activities. A pre- and post-intervention assessment to measure changes in participants’ knowledge and self-reported confidence in applying …

Leadership Styles, Multigenerational Providers, Motivation, And Satisfaction In Mental Health Workplace Settings, Terri Adeshola

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A problem confronting organizations, including mental health organizations, is how leadership will address motivation and satisfaction in a diverse, multigenerational workforce. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional correlational study was to examine the relationship between multigenerational licensed clinician providers and perceptions of their supervisors’ leadership style to predict their motivation and job satisfaction in mental health workplace settings. Transformational leadership theory grounded this study. The participants comprised 93 licensed clinician providers from mental health organizations in three generational cohorts, Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Millennial, in the Middle Atlantic, Pacific, South Atlantic, West-South Central, and East-North Central regions of the …

Effective Human Resource Strategies And Processes For Improving Remote Workers’ Engagement, Productivity, And Retention, Lachanta' Rene Chevis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The inability to sustain employee retention amid expanded remote work practices highlights the urgent responsibility of leaders to confront the growing disparity between high job demands and insufficient resources that jeopardize employee engagement and organizational stability. Human resource (HR) leaders have a critical responsibility to address the effects of ineffective remote work strategies, which can lower morale, reduce performance, and increase turnover, weakening workforce cohesion and stability. Grounded in the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry study was to explore and identify effective HR strategies and processes for supporting remote workers. Data sources included semistructured …

Experiences Of Accessing Mental Healthcare Among Older Black Women Living In Public Housing, Liza Jane Davis-Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Older Black women living in public housing have been identified as a high-risk group for experiencing barriers to and underutilization of mental health services. Accessing and utilizing mental health care in public housing complexes is challenging due to persistent barriers that discourage residents from seeking treatment. The older adult population, particularly Black women, remains inadequately served and experiences some of the poorest health outcomes, in part because of underreporting of health concerns and limited treatment-seeking behaviors. The purpose of this study was to explore older Black women’s experiences of accessing mental health care while living in public housing and to …

Grade 6–8 Teacher Perceptions Regarding Teacher Resiliency Factors In A Northeastern State’S Public Middle Schools, Melanie Totten-Jonas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher attrition presents a significant challenge for Northeastern State Middle School Districts (NSMSD), threatening educational stability and student outcomes. This qualitative study examined Grade 6–8 teachers’ perceptions of resilience as a factor influencing their decisions to remain in the teaching profession. Grounded in resilience theory, the study explored how teachers overcame professional challenges and identified supports that promoted retention, addressing a gap in existing research. Using a basic qualitative design, semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 purposefully selected middle school teachers from NSMSD. Reflexive thematic analysis using open coding revealed five key themes: individual resilience factors, relational supports and collegial …

Clinicians’ Perceptions Of Restorative Justice And Community-Based Intervention Programs For Juvenile Offenders, Jacque Timberlake

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The main goals of restorative justice and community-based intervention programs include reducing reoffending behavior, successful reintegration, and yielding greater satisfaction among participants. Although clinicians play a vital role in conducting rehabilitation methods for youth offenders, the problem was a lack of literature that explored clinicians’ perceptions of implementing more effective alternatives such as restorative justice and community-based intervention programs. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore clinicians’ perceptions of administering rehabilitative interventions for youth offenders, specifically in reducing recidivism, adequately addressing mental health concerns, and evaluating overall program effectiveness. The risk-need responsivity model and the good lives …

Hiv/Aids Among Young People In South Sudan: Assessing Misconceptions About Transmission, Healthcare Access, And Cultural/Religious Factors, John Valent Abore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to be a significant public health challenge among young people in South Sudan (SSD). Despite global efforts to curb the spread of HIV, misconceptions about HIV transmission, barriers to access to healthcare services, and cultural/religious factors that affect the epidemic persist in South Sudan, and it is not obvious how these factors interact to impact outcomes. This quantitative cross-sectional study investigated whether there is a relationship between misconceptions about HIV transmission and HIV/AIDS status and whether access to healthcare and cultural/religious factors mediate this relationship among young people (aged 18–35) in SSD. A secondary data analysis …

Parental Ses And Geographic Location As Predictors Of Graduations In Southeastern High Schools Before And After Covid-19, Marcy J. Watkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American students in the United States have long faced systemic barriers to high school completion, which were further intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational-predictive study was to examine the extent to which parental SES and school location predict graduation outcomes among African American students in southeastern public high schools from 2019 to 2024. Grounded in Bandura’s social learning theory, the study explored how environmental and socioeconomic contexts influence academic achievement. Three research questions guided the study: (1) To what extent do parental SES and location combined predict the number of African American graduates? (2) …

Teachers’ Perspectives On The Use Of Real-Time Online Assessment Tools In Urban Elementary Schools, Sally Adam

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student response systems (SRS) and audience response systems (ARS) in the elementary classroom are sometimes used to assess students while keeping them engaged and offering them immediate feedback. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perspectives on challenges of and resources needed to implement SRS and ARS in urban elementary schools in the Northeast United States. The conceptual framework for this study included the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behavior. Semistructured interviews with 12 urban elementary school teachers from the Northeast United States were analyzed using a qualitative data analysis procedure by coding, …

High School Instructional Staff Perspectives On Effective Strategies For Increasing Enrollment In The Career And Technical Education Pathway, Briana O'Brien

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was the challenges of enrolling students in the career and technical education (CTE) pathway at a northeastern high school, despite local and national commitments to expanding CTE opportunities. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore high school instructional staff perceptions of the challenges in enrolling students in the CTE pathway and the strategies they suggest would increase enrollment. The study was grounded in the conceptual framework of the concerns-based adoption model and the expectancy-value theory, which allowed for an understanding of staff concerns, motivations, and perceptions in relation to student enrollment …

Business Intelligence Architectures And Implementation Strategies, Christopher Ziebert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations often make inferior decisions without business intelligence (BI) architectures. Information technology (IT) managers are increasingly concerned that without effective BI architectures, they forfeit data-driven intelligence, hindering organizational competitiveness, innovation capacity, and broader economic progress within their industries and communities. Grounded in the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore the strategies used by data architects to implement BI architectures in the financial industry. The participants were six data architects who had successfully implemented BI architectures in the financial industry in the southwestern United States. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, field notes, and …

Mixed-Methods & Ai For Methodological Literature Reviews, António Pedro Costa, Pablo Burneo, Judita Kasperiuniene

The Qualitative Report

In the Generative AI (GenAI) era, social researchers have explored different tools for different phases of research projects. Despite AI and GenAI being highly relevant topics in current literature, few researchers have addressed the question of how to explore GenAI tools based on human-AI collaboration to improve the quality of methodological literature reviews. Based on a real project as a sample, “a competence framework for social researchers integrating GenAI”, we propose a detailed analytical model that triangulates evidence from both quantitative and qualitative data analyses. A mixed-methods approach is looked at, with a focus on the qualitative dimension (quant-QUAL). The …

Perceived Gaps In Preparation For Pathology Residency And Opportunities For Improvement, Barbara Knollmann-Ritschel, Julie Karp, Stephanie Barak, John Childs, Kristen Johnson, Amanda Lofgreen, Mary Berg, Satyapal Chahar, Hailey Gosnell, Cindy Mccloskey, Balaram Puligandla, Kristie White, Bronwyn Bryant

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

The transition from medical school to residency is both a transformative and a challenging process. International literature suggests that there are known or perceived gaps in preparation for residency training in many areas of medicine. However, in the current published literature, there is no discussion of perceived gaps existing in pathology residency preparation. This study surveyed both pathology residency program directors and first-year pathology residents about the knowledge of pathology and basic medical skills residents received in medical school, perceptions about readiness for pathology residency, and perceived gaps in preparation for pathology residency that could be addressed. This survey found …

Sarah Lewis’ Terrific Toolkit: A Positive Psychology Perspective On The Practicality Of Appreciative Inquiry Application, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Sarah Lewis (2025) has made a strong contribution to the “How To” resources for conducting Appreciative Inquiry with her new book, Practical Appreciative Inquiry: A Toolkit for Applying Appreciative Inquiry to Organisational Challenges, Opportunities, and Aspirations. She has crafted the tome from a positive psychology perspective and her extensive experiences as an organizational consultant and facilitator, author, and postgraduate level lecturer in the United Kingdom. Her presentation is divided into two interrelated major sections - Background and Practice Theory and Applications, in which the backgrounding is full of practicalities and the applications are grounded in sound Appreciative Inquiry thinking. Through …

Qualitative Insights Into The Complexity Of Calling: Moving Beyond Quantitative Boundaries, Jeannel King

The Qualitative Report

Why are deeply personal and lived experiences often reduced to standardized measurements? Calling is one such experience. Although widely recognized as complex, personal, and contextually shaped, the concept of calling has most often been researched through quantitative methods over the past two decades. This study employed qualitative content analysis (QCA) to examine how calling was researched across 267 peer-reviewed journal articles, trace methodological patterns, and consider how those choices influence the field’s conceptualizations of the construct. The analysis integrated deductive coding of methodological features and inductive identification of conceptual themes, refined through abductive synthesis. This hybrid strategy positioned the study …

A Very Positive Review Of Positive Autoethnography: An Introduction To Theory And Practice, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Emerging from a creative marriage of positive psychology and autoethnography, Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky and Claude-Hélène Mayer (2025) present a wonderful addition to both families with their new book, Positive Autoethnography: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. The authors do an excellent job situating this new methodology in the rich traditions of both foundational areas and present the theoretical and practical qualities of a variety of positive autoethnography derivations. In what might be the most interesting variation of this evolving form of autoethnography is its promise as a form of therapy – a very positive development indeed.

A Clinical Practice Guideline For Managing Gastrointestinal Toxicities Related To Glp-1ra And Gip/Glp-1ra Medications, Lindsay Williamson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The project is a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for managing Gastrointestinal (GI) toxicities related to Glucagon-like Peptide-Receptor Agonist 1 (GLP-1RA) and Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide/Glucagon-like peptide-1Receptor Agonist (GIP/GLP-1RA) medications. Many patients are seeking weight loss with these agents, which cause GI toxicities that lead prescribers to have patients remain at lower doses that are sub-therapeutic or discontinue therapy. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) are prescribing these therapies for patients and lack an evidence-based CPG for properly managing the most common GI toxicities. APRNs can successfully monitor and manage GI symptoms to promote tolerability and treatment adherence. The project question focuses on …

Excessive Expulsions And School Suspensions Of Black Children, Lasharee O. Rogers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While national and state-level literature has documented racial inequities in school discipline, limited research has focused on how these policies are specifically implemented and perceived within the Charlotte Metropolitan Statistical Region School. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine factors related to higher rate of expulsions and school suspensions of Black high school students in the CMSR Schools in comparison to their peers through the lens of the critical race theory. This research was used to engage teachers and administrators on current school suspension and expulsion policies while encouraging modifications to those policies that warranted equity and …

Moderating Effect Of Age And Supervisory Status On Telework And Job Satisfaction Among Federal Employees, Chelsea Eckert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The postpandemic U.S. federal workforce has experienced shifts in policies and practices about telework, with mixed empirical evidence on its relationship with job satisfaction. Federal government leaders must understand this impact on telework and job satisfaction. Guided by self-determination theory and socioemotional selectivity theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between telework usage and job satisfaction among federal employees, with age and supervisory status as moderating variables. Secondary data were from the 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, with approximately 625,000 participants. The results of the multiple linear regression were statistically significant, F(11, 552,670) = …

The Repeal Of Welfare Lifetime Ban, Sympathy Sutton Huggins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Welfare Lifetime Ban imposed severe restrictions on women’s access to essential resources during the critical period following incarceration. By denying housing assistance, food aid, and employment services, the policy created significant barriers to reintegration and undermines both criminal justice and social welfare reform. Little is known about the long-term impacts of the ban or the absence of effective rehabilitative policy alternatives. Few studies have examined its outcomes within the framework of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The findings within (PRWORA) enactment briefly stabilized a decline in welfare recipients, and employment rates increased temporarily for single …

Fragile Balance: Managing Bone Health In People With Intellectual Disability And Epilepsy, An English Multi-Site Study, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

BackgroundPeople with intellectual disability (ID) experience poorer health outcomes than the general population, with epilepsy and polypharmacy contributing to further risks. Bone health is a neglected area, despite the established association between antiseizure medications (ASMs), especially those cautioned by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and reduced bone mineral density. We aimed to evaluate prescribing practices, fracture risk, and bone health management in adults with ID and epilepsy attending specialist ID services.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted across three English specialist ID epilepsy services between August 2021–August 2022. Data were collected from case-note review, including ASM prescribing, falls …

Senior Recital: Wallace, Trumpet; October 26, 2025, Lauren Wallace, Grace Eom

School of Music Programs

This is the thirtieth program of the 2025-2026 season.

Kemp Recital Hall

October 26, 2025

Sunday Afternoon

4:30 p.m.

Rattlesnakes And Enlightenment Science: An Unlikely Epistemology Of Early American Herpetology, Sahir Hismiogullari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the hybrid epistemologies developed by early American naturalists, such as Hans Sloane, Pehr Kalm, John and William Bartram, and Benjamin Smith Barton that blended empirical observation, spiritual frameworks, and Indigenous ecological knowledge. These figures, implicitly or explicitly challenging the dominant mechanistic and reductionist models of Enlightenment science, pioneered a more holistic ecological thinking, even as they operated within colonial power structures.

Through historical and textual analysis based on letters, natural histories, and other written sources, the study reveals how these naturalists synthesized multiple ways of knowing, particularly in their encounters with New World peoples and environments. Within …

Bifurcated In-Stent In Situ Technique For Creation Of A Bifurcated Bridging Stent-Graft System To 2 Target Vessels Using A Single Directional Branch: A Report Of 2 Cases, Gustavo Paludetto, Lethicia Mesquita, Bruno Pagnin Schmid, Lucas Ruiter Kanamori, Dora Babocs, Thanila A Macedo, Gustavo S Oderich

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: The objective of the study is to describe a novel bifurcated in-stent in situ technique (BIS2T) for creation of a bifurcated bridging stent-graft system to target 2 vessels using a single directional branch during complex endovascular aortic aneurysm.

Technique: The technique uses 3 balloon-expandable stent-grafts. The first supporting stent-graft is deployed from the directional branch into the first target vessel or aneurysm sac. A reentry catheter is used to create an in situ fenestration in the first stent-graft, which is predilatated with a 3 mm 0.014 inch angioplasty balloon. This is exchanged for a 0.035 inch 5 Fr catheter …

Development Of A Digital Career Literacy-Based Gamification Application To Improve Career Readiness Of Students With Special Needs, Agus Afriliyanto, Vesti Dwi Cahyaningrum, Ratna Wulandari, Mohamad Da'i

Buletin Konseling Inovatif

The development of digital technology has opened up new opportunities in education, including for students with special needs who often face obstacles in acquiring career skills, resulting in low career literacy and impacting their career readiness. This study aims to develop a digital career literacy-based gamification application as an innovative learning medium to improve the career readiness of students with special needs, with a scope covering design, development, and testing in accordance with their cognitive characteristics and learning needs. The study used a simplified Borg & Gall R&D model consisting of five stages, involving 30 students with special needs from …

Protocol For Assessing And Managing Radon Gas Exposure Risks In Caves: A Case Study Of Altamira And Paleolithic Cave Art Of Northern Spain World Heritage Site, Sergio Sanchez-Moral, Javier Lario, Soledad Cuezva, Juan Carlos Cañaveras, Tamara Martín-Pozas, Angel Fernández-Cortés

International Journal of Speleology

Exposure to radon and its progeny poses a significant health risk for workers in tourist caves. Implementing protective measures is challenging due to increasingly strict gas concentration and dose limits in new regulations. This study evaluates the annual effective radiation doses received by workers and researchers, considering seasonal and spatial radon variability. Radon levels, temperature, and ventilation patterns were continuously monitored for at least one year in each cave. Results show significant radon fluctuations influenced by seasonal ventilation regimes driven by thermal gradients between the cave and external atmosphere. Using International Commission on Radiological Protection guidelines, the study calculates the …

Redesigning Municipal Logos In Kosovo: Visual Identity, Legal Framework, And Graphic Design Principles, Ardita Rizvanolli, Trim Basha

UBT International Conference

This paper aims to analyze and redesign municipal logos in Kosovo, based on Law No. 03/L-040 on Local Self-Government and the fundamental principles of graphic design. The primary objective is to identify the visual and symbolic elements that contribute to effective logo design and to evaluate their role in shaping community identity. The research methodology includes a visual analysis of the existing municipal logos of Prishtina and Prizren, interviews with professional designers, and a review of relevant literature in the fields of design and visual communication. The selection of these municipalities for comparative analysis was made to ensure geographical and …

Typography In Furniture Design With Emphasis On Minimalism & Postmodernism As Features In Experimental Product Design, Besfort Salihu

UBT International Conference

In contemporary furniture design, the integration of typography has moved beyond traditional graphic applications, evolving into a multidisciplinary design strategy that merges visual communication with material function. This paper investigates three primary approaches to the incorporation of typography in furniture: Typographic Structure, Typographic Patterns, and Typography as a Narrative Layer. The aim is to explore how letterforms can shape not only the aesthetic character but also the structural, functional, and emotional dimensions of furniture design. Through case study analysis, visual documentation, and comparative design methodology, the research examines how typographic elements influence the form, surface, and semantic expression of furniture …

Artistic Illustrations In Bi Monthly Journal “Jeta E Re” During The Years 1970–1973, Milot Gusia

UBT International Conference

This research examines the contribution of twelve Albanian artists in bi monthly journal on literature “Jeta e Re” during the period of the years 1970-73. Drawing from 18 issues that were published by the Kosovar publishing journal “Jeta e Re”, this research tries to uncover the artistic styles and illustrations that prevailed in the printed matters of the forementioned period. The issues were uncovered in the archives of the National Library of Kosova mainly presented in the form of drawings, etchings and rare painting reproductions in black and white printing. Because the journal “Jeta e Re” was focused mainly on …

National Symbols In Traditional Textiles, Nexhat Cocaj

UBT International Conference

National symbols constitute an inseparable part of the spiritual and material heritage of the Albanian people. They are not merely decorative ornaments encountered in weaving and clothing, but carriers of historical, cultural, and spiritual meanings. Regardless of the circumstances and the manner of their presentation, they reflect the thought and emotions of those who expressed them through their work. On the other hand, by employing national symbols in folk art, the identity of the respective community was both disseminated and preserved. Among the symbols that found wide use in weaving and clothing, the most prominent are the double-headed eagle, the …