Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Media Literacy In Shaping Campus Student Leaders’ Perceptions Of Media Activism, Online Risks, And Social Support, Srividya Ramasubramanian, Minnie S. Mcmillian, Shumaila J. Bhatti, Shannon Burth, Julius Matthew Riles, Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, Melody Wilson

Journal of Media Literacy Education

in social movements. Within contemporary contexts, media is an important site through which campus student leaders raise awareness, share relevant information, distribute online petitions, and shape public discourses on various social issues. Media literacy is an essential skill for student leaders to be effective in their activist initiatives and be able to cope with the inevitable pushback through trolling and cyberbullying that such activism would likely bring up. This survey (N = 855) with college student leaders across three universities explores how they rate themselves on media literacy skills, how well they understand the risks involved with media activism, and …

Empowerment Or Oppression? College Students’ Interpretations Of Sex And Relationships In The Popular Media, Nicola Mcclung, Riana Pella

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Scholars have long emphasized the harmful effects of overtly sexist and oppressive media images on young people’s understandings of sex and relationships. Yet, this emphasis on explicit harm leaves a gap in understanding how college students interpret subtle, hidden, and ambiguous media messages. To address this gap, we asked 196 California college students at a large public university to critique a range of mainstream media content— from overtly oppressive, to affirming of nondominant gender identities, to containing mixed messages about empowerment and oppression. Responses were coded using our media literacy scoring guide for assessing students’ ability to critically analyze media …

Automated Media: Challenges And Opportunities For Media Literacy Education, Arnaud Claes, Jerry Jacques, Antonin Descampe, Victor Wiard

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This paper offers a theoretical reflection on the evolving landscape of automated media, focusing on how automation and so-called Artificial Intelligence (AI) are reshaping traditional media-related practices and the competences required for media literacy. It examines how automated media technologies, such as recommendation algorithms and generative AI, might reshape the critical skills necessary to navigate a complex digital ecosystem. By framing AI-driven media practices through a social-action perspective and treating media as human activities, we argue that media literacy models should encompass competences related to the operation of computational automata, particularly through the management of inbound and outbound information flows. …

Eschatological Echoes: Reading The Bible And The Harry Potter Series, Athira Mohan Dr

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Death has been a major topic in children’s and adolescent literature , which has invited scholarly discourse over different ages. While death was very commonly featured in the puritanical texts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was also deemed to be a subject too sensitive for the genre of children’s literature in the early twentieth century(Aries 1975), due to a combination of factors such as lowered child mortality rate and heightened concern for childhood as a special social category. However, contemporary children’s and adolescent literature focuses on death as an important part of human life, and invites discussions on …

Factors Associated With Health Literacy And Chronic Disease Services Performance Among Village Health Volunteers In Chiang Rai, Thailand: A Cross-Sectional Study, Sunaree Tanapek, Saroj Nakju

Journal of Health Research

Background: The growing burden of NCDs in Thailand highlights the need for effective community management by Village Health Volunteers (VHVs). This study investigated factors associated with health literacy and chronic disease service performance among VHVs in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 325 VHVs via two-stage cluster sampling between June and July 2023. Data were collected using a validated five-part questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.93–0.98). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, content analysis, Chi-square tests, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.

Results:VHVs demonstrated good health literacy (41.8%) and a high level of chronic disease service performance …

"Where's The Writing?": A Content Analysis Of Writing Practices In Second Grade Core Knowledge Language Arts, Jessica Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

One current and increasingly common trend in elementary and early childhood English Language Arts (ELA) instruction is the use of scripted literacy programs requiring teachers to implement the curriculum with fidelity. This has consequences for writing instruction as students continue to score below proficiency levels on national writing assessments (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2011), and the tendency for a mismatch between recommended writing instruction and classroom practice. Therefore, the purpose of this content analysis was to explore the writing instruction found in the Knowledge Strand of the 2nd-grade Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) curriculum. Analyses revealed three overarching themes: …

Biomechanical And Talar Cartilage Responses To Running In Individuals With Chronic Ankle Instability, Minsub Oh

Theses and Dissertations

Context: Chronic ankle instability (CAI) has shown altered movement patterns and joint loading, which increase the risk of posttraumatic ankle osteoarthritis. Abnormal vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) during running may contribute to talar cartilage degeneration; however, the acute biomechanical and cartilage responses to running in individuals with CAI remain unclear. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare running biomechanics and changes in talar cartilage thickness and T2 relaxation times before and after running between individuals with CAI and healthy controls. Methods: Twenty individuals with CAI and 20 healthy controls completed running biomechanics and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sessions. …

Dnp Final Report: Community-Based Advance Care Planning Education For Older Adults: A Quality Improvement Project, Teresa Hill

DNP Final Reports

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) supports patient autonomy and promotes care aligned with individual values and preferences. Despite these benefits, fewer than half of adults aged 50–80 have completed formal ACP documentation, and community-dwelling older adults rarely engage in ACP before serious illness, representing a persistent gap in early engagement.

Purpose: This quality improvement (QI) project evaluated the effectiveness of a community-based ACP educational intervention in improving ACP knowledge, confidence, and engagement among older adults.

Methods: A nurse facilitator trained in the Five Wishes framework delivered a structured, 60-minute ACP workshop at a senior center in North Texas. A pre–post …

Enhancing Staff Knowledge Of Prenatal Depression Screening And Follow-Up Protocols, Gladys Ajohmbu Esunji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This staff education project addressed inconsistent staff knowledge of prenatal depression screening and follow-up protocols in an outpatient behavioral health practice serving prenatal patients. Prenatal depression is a nursing practice concern because delayed identification and inconsistent follow-up may affect maternal well-being, infant outcomes, family functioning, and timely access to behavioral health support. The practice-focused question was: According to the evidence, among clinical staff in an outpatient maternal mental health setting, what is the impact of structured staff education on adherence to prenatal depression screening on follow-up protocol knowledge? The purpose was to improve clinical staff knowledge through a structured education …

Identifying Symbolic Modeling Of Grooming Precursors In Social Media, Heath Landress

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Short-form video platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels increasingly circulate dating and lifestyle advice that may normalize coercive relational scripts. A key challenge for preventing technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation is that early grooming precursors can be communicated through audiovisual design choices, such as tone, pacing, setting, and editing, that make manipulative narratives appear benign. The purpose of this qualitative multimedia content analysis was to identify recurring observable patterns that provide a form of symbolic modeling, through which relational and boundary-shaping cues associated with early-stage sexualized grooming are framed as ordinary dating or lifestyle advice in public TikTok and Instagram …

Effectiveness And Ethics Of Biometrics In Homeland Security, Aaron Akintayo Akindiya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homeland security agencies increasingly deploy biometric technologies, including facial recognition and fingerprint scanning, to enhance identity verification and threat detection at airports and borders. However, these technologies raise ethical concerns regarding privacy, algorithmic bias, data protection, and civil liberties. Limited research captures the perspectives of frontline professionals who implement these systems. This study explored how homeland security professionals perceive the balance between effectiveness and ethics. Guided by the technological determinism theory, semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 professionals from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Thematic analysis revealed four themes: effectiveness in enhancing …

Preparing Tomorrow’S Providers: A Simulation Addressing Workplace Violence In Clinical Settings, Julie Kurkowski, Danielle Yocom, Nancy Barker, Patrick Heagey, Alexa Moran, John Fisher

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Workplace violence is a growing global problem, with healthcare and social service professionals experiencing the highest rates, reaching epidemic levels in the United States (Emergency Nurses Association (ENA),n.d.; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024). Academic institutions must prepare students for these realities by integrating workplace violence education into prelicensure curricula, especially as students are also at risk during their clinical rotations (Johnston & Fox, 2020).

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an interprofessional high-fidelity simulation to increase prelicensure healthcare students’ confidence in managing aggressive behaviors within the simulated clinical environment.

Methods: Nursing, Physician …

Patient-Specific Mobilization To Prevent Functional Decline And Falls, Samantha Michelle Amen, Pearl Paras

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

To implement a patient-specific mobilization strategy aligned with functional capacity, aiming to improve mobility, reduce functional decline, and lower fall-with-injury rates across 21 medical centers in the Northern California region of Kaiser Permanente.

This project addresses a critical gap in hospital care by replacing generic mobility goals with individualized plans, improving patient safety and functional outcomes. It aligns with the conference’s focus on innovation and evidence-based practice by demonstrating how tailored interventions can reduce harm and enhance interdisciplinary care delivery.

A real-time dashboard was implemented to operationalize patient-specific mobility goals. Nurses enter the Current Level of Function (CLOF) by 10:00 …

The Effects Of An Information Competency Development Program For Registered Nurse In A Hospital, Ganoksri Jardngoen

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

The objective of this research was to study and compare the results of an information competency development program on the knowledge, skills and attitudes of professional-level registered nurses at a community hospital before and after the program.

The quasi-experimental study used a single group pre-test/post-test research method. The study population and sample population were the same. They were consisted of 40 professional level registered nurses working at a community hospital. Two sets of research instruments were employed: 1) an information competency development program, with a content validity index of 1; and 2) an assessment form to measure the information competency …

Effect Of Role Ambiguity On Turnover Intention: A Moderated Mediation Model, Heejin Lim, Seung Eun Lee

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: Given nurses’ high turnover and its impact on patient safety and quality of care (Wu et al., 2023), reducing their turnover intention is crucial. This study aimed to (a) test the direct effect of role ambiguity on turnover intention, (b) examine the indirect effect via burnout, and (c) investigate whether physician–nurse collaboration moderates the path from role ambiguity to burnout and, consequently, the conditional indirect effect (moderated mediation) on turnover intention.

Design/Methods: This descriptive, correlational study analyzed data from 507 registered nurses in South Korea collected between October and December 2024. Eligible participants had at least one year of …

The Mediating Role Of Resilience Between Anxiety And Depressive Symptoms, Marivic Torregosa

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Objective: This study examined the mediating effect of resilience between anxiety and depressive symptoms while controlling for alcohol intake, anxiety, and selected demographic variables.

Method: After obtaining IRB approval, data were collected from a sample of n = 514 students at a Hispanic-serving institution located on the United States-Mexico border from 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, through 2023. The instruments used were the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) to measure anxiety, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to measure depressive symptoms, and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) to measure resilience. Path analysis was used to analyze the mediating effect of …

Using An Outcome-Based Education Design To Drive Dissemination Of Nursing Work, Kathleen Bradley, Ningning Guo

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Nursing work dissemination often begins with a national podium or poster presentation. Submitting an abstract to these professional conferences can be challenging and time-consuming for novice writers. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Outcome-Based Continuing Education (OB-CE) model was used as a framework to design a hands-on Abstract Writing Workshop to help learners embark on their dissemination journey (ANCC, 2021; ANCC, 2025).

In September 2022, an environmental scan revealed less than fifty percent of projects were disseminated beyond the unit of improvement. Additionally, many nurses lacked knowledge and skills of abstract writing, often the first step in the dissemination process. …

A Curricular Approach To Enhancing Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Attitudes Toward Research, Brenda Moore, Elif Isik

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Method: An introductory BSN research course was redesigned using competency-based education strategies within the foundations of adult learning theory. Competency-based education focused on ethics while adult learning theory emphasized nursing practice applicability and student interest. Students completed course evaluations comparing their research attitudes from the start of the semester to the end.

Results: Of the 331 students, 327 (98.2%) responded to a reflective question at the end of three consecutive semesters. Among them, 25% (n=82) reported a positive shift, selecting “I did not like research at the start of the semester, but I like it now.” An additional 24.6% (n …

Depressive Cognitions, Resourcefulness, And Sleep In Informal Caregivers Of Persons With Dementia, Rayhanah R. Almutairi

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Family or informal caregivers always provide support to their family members or others who are diagnosed with dementia. The increase in the aging population has led to a growing reliance on family members, often informal caregivers, who are increasingly responsible for providing care for older adults. Poor sleep and high levels of depressive cognition experienced by caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) can negatively affect their physical and psychological health, which can lead to declining caregiver health, which can diminish their ability to provide optimal care. Currently, there are limited empirical studies supporting the usefulness of non-pharmacological sleep interventions …

Culturally Responsive Teaching And Practices Of Online Faculty, Oluwatoyin Okafor, Deanna L. Howe

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Online teaching and learning continue to expand across U.S. institutions (Martin et al., 2020). Online courses often attract even more diverse students than traditional classrooms, including individuals from varied racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, linguistic, religious, and gender backgrounds (Ballenger & Jiang, 2023). To enhance learning and promote success, instructors must address these cultural differences (Kumi-Yeboah et al., 2022; Shonfeld et al., 2021). Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) draws on students’ cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and performance styles to make learning more relevant, engaging, and effective (Abacioglu et al., 2020).

This mixed-methods study entailed revising the Culturally Responsive Teaching Knowledge and Practices of …

Vertical Alignment As A Systemic Strategy For Sustaining Workforce-Aligned K–12 Engineering Initiatives: A Collective Case Study Of District-Wide Microelectronics Integration, Greg J. Strimel, Victoria Constantine, Deana Lucas, Emily Haluschak, Yubin Lee, Morgan Hynes, Selcen Guzey, Tamara J. Moore

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Background

In response to the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, a K–12 workforce development initiative was launched to embed microelectronics education across US school districts. To promote sustainability, the initiative employed a district-wide vertical alignment strategy that progressively integrates microelectronics content and engineering-related career experiences from kindergarten through high school. While vertical alignment is often used for curriculum planning, its broader potential as a systems-level strategy remains underexplored.

Purpose

This study investigated how vertical alignment functions within a K–12 engineering workforce development initiative, focusing on enablers/barriers toward expanding and sustaining integration efforts. The research questions addressed stakeholder experiences with the …

Cultural Humility, Reformation Of Power Structures, And Cultural Competence As Seeds And Fruits Of Interculturality, Doug Herbek

Obsculta

This piece examines how interculturality both promotes and is fostered by cultural humility, reformation of power structures, and development of cultural competence. As we pursue interculturality, we incarnate the Gospel. In the process, local church leadership becomes inclusive and integrative, worship becomes more heartfelt, and community and unity are fostered as we celebrate our differences.

Butterfly On The Way To Emmaus, Myrissa Donaldson

Obsculta

No abstract provided.

Creative Independent Work As A Tool For Professional Skill Development In Students, Zhanna Mussina, Gulnar Kazhikenova, Murshida Nurgaliyeva, Klara Smatova, Bakyt Kuanysheva

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the implementation and impact of students’ creative independent work in English language lessons at Toraighyrov University in Pavlodar.

Methods: The research employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including logical analysis, functional analysis, and formal legal approaches, supplemented by deductive and inductive reasoning. The empirical phase involved a pedagogical experiment with two student groups (n = 37) to evaluate the effectiveness of creative independent work methods.

Results: Results demonstrated that incorporating creative independent work significantly enhanced both English language competency and broader professional skills, including critical thinking and autonomous learning capabilities. Students …

“I Started Healing Myself”: Black Mothers’ Grief Journeys After Stillbirth, Carrie J. Henry, Sara Kaylor, Mallory Scogin

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Introduction: Stillbirth (fetal death after 20 weeks gestation) occurs twice as often for Black mothers compared to White in the United States (Gregory et al., 2024), yet limited research has explored how Black mothers cope with stillbirth-related grief and distress (Boyden et al., 2014; Henry et al., 2023). Evidence suggests coping behaviors after perinatal loss differ across cultural and racial groups (Henry et al., 2024; Moore et al., 2022), yet most studies reflect mostly White samples. Understanding how Black mothers navigate the grieving process is essential to inform culturally responsive care and bereavement support (Fenstermacher & Hupcey, 2019; Henry et …

Tiktok Vs. Instagram: How Audiences Engage With James Charles, Kristina M. Hart

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This study examines how audiences engage with beauty influencer content across social media platforms, with a focus on James Charles on TikTok and Instagram. While existing research highlights the importance of authenticity, content strategy, and influencer characteristics in driving engagement, less attention has been given to how engagement varies across platforms and how users express interaction qualitatively. To address this gap, this study employs qualitative content analysis to examine 100 audience comments, with fifty comments collected from each platform.

Using thematic coding, comments were categorized into four primary forms of engagement: audience participation, product interest, entertainment, and trust/credibility. In addition, …

Editorial: Participatory And Just Governance: Empowering Local And Indigenous Communities, Melissa Haeffner, Maiko Sakamoto, Jenia Mukherjee, Hong Quan Nguyen, Soyo Takahashi

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The papers in this Research Topic (RT) extend insights on the roles of social relations, institutional arrangements, Indigenous ways of knowing, local knowledge, and decisionmaking participation in shaping water governance and practice. Despite efforts to predict flows and possible hazards, we continue to observe “unintended consequences” when humans interact with waterscapes. What we often learn, we argue, is that what appears “unintended” often reflects a deliberate architecture of exclusion; one that becomes legible only when social power relations are placed at the center of analysis alongside hydrological variables. Doing so may illuminate where injustice complicates intentions and what difference participatory …

Irrigation Water Conservation And Accelerated Composting: An Exploration Of Environmentally Conscious Practices For Ornamental Horticulture, William James Carson Dunford

LSU Master's Theses

Best management practices for ornamental horticulture include proper management of irrigation water resources and substrate components. The first study investigated the effects of wind speed, wind direction, water pressure, and spray stake height on irrigation efficiency in nursery containers. Results indicated that lower spray stake height positions and lower wind speeds significantly improved the irrigation water volume captured within nursery containers by as much as 18% to 39%. Orienting spray stakes against prevailing winds further enhanced water retention, particularly at 0 and 1 inch heights. In contrast, higher stake elevations led to increased irrigation water loss by as much as …

Effective Strategic Planning Processes Used By Construction Industry Companies, Melvin C. Porter Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Strategic planning failures among small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) construction managers can lead to cost overruns, schedule delays, and operational inefficiencies that threaten organizational viability. SME construction managers who lack effective strategic planning processes face an elevated risk of project failures that jeopardize workforce stability and the long-term sustainability of the communities they serve. Grounded in hoshin kanri framework, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore successful strategic planning processes and models used by SME construction managers in southeastern Virginia to improve operations and reduce project failures. The participants were seven SME construction managers who had successfully …

Mapping Measurement To Theory In Policy Evolution: A Case Of Net Metering Policies Of The United States, Graham Ambrose, Myriam Gregoire-Zawilski

Research to Practice Briefs

Mapping measurement to theory in policy evolution: A case of net metering policies of the United States," co-authored by Graham Ambrose and Myriam Gregoire-Zawilski in Policy Studies Journal