Digital Commons Network^™

Income, Education, And Family Structure: Drivers Of Teen Pregnancy In Rural And Urban Ohio, Adam Klauck, Maggie Stiefel, Catherine Wilson

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Teen birth rates in Ohio have been declining; however, due to the potential adverse ramifications of any teen birth, for either the mother or the child, understanding the strongest predictors of teen birth rates in Ohio will allow physicians to preventatively care for their young female population. Our objective was to identify some qualitative factors that best indicate the environment in which a teenage pregnancy is most likely to occur, giving special attention to the difference between rural and urban environments. Relevant data was obtained from County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. This study used qualitative methods and SPSS to analyze …

An Interdisciplinary Fetal Neonatal Neurology Collaborative Promotes Integrative Life-Course Brain Health., Mark S Scher, Harris Eyre, Steven Donn, James M Roberts, Michael E Msall, Carolyn M Salafia, Richard Towbin, Peter N Robinson, Ken Loparo, Michael Berk, Elena Moro, Valerie Smith, Susan Ludington, Nadia Badawi, Rod W Hunt, Alistair Gunn, Harvey B Sarnat, Kirthana Kunikullaya, Betsy Pilon

Faculty Research 2026

A proposed interdisciplinary fetal neonatal neurology collaborative offers life-course brain health training across three time-sensitive teaching opportunities. The educational organization includes a broad representation of inter-related fields. Formal training will re-enforce career-long learning that fosters creative thinking. Acquiring a life-course perspective of brain health can contribute solutions to the global public health crisis involving neurological and mental health disorders across the lifespan. Teaching transdisciplinary interventions begins with parental childhood and reproductive health which will influence the maternal-placental-fetal triad throughout pregnancy into labor and delivery. The second teaching opportunity focuses on the symptomatic minority who receive neonatal neurocritical care and convalescent …

Safe Nurse-Patient Ratios: A Guide For Healthy Staffing, Daria Sickler, Molly Mills, Carly Ross, Leah Cepeda

SPARK Symposium Presentations

In order to enhance patient outcomes and nurse well-being, our initiative focuses on optimizing patient-staff ratios, which improve overall quality of care while reducing nurse burnout. With involvement of key stakeholders such as legislators, policymakers, hiring departments, managers, charge nurses, and nurses themselves, we aim to foster a. collaborative approach that addresses the root causes of stress and dissatisfaction. The goal to create this supportive environment where nurses have manageable workloads, leads to increased job satisfaction and reduced burnout. We expect to see improved patient outcomes, and higher nurse retention rates due to healthier, more sustainable work environments. This approach …

Panic! At The Supreme Court, Nathan J. Arnold

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) has led to a decrese in public trust for the institution. This piece looks at whether there has been an increase in ideologically conservative decisions on the High Court, as well as whether the role of institutional factors has gone down. The literature has previously held that institutional factors have a consistent hold on the Court and are some of the best predictors on how the Court will vote cases. However in recent years academics have been increasingly arguing that it based on partisanship and that the ideology …

Improving Same-Day Access To Highly Effective Contraceptives In Middle Tennessee, Jillian Gunderson, Elizabeth Morse, David Phillippi

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Background and Rationale: Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) are highly effective at preventing pregnancy at 99%. A two-visit protocol is a known barrier to access. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends same-day placement to increase access to LARC. A Step Ahead Middle Tennessee (ASA) is a non-profit organization partnered with Belmont University that provides free, long-acting reversible contraceptives. However, most ASA clinical partners offer services with a two-visit protocol, and there is no process to identify patient preference for same-day placement.

Purpose: The primary purpose of this phased quality improvement project was to facilitate timely same-day LARC placement for …

Establishing The Narrative – A Comparative Analysis Of Nashville Newspaper Reporting During The Civil Rights Era, Katherine E. Cannon

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Public memory serves as the collective public consciousness – how a group of people remember a historical narrative and thus how they interpret and interact with their current environment. Journalism and news reporting plays a pivotal role in the creation of public memory. This study will analyze the differences in reporting between two Nashville-based newspapers, The Nashville Banner and The Tennessean, and how their reporting shaped public memory in Nashville. These publications are crucial to the Nashville community and how the public is informed. To properly conduct this research with narrow enough scope to get accurate results, this study will …

Bridging Gaps: Identifying Barriers, Voting Patterns, And Civic Engagement Among Burmese/Zomi Immigrants In Middle Tennessee, Kham K. Van

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This study explores the voting patterns and behaviors of new Americans within the Burmese community, focusing on the factors that influence their civic engagement. The primary objective of this research is to understand the challenges and concerns faced by these individuals in the electoral process, including potential barriers to participation. The significance of this work lies in its potential to reveal voting behaviors of immigrant communities in middle Tennessee and contributes to broader efforts aimed at reducing inequality and promoting democratic inclusion. The research will employ focus group meetings and in-depth interviews, building relationships with community members to gather qualitative …

Advanced Infection Prevention In Infants, Kenny Le, Osmara Rojas, Vika Lomonosova, Blakelee Waller

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Abstract

Background: Infants are highly susceptible to nosocomial infections like CLABSIs due to underdeveloped immune systems and exposure to medical interventions. These infections significantly threaten health outcomes in the NICU. With national NICU infection rates for 1.1-3.3 lb infants averaging 15%, the study’s 7.1% infection rate indicates mFICare’s potential. Does an educational intervention for caregivers, mobile-enhanced Family-Integrated Care (mFICare), reduce the national average NICU nosocomial infection rate of 15% to 5% compared to the Family-Centered Care’s (FCC) approach?

Methods: Keywords: NICU, infants, intensive care unit, bloodstream, infection, prevention, hospital-acquired infection, theory-of-care, family-integrated care. Databases used for review of literature: CINAHL, …

Headspace Implementation Into Nursing Curriculum, Targeting Stress Management In Healthcare, Olivia White, Mattie Zehrt, Mollie Kate Creech, Stella Swarr

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The Headspace Implementation Project at Belmont University aims to address the high levels of stress and burnout among nursing students by integrating mindfulness practices into the curriculum. Research indicates that unmanaged stress negatively impacts academic performance and clinical outcomes, with nearly 30% of students reporting stress-related academic interference. By incorporating Headspace into nursing education, students will develop essential stress management skills before entering the workforce, ultimately improving their well-being and patient care quality.

The project follows the SBAR framework, identifying stress as a major barrier to nursing success and proposing Headspace as an evidence-based intervention. Implementation includes faculty involvement, incentives …

Divided By Design: Race, Roads, And Resistance In Nashville And Memphis, Mallorie G. Clabo

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The construction of Interstate 40 through Nashville and Memphis in the mid-20th century was framed as progress but instead became a tool of displacement, disproportionately harming Black communities. In Nashville, the highway cut through the thriving Jefferson Street corridor, disrupting Black-owned businesses, cultural institutions, and social networks. In Memphis, the proposed route through Overton Park sparked legal battles, culminating in the landmark Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe case, which set a precedent for environmental and community protections in infrastructure planning.

This research examines the racialized decision-making behind I-40’s placement, the legal and grassroots resistance, and the long-term consequences …

Preventing Nurse Burnout In The Trauma Icu, Annelise Wilson, Samantha Pendleton, Hailey Dowd

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This change project identifies that nurse burnout is a prevalent problem within the healthcare setting, specifically with nurses working in a critical care environment. Burnout can be described as a negative outcome resulting in exhaustion (emotional, mental, physical) due to stress. The population focused on is the nursing staff on the trauma intensive care unit at VUMC. The proposed recommendation for change is to have a mandatory resource nurse on every shift. Essentially, this nurse is one who has no patients and can be utilized to fill in for breaks and perform anything under the nurse's scope of practice when …

Beyond The Stage & Studio: Curating Cultural Conversations Through Fan-Made Syllabi, Annabelle J. Murphy, Grayson Lee

SPARK Symposium Presentations

From pop culture obsession to academic inquiry, Grayson Lee and Annabelle Murphy present their fan-crafted syllabi analyzing the revolutionary impact of "Hamilton" and the raw, enduring legacy of Fleetwood Mac's 1997 live performance of their breakup anthem, ‘Silver Springs’.

The Shifting Power Dynamic: How The Director’S Role Redefined Collaboration With Playwrights, Riley K. Mcconnell

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The Shifting Power Dynamic: How the Director’s Role Redefined Collaboration with Playwrights

Riley McConnell

For much of theatre history, playwrights held primary authority over productions, shaping not only the script but also the staging and interpretation of their work. As theatrical production became more complex during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, however, the role of the director emerged as a central creative force. This essay explores how the development of the modern director transformed the collaborative relationship between playwrights and directors.  By examining the historical rise of directing, influential collaborations such as that between Anton Chekhov and Konstantin Stanislavski, and …

Inside The Alchemical Interior: Remedios Varo’S Reinvention Of The Artist’S Studio, Jacquelyn D. Shadday

SPARK Symposium Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Literary Arsenal In Fahrenheit 451: The Second Amendment Case Against Censorship, Kristen M. Boguslawski

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This paper argues that First Amendment challenges alone are not enough to address the rise of book bans in the United States. As restrictions increasingly limit access to works by minority and LGBTQ plus authors, new constitutional approaches are needed. Using the Law and Literature framework and Fahrenheit 451, the paper proposes applying Second Amendment principles to literature.

It contends that books function as powerful tools that shape thought and protect individuals from harmful ideas and government control. Like firearms, they support self defense, guard against government overreach, and provide personal value. By drawing this comparison, the paper shows that …

Do You Remember Me?: America's Racist Past And The Construction Of "Blackness", Shae South

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The United States has a dark and complicated relationship with the idea of race and what it means to belong to a specific group of people dating back to before the first enslaved African stepped foot onto its shores. The lynching case of Dan Davis showcases this precarious past, as the accounts of his brutal murder convey a level of excitement that was not unusual in these situations, yet he was quickly forgotten about and cast aside like many others who suffered a fate similar to his. This forgetting, the casting aside of traumas, has defined the Black experience since …

Vitriol For The Masses: How The U.S. Government Uses Language Within Propaganda To Influence Citizens’ Opinions On Immigrants, G Smith-Rasmussen

CEG 450 Cultural, Environmental, and Global Studies Capstone

Politicians do not directly express vitriolic words and beliefs; instead, they test the boundaries of what is accepted and slowly push the line until the hate becomes increasingly normalized. The United States government has similar goals in mind when pushing anti-immigration propaganda. The aim is to normalize harmful stereotypes and ideas of what immigrants are, to sway people into supporting their policies. The current immigrant population that is being heavily targeted is Latin immigrants. This paper aims to analyze how harmful the 2024 presidential administrations' language surrounding Latin immigrants is through discourse analysis.

Handmade Versus Fast Fashion: An Analysis Of Human Consumption And Use Patterns, Emily E. Henderson

CEG 450 Cultural, Environmental, and Global Studies Capstone

This paper written for the Sociology and Anthropology capstone applies sociological theory to the importance of the handmade in a world where hand sewing is becoming a dying craft. Using a variety of historical examples, it establishes the importance of the handmade in the past and discovers what meaning humans find in the act of making and using handmade clothing. It uses these examples to dissect what consumers now seek from fast fashion, suggesting ways the industry has taken advantage of those desires for the sake of profit. The paper concludes that acts of hand sewing and mending are small …

“Single Girl, Married Girl:” Female Perspectives On Marriage, Maidenhood, And Motherhood In English-Language Folk Music, Avery Schanbacher

Libraries Award for Undergraduate Scholarship

In 1928, the Carter Family released “Single Girl, Married Girl.” The recording featured only Sara and Maybelle Carter, and in three short stanzas, highlighted the vastly differing lives of the single girl, who dressed fine and went where she pleased, and the married girl, with a baby on her knee, who rocked the cradle and cried. Sara and Maybelle Carter weren’t the only people who knew this song – before they recorded it for Ralph Peer at the famous Bristol sessions, it was alive as a part of musical traditions not just in their home in Scott County, Virginia, but …

Ioto: Never Open A Stiff Lid Again, Gabriel Portugal

Libraries Award for Undergraduate Scholarship

Background: From baby food to pickles, food jars are a common find in American homes. Unfortunately,  the task of opening a stiff jar lid can be very difficult for consumers with lower grip strength, parkinsons,  or arthritis. While there are a variety of products on the market to help make this easier, there exist few jar  openers that can be used by these consumers. Objective: This project aimed to research and develop  (R&D) an improved hands-free jar opener that is accessible for consumers with the most advanced  cases of limited arm strength. Methods: R&D followed a Design Thinking approach with …

Domains Of Use And Self-Reported Proficiency: A Comparative Study Of Heritage Spanish Speakers Across Two University Campuses, Sara Castro Cantú, Salvatore Callesano

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

This study takes a sociolinguistic approach to exploring self-rated proficiency of Latinx, heritage Spanish speakers in Illinois. Recent studies show how dominant discourses around Spanish-English bilingualism and the educational environment in higher education institutions shape Latinx speakers’ self-perceptions of proficiency. We specifically investigate and compare two groups of college students from Chicago: students who attend a large public Predominantly-white institution in central Illinois, and students who attend a large public Hispanic-Serving institution in the heart of Chicago. Students completed an online survey about their language histories and linguistic profiles. Descriptive correlation analyses are presented that examine the relationships between self-reported …

Integrating Ai In Instruction, Janet Evans, Melissa Mcclary, Jennie Handy

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

Integrating AI in Instruction is a Professional Learning Module (PLM) created to help educators feel more confident and informed about using artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom. Many teachers feel unsure or even a little afraid of AI simply because it is unfamiliar. This module is designed to break down those fears by introducing practical tools, real classroom applications, and simple strategies that align with high-impact teaching practices. You will explore how to use AI in ways that are ethical and equitable, with a focus on student data privacy and digital citizenship. You will also reflect on how AI can …

Spanish Conquistadors As God’S Chosen People: The Role Of Biblical Metaphor In Angélico Chávez's Recounting Of Southwest History, Nicholas L. Chavez

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

This study presents a critical discourse analysis of Fray Angélico Chávez’s My Penitente Land: Reflections on Spanish New Mexico through a cognitive linguistic lens based on Hawkins’s notion of iconographic reference. A metaphor analysis first identifies Chávez’s framing of New Mexican history as biblical narrative, mapping Old Testament stories, locations, and characters onto Spanish colonial events. The iconographic reference analysis then demonstrates how this metaphor functions discursively: a biblical iconographic frame of reference allows Chávez to create a biblically-based heirarchy which maps onto Spanish–Indigenous relations, positioning Spaniards as a chosen people and implicitly justifying colonial atrocities by aligning Indigenous groups …

Editorial Advisors, Antonio Medina-Rivera

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

No abstract provided.

Fostering Holistic Transitions: The Role Of Social Capital And Catholic Values In A College Orientation Program, Amir Aligan Austria

Journal of Catholic Education

This study examines how De La Salle University’s college orientation fosters holistic student transition by cultivating social capital, shaping habitus, and embedding Catholic values. Drawing on focus groups with eleven sophomores and juniors, we analyze peer networks, mentoring sessions, peer interactions, and communal rituals through Bourdieu’s habitus and Stanton-Salazar’s institutional agents frameworks, situated within Ex Corde Ecclesiae and Evangelii Gaudium. Findings reveal that structured mentoring and block activities strengthen relational ties; guided reflections function as “habitus exercises”; and liturgies and faith reflections operationalize solidarity, preferential option for the marginalized, and communion. Together, these practices deepen students’ spiritual purpose, moral …

Topographic Forcing Of Submesoscale Instability In The Antarctic Circumpolar Current, Laur Ferris, Donglai Gong, John Klinck

CCPO Publications

Subpolar frontal zones are characterized by energetic storms, intense seasonal cycles, and close connectivity with surrounding continental shelf topography. At the same time, predicting the ocean state depends on appropriate partition of resolved and parameterized dynamics, the latter of which requires understanding the dynamical processes generating diffusivity throughout the water column. While submesoscale frontal instabilities are shown to produce turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and mixing in the surface boundary layer (SBL) of the global ocean, their development in complex dynamical regimes (e.g., elevated preexisting turbulence, large ageostrophic shear, or in proximity to topographic boundaries) is less understood. This study investigates …

Revising The Nation: Tribal Sovereignty And The American History Textbook, 1929-2002, Grace R. Ellis

Library Map Prize

This thesis examines Indigenous representation in twentieth-century American history textbooks. Chapter One contends that the most popular U.S. history textbook of the late twentieth century, The American Pageant, erased tribal nations from its narrative and its maps. Across twelve editions (1956-2002), The Pageant taught generations of students that “Indians” served only as barriers to building the modern American nation-state. While Indigenous erasure can be traced back to specific passages in The Pageant, erasure can better be understood as an iterative process, both textual and cartographic in nature. Beginning in 1983, The Pageant added new maps that depicted tribes …

Indigenous Technology Futurisms: Reclaiming Mackinac Island In Virtual Reality, Madeline A. Gupta

Library Map Prize

In Indigenous Technology Futurisms: Reclaiming Mackinac Island in Virtual Reality, Madeline A. Gupta introduces a place-based digital storytelling project that uses interactive mapping as the foundation for cultural reconnection and community wellness. Centered on Mackinac Island—ancestral land of the Anishinaabe people—the project features a custom-designed map by an Anishinaabe artist, allowing users to navigate a VR website by selecting specific locations across northern Michigan. Each map point opens into a spatial video experience paired with traditional audio content, including oral histories, poetry, and songs.

The project reframes digital cartography through an Indigenous lens, challenging Western colonial mapping practices that …

Body Mass Index, Sleep, And Food Insecurity Predict Prevalence Of Anxiety And Depression In College Students, Makenzie Barr-Porter, Amelia Sullivan, Jade Mcnamara

Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications

This study aimed to assess the relationship between mental health, health behaviors, and food security in young adults in a university environment. Young adults (N = 536) at two United States universities completed a survey assessing health behaviors and characteristics. Logistic regression determined the odds of anxiety and/or depression based on gender identity, body mass index (BMI), food security status (FSS), and sleep restfulness. Over one-third of students were food insecure (36.7%), and almost all reported anxiety (57%) and/or depression (39.1%). Students who identified as female, reported very low FSS, poor sleep, and had higher BMI were at greater odds …

Biol 628-002: Cell Biology Of Disease, Darshan Desai

Biology Syllabi

No abstract provided.