Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Depression Screening For Young Adults In Outpatient Settings, Addie Smith

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Depression among young adults aged 25 to 35 years in the United States has been among the second highest at 19.9%. Depression underdiagnosis stems from many patient-level causes, including a lack of standardized screening, inadequate provider education, and stigma of mental illness. Untreated depression results in low quality of life, comorbidities, suicidality, and socioeconomic issues.

Aim of the Project: The aim of this project was to address the gap in practice by implementing a standardized screening process for young adults to enhance diagnoses and increase screening rates.

Review of the Evidence: A comprehensive review of the evidence …

Improving Colorectal Cancer Screening Referrals In A Rural Health Clinic, Kysha Mcbee

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Preventive screening for colorectal cancer has been associated with early detection and improved 5-year survival rates. The referral rates for colorectal cancer screening at the practicum site were 17.7%, well below the national benchmarks of 71.8%.

Aim of the Project: The aim of this project was to increase the screening referral rates in adults aged 45 to 75 years by 50% over a ten-week period by implementing an evidence-based toolkit.

Review of the Evidence: Literature review highlighted barriers to colorectal cancer screening, such as knowledge …

Fall Prevention In Long-Term Care, Steven Zissler

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Falls among older adults residing in long-term care facilities continue to rise, resulting in injuries that contribute to adverse outcomes, a reduced quality of life, and increased healthcare costs. Despite existing safety interventions, falls persist, indicating a gap in effective, sustainable fall prevention strategies. Repeated failures to reduce falls among adults aged 65 years and older highlight the need for a structured, evidence-based approach aimed at addressing this critical patient safety issue.

Aim of the Project: The aim of this project was to reduce falls and fall-related injuries by 25% for older adults residing in a long-term care facility …

Optimizing Pressure Injury Prevention: Implementation Of The Sskin Bundle In Acute Care, Joycelyn Mccall

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) contribute to increased morbidity, extended hospitals stay, and significant healthcare costs. At the project site in northwest, Indiana, HAPI rates averaged 6.29%, which significantly higher than the national benchmark of 2.24%. Inconsistencies in documentation, a lack of standardized preventive practices, and variable staff engagement contributed to these increased rates. Despite the use of the Braden Scale, staff inconsistently implemented preventive interventions.

Aim of the Project: The aim of the project is to reduce HAPI incidence by 30% over 10 weeks by implementing the surface, skin inspection, keep moving, incontinence/moisture management, and nutrition (SSKIN) bundle and …

Integrating Kangaroo Care Into Cesarean Delivery Practices: A Pathway To Enhanced Health Outcomes, Julia Swords

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Cesarean deliveries often interrupt early mother-infant bonding, delaying the initiation of breastfeeding and limiting opportunities for skin-to-skin contact. Despite national guidelines promoting immediate postpartum contact, cesarean-born infants receive kangaroo care (KC) at significantly lower rates than those born vaginally. Prior to this project, only 2% of cesarean births at the project site received KC, highlighting a significant gap in care delivery.

Aim of the Project: The aim was to evaluate the feasibility and impact of implementing kangaroo care during cesarean deliveries in a community hospital to improve neonatal outcomes and adherence to evidence-based postpartum practices.

Review of the Evidence: …

Researched Argument Paper Against Capital Punishment, Savannah Gross

Distinguished Student Scholarship Collection

This paper presents a researched argument against the use of capital punishment for homicide perpetrators. It critiques the death penalty on grounds of impracticality, high costs, risk of wrongful execution, lack of deterrent effect, and collateral harm to families and society. Drawing on empirical studies and ethical reasoning, the author argues that life imprisonment and rehabilitative alternatives are more just and effective responses to homicide. The work highlights the moral and systemic flaws of capital punishment and advocates for its abolition in favor of humane sentencing practices. [Abstract generated by AI.]

Group Therapy Proposal: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (Cbt) Group For Anxiety And Depression Management, Maddy Buss

Distinguished Student Scholarship Collection

This group therapy proposal outlines an eight-week Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) program designed for adults experiencing anxiety and depression. The group aims to provide a structured, evidence-based environment where participants develop coping skills, enhance emotional regulation, and improve interpersonal effectiveness through CBT interventions. Sessions focus on cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, and mindfulness, with progress monitored via validated assessment tools and participant feedback. The plan emphasizes peer support, skill-building, and resilience within a safe group setting. [Abstract generated by AI.]

Group Therapy Plan Proposal, Enleigh Dobyns-Schuetter

Distinguished Student Scholarship Collection

This group therapy plan proposes a 16-week, closed-group program for female survivors of sexual assault, integrating psychodynamic therapy and brief eclectic psychotherapy. The plan aims to foster healing, empowerment, and resilience through structured sessions focused on emotional support, trauma processing, self-awareness, and coping strategies. Theoretical frameworks guide the group’s objectives, structure, and evaluation methods, with progress monitored via intake assessments and ongoing feedback. The program emphasizes safety, trust, and the development of adaptive skills in a supportive environment. [Abstract generated by AI.]

Systemic, Cultural, And Institutional Barriers Significantly Limit Black Girls' Access To Mental Health Care In The United States, And Reform Is Needed To Create Equitable Support Systems, Macie Anderson

Distinguished Student Scholarship Collection

This paper explores how systemic, cultural, and institutional barriers prevent Black girls in the United States from accessing equitable mental health care. Drawing from peer-reviewed research and government reports, it highlights the roles of racism, stereotypes, underrepresentation in mental health professions, and school-based discipline disparities. The argument pushes for reforms in access, education, and culturally responsive care, advocating for justice-centered mental health systems that affirm and support Black girls holistically. This work seeks to challenge stigmas, expose inequities, and ignite change by centering the lived experiences of an often-overlooked population. [Abstract provided by the author.]

Boundary-Setting And Choice-Making With No "Adult" In The Room: Professional Identity Formation Opportunities For 1ls In The Transactional Context, Marni Goldstein Caputo, Kathleen Luz

Faculty Scholarship

Law schools are now required by the American Bar Association’s Standard 303(b)(3) to provide students with opportunities for professional identity formation throughout their legal education. It is critical that those opportunities be well-balanced and tied to the realities of practice. Yet until recently, we, as 1L lawyering skills professors at Boston University School of Law, only provided those opportunities in the litigation context. Further, our 1L lawyering skills curriculum was, since its inception, almost entirely steeped in litigation. This litigation focus matches neither the career trajectory nor the upper-level experiential opportunities of the majority of our students. In fact, transactional …

Introduction To Leadership Concepts Handbook, Seth D. Kastle, Lori E. Kniffin, Brett Whitaker, Justin Greenleaf, Brent Goertzen, Donnette Noble, Tamas Kowalik

Leadership Open Educational Resources

This handbook was developed through a collaborative effort between a team of faculty members and AI tools. While AI assisted in drafting and organizing content, faculty members provided the scholarly direction, curated all academic references, and shaped the narrative to meet the needs of introductory undergraduate learners. Every section has been carefully reviewed and vetted to ensure both accuracy and academic integrity. The purpose of this text is to offer a clear, concise, and accessible resource that summarizes essential concepts without requiring students to purchase a textbook.

Influence Of Field Trips On Adolescent Environmental Stewardship: Examining The Role Of The Dominant Social Paradigm, Gita Bhushal, Meghann Smith, Pankaj Lal, Neeraj Vedwan

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Promoting environmental stewardship among youths is crucial for inspiring collaborative, multi-generational actions to tackle long-term environmental challenges. This research study explores the impact of an environmental education (EE) field trip, which highlighted wastewater management and renewable energy technology, on high school students using the revised new ecological paradigm (NEP) scale as a key metric in a pre-post survey, which uses traditionally pro (NEP) and anti (dominant social paradigm, DSP) conservationist statements to measure beliefs towards the environment. When applying the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (null hypothesis t = 0, no change) to the series of environmental stewardship action questions “___ is …

What's The Matter With Lozada: How The Board Of Immigration Appeals Coerces Immigration Lawyers To Breach Legal Ethics, Kari E. Hong

Articles

In general, if an attorney makes a mistake, they can cure it by notifying the forum and filing the appropriate remedy. Immigration law, by contrast, stands alone by requiring the client (or a new attorney) to corroborate any mistake by filing a bar complaint against the first attorney. This requirement was established in a 1988 case, called Matter of Lozada. Much has been written on how the Lozada rule is unnecessary (a mistake does not need to be corroborated by a bar complaint and state bars are complaining about a deluge of unnecessary complaints for negligence) and harms the immigration …

Federalism, Family Unity, And Keeping Families Together, Kristina M. Campbell

Articles

No abstract provided.

Modification Of Epic System’S Simple Visit Coding (Svc) Evaluation Rule To Reduce Medical Claim Denials, Edith Ballard

Translational Projects (Open Access)

Background: The recruitment, development, and retention of skilled medical coding staff has become increasingly challenging for healthcare providers. To alleviate staffing burdens, Epic Systems’ electronic health record (EHR) introduced the Simple Visit Coding (SVC) work queue, designed to evaluate hospital patient encounters and automatically assign International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) diagnosis codes. However, the current SVC work queue evaluation rule at a prominent academic Oncology Care Organization (OCO) in the South does not utilize autonomous, generative, or computer-assisted coding (CAC) technologies. The work queue evaluation rule uses a simple rule-based program logic that relies on …

Autism Care Continuum: Exploring Specialty Services Across The Lifespan Within U.S. Academic Medical Centers, Alexis Khuu

Theses and Dissertations

Autistic people—particularly adults—experience high rates of co-occurring mental health problems and often report unmet service needs. Although several barriers to accessing quality care are well-documented, the broader landscape of autism-specific services across the lifespan remains under-researched. This two-part thesis aimed to address this gap by examining the availability of autism-specific services, as well as patterns in service utilization and associated costs, among autistic children and adults. The first study employed a systematic web-scraping protocol and data extraction procedure to identify and characterize autism specialty services offered by U.S. academic medical centers. This work revealed a general lack of autism specialty …

More Than An "Anxious" Generation: How Value Systems Anchor The Human Experience, Sailor Nelson

Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research

Experience is the key to everyone’s emotional development, rather than knowledge and information gathering (Haidt, 2024). This study, conducted under Dr. April Masarik’s Human Universals Project in the Human Development and Ecology Lab, explores shared human values and life philosophies across generations – challenging the idea that moral differences are solely generational. Using Jonathan Haidt and Jesse Graham’s Moral Foundations Theory and Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis, I’m analyzing student autobiographical narratives from a PSYC 419 course (n = 94) to identify how value systems develop and function. In previous literature reviews and analyses, nine core themes emerged. A …

Investigating The Origins Of Parkinson's Disease In A Mouse Model, Cora Knueven, Jenna Kidwell, Kaitlyn Carver, Sabrina Wilson, Trevor Walker, Ty Naymik, David Tomlinson, Sydney J.W. Boutros

Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research

Evidence suggests that Parkinson’s disease (PD) starts in the gut and travels to the brain. PD is marked by accumulation of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein (aSyn) into aggregates called Lewy bodies. Pesticides have been implicated in PD, further suggesting origins in the gastrointestinal system. Yet, questions remain about how pathology spreads from the gut to the brain, and its appearance. Since the 1960s, the use of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) like Roundup®, has risen dramatically. Growing concerns about GBH’s effects on human health stem from research suggesting glyphosate can cross the blood-brain barrier and contribute to neurodegeneration. We are assessing the gut-brain hypothesis …

Plato’S Moral Realism By Lloyd Gerson (Review), Brennan Mcdavid

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

A review of Plato’s Moral Realism by Lloyd Gerson.

Full Issue - Spring 2025 - Volume 112, Issue 1, Colby College

Colby Magazine

04. Planting Seeds to Grow a Stronger Community
16. Retiring Provost McFadden: Colby’s ‘Special Sauce’ is What Makes it Great
24. Pulver Scholars Explore Scientific Possibility
32. A Warm Wilderness Welcome for New Colby Students
42. Dare Northward is Shaping Colby as a Global Leader
48. Bringing Them All Back Home

Estimating How Much Children Work: Questionnaires Versus Time Use Diaries, Juana Lamote De Grignon Pérez, Wenbin Wang, Tanay Kasyap, Matthew Henglong Luo, Jialu Tang

Discussion Papers

Current estimates of child labour often rely on questions such as, “How many hours did you work last week?” While biases in adult self-reports are well-documented in high-income countries, there is limited evidence on the accuracy of children’s responses in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Using data from nine LMICs, including China and India, this paper shows that time diaries report more than twice as many work hours as standard questionnaires. This discrepancy suggests that current estimates may significantly understate child labour. Moreover, certain forms of work—such as collecting water or firewood—appear to contribute to these measurement gaps.

Nsu Kpcom Link - Summer 2025 - Volume 4.2, Nova Southeastern University

NSU Florida Link Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Freeman Honors – The Annual Newsletter: Fall 2024-Spring 2025, Texas Southern University, Thomas F. Freeman Honors College

Honor's College Newsletters

Annual 2024-2025 Newsletter

From Palimpsest To Prompt: Rewriting Shakespeare, Creative Authorship, And The Generative Logics Of Large Language Models In Contemporary Theatre, Michael Harding, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the convergence of creative authorship, adaptation, and generative artificial intelligence within contemporary theatre, taking Michael Harding‘s Awake, Young King as a central case study. Through the rewriting of Shakespearean drama, Harding‘s creative process demonstrates how theatrical meaning emerges through ongoing negotiation among playwright, performer, and audience, with scripts historically subject to revision, improvisation, and reinterpretation. Concerns regarding copyright, intellectual property, and the role of AI in the performing arts are reframed as extensions of enduring debates over originality and authorship, rather than novel threats. Tracing the evolution from The Rise of James VI to Awake, Young King, …

The Moderating Role Of Hormonal Birth Control On The Relationship Between Anxiety And Blood Pressure: A Longitudinal Analysis​, Anna Foweather, Abigail Anderson, Sylvie Mrug

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Summer Expo Poster Presentation

• Social & Behavioral Sciences

Threat Predictability Impacts Emotional Regulation During Pavlovian Fear Conditioning In Ptsd, Neha Singhal, Anudeep Bolaram, Devon K. Gray, Cameryn T. Eickstead, David C. Knight

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Summer Expo Poster Presentation

• Works in Progress

Vital Signs: Findings From Florida’S 2024 Ems Workforce Statewide Survey, Michael Lozano, Bruce J. Moeller, Ashley Tobin

Florida Center for Emergency Medical Services Research Reports

The 2024 EMT and Paramedic License Renewal Survey provides a comprehensive analysis of workforce trends, employment characteristics, recruitment challenges, retention patterns, and the mental health and wellness of emergency medical personnel in Florida. Conducted by the Florida Center for Emergency Medical Services (FL-CEMS) in collaboration with the Bureau of Emergency Medical Oversight (BEMO) at the Florida Department of Health (DoH), this survey captures insights from thousands of EMTs and paramedics renewing their professional licenses.

Key findings indicate persistent challenges in workforce retention, particularly for early-career professionals, and a notable decline in satisfaction with compensation. Despite these concerns, EMS personnel express …

Undergraduate And Graduate Course Descriptions, Summer 2025, Wright State University

Course Descriptions

Wright State University undergraduate and graduate course descriptions from Summer 2025

Social Emotional Learning: Strategies, Curriculum, And Perspectives In Elementary Schools, Erin Martindale

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Social emotional learning is essential for all students to be equipped with the life skills to help them be successful. There are many students that struggle with emotional regulation, social skills, and relationship building. Research has shown the importance of having SEL time in student’s daily schedule to meet the needs of these skills. This inquiry-based research study aims to determine if social emotional learning can help students gain skills on all the areas of SEL to improve their daily life. The study utilized a qualitative approach, using a survey from educators in Iowa. The findings revealed social emotional learning …

Utilizing Pharmacogenomics To Improve Students' Self-Perception On The Interprofessional Competencies Of Roles And Responsibilities, And Teams And Teamwork, Amanda Brown, Moom R. Roosan, Robert Goldsteen, Scott D. Ochs, Reza Taheri

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) is an emerging discipline with the potential to revolutionize personalized medicine, but its successful implementation requires interprofessional collaboration. To address this need, a virtual interprofessional education (IPE) session was designed for student pharmacists and medical students to engage in a case-based learning experience.

Objective

The primary objective was to develop and implement an IPE activity focused on a patient case requiring PGx-guided dual antiplatelet therapy and to assess students' perceptions of two Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Version 3 Core Competencies. A secondary objective was to identify key lessons from the session.

Methods

Pharmacist and physician faculty collaboratively …