Digital Commons Network^™

2025-03 March Newsletter, Sammi Williams

NMOER Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Nfl Commissioner-Driven Arbitration Versus Other Sports League Arbitration Procedures, Victoria Gracia

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution (CJCR) Blog

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores and two other former NFL coaches filed a punitive class action in Manhattan federal court against the NFL in 2022, alleging the league engages in racially discriminatory hiring and retention practices. The NFL moved to compel arbitration pursuant to the provision in its employee contract that incorporates the NFL’s constitution, which includes an arbitration clause. In March 2023, U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni held that the NFL failed to meet its burden demonstrating that Flores entered an enforceable agreement to arbitrate; therefore, Flores could pursue his claims in federal court, while his two …

Digital Confessions: A Genealogy Of Belonging, Obedience, And Platform Power, Mohammad M. Ibrahimi

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper critiques social media as a moral architecture that shapes how individuals understand belonging, visibility, and selfhood. Drawing primarily on Nietzsche, with support from Foucault, Dostoevsky, and Zuboff, it explores why users continue to invest digital platforms with authority despite their widely recognized harms, treating social media less as a technological tool and more as a medium of belonging and livelihood. To provide a broader context for this critique, the paper situates social media within a genealogy of moral architectures, tracing developments from the Church, through capitalism as an ideology, and ultimately to contemporary digital platforms. In doing so, …

Tree Of Life, Sandra Rogers, Brooke Judd, Mollie Slugantz

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Introduction / Background: Most people understand the term death. However, in the world of organ donation, death can have different meanings. Donation after brain death (DBD) is when there is irreversible cessation of all brain activity due to lack of blood and/or oxygenation. The other form is donation after circulatory death (DCD) in which the patient has not deteriorated to brain death but there still may be an opportunity for families to opt for organ donation. Research has shown that healthcare providers working in intensive care units (ICUs) are not always at ease with DBD and even more uncomfortable with …

Nursing Across Cultures: Challenges And Opportunities In Caring For Kenya's Indigenous Communities, Sylvia Waweru-Smith

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Purpose: This study aimed to assess nursing students' CC in cultural awareness, knowledge, sensitivity, skills, encounters, and desire. It also explored nursing students' views on caring for culturally diverse patients and how these views relate to CC.

Design: A convergent mixed methods design addressed the following research questions:

1. What are the levels of CC in nursing students in Kenya?
2. What demographic and cultural characteristics impact students' CC levels?
3. What are nursing students' views on caring for diverse patients?
4. How do these views compare to or explain the students' CC levels?

Methods: A convenience sample of 190 …

Cardiovascular Awareness, Risk Factors Awareness, And Select Risk Reduction Interventions, Kimberly Ann Henderson

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death globally. African American (AA) females experience a disproportionately higher burden of CVD risk factors compared to other racial and gender-ethnic groups. This disparity in CVD risk is particularly pronounced among premenopausal and middle-aged AA females. While CVD is primarily preventable, addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) and achieving equitable health requires a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing CVD risk and health behaviors.

This descriptive correlational study employed a secondary data analysis using the 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) dataset to examine the relationships among CVD awareness, modifiable risk factor …

Are You Ready To Escape? Representing Innovation Through Escape Room Pedagogy In Obstetric Education, Nisha Nair

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Facilitating quality clinical experiences for students is a significant challenge in nursing education. Nursing students must develop critical thinking and collaborative skills to ensure safe, effective patient care. To foster these competencies, an innovative escape room pedagogy was introduced as an alternative to traditional simulation experiences. This interactive approach engages students in teamwork, problem-solving, and clinical judgment within a dynamic and enjoyable learning environment. By integrating escape rooms into the curriculum, nursing programs can better prepare students for real-world clinical challenges, improving patient care and addressing health disparities.

This study also aimed to determine the feasibility of integrating escape rooms …

From Challenge To Champion: When The Student Becomes The Coach, Alanna Elizabeth Kavanaugh, George Nicholson

Biennial Convention (CONV)

While the field of nursing has recently focused on diversifying the workforce through increased access to education, students from underrepresented populations often face challenges navigating the academic and clinical demands of institutional programs (Hill & Albert, 2021). Barriers such as a lack of role models and insufficient culturally responsive support systems frequently result in feelings of inadequacy and diminished confidence, hindering student success (Ortega et al., 2020).

Mentorship is critical in promoting the success of underrepresented students (Johnson et al., 2022). However, traditional mentorship models often yield inconsistent results, particularly in addressing sociocultural, generational, and educational divides (Williams, 2023). Innovative …

Mapas, Marcos Y Meta-Comunicación: Bases Epistemológicas Para Una Teoría Del Juego Derrol De Mesa En Las Industrias Creativas / Maps, Frames, And Metacommunication: Epistemological Foundations For A Theory Of Tabletop Role-Playing Games In The Creative Industries, Cristo Leon Ph.D.

STEM for Success Resources

Artículo académico de Cristo León (2025) sobre juegos de rol de mesa, teoría de marcos y meta-comunicación en las industrias creativas. El estudio propone una base epistemológica para comprender cómo los juegos de rol coordinan identidades, ficciones, acciones, agencia múltiple y niveles diegéticos mediante procesos colaborativos de creación narrativa. Publicado en Game Studies e as Indústrias Criativas, 5(2).

The Impacts Of The St. Louis Guaranteed Basic Income Program On Economic Security, Hannah Allee, Grace Anderson, Rachel Barth, Laura Brugger, Meihsi Chiang, Alex Dobill, Leah Hamilton, Ashley Moore, Liz Rolf, Stephen Roll, Guangli Zhang

Center for Social Development Research

How does guaranteed basic income influence the economic security of recipients?

In late 2023, the City of St Louis launched a pilot program providing $500 a month for 18 months to more than 500 low-income St. Louis households with children. Researchers from the Center for Social Development and the Brown School Evaluation Center conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of the program, tracking recipients’ journeys over the pilot’s duration. This brief presents findings on the effects of the St. Louis Guaranteed Basic Income Program on the economic security of program participants, including their experience of economic hardships, their use of the payments, …

Experiences And Perceptions Of Patients, Caregivers, And Healthcare Professionals With Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics For The Treatment Of Schizophrenia: Qualitative Results From The Multinational Advance Study, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Introduction: Schizophrenia imposes a substantial burden on individuals and society. Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) improve adherence and reduce relapse and hospitalization rates compared with oral treatments for schizophrenia, yet LAI use varies globally. The qualitative interview portion of the global Attitudes DriVing regional differences in long-acting injectable ANtipsychotic utilization for schizophrenia among healthcare professionals (HCPs), patients, and CaregivErs (ADVANCE) study explored the patient journey from schizophrenia diagnosis to treatment, treatment goals, and experiences and perspectives on LAIs that may influence their use. Methods: ADVANCE included HCPs, patients, and caregivers from Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Israel, Spain, South Korea, and the …

1451 Associates Lp V Jordan

All Decisions

The court vacated a pro se tenant's stipulation of settlement in a non-payment proceeding, finding that over 90% of the stipulated arrears were retroactive lump sum charges under Section 8. The HUD Handbook specifies such charges are not grounds for eviction or a possessory judgment, and housing courts cannot issue money judgments without possession. Additionally, the landlord failed to serve a 30-day rent demand required by the CARES Act for this federally-subsidized dwelling. Consequently, the petition was dismissed without prejudice.

Jupiter 7 6 Llc V. Quinn

All Decisions

In this Good Cause Eviction Law (GCEL) holdover proceeding based on the tenant's alleged nonpayment of rent, the court denied the tenant's pre-answer motion to dismiss the petition. The tenant argued that the predicate 90-day notice of termination lacked specific details regarding the alleged rent arrears. The court ruled that the predicate notice is sufficient if it generally apprises the tenant of the issues, deeming specific arrears information unnecessary at the earliest stage of the proceeding, thus disagreeing with other courts that require such detail. The court further elaborated on a three-step procedure for a tenant to cure nonpayment in …

Hopper-Danley Memorial Chapel, James Gill

School of Aerospace 3D Models

3D model of the Hopper-Danley Memorial Chapel on the campus of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND.

Developing Nurse Knowledge And Confidence In Telehealth Delivery For Ptsd Care, Bisilola M. Yinusa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence increasing and telehealth becoming more integrated into mainstream healthcare practice, it is critical to ensure that nurses are adequately trained to deliver evidence-based, trauma-informed care through digital modalities. The identified practice problem centered on the limited telehealth competency among nurses, particularly in communication strategies, confidence, and clinical readiness for PTSD care via virtual platforms. This doctoral project was a staff education initiative designed to enhance the telehealth delivery of trauma-informed care for patients with PTSD. The purpose of this project was to evaluate whether the structured educational intervention improved nurses’ knowledge and confidence in …

Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes (December 8, 2025), Dmacc

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

This file contains the minutes from the Des Moines Area Community College Board meeting held on December 8, 2025.

Gastrectomy Promoted Diabetes Remission Involves The Molecular Clock And Epigenetic Mechanisms In A Rat Model Of Lean Type 2 Diabetes., Aurélie Le Lay, François Brial, Claude Rouch, Xiaojian Shao, Mathieu Bourgey, Kazuhiro Sonomura, Huiting Ou, Sara Ghezzal, Mylène Vincent, Marylène Rugard, Karine Audouze, Jiannis Ragoussis, Fumihiko Matsuda, Guillaume Bourque, Elin Grundberg, Mark Lathrop, Christophe Magnan, Dominique Gauguier

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Bariatric surgery results in type 2 diabetes (T2D) improvement. To identify mechanisms associated with gastrectomy-promoted T2D remission in lean individuals, we performed pathophysiological, behavioural and molecular (liver transcriptome, metabolome and lipidome) investigations in the Goto-Kakizaki (GK) model of spontaneously-occurring non-obese T2D following vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) or sham operation. VSG resulted in sustained reduction in hyperglycemia and changes in nycthemeral feeding patterns and activity. Liver transcriptome and lipidome profiling pointed to changes in the expression of genes involved in inflammation, PPAR signalling and fatty acid metabolism, and in the regulation of phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine classes. Deeper analysis revealed altered expression …

Willing To Drive Green? Exploring Behavioral And Policy Influences On Electric Vehicle Ownership, Rajat Subhra Chatterjee, Irfan Hameed, Yamna Khan, Bibi Zainab, Kamran Khan

Plymouth Business School

PurposeThis study aims to empirically investigate the factors influencing Malaysian consumers’ purchase intentions (PI) for electric vehicles (EVs). The present study extends and modifies the theory of planned behavior (TPB) with additional variables [environmental concern (EC) and perceived incentive policy (PIP)] to examine the effect on consumers’ PI regarding EVs.Design/methodology/approachThe study used purposive sampling technique, and the target population consisted of Malaysian EV owners. A total of 600 questionnaires were distributed, yielding 413 responses. A final 390 responses were retained for analysis. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) has been used to analyze data using SmartPLS 4.0. In addition, …

Ecological Drivers Of Habitat Selection And Maternal Survival In Female Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus), Brady R. Knight

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the ecological and biological factors that influence habitat selection by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is crucial for effective management. Mule deer select cover, forage, and water, each critical to energy acquisition and survival of mule deer. Here, we evaluate the factors that influence habitat selection and reproductive decisions by mule deer . In chapter one we evaluate the influence of treatments to restore quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) on habitat selection by mule deer. We hypothesized that mule deer would not use habitats randomly because of variability in nutrition and perceived risk of predation. We predicted that areas with aspen …

Procurement Without Priors: A Simple Mechanism And Its Notable Performance, Dirk Bergemann, Tibor Heumann, Stephen Morris

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

How should a buyer design procurement mechanisms when suppliers’ costs are unknown, and the buyer does not have a prior belief? We demonstrate that notably simple mechanisms—those that share a constant fraction of the buyer utility with the seller—allow the buyer to realize a guaranteed positive fraction of the efficient social surplus across all possible costs. Moreover, a judicious choice of the share based on the known demand maximizes the surplus ratio guarantee that can be attained across all possible (arbitrarily complex and nonlinear) mechanisms and cost functions. Results apply to related nonlinear pricing and optimal regulation problems.

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 12.08.25, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Justice Barrett, Judge St. Eve, and Judge Davis preside over final round of second annual Justice Amy Coney Barrett Moot Court Tournament
• ND Law's Global Human Rights Clinic advocates for clients at the United Nations Headquarters and advances key partnerships in New York City
• Notre Dame J.S.D. candidates present at the 2025 J.S.D. Symposium hosted by the Washington University School of Law
• Global connections: Welcoming exchange students to Notre Dame Law School

Alumni News

• Double Domer and IP attorney Shannon Mastick '13, '16 J.D. appears on Jeopardy!

Faculty Briefs

• Paolo Carozza
• Mary Ellen O'Connell
• Rick Garnett
• Nicole …

The Timing Of Pubertal Onset Affects Adults Anxiety Behavior In A Sex-Specific Manner, Evan Raubenolt

Honors Projects

This study aims to look at the relationship between the timing of pubertal onset and its long-term effects on adult anxiety behavior in rats. Though the topic of pubertal onset has been frequently discussed in developmental research, its exact effects have been inconsistent. Human models have shown that early and late maturing males are associated with a notable increase in adult anxiety behavior, while in rat models, similar sex-specific effects regarding anxiety have been demonstrated, though those studies focus on a causal relationship between exposure to stress and age of pubertal onset. This study first aims to examine that relationship …

Prosodic Comparisons Between Speech And Music For Different Emotions, Reagan Brothers

Honors Projects

This study compares the prosodic acoustic characteristics between different emotional expressions in speech and clarinet playing and evaluates the similarities in prosody between these two domains. The prosodic features analyzed include pitch, loudness, and duration, which are the psychoacoustic terms referring to fundamental frequency [f_o], intensity, and rate of time. The American folksong “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” was both spoken and performed with three emotions: neutral, sad, and happy. The first comparison was how each prosodic characteristic compared across the three different emotions within each domain, and then prosody was compared across the two domains …

Staff Education On Burnout For Mental Healthcare Staff Mitigation Strategies For Psychiatric Outpatient Staff, Kadine Foreman-Westly

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this project is to determine whether implementing a staff education program in a psychiatric clinical setting can improve healthcare staff knowledge of strategies to prevent burnout. The project addresses a critical practice problem: a lack of structured education programs specifically targeting burnout recognition and management among mental healthcare staff. Burnout not only negatively impacts staff well-being but also affects patient safety and the overall quality of care. This project was designed to fill this gap by providing an educational intervention, with effectiveness measured through pre- and post-intervention surveys assessing staff knowledge. This staff education project was strengthened …

Counselors’ Experience Of Vicarious Trauma Symptoms During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Aleah B. Curley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As caseloads increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, counselors experienced a shift to telehealth counseling and double exposure to trauma and pandemic elements. Some counselors experienced symptoms of vicarious trauma (VT). A gap in the literature existed regarding the interaction of the pandemic among clients and counselors’ experiences of VT symptoms. The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to explore the lessons learned by capturing the stories of counselors who experienced VT symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research question concerned the retrospective experiences of counselors who self-reported experiencing VT symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven licensed professional counselors who experienced …

Engagement Strategies To Increase Employee Retention And Productivity Within The Accommodation Industry, Lathoya Felding

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A lack of effective employee engagement strategies in the accommodations industry can undermine retention and productivity, imposing costs on organizations and harming morale. Grounded in Kahn’s employee engagement theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to identify and explore the effective employee engagement strategies that accommodations leaders use to increase employee retention and productivity. Participants were six leaders of accommodation industry organizations in the southern United States. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-step thematic analysis. Five key themes were revealed: (a) implementing employee recognition programs, (b) providing career development and training …

Optimizing Global Micropayments Through Bitcoin’S On-Chain Architecture For Enhanced Scalability And Economic Efficiency, Craig Steven Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High fees and structural limitations in traditional payment systems prevent the viable use of global micropayments, creating barriers to innovation and restricting financial participation for individuals and organisations reliant on low-value digital transactions; stakeholders in digital commerce, financial-technology development, and payment-infrastructure organisations care about this problem because percentage-based fees render transactions under $5 economically unviable and suppress usage-based business models. Grounded in transaction cost economics, the purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to examine differences in effective fee percentage and absolute fee in USD across five payment providers using 55,000 archival transactions dated May 2025 (11,000 each from PayPal, …

Comprehensive Cmr Evaluation Including 4d Flow-Derived E/A Vorticity Ratio In Overweight Adults With And Without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Sungho Park, Erin K Englund, Takashi Fujiwara, Daniel Enge, Michal Schäfer, Jochen Gerstner Saucedo, Ethan W Clark, Layla A Abushamat, Rebecca L Scalzo, Brian Fonseca, Kendall S Hunter, Mary D Sammel, Judith G Regensteiner, Jane E B Reusch, Alex J Barker

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Aims: This study aimed to assess the impacts of overweight and type 2 diabetes (T2D) on early hemodynamic and left ventricular (LV) changes using comprehensive cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in three age- and sex-similar groups: lean individuals (LI group), BMI-similar overweight controls without T2D (CWO group) and overweight individuals with uncomplicated T2D (T2D group).

Methods: Middle-aged participants included 13 in the LI group, 37 in the CWO group, and 28 in the T2D group. Baseline assessments included cardiac and vascular function measured by CMR, thoracic echocardiography, insulin sensitivity, clinical measures, and cardiorespiratory fitness. 4D flow CMR was used to …

You Have To Cut&Walk; Before You Can Cut&Run;: Regulation Of Gene Expression By The Vitamin D Receptor (Vdr) In The Annual Killifish, Austrofundulus Limnaeus, Rosalia Tanori

Dissertations and Theses

The annual killifish, Austrofundulus limnaeus, found in ephemeral ponds in South America, possesses a remarkable ability to survive extended periods without water and oxygen. This ability is associated with developmental dormancy known as diapause. Numerous genetic and environmental factors influence the entry into diapause and tolerance to environmental stress. Among these is vitamin D3 signaling mediated by the vitamin D receptor (VDR), which plays a crucial role in regulating entry into diapause and the continuous development of an embryo in a temperature-dependent manner. Vitamin D3 signaling influences a variety of physiological processes in vertebrates. While extensively characterized in mammalian …

Improving Nursing Staff Knowledge To Provide High-Value Dementia Care, Kimone L. Johns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This staff education project aimed to increase nurses' knowledge to provide high-value dementia care. At the project site, nurses indicated low self-confidence and knowledge in providing quality dementia care. Providing low-value care to persons with dementia (PwD) contributes to suboptimal clinical outcomes and poor quality of life and adversely influences nurses' satisfaction. Therefore, the project question addressed whether a staff education program would increase nurses' self-perceived ability and confidence to provide high-value dementia care. The staff education objective was to enhance patient-centered dementia care, provision of quality care that can improve quality of life (QoL) of PwD. Twenty peer-reviewed journal …