Nurse Practitioners Comparison To Other Hospital Providers: Patient Safety, Thomas Kippenbrock, Deanna Jan Emory

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Purpose: Patient safety remains a critical challenge in healthcare services. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 10% of patients suffered harm within healthcare systems, resulting in an estimated million deaths annually due to unsafe practice. The study objective was to compare advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, and attending physicians’ responses to overall patient safety ratings and error reporting.

Methods: An Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality data set provided responses of patient safety and error reporting submitted by 3,659 advanced practice nurses (APN), 1,044 physician assistants, and 5,140 attending physicians. The Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Cultural version 2.0 …

Ai: It's Not Going Away! Harnessing Ai To Enhance Learning In Nursing Education, D'Ann Wilson Somerall, Chris Hickman, William E. Somerall Jr.

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed learning, but to what extent? Is AI preventing students from using their creativity and knowledge? Is AI negating the development of scholarly writing skills? Do students understand the academic use of AI and the possibility of generating inaccurate information they may share with others, thinking it “came from the internet,” so it must be correct?

ChatGPT, an AI tool used extensively by college students, was released in November 2022. Multiple other programs have been released in the past two years, and more tools are launched daily. Sadly, many academicians have not embraced AI or developed …

Innovating Leadership Development In Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Multimodal Approach, Thompson Hollingsworth Forbes Iii, Alexis Spence

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Leadership development in undergraduate nursing students is essential for preparing future nurses for entry into practice (ANA, 2021). This study aimed to examine the impact of an active learning approach on leadership development among senior nursing students. A quality improvement methodology was used to analyze the outcomes of a leadership course implemented in an undergraduate nursing curriculum. Pre- and post-course surveys were administered to 874 senior nursing students from 2017 to 2023 to assess their knowledge and experience with various leadership topics and skills. The pre-course survey revealed low baseline knowledge and comfort levels for most leadership concepts, with only …

Intersecting Civic Engagement Among Nurses With Service-Learning In Nursing Education, Carrie Rewakowski

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Following the timely declaration by the World Health Organization that 2020 was the “Year of the Nurse and the Midwife” (Howard, 2019), the profession of nursing was thrust into the national spotlight. Nurses can leverage this spotlight by using their voices to advance the health of those they serve through civic engagement. Civic engagement refers to involvement in significant activities that influence and shape society (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2024). Healthy People 2030 identified civic participation as a crucial element in Social Determinants of Health that includes both voting and volunteering (Pronk et al., 2023). With over 5.2 …

Lessons Learned In Educating, Developing, And Nurturing Nurse Leadership Skills For Challenges Ahead, Nancy M. Valentine

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Every Nurse is a Leader. This declarative statement is promulgated by professional nursing organizations that acknowledge the potential for nurses to be widely recognized as effective change agents.^1,2,3,4 It can be inspirational and daunting, whether for aspirants embarking on a career or seasoned nurses unaccustomed to perceiving themselves as leaders.

Organizations play a key role; some empowering, others perhaps disinterested in nurse-driven initiatives. Given these shifting realities, we must collaborate to make proactive nurse leadership a component of practice for every nurse.
Based on research, are leaders born or made, every nurse has the potential to be a leader. …

Nurses’ Role In Using Prayer As A Complementary And Alternative Spiritual Care Tool, Sonia H. Wisdom

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Praying is a spiritual and religious ritual that patients may use to support healing and cope with stress. Illness may challenge the patients’ ability to pray and nursing assistance is needed (Gad et al., 2022). Nurses are uncertain of their role in responding to patients’ prayer needs, as the use of prayer remains controversial (Nilsson, 2022).

This quantitative study explored nurses’ attitudes and perceptions of their role in praying. Data were collected from a self-selected sample of 2,688 RNs in the Florida Board of Nursing, using a 33-item 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire. Factor analysis extracted four subscales labeled as attitudes to …

The Transformative Impact Of Stakeholder Engagement In Assessment Planning, Kathleen M. Williamson, Sharon F. Beasley

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Stakeholder engagement is a cornerstone of robust evaluation and decision-making processes, playing a critical role in shaping the direction and effectiveness of assessment initiatives in a nursing education program. This presentation explores the multifaceted contributions of stakeholders in assessment planning, emphasizing their ability to provide diverse perspectives, align goals with organizational and community needs, and ensure the relevance and inclusivity of evaluation frameworks.

Through active involvement, stakeholders help assessments transcend mere data collection, adding layers of context and meaning that enhance depth, accuracy, and validity. By leveraging their unique insights, organizations can achieve outcomes that are not only informed and …

Aligning Strategic Goals & Personal Growth: Innovative En-Renc Teaching Strategies At Raffles Hospital, Lilian S. M. Yew, Dira D. Haridas, Jai Vaishnavi D. Jayakumar, Hui Wen Ten, Nur Shida Binte Zainal Abidin

Biennial Convention (CONV)

The Enrolled Nurse Role Expansion Nursing Nurse Course (EN-RENC) at Raffles Hospital(RH) aligns training with strategic goals & individual development. It enhances patient care, operational efficiency, and financial viability while supporting career advancement & job satisfaction for enrolled nurses (ENs).

Purpose: Demonstrates alignment of strategic objectives and individual development via innovative teaching in EN-RENC.

Program Overview: EN-RENC equips ENs with advanced skills like intramuscular injections, wound dressing, venepuncture, & diabetic foot care, improving patient care & satisfaction^1,2. Upskilling ENs reduces dependency on agency staff & overtime, lowering labor costs & optimizing workflow.

Efficiency and Cost Savings: Enhanced EN …

Palliative Ventilator Withdrawal Algorithm: A Feasibility Quality Improvement (Qi) Project, Al-Zada Aguilar, Olivia Nicastro

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Managing respiratory distress during end-of-life (EOL) ventilator withdrawal poses significant challenges, particularly without structured algorithms or validated, reliable tools. This quality improvement (QI) project addressed these challenges by implementing Campbell’s ventilator withdrawal algorithm and the Respiratory Distress Observation Scale (RDOS), a validated, reliable tool for objective dyspnea assessment. This project sought to enhance care quality by evaluating process feasibility while addressing implementation barriers.

Dyspnea is a complex, subjective symptom frequently encountered during EOL ventilator withdrawal. Campbell’s algorithm provides a structured, individualized approach emphasizing prevention, early intervention, reassessment, and treatment while considering patient-specific factors such as illness severity and level of …

Nursing Leadership In Dementia Care, Ada Ter Maten-Speksnijder

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Worldwide vocational education plays a crucial role in the mission towards dementia-friendly societies in which everyone is valuable and everyone can participate according to their own wishes. In the Netherlands, schools for secondary vocational education and training (VET) are particular essential in this respect, because 75% of healthcare professionals are trained here.

Healthcare professionals strive for care that goes beyond medical aspects. Especially nurses work from the unique needs and life experiences of care recipients. At the same time, they function in an environment that is constantly changing due to developments in healthcare technology and support. In order to follow …

From Discrete Manufacturing To Continuous Manufacturing: Examining The Relationship Among Digital Capability, Organizational Learning, And Enterprise Performance, Demu Chen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In 2018, Company J launched its intelligent drive digital transformation project, which was completed and entered operation in 2021. That December, the project obtained certification under Zhejiang Province's "1353" system for the future factory enterprises, marking a successful transition from discrete to continuous manufacturing. To address the asynchronous flows of logistics, information, personnel, capital, and value indiscrete manufacturing enterprises, as well as pain points such as lowper capita output, long product delivery cycles, and low annual inventory turnover rates, this study, based on organizational learning theory, constructs ananalytical model encompassing digital capability (independent variable X), organizational learning (mediating variable Z), …

Regulatory Settlement, Stare Decisis, And Loper Bright, Lisa Schultz Bressman, Kevin M. Stack

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In Loper Bright v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court adopted and deployed a particular narrative about agency action in support of overruling Chevron: Agencies reverse their own statutory interpretations “as much as [they] like[],” creating pervasive instability in the law, thereby destroying private reliance interests. Based on a study of two decades of agency regulations affirmed by the D.C. Circuit under Chevron, we show how infrequently agencies reversed their interpretive positions. Our study suggests that the Court’s regulatory “whiplash” narrative is overstated and that there is an underappreciated institutional settlement for notice-and-comment rules under Chevron. Identifying this regulatory settlement …

Governing Complexity: A Comparative Assessment Of Four Governance Models With Applications To Climate Change Mitigation And Adaptation, J. B. Ruhl, Niko Soininen, Barbara Cosens, Lance Gunderson

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Responses to ongoing global climate change include economy-wide mitigation efforts and large-scale societal adaptation that demand novel approaches to governance. An array of innovative governance models has been proposed since the late 1900s and early 2000s as scholars observed inadequacies of government-centric and formal legal approaches to natural resource management, complexity and uncertainty, failures of neoliberal economic reforms, and cross-scale institutional arrangements. Four such models have come to dominate the solution-oriented discourse on climate change governance: adaptive governance, transition governance, transformation governance, and anticipatory governance. We compare these models in terms of their origin and applicability to deal with the …

Identifying Barriers To Accessing Early Intervention Services, Michelle Y. Gilbert

Biennial Convention (CONV)

This mixed-methods study examines disparities in referral and enrollment rates for Early Intervention (EI) services among children under age three at risk for or diagnosed with developmental delays. The research focuses on a cohort of children referred from Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) to High-Risk Clinics or BabyNet services who did not receive recommended services. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected to analyze referral and enrollment rates, identify factors associated with underutilization, and explore provider and parental perceptions of EI services. Common barriers to accessing services and characteristics influencing enrollment were also identified.

Existing studies have highlighted the importance of …

Assessing Response Diversity Of Spawning Conditions For Native Trout Among Streams To Interannual Changes In Snowpack, Autumn Kaye Zierenberg

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Stream habitat suitability for fish is controlled by physical, chemical and biological conditions impacted by interannual changes in climate. Intermittent streams are particularly sensitive to climatic variation and have long been overlooked as potential spawning habitats for fish and other riverine species. Spawning suitability in stream habitats is strongly influenced by connectivity to perennial habitats, the duration of surface flows and water temperatures, each of which are driven by annual snowpack and discharge conditions. Here, we examine how the spawning habitat suitability in different tributaries within a single river basin respond to changes in annual snowpack conditions. Specifically, we examined …

Bundled For The Beyond: Material Analysis Of A Canine Mummy Bundle For Contextualizing And Conserving Legacy Objects, Sascha Anna-Rose Baldauf

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Legacy collections¹ and objects with little context are often untapped opportunities for both museums and museum studies students. The purpose of this study is to display how students can utilize object research to engage in experiential learning and develop their skillset in scientific methodologies and disseminating findings, while also offering museums the opportunity to develop relationships with research facilities and benefit from student research findings. This study demonstrates the utility of student research by investigating an Egyptian canid mummy bundle, dating to the Late Period² or early Ptolemaic Period³, received by the Museum of Anthropology at …

On Sobolev Spaces And The Existence Of Weak Solutions To Boundary Value Problems, Skye X. Paul

Master's Theses

Many boundary value problems that arise in mathematical models have close connections to second order elliptic partial differential equations. This thesis introduces the idea of weak derivatives and Sobolev Spaces to generalize possible solutions. Using functional analysis centered around the Lax-Milgram theorem, we show the existence of these generalized solutions to boundary value problems including Laplace's Equation, 2nd order linear ODEs, and ultimately a general second order elliptic PDE. The work cumulates with recovering a number of central theorems of functional analysis in the context of Sobolev Spaces, creating a new perspective on the solvability of these boundary value problems.

Semi-Hyponormality Of Commuting Pairs Of Hilbert Space Operators, Raul E. Curto, Jasang Yoon

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

We first find an explicit formula for the square root of positive 2 ×2 operator matrices with commuting entries, and then use it to define and study semi-hyponormality for commuting pairs of Hilbert space operators. For the well-known 3–parameter family 𝑊(𝛼,𝛽)⁡(𝑎,𝑥,𝑦) of 2–variable weighted shifts, we completely identify the parametric regions in the open unit cube where 𝑊(𝛼,𝛽)⁡(𝑎,𝑥,𝑦) is subnormal, hyponormal, semi-hyponormal, and weakly hyponormal. As a result, we describe in detail concrete sub-regions where each property holds. For instance, we identify the specific sub-region where weak hyponormality holds but semi-hyponormality does not hold, and vice versa. To accomplish this, …

New Hampshire Coastal Flood Risk Summary, Part 1: Science, Jamie Carter, Anna Simpson, Chris Gloninger, John Trowbridge, Kirk Bosma, Jayne F. Knott, Mary Lemcke-Stampone, Elizabeth Burakowski, Jennifer Gilbert, Kirsten Howard, Lisa Wise

UNH Cooperative Extension

The New Hampshire Coastal Flood Risk Summary – Part 1: Science provides a synthesis of the state of the science relevant to coastal flood risks in New Hampshire. Specifically, this document provides updated trends projections of sea-level rise, coastal storms, groundwater rise, precipitation, and freshwater flooding for coastal New Hampshire. This 2025 report updates the earlier 2019 report. This information is intended to serve as the scientific foundation for the updated companion resource, Part II: Guidance for Using Best Available Science, which will be published in 2026.

Do You Feel The Power? Affinity Spaces For Black Male Principals, Wallace Cobbs

All Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the experiences of Black male principals by examining how affinity spaces provide essential support in facing the challenges of school leadership. Using semi-structured interviews and a focus group, the research investigates how these spaces influence principals’ self-efficacy as they manage racial microaggressions, systemic barriers, and professional isolation. The findings show that affinity spaces help build confidence, encourage professional growth, and support personal well-being. By connecting self-efficacy theory to the real-life experiences of Black male principals, this study adds to the conversation on equity in education and the need for meaningful, culturally-relevant support systems.

On Variations Of Isolation In Graphs, Geoffrey Boyer

All Dissertations

In 2015, Caro and Hansberg introduced a wonderful and natural generalization of the well-studied parameter of domination in graphs. For a graph $G$ and a family of graphs $\FF$, they define $S$ to be an $\FF$-isolating set if $G-N[S]$ contains no member of $\FF$ as a subgraph. The case where $\FF=\{K_1\}$ coincides with domination. The case where $\FF=\{K_2\}$ is now simply referred to as an isolating set. We strengthen known results about the isolation number of a graph, and explore variations of the parameter including the independent and total versions.

In particular for connected graphs of order $n$, a bound …

Navigating Safety: A Mixed-Methods Examination Of Supportive Workplace Practices In Maritime Contexts, Rebecca N. Pool

All Dissertations

Maritime Sailors operate in high-demand and high-risk environments that require sustained adherence to strict safety standards. Using the Conservation of Resources theory (COR), this dissertation examines how supportive workplace practices impact job stress and foster increased safety compliance among U.S. Navy personnel. Using a mixed-methods design, two studies were conducted with data from the Afloat Safety Climate Assessment Survey (ASCAS). Study 1 analyzed quantitative survey responses from active-duty Sailors (N = 15,517) nested in 1,033 departments nested within 122 ships to test a multilevel moderated mediation model linking social support, job stress, psychological safety, and safety compliance. Results indicated …

Metabolic Dysfunction Caused By Dietary Oxylipins And The Environmental Toxicant Pfos, Jazmine Alexis Eccles-Miller

All Dissertations

Disruption of fat metabolism is a hallmark of metabolic disease. A liver enzyme, Cytochrome P450 2B6 (CYP2B6) is an anti-obesity enzyme that produced several omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid metabolites that could contribute to metabolic diseases such as fatty liver disease. Two of these metabolites, 9-HODE and 9-HOTrE, may be associated with fatty liver. Mice were exposed to 9-HODE and 9-HOTrE to investigate whether they contribute to fatty liver disease under fasting conditions. A transgenic mice model expressing the human enzyme CYP2B6 was also fasted to determine if CYP2B6 leads to increased fatty liver under fasting conditions compared to a …

A Mixed Methods Study Of The Weather And Climate Science Curriculum Pilot In South Carolina K-12 Schools, 4-H, And Agricultural Education Programs, Emily B. Hood

All Dissertations

Weather and climate science topics in K-12 education are more important now than ever due to extreme weather and climate events happening worldwide. Most U.S. science teachers included climate science in their courses, but they may not have a sufficient background in the topic which can hinder their efforts, or there is no explicit curriculum for the teacher to utilize. Research indicates that there is a need for innovation in the curriculum to help prepare children to become the next generation of leaders and address complex problems, such as issues related to weather and climate science. There are a few …

Exploring Halogen Bonding Interactions In Cocrystals And Deep Eutectic Solvents, Madhushi Bandara

All Dissertations

Halogen bonding is a noncovalent intermolecular interaction analogous to hydrogen bonding that occurs between an electrophile and a nucleophile. This is often observed in compounds containing heavy halogens such as iodine and bromine. When these halogens are covalently bonded to another atom or molecule, preferably to an electron-withdrawing moiety, an electrophilic region called a sigma hole is created on the halogen atom on the extension of the covalent bond.

The first study of this dissertation presents a comprehensive characterization of eight newly synthesized triiodide salts using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis (DSC and TGA), and Raman spectroscopy. …

Multi-Modal Data-Efficient Learning For 3d Machine Vision, Zhimin Chen

All Dissertations

The rapid progress of 3D computer vision has enabled a wide range of applications in autonomous driving, robotics, and augmented reality. Despite this growth, training robust 3D perception models remains challenging due to limited labeled data, the complexity of integrating multiple modalities, and the inherently imbalanced and long-tailed nature of 3D datasets. This dissertation addresses these challenges by proposing data-efficient, multi-modal learning frameworks that improve the accuracy, generalization, and scalability of 3D scene understanding.

In the semi-supervised setting, this work presents novel approaches that combine limited annotations with large amounts of unlabeled data to enhance 3D object classification and retrieval. …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Chemically Recyclable Polypropylene-Based Covalent Adaptable Networks, Andrii Tiiara

All Dissertations

Polyolefins (POs) are inexpensive engineering materials with excellent physical and mechanical properties, accounting for nearly 60% of all thermoplastics. However, large-scale recycling remains limited, with only ~15% undergoing mechanical recovery. This dissertation addresses this challenge by fragmenting and functionalizing polypropylene (PP) chains to generate macromonomers and employing them, along with industrial reactive PP macromonomers, to synthesize, depolymerize, and repolymerize chemically recyclable polypropylene-based polyolefins (CR-POs). These CR-POs incorporate ester linkages that form covalent adaptable networks (CANs), maintaining a gel fraction of ~70% while remaining melt-reprocessable via extrusion and compression molding.

First, the fragmentation of PP is investigated by microwave irradiation. Microwave …

First Principles Calculation Of Electron-Phonon Coupling In Nonequilibrium Quantum Materials, Chendi Xie

All Dissertations

This dissertation combines first-principles computation and light-induced nonequilibrium analysis to understand and control electron–phonon coupling (EPC) and emergent many-body phenomena in quantum materials, in both equilibrium and nonequilibrium states.

Chapters 1 and 2 build the theoretical and computational foundation, beginning with electron and phonon self-energies, linewidths, and perturbation theory for EPC, followed by density functional theory (DFT) and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT), which serve as the first-principles workhorses used throughout. Chapter 3 reviews Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) and Migdal-Eliashberg theory, including the BCS gap - transition temperature (T_c) relation and the strong-coupling generalization, and delineates the practical validity bound …

Interfaces To Enhance Performance In Human-Ai Teams Conducting Safety-Critical Military Operations: A Route Reconnaissance Use Case, Sarvesh Sawant

All Dissertations

Military teams frequently operate in hazardous and dynamic environments where they must recognize threats, act swiftly, and maintain awareness of their surroundings. To assist soldiers in identifying threats, analyzing data, and creating safer routes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are being integrated into these teams. But only when humans comprehend what AI is doing, why it is doing it, and how to collaborate with it can AI be helpful in these high-stakes missions. To enhance human-AI collaboration during military route reconnaissance missions, this dissertation explores ways to improve human-AI communication. In a route reconnaissance mission, teams of soldiers must navigate through …

School Discipline Bylaws In Egypt: An Analysis Of The Framing Of Children’S Rights In Education (2014–2024), Noha Ekram Hassan

All Dissertations

This study investigates how Egypt’s School Discipline Bylaws (SDB), issued between 2014 and 2024, construct the language of discipline, children’s rights, and school governance. Using a Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis (CADA) combined with interpretive Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the research identifies child-rights terminology within the five Bylaw versions, examines its relationship to the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and traces how these linguistic patterns change over time. The analysis also explores the discursive framing of discipline, sanctions, and agency, alongside a rubric-based evaluation of the SDB’s alignment with CRC principles of protection, participation, and …