Digital Commons Network^™

Relationship Between Congestive Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Inflammatory Biomarkers, And Hospital Length Of Stay Among Covid-19 Patients., Alice Aghamie Osuji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

COVID-19 has put immense pressure on healthcare facilities, especially in managing patients with comorbidity. This study addressed the association between two important coinfections, congestive heart failure (CHF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and their effect on hospital length of stay (LOS) among COVID-19 patients. The study also explored the predictive role of the inflammatory biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP) in prolonged hospitalization, also considering the influence of age and race. This study applied the Biopsychosocial Model and Chronic Care Model (CCM) to examine health outcomes and resource use. A retrospective cohort research design was used to examine medical records of …

K-12 Principals Who Persist In Their Principalship Despite Challenges In Urban Schools, Monique Nicole Durham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed through this study is the approximately 13% attrition of K-12 principals in a large urban school district in the Mid-Atlantic region, exceeding the national average. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of K-12 principals who had persisted in their roles despite the significant challenges in leading urban schools. The study was grounded in the job demands-resources theory, which posits that job demands could lead to burnout, while job resources help employees cope with challenges, thereby fostering resilience. For this basic qualitative design, data were collected from semistructured interviews with 12 …

The Connection Of 2d And 3d Objects And Play Behavior In Infants, Abby Vonk

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

One of the biggest tasks faced by infants is learning language, including the names of many different objects (e.g., bottle, book). This is accomplished through a combination of hearing objects named by caregivers while infants look at and interact with (e.g., touch) objects. Previous developmental research has primarily examined object-name learning by presenting 2D images of objects on a screen as those objects' labels are said. Such studies show that hearing an object label impacts where we look (Barnhart et al., 2018) and that young infants can map heard labels to 2D images of the objects named (Barr, 2010). However, …

Instrumented Tennis Racket To Train Proper Grip In Novice Tennis Players, Mia Bergethon, Isaac Sandoval

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

This instrumented tennis racket is designed to help novice players maintain proper grip strength and reduce the risk of developing tennis elbow. Tennis elbow is a condition caused by repeatedly gripping the racket with excessive force which strains the muscles causing tears and inflammation. The racket features embedded force sensors to measure grip strength and provides real-time haptic feedback, signaling players to adjust their grip during training. A phone app connects to the racket and records grip strength for each swing session, reinforcing proper technique.

Eight to ten miniature 12 mm motors were placed in the base of a Wilson …

Effect Of Energy-Dependent Proton Irradiation On Thin-Film Ybco-1237 Superconductor, Nolan Miles, Hope Weeda, Joseph Fogt, Trevor Harrison

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

We investigated the effect of proton irradiations (0.6 MeV and 1.7 MeV) on the superconducting and normal-state properties of thin-film YBCO-1237 superconductors (Tc = 90 K) and found that the relationship between the critical temperature and dimensionless scattering rate obtained during proton irradiation approximates the generalized d-wave Abrikosov–Gor'kov theory better than the previous reports obtained from electron irradiations. This was unexpected since electron irradiation is generally thought to be more effective than proton and other heavier ion irradiations at suppressing superconductivity. The details of the experimental setup and results will be presented.

The Impact Of Consuming An Electrolyte Drink Pre Vs Post-Workout On Recovery As Measured Through Urinary Indicators In Collegiate Cross-Country Runners, Laura Taylor, Aidan Becher, Madelynn Struck, Momodou Colley

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

BACKGROUND: Hydration is crucial in sports, as dehydration can decrease strength, endurance, and power. Drinking electrolytes before and after intense exercise can promote hydration. Few studies have compared the difference in consuming electrolytes pre/post-workout. The impact of consuming electrolyte drinks can be assessed by comparing pre/post-workout urinary biomarkers (UB). PURPOSE: To determine if drinking electrolytes before/after a workout improves post-workout recovery as measured by heart rate (HR) and UB in collegiate Cross Country (CC) runners. METHODS: 21 CC runners (43% men, 20±3 years) were divided into four groups. For four weeks (Sep-Oct 2024), participants consumed Liquid IV (LIV) or a …

An Analysis Of Competing Complexities Of Search And Rescue Operations On The Mediterranean Sea, Madeline From

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

The Mediterranean Sea has become a locus of international attention as a "migrant graveyard," with over 3,000 annually reported deaths and disappearances. It is a microcosm of the complexities of multilateral governance, civil society, grassroots humanitarian action, and the tension between security and human rights protections. A wealth of actors are involved in maritime search and rescue (SAR) operations, contributing to a dynamic array of collaborative, oppositional, and competitive relationships at sea and on land. This study will investigate the reality of sea migration by considering overlapping jurisdictions, competing interests, border externalization, and varying obligations per international conventions or treaties. …

Pardcuhre: A Scalable Parallel Solution For Multivariate Integration With Cuda, Tobias Shaw, Peter Worden

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

Mathematical integration is a common process in a wide array of fields such as medical imaging, statistical analysis, orbital mechanics, and simulation modeling. Since analytical solutions to many integration problems are impossible to obtain, they are instead numerically approximated. There exists a variety of numerical integration software used to estimate such integrals; one such software is DCUHRE which employs the global adaptive algorithm over a hyperrectangular region to estimate a given function. However, as the integral dimension increases, the number of region evaluation points increases exponentially. While DCUHRE was written to accommodate parallel execution on multiple processors (subregion-level parallelization), this …

Foraging Efficiency Of Rural And Urban House Sparrows, Passer Domesticus, Among Natural And Unnatural Obstacles, Annie Waldron, Katie Kowalyk, Mara Gutierrez

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

Urbanization may lead to food displacement for many animals. Urban birds are exposed to man-made objects that can result in variable food locations, unlike rural birds who inhabit areas where food locations are typically consistent. The introduction of unnatural obstacles may affect a sparrow's ability to find and reach food sources. Scientific studies have yet to find a significant increase in problem-solving skills related to foraging in urban versus rural birds. Our research seeks to determine the foraging efficiency of rural and urban house sparrows when exposed to obstructed food sources. Novel objects near a food source may scare birds …

Investigation Of Tc Change Due To Proton Irradiation In Tbcco Superconductors, Trevor Harrison, Joseph Fogt, Nolan Miles, Hope Weeda

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

We studied the effect of 600 keV proton irradiation on thin film cuprate superconductors. A 650 nm thick TBCCO-2212 sample was subjected to a series of proton irradiations totaling a fluence of 5.2 x 10^16 protons/cm^2. Superconducting critical temperature (Tc) was decreased from 100 K towards zero Kelvin, and the normal state resistivity increased accordingly. The rate of Tc reduction to resistivity increase will be used to discuss the fundamental properties of the superconductor.

Impact Of Memorable Messages About Religion And Adoption, Grace Arakelian, Chloe Warren, Rachel Grimes, Zachary Davis

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

This study examines the impact of memorable messages about adoption and religion on adult adoptees raised in Christian adoptive homes. The study explores how these messages shape adoptees' emotional well-being, identity development, relationships, and religiousness. The study places the findings within existing research on adoption communication, microaggressions, and entrance narratives. Forty-one adult adoptees were interviewed regarding the memorable messages they heard growing up, their interpretations of the messages, and the impact the messages had on their emotional well-being, relationships, identity development, and religious affiliation. Using Tracy's phronetic iterative approach, a qualitative analysis was conducted to identify themes within the data. …

Self-Scheduled Category Learning In College Students, Emily Mccloskey, Isabella Bozzi, Calista Burke, Abby Vonk, Ryann Mehney, Madeline Bolema

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

Learning new information can be a complex, gradual process. It is important to understand how learning plays out over time. Research has found that spaced schedules — studying new information in multiple sessions spread out over time — are more effective for learning than massed schedules — studying everything in one long session (Carvalho & Goldstone, 2013; Cepeda et al., 2006, Kornell & Bjork, 2008). However, when people schedule their own learning, they prefer massing (Kornell & Bjork, 2008; Tauber et al., 2013). Recent research suggests another type of schedule, clustering, might be more effective than both massing and spacing. …

Applying Classical Arabic Music To The Bassoon Through Innovative Performance Practices, Elias Lachonce

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

Traditional and classical Arabic music both utilize a tuning system different from the equal temperament system widely used in European and North American music. Many modes in Arabic music contain pitches that cannot be played on an equal tempered piano. Like the piano, the German Heckel system bassoon and other woodwind instruments common to North America are designed to play a 12-tone equal tempered octave. This project explores how the bassoon can be used to play Arabic music through the development of a set of specialized fingerings, thereby overcoming that limitation and advancing the capabilities of the bassoon in Arabic …

Everyone Gets Bored Sometimes: Effects Of Boredom And Burnout In A Longitudinal Study On Pre Health Undergraduate Students, Josie Oostindie

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

For some time now, medical education research has documented increased levels of undesirable outcomes as a byproduct of professionalization, such as decreased mental health and increased burnout. We introduce to this literature the concept of boredom proneness that taps into students' adaptation to a sense of the flow of time and outline how this affects their health throughout undergraduate. Trait measures of boredom tap into not merely a momentary discomfort with a context or flow of time, but a deeper existential challenge that indicates a possibly socially-induced discordance with a self in time. Additionally, a challenge of past research is …

Anti-Immigrant Violence In The Uk, Danai Mandebvu

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

This research explores the complex issue of anti-immigrant violence in the United Kingdom, contrasting the author's personal experience of the perceived mild temperament of British society with the eruption of anti-immigrant riots following a triple murder. This discrepancy motivates an investigation into the underlying factors contributing to this violence. Through analysis of both primary sources, including interviews and speeches from key political figures, and secondary sources such as research articles, news reports, books, and official immigration websites, this study aims to uncover the roots of anti-immigrant sentiment and its manifestation in violent acts. The definition of "anti-immigrant violence" will be …

Training Artificial Intelligence Agents To Play A Family Of Combinatorial Games, Megan Haeussler, Lina Mo, Sidney Wright

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

This project explores the application of various artificial intelligence techniques in developing strategy for combinatorial games. A family of deterministic 2-player games is played on m-by-n grids, potentially with some cells removed. Players take turns placing pieces on the board until the board is filled, then sequences of pieces are scored based on length. AI agents are trained to play the game using methods including tabular reinforcement learning, evaluation of N-tuples of grid squares, and development of genetic training methods with artificial neural networks. These agents are trained against a variety of non-learning agents, then evaluated against both non-learning agents …

Meadow Brook Project: Lighting Design, Ava Bell

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

In theatre, artists come together for collaborative storytelling. Through meetings, discussions, rehearsals and tech, designers, technicians, actors and directors decide how a story is going to be told and how they can support one another during the process. Lighting design is a crucial element of that theatrical storytelling, telling the audience where to look, when to look there, and how to feel about it. Meadow Brook Theatre's production of Ella: First Lady of Song, a musical following the life and discography of Ella Fitzgerald, was brought to life through lighting. This research allowed for the creative and technical exploration of …

Hope College Abstracts: 24th Annual Celebration Of Undergraduate Research And Creative Activity, Hope College

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

The 24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity was held on April 11, 2025 in the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse at Hope College and featured student-faculty collaborative research projects. This program is a record reflective of those projects between the 2024-2025 academic year.

The Taxonomy Of Evidence-Based Practices For United States History Education, Maggie Hartman

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

Teaching the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and citizens is the one of the primary roles for Social Studies teachers. This can be especially true for those instructors who teach United States history since this class focuses on the past and future of our country. To help in this teaching endeavor, this study has created a Taxonomy of Social Studies Evidence Based Practices. A systematic and exhaustive review of the literature was completed finding 17 articles in which the taxonomy was created. Within this taxonomy, arms related to (1) effective technology use, (2) place-base-learning, (3) primary documentation sourcing, and …

The Effects Of Visual Dominance And Object Naming On Word Learning In Infants, Ryann Mehney, Calista Burke, Isabella Bozzi, Abby Vonk, Emily Mccloskey, Madeline Bolema

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

Children learn new words every day, a majority of which are nouns (e.g., car, dog, ball). This raises the question: how do infants connect the correct words to each object? Previous research suggests that infants as young as 12 months can learn object names by tracking which words and objects appear together (Smith & Yu, 2008). Additionally, object names may be learned better when the object being named is visually dominant, meaning larger in the infant's view (Yu & Smith, 2012). However, this correlation has not been tested experimentally. This study tests whether visual dominance enhances word learning in infants. …

Shaping Educators For Equity: Examining The Impact Of Social Justice Pedagogy On Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs, Delaney Ingbretson

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

This study utilized the Race Attitude Implicit Association Test (RA-IAT) to examine unconscious racial biases among pre-service teachers before and after completing a required education course incorporating an antiracist curriculum. Initial findings indicate that implicit biases can be influenced when open dialogue and reflection accompany the curriculum. The results highlight the necessity for teacher preparation programs to create spaces where students actively confront and challenge racism, rather than merely avoiding discussions on the topic. These curricula go beyond passively teaching about racism — they foster critical thinking about historical and systemic inequalities, promote diverse perspectives, and empower future educators to …

The Role Of Counter Electrode In Perovskite Solar Cell On Silicon Substrate To Enhance Power Conversion Efficiency For Cmos-Compatible Applications, Sameh O. Abdellatif, Eman Sawires

Electrical Engineering

This study investigates the impact of various counter-electrode materials on the overall power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) fabricated on silicon substrates. We examined four distinct configurations using fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) as bare cell, copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), and highly p-doped silicon wafers as counter electrodes. The results indicate that the PSCs with Cu achieved the highest short-circuit current density (JSC) of 17.11 mA/cm2, while the p-doped silicon and aluminum showed lower JSC values of 16.19 mA/cm2 and 16.51 mA/cm2, respectively. Open-circuit voltage (VOC) values remained competitive across all cells, with FTO achieving a VOC of …

The Unethical Editing Of Emily Dickinson’S Work, Piper Wright

SPARK Symposium Presentations

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Mental Health Awareness And Sustainability: A Playbook And Needs Assessment Approach, Kenadee Kline

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

The purpose of this capstone project was to promote greater awareness and education regarding mental health resources within a local non-profit organization dedicated to supporting individuals' mental health through recreation, education, and community-building. The project aimed to enhance the visibility and understanding of available mental health services, while also assessing the effectiveness of current initiatives and improving the sustainability of these programs.

To achieve these goals, a comprehensive playbook was designed to serve as an educational tool for the community, which included findings from a needs assessment of existing mental health initiatives. A multifaceted approach was used, incorporating one-on-one interviews, …

(When The Dust Settles), Dominique F. Ellis

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

I use photography to explore absence, where sediment in melting ice helps create a visual record of the ice’s existence. I begin by harvesting ice from nearby Antelope Creek, transporting it to the studio, and placing it on photo-sensitive paper or film. The natural traces of dust frozen in the water remain visible on the surfaces after the ice melts. Ice thus becomes an entropic medium to index, translate, and record what is left behind when the ice melts, water evaporates, and floods subside in the midst of drought conditions.

I have developed two techniques, cryogrammetry and cryography, to visualize …

Management Of Sensory Processing Differences To Support Children’S Participation In Church, Sarah Allen

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed in partnership with the First Presbyterian Church of Nashville (FPCN), with the shared objective of fostering a more inclusive and sensory-friendly environment within its Children’s Ministry. In alignment with FPCN’s mission to nurture young disciples through holistic, age-appropriate faith formation, this project addressed the growing need to accommodate children’s diverse sensory needs. Key outcomes included improved staff confidence as measured through pre- and post-training surveys, the creation of a resource binder on sensory processing, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and concrete changes to curriculum structure and classroom environments to better support …

Neural Network Analysis As A Novel Skin Outcome In A Trial Of Belumosudil In Patients With Systemic Sclerosis., Ilayda Gunes, Elana J Bernstein, Shawn E Cowper, Gauri Panse, Niki Pradhan, Lucy Duran Camacho, Nicolas Page, Elizabeth Bundschuh, Alyssa Williams, Mary Carns, Kathleen Aren, Sarah Fantus, Elizabeth R Volkmann, Heather Bukiri, Chase Correia, Vijaya B Kolachalama, F Perry Wilson, Seamus Mawe, J Matthew Mahoney, Monique Hinchcliff

Faculty Research 2025

BACKGROUND: The modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS), a measure of systemic sclerosis (SSc) skin thickness, is agnostic to inflammation and vasculopathy. Previously, we demonstrated the potential of neural network-based digital pathology applied to SSc skin biopsies as a quantitative outcome. Here, we leverage deep learning and histologic analyses of clinical trial biopsies to decipher SSc skin features 'seen' by artificial intelligence (AI).

METHODS: Adults with diffuse cutaneous SSc ≤ 6 years were enrolled in an open-label trial of belumosudil [a Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 2 (ROCK2) inhibitor]. Participants underwent serial mRSS and arm biopsies at week (W) 0, 24 …

Expansion Of Pilot Project: Sanctuary — A Site-Specific Dance Amplifying Worship Spaces, Kaleigh Estby

24th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2025)

A noticeable gap exists in dance designed for architecturally robust worship spaces. This research project, Sanctuary, significantly contributes to the lacking intersection of site specific dance and faith. Our research expanded Sanctuary from a 25-minute 2021 pilot to an approximately 40-minute work, priming it for future commissions and residencies. The research focused on creative processing through four steps: 1) Assess and develop pilot choreography 2) Create contrasting material 3) Integrate new material with pilot 4) Document the new material with archival video. Professor Hanson and student Kaleigh Estby developed a completed 40-minute adaptable work that equally incorporated the pilot and …

User Authentication In A Changing Vendor Landscape - Part Two, Tom Tran, Lisa Baures

Library Services Publications

With implementation of Microsoft Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), the deployment of the SAML protocol improves security, facilitates the enforcement of security policies, improves user experience, and reduces password fatigue. By using a single set of credentials to authenticate, students, faculty and staff now access resources and services with a single sign-on (SSO). This results in some issues associated with IP validation and EZproxy being resolved, but not all. Therefore, presentation identified what has changed, what has not changed, and what are the new challenges to providing access. As in our presentation last year, for illustrative purposes business databases served as a …

Combating The Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Self-Esteem And Emotion Regulation: An Art-Based Intervention Program, Kaileigh Kirk, Cynthia Haynes

Spring 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

This poster presents an art-based intervention program developed and designed to positively impact self-esteem and emotion regulation in children with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) through evidence-based intervention activities and group discussions. This program was created with the hopes of expanding occupational therapy's knowledge and utilization of potential interventions for children with ACEs.