Digital Commons Network^™

A Study In Vigibase Of Clozapine Fatal Outcomes In 7874 Middle-Aged Versus 4380 Young Adults, Carlos De Las Cuevas, Emilio J. Sanz, Jose De Leon

Psychiatry Faculty Publications

Fatal outcomes associated with clozapine adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were studied for over/underrepresentation in middle-aged (45–64 years) versus young adult patients (18–44 years). These fatal outcomes were obtained from the worldwide pharmacovigilance database (VigiBase) from inception to January 15, 2023, including 7874 cases of middle-aged adults versus 4380 young adult controls. Fatal outcomes of clozapine ADRs were ranked by frequency; over/underrepresentation was determined by comparison with controls using univariate odds ratios (OR), their 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) and adjusted ORs after adjusting for major confounders. Overrepresentation (12.5 % vs. 5.6 % with an adjusted OR = 2.41; CI: 2.08–2.78) …

Safe At Work: A Case Study On The Healthcare Response To Employee Disclosures Of Domestic Violence., Victoria Dobson

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects

Domestic violence is a pervasive issue that impacts individuals and communities at every level, including professionally. Despite this known impact, workplace-based interventions to address such violence, aside from leave policies, are seldom implemented, especially in healthcare settings. This paper presents a case study on a healthcare organization’s response to employee disclosures of domestic violence.  A retrospective review of HR data, five semi-structured interviews, and a survey of hospital leadership were conducted to explore employee experiences and preliminary outcomes associated with a workplace domestic violence leave policy and concurrent, on-site supportive services (Safe At Work Program) offered to employees experiencing domestic …

Caring Comforts Drive For Monarch Services, Wendy Aguilera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, accessing essential household items shelter served as an urgent first step toward safety, dignity, and getting settled. Providing these essential items  aligned with Monarch Services’ mission as a nonprofit agency dedicated to making sure that every survivor felt supported, cared for, and empowered from the moment they entered the shelter. The agency provided comprehensive services, including an emergency shelter called the Mariposa House, which has seven rooms, case management, legal advocacy, and crisis intervention, to assist survivors in rebuilding their lives. This project was designed to address the immediate material …

Increasing Food Resource Awareness Among College Students In Monterey County, Lesley Martinez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Food insecurity is a growing concern in Monterey County, particularly impacting underserved communities, including college students. This capstone project aims to address the need for food resource awareness among college students at Hartnell College, while providing a nutritional cultural tailored plant-based meal. College students have an overwhelming amount of pressure balancing school work and their own personal lives. Outside barriers, such as food insecurity, have an adverse influence on their well-being, which can impact their academic performance in their studies. El Mercado is a basic needs resource center located at Hartnell College, supporting students with free basic need supplies located …

Improving Follow-Up After School-Based Dental Screenings Using Koha Data In Monterey County, Andre N. Edmond

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Limited follow-up after school-based oral health screenings is a major issue for young children in Monterey County, especially for those who do not have a regular source of dental care. This project focused on improving how screening data is used to connect students to needed services. The internship was completed with the Monterey County Oral Health Program and aimed to develop a better system for tracking KOHA (Kindergarten Oral Health Assessment) data and improving follow-up care for students identified with dental needs. Key activities included analyzing screening data, entering into a tracking system, and comparing results from different schools. The …

Systemic Barriers To Behavioral Health Treatment Access For Undocumented Immigrants And Implications For Recidivism In California, Devina I. Aparicio

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Undocumented individuals face significant barriers to accessing mental health and substance use treatment, contributing to increased recidivism rates in Monterey County, California. The purpose of this capstone project was to identify the specific barriers undocumented immigrants encounter when seeking these services and to inform strategies that improve access and reduce recidivism. This project focused on clients served by the Monterey County Public Defender’s Office of Holistic Defense. A qualitative approach was used, incorporating research and interviews with community providers, including the Monterey County Public Defender’s Office of Holistic Defense, Sun Street Centers, Monterey County Behavioral Health, and the County of …

Supporting Women Through Evaluation: Measuring Service Impact At Gathering For Women, Shavea L. Salafai

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Homelessness among women in Monterey County continues to be a significant and growing concern, with many women facing barriers to accessing basic needs, housing, healthcare, and supportive services. This capstone project was conducted at Gathering for Women, a nonprofit organization that provides a safe and supportive environment for women experiencing homelessness or housing instability. The purpose of this project was to assess whether the needs of the women served are being effectively met through existing services and to identify gaps in care.

A quantitative client needs assessment survey was implemented using to evaluate key areas including overall satisfaction, access to …

Supporting Newcomer Students Through Social-Emotional Learning, Maria Evelin Cabrera Ramirez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Newcomer students, who are new arrivals to the United States, often face emotional challenges when adjusting to a new school such as outbursts. These emotional challenges can affect their relationships, their confidence, and their ability to learn effectively.  When newcomer students learn skills to cope with adjusting, they become more successful in school and have a stronger relationship with adults and peers. Therefore, to help in this situation, I have created a two-day lesson for newcomer students in the fifth grade from Elkhorn Elementary School in Castroville, California.

College Pathways And Requirements For Immigrant Parents Of High School Students, Yesel Fernandez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Some parents, especially immigrant parents, know that college is important, but they do not understand how the college system works and how to get there. When parents are unaware,  their high-school-aged children might not get the support they need to make good decisions about college in the future or what career paths to take. When parents learn about the benefits of going to college or university,  they can better understand the process of what steps their students need to take to be eligible and apply, and can help and encourage their kids.  In order to address this issue, I created …

Building Kindness Skills In Kindergarten And First Grade Children, Hannah Baker

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many kindergarten and first grade children have not yet learned effective social skills, particularly in demonstrating kindness towards others. Children who fail to develop these skills may struggle socially, have difficulty forming relationships, as well as developing feelings of loneliness and rejection. Children who do develop these social skills may improve relationships with their peers and may become more considerate people. Therefore, I have created a one-day workshop for first graders from Cypress Community Church in Salinas, California.

Spreading Knowledge About Coping Stress Strategies, Maya Centeno

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Some children may not yet have developed skills for stress management. Students who lack these skills may do poorly in academics and feel  their feelings  When children learn stress management skills, they can become more calm across settings and with Therefore,” I created a one- day lesson plan for 9 to11 year old children from Ord Terrace Elementary School in Seaside, California.

The Role Of Music In Storytelling, Eliot Z. Tenberg

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Music is often thought of as a background element in storytelling, something that enhances a scene but is not essential to its meaning. However, this perspective overlooks the powerful role music plays in shaping how stories are understood and experienced. Across film, theater, and even interactive media, music does far more than accompany images or dialogue. It actively guides emotional response, constructs narrative meaning, and connects audiences to stories on a deeper psychological level. Unlike visual or verbal storytelling alone, music has the unique ability to communicate emotion without explicit explanation. A shift in melody, harmony, or rhythm can signal …

Effects Of Censorship On Literature Books In Public Schools For K-8 Students, Sasha Mills

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Censorship of diverse literature has been on the rise outside California, particularly in public schools in states like Florida and Texas. In response, this senior capstone research examines the effects of this censorship on students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Drawing from a literature review and ethnographic interviews with two school board members and teachers, the results indicate that censorship of diverse literature negatively impacts K-8 students by reducing their opportunities to learn about diversity and multiple perspectives. Recognizing these effects prompts a closer investigation into the mechanisms and motivations behind the censorship of such books. State laws most often …

Using Online And Traditional Tools To Assess K-5 Homework Assignments, Annika M. Altman

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Online school work is becoming more common with every passing academic year. Since the pandemic, there has been a major shift to online homework for elementary school students that has yet to go back to traditional paper and pen homework. The purpose of this capstone paper is to examine the ways that online homework has shifted since the schools returned from lockdown to face-to-face classroom. Through the use of literature review, interviews with 3 teachers, anonymous surveys for parents, teachers, and  students, the results indicated both parents and teachers share the responsibility to ensure that students complete homework, whether online …

The Impact Of Representation In Sex Education On Gender And Sexual Minority Youth, Piper A. Ellison

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The purpose of this capstone project is to examine the representation of gender and sexual minority youth in sexual education. Given that, not all representation is good representation, this senior capstone examines the effects of both a lack of representation and misrepresentation. Through a literature review, administrator interviews, and college student surveys, the findings showed that there is often little to no practical representation of gender and sexual minority students in sexual education. Further findings show that when there is representation, it is often either at the superficial level, meaning that the identities exist, but do not provide detailed health …

Importance Of Implementing Equity-Minded Pedagogy For Students In Early Childhood Education, Reina A. Yorba-Rico

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Equity-minded pedagogy has become increasingly important in early childhood education as educators work to address systemic inequities affecting student learning, belonging, and long-term academic success. Early childhood classrooms serve as foundational spaces where students begin developing academic identities, social relationships, and perceptions of school environments. Because of this, inequitable teaching practices and exclusionary systems can have lasting consequences for historically marginalized students, including students of color, multilingual learners, low-income families, and first-generation students. Equity-minded pedagogy moves beyond equal treatment by recognizing structural barriers and intentionally creating inclusive learning environments that support diverse student needs. This senior capstone research project examines …

Integrating Organizational Theory In Student Employee Development Across Dispersed Workplaces, Anica C. Chesnut

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

Managing and developing staff at university residential desks presents unique challenges. One challenge is the complexity of supervising student employees while allowing them the opportunity to grow as well. Another challenge is the dispersed nature of residential desks across a university campus. Satellite desks present a difficulty to maintain community, a positive work culture, continuity of expectations, and procedures. Several organizational theory frameworks can be directly applied to the organization in order to reduce challenges. This capstone paper utilizes literature review and examination of current practices, to provide context of current inefficiencies while also critically analyzing pain points within the …

Christian-Based Community Engagement And Loneliness Among College Students, Ayodeji Fayemi

Master's Theses & Other Graduate Student Works

Loneliness among college students is a growing public health concern with significant implications for mental and physical well-being. Despite living in highly connected environments, many students report profound feelings of loneliness, which can exacerbate mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety. Loneliness also influences cognitive and social processes and has been linked to physical health risks, highlighting the need for effective interventions. This study examined whether Christian-based community engagement served as a protective factor against loneliness among college students. Grounded in Social Support Theory, the study assessed associations among loneliness, general social support, church-based support, religious coping, institutional integration, …

In Re: Aaron Mazie

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

In Re: William F. Carney

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Efficacy Of Implicit Bias Training Within The Hazel Park Police Department, Luke Londo

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

Among the many desired outcomes for uniformed police officers who undergo implicit bias training is a reduction in the level of discriminatory conduct related to such biases. Current research on the subject offers mixed results, and nearly all existing studies do not provide an empirical measurement of efficacy or other outcomes beyond officer sentiment. This case study examines and measures the impact of implicit bias trainings, which is a requirement for officers within the Hazel Park Police Department in Michigan, prior and subsequent to certification by using raw and sustained complaints of discriminatory conduct allegedly perpetrated by Hazel Park police …

Improving And Maintaining Public Trust In Law Enforcement: A Qualitative Case Study Of The Northville Township Police Department, Christopher Bachand

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

Public trust is a key component of effective law enforcement. While historically cyclical, trust in American law enforcement agencies has trended downward in recent years following several high-profile use of force incidents. In response, many agencies have begun incorporating new theories and models into their policies and procedures aimed at increasing public trust. This capstone paper draws upon the relevant literature surrounding these theories and conducts a qualitative case study of the Northville Township Police Department. This agency consistently achieved above-average levels of confidence from its community members by incorporating these theories using a hybrid-synthesis policy implementation approach. This paper …

Public Safety Policy In Michigan’S Rural Upper Peninsula: Collective Efficacy, Youth Engagement, And Prevention, Christopher J. Reynolds

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

Rural communities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula face unique public safety concerns due to resource limitations and geographic isolation. Small townships and cities lack sufficient funding and personnel to respond effectively to emergencies across large land areas. By building stronger families and communities, rural areas can prevent public safety concerns through preventative strategies, rather than reactive strategies that focus on incarceration. Through strengthening social networks and providing programs for youth to build leadership skills and good character, public safety will become a part of daily life in rural areas and not just a reaction to negative situations.

Body Worn Cameras For The Madison Police Department, Caleb Wright

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

Body-worn cameras for law enforcement officers can ensure accountability of the officers and transparency to the public. Though body-worn cameras have become increasingly popular in police departments, some departments do not use them. The Madison Police Department is one of these departments. Body-worn cameras have been implemented with policy models in many surrounding departments in Wisconsin and have proved to hold officers accountable and ensure transparency during complaints and cases. Leveraging literature on integrated policy approach and policy implementation, this capstone paper summarizes the needs and benefits of body-worn cameras for the MPD. This paper contributes to broader debates on …

The Macroeconomics Of Intergenerational Mental Health Dynamics, Boaz Abramson, Job Boerma, Diego Daruich, Aleh Tsyvinski

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We develop a quantitative macroeconomic theory of child mental health. The theory is grounded in child psychiatry, formalized in a life-cycle heterogeneous agent model of child development, and disciplined using micro data on mental health of children and parents. Intergenerational transmission of mental illness arises due to both biological factors and parental behavior. Parents experiencing mental illness have negative expectations and lose time due to rumination. As a result, they invest less in their child’s mental health. We use the model to evaluate policies designed to improve child mental health. We show that subsidizing mental health treatment for children generates …

Position: The Pre/Post-Training Boundary Should Govern Ip In Industry–Academia Ml Collaborations, Dirk Bergemann, Soheil Ghili, Nitzan Mekel-Bobrov

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Industry–academia ML collaborations routinely fail to launch—not for scientific reasons, but because academics must publish while companies must protect models trained on proprietary data, and no standard contract framework resolves this tension. Because contracts are negotiated by legal departments alone, many apparent legal disputes are incentive misalignment problems that only scientists at the table can correctly diagnose. We propose PBOS (Protect-the-Business / Open-Source-the-Science), a community-adoptable contract template anchored to a single technically-grounded boundary: pre-training artifacts (architectures, training code, benchmarks, untrained weights) are open science; post-training artifacts (weights trained on proprietary data) are business IP. This boundary is technically meaningful, legally …

Class Peers As Competitors And Educators: The Consequences Of Rank-Based Academic Rewards, Mark R. Rosenzweig, Bing Xu

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This paper examines the theoretical and empirical consequences of rank-based reward systems in schools in which students’ performance and effort are evaluated relative to their peers. In such environments, classmates act simultaneously as competitors—due to rank-determined rewards—and as educators through peer learning and assistance. Using nationally representative panel survey data from U.S. high schools, combined with administrative information on the location assignments of new refugee student cohorts, we exploit variation in school competition policies and class ability compositions to identify empirically their dual effects on student effort and peer learning. We develop a theoretical tournament model with heterogeneous students who …

Efficient Estimation In Infinite Dimensional Gmm, Jin Seo Cho, Peter C. B. Phillips

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

In GMM estimation it is well known that if the number of moment conditions grows with the sample size, GMM asymptotics differ from the standard case with moment size fixed as the sample size tends to infinity. The present work explores infinite dimensional GMM estimation under various conditions on the moment conditions and the weight matrix. Our approach employs a partial sum process formed by the moment conditions to represent high dimensional moments and an invariance principle to capture the infinite dimensional asymptotics as the moment size grows. Next, the GMM weight matrix is assumed to converge to one of …

Regional Economic Impacts And Emission Responses Under Solar Radiation Modification, Jenny Bjordal, Evelien Van Dijk, Henri Cornec, Anthony A. Smith Jr, Trude Storelvmo

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) has been proposed as a potential tool to limit increases in global or regional temperatures caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. While previous research has extensively examined the climate system’s response to various SRM strategies, as well as their aggregate economic consequences, the regional distribution of economic impacts has received less attention. In this study, we use NorESM2–DIAM—an Earth System Model coupled to a high-resolution integrated assessment model—to assess the economic impacts, measured in GDP per capita, in an idealised SRM scenario where incoming solar radiation is reduced by 1%. Our results suggest that, relative to …

Beyond Exposure: Predicting Ai Adoption Based On Comparative Advantage, Ilse Lindenlaub, Ryungha Oh, Maria Alejandra Rodriguez, Laura Veldkamp

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We document and explain the gap between measures of AI exposure and measures of AI adoption in the workplace. This leads us to propose a new AI adoption index based on comparative advantage. Using the representative German DiWaBe employee survey linked to worker and establishment information, we compare worker-reported AI use to prominent exposure measures and find that the relationship is weak. Motivated by this gap, we develop a framework in which adoption depends not only on technical feasibility—AI’s absolute advantage measured by exposure—but on profitability—AI’s comparative (dis)advantage relative to a specific worker—balancing AI productivity against AI user costs and …