Digital Commons Network^™

Grace And Generosity: A Nt Defense Of Christian Giving And Stewardship, Jermaine Mcinnis

Masters Theses

This thesis holds that Christian stewardship and giving remain divinely appointed activities in the NT, despite growing skepticism in modern ecclesial and academic circles. Firmly grounded in biblical theology and canonical exegesis, the research argues that the disciplines of tithing, giving, and sacrificial stewardship are not eliminated by grace but are redirected and intensified with Christ. The research examines OT assumptions, Jesus’ instruction, and apostolic instruction to illustrate consistency in God's expectation of His people's obedience regarding finances. Drawing on current scholarship, the thesis refutes assumptions that giving is optional or less culturally relevant, underlining its vital importance to church …

The Sacrificial Vs. The Luzhinian Figure: Comparing Sacrificial Love In Crime And Punishment, Pride And Prejudice, And A Tale Of Two Cities, Natalie Rose Kubala

Masters Theses

Many works of art and literature exploring the theme of love focus on trying to define what love is; in contrast, this thesis dives deeper into defining what love is not, specifically focusing on the relationship between love and sacrifice. This thesis argues that love is not the same as sacrifice because a true sacrifice requires that love is already present prior to the sacrifice being made. This thesis will compare those who perform true sacrifices to those who perform sacrifices for their own personal gain by exploring grandiose narcissistic characters who perform (or attempt to perform) sacrifices without love …

Patient Follow-Ups For Hospital Nurses: Addressing Nurse Well-Being After Rapid Response Events, Quean Brown, Cristin Phillips, Molly Liddell, Katherine Thompson, Tala Fuad Hatem Abu Zahra, Jacqueline Christianson

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Bedside registered nurses (BRNs) in the hospital setting care for patients who may unexpectedly deteriorate. When nurses witness patient deterioration, it is helpful for them to engage in meaning-making and contextualization to facilitate compassion satisfaction, mitigate secondary traumatic stress, and improve job satisfaction (Kopacz et al., 2019; Sattler & Smith, 2020). When a rapid response team (RRT) intervention is called and the patient warrants transfer to intensive care (ICU), BRNs rarely receive formal follow-up regarding the outcomes of their patients. Lack of feedback regarding critical situations may contribute to secondary traumatic stress, moral distress, decreased job satisfaction among BRNs, …

Comparing Nurse Well-Being Across The Career Trajectory: An Analysis Of The Healthynurse Survey, Alison F. Cuccia

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Nurses face persistent challenges in maintain well-being (Lönnqvist et al., 2025; Priano et al., 2018), which may contribute to the nurse staffing crisis. This analysis examines differences in well-being among nurses in different stages of their career trajectory.

Methods: Data from the HealthyNurse survey collected June 2024-May 2025 were examined (n=5006). Outcomes included fatigue, anxiety, depression, social ability, and physical functioning, measured using Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System short form scales. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA, minutes/week), days of strength training per week, the Healthy Eating Index, and BMI were also measured and used as outcomes. …

Safe Starts: Leveraging Psychological Safety To Mentor And Retain Nurse Faculty, Eboni Takia Herbert Harris, Lan Angela Nguyen

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Faculty burnout and incivility are key factors in nurse faculty turnover, with a 2023 study noting 85% of faculty reporting burnout. As a strategy to retain nurse faculty, many institutions adopted structured onboarding and mentoring programs. Even with structured mentoring programs, institutions continue to experience faculty turnover and increased time to promotion. Creating a psychologically safe environment is a strategy for improving civility and supporting mental well-being, thus reducing faculty burnout.

The purpose of this project is to explore the integration of psychological safety strategies into structured faculty onboarding and mentoring programs and examine the impact on faculty retention and …

Medication Reconciliation In The Emergency Department: Whose Job Is It?, Courtney N. Loecker, Lori Gaver, Jadyn Brooks, Monica Hanus, Ally Smart

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Medication reconciliation is a critical component of hospital admission, reducing medication errors, improving patient safety, and ensuring continuity of care.^1–3 Uncertainty persists over which healthcare providers (i.e., nurses, pharmacists, physicians) are primarily responsible for performing medication reconciliation when patients are admitted from the emergency department (ED).⁴ Understanding frontline nurses’ perspectives about medication reconciliation is key to informing practice improvements and patient outcomes.

Purpose: This project aimed to identify nurses' perspectives about current medication reconciliation practices including responsibility, barriers, and solutions to enhance safety, workflow efficiency, and interprofessional collaboration.

Methods: Guided by the Plan Do Study Act framework …

Improving Transfer Portal Decision-Making Through A Microsoft Excel Optimization Model, Peyton Steffes

Honors Projects

The creation of the transfer portal has increased the mobility of collegiate athletes, giving players the autonomy to switch teams throughout their career. As a result, the roster development process has become more complex, as coaches are tasked with the challenge of recruiting from the transfer portal, which involves an extensive decision-making process. Coaches not only have to evaluate a substantial pool of players, but they also must consider the following constraints they are under: scholarship budget, roster spots available, and positional needs. To simplify this decision-making process, this analysis includes the results of a Microsoft Excel data optimization model …

Automated, Modular, Agentless Adversarial Emulation In Cloud Environments For Higher Education And Student Training, Doc Harley

Senior Honors Theses

Currently, the leading technologies in the market of adversarial emulation are MITRE Caldera, Atomic Red Team by IBM, and multiple proprietary products that come with support packages for different vendors like AttackIQ, Cymulate, SafeBreach, and many more. While it is clear that much work has been done in the broad category of adversarial emulation, when it comes to open source solutions, there are no agentless options with built in automation and modularity that have good support for cloud environments. Agentless adversarial emulation provides a unique advantage in that it can be both simpler and a better representation of the true …

Changing Employee Motivation From Obligation To Opportunity: Increasing Intrinsic Motivation In Non-Profit Organizations, Evelyn L. Williams

Senior Honors Theses

Motivation is a key driver behind tasks within the workforce. Harnessing employee motivation increases productivity, employee retention, efficiency, and output quality. Non-profit organizations, however, are often unable to devote resources to externally increasing motivation. This study presents a motivational model that is built from three motivation theories: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory, and Self-Determination theory. By incorporating principles from these theories this model helps organizations internalize and increase the effectiveness of their employees’ motivation through increasing the autonomy, competence, and relationality felt by each employee. The six tenets of the REWARD model give non-profit organizations a framework …

Lebesgue’S Theory Of Integration: An Introduction To Modern Integration Theory, Nathanael C. Krug

Senior Honors Theses

The depth and richness of integration theory far surpasses the introductory material presented in an elementary calculus classroom. The work of Bernhard Riemann and Henri Lebesgue demonstrates just a small sample of the richness of the field of analysis. In formulating and contrasting the Riemann and Lebesgue integrals, students can gain an enriched and well-rounded introduction to integration theory. This not only deepens understanding and love for previously learned material, but also enables further study within the fields of analysis and measure theory. An introductory primer to integration theory equips students with the tools needed to continue their exploration of …

A Deep Learning-Based Approach For Bot Detection In Trending Hashtags On X, Mehboob Hussain, Muhammad Rizwan Rashid Rana, Muhammad Imran, Muhammad Shoaib, Muhammad Hasaan Mujtaba

Makara Journal of Technology

The widespread presence of bots on social media platforms, such as X (formerly Twitter), poses a significant threat to the integrity of online information by facilitating the dissemination of misinformation and manipulating public discourse. This study proposes a robust deep learning-based framework, DeepBot, to detect bot participation in trending hashtags and discussions on X. The approach uses a dataset sourced from Kaggle, comprising user profile metadata, including follower count, tweet frequency, account verification status, and engagement metrics. The data were subjected to comprehensive preprocessing, including noise removal, part-of-speech (POS) tagging, and word embedding using the pre-trained GloVe model. RoBERTa is …

The Pid-Based Three Quadcopter Uavs Formation Control Under External Disturbance, Vo Van An, Trinh Luong Mien

Makara Journal of Technology

This paper presents the design and evaluation of a formation control strategy for three quadcopter UAVs, based on a PID controller in a leader–follower structure, under the influence of external disturbances. Each UAV employs a six-degree of-freedom dynamic model and utilises a cascade PID control architecture, in which the inner control loop stabilises the attitude. In contrast, the outer control loop regulates position and maintains the formation. The PID parameters are tuned using the Ziegler–Nichols method to ensure simple implementation and low computational cost. The performance of the control system is evaluated through simulations in the MATLAB environment for two …

Echoes Of Deception: The Historical Impact Of Propaganda And Disinformation On Public Opinion, Justina Zgaljardic

Honors Theses

This study reconceptualizes propaganda not as a collection of regime-specific messaging practices, but as a structured and adaptive system of perception management operating across political and ideological boundaries. Addressing fragmentation within existing scholarship, it examines how propaganda constructs legitimacy, organizes interpretation, and aligns individual cognition with state objects through recurring narrative strategies and disinformation mechanisms. Using a qualitative framework, the analysis draws on primary materials from four wartime cases: the Stalinist Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, the United States during World War II, and wartime Britain. The findings demonstrate that, despite variation in political systems, propaganda consistently operates through three interrelated …

George Trombetti V. Borough Of Aldan

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Wavyleaf Basketgrass (Oplismenus Undulatifolius) Invasion Is Associated With Changes In Soil Microbial Communities, Michael R. Fulcher

Biology Faculty Publications

Introduced invasive plants can alter the composition of resident soil microbial communities, which may disrupt ecosystem function and facilitate continued invasion success. Wavyleaf basketgrass (Oplismenus undulatifolius) is a high-risk, non-native invasive plant currently confined to the Mid-Atlantic United States but with the potential to colonize forest understory across the eastern United States. In this study, we characterized soil microbial communities from locations spanning the invaded range using amplicon sequencing to understand the impacts of wavyleaf basketgrass establishment on resident soil microbiomes. We compared the diversity and structure of microbial communities from invaded and uninvaded forest soils, as well …

Scoping Review On Exploring Nunchi In Healthcare Among Korean American And Immigrant, Hannah J. Kim, Minseung Chu, Changhwan Kim, Helen Haebitna Park-Chong, Rebekah L. Hayes, Eve Melton, Jennie De Gagne

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Nunchi is a unique Korean concept often described as the ability to “read the room” by perceiving and responding to subtle interpersonal cues. It reflects a nuanced form of social attunement that involves sensitivity to context, anticipation of others’ needs, and adaptive behaviors to maintain harmony in relationships. In healthcare and nursing, where effective communication, teamwork, and leadership are essential, nunchi may play a critical role. This review explores how nunchi has been defined, conceptualized, operationalized, and applied in nursing and healthcare literature, and discusses its potential implications in healthcare settings where individuals from diverse backgrounds collaborate.

The review guided …

Trauma-Informed Academic Practice Partnerships To Support Nursing Students’ Transition To Practice, Lori Dawn Mcelroy, Stacy King

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

The transition from nursing student to professional nurse is a vulnerable phase marked by stress, uncertainty, and emotional fatigue. These challenges can lead to burnout and attrition, making healthy work environments essential for fostering resilience and retention. Trauma-Informed Education (TIE) strategies centered on safety, trust, empowerment, and peer support offer a framework to support students and new nurses. When integrated into academic-practice partnerships, TIE strategies enhance clinical learning, promote well-being, and strengthen the workforce.

The project explores how trauma-informed strategies embedded in academic practice partnerships create psychologically safe environments for nursing students transitioning into practice. Goals are to impact transition …

Factors That Empower Nurses To Lead In Support Of Healthy And Sustainable Work Environments, Lori Murray, Deanna Jan Emory, Thomas Kippenbrock

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Effective, empowered nurse leaders are central to the development of a healthy work environment and workforce (Morvati et al., 2024). Student and early career nurse involvement in professional organizations is thought to encourage leadership growth and potential by promoting leadership skills, self-efficacy, networking and providing a sense of belonging to the profession (Beal, 2022). However, there is limited empirical evidence identifying the specific factors that influence a nurse’s decision to pursue or accept leadership positions. Understanding key factors, such as mentorship, professional organization involvement, and organizational support, is essential for addressing leadership gaps within the nursing workforce. This evidence …

Center For Social Development Report To The Community: 2026, Center For Social Development, Washington University In St. Louis

Center for Social Development Research

For more than 30 years, the Center for Social Development (CSD) has been a hub for implementing and testing applied social innovations. As the 2026 "Report to the Community" underscores, we remain dedicated to our mission to advance policies and practices that support individuals, families, and communities in achieving their goals and contributing to society and the economy.

Optimized Bombax Ceiba/Jute Hybrid Epoxy Composites For Enhanced Thermal Insulation Performance, Shadman Ahmed Khan, Naeem Ahmmed, Md Tanvir Hossain, Abdullah Ibn Asheque, Md Ariful Islam, Md Abdul Kader, Md Sohel Rana, Sakib Masud

Michigan Tech Publications

The development of sustainable hybrid natural-fiber composites provides a practical way toward lightweight materials with tailored mechanical and thermal performance. In this study, Bombax ceiba (BC)/jute hybrid epoxy composites were fabricated using a stacked preform followed by compression molding, and the effect of fiber blending ratio on mechanical, thermal, and microstructural properties was systematically investigated. Three compositions-40/60, 50/50, and 60/40 BC/jute by weight-were evaluated. Mechanical testing showed that the J50 composite, with a balanced fiber ratio, exhibited superior flexural strength and impact resistance, indicating effective hybrid synergy and improved stress transfer between fibers and the matrix. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that …

Ai Mistakes: "Confabulation" And Abduction, Not "Hallucination", Stephen M. Mcjohn, Ian Mcjohn

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

"Hallucination" has become the common term for errors by AI systems, yet it implies a misleading analogy to human perception. LLM's process tokens. They do not have conscious experience or conscious perception. A hallucination is an experience, and (to our knowledge, to date) LLM's do not experience anything. This paper suggests that legal scholars follow the lead of a small number of AI researchers who have suggested that "confabulation" is a more accurate term, a metaphor grounded in psychology. People confabulate when they unknowingly invent spurious explanations or facts. We then take this terminological question and stretch it into a …

Inhibition Of Epac1 Prevents Neuronal Death Mediated By Diesel Exhaust Particles In Ferroptotic Cell Death Conditions, Hong Yan, Leshan Zhang, Ana L Manzano-Covarrubias, Phoeja S Gadjdjoe, Anja Land, Christina H J T M Van Der Veen, Teresa Mitchell-Garcia, Heba A Fayyaz, Marco Venema, Christoffer Åberg, Marieke Van Der Hart, Frank Lezoualc'h, Xiaodong Cheng, Amalia M Dolga, Martina Schmidt

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Air pollution is a growing hazard to global health. Epidemiological studies have reported a potential role of air pollutant exposure in the development or aggravation of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the underlying mechanisms are ill-defined. Ferroptosis is an iron- and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent form of cell death that drives neuronal loss in neurodegenerative diseases. Our previous studies reported the involvement of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) and EPAC (exchange protein directly activated by cAMP) in ferroptotic cell death. Here, we investigated the effects of diesel exhaust particles (DEP) in mouse hippocampal (HT22) neuronal cells. Our data showed that toxicity induced by …

Analysis Of Bacterial Virulence And Resistance In A Model Of Recurrent Uti, Rachel L. Proper

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a major women’s health issue, affecting approximately 40% of women during their lifetime. Formation of a biofilm by UTI-causing bacteria poses a major challenge in treatment, as the protection provided by the biofilm hinders both host defenses and antibiotic treatment. Failure to eradicate these infections causes them to become recurrent (rUTI). Previous research indicates that rUTI may be comorbid with a mutation in the SERPINE1 gene, which causes fibrin to accumulate within the body. Literature also indicates that fibrin provides a better scaffold for bacterial attachment and, subsequently, biofilm formation. In this work it was …

B. M. V. Upper Darby School District

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Entrepreneurial Communication In Religious Nonprofit Organizations: Sustaining Mission Continuity With Volunteers, Respati Wulandari

Journal of Management for Global Sustainability

Entrepreneurial communication has been predominantly examined within corporate contexts, with limited empirical investigation in faith-based nonprofit governance. This article examines how the Entrepreneurial Communication Paradigm (ECP) operates within a volunteer-dependent religious nonprofit organization and how it contributes to governance sustainability. Although ECP has mainly been developed within corporate and strategic communication frameworks, there is a paucity of study examining its relevance in the governance of faith-based nonprofits. This study utilizes longitudinal qualitative data from in-depth interviews with the National Director and 24 Diocesan Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Indonesia (PMSI) to examine the influence of communication practices on …

Revolutionizing Hematology/Oncology Education With Visual Storytelling And “Gamification” For Internal Medicine Residents, N Smith1, A Patel1, J Dechet, C Powell

Books, Presentations, Posters, Etc.

Introduction: Hematology/oncology ranks among the lowest scoring sections on in-training exams for internal medicine residents. Prior resident feedback expressed a need for an improved didactic curriculum that was applicable to internal medicine residents and board examinations Aim: To enhance curriculum through multimodal education by integrating traditional didactic presentations along with specific lectures utilizing visual storytelling, memory palaces, and gamification. Methods: Trainees completed a 5-point Likert scale survey on their perceptions of hematology and oncology with a 16-question quiz before and after the curriculum. Multimodal lecture series created using "murder mystery" and "jewel heist" to teach hemolytic anemia, team-based Jeopardy-style format …

Breakthroughs In Cervical Cancer Screening: Hpv Self-Collection At Pmg Milwaukie Family Medicine Clinic, Brandon Bartlett, Sataj Johnson, Emily Miyasako, Rachel Gallagher, Daniel Ruegg

Books, Presentations, Posters, Etc.

Background: Cervical cancer screening is a cornerstone of preventative healthcare and cancer screening in primary care. Based on data from the CDC, in the US alone, the rate of new cervical cancers each year is ~13,000, accounts for ~4,000 deaths annually, and disproportionally effects people of color and people of low SES (CDC, 2025). In our clinic (PMG Milwaukie), the rate of cervical cancer screening has remained around 70% for years, which is below the national average of ~75% (Healthy People, 2021). Primary HPV screening with self-collected swabs has been used successfully for years outside of the US, improving screening …

Improving Post-Hospital Medication Reconciliation In A Rural Primary Care Clinic Through An Rn-Led Workflow, Jack Kennady

Books, Presentations, Posters, Etc.

Context/background: Adverse events after hospital discharge are common and represent a major patient safety concern. Approximately 1 in 5 patients experience a safety event after discharge, and 39% of these events are adverse drug events (ADEs), with 26% considered preventable. Medication discrepancies during transitions of care contribute significantly to these events, with an estimated 40% of medication errors resulting from inadequate medication reconciliation. Rural primary care clinics face additional challenges, including limited communication between inpatient and outpatient systems and inconsistent reconciliation workflows. Improving medication reconciliation during the transition from hospital discharge to outpatient follow-up represents an important opportunity for family …

Improving Recognition Of Chronic Kidney Disease In A Federally Qualified Health Center Through A Quality Improvement Initiative, Rachel Monroe, Evan Saulino, Kathleen Mckenna

Books, Presentations, Posters, Etc.

Context/background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects approximately 15% of adults in the United States, yet nearly 90% of affected individuals are unaware of their diagnosis. Early identification in primary care enables interventions such as blood pressure optimization, renin –angiotensin system blockade, and kidney -protective medications that can significantly delay disease progression and postpone dialysis. Screening and diagnosis gaps disproportionately affect high -risk populations, including Latinx patients and immigrant agricultural workers commonly served in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). National CKD screening rates among patients with diabetes or hypertension remain low, leaving many high -risk individuals unscreened for kidney disease. Improving …

Mechanisms Of Binding And Immune Escape Resistance For Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies Targeting Distinct Conserved Sars-Cov-2 Spike Epitopes: A Hierarchical Approach Integrating Mutational Profiling And Energy Landscape Analysis, Mohammed Alshahrani, Will Gatlin, Max Ludwick, Lucas Turano, Brandon Foley, Gennady M. Verkhivker

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The continued evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has enabled an escape from most monoclonal antibodies, yet a subset of broadly neutralizing antibodies targeting three newly identified super-conserved RBD epitopes—SCORE-A, SCORE-B, and SCORE-C—retains remarkable activity against even the most recent JN.1-derived sublineages. Here, we employed an integrated computational framework combining conformational dynamics, mutational scanning, MM-GBSA binding energetics, and frustration profiling to dissect the molecular mechanisms by which XGI antibodies achieve broad neutralization and resistance to immune escape. Structural analysis revealed that all three SCORE epitopes share a common architecture: a highly conserved, minimally frustrated core that provides stable anchoring, flanked by peripheral regions …