Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Burnout On Intention To Resign Among Adult Protective Services Investigators, Derek Frank Wachter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adult Protective Services (APS) workers play a crucial role in providing care, support, and services to older and adult clients with special needs. There was a lack of empirical data on the long-term retention of APS investigators and on how burnout affects their intentions to resign. Departments consistently rely on a cycle of using newer, less experienced investigators who may not know about community and state services or department policies and procedures to connect clients. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between personal, work-related, and client-related burnout and APS investigators’ intention to resign. Data …

Public Policy Design In Georgia Child Support And Fatherhood, Troy Gathers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Child support policy in the United States has been widely studied as a method to ensure financial responsibility; however, existing research has identified concerns regarding enforcement practices and their disproportionate impact on African American noncustodial fathers in Georgia. Limited qualitative research examined how Georgia fathers experience and interprets these policies, creating a gap in understanding how policy implementation influences paternal engagement. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how African American noncustodial fathers in Georgia perceived the child support process and to explore how modernization of enforcement policies might improve paternal engagement. Guided by policy feedback theory, this …

Perceptions Of Fourth-Year Undergraduate College Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder On Academic Success, Olympia Shante Jenkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed through this study is the low graduation rate of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) across the United States. Guided by Mezirow’s transformative learning theory, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of fourth-year undergraduate college students with ADHD on the academic support or methods that contributed to their perseverance in college. For this basic qualitative design, semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 undergraduate college students who self-reported a diagnosis of ADHD and had successfully completed the first 3 years of their education. Through thematic analysis and open, inductive coding, the following …

Investigating The Relationship Amongst Nursing Students’ Academic Self-Efficacy And Mindfulness, Joshua Josey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Undergraduate nursing education presents ongoing challenges related to student stress and persistence, and the COVID-19 pandemic further complicated these existing challenges for many students and programs. In this quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional study, the relationships among state mindfulness, trait mindfulness, and academic self-efficacy in undergraduate nursing students were examined and whether state and trait mindfulness predicted academic self-efficacy was tested. Participants were recruited through nursing student Facebook groups and completed an anonymous SurveyMonkey questionnaire that included the State Mindfulness Scale, the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, the Academic Behavioral Confidence Scale, and demographic items. Data were collected over 6 weeks ending August …

Performance-Based Budgeting Implementation Strategies For Improving Financial Performance, Waleed Ibrahim Alsyaegh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lack of effective strategies for allocating organizational financial resources can lead to adverse business outcomes. Business managers are concerned about the ineffective allocation of financial resources, as it can impede financial performance and sustainability.Grounded in stakeholder theory, the purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore the performance-based budgeting strategies that business managers use to sustain financial profitability. The participants were 10 business managers who oversee subsidiaries that successfully implemented performance-based budgeting.Data were collected through semistructured interviews and the review of organization documents. Through thematic analysis, four themes were identified: (a) traditional versus contemporary budgeting; (b) importance of …

Exploring The Experiences Of Faculty Members Educating Students Virtually Post-Covid-19, Raven Ashley Richardson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted higher education, requiring institutions to rapidly transition to virtual learning environments and leaving faculty to manage increased workloads, stress, and challenges related to instructional quality and student engagement. The problem in this study is traditional faculty continue to experience these challenges in the post pandemic academic landscape, with implications for faculty wellbeing and student success. The purpose of this qualitative generic study was to explore experiences of traditional college faculty members educating students while transitioning from in-person to virtual learning environments post-COVID-19. Guided by the ecological systems theory, multilevel influences on faculty experiences were examined. …

The Lived Experiences Of The Strong Black Woman Cultural Convention On Black Women Counselors’ Emotional Intelligence, Pranati Walker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a critical competency for counselors due to the relational and emotionally demanding nature of counseling. Although existing literature explored EI among Black women broadly, limited research examined the experiences of Black women counselors (BWCs). This descriptive phenomenological study was guided by the philosophy of phenomenology and explored the lived experiences and impact of the SBW cultural convention on the EI of BWCs. The researcher explored the lived experiences of BWCs regarding the SBW cultural convention and its impact on emotional intelligence. Participant data from eight semi-structured interviews were collected. The participants identified as female gender identity, …

Women Veterans’ Experiences Applying For Veterans Affairs Compensation For Military Sexual Trauma-Related Ptsd, Bridget Strong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Military sexual trauma (MST)—sexual harassment or assault during military service—is more common among women and is a leading cause of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Veterans Affairs (VA) disability for MST-related PTSD offers financial support, free healthcare, and validation, but women face barriers and uneven access to supports (veteran service organizations, trained advocates, trauma-informed clinicians), reducing their chances of favorable decisions. In this generic qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 purposively sampled women veterans representing diverse service eras, branches, and adjudication outcomes. Analysis was guided by feminist theory to shift focus from individual blame to structural factors, including how …

Assessing Visual Analysis Skills With Board Certified Behavior Analysts: A Replication And Extension, Daniella Fronte

Thesis Projects

Visual analysis of single-subject data is a necessary decision-making method in the field of behavior analysis. This analysis helps practitioners evaluate the efficacy of their interventions and informs subsequent decisions to complete, continue, modify, or discontinue an intervention. The purpose of this study was to assess behavior analysts’ visual analysis skills and to evaluate whether using a decision-making flowchart increases correct clinical decisions. Talk-aloud data were used to analyze errors in behavior analysts’ decision-making. Additionally, the extent to which participants rated the flowchart’s significance and effectiveness was assessed. Four of 16 participants reached mastery in the baseline phase without access …

Environmental Dna Barcoding For Non-Model Organisms: Challenges And Outcomes Of Developing Barcodes For Freshwater Mussels, Nicholas Duellman

Longwood Senior Theses

Freshwater mussels are a keystone species providing crucial ecosystem services and river composition resiliency. Globally, they remain one of the most imperiled invertebrate groups, facing threats of water quality declines and urban development. Traditional field sampling can often be laborious and ineffective in surveying rare species’ distributions. Anecdotal evidence suggests the presence of freshwater mussels within the Appomattox River; the specifics of population sizes and suitable habitat remains an open question. Environmental DNA (eDNA) usage in conservation ecology has increased dramatically within the past two decades, being a far less invasive and cost-demanding option than traditional surveys. In an effort …

Draft Uniform Federal Policyquality Assurance Project Plan Addendum, Hydrogeologic, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Attitudes Toward Menstruation In Transgender/Nonbinary Menstruators, Destiny J. Pacchelli

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the unique experiences and attitudes that transgender and/or nonbinary (TNB) menstruators have related to menstruation. Participants (n = 103) were 19 to 60-year-old Americans who identified as TNB and have menstruated, and whose primary language is English. They were recruited through Prolific and asked to describe their first period and how their gender identity influenced their feelings toward menstruation. Additionally, participants responded to quantitative questions related to menstrual symptoms, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions, body image, well-being, and demographic questions to determine family culture at childhood and now. TNB menstruators reported …

Program And Proceedings, The Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2026: 146th Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Thirty-Sixth Annual Meeting

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program and abstracts of the proceedings for the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 136th annual meeting, 2025

Sessions

Aeronautics and Space Science

Anthropology

Biological and Medical Sciences

Earth Sciences

Ecology, Sustainability, and Environmental Science

Physics and Engineering

General Poster Session

2026 Maiben Lecture: Shifting Extremes: Understanding Nebraska’s Changing Climate and Preparing for What Lies Ahead, Deborah Bathke

2026 Friends of Science Awards: Julie Shaffer and Irina Filina

2026 C. Bertrand and Marian Othmer Schultz Colleaguate Schoalrship Award: Piper Ryschon and Bryce Reeson

In Memoriam: Paul Royster

Exploring Leadership Strategies And Personnel Integration Practices During The Post- Merger Phase Influence The Success Of Mergers And Acquisitions, Rebekah Dumas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have been widely used as a growth strategy; however, many organizations fail to achieve their desired outcomes. This ongoing risk is a major concern for business leaders because ineffective post-merger personnel integration can disrupt workforce stability, reduce productivity, and hinder organizational performance. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to explore the strategies business leaders used to integrate personnel during post-merger transitions. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with eight business leaders from global corporations who had successfully executed mergers and acquisitions, along with a review of publicly available …

Cockpits, Cubicles, Care Work: Why India Has More Female Pilots Than The U.S., Nandini Kumar

Student Publications and Presentations

This project compares how gender norms shape women’s employment in United States and India, focusing on the surprising case of female pilots. India has one of the highest percentages of female airline pilots in the world, yet one of the lowest percentage of women in the overall workforce. The United States has the opposite pattern where there are more women in the workforce overall, but far fewer female pilots. How can both things be true, and what do they reveal about gender norms? To research this question, I combined feminist theory as well as labor statistics, policy reports, and historical …

Empowering Seniors As Mentors: A Framework For Peer Development In Nursing Education, Kaitlin M. King, Jenna Davis

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Many nursing education programs face ongoing challenges related to the transition of sophomore nursing students into professional nursing coursework and initial clinical experiences. The coursework and clinical experiences can bring significant academic, emotional, and professional challenges for students. Peer mentorship has been demonstrated as an effective strategy to improve mentee student confidence, retention, and academic success; however, many programs lack the formal preparation and structured framework for the senior students who serve as the mentors.

Purpose: This evidence-based practice project is aimed to develop a structured peer mentorship training program to help empower the senior nursing students as they …

Gratitude Is The Attitude: Increasing Meaningful Recognition And Staff Collaboration In The Nicu, Devin Angiulo, Catherine Michele Lawless, Jenna Matteo, Lauren Miller

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Our team noticed a deficit in meaningful recognition from our HWEAT survey results. Our team identified what meaningful recognition meant to our staff to understand our area of deficit and evaluate current literature. Meaningful recognition plays a key role in employee satisfaction, motivation, and overall work performance, with reduced nurse turnover.¹ Our staff defined meaningful recognition as personal appreciation. Nurse recognition has been viewed as a critical component of a healthy work environment.² Our staff utilized many forms of recognition, including our organization’s electronic recognition program “Kudos,’ verbal recognition, hand-written notes, Daisy nominations, and yearly evaluations. “Expressions of …

Enhancing Post Surgical Communication By Utilizing An Electronic Epic Handoff, Mimi Le, Nina Harner, Jacqueline Corbett

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of implementing a standardized electronic handoff template within EPIC. The goal is to improve the quality of post-operative communication, improve efficiency, increase nurse satisfaction, and ensure continuity of care while mitigating risks associated with handwritten documentation.

Introduction: Effective communication during patient handoffs is vital for patient safety and continuity of care, especially in post-surgical settings. Inadequate communication often leads to delays and complications. Current reliance on handwritten reports from the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) to surgical floors results in confusion and delays due to illegibility and lost documents. …

Bridging Two Worlds: A Qualitative Exploration Of Nurses Returning To Work Postpartum, Katherine Metz, Darlene Narca, Amanda Cortes, Michael Young, Nicole Bohr

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Introduction: Each percentage change in nurse turnover is associated with roughly $289,000 in organizational cost/savings annually.¹ Despite this increased focus and nurses being primarily women of childbearing age², little data exists on retention in nurses during the postpartum period. Supporting postpartum nurses is essential for workforce sustainability and organizational stability.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of nurses returning to bedside after childbirth. By examining their perspectives, this study seeks to identify key factors influencing job satisfaction, workplace well-being, and retention, and to inform the development of evidence-based organizational strategies that …

Politics, Profit, And Programming: Examining The Distinct Effects Of Artificial Intelligence In The Corporate And Political World, Grant Lotts

Honors Projects

How has AI diffusion impacted the power and success of existing countries and corporations? This paper analyzes how these entities have invested their resources into expanding their AI presence, and how it has affected their role in their established spheres. For countries, it is examined how the amount of AI publications they create affects their means of using power, along with how efficient their governments have become. For corporations, it is examined how their capital expenditures (of which AI is becoming increasingly tied to) affects their stock price and annual revenue. Conflicting results are found. Countries tend to exhibit behavior …

Moving On Stage, Moving The Audience: The Overlooked Impacts Of Body Language On Performance Reception Of Classical Music, Julia Jacobsen

Student Publications and Presentations

A large focus in productions of classical music is put towards executing the music at the highest level to achieve both the composer’s and interpreter’s visions. However, modern-day musicians often overlook the importance of visually conveying their music through their emotional expressions and movements. In this paper, I will examine existing research on audience perceptions of classical music performances, utilizing highly successful musicians as examples to determine their impact on audience reception of classical music. In so doing, I hope to develop strategies for greater audience engagement that will help music students and performers increase their connection to their auditors. …

The Role Of Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence In Crewed Mars Missions, Jordan Neuman

Student Publications and Presentations

The suggestion of implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in crewed missions to the Martian surface can revolutionize mission operations, psychological support, and ethical decision‑making under challenging conditions. This study is a structured, qualitative literature review of current AI research for the future of human space exploration. It uses publicly available peer‑reviewed journal articles and NASA/ESA technical reports on AI for Mars missions. Using Perplexity, the researcher first prompted the AI tool to identify recurring topics across these sources and generate themes. The researcher independently reviewed all sources to confirm and refine those themes. Three themes—mission autonomy, local resource utilization and life‑support, …

Digital Marketplaces As Conditional Economic Infrastructure In Conflict-Affected Economies, Diana Umerova

Student Publications and Presentations

Armed conflict disrupts trade, logistics, and financial institutions, constraining firms’ ability to participate in domestic and international markets. While prior research documents macroeconomic losses and supply-chain shocks, there is limited explanatory analysis of how digital marketplaces operate as conditional economic infrastructure under active conflict. Using the Russia–Ukraine war as a contextual case, this thesis extends a qualitative, secondary-data analysis to explain how digital marketplaces function through the economic mechanisms of alternative market access, organizational reconfiguration, and digital payment facilitation, while acknowledging structural constraints, elevated transaction costs, and platform governance risks. Building on existing research, the study argues that digital marketplaces …

Reassessing Additive Diversity Measures: Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony In A Brass Audition Context, Daniel Combs Jr.

Student Publications and Presentations

There is a notable gap in representation of American composers—especially historically underrepresented African American composers—on most symphonic brass audition lists used today. Audition repertoire shapes what orchestral musicians study, and educational institutions also prioritize a nearly exclusively Eurocentric canon to produce audition-ready musicians. As a result, engagement with Black American composers in symphonic culture remains limited. Recent scholarship by Brandon Farnsworth suggests that one commonly used method of addressing this issue—including a requirement that auditionees find and include works by underrepresented composers—further masks structural inequity rather than changing it. In this context, William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony (1934, rev. 1952) …

Learning The Notes: Developing Absolute Pitch, Emma Joyce

Student Publications and Presentations

Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or name a musical pitch without the aid of a reference tone. Although the concept has been known for centuries, the processes of its development remain unclear. Researchers have proposed a variety of explanations, yet despite advances in neuroscience and cognitive psychology, there is still no agreement on whether AP results from natural ability or learned experience. By understanding neurological and developmental research, reviewing existing literature, analyzing case studies, and evaluating current theories, this paper aims to identify gaps in previous research and suggests a new approach for developing AP in young …

Preserving The Untold Stories: Leveraging Emerging Technologies (Ai And Machine Learning) For Archiving Hidden Histories Of Children And Families Impacted By The Little Rock School Integration Crisis, Oluseyi Noah Adebanjo

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis challenges the dominant narrative of the Little Rock School Integration Crisis by recovering the hidden histories of families and siblings who made integration possible but have been systematically overlooked by historians. While existing scholarship focuses on the Little Rock Nine as individual heroes, this research demonstrates that integration was fundamentally a family crisis requiring collective decision-making, economic sacrifice, and multigenerational support networks. Through close reading of published memoirs, newspaper clippings, school board minutes, and original oral history interviews with Phyllis Brown and Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton, this study reveals how approximately 200 eligible families were systematically reduced to …

A Cross-Sectional Study To Explore Healthcare Providers’ Wellness: Current Challenges & Gut Health, Linda Liu, Simi Joseph

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Healthcare provider well-being is essential for high-quality patient care. However, stress, burnout, and demanding work environments negatively impact physical and mental health, including gut health. The gut-brain axis underscores the link between gastrointestinal function, stress, and well-being, yet limited research has explored gut health among healthcare professionals.

Purpose: This study assessed the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms among healthcare providers and examined associations with stress levels, clinical environment, and quality of life in acute and outpatient settings.

Framework: Guided by the Biopsychosocial Model, this research explored how biological, psychological, and social factors influence the well-being and gut health of healthcare …

Fostering A Healthy Academic Environment In Nursing Education, Donna M. Hedges

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

A healthy academic environment is foundational to the preparation of future nurses, the retention of faculty, and the overall success of nursing education programs. This presentation examines the multidimensional nature of a healthy academic environment, highlighting psychological safety, equity and inclusion, supportive infrastructure, academic integrity, and collaborative learning as critical elements. Drawing from relational-cultural theory and caring science, the presentation explores how these elements shape outcomes for students, faculty, and institutions. Common challenges—including incivility, limited resources, and faculty workload strain—are discussed alongside evidence-based strategies to foster resilience, collegiality, and organizational change. Implications for practice, policy, and research are identified, underscoring …

Integrating A3 Thinking To Drive Collaborative Clinical And Operational Improvements, Deltra Muoki, Sarah Fleming, Eliud Faz, Dan Hootman, Whitney Adams

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Introduction: Delivering high-quality care and achieving optimal outcomes rely on efficient clinical processes. Continuous improvement enhances care (Endalamaw et al., 2024), and staff should identify evidence-based solutions to drive change.

At this 350-bed Magnet-recognized hospital, clinical and operational teams worked in silos despite shared goals. Clinical staff used gap analyses, while operational teams applied A3 problem-solving to determine whether issues required kaizen events or quick fixes. A3 supports root cause analysis, targeted interventions, and outcome evaluation (Brennan & Wendt, 2021).

However, no standardized process existed for submitting or tracking gap analyses or A3s. In Q1 2025, only two A3s and …

Systematic Review Of Multi-Level Determinants And Equity Implications Of Mode Of Birth In The U.S., Abdul-Manaf Mutaru, Cynthia Nicole Lebron, Wonsuk Yoo, Alexa Parra, Lunthita Duthely, Thomas Mike O'Shea, Hudson P. Santos Jr.

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Giving birth by surgical operation (cesarean birth) is linked to complications such as postpartum infection, rehospitalization, and respiratory issues in newborns. However, the cesarean rate remains high, accounting for 32.4% of all births in the United States (U.S.). Understanding the impact of factors beyond the individual level is crucial for developing interventions to reduce preventable cesarean births and promote health equity.

Purpose/Aim: This systematic review synthesized evidence from U.S.-based studies to identify factors beyond the maternal level that are associated with mode of birth (vaginal or cesarean).

Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and CINAHL for studies …