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Welcome To Bioethics In Faith And Practice, Dennis M. Sullivan

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

Welcome to Bioethics in Faith and Practice! Whether you are a healthcare professional, an academic, a member of the clergy, a student, or simply someone interested in these topics, we are glad you are here. This new enterprise is meant to bridge the gap between theory and practice, where moral philosophy and Christian faith are brought to bear on the everyday practice of medicine. It is important to understand why this new journal exists.

Fostering Interdisciplinary Communication Between Pharmacy And Nursing Students, Aleda M.H. Chen, Mary E. Kiersma, Carrie N. Keib, Stephanie M. Cailor

Pharmacy Practice Faculty Publications

Objective. To evaluate pharmacy and nursing student self-perceptions of interdisciplinary communication skills, faculty member perceptions of interdisciplinary communication skills, and changes in those skills after increasing the interdisciplinary education content.

Design. Two cohorts of pharmacy and nursing (bachelors of science in nursing, BSN) students in respective, semester-long research courses engaged in active learning on interdisciplinary communication, with the second cohort receiving additional content on the topic. At semester completion, students presented a research project at an interdisciplinary poster session.

Assessment. Self-, peer-, and faculty evaluations (4 items; 5-point Likert-type) assessing self-confidence and actual interdisciplinary communication skills were completed during the …

He Started The Whole World Singing A Song, Brian R. Cates

Musical Offerings

Throughout history, music has moved people in powerful ways, so much so that, at times, it leaves them speechless. They realize that it is a song, full of notes and rhythms, yet at the same time, it makes them become profoundly aware that there is something more, humming just below the surface. My presentation seeks to enter into this music moment by asking why these types of moments even occur. Does music speak or communicate? If so, does it communicate something meaningful and significant? What is the mechanism by which music conveys this meaning? How can this meaning be …

Impact Of An Aging Simulation Game On Pharmacy Students’ Empathy For Older Adults, Aleda M.H. Chen, Mary E. Kiersma, Karen S. Yehle, Kimberly S. Plake

Pharmacy Practice Faculty Publications

Objective. To evaluate changes in empathy and perceptions as well as game experiences among student pharmacists participating in an aging simulation game.

Methods. First-year student pharmacists participated in an aging simulation game. Changes were measured pre/post-activity using the Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (KCES) and Jefferson Scale of Empathy – Health Professions Scale (JSE-HPS) for empathy and the Aging Simulation Experience Survey (ASES) for perceptions of older adults’ experiences and game experiences. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to determine changes.

Results. One hundred fifty-six student pharmacists completed the instruments. Empathy using the KCES and JSE-HPS improved significantly. Of the 13 items …

Euthyphro’S Dilemma And Divine Command Ethics, Charis Steffel

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

Euthyphro, one of the Greek philosopher Plato’s earliest dialogues (about 380 B.C.), presents a dilemma that has troubled philosophers and theologians for centuries. The quandary is provoked by an assertion Euthyphro makes about piety in conversation with Socrates. Euthyphro is planning to prosecute his father for an unintentional murder to avoid being associated with him. He hopes that this will help his standing with the gods. Socrates shows great surprise at Euthyphro’s apparent knowledge of “religion and things pious and impious.” This leads to a discussion concerning the nature of piety, where Euthyphro proposes that whatever is pious and holy …

Pope Paul Vi And The Pill, Sara White

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

The Roman Catholic Church has strong moral rules opposing the use of oral contraceptives. The Church still holds the view that a “sexual union must always allow for the possibility of procreation” (Sullivan, 2006, p.1). Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Humanae Vitae in 1968, stated that that the use of contraceptives was a sin against God. In this paper, I will present the views of Pope Paul VI from this encyclical, then present arguments against his claim that using them violates God’s law.

Abortion And The Link To Breast Cancer, Jennifer Heiden

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

“It is only reasonable to conclude, from all extant evidence, that induced abortion is indeed a risk factor for breast cancer, despite the strong and pervasive bias in the recent literature in the direction of viewing abortion as safe for women.” So states Joel Brind, in a landmark review of the evidence for the abortion - breast cancer (ABC) link (2005, p. 110). Over the last forty years, this issue has been an intriguing topic of research, for both scientific and ideological reasons. But what can we conclude from the published studies currently available? According to a comprehensive meta-analysis by …

If Kevorkian Could Meet Hippocrates, Scott Van Dyke

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

No abstract provided.

The Pro-Child Movement: Adopting A Compassionate Strategy, Jessica Seman

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

In vitro fertilization (IVF) has become the most common assisted reproductive technique in the United States, accounting for 48,000 births in one recent year alone. This has also given birth to a silent generation of over 500,000 human embryos, waiting in cryopreservation for their chance at birth (Grabill, 2006). For the Christian who believes that conception marks the beginning of human life, the fact of half a million frozen persons creates an ethical challenge of enormous proportion. Besides the obvious solution of not contributing to the problem (by freezing or discarding one’s own embryos), embryo adoption is often presented as …

Roe V. House: A Dialogue On Abortion, Katie Condit

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Substance, Nature, And Human Personhood, John Wildman

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

What is a person? The answer to this foundational question may seem intuitive at the first glance. Many would respond, without much thought, that a person is a human being. However, proponents of empirical functionalist philosophy contend that personhood is based on the ability to perform certain actions in actual, not potential, form. They would therefore claim that some members of species homo sapiens may not actually be persons (Singer, 1985). To understand when personhood begins, it is first necessary to understand what a person is. This paper will apply the Aristotelian concepts of substance and nature to define person, …

Embryo Adoption: An Opportunity For Life, Carla Gaines

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

The world began a new revolution during the second half of the twentieth century. This revolution centered not on industry, but on biotechnology. Researchers unlocked the mysteries of procreation and genetics. The promise of science seduced common sense about the value of human life. Postmodern pluralism embraced the modernist idea of utopia through technology at the cost of the helpless.

Yet civilization is no closer to utopia than it was 50 years ago. Instead, we debate a whole host of new ethical dilemmas. Several debates focus on the creation, storage and eventual destiny of millions of human embryos. Hundreds of …

The Logic Of Birth Control: A Look At The Numbers, Lydia Wong

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

If personhood begins at the moment of conception, the failure of an embryo to implant results in the death of a person. Therefore, many in the pro-life community worry about the ethics of using oral contraceptives, if such hormonal birth control actually interferes with implantation (a so-called “abortifacient” effect). Obviously killing is wrong, and death should be avoided. However, even if contraceptives occasionally prevent implantation, a very good case can still be made in favor of their use. This paper seeks to show how contraceptives, even if they cause implantation failure, can be used with a clear conscience.

Life is …

Human Personhood From A Kantian Perspective, Jennifer Nelson

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

What sets humans apart from all other creatures? If you were to approach a biological Homo sapiens with the question “what makes you human?” how would they respond? Do we have value simply as humans, or are we nothing more than what we offer the world? Philosophers have discussed these questions for centuries and it seems that there have been a few concrete conclusions. These conclusions depend on how one views ethical theory.

Ethical theory and personhood go hand-in-hand. Immanuel Kant, one of the greatest philosophers of the 18th Century, developed his moral philosophy in what is now known as …

An Internal Ethical Revolution, Hillary Jones

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

Despite legislation to protect individuals from slavery and forced prostitution, many continue treating people as property. The Fourteenth Amendment states that persons have the right to “life, liberty, and property,” and U.S. society has never regarded persons as property. Unfortunately, some ethics do not consider all human beings as persons. Personhood denotes being a member of the “moral community.” I base personhood on an ontological perspective, meaning that all human beings are human persons. I also believe that there is no such thing as a “potential person” or a “human non-person” regardless of disability, race, ethnicity, gender or any other …

Tubman Versus Hodgson: A Conversation About Abortion, Nicole Brewin

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Segmentation Of Pulmonary Nodules In Computed Tomography Using A Regression Neural Network Approach And Its Application To The Lung Image Database Consortium And Image Database Resource Initiative Dataset, Temesguen Messay, Russell C. Hardie, Timothy R. Tuinstra

Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

We present new pulmonary nodule segmentation algorithms for computed tomography (CT). These include a fully-automated (FA) system, a semi-automated (SA) system, and a hybrid system. Like most traditional systems, the new FA system requires only a single user-supplied cue point. On the other hand, the SA system represents a new algorithm class requiring 8 user-supplied control points. This does increase the burden on the user, but we show that the resulting system is highly robust and can handle a variety of challenging cases. The proposed hybrid system starts with the FA system. If improved segmentation results are needed, the SA …

School Of Nursing Class Of 2015 Hooding And Pinning Program, Cedarville University

B.S.N. and M.S.N. Academic Celebrations

No abstract provided.

Evidence-Based Recommendations For The Management Of Prescription Stimulants Abuse (Psa) Among College Students, Marie O. Owoeye

Master of Science in Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Projects

Prescription stimulants have been identified as one of the most written psychoactive prescription medications found among college students. Likewise, prescription stimulant abuse (PSA) has greatly increased in the college campuses (5.4% in 2003 to 9.3% in 2013). Several factors such as (a) diversion and sharing of prescribed stimulants among families, friends and others; (b) lack of knowledge about the risks associated with prescription stimulants; (c) polysubstance use; (c) academic enhancement; and (d) stress from ineffective coping skills and life events, have been identified as contributing factors to the increase in PSA among college students. Various critical health-related symptoms such as …

Collaboration Is Key: A Study On The Religious Identity Of Catholic And Southern Baptist Hospitals, Benjamin German

History Capstone Research Papers

Since its inception, the Christian church has emphasized physical healing alongside spiritual healing. The Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists established their first hospitals in America in the mid-nineteenth and late-nineteenth centuries respectively. While a number of hospitals bear the names Catholic or Baptist, they do not all necessarily possess the same religious character they once did. This research paper compares and contrasts the hospital ministries of the two Christian sub-groups. It concludes that Roman Catholic hospitals have stayed more true to their religious identity than Southern Baptist hospitals. Since the 1980s, hospitals have formed healthcare networks in mass, a trend …

The Right To A Safe And Healthy Birth, Rebecca D. Neff, Liz C. Widman, Leslie A. Lopez, Brittany M. Cowart, Rebecca L. Aviles

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The right to a safe and healthy birth is included in the declaration of human rights- the intrinsic allowances that humans are obligated to be protected by on a global scale. These rights, however, for some pregnant women have been submersed by lack of transportation, education and skilled birth attendants. Financial constraints and difficulty in obtaining adequate healthcare are also issues of concern. A review of literature pertaining to three different countries, the United States, China and India will be examined in light of safe and healthy birthing techniques for women worldwide. These countries were chosen due to their diverse …

Suicide Tourism, Emma L. Anderson, Bethany J. Ebben, Abby L. Sherman, Johnna R. Vanstrom

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The number of people traveling to other locations, including Switzerland, or different U.S. states, for the sole purpose of receiving assisted-suicide is increasing. This phenomenon is known as suicide tourism. Switzerland is a major destination for recipients globally, as noted by Saskia Gauthier, Julian Mausbach, Thomas Reisch, and Christine Bartsch (2014) in the article, Suicide tourism: a pilot study on the Swiss phenomenon. The influx of recipients travelling to Switzerland for the purpose of committing suicide is largely due to the country’s lack of regulation in who might receive assisted-suicide. This issue is relevant in the United States, as Oregon, …

Finite Element Analysis (Fea) Of The Taper-Trunnion Interface In A Metal On Metal Hip Implant, Kyle M. Bradley, Timothy L. Norman, Thomas K. Fehring

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Metal on metal total hip replacements are a common procedure in which the hip joint is replaced with a metal stem, a metal femoral head and a metal socket, usually made of titanium or cobalt chromium. The stem has a tapered region (trunnion) where the femoral head is impacted onto. This creates what is known as the taper-trunnion interface within a hip implant. However, these hip implants seem to be very susceptible to fretting corrosion, where the corrosive fluid environment of the body accelerates the process of wear between two contact surfaces. Previous research has suggested that the design parameters …

Asthma Knowledge, Control, And Administration Techniques In Hispanic Caregivers Of Pediatrics, Kelly J. Wright, Joshua Arnold, Rachel Culp, Kyle Hultz, Benjamin Robertson, Jon Wilkie, Amy Wuobio

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to (1) describe asthma knowledge, control, and administration techniques in Hispanic caregivers of pediatric asthma patients in primary care clinics and (2) determine the association between asthma knowledge and control.

Methods: A pilot, cross-sectional study was conducted by administering a survey to Spanish-speaking primary caregivers of children under 12 years old with a current diagnosis of asthma. The survey contained: demographic questions (8 items), a modified version of the Asthma Control Test (ACT, 5 self-assessment items, 5-point, Likert-type scale), knowledge (21 items, correct/incorrect response), and inhaler use (1 item, rank ordering steps for …

The Effectiveness Of The Use Of Probiotics In The Prevention Of Necrotizing Enterocolitis, Luke D. Febrizio, Danae L. Hershberger, Caroline E. Price, Miranda A. Sternsher

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

PICO Question: In very low birth weight infants (VLBW), does the use of prophylactic probiotics decrease the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis?

Method: Databases searched include PubMed, Cochrane, Medline, ScienceDirect, UpToDate, and CINAHL databases, resulting in 10 relevant articles (four meta-analyses, two systematic reviews, three randomized controlled trials, and one cohort study).

Results: The review of literature concluded that overall there is a decrease in the incidence of NEC when VLBW infants are given prophylactic probiotics.

Recommendations: In conclusion, probiotics have shown efficacy in preventing NEC with no confirmed reports of adverse effects to VLBW infants. The final recommendation would be …

2015 Symposium Overview, Cedarville University

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Click the "Download" button in the top right corner to view the abstract booklet.

The Effects Of Vocational Support Programs On Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Angel Kester, Addie T. Martin, Ivey M. Mcrory, Marybeth Williams

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Purpose: The purpose of this review is to examine the effects of vocational support programs versus the absence of vocational support programs on employment rates, social skills, and quality of life of transition-aged youth diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and related diagnoses.

Methods: The CINAHL, Cochrane Collection Plus, Medline, PubMed, and UpToDate databases were searched for articles pertaining to our purpose statement. Four reviewers analyzed the articles for results and extracted data regarding sample characteristics, treatment characteristics, assessment tools, and outcomes.

Results: Nine studies were included, all of which related to the effects of vocational support programs on individuals with …

Effect Of Continuous Education On Readmission Rates For Chf Patients, Lexie J. Baroni, Becca H. Hughes, Grace A. Wahba

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Aim: To evaluate if continuing the education of Congest Heart Failure patients post-discharge will decrease the amount of readmissions within 6 months of discharge.

Background: Causes for decreased readmission rates in Congestive Heart Failure patients have been evaluated in multiple studies. The evaluation of the current research showed having discharge education and post- discharge follow-ups decreased the rate of readmission within 6 months. There is a sufficient amount of evidence supporting the implementation of education upon discharge and follow-ups of Congestive Heart Failure patients.

Data Source: Databases and search engines used included: PubMed, OneSearch, CINAHL, DogPile, and Google. Of 25 …

Forced Sterilization Of Individuals With Developmental Disabilities: Protection Or Dehumanization?, Kelly J. Schaffter

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The civil rights of individuals with development disabilities have been a great challenge to protect throughout the United States’ history. The United States has not held the protection of this population’s civil rights with proper priority. The country’s actions towards the population of individuals with development disabilities carried into the 20th century, when individuals with mental disabilities were involuntarily sterilized in the name of eugenics. Currently, the goal of the sterilization of this population is for their protection, yet forced sterilization continues to be a questionable practice in regards to ethics. In this paper, I will claim that the forced …

Cilia Have A Significant Role In Regulating Cell Size In Response To Fluid Flow Induced Shear Stress In A Flow Chamber, Ryan M. Hecklinger, Schuyler E. Price, Matthew B. Welkie Jr., Timothy L. Norman, Elisha R. Injeti

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Cilia are hair-like protrusions on the apical surface of cells. Their function is to relay mechanical signals like shear stress from extracellular into intracellular environment and thereby maintain cellular homeostasis. Ciliary dysfunctions include polycystic kidney disease and new therapeutic interventions based on ciliary function are under investigation. The current study evaluates the use of a custom designed fluid flow chamber’s ability to study the role of cilia in regulating cell size in response to shear stress.

A fluid flow chamber that continually maintains laminar flow at different flow rates and temperature was designed. Endothelial wild type cells (ETWT) that have …