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The Political Construction of Anti-Transgender Policy: A Critical Policy Analysis of North Carolina State Legislators\u27 Discursive Strategies
Get PDFIn recent year anti-LGBTQ policy has been cropping up at the state level across the United States. While these policies have been described as unprecedented, they signal a period of retrenchment for the rights of queer and transgender individuals in the United States. This critical policy analysis of North Carolina state legislation that is decidedly homophobic and transgender examines the discursive tactics of policy actors (i.e. North Carolina Legislators) as they argue these policies during legislative sessions. Through our analysis of legislators’ commentary during House of Representative sessions we identified discursive formations that were considered allied with the LGBTQ community or oppositional to it. This study provides an insight into the discursive tactics of anti-LGBTQ policy construction
Exploring Nicotinamidase Inhibitors as a Potential Treatment for Malaria
No full textMalaria kills over half a million people each year, and growing resistance to current treatments threatens global health progress. Rasajna Madhusudhana’s research targets a key enzyme in the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum nicotinamidase (PFNIC), which is essential for producing NAD—a molecule vital for the parasite’s survival. Unlike human cells, the parasite relies on a single pathway for NAD synthesis, making PFNIC a vulnerable target. By blocking this enzyme, Madhusudhana’s team stopped parasite growth in red blood cells and identified 150 promising inhibitor candidates through virtual screening. Their work paves the way for new antimalarial drugs that could overcome resistance and save lives
VCU\u27s Yellow Brick Road: Connection, Safety, & Navigation
Get PDFYellow Brick Road is an initiative designed to strengthen the connection between Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and downtown Richmond by promoting outdoor activity, sustainable mobility, and shared community experiences. The project aims to enhance the health and well-being of students, faculty, and staff through walking meetings and a proposed VCU-branded e-bike fleet, while also deepening VCU’s engagement with the urban community through events such as the UNCOMMON Street Festival. Together, these efforts reflect VCU’s vision as a university fully embedded in the city, guided by the question: How can VCU thrive with Richmond, not apart from it
AI in Education: Teaching, Learning, and Thinking with Machines
Get PDFThis collection from the Humanities Research Center (HRC) Digital Technology in Education (DTE) working group arose from questions around how rapidly emerging generative AI tools are reshaping teaching and learning in K-12 and higher education. The contributions, loosely organized around ethics, policy, and practice, adopt a humanities lens to probe how generative AI and other emerging digital technologies impact human values, experiences, and social structures, surfacing their philosophical, ethical, cultural, and societal implications for schooling. From the perspectives of practitioners and interdisciplinary scholars, the pieces showcase various dimensions of AI\u27s creative potential in education, while also questioning its limitations and broader impacts. Together, they position AI not as a neutral tool but as a sociotechnical force that must be aligned with human values.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/ai_in_education/1000/thumbnail.jp
Junior Recital, Wes Castle
Get PDFJunior RecitalWes Castle, guitarwith Malik Gray, tenor saxophone; Kevin Granados, tenor saxophone; Hepburn Hull, piano; Libby Mullins, vocals; Avery Waddell, bass; and April Freeman, drumsTuesday, September 2, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.Recital HallJames W. Black Music Center1015 Grove Avenue | Richmond, Virgini
EXPLORING VIRTUAL REALITY IN PREOPERATIVE CLINICAL CARE: IMPACTS ON PATIENT ANXIETY, PARENTAL ANXIETY, AND NURSE SATISFACTION
No full textAbstract
EXPLORING VIRTUAL REALITY IN PREOPERATIVE CLINICAL CARE: IMPACTS ON PATIENT ANXIETY, PARENTAL ANXIETY, AND NURSE SATISFACTION
By Walaa Abu Rukbah, Ph.D.
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Virginia Commonwealth University, 2025
Major Director: Dayanjan S Wijesinghe, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Sciences
Director, Laboratory of Pharmacometabolomic and Companion Diagnostics
Introduction: Preoperative anxiety affects up to 65% of pediatric surgical patients, leading to increased stress responses, difficult anesthesia induction, and adverse postoperative outcomes. While pharmacological premedication remains standard practice, non-pharmacological alternatives like virtual reality (VR) show promise for anxiety reduction. This study evaluated the effectiveness and implementation feasibility of a custom-designed VR intervention for managing preoperative anxiety in pediatric patients, while assessing impacts on parental anxiety and healthcare provider satisfaction.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from a nine-month quality improvement initiative (October 2023-June 2024) at VCU Children\u27s Hospital. Eighty pediatric patients (ages 6-15 years) undergoing elective surgery received a custom VR intervention during preoperative waiting. Primary outcomes included changes in patient-reported distress (0-10 numerical rating scale) and fear (Children\u27s Fear Scale 0-4) measured pre- and post-VR intervention. Secondary outcomes included physiological measures (heart rate, systolic blood pressure), parental anxiety (STAI-6), and stakeholder satisfaction ratings from patients, parents (n=65), and nurses (n=29). Logistic regression models identified predictors of clinically significant anxiety reduction (≥30% and ≥50% thresholds). Thematic analysis examined qualitative parent feedback to understand intervention mechanisms and stakeholder perspectives.
Results: VR intervention demonstrated significant reductions in both patient distress (median change: -2.0 points, 95% CI [-2.00, -1.00], p\u3c 0.001) and fear (median change: -1.0 point, 95% CI [-1.00, 0.00], p\u3c 0.001). A majority of patients achieved a clinically significant reduction (≥30%) in both distress (66.2%) and fear (52.5%). Physiological measures showed significant decreases in heart rate (-5.8 bpm, p\u3c0.001) and systolic blood pressure (-4.1 mmHg, p\u3c 0.0001). Baseline anxiety severity emerged as the strongest predictor of clinical response, with higher initial fear scores associated with increased odds of achieving ≥50% reduction (OR=1.80, 95% CI [1.11, 2.92], p\u3c0.017). Stakeholder satisfaction was exceptionally high: 95.4% of parents would recommend VR to other families, 91.2% of children expressed willingness to use VR again, and 100% of nurses recommended VR for pediatric procedures. Parental anxiety significantly decreased following their child\u27s VR intervention (P\u3c0.0015), with 53.8% of parents experiencing improved anxiety levels. Qualitative analysis revealed predominant themes of engagement/distraction (52.4% of responses), emotional impact (34.9%), and clinical utility recognition (31.7%). Implementation was feasible with minimal workflow disruption (6.9% of nurses reported interference).
Conclusion: Custom-designed VR interventions can be successfully integrated into pediatric preoperative care with significant clinical benefits and stakeholder acceptance. The intervention achieved meaningful anxiety reduction across multiple measures while demonstrating implementation feasibility in a busy clinical environment. Children with higher baseline anxiety levels experienced the greatest benefits, providing data-informed recommendations for targeted implementation strategies. The consistent of positive outcomes across patients, families, and healthcare providers, combined with minimal adverse effects (3.8%), supports VR integration as a valuable non-pharmacological approach to pediatric preoperative anxiety management. These findings add to the growing support for digital therapeutics in pediatric care and provide real-world guidance for healthcare systems considering VR implementation.
Keywords: Virtual reality, pediatric anxiety, preoperative care, implementation science, non-pharmacological intervention, digital therapeutic
S20, E16: SCOTUS Eras: The Waite Court (Aired 11/14/2025)
Get PDFNia and Aughie discuss the Morrison Waite Court, years 1888 - 1910. The Waite Court had the opportunity several times to further civil rights, but did not; the Court found the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional, and followed with similar judgments.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/civil_discourse/1296/thumbnail.jp
Beyond Instrumentalization: Adventures in Crafting a Community-Engaged Education
No full textThis article explores the design, functions and experiences of a community-engaged education from the points of view of a university student and a lecturer. Whilst experiential learning is currently being presented as fundamental to university employability agendas in the UK, we reflect on the other important consequences of creating a more porous educational community. We suggest that taking arts and humanities pedagogies – archival research and collage in particular – outside of the classroom, positively impacts belonging and social justice, elements that are less easily captured by university metrics. Moreover, we propose that these pedagogies can be utilised to challenge dominant narratives around the purpose of education and build a new model for ‘good’ or ‘academic’ education across the life course
Faculty, Reuben Farley
No full textA photographic print of VCU professor Reuben Farley and another individual sitting and conversing in front of bookshelves. Farley taught in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/rg60/1083/thumbnail.jp
Faculty, Reuben Farley
No full textA photographic print portrait of VCU professor of Dr. Reuben Farley, who worked in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/rg60/1090/thumbnail.jp