Journals@UC (University of Cincinnati)
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Community Action and Pollinator Gardens: A Case Study of Sustainability and Community
Get PDFPollinators are necessary for environmental success. This project outlines community outreach to individuals, institutions, and public parks to support pollinator gardens. The associated PDF begins with the presentation slides followed by the formal case study report.
Preventing Nurse Injuries Related to Direct Patient Care
No full textRecord ID: 104
Presenter Award: Excellence in Research Communication
Type: Poster Presentation (in-person)
Advisor: Paul Lewis
Abstract: Bedside nurses are at an increased risk of musculoskeletal injury resulting from patient handling and lifting. The prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) among nurses was reported as being 73%. This negatively impacts patient outcomes, staffing due to injury time off, and potentially leads to chronic pain issues. The question the project is seeking to answer is, does education on assistive devices, body movements and exercises decrease nurse musculoskeletal injury. The purpose of our project is to educate nurses on the use of assistive devices, muscle strengthening exercises, and proper lifting techniques to decrease the risk of musculoskeletal injury for bedside nurses. We created an education session, after completing an extensive literature search, to present to registered nurses at Bethesda North. An information handout was created and lecture slides were used to present the information. The nurse\u27s knowledge was assessed through the use of a pre and post test to determine the effectiveness of teaching. The education session should result in improved knowledge among nurses on lifting techniques and proper body mechanics. The outcome of the work will decrease nurse musculoskeletal injury leading to better patient outcomes and decreased nurse burnout
Traditional Psychotria insularum vs. Western Medicine\u27s Ibuprofen: Parallels in Inflammation Reduction via Iron Chelation
Get PDFRecord ID: 257
Awards: Excellence in Research Mentoring
Student Major: BS Biology, BFA Ballet, Pre-Medicine Certificate
Project Advisor: Eric Tepe
Abstract: Traditional medicinal plants contain an array of compounds which can be used for therapeutic purposes and as precursors for the synthesis of modern pharmaceuticals. Samoan traditional medicine is rather understudied, despite the astonishing effects it has shown amongst indigenous Samoan people. "Matalafi", the leaf homogenate of the coffee relative, Psychotria insularum, is habitually used in Samoan traditional medicine to treat inflammation. Matalafi has been shown to have powerful effects on the body, comparable to commonly used Ibuprofen. The focus of this study was to highlight both therapeutic and metabolic similarities between the effects of active compounds in P.insularum with modern day Ibuprofen. Through a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, an iron homeostasis role was identified in P.insularum, using a genomics approach, to better understand its mechanism of action, and usefulness in its traditional use for reducing inflammation. Through fractionalization of the homogenate, the researchers were able to identify two flavanol glycosides, rutin and nicotiflorin, each which binded iron. Relating these findings to mammalian immune cells and their traditional action in the human body, researchers found that the iron-chelator activity of the P.insularum homogenate decreased pro-inflammatory responses in the body and enhanced anti-inflammatory cytokine responses within immune cells. Similarly, Ibuprofen chelates iron in a stable manner, enabling treatment of inflammation due to iron overload. Using metabolomics, a deeper understanding of Samoan traditional medicine and its parallels to western medicine can be used to advance pharmaceuticals as we know today.
 
Impact of Mindfulness on Stress in Emergency Department Nurses
No full textRecord ID: 89
Student Major: Nursing
Project Advisor: Mohammad Othman
Abstract: Stress has major impacts on nursing practice especially in the emergency department as its effects on nurses include difficulty maintaining self care and compassion burnout. This negatively affects their ability to care for patients, decreasing both successful patient outcomes and their own satisfaction. During the literature review for this study, mindfulness has shown to be an effective strategy in stress reduction for emergency department nurses. Our question for this study was does practicing mindfulness everyday over not practicing decrease the stress levels of emergency department nurses? This project teaches emergency department nurses the technique of mindfulness and its impact on stress. Our project entailed extensive literary research on the different types of mindfulness and how it can affect the stress levels among emergency department nurses or nurses in high intensity areas. Our education plan included addressing the knowledge deficits regarding self-care, relaxation and stress reduction techniques by a PowerPoint presentation and brochure. The effectiveness of the teaching will be determined by comparing the pre-test and post-test scores from surveys that measure the level of knowledge and willingness to adopt the learned mindfulness techniques. Currently results are pending. 
Mass Incarceration and Reproductive Justice In a Post Roe v. Wade Landscape
No full textRecord ID: 261
Program Affiliation: Supported by the Taft Research Center
Student Major: Sociology
Project Advisor: Amy Lind
Abstract: The outcome of the work will examine the ways in which incarceration in the United States serves as a tool of reproductive control. In the United States, criminal prosecutions of pregnant women began to rise sharply in the latter half of the 1980s as a result of cultural and legal debates about abortion rights, restrictive drug control laws in the so-called "war on drugs," and a political shift toward stigmatizing urban poverty. Since that time, the United States has had the highest rate of incarceration, with women making up roughly 10% of those who are incarcerated today. Nevertheless, this percentage has been rising recently. With the 2022 overturn of the historic Roe v. Wade (1973) ruling that protected the right to access abortion legally all across the country, there are concerns that women who have abortions will be arrested and sentenced to incarceration at even greater rates. I contend that restrictive laws pertaining to fetal protection and the related prison industrial complex are used, particularly against low-income women of color, as methods of reproductive control. In addition, I argue that pregnant women\u27s status as full constitutional persons is stripped away by the legal distinction between fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses, which furthers repressive reproductive control over women\u27s bodies.
 
Investigating Racial Ideology and Racial Bias within the Cincinnati Waldorf School
No full textRecord ID: 215
Student Major: Sociology
Project Advisor: Oneya Okuwobi
Abstract: The Cincinnati Waldorf School is known for its progressive and inclusive approach to education, which focuses on developing a child\u27s intellectual, emotional, and artistic abilities. However, concerns have been raised regarding the school\u27s racial ideology and racial bias within the school. This research proposal investigates racial ideology and racial discrimination within the Cincinnati Waldorf School. Research Questions: What is the racial ideology of the Cincinnati Waldorf School? To what extent do racial biases exist within the Cincinnati Waldorf School? Methodology: This research will utilize a mixed-methods approach, including both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. First, I will analyze their website, images, handbooks, and policies. Then I will interview an employee of the school, which will allow for a more in-depth exploration of the experiences and perspectives of the school. Data Analysis: The quantitative data collected from the website, images, and policies will be analyzed to identify patterns and correlations in the data. The qualitative data collected from the interview will be analyzed using content analysis to identify key themes and patterns in the data. Ethical Considerations: The research will be conducted in compliance with ethical guidelines, and participants will be informed of their rights and the purpose of the study. The findings of this research will provide a comprehensive understanding of the racial ideology and racial bias within the Cincinnati Waldorf School. The results will help identify areas of improvement for the school and inform policies and practices to promote a more inclusive e and equitable school environment
Say Cheese: Using Camera Traps to Explore Urban Park Small Mammal Composition and Human Density Relationships
No full textRecord ID: 240
Type: Poster Presentation (in-person)
Advisor: Steve Matter
Abstract: Inherent to the design of any successful experiment are the ethical obligations of researchers. Designing experiments from an ethical perspective can also steer toward compliance to ever-changing social and legal expectations. Studies comparing the effectiveness of camera-trapping vs. live-trapping in a variety of habitats yields promising results. By utilizing this non-intrusive approach, we attempted to explore further relationships between small mammals and urban environments. Bearing in mind the importance of biodiversity to ever-diminishing urban greenspace, we investigated six urban parks with the goals of comparing rodent species abundance and diversity across additional human-related factors. By exploring the effect of human population density on overall small mammal composition we tested our prediction that small mammal species diversity negatively correlated with human population density. Cameras were deployed in six urban parks throughout Cincinnati with varying human density levels according to census data to determine the species abundance and diversity of existing small mammals. We compared our results to an extracted local species pool and explored the effects on increasing human density in hopes to extract existing patterns between small mammal species composition and human density
The Relationship between Reading Skills and Children\u27s Autonomy in the Classroom
Get PDFRecord ID: 220
Type: Poster Presentation (in-person)
Advisor: Heidi Kloos
Abstract: Establishing intrinsic motivation for learning at a young age is essential for academic success. Autonomy is an important piece of intrinsic motivation, especially for students. However, the circumstances of when and how to give students choices in the classroom is unclear. There are endless amounts of book options with different contexts and reading levels, so incorporating choice seems simple. Despite this, the typical school context is not conducive to student autonomy; daily schoolwork and activities are rarely under control of the student. Adding choice, autonomy, or agency into classroom reading activities also requires deliberate action on the part of educators. To determine situations where autonomy is beneficial, a systematic review was carried out on research that incorporates student autonomy into reading instruction. We focused specifically on reading instruction and interventions that took place in school, as students spend most of their time reading in the classroom. To what extent does it support the development of reading skills? Results from 37 articles show that autonomy positively affected children\u27s reading skills, but not without exception. To account for this discrepancy in findings, a new framework of autonomy is provided
Pediatric Nurses\u27 Knowledge of Procedural Distraction Techniques
No full textRecord ID: 97
Type: Poster Presentation (in-person)
Advisor: Mohammad Othman
Abstract: Providing medical care and implementing procedures on pediatric patients can be difficult for nurses and anxiety producing for the patients they are caring for. Close to 83% of young children aged 2.5-6 years, 51% of children aged 7-12 years, and 28% of adolescents have high levels of anxiety during painful procedures. The aim of this project is to educate pediatric operating room nurses on the different procedural distraction techniques they can implement into practice that can assist in reducing pain and anxiety levels in their patients. The question this project addresses is whether or not teaching about distraction techniques increases pediatric nurses\u27 knowledge and willingness to adopt these techniques during stressful medical interventions. A group of selected pediatric nurses at Cincinnati Children\u27s Hospital received an educational powerpoint along with demonstrations and examples of procedural distraction techniques. A pre and post test were administered to allow for the analysis of their knowledge acquired and willingness to adopt the techniques after the educational presentation. The results are pending. The outcome of the work will allow for pediatric nurses to obtain more knowledge to utilize while providing care to their specific population of patients, as well as motivate them to use this knowledge
Progressing Participation: Taming the Space between Rhetoric and Reality
No full text*Focus on Australia and New Zealand/Aotearoa | Research Articles
Participation, as a social and political movement, continues to gain momentum, and the legal and sociological frameworks supporting the rights of children and young people to participate in various aspects of social life are now well established. Yet, there are gaps and silences behind the rhetoric of participation that beg closer scrutiny. Such analysis is important in ensuring “participation” is not unproblematically adopted by policy makers and practitioners without regard to the complex and competing agendas at work in its implementation or any clear evidence of the significance or outcomes for the young people involved. This paper explores some of the complexities and ambiguities of participation through the lens of experience in working with a group of young people, 12 to 22 years old, who are actively involved with the Centre for Children and Young People, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia