3103 research outputs found
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Bridging the FAFSA Divide
Full text linkThis op-ed explores the challenges faced by first-generation and low-income students in navigating the FAFSA process, drawing on both personal experience and systemic analysis. It highlights common barriers, such as lack of parental support, limited access to counseling, and administrative complexities. The piece advocates for institutional reforms, such as personalized workshops and resource adaptation, to address these inequities. Emphasizing Jesuit values like Cura Personalis, it proposes leveraging Regis University\u27s existing Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program to offer tailored FAFSA support. By doing so, the article argues, Regis University can transform the FAFSA process from a daunting hurdle into an empowering opportunity for underserved students, aligning with its mission to foster equity and holistic education
Chalkboards to Chatbots: Helping Faculty Harness AI for the Future of Higher Education
Full text linkIntegrating artificial intelligence (AI) into nursing education presented significant opportunities yet posed challenges due to varied faculty readiness. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement (QI) project evaluated an educational intervention aimed at enhancing nursing faculty\u27s AI proficiency and confidence at Regis University’s Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions. Using a mixed-methods, pre- and post-intervention design, validated surveys assessed changes in faculty perceptions, knowledge, and skills related to AI. The intervention included a digital toolkit with nine instructional videos demonstrating practical AI applications using FreedAI’s large language model, ChatGPT, supported by voiceover narration and closed captioning. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, Cohen’s d effect sizes, Pearson correlations, linear regression, ANOVA, and thematic qualitative analysis. Significant improvements were found in faculty comfort, confidence, knowledge, and openness toward AI adoption, with notable polarization in responses regarding ethical considerations and trust in AI\u27s reliability. Limited gains in access to formal AI training highlighted ongoing preparedness gaps. Faculty trust in AI declined post-intervention, reflecting increased awareness of AI biases and limitations. Key qualitative concerns included ethical implications, workload demands, skepticism regarding AI accuracy, and the necessity for continued institutional support. This project underscored the importance of continuous, structured faculty development to integrate ethical and practical AI applications into nursing education effectively
IN PURSUIT OF HEALING
Full text linkAddiction is a complex and multifaceted issue. However, traditional treatments only target one of these many aspects. Proper treatment of addiction necessitates that we redefine addiction. The biopsychosocial model of addiction is the most effective definition because it addresses all facets of addiction. In addition to redefining addiction, we must better understand the scientific phenomenon of addiction and why it occurs. This understanding will introduce new information that can inform our interventions. Addiction is an urgent problem that must be addressed because the costs of addiction are exorbitant and rising. In addressing this complex issue, I assert an interdisciplinary approach must be used to redefine, understand, and reduce the costs of addiction. This approach requires integration of philosophy, science, and broader society to ensure that a proper solution is reached. It is impossible to ignore the problem of addiction any longer as it has worked its way into every part of our society, choosing to ignore it will only inflict more damage
That They May Have Life
Full text linkMental illness has a significant impact on how people experience Catholicism. However, since the Catholic Church has existed for thousands of years and the discussion of mental health is a relatively recent societal phenomenon, not much thought has been given to this crossover. This thesis, taking obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in the experience of Catholicism as a case study, explains the impacts of OCD in general and scrupulosity as a specific manifestation of it, in religious practice. I show what the Catholic Church says about scrupulosity through her Jewish roots, texts in the New Testament, and modern tools meant to combat it. Finally, I examine the lives of Catholic saints who dealt with scrupulosity OCD and the fruits – both for them as they went through the struggle of scrupulosity and for people today that might be dealing with the same issues – that came from their experience
MAGA, Megachurches, and the Moral Majority
Full text linkAs it stands, the voice of American Christianity has become deeply entangled with far-right politics and with the Republican Party specifically, but this has not been the case throughout all of American history. This entanglement instead developed as a result of the New Christian Right (NCR) movement which arose in the 1970s and has continued to influence American politics since. Beginning as a “top-down” religious social movement, the NCR saw great successes in publicity through its partnership with the Republican Party in the 1980s, but as the end-times language employed by the movement lost its potency and the primary organization which disseminated its media – The Moral Majority – disbanded, the movement adopted a more “grassroots” model and shifted towards emphasizing politics and the mobilization of state and local government. This “bottom-up” structure has continued operating throughout the past three decades, and, now combined with recycled “end-times” language of the 1970s and 80s, has gained such prominence in American politics that the Republican Party now essentially serves as a vehicle for the NCR. This thesis argues that a better popular understanding of the historical development of the New Christian Right is crucial to shifting away from the reductionist language, false narratives, and unproductive political inflammation which plague dialogues on this subject
MOTHER NATURE IN VISUAL ARTS
Full text linkGiven the catastrophic effects that climate change has on our planet, it is imperative that we, as a society and as individuals, take immediate action to combat environmental injustice and find innovative ways to help heal the Earth. Many people feel helpless in the face of the environmental crisis, while others don’t believe in the severity or even reality of climate change. We must find ways to bridge this helplessness and disbelief in order to create real, lasting change to help the Earth. Visual artists, working in mediums like sculpture, painting, and film have taken a creative approach against environmental injustice through their depiction of a divine feminine Nature Goddess, most contemporarily known as Mother Nature. In this thesis, I explore Mother Nature as an archetype who has resurfaced across time and cultures in similar Nature Goddesses like the Hindu Great Mother Devi-Shakti, the South American Goddess Romi Kumi, and the Greek Goddess Gaia. I argue that Her archetype is reemerging now, in a world that greatly needs Her, to remind us of humanity’s fundamental connection with and dependence on the natural world. Artists like Daniel Popper, Brian Kirhagis, Disney animators, and myself, depict the Mother Nature archetype to call us to reconnect with our inner Nature, and to appreciate Her beauty in its great complexity so that we may rediscover our love for Her, because to love someone or something truly is to protect them in every way possible. Simultaneously, Mother Nature art provides viewers with the unique opportunity to grieve the pain and sorrow which we have caused Nature, while displaying an avenue of hope for a better future in which we humans actively fight to protect and heal the natural world. It is through this remembering, self-understanding, rebalancing, appreciation, sorrow, and hope that Mother Nature art helps us grow to become more just humans who treat Nature with the loving action that She needs and deserves
MS Environmental Biology Capstone Project
Full text linkCoral reefs are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet (Knowlton el al., 2010). As they are home to millions of aquatic species, it is important for humanity to take diligent care of them both for their intrinsic and extrinsic qualities (Knowlton, 2001). Corals thrive by utilizing symbiotic algae cells called zooxanthellae to aid in obtaining energy (G. D., 2003). Living in the coral\u27s polyps, the zooxanthellae are offered extra protection from predators (Wooldridge, 2010). This paper discusses the relationship between the zooxanthellae and the corals as well as the potential power dynamics between the two organisms. There are two different power dynamics explored in this paper. One dynamic discussed in this paper is coral having an influence over the zooxanthellae by restricting the number of nutrients available to it. The alternative power dynamic discussed is the zooxanthellae having influence over the coral by evading its immune system responses and taking advantage of the coral for shelter. This symbiotic relationship matters because coral bleaching, a primary cause of coral mortality, is the termination of the symbiosis. As corals face global mass bleaching events with greater frequency (Hughes et al., 2018), knowing more about this relationship will aid scientists in preserving it. In this literature review, I will argue that the zooxanthellae control the symbiotic relationship
More than a Footnote: An Exploration of Health Care Marginalization and Self-Advocacy for Women with Intellectual Disabilities
Full text linkWomen with intellectual disabilities face discrimination in health care because of their gender- and ability- based identities. Among other things, difficulty coordinating complex care and a lack of research into their specific healthcare needs as disabled women reflect standards of care that are problematic and lacking. Research gaps highlight the oppression of this group in health care. In addition to these inadequacies of the health care system, it is difficult for women with intellectual disabilities to conform to social scripts and constructions of femininity that our society praises, and they are often infantilized and patronized in a way that limits their autonomy in sexuality and healthcare settings. This is clearly evident in the example of menstruation suppression. To combat these problems, we must expand our definition of advocacy to include respecting and encouraging autonomy. Disabled voices are often sidelined in conversations surrounding women’s health, when in fact improvements for this population would have far reaching effects for gender justice in the health care field, and increasing knowledge of the issues these women face can help everyone become more informed allies of and advocates for disabled populations. Sex-education, self-care training, and self-advocacy training geared specifically towards intellectually disabled women are tangible ways we can advocate for this population. Most importantly, we must support and respect the dignity of these women as peers and recognize that we are all on the same team
SURREALISM AND THE BRAIN: HOW ART UNVEILS THE MEANING OF MADNESS
Full text linkSurrealist art has many connections to neurology and psychiatry, with its founder, Andre Breton, drawing great inspiration from his medical background and famous figures in both fields at the time. He sought to bring to light the functions of the brain by utilizing multiple techniques that were modified from those used for psychoanalysis on patients experiencing psychosis. While it is up for debate whether he was successful in creating a movement that accurately depicted the functioning of the unconscious mind, it is possible that through these techniques he was able to instead depict certain aspects of mentally ill minds. As such, I will argue that surrealist art did succeed in depicting brain functioning, although not in the way that the surrealists intended. Rather than accurately being able to describe the brain’s unconscious functionality, I believe that the madness present in surrealist artwork is indicative of the psychotic elements of brain function and is a display of how these functions can influence the way people see the world
WHO ARE THE HMONG? Sense of Belonging for the Hmong of Colorado: An Oral History and Community-Based Qualitative Research Approach
Full text linkIn my thesis, I investigate how Asian Americans, specifically the Hmong community in Colorado, experience a sense of belonging by collecting oral histories and conducting interviews using a community based qualitative research approach. This project explored how 15 Hmong- identifying individuals journeyed to Colorado and provided the opportunity to learn more about how they belong as immigrants, refugees, or children of either, along with any significant factors that positively or negatively impact this sense. This study helped me retrace my cultural history, explore how individuals stay connected to their Hmong culture, and identify how the wellbeing of Hmong individuals may be impacted by their sense of belonging. Readers will benefit as they can better understand the perspective of Hmong Americans and take into consideration what actions or norms positively or negatively impact minoritized communities including other groups in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community living in the United States. Some of the questions this thesis addresses include: Who are the Hmong people and how did they arrive to the United States? Why do they choose to stay in Colorado and in what ways to they find community here? Does generational status impact their sense of belonging or the ways they connect to their culture? Does the sense of belonging have any connection to the location a person lives in (an ethnic enclave, city, province)? This research demonstrates that as a society, it is imperative that we become more culturally competent so that underrepresented people feel empowered to share their stories and celebrate culture