Student Research

Malak Abunaseef in the Nursing Honors Track presented a thesis entitled “The Effectiveness of Nursing Interventions in Psychiatric Crises." 

Incidences of psychiatric crises have been presenting at an alarming rate in the ER. Patient feedback confirmed a lack of adequate services provided and unsatisfactory patient care experiences in the ER. The surge in emergency psychiatric care and the consequential inefficient mental health outcomes have encouraged the development of this integrative review. This review identified nursing interventions used in psychiatric-emergencies, and investigated the evidence that proved their competence in achieving optimal health outcomes. CINAHL, Gale, Google Scholar and Medline along with PRISMA guidelines and the researcher’s criteria were used in selecting appropriate reviews. Peer-reviewed studies took place in the ED, included participants like ER nurses/ patients, reviewed patient’s feedback, and discussed nursing interventions used in the ER. The results revealed that psychiatric symptoms were of second priority and nurses were found to have internal biases, limited time and education that had consequent unfavorable outcomes from inadequate communication/ treatment.

Adam Remeniski in the Performing and Literary Arts Honors Track presented a thesis titled “Alexandria.”

While video games and movies appear to the public as though they are produced instantaneously, often the creation of these projects can last years and involve hundreds of individual and team work hours before the project is complete. To reveal the substantial work that goes into 3-D based media, I have created
a video game map, along with a written and organized explanation of the details and complex process by which it was created. The project, entitled, Alexandria, is a Greco-Roman Egyptian-era
inspired, 3-D video game map rendered in the industry standard, UnReal Engine. The written explanation explains how many hours, human resources, edits and conversations went into the creation of this product. The cutting edge software from my field with an explanation of fundamental processes provides a creative
experience that also builds my expository skills, making me
a better teacher and mentor to others.

Salvatore Montero in the Music Honors Track presented a thesis entitled "The Conducting Styles of Robert Shaw and Arturo Toscanini: A Comparative Analysis."

This project compares the stylistic aspects of the conducting gestures of Robert Shaw and Arturo Toscanini in one movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. While both conductors led ensembles during the twentieth century, each had different styles of communicating musical ideas through gestures to their ensembles. By examining their respective styles, expressiveness, score study, and facial expression, when possible, conductors will gain insight into the differences and similarities between orchestral and choral conducting, and adapt ways to utilize these skills within their own ensembles.

Justyn Chapman in the Performing and Literary Arts Honors Track presented a thesis entitled “Through the Eyes, Ears, and Mind."

Words and music, used as means of expression, evoke emotion that has the power to persuade, influence, entertain, and teach. In this project, spoken word poetry is accompanied by music to indulge listeners in a few experiences of Black America as seen through the writer, Justyn Chapman. Drawing on literary and
musical works from notable African American artists, the spoken word poems contain themes that include love, loss, deceit, drug use, and violence. The construction of this project was designed
to help understand the dynamic relationship between literary and music components, a relationship that alters the overall mood and tone of the themes expressed. Organized as one continuous narrative, this project will draw readers and listeners into the uncensored experience that isn’t necessarily shown in media.

Tiffany Tshimanga in the Nursing Honors Track presented a thesis entitled "Examining Factors Related to Maternal Mortality in African Americans—Review of the Current Science." 

Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women due to numerous factors such as variation in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias (CDC, 2022). This integrative review was conducted to explore the question “In patients who have experienced postpartum complications or maternal death, how does being an African American woman compared to being a White woman influence death or postpartum complications after the first week of giving birth?” The PRISMA guidelines aided in selecting 10 articles from CINAHL which were narrowed down by applying inclusion criteria. This involved excluding records for not being between the years 2012 and 2022 and not including variables, maternal mortality, African-American an adverse effects. Results revealed black women are at risk for maternal morbidity and postpartum complications compared to White women.

Anthony Walker in the Humanities Honors Track presented a thesis entitled “The Rise and Fall of the Houston Astros.”

My Honors Thesis Project is a mini-documentary focusing on the Houston Astros cheating scandal of 2017. The methods I use include editing and mixing existing, as well as producing original narration and footage of how the Astros cheated. I also analyze player reactions to the scandal. The effects of this scandal expand well beyond what happened on the field. People lost jobs, careers ended, and the integrity of the sport is now somewhat tarnished. The Astros Scandal is one of the biggest cheating scandals in sports history, and you can argue it may be the tip of the iceberg in this era of social media and video cameras. The involvement of management as well as players in the cheating scandal suggests future danger for the sport. This documentary exposes how the pressure to win and the huge payout for winning the World Series have raised the stakes for baseball and sports in general.

Sidal Yurt in the Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology Honors Track presented a thesis entitled “Resilient Coping and Relationship Satisfaction.”

While greater diversity in societies has increased opportunities for romantic relationships with people from different backgrounds, intercultural couples or partners can be the target of prejudice by society. Therefore, intercultural relationships may cause increased stress and low relationship satisfaction. Although there is a wealth of research on relationship satisfaction in intercultural relationships, research on resilience and coping is limited. To fill this gap in the literature, the present study focuses on the effects of individuals' resilient coping levels on relationship satisfaction. It is hypothesized that individuals with higher resilient coping levels will experience higher levels of relationship satisfaction in intercultural relationships. William Paterson University students who were in a romantic relationship were invited to participate in the study. Relationship satisfaction was assessed using the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) and resilient coping levels were assessed using the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS). It is predicted that participants’ resilient coping levels influence their relationship satisfaction.

Jessica Wright in the Nursing Honors track presented a thesis entitled “The Relationship Between Antenatal Nutrition and Postpartum Depression: A Systematic Review. ”

 This integrative review of the literature aimed to explore the impact of the teach-back method on teaching patients their discharge information and reducing the readmission rate. The research question “How effective is the teach-back method on teaching patients discharge instructions and reducing readmission rate?” was examined. The PRISMA flowchart was used to guide this integrative review. The databases CINAHL, and MEDLINE via ProQuest and PubMed were searched for the literatures. The inclusion criteria included peer reviewed articles published in English between January 2000 to December 2021, studies conducted in any country around the world, and population samples included in the studies are 18 years and older with any type of illness. A total of 10 articles were analyzed for this review. The findings showed an improvement in patients’ understanding of the discharge information, and a reduction in disease specific unplanned readmission rate as a result of the teach-back method.