VTechWorks
VTechWorks provides global access to Virginia Tech scholarship, including journal articles, books, theses, dissertations, conference papers, slide presentations, technical reports, working papers, administrative documents, videos, images, and more by faculty, students, and staff. Faculty can deposit items to VTechWorks from Elements, including journal articles covered by the University open access policy. Email vtechworks@vt.edu for help.
Open Access Policy
Virginia Tech's open access policy enables researchers to deposit the accepted version of scholarly articles with no embargo.
Theses and Dissertations
Virginia Tech was first in the world to require ETDs in 1997, and continues to add scans of older theses and dissertations.
Open Textbooks
More than 50 freely available and openly licensed textbooks are among our most downloaded items.
Communities in VTechWorks
Select a community to browse its collections.
Recent Submissions
Assessing Enteral Nutrition Adequacy and Future Protocol Changes in a Small Regional Hospital
Roberts, David T. (Virginia Tech, 2026-07-30)
Enteral nutrition, commonly referred to as tube feeding, is a method of providing liquid nutrition directly into the gastrointestinal tract for individuals who cannot meet nutritional recommendations through oral intake alone. Traditional inpatient hospital enteral nutrition protocols operate under a rate-based feeding system. However, there is a significant body of research indicating that these protocols often under-feed patients requiring enteral nutrition.1 To reduce the risk of adverse patient outcomes, the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition recommends delivering at least 80% of prescribed protein and calories to patients that require enteral nutrition.2 To address the gap between recommendations and real-world practice, volume-based feeding protocols emerged as an alternative option. Research completed on volume-based feeding suggests that the protocol can significantly improve nutritional delivery.1 This project aimed to develop an evidence-based educational program centered around enteral nutrition practices and feeding protocol differences. The goal of this project was to increase provider knowledge regarding enteral nutrition, improve current enteral nutrition protocol adequacy through education, and lay the foundation for future protocol changes. The educational program was piloted by registered dietitians and clinical nutrition managers. Through survey evaluation, all respondents reported that they would use the educational material as a training resource in the future, and half of the respondents reported that they learned new information about enteral nutrition. While the long-term goal of this program is to be recognized as an official training resource for healthcare professionals that encounter enteral nutrition scenarios, more research is needed to determine further program modifications.
Continuing Education Session for WIC Staff on Childhood Picky Eating, Sensory Issues, and Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
Walthall, Ashley (Virginia Tech, 2026-08-03)
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a supplemental nutrition program for pregnant and postpartum women and children up to age five (USDA, n.d.). At Fairfax County WIC, registered dietitian nutritionists (RD/RDN) and community nutritionists provide nutrition counseling for mothers, infants, and children who are at nutritional risk. WIC nutrition counseling staff identified a need for additional training better to support families of children with sensory-related picky eating. This project explores how a continuing education session for WIC staff on childhood picky eating, sensory issues, and Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) affects provider knowledge and confidence in counseling WIC participants across the spectrum of picky eating. A needs assessment survey was administered to Fairfax County WIC staff and WIC participants to identify educational needs and inform the development of a 45-minute continuing education session. The training covered typical picky eating, sensory feeding issues, ARFID, evidence-based counseling strategies, and appropriate referral practices. WIC staff completed pre- and post-training evaluations measuring self-reported knowledge and confidence of the training. The findings of this project suggest that a targeted continuing education program can improve WIC staff's perceived knowledge and confidence in counseling families about childhood picky eating and sensory feeding challenges.
Social Media Use at Work: Evaluating Recovery and Information Overload as Competing Mechanisms Linking Social Media Breaks to Work Focus
Cho, J. Yena (Virginia Tech, 2026-07-08)
This study examined whether social media use during work breaks is associated with work focus through recovery experiences and information overload. Drawing on the Effort-Recovery Model (Meijman & Mulder, 1998) and a compensatory control framework (Hockey, 1997), I tested competing indirect pathways and the potential moderation role of executive function using experience sampling data from student employees (Level 2 N = 42; Level 1 observations = 143–166). Results did not provide evidence that within-person social media use was associated with psychological detachment, relaxation, or information overload, and indirect associations of social media use with work focus via concentration and task withdrawal were not supported. Psychological detachment was associated with lower task withdrawal within persons, whereas no clear evidence emerged for moderation of hypothesized within-person relations by executive function. Overall, results did not provide evidence that social media use plays a role in recovery or information overload processes relevant to work focus, although these findings should be interpreted with caution given statistical power considerations. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing psychological mechanisms from the behaviors assumed to facilitate them.
From Notes to Networks: Using Obsidian to Teach Metadata and Linked Data
Long, Kara; Yunes, Erin (Code4Lib, 2026-10-21)
In this article, we describe a novel use of the note-taking software Obsidian as a method for users without formal training in metadata creation to develop culturally relevant data literacies across two digital archiving projects. We explain how Obsidian’s built-in use of linked data provides an open-source, flexible, and potentially scalable way for users to creatively interact with digitized materials, navigate and create metadata, and model relationships between digital objects. Furthermore, we demonstrate how Obsidian’s local and offline hosting features can be leveraged to include team members with low or unreliable internet access.
Designing for Honest AI Use: What Happens When Students Must Disclose?
Kaufman, Eric K. (Virginia Tech Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies, 2026-08-13)
Asking students to disclose their AI use seems straightforward—until you try it. This lightning talk reflects on efforts to require student disclosure of generative AI use across four graduate-level courses, including three asynchronous online offerings. In response to growing ambiguity around academic integrity, I introduced a combination of explicit syllabus language, ongoing communication, and an AI transparency checklist that asked students to document how AI tools were used across stages of their work (e.g., ideation, drafting, editing). The goal was to move away from a policing model of academic integrity toward a transparency-based approach that treats AI use as permissible but accountable. Students were encouraged to view AI as a partner in their learning process while maintaining responsibility for accuracy, attribution, and original thinking. What emerged was more complex than anticipated. While some students engaged with the transparency framework as intended, others continued to use AI in ways that were undisclosed or inconsistent with course expectations, including cases referred for academic misconduct. These mixed outcomes suggest that requiring disclosure alone does not resolve the challenges faculty face. Instead, transparency appears to surface a deeper issue: many students lack clear frameworks for deciding when and how AI use supports—or undermines—their learning. This session will share practical materials (including a reusable transparency checklist) and reflect on implications for teaching. I argue that disclosure requirements must be paired with intentional efforts to build student judgment and AI literacy, reframing integrity as a function of visible process, not just final products.