Digital Commons Network^™

Hie 337 Modern Russian History, Rhiannon L. Dowling

Open Educational Resources

The 19^th and 20^th centuries in Russia were a time of unprecedented creation and destruction. During this period the Russian Empire—arguably the most politically backward nation in Europe—transformed into the Soviet Union—the most radical modern political experiment in history. The life of the Soviet Union is itself bookended by the two most unlikely and unexpected moments in world history: the Russian Revolution at one end, and the collapse of the Soviet empire on the other. And decades after the Soviet Union’s collapse, experts are still debating what finally precipitated the sudden death of an empire that seemed for …

Characterization Of Social Media Use Patterns Among Hispanic/Latinx Dementia Caregivers And Its Impact On Mental Health, Sofia Mildrum Chana

ETDs from 2020-2029

Hispanic & Latinx (H&L) family caregivers of people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRDs) experience high levels of stress that can negatively impact their mental health and may turn to social networking sites (SNS, commonly known as ‘social media’) for coping or social support. However, no research has yet examined how SNS use influences H&L caregiver mental health. The primary purpose of the present study was to characterize patterns of SNS use among H&L ADRD family caregivers and examine the associations between SNS use and caregivers’ mental health and well-being. Data for the present study come from the …

Through The Ages: Reflecting On 250 Years Of Ai Technology, Ethan Brue

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"The only thing historians know for certain is that humans have been proven quite inept at being certain, particularly when it involves the future."

Posting about the longterm influence of artificial intelligence from In All Things, an online hub that offers insight into maintaining and faithful and orthodox Reformed Christian worldview while fearlessly engaging in every aspect of contemporary life – until all is made new.

Through the Ages

Modulation Of The Cgas-Sting Inflammation Pathway In Mouse Models Of Accelerated And Slowed Aging, Benjamin David Heckman

ETDs from 2020-2029

Chronic sterile inflammation (inflammaging) is a core pillar of aging, and the cGAS-STING innate immune pathway has emerged as a key driver of this process. However, how this pathway intersects with systemic endocrine signaling remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the intersection of endocrine signaling and cGAS-STING activation using two complementary mouse models with opposing lifespan phenotypes: a short-lived, liver-specific glucagon receptor knockout (LKO) mouse and a long-lived growth hormone-releasing hormone knockout (GHRH-KO) mouse. We demonstrate that despite presenting with a metabolically healthy phenotype, female LKO mice exhibited a significantly reduced lifespan. We link this premature mortality to a sex …

Examining Pain- Related Stigma And Sources Of Resilience In Children With Disorders Of Gut-Brain Interaction, Tolulope Adetayo

ETDs from 2020-2029

Background. Painful disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) affect approximately one in five children. In addition to functional impairments, DGBI increase risk for felt stigma (FS) from providers, school personnel, family members, and peers. Children with DGBI may also belong to other minoritized groups that intersect with pain-related FS. However, little is known about how intersectionality impacts the stigma and pain experiences of youth. Further, little is known about the protective capabilities of psychosocial resources (e.g., social support and hope) against FS. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate the impact of FS and its potential moderators in a sample of …

Ultrafast Terahertz Spectroscopy And The Suppression Of Superconductivity In Strained Iron Selenide Below 1 Kelvin, Tracy Glen Hastings

ETDs from 2020-2029

We report on terahertz time-domain spectroscopy measurements of iron selenide thin films of various thicknesses grown on a magnesium oxide substrate, focusing on the frequency-dependent complex conductivity in the range of 0.25 - 7 THz. By an- alyzing films with and without an approximately 100 nm thick Se capping layer, we examined the role of oxidation in the suppression of superconductivity. X-ray photo- electron spectroscopy data confirmed that oxidation was effectively mitigated, yet the films exhibited insulating behavior down to 200 mK, a temperature range that has not been extensively studied in this system. Our results indicate that the suppression …

Posterior Cerebellar Lobe Deviations And Social Cognition In Individuals With Psychosis And Their Unaffected Relatives, Andreea Maria Stanica

ETDs from 2020-2029

Social cognition deficits observed in psychotic disorders contribute to functional impairments. The cerebellum has been identified as a critical brain region involved in social cognitive processes, but the relationship between cerebellar structural deviations and social cognition in individuals with psychosis (probands) and their unaffected relatives remains unclear. Using normative modeling, this study examined cerebellar volume deviations in probands and their unaffected first-degree relatives and investigated associations with social cognitive and motor performance. Probands exhibited significant theory of mind deficits compared to relatives. Probands showed negative deviations in anterior cerebellar lobe relative to the norm, whereas relatives did not. Deviations in …

The Effectiveness Of A Web-Based, Edutainment Intervention On Hiv-Related Stigma, Hiv Knowledge, And Condom Use Self-Efficacy Among Black/African American Emerging Adults, Shirlacia Gray

ETDs from 2020-2029

The Effectiveness of a Web-Based, Edutainment Intervention on HIV-Related Stigma, HIV Knowledge, and Condom Use Self-Efficacy among Black/African American Emerging Adults SHIRLACIA S. GRAY APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY ABSTRACT Background: Edutainment interventions were developed to increase knowledge, to influence people’s attitudes and behaviors toward sexual, social and public health issues, and to promote behavior change. This current study implemented an edutainment intervention to examine its effectiveness on increasing HIV knowledge, reducing HIV-related stigma, and increasing condom use self-efficacy among Black/African American Emerging Adults in Birmingham, AL. Methods: This current study used longitudinal data from the City Health-II intervention for secondary data …

Exploring Criminality Through A Developmental Lens: Contextual Effects From Childhood To Emerging Adulthood, Abigail Jeanette Anderson

ETDs from 2020-2029

Adolescent delinquency is a key predictor of later criminal behaviors and is associated with negative outcomes across education, employment, and health. Despite extensive research, gaps remain regarding the interplay of individual- and context-level factors in the development of delinquency, as well as the reliance on cross-sectional or retrospective designs. Guided by a social-ecological framework, the present dissertation examines how family, school, and neighborhood contexts interact with individual behaviors to shape pathways toward delinquency and adult criminality across childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. The first study investigated the cascading effects of paternal engagement, parental aggravation, and early child behavior problems in …

Reproductive System Variation In Tropical Red Macroalgae, Taylor M. Williams

ETDs from 2020-2029

The reproductive system encompasses the relative rates of sexual versus clonal reproduction and is responsible for partitioning genetic diversity within and among populations. However, the quantification of these rates remains limited in natural populations and has primarily focused on animals and angiosperms. This knowledge gap is particularly acute among tropical macroalgae. This dissertation addresses this by focusing on the cryptogenic invader Chondria tumulosa in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and the invasive species Acanthophora spicifera across the Hawaiian Archipelago, Australia, and Guam. For Chondria we developed nine microsatellite loci and found a dominance of tetrasporophytes, high clonal rates, and strong …

Building An Empire-The Life And Legacy Of Dr. A.G. Gaston, Solymar Ortiz

ETDs from 2020-2029

The life, work, and legacy of Dr. A.G. Gaston demonstrate the significance of commemorating key civil rights activists through the establishment of historical institutions. Gaston was a pivotal leader in Birmingham’s Civil Rights Movement, and as the first Black millionaire in Alabama, he dedicated his life to generating wealth and uplifting his community. Stemming from humble beginnings, he was raised by formerly enslaved grandparents in a former plantation town. His rough upbringing encompassed a fight against racial injustice, an intense work ethic, and a passion for entrepreneurship. That passion allowed him to build his businesses from the ground up and …

Impositions, Christopher Michael Mccauley

ETDs from 2020-2029

This collection explores ordinary moments. A couple on a park bench. A man cleaning a horse stall. A citizen scientist wandering a field. When you peer into these scenes closely, though, you can move beyond the seemingly mundane and discover universal truths, as well as images that evoke shared emotional landscapes. Two primary themes bring greater clarity to these moments and images: people imposing on the world and the world imposing on people. Each piece in the collection touches on these themes in some way. Hence the title, Impositions. I hope readers will feel a sense of empathy for the …

A Better Imagination For Ai: Will There Be Ai In The New Jerusalem?, David J. Mulder

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

No abstract provided.

How Can Zhu Xi’S Resources Contribute To The Feminist Progressive Project? A Reflection On The Study Of Zhu Xi’S Theory Of Kun Way-Making, Kun Wang

Comparative Philosophy

In Zhu Xi’s theory of cultivation, kun way-making (kun-dao坤道) to cultivate the virtue of kun (kun-de 坤德) goes ahead to qian way-making (qian-dao乾道), in which the virtue of qian (qian-de 乾德) is cultivated. In this theory, everyone is encouraged to cultivate kun way-making, which it happens that women represent. It is worth noting that the theory faces an issue of potential inconsistency between the “gendered” construction of qian-kun 乾坤 and the positive absence (kong-que空闕), the pivot of the cultivating process, where the renegotiation of the virtues of qian-kun is attuned to optimal …

A Constructive-Engaging Analysis Of Descarrtes (European) And Oyeshile (African) On Personhood, Olanrewaju Shitta-Bey

Comparative Philosophy

An examination of the nature of the human person provides a crucial foundation for understanding human life and identity. Conceptions of personhood have far-reaching implications beyond philosophy, influencing politics, ethics, religion, and epistemology. Beliefs about what constitutes a person shapes theories of rights, responsibility, and justice; moral views on duty and accountability; religious understandings of the soul and the afterlife; and epistemological reflections on the sources and limits of knowledge. Inquiry into human nature is therefore not merely abstract, but central to understanding social organization and individual conduct. This paper examines two influential accounts of human nature drawn from distinct …

A Cross-System Analysis Of Structural Commensurability Between Axiomatic Foundations Of Set Theory (Zfc) And The Principles Of Transcendent Wisdom, Mohammadjavad Maarefvand

Comparative Philosophy

Building on observed similarities in uniqueness proofs for the empty set and the Necessary Existent (Wājib al-Wujūd), this study engages the meta-methodological issue of cross-system commensurability. It identifies four instances of structural commensurability between Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory with Choice (ZFC) and Mulla Sadra's Transcendent Wisdom (Ḥikmat al-Muta'āliyah). First, identity principles: the Axiom of Extensionality provides a formal operational criterion analogous to the philosophical principle of identity through absence of distinguishing features. Second, multiplicity mechanisms: ZFC's constructor axioms (bottom-up construction) and emanation principles (top-down explanation) address analogous problems with inverse orientations. Third, transcending limitation: the Axiom of Infinity ensuring quantitative extensional …

A Critique Of Ziporyn’S Interpretation Of Early Chinese Thought: From The Constructive-Engagement Vantage Point, Xiaoqiao Liu

Comparative Philosophy

Sameness and difference are among the most fundamental and yet most tension-laden categories in philosophy, bearing directly on the conditions under which judgment, classification, and meaning become possible. This article critically reconstructs and compares two influential but methodologically divergent approaches to this issue in contemporary comparative philosophy. One is Brook Ziporyn’s idea of coherence, which seeks to articulate a non-substantialist metaphysics as a response to tensions internal to the Western metaphysical tradition. The other is Bo Mou’s enhanced account of relative identity, which revises both absolute and modern relative identity theories through a bottom-up, semantically grounded framework oriented toward cross-tradition …

Father Knows Best? Not Here: Metaphors Of Kinship And Kingship In Haudenosaunee, Aristotelian, And Confucian Political Thought, Ian Kalman

Comparative Philosophy

The notion that the organization of large-scale social structures are rooted in domestic ones has a longstanding history in both Chinese and Greek classical political philosophy. Aristotle and Confucius independently reasoned that a good family, one with a strong father, mapped onto a good state, one with a strong king - though they differed on the details. While there is a strong literature juxtaposing these two titans, less attention has been paid to how their ideas compare with other philosophical traditions. This article provides an anthropological intervention to the comparative study of Confucius and Aristotle – while both autonomously argued …

The Coherence Of Navayāna Pragmatism: Ambedkar And The Pragmatist Reconstruction Of Buddhist Philosophy, Danish Hamid

Comparative Philosophy

This paper examines the philosophical coherence of B.R. Ambedkar’s reconstruction of his (Navayāna) Buddhism in relation to John Dewey’s pragmatism. Building on Scott Stroud’s reading of Ambedkar as a Deweyan Pragmatist (2017, 2023), it argues that Dewey’s evolutionary naturalism, his conception of growth, and pragmatic redefinition of concepts provide Ambedkar with the methodological tools for a naturalistic and socially reconstructive reinterpretation of Buddhist doctrines such as anicca (impermanence), dhamma (Buddha’s teaching), nirvāṇa (enlightenment), karuna (compassion), etc. Ambedkar transforms impermanence from a metaphysics of flux into an ethics of progressive growth, and recasts dhamma as a social morality grounded in fraternity …

Challenging The Double-Negation Principle: An Analysis Of Strategic Theories Of Sun Zi, Carnot, And Clausewitz Through Intuitionist Logic, Antonino Drago

Comparative Philosophy

To study a subject similarly represented in Eastern and Western cultures, I examine some classical theories of war strategy according to a new analytical method. This method is based on the recognition that the most important strategic theories are organized as theories essentially not deduced from axioms according to classical logic. Such theories reason through doubly negated propositions (DNPs), whose meanings differ from those of their affirmative counterparts. This corresponds to the use of intuitionist logic instead of classical logic. An inspection of the works of the texts of Sun Zi, Lazare Carnot, and Clausewitz reveals many such propositions, and …

Review Of "Soldiers In Peacemaking: The Role Of The Military At The End Of War, 1800–Present" Edited By Beatrice De Graaf, Frédéric Dessberg And Thomas Vaisset, Jean-Michel Turcotte

Canadian Military History

Review of Soldiers in Peacemaking: The Role of the Military at the End of War, 1800–present edited by Beatrice de Graaf, Frédéric Dessberg and Thomas Vaisset

Review Of "Canada And The Korean War: Histories And Legacies Of A Cold War Conflict" Edited By Andrew Burtch And Tim Cook, Tod Strickland

Canadian Military History

Review of Canada and the Korean War: Histories and Legacies of a Cold War Conflict edited by Andrew Burtch and Tim Cook

Review Of "The Age Of The Gas Mask: How British Civilians Faced The Terrors Of Total War" By Susan R. Grayzel, Kyle Pritchard

Canadian Military History

Review of The Age of the Gas Mask: How British Civilians Faced the Terrors of Total War by Susan R. Grayzel

Unsigned Letter To Mr. H. C. Perrin, Manager, Heard National Bank Building

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

Correspondence: Unsigned letter to Mr. H. C. Perrin, Manager, Heard National Bank Building, City, regarding discriminatory practices in the building. Envelope included. Undated.

Card, Methodist Hospital To Eartha White

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

Correspondence: Card from Methodist Hospital to Eartha White, regarding payment procedures. Undated.

Letter From Elizabeth Andrews, Private Secretary To Mr. Frew, To Eartha White

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

Correspondence: Letter from Elizabeth Andrews, Private Secretary to Mr. Frew, Paradise, Pennsylvania, to Eartha White, regarding payment due for seeds. Undated.

Bill From Home Stove Shop To Eartha White

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

Document: Tag with bill from Home Stove Shop, C. H. Houghton, to Miss E. M. White, for materials and labor. Materials and costs handwritten on verso.  Undated.

Miss Eartha M. M. White, President The Clara White Mission Calling Card

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

Card: Calling card with caption: Miss Eartha M. M. White, President of the Clara White Mission S4-1192

Eartha M. M. White Calling Card

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

Card: Calling card with caption: Eartha M. M. White, A Constant Reminder, "God First".  Image of Eartha White on front and inspirational verse on verso. Part of four copies that differ slightly. Undated.

Eartha M. M. White Calling Card

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

Card: Eartha M. M. White, President, Clara White Mission, Inc.. Image of Eartha White on front and inspirational verse on verso. Part of four copies that differ slightly. Undated.