Digital Commons Network^™

Google Books, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

Google Books’ (GB) full-text search of more than 40 million books offers significant value for libraries and their patrons. However, Google’s refusal to disclose information about the coverage of GB, as well as observed gaps and inaccuracies in the collection and its metadata, makes it difficult to recommend with confidence for a given research need. While most search and retrieval functions work well, glitches aren’t hard to find, which suggests GB development is focused on user experiences that relate to monetization. Privacy and equity concerns surrounding GB mirror those of other big technology platforms. Still, every librarian should familiarize themselves …

A Reimagining Of The Chacoan World, Larry Benson, Richard W. Loose

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A new paradigm of the Chacoan world is presented, wherein Chaco Canyon is considered to be a mostly unoccupied architectural complex that functioned primarily as a pilgrimage destination. Chaco was the political, religious, and social focal point of people living in outlying regions. The resident population of the Canyon consisted of a small number of caretakers, charged with maintaining great house structures, food supplies, and their ceremonial contents. Chacoan chiefdoms were mostly located in large, well-watered, agriculturally-based communities situated at the base of mountains that ring the San Juan Basin, e.g., the Chuskas. Chiefly elites lived year-round in those areas, …

Exploring Media Portrayals Of People With Mental Disorders Using Nlp, Swapna Gottipati, Mark Chong, Andrew Wei Kiat Lim, Benny Haryanto Kawidiredjo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Media plays an important role in creating an impact in society. Several studies show that news media and entertainment channels, at times may create overwhelming images of the mental illness that emphasize criminality and dangerousness. The consequences of such negative impact may impact the audience with stigma and on the other hand, they impair the self-esteem and help-seeking behavior of the people with mental disorders. This is the first study to examine the Singapore media’s portrayal of persons with mental disorders (MDs) using text analytics and natural language processing. To date, most studies on media portrayal of people with MDs …

Collection Development For Librarians In A Hurry: A Survey Of The Physics Resources Of The Libraries Of The Association Of American Universities, Amanda Mccormick

Law Librarian Journal Articles

This study examines the library resource guides of the 65 member institutions of the Association of American Universities (AAU) to determine the resources recommended to the physics community for teaching, scholarship, and research. Data on the most frequently recommended information resources are presented. There were over 970 resources named in the library guides, including databases, journals, reference works, monographs, and professional organizations. Building off previous collection development studies and guides, this study is meant to assist librarians in developing and maintaining collections to recommend to their physics communities.

The Nabataean Façade Monuments Of Petra, Jordan: An Assessment Of The Façade Monuments And Their Geological Environment., Josie M. Newbold

Theses and Dissertations

The Nabataean people controlled the Petra region of modern-day Jordan from sometime before 300 BCE until the Roman Annexation of the Nabataean kingdom in 106 CE. The Nabataeans are known for the monumental façades carved into the sandstone cliffs surrounding their capital city. The first survey of the façade monuments was undertaken by Brünnow and Domaszewski in 1904. They created a typology that has only been slightly modified by subsequent authors including Judith McKenzie (1990). This typology does not account for all of the variations in façade types in Petra, thus creating a need for a new typology proposed in …

Motivations To Participate In Hunting And Angling: A Comparison Among Preferred Activities And State Of Residence, Matthew P. Hinrichs, Mark P. Vrtiska, Mark Pegg, Christopher J. Chizinski

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Motivations for hunting and fishing extend beyond harvesting game and include social, psychological, emotional, and physical benefits. We used data from a web-based questionnaire to compare relationships between preferred hunting or fishing activity types, state of residence, and motivations of hunters and anglers across the central United States (U.S.). Exploratory factor analysis yielded four motivation factors: nature, social, food, and challenge. Differences in terms of state were negligible across all motivation factors (η²_p < .01), indicating similarity across states. Nature (η²_p = .01) and social (η²_p < .01) factors were the first and …

Professional Competency Self-Efficacy Of Undergraduate Environmental Studies Students: A Case Study Of Gender Differences And Longitudinal Change, D. Gosselin, R. Bonnstetter, E. Gehrig, R. Stokes

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Resilience Through Climate Services, A.M.S. Ibarra, C. Hewitt, Y. T. Winarto, S. Walker, V. W. Keener, J. Bayala, I. Christel, H. Bloomfield, K. Halsnaes, T. Haigh, D. Jacob, G. P. Brasseur, B. Van Den Hurk

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Authoring Tool To Provide Group And Crowd Animation Using Natural Language Scripts, Guido Mainardi, Aline Normoyle, Vinícius Cassol, Norman Badler, Soraia Raupp Musse

Computer Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

Virtual environments have become ubiquitous, expanding beyond games into the domains of architecture, engineering, psychology, education, and archaeology. Furthermore, virtual humans can further enhance these environments when they provide compelling and coherent behaviors. In this paper, we present a scripting language based on simple, plain English commands. Our system assists people without game and animation expertise to populate large environments and complex scenarios. To validate our approach, we develop a prototype using Unreal Engine 4 and author a variety of indoor and outdoor agent simulations. Furthermore, we test our prototype with both experienced and inexperienced users, creating scenarios for a …

The Effects Of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals On Plants, Christian Mathew Pridemore

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a diverse group of chemicals which can have a detrimental effect on human health, affecting any physiological body system sensitive to hormonal changes. Human exposure to EDCs is inevitable due to their prevalence in modern living; EDCs are integral compounds found in everyday items with which humans interact and ingest. These, along with other indirect avenues leading to EDC exposure, pose a threat to both human health and to the health of wildlife and agricultural environments. Studies on the effects of EDCs on plants can be substantially informative and necessary for progress towards solving the …

Program: 2021 Undergraduate Mathematics Day, University Of Dayton. Department Of Mathematics

Undergraduate Mathematics Day: Past Content

Schedule and general information about the event.

21st Annual Kenneth C. Schraut Memorial Lecture: "One Health: Connecting Humans, Animals and the Environment" (Suzanne Lenhart, University of Tennessee)

Plenary talk: "The Crossings of Art, History, and Mathematics" (Jennifer White, St. Vincent College)

Ua35/3 Memoranda, Wku Provost

WKU Administration Documents

2021 memoranda issued by the WKU Provost to faculty & staff via email.

• Provost's Message
• Awards
• Terrance Brown Named Dean of Potter College at WKU
• David N. Brown Named Dean of Ogden College at WKU
• Announcing New Dean of Ogden College of Science & Engineering
• Student Ombuds Announcement
• Message from the Provost, 9/7/2021
• Commons at Helm Library Update
• Update - Food Pantry
• WKU Help
• Tornado Relief Effort

Degradation Of Natural And Synthetic Fibers In Various Aqueous Environments, Jaylin Bryant

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

Fabrics are one variant of polymers, macromolecules that form the foundation of our society. They consist of small subunits called monomers, which are covalently bonded together and layered over each other through intermolecular attractions. There are natural fabrics, such as cotton and silk, and synthetic fabrics like polyester and rayon. Scientists in forensic taphonomy study postmortem changes made to human remains, which can also include clothes found at the scene. In this study, the degradation rates of four white fabrics (cotton, polyester, rayon, and silk) were observed in various aqueous environments (pure, chlorinated, sea, and lake) in order to observe …

Pathways To Self-Governance And Success: An Exploratory Study Of Community Gardens In Louisville, Kentucky, Amanda Beavin

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Those involved in community gardens face multiple challenges to survival, including land tenure, lack of funding, lack of sustained interest, and poor infrastructure, but many successful, long-lasting gardens have found management style to be a key aspect of their success. This project investigated three community gardens in Louisville, Kentucky, in order to determine how self-governance, or internal management by gardeners, overlaps with other success indicators and what development processes lead to successful self-governance. Using qualitative, semi-structured interviews and participant observation, the researcher gathered and analyzed data relative to each garden site’s land tenure, community engagement, environmental design, resource mobilization, and …

Statistical Inference: The Missing Piece Of Recsys Experiment Reliability Discourse, Ngozi Ihemelandu, Michael D. Ekstrand

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper calls attention to the missing component of the recommender system evaluation process: Statistical Inference. There is active research in several components of the recommender system evaluation process: selecting baselines, standardizing benchmarks, and target item sampling. However, there has not yet been significant work on the role and use of statistical inference for analyzing recommender system evaluation results.

In this paper, we argue that the use of statistical inference is a key component of the evaluation process that has not been given sufficient attention. We support this argument with systematic review of recent RecSys papers to understand how statistical …

The House Mouse Mus Musculus In Mongolia: Taxonomy, Status, And Ecology Of A Neglected Species, Rico Appenborn, Katrin Lammers, Bettina Harr, Davaa Lkhagvasuren, Ravchig Samiya, Michael Stubbe, Hermann Ansorge

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Although the house mouse as a common and widely distributed species is probably best-studied among small mammals, there is a lack of fundamental knowledge regarding species identity, morphology and ecology in Mongolia. Consequently, this study provides results of basic biological research on the Mongolian house mouse. A total of 172 specimens have been studied based on samples collected during the period 1962 to 2016. Using genetic and morphological markers, the taxonomic examination resulted in classification as Mus musculus musculus LINNAEUS, 1758. To characterize the Mongolian house mouse, three fur color traits and 23 metric body and skull traits were analyzed. …

Modelling Acoustics In Ancient Maya Cities: Moving Towards A Synesthetic Experience Using Gis & 3d Simulation, Graham Goodwin, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Archaeological analyses have successfully employed 2D and 3D tools to measure vision and movement within cityscapes; however, built environments are often designed to invoke synesthetic experiences. GIS and Virtual Reality (VR) now enable archaeologists to also measure the acoustics of ancient spaces. To move toward an understanding of synesthetic experience in ancient Maya cities, we employ GIS and 3D modelling to measure sound propagation and reverberation using the main civic-ceremonial complex in ancient Copán as a case study. For the ancient Maya, sight and sound worked in concert to create ritually-charged atmospheres and architecture served to shape these experiences. Together …

The Role Of Culture In Land System Science, Kelly Hopping

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

Land system science (LSS) has substantially advanced understanding of land dynamics throughout the world. However, studies that explicitly address the causative role of culture in land systems have been fairly limited relative to those examining other structural dimensions (e.g. markets, policies, climate). In this paper, we aim to start a discussion on how to better include culture in LSS. Through four examples, we show how aspects of culture influence land systems in myriad ways. Building on existing causal land system models, we propose a conceptual framework for the role of culture in land use and summarize promising methodological innovations for …

Witnessing Pandora: Doing “Undone Science” At Chicken Sanctuaries, Heather Rosenfeld

Environmental Science and Policy: Faculty Publications

Farmed animal sanctuaries rescue, rehabilitate, and care for animals bred for use in agriculture. Because of the structure of veterinary training, regulations on species considered agricultural, and for other reasons, rescued animals such as chickens fall out of spaces of veterinary care and medical knowledge production. Given these knowledge and research gaps, this paper investigates how sanctuaries develop medical knowledge about chickens, focusing on hens bred for egg production. I develop the concept of “witnessing” as it has been used in science studies, feminist theory, and animal activism, arguing that sanctuary science and medicine can be understood as queer witnessing. …

Workshop Outcomes Report: 1st International Workshop On Seismic Resilience Of Arctic Infrastructure And Social Systems, Majid Ghayoomi, Katharine Duderstadt, Alexander Kholodov, Alexander Shiklomanov, Matthew Turner, Elham Ajorlou

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Chemistry 141 Fall 2021 Soils Project, Josh Li

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

My literature research project focused on the use of electronics in an automated crop -watering system. It detects when the moisture of soil is too low and automatically waters it until its moisture is high enough to sustain the crops until the next automatic watering ( Đuzi ć and Đumi ć 2).

Victory For All, Administration For Some: An Examination Of Differences In The Impact Of Indigenous Jurisdictional Expansion In Oklahoma, Raymond Orr, Yancey Orr

Environmental Science and Policy: Faculty Publications

Indigenous polities often face the consequences of decisions that emerge from processes outside of their control. The U.S. Supreme Court decision on McGirt v. Oklahoma in 2020, which recognized nearly a third of the state of Oklahoma as potentially within the jurisdiction of five Native American tribes, is one such example. The lawsuit generating this decision was a legal appeal by an individual–not a tribe–and may have implications that include recognizing tribal jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters throughout much of the state. The decision was celebrated by tribes and those advocating for greater recognition of their territorial authority. Yet, …

Investigation Into The Source Of Contamination Of Surface Waters Flowing Through The Wright State University Woods, Nnadozie Kennedy Okeke

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This investigative research was carried out with the purpose of determining the source of contaminants present in the surface waters flowing through the Wright State University woods. Five sample sites going from upstream to downstream namely; Inflow to Nutter Center Pond (INNCP), Nutter Center Pond (NCP), Outfall 21 (OTF 21), Burley, and Outfall 15 (OTF 15), were sampled over a time period spanning from June 2020 to January 2021. Samples collected were analyzed for Escherichia coli (E. coli) using 3M™ Petrifilm™ E. coli/Coliform Count (EC) plates, select anions (Phosphate PO43-, Nitrate NO3-, Sulfate SO42-, Fluoride F- and Chloride Cl-) using …

Moving Ethnography: Infrastructuring Doubletakes And Switchbacks In Experimental Collaborative Methods, Aalok Khandekar, Brandon Costelloe-Kuehn, Lindsay Poirier, Alli Morgan, Alison Kenner, Kim Fortun, Mike Fortun

Statistical and Data Sciences: Faculty Publications

In this article, we describe how our work at a particular nexus of STS, ethnography, and critical theory—informed by experimental sensibilities in both the arts and sciences—transformed as we built and learned to use collaborative workflows and supporting digital infrastructure. Responding to the call of this special issue to be “ethnographic about ethnography,” we describe what we have learned about our own methods and collaborative practices through building digital infrastructure to support them. Supporting and accounting for how experimental ethnographic projects move—through different points in a research workflow, with many switchbacks, with project designs constantly changing as the research develops—was …

Applications Of The Match Model To Analyze Student Problem-Solving, Barbara Chiu

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Problem-solving has been recognized as a critical skill that students lack in the current education system, due to the use of algorithmic questions in tests that can be simply memorized and solved without conceptual understanding. Research on student problem-solving is needed to gain deeper insight into how students are approaching problems and where they lack proficiency so that instruction can help students gain a conceptual understanding of chemistry. The MAtCH (methods, analogies, theory, context, how) model was recently developed from expert explanations of their research and could be a valuable model to identify key components of student problem-solving. This project …

The Kiwanis Site: A Multi-Method Geophysical Approach To Investigating Mound Features, Luke Burds

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Subtle mound-like landforms can be genetically ambiguous features within a landscape. A variety of geomorphological and anthropological processes can result in these equifinal forms being difficult to interpret. Being able to reliably and noninvasively differentiate them is important for legal as well as cultural and spiritual reasons. A suite of non-invasive geophysical methods were thus used on mounds at the Kiwanis site in western Wisconsin in order to determine if culturally diagnostic indicators could be recorded in geophysical data. Genesis of these mounds is ambiguous given the presence of aeolian landforms in immediate proximity. As a control, the same geophysical …

Experiential Learning In Soil Science: Evaluating Soil Quality In South Wollo, Ethiopia, Melissa Allen, Martha Mamo, Shimelis Beyene, Teshome Regassa, Gandura O. Abagandura, Solomon Abreha, Anthony James Mucia, Tsegaye Tadesse

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

This study abroad program provided an opportunity to enhance the international experience and research skills of University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) students within a multidisciplinary team’s research-education goal on improving food security in Ethiopia. The experiential study component of the project included preparatory sessions during the Fall 2015 Semester at the UNL followed by a four- to five-week fieldwork experience in Ethiopia. Teams from the UNL and an Ethiopian university participated in survey data collection and field soil evaluations from farms in the Gerado area of South Wollo, Ethiopia. Having students interact with farmers increased student self-confidence and enhanced their leadership …

The Rise And Fall Of Wiñaymarka: Rethinking Cultural And Environmental Interactions In The Southern Basin Of Lake Titicaca, Maria C. Bruno, José M. Capriles, Christine A. Hastorf, Sherilyn C. Fritz, D. Marie Weide, Alejandra I. Domic, Paul A. Baker

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Investigations of how past human societies managed during times of major climate change can inform our understanding of potential human responses to ongoing environmental change. In this study, we evaluate the impact of environmental variation on human communities over the last four millennia in the southern Lake Titicaca basin of the Andes, known as Lake Wiñaymarka. Refined paleoenvironmental reconstructions from new diatom-based reconstructions of lake level together with archaeological evidence of animal and plant resource use from sites on the Taraco Peninsula, Bolivia, reveal frequent climate and lake-level changes within major cultural phases. We posit that climate fluctuations alone do …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 15. Wallace's Many "Hats": What Should We Call Him?, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) has been referred to by name through the aid of a variety of labels – some thirty or more, in fact – that link him to his emphases of attention. How many of these labels are/were justifiable? The assessment here is that he is probably best remembered as a ‘naturalist,’ ‘geographer,’ ‘evolutionist,’ and ‘social critic.’

Expanding Social Network Modeling Software And Agent Models For Diffusion Processes, Patrick Vaden Shepherd

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

In an increasingly digitally interconnected world, the study of social networks and their dynamics is burgeoning. Anthropologically, the ubiquity of online social networks has had striking implications for the condition of large portions of humanity. This technology has facilitated content creation of virtually all sorts, information sharing on an unprecedented scale, and connections and communities among people with similar interests and skills. The first part of my research is a social network evolution and visualization engine. Built on top of existing technologies, my software is designed to provide abstractions from the underlying libraries, drive real-time network evolution based on user-defined …