Digital Commons Network^™

Reframing Library Instruction Towards Belonging, Vanessa Arce

Publications and Research

A reflection piece about a small, spontaneous adjustment I made to an introductory library session for first year students. In the essay, I reflect on the potential impact of this relatively minor change in the context of the student population at our college.

Indigenous Child Language Research Report 1, Saad K’Idilyé, Indigenous Child Language Research Center

Indigenous Child Language Research Center

This report shares some of the preliminary finding of the research work that is being conducted by the Indigenous Child Language Research Center. The ICLRC aims to report to their community partner, Saad K’idilyé, the results of their groundbreaking work. This information is typically delivered in person at a planned meeting. This research is long-term and the data is being prepared for optimal analysis to be shared through published works, workshops, and conference presentations. This is the very first research report that came out of our partnership.

Evaluation Associations As Catalysts For The Professionalization Of Evaluation Practice: A Comparative Case Study Of Brazil, Ghana, Indonesia And Uganda, Amy C. Jersild

Dissertations

Professional associations are recognized as key actors in promoting the development of the evaluation field across the globe. There has been exponential growth of Voluntary Organizations for the Professionalization of Evaluation (VOPEs) in the Global South in the past several decades in response to an evolving international aid agenda and a mobilized international evaluation field intent on supporting the development of national monitoring and evaluation systems and the professionalization of the field. VOPEs have featured as a central actor in the Global Evaluation Agenda, an initiative developed by the international community aimed to promote professionalization of the evaluation field as …

“Megadeal” Subsidies, Local Spillovers And Corporate Innovation, Yoojin Lee, Shaphan Ng, Aruhn Venkat

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine whether the largest place-based, firm-specific corporate subsidies (“Megadeals”) awarded by state and local governments affect local firms’ innovation. First, we document that 1) subsidy firms innovate in the subsidized county and 2) subsidy firms bring inventors from other counties into the subsidized county, consistent with subsidy firms generating new knowledge locally. In our main test, we use a stacked cohort design with stringent fixed effects to document that local firms increase patenting following a Megadeal. Cross-sectionally, effects are increasing 1) in subsidy firm innovativeness, 2) in the technological closeness of subsidy firms and local firms, 3) when subsidy …

Public Attitudes Toward Cascade Genetic Screening In The United States, Hadley Stevens Smith, Emilie S Zoltick, Madison R Hickingbotham, Emily S Bonkowski, Stacey Pereira, Tara A Lavelle, David L Veenstra, Amy L Mcguire, Katherine E Bonini, Leila Jamal

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Introduction: After a patient receives genetic test results that indicate an actionable health condition, cascade genetic screening (CGS) is the process of evaluating the patient's relatives for a potentially elevated genetic risk of disease. The United States primarily relies on patients to communicate with their relatives, resulting in suboptimal rates of risk communication, familial genetic testing uptake, and risk-reducing interventions. There is ongoing debate about whether and how best to inform relatives of a potentially increased genetic risk.

Methods: We conducted a nationally representative survey of US adults to assess attitudes toward informing at-risk relatives, acceptability of system-mediated communication, and …

A Word From The Writing Team (June 2026), Pam Walter, Mfa, Laura Deloretta, Phd

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Black Language Matters: Capitalizing On Black English For Educational Success Through Linguistic And Cultural Competence Training, Fritz Lauriston

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

This dissertation explores the impact of culturally responsive professional development on K–12 educators’ perceptions and understanding of Black English, also known as African American Vernacular English (AAVE). The study responds to the longstanding marginalization of Black English in educational environments and its implications for academic equity, cultural identity, and student performance—particularly among African American learners. The central intervention, titled “Do You Understand Me? Linguistic and Cultural Competence Black English Professional Development,” was designed to increase teachers’ linguistic awareness, dismantle deficit perspectives, and promote inclusive instructional practices that validate students’ home language.

Using a mixed-method design, 59 certified educators participated in …

Should Dams Respond To Power Prices? Environmental Economics And Emissions Effects Of Hydropower Peaking, Levi Stephen Konrad-Shankland

Environmental Studies Senior Theses

Hydroelectricity stands to be particularly important to a decarbonizing power grid because unlike many renewables it is dispatchable. However, ramping up and down hydropower production at short notice to respond to power demand—hydropeaking—worsens many of the environmental harms of hydroelectricity (Bipa et al., 2024). In Chapter 1, I create a microeconomic framework to explain how and why revenue-motivated dams hydropeak.

In Chapter 2, I assess the extents to which six different case study dams around the US hydropeak, first by decomposing actual flow regime into combinations of counterfactual management objectives, and second with an index of flow variation alignment with …

Transit Infrastructure And Neighborhood Change: The Impact Of The Q Train Expansion On Commercial Space Use In New York City's Upper East Side, Lily E. Levick

Quantitative Social Science Undergraduate Senior Theses

This paper examines the impact of the 2017 Second Avenue Subway expansion on commercial land uses on New York City’s Upper East Side. The research leverages quantitative models alongside qualitative personal experiences and literature to understand the relationship between infrastructure, space, and neighborhood change from a nuanced perspective. The results show that the studied area experienced a broad trend of de-commercialization between 2003 and 2025, and a simultaneous shift toward commercial zoning in areas closest to new subway stations. These findings encourage us to consider how mobility access is an important driver for change within neighborhoods and urban space, and …

Behaviors Associated With Improved Relationship Satisfaction: Examining Change In The Relationship Checkup, Erica A. Mitchell, Patricia N.E. Roberson, Desirée S. Woodle, James Cordova, Kristina Coop Gordon

Psychology

Relationship distress and dissolution are reported by about one-third of couples in the United States. Despite evidence that couple therapy is an effective treatment for relationship distress, many couples encounter barriers (e.g., cost, time, transportation, childcare) to accessing this kind of relationship help. The Relationship Checkup is a two-session, individualized intervention where each couple receives evidence-based suggestions to address specific relationship concerns. The Relationship Checkup was delivered as a home visitation intervention in the Southeastern region of the United States. The current study (N = 1298 individuals; N = 649 couples) uses Dyadic Latent Growth Curves models to examine associations …

University Of Nebraska At Omaha Division Of Biomechanics And Research Development Annual Report 2023-2025, Uno Biomechanics

Biomechanics Annual Report

This report contains:

A letter from the Director: Dr. Nick Stergiou

Highlights articles

Center for Cardiovascular Research in Biomechanics (CRiB) articles

The Center for Research in Human Movement Variability (MOVCENTR) articles

People of UNO Biomechanics

Student Centered articles

Education Initiative articles

But That’S Not What We Said: Communication Strategies For Digital Project Collaboration, Robert G. Weaver, Matthew Mceniry, Megan Scott

Collaborative Librarianship

The Texas Tech University (TTU) Digital Scholarship Lab (DSL) often collaborates on digitization projects with the Southwest Collection (SWC) archives. Within the past three years the DSL has branched out to new sources of projects, including university research institutions, other colleges and departments, and Lubbock community entities. At times, these partnerships became entangled with the SWC’s collecting goals, resulting in the need for expanded and more effective communication about integrated project management. This paper will look at three examples of communication and collaboration between the DSL and the SWC on unique projects, their results, as well as the interdepartmental enhancements …

Lindenwood Magazine, Spring 2026, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Magazine (2017- )

This document is the Spring 2026 edition of The Lindenwood, a magazine published by Lindenwood University's Advancement Division for friends, employees, and alumni. It features campus community updates, alumni news, and a central spotlight on the university's new Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

The Relationship Between Sleep And Mental Health, Lily Faucher

Psychology Student Publications

This paper looks at the relationship between sleep and mental health across the lifespan. Sleep is an essential process for our bodies to function. Understanding this relationship between sleep and mental health can help individuals to choose healthy habits and prioritize sleep as it is an important part of overall wellbeing.

Breaking Barriers: Harnessing Collaboration Between Individuals With Disabilities And Emergency Management In New Jersey, Daniel Wrinn

Master of Science in Emergency & Disaster Management Capstones

No abstract provided.

Collaborating For Community Impact: Smart Parks, Natasha Rascon

2026 Spring Reports (Terre Haute)

Through collaborations with the City of Terre Haute, specifically the City Parks and Recreation, the following community issue was identified: Resiliency Education (RE-1) Smart parks - Sign designs, Web page design, a community survey to determine park attendance, ideas for ways to track park attendance, recommendations for improvements in high-risk parks, Finding and/or helping with grant applications. To address the identified community issue, students enrolled in Comm361 Small Group Communication partnered with the City of Terre Haute to promote three events: The ribbon cutting and block party for the Herz-Rose Community Center and Park, The Deming Park Easter Egg Hunt, …

To Go Far, Go Together: Force2026 Brings The World’S Scholarly Communication Community To Singapore, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Singapore Management University Libraries (SMU Libraries) hosted FORCE2026, the annual conference of FORCE11, from 3 to 5 June 2026 in our city campus.

FORCE11 is a global community dedicated to advancing how scholarly knowledge is created, shared, and used. The conference commemorated FORCE11’s 15-year journey of building a global community committed to improving scholarly communication and research assessment.

FORCE2026 marked the first time the conference was held in Asia, positioning Singapore and SMU Libraries at the centre of global conversations on the future of research, scholarly communication and research assessment. By bringing the conference to the region, SMU Libraries …

Historic Parkrose: Planning For Vacant Properties, Rowan Anderson, Julia Cruz Jones, Akasha Lawrence Spence, Clara Lietz, Cal Storrs

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

Crescent Consulting was engaged by Historic Parkrose, a Portland-based non-profit, to analyze vacant and under-utilized properties along Northeast Sandy Boulevard within the Historic Parkrose Business District. The area has been the focus of many planning efforts at the neighborhood, city, and state level that have identified community needs and priorities, yet implementation has been limited. Forthcoming Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funding may create opportunities to implement these plans and encourage reinvestment that will contribute to the corridor’s vitality and economic capacity. This report is a resource for evaluating and prioritizing vacant lot redevelopment opportunities in Parkrose, helping align future investment …

Westside Foodshed Hub Initiative: Farm-To-Food-Assistance Feasibility Study, Andrew Bugh, James Shelstad, Jordan Rasmussen, Kenton Marquigny, Reed Johnson

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

The Westside Foodshed Planning Initiative is a feasibility study exploring how Farm-to- Food-Assistance, or F2FA, can supplement CAFE's food assistance work in Northwest and Downtown Portland. The study was conducted by Soil for Roses, a planning team consisting of members of Portland State University's Master of Urban and Regional Planning program. Through this project, Soil for Roses envisions the F2FA as a regional food aggregation and distribution hub tailored to CAFE’s goals of advancing food security and nutrition, environmental stewardship, and resilience.

Gateway: Heat Resilience Focus Area Final Report, Jill Coleman, Sletsy Dlamini, Luke Gordon, Danny Harden-Ramella, Joe Kortenhof, Devery Sheridan

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

In the Summer of 2021, Multnomah County experienced a heat dome that resulted in the tragic deaths of 75 people and caused 258 individuals to seek medical care in emergency rooms and urgent care facilities. While heat related treatment had been experienced in previous heat waves, no heat related deaths had been recorded by the county prior to the Heat Dome. Since 2021, heat-related fatalities have remained elevated above the pre-2021 baseline. Medical visits for illness and injury also remain elevated from 2021 onwards. Many of the more easily implementable short-term solutions have already been implemented in Portland, and the …

C-Tran Bus Stop Accessibility Action Plan, Grace Alston, Michelle Auster, Zoe Beckley, Noah Crawford, Ryan Gallo, Angelique Wallmann

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

Project Background

C-TRAN is the regional public transportation provider for the Clark County Public Transportation Benefit Area in Southwest Washington, providing connections to the Portland, Oregon, metro region. C-TRAN connects people to opportunities, supports economic vitality, and enhances the quality of life for the community.

The challenge - 66% of C-TRAN’s bus stops are non-ADA compliant, C-TRAN’s existing capital investment strategy lacks community input and a multi-year application.

The Opportunity - Our Bus Stop Accessibility Action Plan will leverage community engagement and social metric data to develop a long-term investment strategy.

Reimagining The Cully 5 Corners, Samuel Anderson, Noah Brown, Kaitlyn Cook, Nicholas Pelster, Michael Wickham, Steven Yee

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

Reimagining the Cully 5 Corners is a project spearheaded by the Cully Coalition and Confluence Planning + Design, aiming to create a vision and plan for a centralized, connected, resilient hub for this area of NE Portland, Oregon.

The Cully Coalition envisions Cully as an equitable and socially just neighborhood that enriches and uplifts all community members while minimizing displacement, improving community cohesion, and supporting economic vitality.

Like many Portland areas annexed in the late 20th century, the Cully neighborhood has experienced decades of relative underinvestment in terms of public services, urban design, and business development.

Uplifting Cully starts with …

Application Of Information Literacy Skills To Everyday Life Information Seeking In College Students: Implications For Instruction, Stephanie Ward, Rachel Dineen, Darren Ilett

Communications in Information Literacy

Academic librarians who teach information literacy (IL) skills hope students will transfer those skills to their information seeking in everyday life. However, there is little evidence that students are transferring what they learn about research to their lives outside college. This study aims to find out what search and evaluation strategies college students who have had IL instruction apply to their own personal information seeking behaviors. To do this, a talk-aloud protocol was used to record participants’ thoughts and actions as they navigated scenarios that required them to select a source that met a non-academic information need. The findings indicate …

The Spectrum Of Authority: A New Approach To Teaching Ai And Primary Source Literacies, Kristen Howard

Communications in Information Literacy

This article presents an information literacy workshop designed for undergraduate history courses that introduces students to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) while strengthening primary source literacy. Anchored in the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, “Authority Is Constructed and Contextual,” the workshop employs an innovative pedagogical device, the Spectrum of Authority, to help students critically evaluate information sources. Through comparative analysis and guided discussion, students increased their ability to assess credibility in information sources. Student feedback indicated increased confidence in analyzing primary sources and a greater understanding of GenAI’s capabilities and …

Critical Information Literacy In Higher Education: An Evolution In Theory, Practice, And Assessment, Dan Williford

Communications in Information Literacy

This article offers a critical synthesis of scholarship on critical information literacy (CIL) in higher education from 2015 to 2026, extending and recalibrating prior longitudinal reviews to account for post-2020 theoretical, political, and technological shifts. Drawing on a corpus of 48 peer-reviewed publications published between 2020 and 2026, the study employs thematic cluster analysis—building on Tewell’s four-domain framework—to examine developments in theory, pedagogy, digital and political engagement, reflexive critique, and assessment. Rather than treating critical information literacy as a settled framework, this review positions it as an evolving and contested practice shaped by the political economy of higher education. It …

"An Open Mind And A Critical Stance": A Content Analysis Of Information Literacy Integration Into A Course About Poverty And Discrimination, Ashley Shealy, C. Rebecca Oldham, Clay Oldham, Tara L. Griffith

Communications in Information Literacy

The ACRL Framework argues that infusing curriculum with information literacy concepts can improve students’ attitudes and abilities to navigate complex information landscapes. This paper describes how a librarian and a faculty member integrated an information literacy curriculum into an undergraduate upper-division course about poverty and discrimination. Curriculum efficacy was assessed through directed content analysis of student responses to open-ended questions about engaging with news and social media, forming opinions, and having conversations about controversial topics. Responses were analyzed using a coding scheme based on course objectives derived from Framework dispositions and knowledge practices. Results indicated that exposing students to an …

Review Of Instructional Design For Teaching Information Literacy Online: A Student-Centered Approach, By J. Mattson, D. Lemmons, V. Linsinbigler, And C. Lowder, Kendall Morgan

Communications in Information Literacy

Review of Mattson, J., Lemmons, D., Linsinbigler, V., & Lowder, C. (2025). Instructional design for teaching information literacy online: A student-centered approach. Association of College and Research Libraries.

Familial Roles In Grief With A Focus On Eldest Daughters In Latinx Communities, Julianna Falcon

University Honors Theses

The way in which grief impacts an individual is something that varies from person to person. However how grief impacts eldest daughters within the Latinx community and their familial roles is a subject that has had little to no research done thus far. The four participants in this exploratory study describe their own experiences with the shift in familial roles and their experience navigating grief. They all shared their experiences through semi-structured interviews. Where the findings displayed key themes surrounding expectations, support, proximity, and academic impacts within each of the interviews. More detail is provided within this study on how …

Interrupted By Design: The Impact Of Push Notifications On Stress And Task Performance, Mia Hohmann

University Honors Theses

As digital communication becomes unavoidable at work, notifications have become one of the most common and overlooked sources of interruption. Drawing from current technostress literature, this study investigates how notifications impact acute and perceived stress as well as task speed and accuracy. In an experimental setting, employed university students (N = 35) completed a data-entry task while receiving either no notifications, task-relevant notifications or task-irrelevant notifications to examine how different types of digital interruptions influenced stress and performance. Stress was measured through a pre- and post-task survey and performance was assessed through both speed and accuracy. Although results showed significant …

Rarely Asked: The Systemic Failure To Support The Mental Health Of Caregivers Of Medically Complex Children, Morgan Motsinger

University Honors Theses

Approximately one in four households in the United States cares for a child with special healthcare needs, yet the mental health of the caregivers providing that care is rarely addressed by the medical, faith, community, and social systems around them. This thesis examines the systemic gaps in mental health support for caregivers of children with life-limiting or medically complex diagnoses through a review of existing literature and an original mixed-method survey of 58 caregivers. Findings indicate that 50% of caregivers received no mental health support from their child's medical team at any point. Every respondent reported at least one clinically …