Digital Commons Network^™

Acquisitions Unit Annual Report 2025-2026, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Annual Report of the Acquisitions Unit, University Libraries, University of Rhode Island for FY2026. Covers personnel, work flow, special projects, and serial, monograph, and e-resource acquisitions. Supplemental files include data on library materials expenditures by a number of variables as well as important working documents from the year.

The Role Of Media And The Digital World In The Formation Of Digital Identity And First Impressions, Author Information Removed

JMLE Submissions Open for Review

This study investigates the relationship between media literacy, identity structures, and social perception among Georgian higher education students and explores how Media Literacy affects the Formation of First Impressions through the mediating roles of Social Identity and Digital Identity. The results demonstrate a strong positive correlation between Media Literacy and both Social Identity and Digital Identity. While the direct link between literacy and impression formation was non-significant. The mediation model revealed a psychological mechanism: Media Literacy significantly reduces superficial reliance on digital profiles only by strengthening a conscious and reflective Digital Identity. In the Georgian context, these findings suggest that …

Integration Of Media Pedagogy In Teacher Education Classrooms, Author Information Removed

JMLE Submissions Open for Review

In an era where classrooms are increasingly influenced by media and socio-cultural dynamics, teacher education must evolve to incorporate critical dimensions like gender sensitization and media literacy. This study explores the role of media pedagogy in developing gender awareness among pre-service teachers in India. The study focuses on conceptualization of media pedagogy, intersectionality and teacher education classrooms and adopts an interdisciplinary approach for media and gender. A module was developed and then implemented with 30 preservice teachers, followed by focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with 10 teacher educators. The research study is guided by Methodology for Interdisciplinary Research (MIR) …

What Counts As Data? Empirical Legal Research With India’S Ecourts Portal, Lubhyathi Rangarajan, Sakshi Rai, Nikita Bansal

Socio-Legal Review

This Notes from the Field (‘NFF’) studies an attempt to build a nationwide dataset of cases instituted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 using the eCourts portal, an open access state-led digital repository of all judicial records across India. It uses this experimental attempt to create new methodological and epistemological ways of thinking about data when undertaking socio-legal research. The paper argues that the appearance of judiciary-led digital transparency and visibility masks deeper concerns with data integrity. Through a process of manual data extraction across than 3,647 court complexes on the eCourts portal, the study reimagines technical failures and …

Lessons From A Medically Tailored Meals Program, Rachel Filippone, Evan England, Tyrus Parker, Harshita Sarup, Jess Carson

Carsey Publications

After a pilot program in 2021, the New Hampshire Food Bank launched a full medically tailored meals program in 2023, which is evaluated in this brief.

How To Upend America In 100 Days: Unilateral Power At The Outset Of Trump’S Second Term, Aaron Childree

Political Science Faculty Publications

President Trump used the unilateral power of the presidency in extraordinary ways during the first 100 days of his second term. This article examines his use of executive action using a dataset of every action issued in the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, along with a similar dataset for his first term and other recent administrations. At the outset of his second term, Trump issued substantially more executive actions than his own first administration and his recent predecessors; however, this also came with historically low legislative productivity. His unilateral policy making is notable for the many revocations of …

Criteria For Determining The Level Of Media Literacy Development Of Students In The Summative Assessment System, Bakhtiyor Kadirov, Dilnoza Kadirova, Rashid Omanov, Anvar Allamurodov, Asqar Kholturayev

Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints

The integration of digital technologies into education necessitates how students’ media literacy is developed and assessed. High school students require skills in critical thinking, digital content evaluation, and the identification of manipulative information.This study examines the effectiveness of summative assessment in measuring media literacy skills and explores the impact of an artificial intelligence-based digital platform enriched with augmented and virtual reality modules. An empirical design was employed involving 120 students from five schools assigned to control and experimental groups. The experimental group engaged with AI-supported media literacy platform over a ten-week period. Data were collected through pre- , post-tests, summative …

The Calculation Debate In A New Century: A Conversation Between An Austrian School Economist And A Socialist Philosopher, Tegan L. Truitt, Larry Alan Busk

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Planification Against Extractivism: Towards A Democratic Agroecological Planification Against Agrarian Capitalism In A Estrada (Galicia, Spain), Jacobo Rivas Sanmartín, Rubén Camilo Lois González, Paula Noya Vázquez

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

This article analyses the expansion of vineyards in the parish of San Xiao de Vea, in the municipality of A Estrada (Galicia, Spain), as a concrete manifestation of extractive agrarian restructuring under contemporary capitalism. Drawing on land-use data, socio-metabolic indicators, and qualitative testimonies, it shows how financialization, speculative land practices, and state selectivity reorganize rural space, degrade mixed farming systems, and intensify contradictions between capital accumulation and the ecological and social conditions of reproduction. The article argues that existing green planning frameworks, shaped by market logics and technocratic indicators, are structurally incapable of confronting these dynamics. As an alternative, it …

Democratic Economic Planning From And For Social Reproduction: Foundations For A Postcapitalist Research Agenda, Sophie Elias-Pinsonnault, Bengi Akbulut, Audrey Laurin-Lamothe

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

As ecological and social crises render the transformation of capitalist economic organization increasingly urgent, the resurgence of interest in democratic economic planning confronts a foundational blind spot: the systematic neglect of social reproduction. This paper argues that any genuinely needs-based planned economy must extend its scope beyond formally recognized productive activities to encompass the full spectrum of reproductive labor through which human and non-human life is sustained and regenerated. Drawing on feminist political economy and the Marxist-feminist tradition, the authors argue that meeting needs requires more than reorganizing production: it demands confronting the question of who does reproductive work, at …

Learning (Non-)Planning From Yugoslav Socialism, Annette Freyberg-Inan, Tim Platenkamp

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

The advancement of democratic economic planning theory depends crucially on improving our understanding of how technically feasible planning methods and instruments can be embedded in institutionally viable incentive structures, developing a coherent incentive-compatible as well as feasible planning procedure. Our contribution draws lessons for democratic economic planning from the historical experience with Yugoslav socialism, and especially its post-Stalinist, “contractual” phase. From the mid 1970s onwards, workers in Yugoslavia were empowered to plan their activities from the ground upward. Intended to re-energize worker participation in the construction of socialism, this experiment with economic planning from below provides useful insights for the …

From Models To Modules: Towards A Change Of Approach In Postcapitalist Political Economy, Simon Tremblay-Pepin

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

In this article, I take for granted the existence of a field of social sciences called postcapitalist political economy. This field of research emanates from the critique of capitalism and seeks to establish, in theory and practice, alternative political and economic systems to capitalism. I argue that in its late and post-Soviet period (1988 – 2012), this field has mostly, but not solely, been based on debates between all-encompassing models. Analyzing its contemporary period (2013 to now), I will sustain that we are partly witnessing a transfer from a model-based approach to a modular one. I present six arguments to …

Exploring Predictors Of Student And Parent Attendance In A Tier 2 School-Based Program: Implications For Optimizing Attendance In The Coping Power Program, Heather Mcdaniel, Alexa C. Budavari, Belinda E. Hernandez, Elise T. Pas, Catherine P. Bradshaw

Faculty Publications

There is growing interest in the use of multi-component Tier 2 preventive interventions to help address youth behavior problems in schools, yet parent and youth attendance at sessions can be suboptimal, and, if not optimized, can compromise outcomes. The current study explored baseline predictors of parent and youth attendance at the school-based Early Adolescent Coping Power (EACP) program, a preventive intervention for middle schoolers with externalizing problems. Data come from the 375 seventh graders (62% male, 72% Black) who were in the 20 middle schools randomized to receive the EACP intervention and their parents. We identified two latent profiles of …

Genocide In Gaza? Social Media Discussions Of Violence In Israel And Gaza, Timothy Williams, Andreas Dafnos

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article conducts social network and topic analyses of German-language posts on X that discuss genocide and terrorism in Israel and Gaza in the first six months after the October 7 attacks and compares these to broader English-language discourses on the platform. The comparison reveals subtle differences in how Israeli violence and governance and Palestinians are discussed and who is seen as complicit in supporting violence. Markedly, German-language posts discuss what constitutes antisemitism more and employ a more restrained language towards Israel as a state and its political actors than English-language posts. We tie these findings back to the idiosyncrasies …

Genocidal Criminology: My Testimony, Yarin Eski

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article is a testimony on the entanglement of my personal biography, responsibility, and lived experience of genocide denial and, subsequently, developing criminologies of genocide and its denial, based on my formative experiences, ranging from encountering Armenian genocide denial as a student, to dealing with institutional constraints and careerism, to my academic activism, raising awareness about the Gaza genocide, to, finally, prospecting genocide and ecocide in outer space: astrocide. These experiences configure a genealogy of what I term genocidal criminology that unpacks and criticizes criminological knowledge, institutions, and practices that produce genocide (denial), both epistemically and structurally. Essentially, I argue …

A Multi-Method Investigation Of Social Media Use In Adolescent Girls: Examining Emotion, Emotion Regulation, And Effects By Depression, Alison Tuck

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents experience emotional instability, challenges in emotion regulation, and increased risk for the onset of psychopathology, including depression. Adolescents also engage in more social media use (SMU) than any other age group. There is significant interest inside and out of the scientific community regarding how SMU is implicated in healthy versus unhealthy adolescent emotional well-being during this developmental shift in emotional experiences, particularly among girls, who may be most vulnerable. Although research on how adolescent girls’ emotional well-being may be associated with their SMU has increased over the past decade, findings have been largely mixed and inconclusive. This may be …

Unbroken Sovereignty: Land, Water, Education, And Nakoda And Oc̣Eti Ṡaḳowiŋ Tribes Of The Fort Peck Indian Reservation, 1850–1935, Richard Joseph Maska

History ETDs

This dissertation explores the intersection of sovereignty and development among the Nakoda (Assiniboine) and Oc̣eti Ṡaḳowiŋ (Sioux) Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Methodologically, it draws on a critical reading of archival sources in conjunction with community input. It traces the emergence of reservation policy, government sponsored education, the imposition of allotment policy and private landownership, and the impact of state-sponsored irrigation and other development projects. I argue that the Tribes forged webs of affiliation and kinship to both assert their nationhood and navigate their involvement in such projects. These expressions …

Gradients Of Abandonment, William Tatman

Geography ETDs

As urban-rural disparities drive depopulation in rural areas worldwide, local strategies emerge as pathways for resilience. Research on Ojika, a Japanese island that has lost 75% of its population since the 1960s, reveals an Abandonment Gradient: a nuanced pattern of disuse adapted to modern polycrises. Extending the concept of "lying fallow" to homes and infrastructure, this thesis focuses on abandonment practices that reflect complex realities of labor, capital, and climate uncertainty. Rather than viewing depopulating communities as passive victims of out-migration, this paper argues they are critical sites for generating crisis response. Communally crafted attitudes toward unused space and more-than-human …

Cbd's Impact On Learning, Memory, And Anxiety: A Dose Response, Audrey Camacho

Psychology ETDs

Cannabidiol (CBD) is widely utilized for its therapeutic properties, yet its impact on an unmanipulated model at baseline behavior remains poorly understood. This study investigates CBD’s dose-dependent behavioral profile on spatial learning, memory, and anxiety using Long-Evans rats. Subjects received a vehicle, 20 mg/kg, or 40 mg/kg CBD dose prior to assessment in the Morris Water Task (MWT) and Elevated Plus Maze (EPM). MWT results indicated consistent Day 1 learning, but the 40 mg/kg dose induced a temporary disruption 24 hours post-treatment. Performance returned to baseline by day 6. On the EPM, traditional anxiety markers remained unchanged. While CBD did …

The Relationship Between Strength Training And Burnout, Maddie R. Barrientos

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to comprehensively examine the relationship between strength training and burnout to assess whether consistent engagement in strength training would be associated with lower levels of burnout. Results of an online survey administered to 119 participants revealed that those who did strength train versus those who did not did not significantly differ in their levels of burnout, but among those who did strength training, there were significant differences in levels of burnout with how they engaged in strength training. The greater frequency of strength training participation and the greater number of muscle groups trained were …

Biologically-Based Alternatives To Plastic Mulch Enrich Microbiome And Buffer Yield In Small-Scale Strawberry Production, Olivia L. Fragiacomo

Master's Theses

Much of commercial agriculture has used plastic mulch since the 1950s to contain fungicides and fertilizers, control weeds, retain soil moisture, and warm the top soil to start the growing season earlier. Research suggests that small-scale strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) growers may be able to incorporate biological techniques, such as wheat straw mulch with microbial amendments, to reduce the use of single-use plastic mulch with a comparable yield. For this study, I carried out a randomized complete block comparison of five strawberry management techniques: plastic mulch (PM), straw mulch alone, and straw mulch inoculated with either arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), …

Impact Of Chronic Pain On The Families Of U.S. Adults, Jennifer S. De La Rosa, Katherine E. Herder, Rita D. Romero, De'sha S. Wolf, Tally M. Largent-Milnes, Mohab M. Ibrahim, Stacy S. Pigott, Greg T. Chism, Beth E. Meyerson, Julie G. Pilitsis, Multiple Additional Auhors

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction:. Chronic pain (CP) can profoundly strain family systems, yet few population studies have explored prevalence and population dynamics of CP with high impact on families. Objectives:. Examining prevalence and phenomenological characteristics of chronic pain with high impact on the families of U.S. adults. Situating HICP-family within a tiered cascade of functional impact. Methods:. Prevalence estimated using 2023 National Health Interview Survey Data (n = 29,522) Results:. Findings are as follows: (1) the population prevalence of CP with high impact on families (high-impact chronic pain [HICP]-Family) is 4.4% among U.S. adults, 18.1% among U.S. adults with CP, and 46.3% among …

Genocidal Occupation And The Occupier’S Dilemma: From Lemkin’S Axis Rule To 21st Century Palestine, Martin Shaw

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Following Israel’s campaign in Gaza after October 7, 2023, which was widely recognized as a genocide, the “ceasefire” of late 2025 introduced the prospect of a new occupation of the territory by the USA and Israel, leading to its redevelopment by them rather than the restoration of the pre-2023 Palestinian society. Together with the parallel accentuation of Palestinian dispossession under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, this development calls for a theorization of the relationship between occupation and genocide. Yet, although the concept of genocide was introduced by Raphael Lemkin in his analysis of the German occupations of European countries, …

Under Pressure: Negative Urgency And Disordered Eating In The Context Of Parental Differential Support, Hamide Gozu, Jenna K. Rieder

College of Humanities and Sciences Faculty Papers

Disordered eating behaviors are prevalent in emerging adulthood and may be shaped by family dynamics. This study examined associations among maternal and paternal differential support, weight-shape concerns, and binge eating and compensatory behaviors in emerging adulthood, while testing the moderating role of negative urgency. Participants were 517 emerging adults from across the United States (ages 18-29; M = 22.60, SD = 3.81; 76% female). Participants reported on parental differential support, weight-shape concerns, eating behaviors, and negative urgency. Using moderated-mediation analyses, we found that weight-shape concerns mediated associations between differential support and eating behaviors. Unequal maternal support and paternal favoritism showed …

Examining Conditional Indirect Media Effects Through Normative Perceptions: The Role Of Traditional Family Gender Role Expectations And Stigmatizing Beliefs In Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, Moonsun Choi

Communication ETDs

This dissertation examines how indirect media effects operate through normative perceptions within a gendered and stigmatized health context of HPV vaccination. Specifically, this study investigates how these normative mediation processes are conditioned by traditional family gender role expectations at the norm formation stage and stigmatizing beliefs about HPV vaccination at the normative influence stage. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with mothers of children aged 9 – 12 in the United States in June 2025. The key findings show that while gendered perceptions of HPV vaccination persist, the underlying normative mechanism operated in similar ways across gender-referent contexts. Injunctive norms were …

Recovery Through Connection: The Role Of Positive Social Interactions In Early Alcohol And Opioid Recovery Outcomes, Hannah Avery Carlon

Psychology ETDs

Recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) is influenced by both positive emotional functioning and social connectedness. However, empirical research has yet to examine how these two protective factors interact to influence recovery. The present study aimed to address this gap by exploring positivity resonance, or the shared experience of positive emotions, in the first year of recovery. In Aim 1, we examined change trajectories of positivity resonance and recovery capital over the first year of recovery among adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD; n=470) and opioid use disorder (OUD; n=61), the associations between these change trajectories (1a), and …

Understanding The Long-Run Effect Of Historical Redlining Practices, Yujian Lu

Geography ETDs

Historical redlining practices initiated by Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) in the 1930s have produced enduring persistent socioeconomic and environmental disparities in U.S. cities. This dissertation examines their long-term impacts on social vulnerability, urban flood risk, along with public discourse about redlining practices. Results indicate that neighborhoods with HOLC grade A (greenlined) exhibit the lowest overall social vulnerability, while those graded D (redlined) face the highest across U.S. cities. In Chicago, associations between redlining practices and flood risk disparities are stronger than in Los Angeles, reflecting place-specific characteristics among environmental, socioeconomic, and demographic factors shaping flood risk disparities in long …

Keeping Communities Safe Through An Alternative First Response Model: Predictors Of Civilian First Responders’ Self-Efficacy In Handling Crisis Situations, Jasmine Desiderio

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

The expansion of civilian alternative first responder models reflects a national shift toward community-based approaches to crisis intervention. Grounded in Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, this study examined the extent to which demographic characteristics are associated with crisis self-efficacy, explored how perceptions of the responder role relate to confidence, and identified supports necessary for effective crisis response. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed with civilian first responders in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Quantitative data were collected with the Crisis Self-Efficacy Scale, and semi-structured interviews gathered qualitative data. Exploratory regression analyses (n=31) were not reliably associated with crisis self-efficacy, while role …

Transforming Faculty Development: Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Arts-Based Design, And Communities Of Transformation In Stem Education, Kristen L. Ferris

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

This dissertation investigates the relational conditions enabling institutional transformation and diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) within STEM higher education. Despite needs for systemic change, sustaining faculty engagement remains difficult due to entrenched power dynamics, lack of pedagogical training, and political repression. To address these barriers this research introduces Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCB) as an analytic lens and functional infrastructure for change.

Through three papers, this study 1) establishes OCB via a systemic literature review as an actionable metric for faculty development; 2) details the design of a cross-institutional Community of Transformation (CoT) as a design case; and 3) Presents …

Borderline Personality Disorder (Bpd) And Witness Memory: A Beginner’S Guide For Criminal Justice, Forensic Mental Health, And Legal Professionals, Jerrod Brown Ph.D., M.A., M.S., M.S., M.S.

Forensic Scholars Today

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with emotional instability, impulsivity, interpersonal difficulties, identity disturbance, and stress-related dissociative symptoms that may influence cognitive functioning. Research suggests that BPD may contribute to difficulties with attention, executive functioning, and memory, particularly during periods of emotional distress. These issues, combined with common co-occurring conditions such as trauma exposure, substance use disorders, and sleep disturbances, may affect the encoding, storage, retrieval, and recall of information. This article examines current literature on BPD and discusses how symptoms and associated factors could influence witness memory in forensic and legal settings. Because findings remain mixed, the presence of …