Digital Commons Network^™

Stimulated Cytokine Production, Attachment, And Emotional Well-Being In Dementia Spousal Caregivers, Daniel L. Argueta, Sarah Roberts, Kelly N. Brice, E Lydia Wu-Chung, Vincent D. Lai, Jensine Paoletti-Hatcher, Bryan T. Denny, Charles Green, Samantha Henry, Multiple Additional Authors

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Proinflammatory cytokine production may be related to poor emotional adjustment in dementia spousal caregivers. People who display attachment insecurity may be at increased risk for adverse caregiving experiences and poor psychosocial outcomes.

"...Anything My Friend Shares, I Would Want To Support Them By Clicking On It": Co-Designing Story-Based Interventions Against Clickbait For Teenagers, Ankit Shrestha, Audrey Flood, Bryson Hackler, Mahdi Nasrullah Al-Ameen

Computer Science Student Research

Teenagers' lack of digital sophistication and cyber hygiene makes them vulnerable to social engineering attacks, especially as they start using social media. Clickbait, one of such attacks, is primarily performed through social media to trick users into clicking on malicious links. With teenagers' increasing use of social media, clickbait poses a substantial threat to their online safety. The existing online safety measures for teens mainly focus on parental mediation, which can be perceived as restrictive and privacy-invasive. To this end, researchers recommended empowering teens to deal with online risks. In order to design such interventions for clickbait, we conducted co-design …

Towards Leveraging Social Media Data For Fostering Collaborations Among Non-Profits, Monazil Chowdhury

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nonprofit organizations serve a crucial role in tackling a wide range of significant social, environmental, and economic issues. But it is often hard to get a clear picture of their work because their information is spread out and it is difficult to see how they are collaborating. To address this issue we developed a web-based tool to collect scattered data—from a variety of sources, such as the IRS, social media, and the Census, into one easy-to-use resource. The tool begins by taking IRS records and geocoding each nonprofit’s physical address With its coordinates. It then retrieves census tract information from …

Hyperspectral Band Selection Via Heterogeneous Graph Convolutional Self-Representation Network, Junde Chen, Wenzhao Li, Surendra Maharjan, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Hyperspectral image (HSI) band selection (BS) plays a crucial role in HSI dimensionality reduction, aiming to identify a representative subset of bands with minimal redundancy. However, conventional BS approaches primarily operate in the Euclidean domain, often overlooking the structural characteristics of pixels and spectral bands, such as spatial continuity and spectral dependencies. In addition, they handle each HSI as an integrated unit to harness implicit spatial information, disregarding spatial distribution variations across different homogeneous regions. To fully leverage structural information, this study introduces a novel BS method, termed the dual heterogeneous graph convolutional network with enhanced self-representation (ESR-HGCN), for HSI …

The People's Rivers: Early Environmental Regulation And The Oregon State Sanitary Authority, Avery Morgan Fischer

Dissertations and Theses

The environmental movement in Oregon can trace its origins to the turn of the twentieth century, where citizen activism and initiative led to the creation of an early environmental regulatory agency, the Oregon State Sanitary Authority. This creation established that the State of Oregon had a duty to preserve, not just the navigability or usability of rivers and waterways, but the quality and purity of its water. The Oregon State Sanitary Authority played an active role in maintaining and protecting the environment as a mandate of the people, and throughout its thirty-year existence battling industrial polluters, reluctant municipalities, and disinterested …

Review Of Averting The Digital Dark Age: The Future Of Digital Literary Heritage, Rebecca L. Hastings

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

In Averting the Digital Dark Age: How Archivists, Librarians, and Technologists Built the Web a Memory, Ian Milligan explores the efforts of technologists and information professionals to develop means of preserving information shared on the World Wide Web. The web lacks a built-in archiving function, raising fears of a “digital dark age,” an unprecedented gap in the historical record as information sharing via the web increases. Milligan tracks the development of web preservation debates and activities from the anxiety and turmoil of the early to mid-1990s to the coming of age of web preservation in the wake of the …

Integrating Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning Technologies Into Common Operating Picture And Course Of Action Development, C. Anthony Pfaff, Christopher John Hickey

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

C. Anthony Pfaff and Christopher John Hickey, Principal Investigators

©2025 C. Anthony Pfaff. All rights reserved.

Integrating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Technologies into Common Operating Picture and Course of Action Development explores the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to revolutionize military planning processes by enhancing situational awareness and expediting course of action development within the Joint planning process. The study delves into technical, organizational, and resource considerations that are critical for AI integration. In addition, the study highlights the importance of clean, structured data in training AI systems, addresses challenges in data collection across varying formats …

Analyzing Environmental Health: Air Pollution And Human Health Using Geospatial Data Science, Yanhong Huang

Geography ETDs

Air pollution from industrial emissions and wildfire smoke poses growing threats to public health. This dissertation employs geospatial data science to examine these challenges through three interrelated studies. The first study investigates the relationship between maternal residential exposure to industrial pollutants and low birth weight, identifying five chemicals as significant risk factors. The second study assesses the impact of industrial air pollution on lung and bronchus cancer survival, finding that exposure to 1,1,1-trichloroethane and cobalt is associated with reduced survival. The third study explores disparities in wildfire smoke PM_2.5 exposure and its association with asthma exacerbations. Results show disparities …

Is Mobilization A Major Question?, Evan J. Ward

Joint Force Quarterly

The combination of the Supreme Court’s new Major Questions doctrine and its decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo threatens to hobble the Executive Branch’s ability to effect a major mobilization under the Defense Production Act. The Defense Production Act followed the War Powers Acts of WWII to consolidate and update the presidential powers that were so famously marshaled to mobilize the arsenal of democracy. The Department of Defense has long planned to rely on Defense Production Act authority to mobilize should the need arise, but the risk of litigation brought about by new legal developments means that the authorities the …

Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 118, 3rd Quarter 2025, National Defense University Press

Joint Force Quarterly

This issue of Joint Force Quarterly addresses key strategic, operational, and doctrinal questions shaping the future of the joint force. Articles examine mobilization as a strategic imperative, PLA Air Force modernization, Southeast Asia’s geographic role in U.S. defense strategy, and leader development for strategic lethality. Contributions also explore AI’s role in detecting deepfakes, the civil-military relationship, and innovations in military logistics and cyber force design. A retrospective on the Joint Warfighting Concept and critical reviews of recent defense literature provide context and continuity. Collectively, these pieces offer insight into how the joint force must evolve to meet emerging challenges.

Examining Enrollment Populations At A Predominantly White Research Institution In The Northeast United States, Terrence Calvin Harris

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative critical race case study investigates the underrepresentation of Black and Latinx students at Heister University, a predominantly White public research institution in the Northeastern United States. Despite its location near two diverse cities and its reputation as an affordable, high-quality university, its student body remains disproportionately White. This study explores whether admissions and recruitment policies, either overtly or covertly, contribute to systemic barriers limiting access for students from minoritized groups. Using Critical Race Theory and Colorblindness Ideology, the research examines the intersection of race, policy, and institutional practice through interviews policy reviews, demographic data. Findings reveal that “inclusive” …

"Chatgpt Told Me To Say It": Ai Chatbots And Class Participation Apprehension In University Students, Daisuke Akiba

Publications and Research

The growing prevalence of AI chatbots in everyday life has prompted educators to explore their potential applications in promoting student success, including support for classroom engagement and communication. This exploratory study emerged from semester-long observations of class participation apprehensions in an introductory educational psychology course, examining how chatbots might scaffold students toward active and independent classroom contribution. Four students experiencing situational participation anxiety voluntarily participated in a pilot intervention using AI chatbots as virtual peer partners. Following comprehensive training in AI use and prompt design given to the entire class, participants employed systematic consultation frameworks for managing classroom discourse trepidations. …

An Empirical Study On Lecturers’ Perceptions Of Digital Gender Equality In Malaysia.Pdf, Fung Lan Yong, Louis Yuk Su Chin

Jesselton Journal of Educators and Scholars

The purpose of this study was to examine lecturers’ perceptions of digital gender equality in Malaysia. A Likert-scale questionnaire was designed to measure perceptions of digital gender equality and was administered to 55 lecturers online. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0. First, Mann-Whitney U test revealed that there were no significant gender differences in lecturers’ perceptions of digital gender equality, while Kruskal-Wallis H test indicated no significant differences in relation to age and job experience. Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that four items were significant at p < 0.05, while another eight items were significant at p < 0.001. The overall group mean showed that lecturers’ perceptions of digital gender equality were low, indicating that the majority failed to notice the impediments that women face in the digital era. Overall percentages indicated that lecturers held unrealistic views of women’s participation in the digital economy probably because they lacked knowledge on the disproportionate numbers of women who are still living in the agrarian areas. In light of the findings, several recommendations were made to increase digital gender equality in Malaysia.

Digital Transformation In Japanese Companies_ Navigating Cultural Barriers, Leadership, And Innovation In The Era Of Society 5.0.Pdf, Hideto Tsuchiya, Hoong Tat Teh, Sook Han Wong

Jesselton Journal of Educators and Scholars

This article examines the impact of digital transformation in Japanese companies, analyzing how technological, cultural, and organizational factors interact to shape adoption outcomes. Drawing on qualitative thematic analysis of interviews and case studies, the study highlights that while advanced technologies such as AI, cloud computing, and IoT offer significant potential for innovation and operational gains, their integration is often hindered by entrenched hierarchical structures, cultural resistance, and a shortage of digital skills. Government policies, including Society 5.0, have provided impetus for change, particularly among large corporations, yet many small and medium-sized enterprises continue to face challenges related to legacy systems …

Technology And The Sustainable Implementation Of The African Continental Free Trade Area (Afcfta) Through Women’S Integration, Philip Ademola Olayoku

Journal of African Policy Studies

The desire for economic prosperity on the African continent led to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), in line with the vision of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), when it proposed the creation of an African Economic Community (AEC) by 2028. However, sustainable economic development will remain a mirage without inclusivity where no one is left behind, in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063. This study explores the challenge of restricting women to economic margins in trade agreements under the AfCFTA and how this would undermine its implementation. It subsequently contends that women are integral to Africa’s …

A Participatory Approach To Deploy Responsible Artificial Intelligence For Diabetes Prediction And Prevention, Laura C. Rosella, James Shaw, Shion Guha, Ibukun-Oluwa Omolade Abejirinde, Jennifer L. Gibson, Lorraine Lipscombe, Kathy Kornas, Remziye Zaim, Victoria Chui, Ijeoma Uchenna Itanyi

Health Services and Informatics Research

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have the potential to improve healthcare and public health. Although there has been success in AI for research uses, little progress has been made in implementing health-related AI technologies in health systems. Responsible AI for health systems requires engagement and co-design with health system partners, policymakers, and the community. Deploying responsible AI requires engaging stakeholders, particularly those affected by the technology. This commentary presents the importance of participatory approaches for responsible AI implementation. In this commentary, we discuss the planned use of participatory approaches to responsibly deploying validated machine learning models, with a specific case example …

Fireworks And Wood Combustion Impacts On Air Quality, Iris Keller

DePaul Discoveries

Fire is used as a land management tool to improve ecosystem health and to reduce wildfire risk by lowering tree and litter density. However, prescribed fire as a management practice has faced difficulties with public perception, because of increased awareness of air pollution. Understanding the way that prescribed burns impact air quality and how beneficial they are for ecosystems can help the public to recognize their necessity. This study measured particulate matter (PM) emissions from prescribed burns but also considered other PM sources: fireworks and bonfires. The measurements were conducted in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Chicagoland area in the summer …

Factors Motivating Clothing Choice: Environmental Impact Of T-Shirts, Lauren Hunt

DePaul Discoveries

Second only to oil, the fashion industry is one of the most pollutive industries globally. Due to the rise of fast fashion, this environmental issue is continually growing. The level of production has dramatically increased while quality of apparel has decreased, causing shorter garment lifespans. This research utilizes life cycle assessment to identify the environmental impacts of various textiles used in the production of t-shirts, including cotton, polyester, viscose, and elastane. The research scope focuses from material extraction through garment disposal. The life cycle assessment research is paired with a community survey to determine consumer behavioral patterns surrounding clothing consumption …

Environmental Justice And Soil Lead Contamination: Spatial Analysis Across Seven Community Areas, Arsene Lionel Apabaga

DePaul Discoveries

Pb is a pervasive metal with toxicity linked to numerous human health issues. Urban soil is a well-documented environmental sink for Pb, persisting as a legacy pollutant decades after the phaseout of leaded gasoline. This study measured, mapped, and analyzed the spatial distribution of total soil Pb concentrations across seven Chicago Community Areas (CCAs). The objectives were to: (1) assess the relationship between mean soil Pb concentration and mean Community Environmental Justice Index (CEJI) score per CCA, (2) determine the relationship between soil Pb levels and the percentage of industrial land use, and (3) quantify and compare the percentage of …

Values And Barriers: A Multidimensional View Of College Students’ Motivations To Volunteer, Gavin Warner, Quang Anh Nguyen, Ansuk Jeong

DePaul Discoveries

University students tend to have ample access to many resources for volunteering and so are in a unique position among Americans. With all the benefits of volunteering outlined in past research, the students training to become leaders in their fields may have the most to gain from volunteerism. It is surprising, then, to note that young people are less likely to volunteer than other age groups. Why is it that college students tend to volunteer at such low rates? The current study seeks to answer this question through a mixed-methods survey. A qualitative section clarified which specific barriers students felt …

“Put Me In Coach!”: The Impact Of College Sport Team’S Mentorship In Chronically Ill And Disabled Children And Adolescents Adherence To Medical Regimen, Jameela Askira

DePaul Discoveries

The purpose of this study was to see if participation in TeamIMPACT, a program which matches ill children with college sports teams, aided chronically ill children and adolescents in adhering to their treatment regimen. This research is a part of a larger study where 25 child participants were interviewed via Zoom to answer questions regarding their time in the program, peer and family relationships, coping and resilience and other factors. The current study solely analyzed answers to questions regarding adherence to medical treatments. There were three measures: Child vs Parent Response, Treatment Regimen Components and Care Responsibility. Through a descriptive …

Using Synchrotron Wide-Angle X-Ray Scattering To Study Collagen Degradation In Second Metacarpal Bones, Zeel Sheth, Misha Romanov, Ruby Schwieger

DePaul Discoveries

The study examines female human second metacarpal (mc2) bones from early medieval cemetery at Greding, Germany, using high-energy Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) at beamline 1-ID of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory. Rietveld refinement showed that carbonated apatite lattice parameters did not correlate with estimated age-at-death. For six of the mc2, widths of 00.2 and 00.4 diffraction peaks were substantially narrower than those of a modern (non-diagenetically altered) mc2 and of the other four ancient mc2. The peak width results are interpreted as indicating that four of the ten ancient mc2 retain substantial collagen and six of …

Race/Ethnicity, Living Arrangements, And Access To Healthcare Among Older Adults With Alzheimer’S Disease In The United States: Multiple Systematic Reviews In Relation To Health Outcomes, Chela Reiss, Grace Vethacke

DePaul Discoveries

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition primarily affecting older adults. It is a growing public health crisis that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. The number of adults aged 65 and older is projected to reach 98.2 million by 2060, leading to a continued rise in the prevalence of AD. Understanding the socioeconomic factors that influence health outcomes in patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) is essential in addressing the disparities within patient care and quality of life. This systematic review examined three socioeconomic factors - race/ethnicity, living arrangements, and access to healthcare - and their related health …

Depaul Discoveries Volume 14 Cover Art, Reggina Moreno Trevino

DePaul Discoveries

No abstract provided.

Six Steps To A Successful Study Abroad Program: Case Study In Stockholm, Sweden, Bryan R. Burton

csuglobalaction

This article is meant to serve as a guide for developing a short-term (typically 2 to 3 weeks long) faculty-led study abroad program. I will focus solely on my work in Stockholm, Sweden during summer 2023. This article will be particularly helpful to faculty members who are new to developing their own study abroad programs. I have six suggested steps for developing a successful faculty-led program. These six steps include:

1. thinking about what you want for students and your own career;

2. building on-campus partnerships;

3. Recruiting and supporting students as early as possible;

4. making the program itinerary interactive and rewarding for …

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The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence As An Intervening Variable Between The Digital Government Strategy And Competency Development "An Applied Study At Sharjah Police Sciences Academy ", Elsayed Kamal Risha, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Naqbi

Journal of Police and Legal Sciences

The study aimed to determine the impact of the digital government strategy on competencies development, through artificial intelligence as an intervening variable, and to achieve the objectives, the study relied on the quantitative approach and the questionnaire was used as the main tool for collecting data. The study community represented officers, non-commissioned officers and individuals at the Sharjah Academy for Police Sciences, and the study sample amounted to 30 affiliates, i.e. the total number of employees in the Competency Development Department at the Academy. The study reached a set of results, the most prominent of which are:

- The existence …

Artificial Intelligence In Stem Education: A Transdisciplinary Framework For Engagement And Innovation, Cristo Leon Ph.D., James Lipuma Ph.D., Xavier Oviedo Torres

STEM for Success Resources

This peer-reviewed article, Artificial Intelligence in STEM Education: A Transdisciplinary Framework for Engagement and Innovation by Cristo León, James Lipuma, and Xavier Oviedo-Torres, published in Frontiers in Education, examines how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming STEM education through a transdisciplinary lens. Based on a systematic review of 41 scholarly studies (2020–2025), it analyzes AI integration in STEM classrooms, focusing on learner agency, adaptive assessment, and ethical challenges such as algorithmic transparency, equity, and inclusion. Guided by a Transdisciplinary Communication (TDC) framework and grounded in PRISMA protocols, the study applies tools like Nvivo, Excel, and VOSviewer for thematic coding and …

Legislative And Security Confrontation Of Crimes Artificial Intelligence In The State Of Kuwait (An Analytical Study), Rashid Mohammed Al Marri

Journal of Police and Legal Sciences

The study aimed to demonstrate the mechanisms of legislative and security confrontation of artificial intelligence crimes. The use of technologies associated with artificial intelligence may go beyond the imposed limits, whether by exploiting it through its program developers & specialists to commit crimes in the cyber field, or it may be with the growing capabilities of artificial intelligence to make decisions in the field. Many behaviors occur automatically. Our research also aims to study the criminal responsibility for these crimes, & determine it in order to hold the real perpetrator accountable in accordance with the legal rules in force to …

Remote Sensing-Based Assessment Of Evapotranspiration Patterns In A Unesco World Heritage Site Under Increasing Water Competition, Maria C. Moyano, Monica Garcia, Luis Juana, Laura Recuero, Lucia Tornos, Joshua B. Fisher, Néstor Fernández, Alicia Palacias-Orueta

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

In water-scarce regions, natural ecosystems and agriculture increasingly compete for limited water resources, intensifying stress during periods of drought. To assess these competing demands, we applied a modified PT-JPL model that incorporates the thermal inertial approach as a substitute for relative humidity (RH) in estimating soil evaporation—a method that significantly outperforms the original PT-JPL formulation in Mediterranean semi-arid irrigated areas. This remote sensing framework enabled us to quantify spatial and temporal variations in water use across both natural and agricultural systems within the UNESCO World Heritage site of Doñana. Our analysis revealed an increasing evapotranspiration (ET) trend in intensified agricultural …

The Chemistry Workforce In The Mountain West, 2022, Sean Curry, Otoniel Ramos, Mohit Pande, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet presents 2022 data on the industrial chemistry workforce in five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC’s) report, “2023 Guide to the Business of Chemistry,” offers insights into the chemistry industry’s role in the U.S. economy. This fact sheet focuses on 2022 state-level data related to the number of chemistry establishments, the number of individuals employed in the industry, and the average wages and salaries of industry workers in the Mountain West.