Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Psychological Trauma And Resilience In Collegiate Ems Providers: A Quantitative Study Of Risk And Protective Factors, Maribeth Olivia Novsak

Theses and Dissertations

Collegiate Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers are routinely exposed to potentially traumatic events while simultaneously managing academic responsibilities, yet limited research has examined psychological outcomes within this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among trauma exposure, PTSD symptom severity, resilience, and perceived social support among collegiate EMS providers. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was employed using a self-report survey administered to collegiate EMS personnel across multiple institutions. The final sample consisted of 26 participants. Results indicated that trauma exposure was significantly positively associated with PTSD symptom severity, suggesting that increased exposure to critical incidents is linked …

Ai In Education And Information: Tool, Threat, Or Teammate? How Academia Is Shaping The Future Of Intelligent Work, Essraa Nawar

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the future of intelligent work across education, healthcare, leadership, communication, workplace culture, and health information management. Yet while AI adoption continues accelerating, institutions and professionals are still trying to understand what this transformation actually means for people, learning, careers, ethics, trust, governance, and human judgment. This interactive and forward-thinking panel brings together voices from higher education and healthcare information management to explore how AI is reshaping classrooms, workplaces, healthcare systems, professional identity, and future workforce expectations across generations.

Rather than focusing only on technology itself, the conversation will examine the broader cultural and organizational shift …

Why Am I Here? Individual, Organizational, & Societal Influences Of Employee Motives To Attend Voluntary Diversity Training And Their Effects On Training Outcomes, Henri T. Maindidze

Dissertations and Theses

Diversity training is a key part of diversity management efforts, but its effectiveness has repeatedly been called into question in both academic and applied spaces, leading many to question its utility. In the case of voluntary diversity training (VDT), where employees can opt in or out of participation, those motivated to attend might not be the ones who would most benefit from participating, thereby limiting the effectiveness of VDT for the organization. As a result, understanding the predictors and outcomes of employee motives to attend VDT can guide improved implementation and evaluation of VDT. Informed by self-determination theory and training …

Volunteers' Motivation And Better Volunteer Recruitment In Nonprofit Organizations, Ashley Denise Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Acute And Inpatient Occupational Therapy Practice For People With Chronic Conditions Who Are Experiencing Homelessness, Emily K. Simpson, Anne K. Mokate, Elizabeth A. Gibbs, Nina K. Duric

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Despite having high rates of chronic illness, people experiencing homelessness (PEH) in the United States face barriers to healthcare access that result in unmet health needs and poor health outcomes.  The objective of the study was to identify the barriers to service experienced by occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) in acute and inpatient settings in providing services to PEH and to describe education strategies to reduce those barriers. Methods: Researchers employed a cross-sectional design with OTPs (n=292) with experience treating PEH. Results: Barriers to treatment for OTP included lack of education, need to prioritize acute concerns, and inadequate institutional resources. …

Sermon On The Spectrum, Jan A. Wozniak

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

No abstract provided.

"Everyone Leaves Me Behind”: How Harmful Tropes In Fiction Impact Autistic Women, Sara E. Allard

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

Until now, females with ASD have been ignored by healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the general public. The unique presentation of autistic women and girls is now in the cultural spotlight within not just the advocacy and scientific community, but also the arts. Female autistic characters are getting increased representation across literature and television, yet their narratives are still often stuck in the past. Most authors and screenwriters have yet to understand the specific struggles that female autistics face compared to their male counterparts, relying on the outdated, reductive perceptions that have plagued them for decades.

This article outlines three harmful …

Living Through Misinformation: An Autoethnography Of Autism In Chinese Communities, Joy Lu

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

This critical autoethnographic essay examines how misconception, misinformation, and disinformation shape understandings of autism within Chinese communities and produce tangible harm for autistic individuals and their families. Drawing on lived experience, advocacy work, digital observation, and cross-cultural analysis, it explores how language, medical practices, social media, and professional authority sustain persistent misrepresentation.

The essay argues that this misinformation is not merely the result of ignorance, but a socially reinforced and institutionally supported system of knowledge. By situating personal encounters within broader cultural and structural contexts, it highlights the interconnected roles of language, power, and exclusion in shaping autistic lives. It …

Pretty Much From Scratch: A Braided Essay On Autistic Diagnosis, Creativity, Identity, And Community, Jenée Stanfield

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

This braided essay uses memoir and research to explore autistic diagnosis, creativity, identity, and community. It examines how the misinformation around these topics harm and “other” autistics: the fallacy of diagnostic objectivity/neutrality, the dual myths of autistic hyper- and hypo-creativity, and autism as an identity defined solely by medical professionals. The memoir sections play with point of view and genre.

Jenée is a late-realized autistic with ADHD and OCD, who identifies as neurodivergent and neuroqueer. She lives in Washington state with her spouse and dog. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and is currently a Master …

Egypt Under Construction: Spectacle, Surprise, And The Politics Of Megaprojects, Grace E. Payne

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of The Status Of Open Access Publications In Central Universities Of India: A Review Of Literature, Gulam Jilani, Swapna Banerjee

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Unrestricted access to research outputs and increased exposure and distribution of academic information are two benefits of Open Access (OA) publication, which has emerged as a revolutionary method to scholarly communication. With an emphasis on its economic models, international and Indian publishing trends, institutional activities, regulations, and researcher attitudes, this study explores the literature on open access publishing. The paper examines many OA models, such as gold, green, hybrid, bronze, and diamond access, emphasizing their benefits, drawbacks, and implications for the fair distribution of information. The expansion of open access publication in India and throughout the world is also covered, …

Situating Stormwater Infrastructure Through Collaborative Design: Insights From A University-Community Partnership, Serena A. Echols

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stormwater ponds help address flooding and partially mitigate nutrient pollution while sometimes serving as a central landscape element in community parks. In underserved urban communities, however, stormwater ponds are sometimes neglected and underutilized, leading to public health and environmental justice challenges. Our research in Tampa, Florida, seeks to develop pathways for residents and other stakeholders to collaboratively co-design infrastructure interventions and pondscape redevelopment for neglected stormwater ponds. Drawing on ethnographic and participatory methods as well as environmental assessment and modeling, we are working with residents of one pond community on cleanup and redevelopment strategies. Results reveal that balancing local and …

Faculty Perceptions Of Lgbtq+ Students In Higher Education, Serena Gramling, Laura E. Barrow, Stacy Mikel, Mark J. Sciuchetti Dr., Falynn Turley

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objective: Limited faculty understanding of LGBTQ+ student experiences may contribute to exclusionary campus climates and discriminatory practices. This study examined faculty perceptions to identify ways to improve support for LGBTQ+ students and promote inclusive environments.

Method: A descriptive quantitative design was used to examine faculty perceptions of LGBTQ+ students and differences across geographic regions. 142 participants completed the 20-item instrument.

Results: Although regional differences in acceptance were observed, geographic location did not significantly predict faculty attitudes. Faculty acceptance played a key moderating role in the relationship between awareness and engagement in inclusive practices. Findings indicated that faculty attitudes alone are …

Transmission Of Firm-Level Demand Shocks To Stock Returns: Evidence From 10-K Text Analysis, Dylan Gunjan Parikh

Economics Undergraduate Senior Theses

Industrial organization and corporate finance papers that measure firm-level demand characteristics employ price, quantity, and product characteristic data that is unavailable in public financial disclosures. As a result, cross-sectional asset pricing literature attention to demand-side factors is limited. This paper constructs a demand shock measure from natural language processing of 28,263 publicly disclosed 10-K filings from 2001 to 2020. I find that a 1SD demand shock increases contemporaneously predicts a 1.8% increase (SE = 0.4%) in returns. Long-short portfolio sorted on demand shock generates 8.5% alpha (SE = 1.9%) against combined Fama-French and Q-factor models and a 0.91 sharpe ratio …

Entering The Villa: Love Island Usa Season 7 As A Site For Neoliberal Prosumption, Laura Cunningham

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Non-Negotiable Responsibilities Of Librarians Despite The Presence Of Generative-Ai Powered Chatbots: An Overview, Emmanuel Chidiadi Onwubiko

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The presence of AI-Chatbots as linguistic models of Generative AI is one that has sent cold in the spines of librarians for the fear of the unknown.  Against this backdrop, it is received with mixed feelings.  To some librarians, it poses threats to their traditional responsibilities hence the fear of losing their jobs.  This paper conceptualizes the place of generative-AI Chatbots in libraries and their limitations, identifying some non-negotiable responsibilities of librarians regardless of the emergence of AI-Chatbots as well as clearing some doubts as expressed by librarians by reconciling the impacts of Chatbot and how librarians can leverage the …

Benchmarking Academic Knowledge Hubs: A Comparative Assessment Of Nirf Ranked Indian University Library Portals, Sheel Bhadra Yadav Dr., Vinit Kumar Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

University library portals have become important digital gateways for accessing academic information and services. This study examines the current status of library portals of the top 100 universities ranked under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in India. A structured evaluation framework was used to analyze the content and services available on these portals. The framework was developed through expert responses from library and information science professionals and validated using statistical methods. The analysis was conducted using a weighted checklist covering five major categories: general information, library collections, e-resources, library services, and social networking features. Data were collected through systematic …

Toward An Account Of Visual Aesthetic Experience In Multimodal Large Language Models, Batuhan Saridede

Cognitive Science Senior Theses

While Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) increasingly mediate visual culture, far less is known about how MLLMs themselves evaluate aesthetic value and how those evaluations shift under different beliefs about authorship. This thesis investigates how three commercial MLLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini) appraise visual artworks across six dimensions: liking, beauty, profundity, worth, narrativity, and intentionality. Using a balanced dataset of 100 artworks, half human-generated and half AI-generated, with representational and abstract works equally represented, each model evaluated every image under four provenance conditions: unspecified origin, inferred origin, assumed AI origin, and assumed human origin. Results show that representationalism in visual …

Quiet Hills, Restless Hearts: An Intersectional Exploration Of Lgbtq+ Religious Journeys In Appalachia, Allison S. Monroe, Stacey L. Williams

McNair Culminating Research Projects

Many researchers have utilized Meyer’s (2003) minority stress model to examine the social factors influencing the daily lives of LGBTQ+ individuals. Previous research has looked at negative mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ individuals (McGraw et al., 2023), the presence of religious stress for this community (Page et al., 2013), and religious journeys of these individuals (Halkitis et al, 2009).  However, few studies have examined the intersection of religion, LGBTQ+ identity, social support, and the overarching values of Appalachian culture. The proposed study seeks to add to the literature and understand the breadth of these experiences by employing qualitative semi-structured interviews. …

Closing Keynote: Publishing In 2026: How We Got Into Such Trouble And How We Get Out Of It, Virginia (Ginny) Barbour

FORCE 2026

It would be hard to find anyone who is currently involved in scholarly publishing who think it works well for them, or who think that the system is underpinned by the values they care about. And all of this is at a time when trust in what is published has never been more important.

We are at a time when what we do now will shape the future of scholarly publishing, and the choices we make will shape how open, trustworthy and reproducible that future system is. These choices provide both opportunities and challenges for everyone involved in the system …

It's (Not) Raining Men: Exploring The Themes Surrounding Low Male Presence In Pediatric Nursing, Marcin Janczak

Honors Projects

Background: Men remain underrepresented in nursing, with an even smaller presence in pediatric nursing. Purpose: To examine pediatric-specific themes that may contribute to the low presence of men in pediatric nursing, and strategies to counteract these potential barriers. Methods: CINAHL Ultimate and Google Scholar were searched for primary research published from 2015 to 2025 related to male nurses, male nursing students, gender bias, pediatric care, and clinical experiences. Findings: Four major themes emerged: gender stereotypes and the feminization of pediatric nursing, sociocultural barriers and gender bias, fear and distrust toward male nurses, and psychological and professional impacts on men in …

The Shrinking Caspian Sea: Eco‐Hydrological Responses To Human And Climate Pressures, Jesse Duku, Mohammad J. Tourian, Marzi Azarderakhsh, Rovshan Abbasov, Ali Mehran, Ali Torabi Haghighi, Stefanos Xenarios, Azara Boschee, Salih Babagiray, Mojtaba Sadegh, Nima Shokri, Ali Nazemi, Alireza Farahmand, Samaneh Ashraf, Temur Khujanazarov, Elmira Hassanzadeh, Dalal Najib, Daniel Placht, Shamshagul Mashtayeva, Ekaterina Rets, Hamid Norouzi, Kaveh Madani, Manoochehr Shirzaei, Hossein Shafizadeh-Moghadam, Chiyuan Miao, Ali Mirchi, Shuo Wang, Amir Aghakouchak

Publications and Research

The Caspian Sea, the Earth's largest inland water body, faces water level decline, drawing comparisons to the collapse of the Aral Sea. Unlike the Aral Sea, the relative roles of climatic variability, hydrological changes, and anthropogenic pressures on the Caspian Sea remain poorly understood. Here, we integrate satellite observations, in situ hydrological records and reanalysis data to examine recent drivers of the Caspian water loss. We show that total river inflow to the Caspian Sea has declined significantly, primarily due to reduced discharge from the Volga River. At the same time, precipitation over the basin has remained broadly stable, while …

Scaffolded Reflection And Research Assignment For Sociology 101, Sara Martucci

Open Educational Resources

Dr. Sara Martucci created these assignments as part of a funded project focused on converting more sections of high-enrollment foundational courses to use Open Educational Resources and Pedagogy.

Does A Common Threat Unite?: Alliance Formation In East Asia Under Chinese Pressure, Sean G. Mcclellan

Honors Theses

The study explores whether a shared geopolitical threat fosters alliance formation among East Asian nations, focusing on Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea in the context of increasing Chinese influence. Integrating insights from international relations theory and social psychology—particularly Realistic Conflict Theory and the out-group unifying effect—the research evaluates whether perceived Chinese aggression corresponds with increased positive sentiment toward the United States. Utilizing data from the Asian Barometer Survey, linear regression analysis is conducted to assess how perceptions of Chinese and U.S. influence, democratic values, and political affiliation shape public attitudes. Results show that while negative views of Chinese and U.S. …

Foundations' Deep, Emily Williams, Morgan Williams

University Honors Theses

Most historic buildings do not survive as they were built, yet preservation frameworks still tend to evaluate them as if they did.

Foundations' Deep begins with a structure located in Helena, Montana 59602, a building that sits uneasily within the categories it has been asked to meet. Built in the early twentieth century, it has persisted through alteration, abandonment, and use. What remains is not a stable artifact but a record of accumulated decisions, some careful and many indifferent, now embedded in the fabric of the building itself.

The thesis grows from this condition and from the limits of the …

Expanding Transmobilities: Understanding Genderdiverse And Transgender Travel Behavior Through An Art-Informed Methodology, Nicholas Michael Puczkowskyj

Dissertations and Theses

Transgender and genderdiverse people face discrimination and harassment in public when making trips in Portland, OR. People who identify as genderdiverse or transgender create unique travel behavior due to the influence of their internalized and expressed gender identity and through interactions in public. This dissertation examines how gender identity influences the travel behavior of genderdiverse and transgender people and how these experiences influence their subjective wellbeing when making trips in Portland, Oregon. Traditional one-on-one interviews were conducted in conjunction with allowing the interviewees to produce art as a non-verbal form of expression and communication of their experiences making trips in …

The Impact Of Social Media Use For Service Delivery By Library Personnel In Nigeria., Jamiu Adewale Abdulsalam, Soliudeen Idowu Sanni, Shasil Adedoyin Opoola

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study examined how social media is impacting service delivery by the library personnel in two universities of Ogun State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design, correlational type was followed and a total enumeration sampling technique was applied to get all 105 members of the library staff from the two selected universities. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire, which was developed to capture the social media patterns of users and service delivery. Descriptive statistics (frequency counts, percentages, means, and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation) were used for data analysis. It was found that the most common library services …

Managing Ai Bot Access To Open Scholarly Infrastructures, Petr Knoth

FORCE 2026

The rapid rise of generative AI has created unprecedented demand for large, high-quality research corpora. Open access repositories and other open scholarly infrastructures have therefore become primary sources for AI bots, because they host research that is not universally reliable, but remains far more evidence-based than most web content. This is both an opportunity and a strain: repositories are now more valuable than ever, but machine traffic brings sustainability, capacity and policy challenges. Repositories may be able to scale, but who should fund that scaling, and under what conditions?

The core dilemma is how to curb abusive high-load bot activity …

Research Integrity Without Borders: How Getftr Extends Trust Across The Scholarly Ecosystem, Joris Van Rossum

FORCE 2026

As research discovery increasingly happens beyond publisher platforms (through aggregators, institutional repositories, AI tools, and citation networks) maintaining trust in the integrity of the scholarly record becomes ever more complex. Visibility is not enough; researchers need confidence that what they find, read, and cite is current, authoritative, and trustworthy.

GetFTR (Get Full Text Research) addresses this challenge by embedding integrity and transparency signals, including retractions, errata, updates, and license information, directly into the researcher’s discovery experience. Through its cross-publisher API and integrations with major discovery tools, GetFTR ensures that researchers are always connected to the version of record and alerted …

Bridging Metrics And Meaning: Integrating Traditional And Alternative Indicators For Responsible Research Assessment, Junjie Shen, Sarah Ormes

FORCE 2026

How do we recognise great research in all its diverse forms? Around the world, institutions are trying to move beyond simple citation counts toward something fairer and more meaningful. At the University of Bath in the UK, we’ve been experimenting with ways to combine traditional bibliometrics with richer indicators of engagement, such as policy influence, media attention, and real-world impact, to build a more balanced picture of research quality.

In this lightning talk, we’ll share what we’ve learned so far: how we co-created guidance with researchers, librarians, and research managers; how we built discipline-sensitive approaches; and how we trained our …