Digital Commons Network^™

The Benefits Of Combining Center-Based And Home-Based Care For Preschool Children, Savannah Christensen

Family Perspectives

Abstract: Research shows that the quality of care children receive in early childhood—whether from a parent, relative, or formal child care provider—significantly influences their cognitive, behavioral, and emotional development. This article analyzes several peer-reviewed sources to examine how different caregiving environments impact development and how these effects are moderated by the quality of care and the home environment. It also addresses how socioeconomic status can shape the quality of care children receive and the long-term outcomes associated with each caregiving type. While parents are typically seen as the ideal caregivers, children in nonparental care, such as with relatives or in …

Y You Go Scale (Yygs): A Tool For Measuring Religious Commitment, Camron Angell, David Heath, Noah Perry, Taylor Hales

Student Works

Psychology historically has underplayed the role of religion and has not considered its importance in treatment and research. As such, the field is in need of measures of religious commitment and a greater understanding of the religious experience. There have been general measures of religious commitment such as the Religious Commitment Scale (RCS) and the Religious Commitment Inventory (RCI-10) (Dyer et al., 2023; Fox & Bouffard, 2015; Worthington, E., 2003). The issue with general scales is that religious commitment looks different for each religion. In this context, the present study sought to develop a scale of religious commitment for students …

The Effects Of Parental Emotion Regulation On Child Mental Health, Vanessa Brouse

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Gratitude, Mindfulness, And Goal Setting On College Athletes' Well-Being, Performance, And Motivation, Vanessa E. Vanwoerkom

Student Works

Because of the emphasis of sports in today’s society, athletes experience near-constant pressure from the public, coaches, and fans. This can make it difficult to control feelings of stress, anxiety, and even depression. Positive psychology interventions have been shown to be useful in teaching athletes to cope with difficult emotions and to handle the stress that accompanied advanced competition (Gabana, 2018). The benefits of positive affect have been shown to enhance motivation and attention, facilitate coping with hardship, and increase problem-solving skills (McCarthy, 2011). The practices of gratitude, mindfulness, and goal setting are some of the most effective skills taught …

Progress Towards Confinement Of An Ultracold Neutral Plasma With Electric And Magnetic Fields, Ben Farley

Theses and Dissertations

Ultracold neutral plasmas represent a regime of plasmas that is not entirely described by theory, but is critical to our understanding of many phenomena. Though their low temperature makes observing them more manageable, even "confined" ultracold plasmas do not remain contained for more than a few hundred microseconds. No steady state or long-term confinement of an ultracold plasma created by pulse ionization has ever been demonstrated. In this thesis, the construction of a Penning trap for calcium ultracold neutral plasma is presented. The trap consists of a uniform magnetic field to trap the electrons radially and a quadrupole electric field …

Bartók’S Romanian Folk Dances: A Consideration Of Sound And Movement, Bailey Frame

Theses and Dissertations

Béla Bartók (1881-1945) cared deeply about authenticity in his work. He continually passed by derivative versions, and instead sought the oldest, earliest, most inaugural version of each folk tune to use as that launching point for his compositions. As he collected the Transylvanian folk tunes that would become his Romanian Folk Dances, he disregarded inconveniences like bad weather and exhausting travel, and he doggedly lugged with him a newly invented Edison phonograph. Though it was unwieldy and fickle, the device allowed him to capture folk music in the moment it was created. Not one for sterile auditoriums or music studios, …

A C++ Library For Turbulent Mixing Simulation Using Hierarchical Parcel Swapping (Hips), Masoomeh Behrang, Tommy Starick, Heiko Schmidt, David O. Lignell

Faculty Publications

Turbulence models are crucial for simulating flows at all scales, capturing both large-scale structures and small-scale mixing. Software libraries that implement such models should support modular integration, customization, and scalability across different simulation frameworks. This paper presents Hierarchical Parcel Swapping (HiPS), a C++ library documented with Doxygen and available on GitHub. HiPS supports both mixing and reactions and can be used as a standalone model or as a subgrid model in CFD simulations. The code includes examples for users to run it as a standalone model. Additionally, considerations for using it as a subgrid model are provided.

Magnetic Nanoparticles Tethered With Zn–Dpa For The Removal Of Bacteria From Red Blood Cell Suspension, Tochukwu P. Okonkwo, Rajendra P. Gautam, Jacob B. Limburg, Breckin L. Forstrom, Bowen J. Houser, Aaron Rappleyea, Tyler P. Green, Joseph P. Talley, Alexander D. Daum, Stacey J. Smith, Karine Chesnel, William G. Pitt, Roger G. Harrison

Faculty Publications

Bacterial infections continue to drive the need for more effective and rapid methods for bacterial analysis. To address this, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have emerged as promising tools, especially when their surfaces are modified with bacteria binders. The bis-zinc–dipicolylamine (Zn–DPA) complex is known for its broad affinity to bacteria. We have synthesized MNPs via a thermal decomposition method, encapsulated them in silica, modified their surface with Zn–DPA, and tested their ability to remove bacteria. The MNPs retain their superparamagnetic properties and crystallite structure after being encapsulated. The MNPs coated with silica and Zn–DPA effectively bind and remove both Gram-positive and Gram-negative …

Editor’S Note: Comparative Civilizational Turn: The Future Of The Iscsc In The Wake Of Geopolitical “Grey Rhino” Events, Greg Lewicki

Comparative Civilizations Review

The last few years seem to have brought some bitter realizations among political scientists, forecasters, and security analysts. Namely: they tend to err, and their forecasts too often remain off-target.

Front Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Civilization: The Gaze Of Photography, William Alexander Ewing

Comparative Civilizations Review

If the lifetime of our species were imagined as a single 24-hour day, then civilization makes its appearance at the 23.02 mark. And photography? It comes on stage under a minute before midnight.

How marvelous it would have been to have had photography recording our lives throughout those millennia.

Beyond Earth: Strategic Pathways To A Multiplanet Civilization And The Case For Mars Settlement, Andrew Targowski

Comparative Civilizations Review

This research provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary exploration of the transition toward a multiplanet civilization, with a special focus on Mars as humanity’s first major step beyond Earth. By addressing technological, political, economic, and ethical dimensions, it aims to inform policymakers, scientists, and the public about the feasibility, challenges, and philosophical implications of interplanetary expansion.

As humanity approaches the threshold of becoming a multiplanet civilization, it faces unprecedented scientific, technological, economic, and ethical challenges. This paper explores the rationale, methodologies, and critical considerations for establishing sustainable human settlements beyond Earth, with a particular focus on Mars. By analyzing advances in …

In Remembrance Of Carolyn Potter, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

Carolyn served for the past decade as the Senior Editor of this journal. She was responsible for several aspects of production, including article formatting, the CCR style guide, and copy editing, and she served as the first stop in reviewing, weighing the academic merit of submissions. Her intellectual conclusions were invariably accurate.

Resisting Islamophobia: “Westophobia” In Social Media, Peter O'Brien, Jordan Nelson

Comparative Civilizations Review

Both the practice and study of Islamophobia repose on the concept of comparative civilizations. Purveyors of Islamophobia use what Roger Westcott calls a “denotative” understanding to posit an objective conflict (or “clash” à la Samual Huntington) between Western and Islamic civilizations. Scholars who analyze Islamophobia tend to take what Westcott calls a “connotative” approach that views civilizations as subjective, social constructs (à la Edward Said’s “Orient”).

Despite many advantages, the latter approach tends to dismiss the agency of Muslims to resist Islamophobia. This article counters that trend by exploring Islamist resistance to Islamophobia, to which we give the shorthand label, …

Academic Civilization: Expansion And Development, Inbar Gotlib Gotlib-Rivkin

Comparative Civilizations Review

The concept of academic civilization was developed out of and in relation to that of modern civilization. Prominent characteristics of modern civilization are reflected in institutions of higher education, and they can therefore be regarded as constituting a civilization. The six main characteristics of institutions of higher education that render them a civilization include expansion in terms of scope and growth, flexibility and institutional diversity, center-periphery relations, academic culture, autonomy and academic freedom, and the monopolization of professional training and the professional middle class. This paper addresses the first characteristic — expansion of institutions of higher education — and …

Towards The Systematic Cross-Civilizational Comparison: How Civilizations Work - Case 1: The Monotheistic Civilization, Liah Greenfeld

Comparative Civilizations Review

The purpose of this essay is to offer several hypotheses based on the concept of civilization and the conceptual scaffolding for the study of the cultural reality, proposed in the Spring 2024 CCR paper, regarding the three civilizations coexisting in the world today: the monotheistic, the Sinic, and the Indic. It introduces the modal dimensions along which civilizations may differ on the level of the individual mind — cognitive (pertaining both to the structure and contents of thought), moral, and emotional; and that of the society (separate institutions and institutional systems) and history.

Books Of Interest Fall 2025, Stephen T. Satkiewicz

Comparative Civilizations Review

Books that may be of interest to scholars of the comparative study of civilizations, and may add significantly to the body of scholarship in the civilizational field. These books are also available for book reviews in future editions of Comparative Civilizations Review.

End Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

What Guides The Iscsc?, Lynn Rhodes

Comparative Civilizations Review

Clear and well-defined bylaws are the backbone of any nonprofit organization, ensuring transparency, accountability, and effective governance. For organizations like the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations (ISCSC), bylaws serve as a guiding framework that outlines decision-making processes, leadership roles, and the responsibilities of members.

Intellectual Risk-Taking And Emotional Intelligence In Educational Systems: A Comparative Study Of The Usa, Finland, Japan, And Singapore, Peter Hecht

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper examines how intellectual risk-taking (IRT) and emotional intelligence (EI) are integrated into educational systems in the United States, Finland, Japan, and Singapore, arguing that these factors are essential for fostering creativity, resilience, and academic success. In modern pedagogy, IRT is defined as the willingness of students to engage in challenging academic tasks despite potential failure, thereby promoting innovative problem-solving and critical thinking (Beghetto 210; Dweck 6). Complementarily, EI — an individual’s capacity to recognize, understand, and manage emotions — plays a crucial role in classroom dynamics by enhancing self-regulation and interpersonal relationships (Goleman 43; Mayer et al. 197). …

Book Review: Max Weber's Sociology Of Civilizations: A Reconstruction, Stephen T. Satkiewicz

Comparative Civilizations Review

Max Weber (1864-1920) remains one of the most seminal figures in the social sciences, and his influence continues well over a century since his death. His explanation for the connections between the rise of capitalism and the Protestant Reformation still remains his most famous and most highly debated thesis. In spite of his prominence in the social sciences, Weber’s status within the civilizational field can be more ambiguous. He is not seen as a foundational figure at least when compared to others such as Pitirim Sorokin, Arnold J. Toynbee, or Oswald Spengler. That is not to say Weber is never …

The Fragrance Muse: Musk As A Symbolic Tapestry In Classical Persian Poetry, Akbar Shirini, Shen Xudong, Zhao Dan

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper explores the symbolic representation of musk in classical Persian poetry, uncovering its role as a multifaceted emblem of Iranian cultural identity and human experience. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of primary texts from the Ganjoor archive and secondary sources, the study traces musk’s historical significance across China, Iran, and Islamic world. In China, musk is prized for its rarity, medicinal properties, and metaphysical roles; in Iran, it intertwines with mythology, Zoroastrian cosmology, and trade; in Islamic contexts, it holds commercial and therapeutic value, cherished by figures like Mohammad. Within Persian poetry, musk transcends its material origins, symbolizing blackness …

Towards The Systematic Cross-Civilizational Comparison: How Civilizations Work Case 2: The Indic Civilization, Monika Monika

Comparative Civilizations Review

Building on Liah Greenfeld’s (2024) framework of Systematic Cross-Civilizational Comparison, as outlined in her Spring 2024 CCR essay, this paper examines the cultural realities of the Indic civilization. Civilizations differ at both the individual level, including cognitive aspects (the structure and content of thought), moral dimensions (values and principles guiding behavior), and emotional patterns (typical emotional responses); and the societal level, i.e., distinct institutions, institutional systems, and historical trajectories (Greenfeld 2024).

In each civilization, these modal dimensions stem from and are shaped by the first civilizational principles — the foundational ideas framing the reality unique to that civilization. In Indic …

Full Issue

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Sociological Dichotomies Of Mława, Poland, Over Time: Misplaced Concreteness, Individual Triumph, Social Tragedy, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

For many years, I have been an active member of the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations and Editor-in-Chief of its journal, the Comparative Civilizations Review. Since the 1960s, I have also been a university administrator and a professor, globe-trotting to learn about societies near and far, their rises and falls. Yet even though I lived and worked in Prague, as president of a university, not far from the Polish border, I had never set foot in that country, notwithstanding that my paternal grandfather came from there.

Wind Turbine Rotor Design Using High-Fidelity Aerostructural Optimization, Marco Mangano, Sicheng He, Yingqian Liao, Denis-Gabriel Caprace, Andrew Ning, Joaquim R. R. A. Martins

Faculty Publications

Large wind turbines yield more energy but demand careful aeroelastic blade design. Coupled multiphysics design strategies can reduce wind energy costs exploiting fluid-structure interactions. This work presents the first high-fidelity aerostructural optimization study of a large wind turbine rotor.We use blade-resolved fluid dynamics and structural solvers in a monolithic gradient-based optimization framework to explore steady-state torque and blade mass trade-offs. The coupled-adjoint approach computes gradients efficiently, enabling the optimization of over 100 structural and geometric parameters simultaneously. Our optimization study modifies a DTU 10 MW benchmark with a simplified structure and isotropic material properties. The tightly coupled optimizations increase torque …

Effect Of Short-Chain Polymer Binders On The Mechanical And Electrochemical Performance Of Silicon Anodes, Fei Sun, L. Zurita-Garcia, Dean R. Wheeler

Faculty Publications

Polymer binders are crucial components in providing both mechanical support and chemical stability to the structure of porous Li-ion electrodes. Particularly in silicon anodes, the active material undergoes substantial volume expansion of up to 275%. Due to the mechanical constraint of the current collector, these silicon materials tend to expand in the normal direction while exhibiting substantial particle rearrangement and plastic deformation. Conventional rigid binders such as polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyimide (PI), while providing satisfactory initial capacity, do not eliminate diminished long-term performance. Our research attempts to develop binder formulations that can accommodate sufficient flexibility for the substantial volume …

アダムとエバの「堕落」にまつわる疑問について, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Spiritual Proficiency

エデンの園で起こった堕落について疑問を思ったことはありませんか？なぜ、堕落と救い主による贖いが救いの計画の中で要の位置を占めるのに、神様は、知恵の実を食べるなと、はっきり命じておられたのでしょうか。この記事がそのためのヒントを与えてくれるかもしれません。

I Do, And I Will: Effectual Religiosity May Strengthen The Triad Chord Of Commitment For Women Of Faith, Tamara M. Chamberlain, Loren Marks, David C. Dollahite, Ashley Lebaron-Black, Elizabeth Kay Madsen, Christina N. Cooper

Faculty Publications

Although religiosity is commonly linked to marital satisfaction in sociological research, few studies have examined how it strengthens marital commitment among women of faith. This study explored the perspectives of religious, heterosexual married women using interviews in the United States from 196 highly religious couples with successful marriages. Three core themes emerged: (1) personal commitment—including the decision to marry, religious beliefs and practices, and the need for effort and sacrifice; (2) moral commitment—highlighting sexual relations before marriage, promises made before God, family, and friends, and views on fidelity and divorce; and (3) structural commitment— emphasizing the role of a religious …