Digital Commons Network^™

Net Effects Of Correlated Determinants Of Health Among U.S. Older Adults, Haomiao Jia, E I. Lubetkin

Publications and Research

Background

The health effect produced by a contributing factor alone may be different from the effect when other interacting factors are present. The effects of a set of contributors, estimated by regression coefficients, may be invalid or inappropriate if some of the predictors are correlated or the model has interaction and nonlinear terms. The net effect (NE) of a given contributing factor is the effect produced by the factor alone, not by other factors due to their correlations with the factor of interest. This study estimated NE of selected determinants of health for U.S. older adults.

Methods

Participants, aged ≥ …

A Protectorate Divided: The Otjimbingue Petition And Settler Contestations Of Railway Construction In German Southwest Africa, 1897–1902, Marta Millar

Publications and Research

Supporters of the State Railway in German Southwest Africa heralded its construction as ‘the dawn of a new era for the protectorate’ (Windhoeker Anzeiger, 27 October 1898). While railways did enable the expansion of colonial communities, not all settlers wrote as optimistically about this change as did the Anzeiger’s editor. Between 1897 and 1902, familial correspondence and debates in the protectorate’s first newspaper, the Windhoeker Anzeiger, reveal how various settlers negotiated the railroad’s transformative impact on colonial society and their everyday lives. Opposition voices argued that the railroad would harm the fragile colonial economy, serving only …

Understanding Mental Health Crisis Response Through The Lens Of First Responders, Ella Gibson

Student Theses

Responses to mental health crises are becoming an increasingly contentious topic as cases of extreme police violence or fatality during a crisis are publicized in the media. Although first responders’ experiences with mental health crisis response have been explored in prior literature, there remains a lack of research that gathers data from multiple first responder roles and compares their experiences across groups. There is also a significant gap in research examining the perspectives of co-response teams. This study sought to gather qualitative data on the experiences of police officers, EMTs/paramedics, and co-response team members, and to explore their perceptions of …

Early Conceptual Sketches Of Blended Reality And The Precursor To The Bbs Quad (2022), David Smith

Publications and Research

This document contains two original hand-drawn conceptual sketches created in early 2022, representing the earliest visual formulations of what would later evolve into the Balanced Blended Space (BBS) framework. The drawings predate my first conversations with ChatGPT and were produced as part of my independent sabbatical research into blended environments, mediated performance, and human–machine interaction.

The first drawing examines human–computational mediation, perception, and internal mapping. The second sketch—later referred to informally as the “BBS Quad”—extends this idea by reconciling cognition–computation symmetry with physical–virtual spatial relationships. Published together, these images document the conceptual foundations of the BBS framework prior to its …

Advancement Of Wearable Hardware & Possible Cross-Sector Applications, Yassine Chahid, Patrick Slattery

Publications and Research

This study examines recent advances in wearable technologies including smart glasses, watches, rings, and related devices. It evaluates their applications across healthcare, manufacturing, education, and logistics. As real-time data collection, hands-free interaction, and continuous health monitoring become more prevalent, wearables are emerging as pivotal tools for both personal and professional contexts. The methodology combines a comparative analysis of current-generation devices, a review of technical specifications from manufacturer documentation, and case studies of specialized deployments, particularly in medical diagnostics, remote monitoring, and workplace efficiency. Project findings will indicate the rate at which wearable devices are moving beyond consumer fitness tracking and …

Introduction To Machine Learning And Machine Learning Systems, Raffi T. Khatchadourian Ph.D.

Open Educational Resources

Lecture slides introducing machine learning and machine learning systems for an undergraduate software engineering course. Topics include what machine learning is and how it differs from traditional programming, foundation models, the major types of learning (supervised, unsupervised, reinforcement, and others), and applications across domains. Using a food-delivery time-prediction case study, the deck walks through a typical ML pipeline—data collection and cleaning, feature engineering, model training, and evaluation—and covers evaluation methods (precision and recall, confusion matrices, error measures) along with underfitting versus overfitting and the realities of learning and evaluation in production. Based on "Machine Learning in Production/AI Engineering" by Christian …

Saussure’S Universal Distinctive Feature Dimensions, Thomas M. Eccardt

Publications and Research

This paper revisits Saussure’s scalar analysis of phonemes, offering a modern reinterpretation that replaces binary features with phonological dimensions grounded in measurement theory. By redefining Saussure’s [openness] and [backness] as ordered scales and Chomsky and Halle’s “combination and concatenation” as partially ordered scales, the paper introduces a notion of “[phono]logical simultaneity.” This framework renders the variously-defined phoneme and segment redundant, and shifts the focus of distinctiveness to the linguistic sign, the morpheme. It demonstrates how phonological dimensions link continuous articulations and acoustic signals (e.g., F1 and F2) with discrete linguistic signs through calibrated distinctive features. The analysis identifies Saussure’s two …

Lessons From Tiktok: Using Popular Social Media Platforms To Engage Gen Z, Debra Bernstein

Urban Library Journal

This study looks at how academic libraries in the New York City metropolitan area are using TikTok to engage with their communities, particularly students. It analyzes the most popular videos from five active library accounts, categorizing content types and measuring engagement through TikTok’s built-in metrics. Results indicate that humorous and lighthearted content consistently receives the highest engagement, while instructional or “how-to” videos tend to underperform. These findings suggest that while TikTok may not be the most effective platform for instructional outreach, it holds potential as a tool for visibility, community engagement, and humanizing the library’s presence. As students increasingly turn …

Global Development Theories At Your Doorstep, Jorge A. Alves

Open Educational Resources

This resource is an assignment for a course on the politics of international development (PSCI 230). This assignment will likely be a summative assignment either at the end of the first unit (where I discuss the different theories / approaches to development over time) or perhaps a substitute for the midterm exam. The goals of the assignment are A) for students to localize and critically ground existing global theories of development in their own lived experience / communities, and B) critically reflect on core assumptions and implications about the different conceptualizations of development (especially to see how these approaches might …

Local And Community History – Ten Blocks, Johnathan Thayer

Open Educational Resources

Description

Walk or otherwise move through physical space ten blocks (or its equivalent) in any direction from wherever you call home. Take note of the component parts that make up your locality, including the weekly topics on our syllabus (nature, parks, cemeteries, burial grounds, buildings, restaurants, bars, theaters, temples, schools, and governance). Make a list of the histories of these components that you know, and a list of the histories that you wish you knew more about.

Where I plan to use this resource

In my LBSCI class Local and Community History Methods. This will be the first assignment of …

Place, Space, And Landscape: Discovering Queens Through Community Music And Performing Arts, Claudia Calì

Open Educational Resources

Place, Space, and Landscape: Discovering Queens through Community Music and Performing Arts is a graduate-level course designed to explore how music, dance, and theater can engage, reflect, and transform local communities through a critical pedagogy of place (Gruenewald, 2003) and service-learning experiences (Mitchell, 2008).

Intended for graduate students in music, visual, and performing arts, this interdisciplinary course blends theory and practice to help students: (1) gain awareness of the spatial dimensions of their artistic experience; (2) build meaningful connections and relationships of care with local communities; and (3) engage with the concept of reinhabitation (Gruenewald, 2003), situating learning within specific …

Queens: An Urban Palimpsest, Lee Norton

Open Educational Resources

Overview:

“Queens: an Urban Palimpsest” is a 2-3 week module about community archives, primary source research, and the importance of place in collective memory. It is centered around the digitally-accessible archival documents hosted by the Queens Historical Society in Flushing, NY.

This resource is offered in three parts: most substantially, five class sessions, written up as instructor scripts; second, a list of additional resources to scaffold the module, which, in its initial design and implementation, kicks off the second of three units in my College Writing I course; and, lastly, an outline of several possible ways of continuing beyond this …

Speculative Automated Refactoring Of Imperative Deep Learning Programs To Graph Execution, Raffi Khatchadourian Ph.D., Tatiana Castro Vélez, Mehdi Bagherzadeh, Nan Jia, Anita Raja

Publications and Research

Efficiency is essential to support ever-growing datasets, especially for Deep Learning (DL) systems. DL frameworks have traditionally embraced deferred execution-style DL code---supporting symbolic, graph-based Deep Neural Network (DNN) computation. While scalable, such development is error-prone, non-intuitive, and difficult to debug. Consequently, more natural, imperative DL frameworks encouraging eager execution have emerged but at the expense of run-time performance. Though hybrid approaches aim for the "best of both worlds," using them effectively requires subtle considerations. Our key insight is that, while DL programs typically execute sequentially, hybridizing imperative DL code resembles parallelizing sequential code in traditional systems. Inspired by this, we …

Speculative Automated Refactoring Of Imperative Deep Learning Programs To Graph Execution, Raffi Khatchadourian Ph.D., Tatiana Castro Vélez, Mehdi Bagherzadeh, Nan Jia, Anita Raja

Publications and Research

Efficiency is essential to support ever-growing datasets, especially for Deep Learning (DL) systems. DL frameworks have traditionally embraced deferred execution-style DL code---supporting symbolic, graph-based Deep Neural Network (DNN) computation. While scalable, such development is error-prone, non-intuitive, and difficult to debug. Consequently, more natural, imperative DL frameworks encouraging eager execution have emerged but at the expense of run-time performance. Though hybrid approaches aim for the "best of both worlds," using them effectively requires subtle considerations. Our key insight is that, while DL programs typically execute sequentially, hybridizing imperative DL code resembles parallelizing sequential code in traditional systems. Inspired by this, we …

Ethical And Legal Concepts For Pt, Clarence Chan

Open Educational Resources

This course introduces the topics of medical ethics and legal issues as applied to physical therapy practice. Students will have the opportunity to apply legal and ethical theories and concepts to analyze and discuss issues faced by healthcare practitioners. Ethical and legal standards set forth by the legal system in the United States, the Standard of Practice of New York State, and the American Physical Therapy Association core ethics documents will be explored. Students will also become familiarized with the various aspects of administrative, financial, quality improvement, and personnel management information as related to health care practice in the United …

Editorial: Migration And Health: A Human Rights Perspective - Conference Insights And Beyond, Noemi Rodriguez, Mira Goral, Justine Mcgovern, Allison Squires, María Isabel Roldos

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Speculative Automated Refactoring Of Imperative Deep Learning Programs To Graph Execution, Raffi T. Khatchadourian Ph.D., Tatiana Castro Vélez, Mehdi Bagherzadeh, Nan Jia, Anita Raja

Publications and Research

Efficiency is essential to support ever-growing datasets, especially for Deep Learning (DL) systems. DL frameworks have traditionally embraced deferred execution-style DL code---supporting symbolic, graph-based Deep Neural Network (DNN) computation. While scalable, such development is error-prone, non-intuitive, and difficult to debug. Consequently, more natural, imperative DL frameworks encouraging eager execution have emerged but at the expense of run-time performance. Though hybrid approaches aim for the "best of both worlds," using them effectively requires subtle considerations. Our key insight is that, while DL programs typically execute sequentially, hybridizing imperative DL code resembles parallelizing sequential code in traditional systems. Inspired by this, we …

Finding Solutions: Meeting Essential Needs To Overcome Health And Educational Inequities Among College Students, Nicholas Freudenberg, Rashida Crutchfield

Publications and Research

Many economic, academic, and social factors influence college completion, and scholars have documented that a significant cause of students leaving school before graduation is that many do not have their basic needs for food, housing, and health care met. These barriers undermine their academic success by forcing students to reduce the time spent on their studies, work more hours, or stop out of school to support themselves or their families. Unmet essential needs jeopardize academic and life success for students in higher education across the United States and widen racial/ethnic and class inequities in college completion and health. Our review …

Electric-Field Tunable Magnetoexcitons In Xenes/Hbn/Tmdc, Xenes/Hbn/Bp, And Xenes/Hbn/Tmtc Heterostructures, Roman Ya. Kezerashvili, Anastasia Spiridonova, Klaus Ziegler

Publications and Research

In this work, we propose novel van der Waals heterostructures composed of Xenes, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), phosphor ene, and transition metal trichalcogenides (TMTCs), which are separated by insulating hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) layers. We theoreti cally investigate the behavior of Rydberg indirect excitons in Xenes/hBN/TMDC, Xenes/hBN/phosphorene and Xenes/hBN/TMTC heterostructures subjected to parallel external electric and magnetic fields that are oriented perpendicular to the layers. By incorporating both isotropic and anisotropic materials, we demonstrate that excitonic properties can be effectively tuned through the external field strengths and the heterostructure design. Our results show that the exciton reduced mass and the …

Design And Implementation Of Data Quality Controls In The Eq-Daphnie Study: Insights From The Pilot Phase And 15-Country Analysis, Fatima Al Sayah, Hilary Short, Juan M. Ramos-Goñi, Rosalie Viney, Erica I. Lubetkin, Mathieu F. Janssen, Jeffrey A. Johnson

Publications and Research

Objective

The EQ-DAPHNIE (EuroQol Data for Assessment of Population Health Needs and Instrument Evaluation) project is a large, multi-country survey initiative designed to generate population norms and enable comparative research using self-reported health measures. This paper describes the quality control processes and summarizes data quality metrics from the United Kingdom (UK) pilot and full implementation across 15 countries.

Methods

Representative samples were recruited via Dynata, an online survey panel provider, using quota sampling by age, sex, income, community setting, and language (where applicable). The UK pilot (n = 3012) informed survey refinements ahead of full rollout (n = 68,411). Quality …

Enabling Coercive Drivers With Green Supply Chain Management Practices To Gain Performance Nexus Through External Collaboration And Monitoring, Aamir Rashid, Rizwana Rasheed

Publications and Research

Businesses primarily provide products or services, expand operations, and generate profits. However, they frequently disregard the environmental and economic consequences of their actions as they strive for profitability and growth. Consequently, the main objective of this research was to examine the impact of a multifaceted supply chain function on performance. Data were collected from 415 respondents employed in various manufacturing companies within a developing economy. The hypotheses were evaluated using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through Smart PLS. The findings discovered that ten of the thirteen hypotheses tested were supported, while three were not. Coercive drivers were observed to significantly influence …

Recognition Of Service: Information For Faculty Seeking Tenure, Certificate Of Continuous Employment (Cce), And Promotion, The Center For Excellence In Teaching, Learning, & Leadership, Soniya Munshi, Elena Sigman

Open Educational Resources

Service is an important element of the faculty experience at Queens College. In Spring 2025, the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership (CETLL) convened two panels about fulfilling expectations for service activities for QC faculty at various stages of tenure and promotion. Each of the panels was comprised of deans, department chairs, and faculty members, including a Provost’s Faculty Fellow.

The panels aimed to address recurring faculty questions about service, including:

• what activities are recognized as faculty service

• how to document service activities

• how service activities factor into tenure, promotion, and CCE decisions

This informational document condenses the …

Lidt For Femtosecond Laser Optical Components, Viviana K. Vladutescu, Mikhail Polyanskiy, Dismas Choge, Tahsinur Rahman, Tianyi Zhao, Marcus Babzien, William Li, Antonio Verderesa, Igor Pogorelski

Publications and Research

Optical technology is pushed to the upper limits of damage with the advent of ultrafast high-power (UFHP) lasers. UFHP are at the forefront of particle accelerators, being used in interaction with electron beams to produce high-gradient electron acceleration, generation of compact radiation sources like inverse Compton scattering and free electron lasers. The UFHP laser levels, repetition rates, and operating environmental conditions lower the damage threshold of the optical components of femtosecond lasers uttering them useless if not used in the given parameters. In this regard, the present study provides the threshold levels for various optical components used in 800nm femtosecond …

Writing Workshop Journal: A Student-Centered Guide For College Composition, Tanya Zhelezcheva

Open Educational Resources

This comprehensive OER workbook supports ENGL 101 (Composition) students through a structured journal-based writing system. The resource combines Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles with post-process pedagogy to offer diverse pathways for student learning and writing development.

The workbook features:

- 4-component journal entry structure (exercises, reflection, next steps)

- 40+ writing exercises across four categories (Foundation Skills, Reading Logs, Drafting, Growth Mindset)

- Extensive planning and organizational tools (weekly/monthly calendars, goal-setting frameworks)

- Metacognitive reflection exercises that build writing awareness - Backward planning and time management strategies

- Evidence-based approaches to developing thesis statements, integrating sources, and crafting arguments …

Rape Myth Acceptance, Pretrial Publicity, And Decision-Making: An Examination Of Perceptions Of Victim Credibility And Perpetrator Guilt In A Real-World Sexual Assault Case, Lindsey Strouse

Student Theses

This study explores how the media narratives and political perspective of pretrial publicity (PTP) can influence jurors’ perceptions in sexual assault cases, raising significant concerns about justice in courtrooms. Specifically, it examines whether media framing of a real-life sexual assault case — through varying media narratives, with media that either challenges or endorses rape myths, and media source (liberal vs. conservative) — affects mock jurors’ rape myth acceptance (RMA), views of victim credibility, and judgements of perpetrator guilt. Participants first completed a RMA scale, then read mock news articles varying in media narrative and political affiliations (media source), followed by …

The Transtheoretical Model Of Behavior Change To Promote Anti-Racist Behaviors In Medical Settings, Amanda Almond

Publications and Research

Abstract: This paper proposes the application of the transtheoretical model, a stage-matched process for effecting change, to better encourage anti-racist behaviors and methods among health care professionals in medical settings. Despite widespread organizational implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which are aimed at reducing racial health and healthcare inequities across the United States, the absence of a theoretical framework for change has made it all but impossible to standardize meaningful anti-racist practices – a point of particular concern as President Donald Trump’s administration rolls back DEI efforts and requirements alike. Translational and clinical sciences aim for a gold …

Integrated Magnet, Electron Beam, And Ultrafast Laser Studies For Accelerator Applications, J. K. Chavez, V. Vladutescu, M. Polyanskiy, W. Li, V. Teotia, M. Babzien, D. Choge, M. Palmer, T. Zhao, B. Palencia, J. Rukaj, T. Rahman, M. Islam, O. Situ, L. Geng, L. Leng, G. Ossola

Publications and Research

This study provides an integrated overview of key accelerator technologies explored at Brookhaven National Laboratory: superconducting magnets, ultrafast electron diffraction, and ultrafast high-power lasers. At the Superconducting Magnets Division, dipole and quadrupole magnets were designed using Simulia OPERA and Rat-GUI, with simulations validated through 3D-printed coil testing. These magnets were later applied in the Ultrafast Electron Diffraction facility, where General Particle Tracer (GPT) simulations and real experiments with solenoids, dipoles, and quadrupoles revealed consistent particle beam behavior. At the Accelerator Test Facility, ultrafast lasers were used to generate and manipulate electron pulses. Laser setups were simulated in 3DOptix, then assembled …

Biography Of A Friendship: Maryat Lee And Flannery O’Connor, Carole K. Harris

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Citytech Algebra Based Physics Exam1 (Brightspace Quiz), Vasiliy S. Znamenskiy, Rafael Niyazov

Open Educational Resources

This Brightspace-based Exam 1 assesses foundational concepts in algebra-based physics through short, auto-graded items designed to provide clear feedback. The exam targets core learning outcomes from the opening units of the course: measurement and unit analysis, significant figures, one-dimensional kinematics with constant acceleration (relationships among 𝑥, 𝑣, 𝑎, 𝑡), and basic problem-solving with proportional reasoning. Question formats include numerical entry multiple choice focused on common misconceptions, and brief conceptual prompts that test qualitative understanding before calculation. The item set emphasizes translating among verbal descriptions, diagrams, formulas, and graphs; checking the reasonableness of results; and communicating precision. Randomized parameters and pooled …

R12 Equivalent Resistance Reduction Steps, Vasiliy S. Znamenskiy, Rafael Niyazov

Open Educational Resources

We present a concise, step-by-step reduction of a symmetric resistor network to its equivalent resistance 𝑅₁₂, emphasizing visual reasoning over algebraic brute force. By redrawing the circuit to expose symmetry, we identify equipotential node pairs joined by ideal conductors; the “bottom” bridging resistor is shown to carry zero current and is removed from consideration. The remaining topology reduces by two repeated series combinations, where each left/right pair of equal resistors collapses to 2R. The final network is a three-branch parallel combination (2𝑅∥𝑅∥2𝑅), yielding the closed-form result 𝑅₁₂=𝑅/2. The procedure illustrates three transferable techniques for introductory circuit …