Digital Commons Network^™

2026 Conference Schedule, Tactical & Occupational Performance Conference

Tactical & Occupational Performance Conference

No abstract provided.

The Trauma Challenge: Are You Ready To Lead With Trust-Based Relational Intervention?, Tara Quinn-Schuldt Dr., Patrick Walker, Melinda Meadow, Megan Jance

Southeast Conference on School Climate

In today’s educational landscape, understanding trauma isn’t optional, it’s essential. The Cherokee County School District has transformed from trauma-aware to trauma-responsive through intentional implementation and the creation of its connectED cohort training model. Combining strategic district-wide staff, including administrators, teachers, school support personnel, nurses, and resource officers—we created a collective approach to improving school climate, culture, and overall student outcomes. This comprehensive model integrates mental health, attachment theory, behavior intervention, and trauma responsiveness into the educational environment. This session shares evidence-based tools, a trauma-responsiveness assessment template, and strategies to address contradictions and strengthen trauma-responsive practices.

“I” Or “We” In Times Of Crises: Should Marketers Use Individualist Or Collectivist Language When Times Are Tough?, Milad Hour, Golshad Parsimoghadam, Ali Jamei

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

During the pandemic, as people dealt with fatalities, lockdowns, and the psychological impact of reduced social interactions, some marketing messages still captured significant public attention. What was the key element contributing to the success of these communications during such challenging times? This study focuses on the role of collectivism as a stress-coping mechanism included within marketing communications. Analyzing approximately 56,000 brand-generated posts on Platform X, the research examines how the use of collectivist language (e.g., we, us, etc.) relates to message likability, particularly as the pandemic nears its peak. The findings reveal that collectivist terms are positively associated with the …

Beyond The Shelf: How Reallocating Shelf Space To Emerging Brands Enhances Store Performance Through Dynamic Brand-Level Effects, Jesse Core, Ho Kim

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

This study examines the effects of reallocating shelf space from established to emerging brands in the flavored malt beverage category, a fast-moving, impulse-driven product category. Using a 13-week field experiment in 16 U.S. grocery stores (six treated, ten control), we reallocated one shelf facing from an established to an emerging brand for four weeks before reverting the shelves to their original configuration. Then we analyzed weekly SKU-level data on sales with fixed-effects panel regressions. Results show that the shelf-space reallocation increased category sales by 21.2% during treatment and 27.6% after reversion, revealing persistent gains. At the brand level, emerging brands …

Problem-Based Learning: A Necessity For Social Studies Education, Judson T. Kidd

Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State

Abstract:

This paper explores the design and implementation of Project-Based Learning (PBL) for middle and secondary classrooms, emphasizing its role in fostering critical thinking and postformal reasoning. A successful PBL framework consists of three interconnected stages: problem identification, evaluation, and solution development. Contextualization, the first stage, should be designed to engage learners and root them in the issue that is under study. The second stage focuses on the student being exposed to and evaluating multiple perspectives and actors. This step requires carefully designed guiding questions so that students have a model of interpretation that allows them to practice critical thinking …

"Better Than A Boring Textbook": Studying Development Through Middle-Grade Literature, Heidi A. Sackreiter

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

College students are sometimes reluctant to purchase textbooks for various reasons, but they still must study the necessary content in a course or academic program. This Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research project examined college students’ perceptions of reading middle-grade novels in place of a traditional, formal textbook within an Adolescent Development course. All participants were part of a teacher education program at a four-year, public institution in the Midwest United States. Questionnaires were administered at the conclusion of two semesters, and respondents shared impressions about the middle-grade reading. Response to studying middle-grade novels instead of a textbook was …

Comprehensive Analysis Of Spray Development And Low Temperature Combustion Characteristics In A Cvcc With Nvh Of Renewable Aerospace Fuels: Hefa & Ft Synthetic Kerosene (S8) Compared To Jet-A & Ulsd, Coleman Norton

Honors College Theses

A comprehensive analysis was conducted to research the viability of Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) and S8 Synthetic Kerosene fuels as a drop-in replacement for conventional petroleum-based fuels, Jet-A and ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel). Global transportation remains heavily dependent on liquid fossil fuels, while renewable aerospace fuels offer a promising pathway to reducing life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. However, the combustion performance and long-term feasibility of these fuels remain insufficiently characterized. This study performed a thorough assessment of each fuel's thermophysical and combustion properties. Thermophysical characterization encompassed viscosity, freezing point, energy density, spray atomization, and volatility. …

The Mosaic, Georgia Southern University

George-Anne Media Group: Newsletters & Magazines

No abstract provided.

The George-Anne Daily, Georgia Southern University

George-Anne Media Group: Newsletters & Magazines

No abstract provided.

Deborah Ann Hunter Overstreet

African American Funeral Programs

Program for the funeral of Deborah Ann Hunter Overstreet held at The Ben Samuel Hill Memorial Chapel of Hill's Mortuary on April 25th, 2026

The George-Anne Inkwell Edition, Georgia Southern University

The Inkwell

No abstract provided.

Navigating Hunger And Academic Success: College Students’ Experiences With Food Insecurity And Campus Food Pantries, Casey Weaver

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Food insecurity is a growing issue faced by many college students, and there is an increasing call for more qualitative research examining food insecurity on college campuses. It may be posited that students who experience food insecurity but have access to resources are more likely to succeed academically than those without access to such resources. This research examined how the resources provided to college students experiencing food insecurity influenced their academic success at a university in the United States. This study explored the experience of four students who identified as food insecure and utilized campus resources to address this issue. …

A Balaam-Modified Approach To Largo-Like Parkinson’S Trials: Efficient Estimation Of Rasagiline Effects Under Motor Fluctuations, Purbasha Biswas, Jing X. Kersey, Karl E. Peace

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

The LARGO trial established rasagiline (1 mg/day) as an effective adjunct to levodopa in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with motor fluctuations, demonstrating clinically meaningful reductions in daily “off-time” (poor or absent motor function) and improvements in Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)/Clinical Global Improvement (CGI) endpoints compared with placebo. Building on this evidence base, we propose a design strategy that re-uses LARGO-like assumptions while improving statistical efficiency for future PD evaluations of rasagiline versus placebo. Methodologically, we leverage key results emphasizing the Balaam 4-sequence, 2-period design (AA, AB, BA, BB). Under the standard crossover model with direct and carryover effects, …

Assessment Of Airborne Cultural Fungi Indoors And Outdoors In A Rural Veterinary Clinic, Elena Ortez, Oluwatosin Jegede, Dorothy Seybold, Daeshjea Mcgee, Atin Adhikari, Ally Holmes

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Background and Objectives: Veterinary clinics can inadvertently release and propagate bacteria through several mechanisms, primarily due to contaminated surfaces, insufficient cleaning protocols, and, in some instances, direct transmission from infected animals or staff. Given that these clinics are high-traffic environments, they can serve as hotspots for clinic-acquired infections if rigorous hygiene practices are not upheld. This study evaluated airborne bacterial concentrations in different areas of a veterinary clinic compared to outdoor ambient air by calculating the indoor-to-outdoor ratios.

Methods: Airborne culturable bacterial samples were collected using a Biostage Impactor across eight internal zones including waiting areas, treatment rooms, and wards …

Effects Of Exercise And Neuromuscular Stimulation On Neuroplasticity And Inflammation In Those With Dementia Risk, Kaitlyn J. Tanner, Collis D. Grace, Morgan A. Gragg, Lisa B. Niles-Meunier, Nicholas J. Siekirk

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

BACKGROUND: Cognitive decline, prevalent in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD), heightens fall risk. Exercise interventions can reduce fall risk by slowing or delaying cognitive decline. Use of multi-waveform neuromuscular electrical stimulation (MWF-NMES) as an exercise adjunct may enhance neuroplasticity in areas associated with postural control. Whether NMES can improve postural control outcomes is not well-documented. Therefore, we will examine the effect of multi-waveform NMES on postural control in adults at risk for ADRD. METHODS: Participants will be recruited from an assisted living community in Southeast Georgia. Interested participants who meet the inclusion criterion will be stratified by sex …

Determinants Of Infant Birth Weight In Georgia: An Analysis Of The Prams 2016–2020 Study, Purbasha Biswas, Jing Kersey

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

The Georgia PRAMS 2016–2020 data were used to assess whether maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with infant birth weight among singleton live births while accounting for key sociodemographic factors. Birth weight recorded in 250-gram midpoints was converted to a continuous gram measure and analyzed with maternal smoking status, age group, education, and marital status. A complete-case strategy was used because missingness was < 10%, yielding an analytic sample of 3,175 observations. We fit an ordinary least squares multiple linear regression with categorical predictors represented by indicator variables. After adjustment, infants born to non-smoking mothers weighed, on average, 163.5 g more than infants born to mothers who smoked (SE=66.2; p = 0.0136). Infants of mothers who were not married weighed 150.4 g less than those of married mothers (SE=30.9; p < 0.001). The maternal age group was not statistically significant in the adjusted model. Education showed a non-monotone pattern, with one notable contrast indicating lower birth weight for 12 years of education compared with 0–8 years (mean=−190.3 g; SE=76.3; p = 0.0127), suggesting education may be acting as a proxy for heterogeneous social, behavioral, and healthcare pathways rather than a purely linear gradient. Model diagnostics indicated acceptable linear model assumptions and minimal multicollinearity (adjusted variance Inflation Factor (VIF) near 1), though the overall explained variance was modest (R² ≈ 0.02). These findings are consistent with fetal growth restriction linked to prenatal tobacco exposure and broader social disadvantage. From a public health perspective, even modest average shifts in birth weight can meaningfully affect the population burden of low birth weight. Results support reinforcing prenatal smoking-cessation interventions and pairing them with strategies that address upstream determinants (e.g., stress, support, and access to care). Future work should incorporate survey weights and additional clinical covariates (gestational age, parity, comorbidities, prenatal care) to strengthen causal and population-level inference.

The Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces) On The Development Of Reckless Behavior In Adulthood, Cheyenne Harvey

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Current literature suggests that there is a correlation between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and behaviors in adulthood (e.g., substance use, crime). Research also shows that childhood trauma can lead to increased risk-taking or reckless behavior later in life. A study by Assini-Meytin et al. (2021) found that having a higher number of ACEs is linked to more risky behaviors in adulthood. These risky behaviors are often ways to deal with emotional problems caused by early stress. Anda et al. (2006) points out that these experiences can cause lasting changes in brain development, especially in areas that handle impulse control. The …

How Is The Use Of Ai Impacting Nursing Students Education?, Lorna H. Strain

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education is rapidly increasing and reshaping how nursing students learn and engage with content. This thesis proposal takes a look at the impact of AI on the education of nursing students and explores students' perceptions of its use in their learning and education. As AI becomes more prevalent, many students are using it for study aids and content personalization, while schools are using it in simulations and textbook platforms. Many recognize its benefits, such as enhanced critical thinking, improved accessibility of materials, and more immersive learning. Concerns persist around ethical use, academic integrity, …

The Role Of Mentorship In Reducing Burnout In New Nurses And Nursing Students, Omari Andry

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Burnout among new nurses and nursing students is a consistent issue affecting the healthcare system by adding to early career turnover, emotional exhaustion, and decreased quality of patient care. Structured mentorship programs have emerged as a promising intervention to alleviate burnout by giving emotional support, professional development, and coping strategies. This proposal explores the role of mentorship in reducing burnout symptoms, improving job satisfaction, and promoting emotional resilience among new nurses and nursing students alike. Based on existing scholarly articles, the project will investigate how structured versus informal mentorship affects burnout rates, the qualities of effective mentors, and the outcomes …

Project Akira: Data Mining And Merging, And Training A Custom-Built Gpt To Produce Therapist-Like, Ethically Coherent Responses, Rocco Moore, Joshua Farara

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Numerous artificial intelligence GPT models are trained on various language dataset types, including ethical and mental health dialogue, to produce ethically coherent responses, and these datasets are opened and merged together via the efficient processes of data mining and data merging. To explore how companies such as OpenAI and Microsoft achieve these goals, we implemented our own custom-built GPT, named AkiraGPT, which has recently and historically had issues generating ethical responses, simulating self awareness, and has sometimes generated incomprehensible, contextually irrelevant responses. In addition to that, AkiraGPT would sometimes have it's responses be "cut off." 

Our goal with our research …

Comprehensive Characterization Of Lake Floor Sediments, Clarks Hill Lake, Southeastern Usa., Oluwatunmise Emmanuel Akanmu

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Oluwatunmise Akanmu¹, Aguinaldo Silva², Jéssica Franzon Cruz Santo³, Edward L. Lo^1,4

¹School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability, Georgia Southern University

2Faculty of Engineering, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul

3Faculty of Data Science, SENAI São Paulo

4Institute of Water and Health, Georgia Southern University

Sediment geochemistry plays a fundamental role in regulating nutrient availability, cycling organic matter, and moderating primary productivity in aquatic systems. The Clarks Hill Lake (J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir) is a temperate reservoir filled in 1952 along the Savannah River, which forms the Georgia–South Carolina state line. The …

Honoring Survivors’ Wholeness: Recommendations For University Offices Of Wellness, Maeve Jillian King

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Rates of child abuse are nationally significant, especially after considering how much violence goes unreported. Many college students have experienced sexual violence prior to arriving on campus, where incidents of sexual victimization are prominent. With this in mind, how can university offices of wellness support survivors wherever they are in their journey of survivorship? Previous research rarely considers both realities of victimization, but displays large concerns surrounding survivor’s mental health and educational obtainment. Additionally peer and social support play significant roles in survivor outcomes. This interdisciplinary literature review examines current university practices, mental health realities, and impacts of culture on …

Predicting Diabetes Using Logistic Regression: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of The Pima Indians Diabetes Dataset, Caroline Andrew, Ibrahim Aliu

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Introduction: Globally, Diabetes affects an estimated 589 million adults and caused approximately 3.4 million deaths equivalent to one death every six seconds, with type 2 diabetes accounting for most cases. The Pima Indians of Arizona have one of the highest documented prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes globally, making their population central to diabetes research. Although the Pima Diabetes Dataset has been widely used in predictive and machine-learning studies, few investigations have applied rigorous multivariable epidemiologic methods to quantify the independent contributions of key demographic and metabolic risk factors. This study aimed to characterize diabetes risk factors and quantify independent …

2026 Conference Program, Georgia Southern University

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Conference Program

Prevention Vs. Treatment On The Global Stage: How National Priorities In Public Health And Healthcare Shape International Power And Health Outcomes, Sophie I. Antell

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

National approaches to health are shaped by political priorities, institutional structures, and global positioning. This project examines how countries balance investments in public health (population-level prevention) versus healthcare (individual-level treatment), and how these choices influence both domestic health outcomes and international power. Using Taiwan and the United States as comparative case studies, the research explores how differing health system models reflect broader political identities, shape global health credibility, and affect participation in international health governance.

Taiwan's strong public health infrastructure, effective disease surveillance, and active medical diplomacy have contributed to its reputation as a capable global health actor, despite its …

Preserving The Pump: Extensive History Of Cardiothoracic Surgery In A Cadaver, Joshua Lindsey, Lillian Hequembourg, Anna Brown, Thien Duy Chen

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

During the dissection of the 85-year-old female cadaver by the medical students at the Medical College of Georgia, Savannah at Georgia Southern University, evidence of significant cardiovascular health conditions, prior surgeries, and a left-sided inferior vena cava (IVC) were discovered; providing a unique educational reservoir of anatomical and clinical knowledge. Routine dissection of the heart revealed cardiomegaly and findings consistent with a history of numerous surgical interventions. A triple coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) was indicated through surgical staples along the left anterior descending (LAD) artery, left circumflex artery, and right coronary artery with graft vessels in place to maintain …

Short Time, Lasting Impact: Teaching Pediatric End-Of-Life Care In One Day, Mckenzie Taliaferro

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Background: Pediatric nurses working in specialities that experience end-of-life, death, and post-mortem care, often feel unprepared for the emotional toll and lack adequate support systems (Camera et al., 2024). Nurses report feeling under prepared due to a lack of hands-on opportunities before graduation (Richoux, et al., 2022).  Pediatric death is a traumatic experience for families and nurses. Previous studies have shown that hands-on education increases nurses' confidence in caring for patients at the end of their lives (Cole & Foito, 2019; Noyes et al., 2023).

Method: A one-day, hands-on workshop on pediatric end-of-life was created and offered to nursing students …

Navigating Through Covid: How Has Covid Impacted College Student Adjustment?, E'Lena E.H Johnson

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

College adjustment is the way incoming and continuing college students cope with the demands of college life, including academic, mental, socioemotional, and developmental components. The purpose of this research project is to determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on college students' ability to adjust to college living across three distinct phases: pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and post-pandemic. A cross-sectional sample of 1,515 participants from Georgia Southern University completed the Wooster-Wickline College Adjustment Test (WOWCAT; Wickline et al., 2009) between 2019-2024, which was administered online via Qualtrics, a secure web-based survey platform. Although the WOWCAT has been successfully …

2026 Conference Program, Georgia Southern University

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Conference Program

The Mosaic, Georgia Southern University

George-Anne Media Group: Newsletters & Magazines

No abstract provided.