Digital Commons Network^™

Preventing Coccus Longulus Infestation, Nicholas Wellls

Honors College Theses

In the Armstrong greenhouse, the Coccus longulus scale insect is a prevalent problem on a specific species of Begonia known as Begonia ‘Richmondensis’. Inside the greenhouse there are several types of begonias with very similar characteristics to the Richmondensis begonia. However, none of these other begonias are infested by C. longulus, despite similar leaf thickness and environmental conditions such as humidity and light. This project examined whether differences in the chemical composition of the Begonia leaves can explain this pattern. Results were not statistically significant, but they showed that the chemicals had a noticeable impact on the scale, and …

Validity Assessment Of Resting Heart Rate Variability From The Garmin Health Snapshot, Kayla M. Porter, Andrew Flatt

Honors College Theses

Purpose: To assess the agreement between the Garmin Forerunner 265 (a commercially available sports watch) and a single-channel electrocardiographic (ECG) chest strap for determining resting heart rate variability (HRV). Secondary aims were to assess the impact of skin tone and body position on measurement accuracy.

Methods: Young adults (n = 30, 57% women) aged 18–39 years without known cardiovascular conditions and without tattooing or scarring on the dorsal left wrist were recruited. HRV was recorded simultaneously using ECG and the Forerunner 265’s optical sensor during Garmin’s 2-minute “Health Snapshot.” Measurements were obtained in three standardized positions: supine, seated, and standing. …

Using Culturally Familiar Readings In A Predominantly Latinx Middle School To Bolster Self-Efficacy, Heather M. Kelley Ph.D., Morgan Adams, Meagan Chisholm, Kate Warner

Georgia Educational Researcher

Twenty-eight seventh graders from a predominantly Latinx middle school participated in an instructional intervention involving both a culturally familiar and unfamiliar reading task. Immediately after reading, students joined focus groups to discuss their experiences. These sessions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a discourse analysis framework. The analysis revealed that students based their reading self-efficacy on three key factors: their ability to relate to the text, their interest in the story, and the perceived difficulty of the task. The findings suggest that implementing culturally sustaining pedagogy—through the use of culturally relevant texts—can enhance reading self-efficacy and support academic achievement for …

Examining The Multilevel Effects Of Instructional Leadership On Teachers’ Professional Commitment And Classroom Management, Nuruddin Ahmed Masud, San Su Su San, Kim Ki Bong, Mst Taherun Nesa Subarna

Georgia Educational Researcher

This study examined the multilevel effects of instructional leadership on teachers’ professional commitment and classroom management in secondary schools. Using a multilevel modeling (MLM) approach, data were collected from 250 teachers nested within 8 schools. The analysis assessed the influence of both school-level instructional leadership and teachers’ perceptions of leadership on professional commitment and classroom management outcomes.

Results indicated that instructional leadership at both levels significantly predicted teachers’ professional commitment (teacher-level: β = .32, p < .001; school-level: β = .45, p < .001). Similarly, instructional leadership demonstrated significant positive effects on classroom management (teacher-level: β = .28, p < .001; school-level: β = .41, p < .001). Furthermore, teacher professional commitment was positively associated with classroom management (β = .36, p < .001) and moderated the relationship between instructional leadership and classroom management, such that the effect was stronger under higher levels of leadership support.

These findings highlight the importance of instructional leadership in shaping teacher-related outcomes across organizational levels. The study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence …

White Nose Syndrome In Bats And Infant Mortality In Georgia, Rhys Medcalfe, Sean Medcalfe, Simon Medcalfe

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: White nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease in bats caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans that can result in bat mortality rates of over 90%. WNS was discovered in Georgia in 2012 in 3 counties but has continued to spread to 14 counties as of 2023, with P. destructans detected in a further seven. Biodiversity loss has been linked to human health outcomes including infant mortality. Understanding the link between WNS, biodiversity loss, and infant mortality in Georgia is important because Georgia ranks 42^nd out of the 50 states for infant mortality rate.

Methods: Using panel data from …

Faculty Senate Agenda, Georgia Southern University, Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

A Multi-Case Study Of Peer Tutoring Programs: Program Structure, Faculty-Tutor Partnerships, And Access To Instructional Knowledge, Becky W. Packard, Amanda Xu, Teah Shi

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Peer tutors make important contributions within higher education institutions, yet the tutoring program structures vary widely with regard to how tutors are positioned, which in turn, affords and constrains access to instructional knowledge. Using a multi-case method, this study contrasts the structures of four tutoring programs: two programs within a private four-year college and two programs within a public two-year college. Two primary factors, the nature of faculty-tutor partnership and connection to a peer mentoring community, were examined and found to shape access to instructional knowledge. In addition, the results suggested that tutor prior experience as students in courses, experience …

The Impacts Of A First-Year Seminar On Academic And Career Planning And Community Building For Geoscience Students, Elizabeth D. Crook, Julie E. Ferguson

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Retention of students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, particularly of traditionally underrepresented groups, remains a nationally recognized concern. Many studies have shown that first-year seminars can have a positive effect on a student’s transition to college, persistence in their chosen degrees, and ultimate success and retention in the geosciences and other related STEM fields. We created a one-unit first-year seminar to assist our geoscience students with academic and career planning, increase student awareness of opportunities on campus, and increase a sense of belonging in their major. We present pre and post survey data to assess the effectiveness …

Generative Ai And The Future Of The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning: What Do We Stand To Gain Or Lose?, Kathryn C. Wymer

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Discussions about generative artificial intelligence (AI) seem to predominate current conversations about higher education. It is urgent for those engaged in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning to evaluate how generative AI could be used appropriately in course development and evaluation, but it is also important for SoTL practitioners to research the potential pitfalls inherent in the use of generative AI for such purposes. This concept essay presents three key questions that need to be addressed in order to fill in research gaps about generative AI and SoTL. Answering these questions will help us advocate for the importance of SoTL …

Forbidden Triples For $2$-Connected Graphs With Minimum Degree Three Which Contain $K_4$ And $K_{2,2}$, Takafumi Kotani, Yoshimi Egawa

Theory & Applications of Graphs

For a family $\mathcal{H}$ of graphs, a graph $G$ is said to be $\mathcal{H}$-free if $G$ contains no member of $\mathcal{H}$ as an induced subgraph. Let $\mathcal{G}_2^{(3)}}(\mathcal{H})$ denote the family of $2$-connected $\mathcal{H}$-free graphs having minimum degree at least $3$. This paper is concerned with families $\mathcal{H}$ of connected graphs with $|\mathcal{H}| = 3$ such that $\mathcal{G}_2^{(3)}}(\mathcal{H})$ is a finite family. In particular, we show that for a connected graph $T$ of order at least $3$ that is not a star, $\mathcal{G}_2^{(3)}(\{K_4,K_{2,2},T\})$ is finite if and only if $T$ is a path of order at most $6$.

Star-Critical Weakened Ramsey Numbers, Mark R. Budden, Monu Moun, Jagjeet Jakhar

Theory & Applications of Graphs

The weakened Ramsey number $r^{s,t}(G)$ is defined to be the least $p\in \mathbb{N}$ such that every $t$-coloring of the edges of the complete graph $K_p$ contains a subgraph isomorphic to $G$ that is spanned by edges that use at most $s$ colors ($1\le s\le t-1$). The star-critical weakened Ramsey number $r^{s,t}_*(G)$ then determines the minimum number of edges that must join a vertex to $K_{r^{s,t}(G)-1}$ in order for this Ramsey property to hold. We begin by showing that $r_*^{s,t}(K_n)=r^{s,t}(K_n)-1$ for all $n\in \mathbb{N}$. Then, building off of Khamseh and Omidi's recent determination of $r^{s,t}(K_{1,n})$ when $s=t-1$ and $s=t-2$, we focus …

Faculty Senate Minutes, Georgia Southern University, Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Minutes

No abstract provided.

Proceedings Of The Seventeenth Annual Meeting Of The Georgia Association Of Mathematics Teacher Educators

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators

The purpose of GAMTE is to encourage and facilitate the improvement of mathematics teacher education across the state of Georgia. The goals of the organization are to: facilitate communication and collaboration among mathematics teacher educators between and within all educational levels; coordinate activities and work collaboratively with other associations, organizations, and governmental (national, state, and local) units to strengthen the mathematical, pedagogical, and clinical preparation of mathematics teachers at all levels (P-college); facilitate collaboration among mathematics teacher educators who are members of different academic units, such as departments of mathematics and departments of education; promote leadership among mathematics teacher educators …

Faculty Senate Agenda, Georgia Southern University, Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

Noblest Enterprise: Jimmy Carter And The Fight To Establish The U.S. Department Of Education, Stephen R. Merritt

Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State

This paper seeks to survey some of the political forces which clashed in the late 1970s as the U.S. Department of Education was created. It also seeks to posit that President Jimmy Carter’s personal views about schooling in America had more to do with his tireless fight to establish the new department than previous scholars have indicated. Several previous papers on this subject emphasized Carter’s political debt to the National Education Association and that union’s demands that a separate department be created but none focus on Carter’s personal attachment to the ideals of education in a democratic society.

Oer Financial Literacy Curriculum For Mathematics Educators And Georgia’S New Mandates, Marnie Phipps, Patty Condict, John Bragelman

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators

In 2022, Georgia agencies added new financial literacy requirements for both high school students and teacher qualifications to enhance financial literacy across the state. In response, a group of faculty members in an education preparation program acquired funding and developed a financial literacy curriculum for secondary preservice teachers. The OER curriculum was implemented in a senior-level capstone course. This manuscript presents a pilot study of the curriculum, including data collection and analysis for the project.

Tools, Differentiation, And Professional Growth: What Preservice Teachers Gain From Attending A Mathematics Teaching Conference, Heidi Eisenreich, India Fleming

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators

This study explores how Preservice Teachers’ (PSTs’) attendance at a professional mathematics teaching conference influences their development as future teachers. Fourteen University PSTs attended the Georgia Mathematics Conference (GMC), a two-and-a-half-day teaching conference for K–16 mathematics teachers and administrators. Using constant comparative analysis to code qualitative data, we analyzed responses from one question on tool usage in pre- and post- conference surveys. Initial findings indicate that conference attendance increased PSTs' commitment to ongoing professional development, while simultaneously helping them develop more nuanced understandings of the complexity of teaching.

Layer By Layer: Elevating Mathematics Learning With 3d Printing, Jia He, Eryn Michelle Maher, Heidi Eisenreich, Ha Nguyen

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators

This article explores how 3D printing, particularly through the free and widely used slicing program Cura, can support the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) instructional model in alignment with Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) mathematics standards. Through the CRA lens, students engage with tangible models, modify drawings and diagrams, and connect these experiences to symbols and formulas through a cyclical process. Cura’s design and printing processes invite authentic mathematical reasoning about geometry, measurement, and proportionality. Real-world constraints, such as infill density and support structures, create opportunities for students to explore relationships among shape, size, and resource optimization. By sharing approachable examples and classroom …

Packing Independent Cliques Into Planar Graphs, Csaba Biró, Gabriel Collado, Oscar Zamora

Theory & Applications of Graphs

The indeque number of a graph is largest set of vertices that induce an independent set of cliques. We study the extremal value of this parameter for the class and subclasses of planar graphs, most notably for forests and graphs of pathwidth at most $2$.

Faculty Senate Agenda, Georgia Southern University, Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

Annie Maude Spells

African American Funeral Programs

Funeral program for Annie Spells. Service held on September 21, 2025 in Statesboro, Georgia

"I Probably Wouldn't Be As Happy": Childhood Parental Separation And Posttraumatic Growth Narratives From Eight College Students, Meagan C. Arrastia-Chisholm, Hoa Nguyen, Africa Pippin, Heather M. Kelley Ph.D.

Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs

Parental separation during childhood leads to long-lasting psychological and socioemotional impact on the lives of emerging adults as they transition into higher education. The long-term effects of childhood parental separation on college students' academic performance, physical health, and overall mental wellbeing are well-documented. However, students can develop resilience to cope with challenging family and life experiences and even demonstrate post-traumatic growth. Post-traumatic growth refers to the positive changes and experiences college students discover after enduring life disruptions, such as being separated from their parents at an early age. To better understand the connection between parental separation and posttraumatic growth, a …

Corrigendum To "Face-Magic Labelings Of Polygonal Graphs", Wai Chee Shiu, Richard M. Low, Andy K. Liu

Theory & Applications of Graphs

In this note, we correct a misstatement of a theorem.

Degeneracies Of Triangulated Graphs, Allan Bickle

Theory & Applications of Graphs

A graph $G$ is $k$-degenerate if each subgraph has minimum degree

at most $k$. The degeneracy\textbf{ }$D\left(G\right)$ is the smallest

$k$ such that $G$ is $k$-degenerate. We determine the truth values

of four statements (using different quantifiers) about when a planar

graph $G$ with degeneracy $k$ has a triangulation with degeneracy

$l$. We characterize which 3-connected planar graphs can only be

triangulated to degeneracy 3. Then we consider analogous questions

for maximal planar bipartite graphs. We prove some structural results

on these graphs, including results on decomposition of planar graphs

into various types of bipartite graphs.

Skolem Number Of Kagome Lattice Graphs, Braxton Carrigan, Max Martone

Theory & Applications of Graphs

A proper Skolem labelling of a graph $G$ is a function assigning a positive integer to each vertex of $G$ such that any two vertices assigned the same integer are that distance apart in the graph. The Skolem number of a graph is smallest number $n$ such that there exists a proper Skolem labelling only using the positive integers less than or equal to $n$. In this paper, we will begin by proving the Skolem number for another family of subgraphs of the hexagonal lattice and then prove the Skolem number for two families of subgraphs of the Kagome Lattice.

"It Makes It More Real.”: Teacher Candidate Perceptions Of A Clinically-Rich Middle Grades Teacher Preparation Program, Shawn A. Faulkner, Michael Dicicco

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

The persistent divide between theory and practice in teacher education has long been a subject of concern among researchers and scholars (Darling-Hammond, 2006; Zeichner, 2010). This paper explores teacher candidate perceptions of a clinically-rich (NASUP, 2021) middle grades teacher preparation program that has worked to create a “third space” (Zeichner, 2010) through a school-university partnership with a local middle school. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with teacher candidates (n=23) at the time of program completion. Findings suggest teacher candidates felt prepared and valued clinically-based activities and experiences. Teacher candidates suggest future improvements to the program should include more experiences tied to …

Dynamic Management Of Order Picking In Dark Stores And Urban Warehouses, Melih Celik, Arsham Atashi Khoei, Vaggelis Giannikas, Niccolo Corsini

International Material Handling Research Colloquium

No abstract provided.

Throughput Comparison Between An Amr-Based Sorting System And A Loop Sorter: A Case Study On High-Performance Parcel Sorting, Moritz Roidl

International Material Handling Research Colloquium

No abstract provided.