Digital Commons Network^™

Turning To The Sacred: The Role Of Religious/Spiritual Coping In Psychological Outcomes Of Childhood Interpersonal Trauma, Vanessa S. Tomasik

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are widespread and associated with significant and lasting psychological consequences, including posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and dissociation. Much of the existing literature has focused on adult trauma or narrowly examined childhood abuse and neglect, with comparatively limited attention given to other forms of childhood adversity such as witnessing intimate partner violence, parental separation, or household dysfunction. As a result, the differential psychological impact of distinct types of ACE exposure (i.e., maltreatment vs. household dysfunction) remains insufficiently understood. Emerging literature on coping identifies religious and spiritual (R/S) coping as an important factor in trauma adaptation. Positive R/S …

Marketing As Practice: Resolving The Hunt-Anderson Stalemate Through Practice Theory, Stephen A. Lemay, Martin Svendsen

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

This paper revisits methodological debates in marketing theory, tracing the progression from Sidney Levy’s work on symbolic consumption to the Hunt–Anderson empiricist–relativist debate. We argue that this debate rests on a category error: marketing has been misclassified as either a science or an interpretive discipline. Drawing on contemporary practice theory, we reconceptualize marketing as a professional practice oriented toward creating and managing exchange relationships within cultural contexts. This perspective resolves the Hunt–Anderson stalemate, clarifies the epistemological foundations of Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) and Transformative Consumer Research (TCR), and generates distinct research questions and methods. Through comparative exemplars, we show how …

Deep Or Surface? Understanding Learning Approaches Among Undergraduate Students, Kelzang Tentsho, Jigme Wangchuk, Kencho Pelzom

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Student approaches to learning (SAL) have a significant impact on the quality of their learning and academic achievement. In this study, we examined the preferred learning approaches of undergraduate students and how these approaches change over time. The Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) was administered to 75 students enrolled in the Anthropology program to evaluate students’ preferred learning approaches. The qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions involving 20 participants. Results showed a significantly higher deep score than surface score. Final year students had the highest deep approach score compared to other cohorts. The results also indicated that students …

Steven Universe & The Phenomenon Of Family, Jabari J. Whipple

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

This research analyzes Steven Universe, a modern animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar, through a sociological lens to explore how contemporary media redefines the concept of family. The study examines how nontraditional caregiving structures and emotionally based kinship challenge the boundaries of the nuclear family model. Using the theoretical frameworks of symbolic interactionism and feminist theory, this paper interprets family as a social construction formed through love, care, and shared experience rather than biology alone. A purposive sample of fifteen episodes across seasons one, three, and five was analyzed for depictions of caregiving, gender roles, and emotional labor. Findings …

Assessing Decision Making Under Risk And Dynamic Task Environments In Humans, Dylan J. Cato

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

This research evaluates the theoretical foundations of recent embodied and enacted decision- making models(Baker., et al  2022) , specifically investigating whether "urgency" serves as a domain-general mechanism for reward-rate maximization. Across three experiments using a reward-performance contingency, we compare traditional decision-making frameworks with urgency-based theories to determine how participants navigate task demands and whether optimality assumptions hold (Reynaud, et al 2020). A primary focus involves testing whether motor excitability increases directly with evidence, or if "higher-level" deliberation occurs in parallel with se Using the Generalized Drift-Diffusion Model (GDDM) framework via PyDDM  (Shinn, et al 2020), we will …

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 …

Coupling Deep Learning With Time-Dependent Scir Model For Predicting Social Media Mob Behaviors, Bismark Ampaw Offei

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

In this study, we modified an epidemiological model of social media mob using deep learning methods to investigate information transmission using COVID-19 Twitter data from April to June 2021. Data collection was done using keywords, such as “covid 19”, “vaccine”, “lockdown”, and “quarantine” to simulate activity trends during the pandemic. In this work, we combine deep learning methods, including LSTMs and GRUs, with the susceptible-counter-infective-recovered (SCIR) model to forecast time-dependent parameters. Primary qualitative analyses, including the social media mob free equilibrium (MFE) point, the endemic equilibrium point, and the basic reproduction number ℜ₀, were performed. Our analysis shows …

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 …

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 …

Temporal Variation In Dna Methylation Over 115 Years Post Introduction Facilitate Success Of House Sparrows, M. Ellesse Lauer, J. Dylan Maddox, Kevin D. Kohl, Mark Ravinet, Lynn B. Martin, Aaron W. Schrey

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

House sparrows (Passer domesticus) have colonized most continents within the last 200 years. As such, they represent a unique study system for understanding the role that epigenetic mechanisms play in an individual’s responses to rapid environmental changes. DNA methylation facilitates the introduction success of non-native sparrows by compensating for reduced genetic diversity and supporting changes to phenotypes. In non-native populations of house sparrows, more recently introduced populations have higher variance in DNA methylation and respond to simulated infections with a greater magnitude of change in DNA methylation. To determine how DNA methylation changes temporally across 115 years post …

Exploring The Changes In First-Year Students’ Self-Regulated Learning From High School To College, Nancy E. Rodriguez, Anna C. Brady

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

During the first semester of college, students experience drastic changes in their independence, and learning strategies. This transitional period from high school to the first semester of college requires researchers to understand students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) processes during their first year. It is important to understand the connection between students’ experiences, learning strategies, and persistence in college. Knowledge on this connection can support funding for institutional resources like first-year seminar classes. These classes can improve students’ commitment for graduating on time, and academic achievement. For this reason, the proposed project aims to investigate students’ engagement in SRL by answering the …

2026 Conference Program, Georgia Southern University

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Conference Program

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 …

2026 Conference Program, Georgia Southern University

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Conference Program

Human Advisors Or Ai Algorithms? How Loneliness And Age Impact Trust In Consumer Evaluations Of Services, Kevin Newman, Ainslie Schultz

AMTP Proceedings 2026

This research investigates how loneliness and age shape trust and consumer evaluations of services that provide personalized advice through human versus Artificial Intelligence (AI) recommenders. Across three experimental studies, our findings show that loneliness increased trust and consumer evaluations for services using human- (vs. AI-) based) recommenders among younger adults, but this pattern reversed among older, more lonely adults. Among these individuals, loneliness led to more positive consumer evaluations of a service using an AI-based (vs. human) recommender. Guided by the Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018), these findings suggest that younger lonely consumers exhibit approach motives …

Assessing The Impact Of Alumni Relations: Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Understand Fsu Students Motivation To Engage, Eldaneka Rolle, Richard Waters Phd, Ciara A. Lewis

AMTP Proceedings 2026

This study aimed to understand Florida State University graduate and upper-division undergraduate students in the College of Communication and Information, attitudes and perception of connection through the specific behavior, engagement with alumni relations. If individuals perceive a connection, is there perceived behavioral control (PBC), does PBC influence their intent to remain connected through one of the four key components, experience, communication, volunteer and philanthropy. Five focus group discussions were conducted using semi-structured interviews. Through thematic analysis, eight common themes were developed, Major, Minor or Certification Interest, Program Experience, Faculty, Advisors and Staff, Event Participation, Communication Preference, Volunteer Opportunities, Small Contributions …

On The Extreme Complexity Of Certain Nearly Regular Graphs, Gregory P. Constantine, Gregory C. Magda

Theory & Applications of Graphs

The complexity of a graph is the number of its labeled spanning trees. It is demonstrated that the seven known triangle-free strongly regular graphs are graphs of maximal complexity among all graphs of the same order and degree; their complements are shown to be of minimal complexity. A generalization to nearly regular graphs with two distinct eigenvalues of the Laplacian is presented. Conjectures and applications of these results to biological problems on neuronal activity are described.

The Limitations Of Sexual Categories, The Philosophical Discussion Group

The Philosopher's Stone

• The Limitations of Sexual Categories

“I’M So Hungry”: Assessing Stem Sensemaking Through Data-Informed Writing, Bailey Nafziger, Alesia Mickle Moldavan, Katie Brkich

Elementary & Special Education: Faculty Publications

To engage elementary learners in the complex task of STEM sensemaking, teachers must entice and inspire learners to ask questions, explore, and communicate their findings. This article shares a 5E/3D lesson designed and taught in our elementary science methods courses to model how preservice teachers can integrate literacy and mathematics into a science investigation for STEM sensemaking. We modified a traditional lesson on bird beak adaptations to have a differentiated, interdisciplinary writing component justified by data. We discuss why data-supported literacy is a non-negotiable in science education reforms and how teachers can differentiate tasks to make scientific writing more approachable …

Microstructural Evolution And Precipitate Control In Boron-Doped Ni-Mn-Ti Shape Memory Alloys Via Thermal Processing, Na Liu, Marcia Ahn, Subrata Ghosh, Dipika Mandal, Bed Poudel, Wenjie Li

Biochemistry, Chemistry & Physics: Faculty Publications

Elastocaloric cooling, which leverages stress-induced phase transformation in shape memory materials, represents a sustainable and energy-efficient alternative to conventional vapor-compression cooling systems. Central to optimizing these materials is understanding how thermal processing history dictates phase formation, microstructure, and thermal properties. In this study, we investigated the (Ni50Mn31.5Ti18)99.8B0.2 compound synthesized via vacuum induction melting and arc melting, followed by water quenching. Induction melting results in needle-like, boron-rich precipitates within the martensite lattice. In contrast, vacuum arc melting promoted precipitate growth at the grain boundaries. The vacuum arc melting sample exhibits ~82% martensite phase fraction, a near-ambient transformation temperature of ~277 K, …

Rural Georgia Hospital Covid-19 Virus Patient Outcomes, Susan P. Smith, Neeraj Dayama, Morgan E. House, Debra Flores, Sharon Hunt, April Dukes, Steven Gautney

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to over 1.2 million deaths in the United States. Given the staggering scale of the pandemic, rural hospitals faced heightened challenges due to limited resource availability and underlying patient characteristics.

Methods: In this context, we examined patient and hospital-related factors associated with inpatient mortality due to COVID-19. This study is a retrospective chart review of patient outcomes of patients who were hospitalized in a Southwest Georgia rural hospital with COVID-19 during the initial onset of the outbreak and over the following 23 months of the pandemic. Patient demographics, other characteristics, …

If We Build It, Will They Use It? Aligning Resource Recovery Design With Place-Based Social Systems, Jayce Sudweeks, Helen Rosko, Matthew R. Landsman, Francisco Cubas-Suazo, Lewis Stetson Rowles

Public & Nonprofit Studies: Faculty Publications

Recovering water, nutrients, energy, and critical materials from waste streams is essential for building resilient and circular water systems. Yet many recovery technologies fail to achieve adoption or persistence beyond pilot scales because they overlook the social and institutional contexts that shape implementation. This Perspective reframes resource recovery as an adaptive challenge, i.e., one that depends as much on governance capacity, trust, and collective learning as on technical optimization. We propose a watershed- and place-based framework that situates recovery systems within the ecological and institutional boundaries where communities, infrastructure, and governance intersect. Within this discussion, the Community Capitals Framework offers …

Student Perceptions Of Anti-Racist Pedagogy: A Cross-Disciplinary Descriptive Study, Ashley Davis, Melisa Osborne, Hope Haslam Straughan, Maria Datel, Christina Michaud, Danielle Rousseau

SoTL Commons Conference

No abstract provided.

The George-Anne Inkwell Edition, Georgia Southern University

The Inkwell

No abstract provided.

Modeling What We Expect: Co-Teaching As Practice-Based Preparation For Stem Education, Luminita C. Hartle, Sumitra Himangshu-Pennybacker

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This presentation highlights the collaborative teaching partnership between two teacher education faculty members, one teaching a mathematics education course and the other teaching a science education course, in an undergraduate elementary program. Situated within a teacher preparation program at a regional university, this interdisciplinary model seeks to bridge the often-siloed approaches to math and science instruction by modeling inquiry, problem solving, and cross-disciplinary connections. Through a co-teaching framework, the faculty members intentionally designed learning experiences that emphasized real-world applications, learner-centered pedagogy, and the integration of literacy and technology to support diverse learners.

Drawing from teacher candidates' reflections and surveys, focus …

Subjective Perspectives On Antarctic Wilderness: An Application Of Integral Ecology, Annabelle G. Mayes

Honors College Theses

Parties to the Antarctic Treaty have set Antarctica aside for peace, scientific research, and environmental protection. However, they have yet to take concrete actions to protect Antarctica’s wilderness values as agreed under the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. Meanwhile, pristine areas that are free from human interference are declining as human activity escalates. This study examines perceptions of Antarctic wilderness through the lens of integral ecology. Data from 1,640 people and 16 study populations were extracted from four published studies. Content analysis was conducted to determine how subjective perspectives differ across populations and geographic regions. All …

Leveraging Wastewater Resource Recovery To Reduce Landfill Organic Loading: Process Modeling, Environmental, And Economic Impact Assessment, Ahmed I. Yunus, Arjun T. Ramshankar, Zainab O. Akinsemoyin, Thomas Igou, Ameet Pinto, George Fu, Yongsheng Chen, Joe F. Bozeman Iii

Civil Engineering & Construction: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Spieltrieb, Edward F. Newcomb

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This thesis investigates the creative and pedagogical intersections of nostalgia, play, and neurodivergent experience through a mixed-media studio practice. Grounded in Friedrich Schiller’s concept of Spieltrieb—the human drive to play as a balance between sensual and rational impulses—this work explores how childhood memory, instinct, and impulsive mark making inform both artistic production and art education.

Drawing on theoretical frameworks by Susan Sontag and John Berger, the work resists overinterpretation in favor of sensory immediacy, inviting viewers into direct, embodied encounters with material form. Sontag’s critique of mimetic representation and Berger’s analysis of reproducibility and context inform a practice that …

Educating Black Males In Black Lives Matter Movement Space, Kimberly L. Hollis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This inquiry has been inspired by the stories of Black boys’ educational experience within the public school system in the South. Theoretically drawing upon anti-Black racism (Alexander, 2010; Collins, 2000; Davis, 2003; Du Bois, 1903; Watkins, 2001; Woodson, 1993; Wynter, 2003) and  Black Intellectual Traditions (Bell, 1992: Crenshaw, 1988; Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J., 2001; Ladson-Billings, 2003; Linscott, 2017; Yosso, 2006), I expound on the concept of systemic racism in the United States as well as the challenges that hinder Black males from achieving academic excellence and thrusts them further to the margins. Methodologically, I employ counter-storytelling (e.g., Delgado, 2017; …

Evaluating Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities In Streamside Management Zones In Private, Working Forests, Haley Vaglienti

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Forestry operations can alter riparian vegetation and increase sediment and nutrient inputs to streams, affecting water quality and aquatic biota. Forestry best management practices (BMPs) including streamside management zones (SMZs) are designed to mitigate those effects by reducing sediment delivery and moderating temperature, flow, and nutrient regimes. We assessed ecological integrity at 24 intermittent stream sites with SMZs in private, working forests across the Piedmont and Southeastern plains of Georgia. At each site, we conducted physical habitat evaluations and characterized benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages. Sites represented a gradient of habitat conditions, SMZ widths, and pine stand ages, allowing for comparisons of …