Digital Commons Network^™

Impact Of Urban Roadway Work Zones On Road Users And Other Stakeholders, Lyndsey Renee Harris

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Graduate Student Reports

As urban populations continue to rise at an unprecedented rate, the need for highly maintained infrastructure in cities -- buildings, utilities, and transportation networks -- has become increasingly critical. An urban work zone refers to a designated area within a city where roadway construction, maintenance, or rehabilitation activities are taking place. These zones are typically characterized by high traffic volumes, complex roadway networks, and proximity to residential, institutional, and commercial land uses. Urban work zones often involve lane closures, detours, reduced speed limits, and temporary traffic control measures to ensure safety for road workers and road users. Due to the …

Engineering 50 Years From Today: A Purdue Engineering Community Perspective, Arvind Raman

Purdue University Press Books

Since opening its doors in 1874, Purdue University’s College of Engineering and its graduates have been at the forefront of technological breakthroughs and are now poised to lead the next generation of engineers in the United States and around the globe. Featuring more than twenty-five essays from former Boilermakers, Engineering 50 Years From Today both celebrates the program’s 150th anniversary and looks ahead, exploring what the field of engineering might look like half a century from now. Leading luminaries from Purdue’s engineering community, including prominent university professors as well as innovators working in the private sector, reveal how technologies related …

Multiliteracies In The 21st-Century Classroom: Lessons From The Global South, Juan Carlos Montoya

Purdue Writing Lab/Purdue OWL Graduate Student Presentations

This presentation explores what lessons faculty engagement with critical multiliteracies, digital media, and AI leave writing centers. It highlights opportunities for writing tutors education and professional development based on faculty experience and suggestions fostering multiliteracies among students.

“You Are My Tutor, Not My Peer”: Hierarchy In Cross-Cultural Consulting In Writing Centers, Yinan Ding

Purdue Writing Lab/Purdue OWL Graduate Student Presentations

Six cases of tutoring Chinese-speaking students and one case with English-speaking American student are presented to demonstrate students’ perceived hierarchy in tutoring sessions, as well as their different preferences and comfort levels with a hierarchical or peer-tutorial dynamic. Some students often addressed the tutor with the formal “you” in Mandarin Chinese, preferred to call tutors “teachers,” and expressed admiration for tutors' educational background, while English-speaking students occasionally signal hierarchical expectations, suggesting this phenomenon may transcend a single cultural group. To build writing centers as supportive, interconnected ecosystems of learning, it is important to conduct further research on students’ perceptions and …

From Niche To Norm: Plant-Based Labelling Strategies To Shift Social Norms To Support Plant-Based Food Choices, Houkje Adema, Marleen C. Onwezen, Ellen J. Van Loo, Liam Dwyer, Ellen Van Kleef

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

Plant-based labels aim to promote plant-based choices by highlighting which products are plant-based. However, these labels are often applied selectively, leaving many more plant-based products unlabelled. We argue that this may unintentionally communicate that plant-based options are more ‘niche’ rather than the ‘norm’, and thereby hinder normalisation of plant-based consumption. Across two incentive-compatible experiments with representative Dutch samples in a simulated online supermarket, we examined how labelling interventions influence perceived availability of plant-based options, descriptive and injunctive social norms for choosing plant-based, and plant-based choices. In Study 1 (N = 1474), we manipulated the number of plant-based products labelled as …

Multilingual Writers’ Rhetorical Agency Within The Constraints Of Artificial Intelligence, Juan Carlos Montoya

Purdue Writing Lab/Purdue OWL Graduate Student Presentations

Drawing on the rhetorical traditions of Socrates, Aristotle, Isocrates, and Quintilian, this presentation examines the possible roles writing centers can play in fostering multilingual writers’ rhetorical agency in the age of GenAI.

Design And Evaluation Of A Collaborative Xr Framework With Abstract Building Blocks For Manufacturing System Prototyping, Shaun Macdonald, Bixun Chen, Yuanjie Xia, Rami Ghannam

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Manufacturing systems are complex installations designed and developed by stakeholders with differing expertise. However, system design primarily features traditional methods, long lead times, and siloed environments, which obstruct comprehension, communication, or collaboration. Prior research has used extended reality (XR) to prototype and visualise specific manufacturing applications; however, flexible system modelling remains complex. To address these issues and lay the foundation for future-facing manufacturing design as part of Industry 4.0, we introduce ARTIFY—a prototype XR framework for conceptual system prototyping. It features abstract building blocks that can be semantically reconfigured to support early-stage modelling of varied manufacturing systems in immersive environments. …

Zooming Into Success: Collaborative Virtual Spaces For Dissertation Research And Pedagogy In Higher Education, Stephanie L. Brooke

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Dissertation students face numerous challenges, including narrowing down research topics, managing scholarly writing, and overcoming writer’s block. This article explores the creation and piloting of collaborative virtual spaces designed to support dissertation mentees in their academic journey. Through this project, three distinct virtual spaces emerged, each addressing specific student needs: emotional support, academic writing, and research alignment. The development of these spaces was influenced by theory as well as workplace cultural initiatives in an online program for dissertation mentoring. Creating these collaborative virtual spaces based on student needs led to transformative best practices in virtual learning environments. This method provides …

Examining The Impact Of Individual And Group Piano Instruction On Students’ Learning: Teachers’ Perceptions, Pavithra Madapatha

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Group and individual piano instruction are the most common piano teaching approaches in Sri Lanka. This research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how these techniques help to improve students’ learning skills. The study was based on qualitative data gathered through in-depth interviews from five (05) piano teachers. Teachers were selected using the purposive sampling technique. Thematic analysis method was used to analyse the interview data. The themes included are: (1) advantages and disadvantages of individual piano teaching; (2) benefits of group piano teaching; (3) challenges of group piano teaching; (4) teaching approaches and strategies used under each method …

“What You Bring Matters”: A Case Study Of Middle School Engineering Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Jessica D. Gale, Dyanne Baptiste Porter, Meltem Alemdar, Sunni H. Newton, Abeera P. Rehmat, Jasmine Choi

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Precollege engineering teachers bring unique backgrounds to their teaching practice. Many follow nontraditional routes to teaching engineering, often coming from teaching other subjects or careers in other fields. Among the many variations influencing engineering teaching practices is pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This multiple case study explores the PCK of five middle school engineering teachers implementing the same middle school engineering curriculum, STEM innovation and design (STEM-ID). STEM-ID engages students in contextualized challenges that incorporate foundational mathematics and science and advanced manufacturing tools such as computer-aided design and 3D printing while introducing engineering concepts such as pneumatics, aeronautics, and robotics. Drawing …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Progress, Successes, And Challenges Among Indiana Recipients As Part Of A National Initiative To Reduce Covid-19–Related Health Disparities, Marla Winters, Lily Darbishire

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided funding to states as part of the CDC Disparities Grant initiative. The aim of the funding was to reduce chronic disease and COVID-19–related health disparities among vulnerable communities through four unique strategies. Funding was awarded to the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) to begin an Indiana chapter of this initiative, called Indiana Healthy Opportunities for People Everywhere (I-HOPE). From 2021 to 2023, the IDOH provided I-HOPE funding to local communities (subgrantees) to support the design and implementation of programs to improve community health. For example, …

Changing Minds And Lives: A Substance Use Awareness Campaign, Alyssa Collins, Claire Wolfer-Jenkins, Rachel Isaac

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Introduction: In 2024, 48.4million Americans experienced a substance use disorder (SUD),with opioid use disorder representing a significant concern. In 2024, an estimated 8 million individuals misused opioids, contributing to 54,743 fatal overdoses. College students are particularly vulnerable, with 20% reporting illicit substance use within the past month, highlighting the urgent need for focused interventions in this population.

Project Overview: Boiler Substance Awareness Network (BSAN) is a campus initiative funded by the Lead Forward Fellowship grant. BSAN educates the Purdue community about SUD to reduce stigma and foster a recovery-friendly environment. The focus is on two objectives: preparing students to respond …

Bridging Gaps In Preventative Care: Pharmacy Students' Impact Through Point-Of-Care Testing And Education At Recovery Café Lafayette, Katherine Davis, Jailyn Jones

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Final-year student pharmacists Katherine and Jailyn served on the executive committee of Purdue’s chapter of the American Pharmacists Association–Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) as president and patient care vice president, respectively, during the 2023–2024 academic year. After striving for more community-based involvement with the APhA-ASP chapter, Katherine and Jailyn combined efforts and passions to serve the community by providing health services to a local community center. Preventative health services are vital for patients and also provide substantial benefit to students who are able to practice real-world counseling skills through these opportunities. Throughout the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum at Purdue, Katherine …

Inaccessibility Harms: Exploring The Impact Of Inaccessible Campus Organizations On Disabled Students, Francis W. Q. Corvin, Natalie G. Horgan

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

There are 3.5 million Disabled college students in the United States, with 4,671 utilizing disability services at Purdue University. Nationwide, 8–14% of students in higher education are Disabled, indicating a substantial number of students whose needs should be prioritized and supported. Inaccessibility impacts the way Disabled college students are able to engage with the college experience. Inaccessible classes, restrooms, clubs, job fairs, and campuses create significant barriers thatthat extend far beyond the classroom. Disabled students face challenges in securing scholarships, finding employment, graduating on time, and achieving long-term socioeconomic stability. Recognizing these barriers, HonorServes, a community service student committee at …

One Love: An Exploration Of The Rhetoric And Culture Of Bob Marley’S Lyricism, Kaitlyn Vasilko

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Sky High Reggae (SHR) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting multicultural community connections by ensuring access to reggae music by Bob Marley and other artists that centers on global healing. SHR helps build up reggae artists, minority business owners, other nonprofit organizations, and community members through art events, concerts, and classes, all with a focus on cultural awareness. SHR aims to “enrich lives through music” (Sky High Reggae, 2022) and also partners with local schools to provide access to art supplies to “empower youth through supporting creative expression.” While conducting research on the culture of reggae music and the …

Homeowner Well-Being And Community Livability, Leo Malachowski, Bridget Heindl

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Our project focuses on revitalizing the community by designing homes that reflect each homeowner’s unique preferences, fostering a sense of ownership and emotional well-being. In collaboration with Habitat for Humanity of Lafayette and guided by Ruut Veenhoven’s quality-of-life framework, we aim to create affordable housing initiatives that meet both financial and personal needs while strengthening community connections. Our work with the first homeowner, Carla, demonstrates how personalized housing enhances safety and belonging, transforming a house into a home that inspires pride.

As researchers, participating in this project has broadened our perspective beyond Purdue, especially through meaningful connections with homeowners such …

Empowering Caregivers Through Informal Stem Counterspaces: A Reflective Analysis Of Parental Workshops, Renee Gibert, Desmine Robinson, Virgina Booth Womack

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Students’ academic success particularly in mathematics, where early mastery lays the foundation for critical thinking and problem-solving skills, can be directly tied to caregiver engagement (Jeynes, 2012; Epstein, 2018). Algebra by 7th Grade (Ab7G) at Purdue is a Saturday informal STEM counterspace that provides math tutoring and engineering-focused projects to participants in grades 1–10. Students are mentored by Purdue graduate and graduate students. The mentors facilitate mentoring, tutoring, and engineering projects. Ab7G is a hybrid format that meets for six sessions per academic semester on Saturdays. Duke Energy and Chevron provide funding for Ab7G, ensuring accessibility at no cost to …

Clear And Concise: Technical Writing For Biological Engineers, Abigail S. Engelberth

Purdue University Press Books

Clear and Concise: Technical Writing for Biological Engineers is a practical guide designed to help students and early career engineers communicate their work with clarity and confidence. Drawing on years of teaching experience, Abigail S. Engelberth breaks down the essentials of technical writing into approachable steps, showing readers how to organize ideas, present data effectively, and write reports that meet professional standards.

Rather than overwhelming readers with theory, the book focuses on real-world application. It includes examples, checklists, and strategies for common engineering documents including formal and memo-style lab reports. Special attention is given to visuals, formatting, and the role …

Teaching Integrated Stem In Middle School, S. Selcen Guzey

Purdue University Press Books

Teaching Integrated STEM in Middle School is a valuable resource for educators, researchers, and policymakers who are committed to furthering integrated STEM education. Through a review of the literature on the topic, the volume offers a clear understanding of the impact of integrated STEM education on instructors’ teaching practices and student outcomes. The book presents a framework and instructional guide that educators can utilize to develop new curricular materials. Two sample units—focused on designing a two-stage water filter and formulating sunscreen—provide step-by-step guidance for lesson implementation and offer strategies for assisting students as they use engineering models to devise design …

Advanced Design Topics For The Engineering Of Agricultural And Mechanical Equipment, Robert M. Stwalley Iii, Roger Tormoehlen

Purdue University Press Books

Off-road equipment designs contend with some unusual challenges and environmental conditions that are not seen by standard on-road vehicles. Advanced Design Topics for the Engineering of Agricultural and Mechanical Equipment offers design topic reviews related to areas that need special consideration within off-road applications. CAN-BUS systems, soil compaction, composite bearings, field welding practices, and weld strength in bending applications are examined, among other subjects. Providing comprehensive coverage of these matters with the current state-of-the-art technologies and best practices as they relate to equipment design for the agricultural, construction, forestry, and mining industries, this book is well-aligned with collegiate advanced agricultural …

Market Signals From Online Behavior, Nicole J. Olynk Widmar, Michael L. Smith, Erin Robinson

Purdue University Press Books

Market Signals From Online Behavior asks, What do social media trends, Google searches, and online chatter reveal about consumer behavior? It also poses the question, How can we interpret these signals without losing sight of the people behind the posts? This book examines the digital traces left by consumers and explores how these signals intersect with food, agriculture, retail, and beyond.

Drawing from real-time data and social-listening analysis, Market Signals connects the dots between what is trending online and what it means for markets in the real world. Whether it is the rise of plant-based eating, changing holiday shopping norms, …

The Evolution Of Mro Outsourcing: Global Trends, Regulatory Challenges, And Strategic Considerations In Aviation Maintenance, David C. Ison

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) industry plays a critical role in ensuring the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of the global aviation sector. As airlines seek to reduce costs, optimize operations, and access specialized expertise, MRO outsourcing has become an increasingly prevalent strategy. This essay examines the key drivers of MRO outsourcing, including cost reduction, access to advanced technologies, and the focus on core competencies. The essay also explores emerging trends such as the rise of new MRO hubs in Asia and the Middle East, the integration of predictive maintenance and artificial intelligence, and the growing emphasis on environmental sustainability. …

Teachers’ Perspectives On Facilitating Design Talks With Young Learners, Chelsea J. Andrews, Jessica Watkins, Kristen B. Wendell, Rae Woodcock, Vera Gor, Naina Sood Fox, Molly Malinowski, Rachel Bandi, Shannon Rausch

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

With intentional teacher facilitation, whole-class conversations can help students refine their engineering reasoning, consider new ideas, and make novel connections between different ways of defining or solving a problem. These conversations can also help students expand their engineering thinking to include perspectives of care and socioethical deliberations. A team of classroom teachers and university researchers has been enacting and studying whole-class engineering design conversations—Design Talks—in first through sixth grade classrooms. We organize Design Talks in five genres: problem-scoping talks, idea generation talks, design-in- progress talks, design synthesis talks, and impact talks. After five years of planning, implementing, and analyzing recorded …

Emotion Driven Rumor Detection And Analysis: An Llm(Large Language Model) Augmented Approach, Chinelo Njoku, Yingjie Chen

Purdue Polytechnic Graduate Student Poster Symposium

Misinformation and rumors during public health crises significantly affect lives and increases mistrust in government and public health institutions. The circulation and amplification of rumors often worsen disease transmission and impede effective interventions. Historically, rumor spread has been a recurring issue in public health emergencies. For example, during the Ebola outbreak, misinformation about the virus and its treatment created deep mistrust of health workers. Similarly, in the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread misinformation fueled public panic and vaccine hesitancy. Previous research has primarily identified social media as a channel for rumor dissemination and focused on automatic rumor detection for fact-checking using binary …

Edge Ai-Enabled Vagus Nerve Analysis For Adaptive Neuromodulation In Diabetes, Saeka Rahman, Reepa Saha, Md Motiur Rahman, Ardavan Vakil, Hope Teng, Muhammad Arafin Khan, Benjamin Larimer, Rita Basu, Andy Basu, Amy Warriner, Miad Faezipour, S. Abdollah Mirbozorgi

Purdue Polytechnic Graduate Student Poster Symposium

Comprehending the neural mechanisms underlying Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is critical to developing next generation bioelectronic therapies. This work-in-progress presents a novel neural interface that integrates edge artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and flexible implantable electronics to record, analyze, and modulate vagus nerve activity in real time for potential diabetes treatment and reversal. The proposed system combines low-power, semi-analog signal processing with embedded AI/ML algorithms capable of performing on-chip feature extraction and classification of neural signals under stringent power and communication constraints. By leveraging edge-based learning, the platform will enable adaptive neuromodulation of vagus nerve activity, providing a closed-loop …

A Smarter Way To Watch Over Alpacas In Peru, Nicolas Rendon-Arias, Juyoung Kim, Walter Daniel Leon-Salas

Purdue Polytechnic Graduate Student Poster Symposium

In the Andean region of Peru, alpacas are more than animals. They are a lifeline for entire families who rely on them. Shepherds, many of whom live in remote mountain areas, spend countless hours watching over their herds. Without fences or boundaries, alpacas can spread out for miles, sometimes vanishing behind valleys or hills. When this happens, shepherds may spend hours searching for them. In these high-altitude areas, phone signals are rare, and internet connections are unreliable. As a result, families face stress, lost time, and even financial losses when animals go missing. At Purdue’s Tiny Lab, we focus on …

College Student Perceptions Of Ai Teaching Assistants: Bridging Technology And Human Connection For Effective Learning Support, Sarah Steimel

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

This study examines college students’ perceptions of AI Teaching Assistants (AITAs) in higher education, focusing on their communication experiences and expectations. Using qualitative data from (n=89) open-ended survey responses, six key themes emerged, spanning differences in information processing, social interaction, and task efficiency. Students appreciated AITAs for their speed, availability, and potential to provide unbiased feedback, yet expressed concerns about accuracy and trustworthiness. While AITAs were seen as approachable for simple or low-stakes inquiries, students emphasized the importance of human instructors for complex, nuanced, or emotional support. The findings highlight a preference for maintaining human connections in education while leveraging …

Development And Initial Validation Of The Comprehensive Ai Integration Readiness Survey (Caiirs), Richard D. Amoako, Jennifer A. Morrow

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in higher education, improving learning and optimizing administrative operations. However, the adoption and integration of AI in learning environments have received limited research attention until recently. Consequently, this research aimed to develop and validate a scale to assess readiness and preparedness among higher education faculty members for the integrative adoption of AI in learning and teaching practices. A nationwide survey was used to collect data from faculty at universities and colleges in the United States. The CAIIRS scale was developed after an extensive review of scholarly literature. Exploratory factor analysis was …

Humane Genetics Curriculum (Hgc) Teacher Materials, Phillip Keck, Brian Donovan, Monica Weindling, Andrew Brubaker, Robbee Wedow

Humane Genetics Curriculum

These are the comprehensive teacher materials for the Humane Genetics Curriculum (HGC). The materials include an overview of the unit, connections to aligned NGSS standards, and detailed instructions and guidance for implementing each lesson of this curriculum in your classroom.

High Stakes Literacy Testing: Indiana’S Iread-3, Christy Wessel Powell, Karyn Tomkinson, Whitney Rippy

Science of Reading

Indiana is one of a few states to enact a high stakes literacy test in third grade, the IREAD-3 test. High stakes testing is often a useful way to ensure a particular level of academic proficiency is met to allow students to succeed in a new setting, like college, or leave high school with desired skills. However, the requirement to automatically retain third graders who do not pass the IREAD-3 test without additional information or considerations, is not supported by research (AERA, 2000). These data highlight the critical need for educators and administrators to understand high-stakes standardized tests, as they …