Digital Commons Network^™

Shifting Attitudes Toward Healthy Food Choices In Schoolchildren, Krishna Nemali

Purdue Extension Numbered Publications

Nearly a third of Indiana children ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese. Healthier food choices could make a difference. This publication details what happened when a Purdue professor coupled experiential learning (gardening) with a plant sciences curriculum in a rural Indiana intermediate school.

Greenhouse Construction, Krishna Nemali

Purdue Extension Numbered Publications

Modern greenhouses do not resemble their hobby-scale 19th-century predecessors. Knowledge of construction requirements, location considerations, orientation, structural stability, etc., is vital. In this six-page publication, a Purdue University professor provides detailed, clear introductory knowledge about greenhouse construction.

Pitch Report: Purdue Ivy Tech Chips Evaluation Report, Jennifer Sdunzik

Evaluation and Learning Research Center Reports

The Purdue Ivy Tech CHips (PITCH) program is a university-industry-community partnership aimed at developing an educational pipeline capable of providing a qualified workforce for the growing semiconductor industry in the region. Increasing student interest in microelectronics, awareness of current and future microelectronics careers, and self-efficacy to pursue microelectronics opportunities are foundational to building the industry’s workforce. The PITCH program addressed these needs by offering a summer experience that introduced high school students to the semiconductor industry.

The PITCH leadership team engaged Purdue's Evaluation and Learning Research Center (ELRC) to (1) identify (short and longer-term) impacts of the summer program on …

“It Feels Like A Safe Container”: Experiences Of Finding Solid Ground Groups For Adults With Dissociative Disorders., Laura Hawkins, Sarah Chipps, Kim Foreman, Stephanie Johnson, Aimee Mccann, Rebecca Braughton, Abidemi Mary Ajuwon, Dongjuan Xu

School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Objective: Dissociative disorders (DD) are trauma-related conditions marked by disruptions in memory, identity, and consciousness. Despite high prevalence, DDs are underdiagnosed and undertreated. This study explores the experiences of adults with DD participating in a 31-week Finding Solid Ground (FSG) psychoeducational group. Method: Participants (N=72) were mostly women (81%), who experienced a DD or PTSD dissociative subtype, along with multiple mental health comorbidities. Eight groups (seven virtual, one in-person) completed 31 weekly 90-minute sessions based on the FSG curriculum as adjunctive to individual psychotherapy. Thematic qualitative analysis was used to analyze participants’ hopes, challenges, helpful and unhelpful aspects, and perceived …

Simplified Traffic Studies For Local Agencies, Laura Slusher

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Publications

Traffic studies are critical in the decision-making process for many transportation-related projects, funding requests, paving and plowing priorities, and in reporting to elected officials and the public. It is often difficult for local jurisdictions with limited equipment, staff, and time to perform these studies or have the funds available to hire them out. This handbook describes simplified procedures that are easy to apply and are written for all potential users.

Proceedings Of The Eleventh Annual Indiana Stem Education Conference: Stem Journeys, William S. Walker Iii, S. Selcen Guzey

Indiana STEM Education Conference

The Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Indiana STEM Education Conference are edited by the Center for Advancing the Teaching and Learning of STEM (CATALYST, https://www.education.purdue.edu/catalyst/) at Purdue University. The theme for the 2026 conference is STEM Journeys, celebrating the multiple pathways and experiences that advance student learning in STEM education.

Cav Pilot Development And Deployment In Midwest Winter, Yupeng Zhou, Can Cui, Zichong Yang, Juntong Peng, Ziran Wang

Center for Connected and Automated Transportation

This project addresses the critical challenges of deploying Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) in adverse Midwest winter conditions by developing a novel hierarchical framework that integrates Large Vision-Language Models for robust, context-aware decision-making. Real-world pilot experiments demonstrate that this architecture significantly enhances vehicle safety and personalization, effectively translating abstract human commands into precise control adjustments on low-friction, snow-covered surfaces. Furthermore, a specialized high-fidelity dataset capturing unique environmental edge cases was established to bridge the domain gap in existing resources and support the future development of resilient all-weather autonomous technologies.

Classroom Libraries As Sites Of Literacy, Identity, And Imagination: A Pk–3 Guide, Kara M. Taylor

Science of Reading

At a time when children’s access to diverse books is shrinking due to censorship, book bans, and public library closures, classroom libraries have become critical sites of literacy development, identity formation, and imagination, particularly in PK–3 classrooms. This practitioner-focused brief synthesizes research from the science of reading, culturally relevant pedagogy, and literacy access studies to argue that classroom libraries function as essential instructional conditions rather than supplemental resources. Drawing on scholarship related to reading volume, representation, motivation, and foundational skills development, the guide offers practical, research-aligned guidance for curating PK–3 classroom libraries that support phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension while …

Review Of Aashtoware Pavement Me Design Version 3.0, Jusang Lee, Jongmyung Jeon, John E. Haddock

JTRP Technical Reports

This study evaluated the differences between AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design (PMED) Version 2.6 and Version 3.0 using representative Indiana pavement structures and traffic conditions. PMED Version 3.0 introduces several major updates, including adoption of the MERRA-2 climate database, revised rigid pavement slab-base interaction models, updated calibration coefficients, and support for Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR)-based asphalt binder grading. Because the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) currently uses PMED Version 2.6 with locally calibrated distress models, evaluation of Version 3.0 was necessary prior to implementation. A total of 114 pavement design files representing full-depth asphalt pavements, asphalt overlay pavements, and Portland …

Powered By People: Staffing And Capacity In Library Publishing Programs, Michelle Brailey, Melissa Chim, Lauren Collister, Heather Hankins, Alyssa Huffman, Bailey Lake, Barbara Loomis, Miranda Phair, Anita Walz

LPC Publications

This report is comprised of the results of the LPC’s Staffing Survey where respondents answered questions related to staffing and capacity within their library publishing programs.

Exploring The Role Of Dialogue In Student Development And Knowledge Generation, Alison Warren

Indiana STEM Education Conference

In classrooms where students are given the space to engage in dialogue, ask questions, and negotiate ideas, science learning comes to life. Providing opportunities for students to negotiate ideas publicly, through dialogue, then privately, through writing has the potential to maximize student idea generation. Although dialogue is widely recognized as important for engagement and communicating ideas, it has also been framed as an epistemic tool. However, the role of dialogue as a sense-making process or epistemic tool, and its relationship to other forms of language, remains under-explored. This study addresses this gap by investigating the role of dialogue and how …

Indot Training Gap Analysis, Developing A Training Program For Indot Workforce Development (New, Front-Line, Supervisors) And Smart Tool For Effective Planning For Workforce, Steven R. Dunlop, Satish V. Ukkusuri, Yunfeng Chen, Dutt J. Thakkar, Eunhan Ka, Shagun Mittal, Xinran Hu, Ze Wang, Isha Khanna, Rithesh Tammineni

JTRP Technical Reports

The primary goal of the study was to understand reasons for workforce turnover, addressing INDOT’s employee attraction and retention strategies. This objective was achieved by dividing the project into four tasks, each focusing on different criteria. Task A focused on understanding workforce development needs and gaps by determining training opportunities available at INDOT and understanding the different training methods and frequency of training required. Additionally, Task A also benchmarked workforce development programs with industry and other neighboring states. Task B comprised performing a comprehensive numerical and text data analysis of the workforce using exit interview data to identify the reasons …

Development Of Dashboards And Procedures For Using Connected Vehicle Data To Prioritize Investments In Electric Vehicle Related Infrastructure, Jairaj C. Desai, Nathaniel J. Sturdevant, George Mccue, Darcy M. Bullock

JTRP Technical Reports

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program together provide $7.5 billion to support states with building out a nationwide EV charging network. Indiana’s Charging the Crossroads program, funded through the NEVI program, plans to invest almost $100 million to build an EV charging network along Indiana interstates and highways. There is broad consensus among states, that these fast charging station investments should be based upon quantitative geospatial data with the objective of maximizing the impact of the NEVI program investments.

However, traditional methods for monitoring electric vehicle (EV) usage have …

Portable Driving Simulation Platform For Innovative Intersections, Luyang Jiang, Zihao Li, David Chen, Blake Edwards, Angel Rivera Cardenas, George Takahashi, Brandon Pitts, Ziran Wang

JTRP Technical Reports

This report presents a portable driving simulation platform developed to improve public understanding and evaluation of innovative intersection designs. Built in Unity, the system integrates real-world roadway data with modular traffic and vehicle simulation to create realistic, interactive driving scenarios. Results show the platform effectively supports driver learning and stakeholder engagement, demonstrating its feasibility as a tool for education, safety analysis, and deployment support of innovative intersections.

Human Vaccine Hesitancy Spillover In The Field Of Veterinary Medicine: A Systematic Narrative Review Of Impacts And Veterinary Responses, Allison Schimpf

HEAL Project Outputs

Human vaccine hesitancy spillover in the veterinary field is a relatively new concept that has gained traction since the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerns about vaccine safety have increased among pet owners leading to questions about the potential impacts of reduced vaccination and how veterinarians can address these attitudes. A systematic search strategy following PRISMA 2020 guidelines was used with 3 different databases to collect peer-reviewed research articles from 2022 until now. The initial search yielded 376 articles for review and 11 were included after screening. Articles were analyzed using a narrative review format. Results showed that pet owners are more vaccine …

Health Empowerment And Learning (Heal) Data Needs And Assets Assessment, Kayla Gurganus, Amelia Hartley

HEAL Project Outputs

From October 2025 through March 2026, HEAL conducted interviews with health organization and local health department (LHD) staff to learn about the data environment and activities involving data. This report summarizes the project process and results, focusing on common challenges and needed skills identified by interviewees. The primary challenges identified by LHDs and health organizations relate to coordination and navigation, timely access and data sharing, communicating data, and staffing and funding. The necessary skills and resources interviewees shared relate to technical assistance, skills and capacity building, and staffing. The report concludes with a menu of services that the HEAL team …

Evaluation Of Aggregate Gradation Specifications And The Feasibility Of Harmonization With Aashto Standards, Husam Elgaali, Ayesha Shah, Jan Olek

JTRP Technical Reports

The aggregate gradations specified by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) differ from those of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Preliminary discussions suggest that adopting AASHTO standard gradation sizes could provide national alignment and simplify production for those operating in multiple states and supplying projects not subject to INDOT specifications. A comprehensive study was performed to evaluate the current INDOT specifications for coarse and fine aggregate gradations and to assess the potential impacts and feasibility of adopting AASHTO-specified gradations. A comparative analysis of INDOT gradations against AASHTO, ASTM International (ASTM), and those of neighboring states …

Implementation Study For In-Place Testing Of Asphalt Treated Cold Recycled Pavements, Pablo Orosa Iglesias, Cheng Zhang, Daniel Mauricio Santamaria, John E. Hadddock

JTRP Technical Reports

This study evaluated the feasibility of rapid in-situ strength test methods for asphalt-treated cold recycled (ATCR) pavements in Indiana, with a secondary objective of characterizing the dynamic modulus of a locally produced ATCR mixture for use as AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design inputs. The long-pin shear test (LPST) and short-pin raveling test (SPRT), developed through National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 09-62, were evaluated on a cold in-place recycling (CIR) project on SR 13 in Greenfield, Indiana. Field results for blow counts exceeded the proposed NCHRP threshold moments after compaction, with torque values approaching but not yet reaching the NCHRP …

Why Repeat Visitors Matter For Harassment‑Prone Destinations: Five Actionable Lessons For Accommodation Managers, Annmarie Nicely

Visitor Harassment Research Unit Special Papers

The goal of the study was to identify demographic factors that could predict visitors likely to support micro-traders at a destination after being harassed by a member of their community. Then show how the accommodations sector (like hotel managers and vacation home rental managers) can use the findings to improve visitor support of micro-traders at destinations with trader harassment (TH). The researcher examined seven demographic features of visitors to four countries. They were their gender, education level, income level, marital status, prior visit to the destination, type – domestic or international, and whether they were alone at the time of …

Centering Ai Literacy: Exploring Brazilian International Students’ Perceptions Of Chatgpt And Peer Tutoring, Leigh Ann Dunning, Raissa Borges De Oliveira Leal

The Writing Center Journal

For English as an Additional Language (EAL) students, generative AI (GenAI) offers meaningful support for writing in English, while also introducing a new set of challenges. Supporting EAL students in developing AI literacy is crucial to their growth as confident, adaptable writers, and writing center tutors are uniquely positioned to facilitate this development. This case study explores the experiences of undergraduate Brazilian international students at a small liberal arts college who received writing feedback from both peer writing center tutors and ChatGPT. Findings indicate that students valued the human connection, contextual understanding, and rhetorical support offered by peer tutors, while …

Attending To Present Others: A Framework For Supporting Multilingual Graduate Writers, María P. Carvajal Regidor, Allison Kranek

The Writing Center Journal

Extending prior work on present others, individuals who are not physically present in writing center sessions—such as advisors, colleagues, and peers—but who directly or indirectly impact what happens during consultations (Kranek & Carvajal Regidor, 2021), we argue that attending to present others is one way to more holistically support multilingual graduate writers. Based on data from session recordings, we contend that present others can be used as a framework to train consultants to better address the specific needs of this student population by acknowledging their socialization processes, feedback networks, language needs, and emotions. Then, we share two approaches to consultant …

Reimagining Wpa And Writing Center Administration Centering Minority Writers, Saurabh Anand

The Writing Center Journal

This piece explores the discussions surrounding multilingualism, internationalization, and queerness within writing center studies (WCS). As a branch of writing program administration (WPA), this piece situates above-disciplinary conversations in relation to second language studies (SLS) and broader language and literacy education scholarship to identify areas where disciplinary collaboration and attention are still needed, particularly around questions of professional development, administrative strategies, and pedagogies supporting multilingual writers in writing center spaces. This piece begins by reviewing the major trends, contributions, and key terms in existing literature centering on multilingual writers and SLS to identify ways and areas of collaboration and disciplinary …

From “Contact Zone” To “Collaborative Zone”: Multilingual Writers’ Tensions And Opportunities In The Writing Center, Qianqian Zhang-Wu, Isabelle M. Lundin, Neal Lerner

The Writing Center Journal

Writing center scholars have adopted Pratt’s (1991) “contact zone” metaphor to describe the diversity of consultants and students in writing centers, but this literature has largely overlooked the perspectives of multilingual students. Through surveys, interviews, and session data, we found that while multilingual students described rich linguistic identities, they also experienced tension and instability as language users. Students often framed their considerable language assets as deficiencies in academic writing contexts. They faced additional tension between instructor expectations and their own understanding of assignment goals. Students frequently sought native-like language competency from consultants and expected them to serve as informants about …

Native-Speakerism And Multilingual Student Anxiety In One-To-One Mentoring, Grace Lee-Amuzie

The Writing Center Journal

While one-to- one writing tutoring is often viewed as a supportive space for student writers, it can also reproduce racialized linguistic hierarchies that exacerbate anxiety for multilingual students. This article examines second language (L2) anxiety as a structurally induced emotional response to native-speakerism— the ideology that privileges white, Anglophone, native English speakers as the standard for language competence. Drawing from L2 anxiety research in applied linguistics and writing center studies, the article explores how native-speakerism influences multilingual students’ self-perception, interaction, and performance in L2 during one-to- one tutoring. It discusses the sources and dimensions of L2 anxiety across all four …

Back Matter

The Writing Center Journal

Back Matter for Writing Center Journal 43.3.(2025)

Developing And Implementing A Primary Source Literacy Case Scenario For The Undergraduate Business Classroom, Annette Bochenek, Megan Troyer

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This article discusses the development and implementation of a case-based learning scenario activity intended to enhance primary source literacy among undergraduate business students. The activity was delivered in the context of a large Midwestern university’s undergraduate business course. This case is based on the ACRL RBMS-SAA Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy and gives students an opportunity to use digitized primary archival sources as part of the research process in connection with a modern business-related scenario in which they can apply primary source literacy skills. This guided activity also explores affective experiences as they occurred in student responses to this activity …

The Loss Function Of Usda Forecasters: Evidence From Wasde Animal Product Price Forecasts, Chad Fiechter, Siddhartha S. Bora, Todd H. Kuethe

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

The loss function is a mathematical representation of the costs experienced by a forecaster when observed outcomes differ from what was predicted. Prior studies suggest that USDA forecasts are not optimal based on an assumed mean-zero quadratic loss function. This study proposes an alternative view of forecast evaluation, which assumes all USDA forecasts are produced to minimize the forecasters’ costs, and searches for the dimensions of the loss function under which optimality holds. We illustrate the degree to which USDA loss functions vary across a series of WASDE price forecasts. A better understanding of USDA forecasters’ costs will benefit forecasters …

Alumni Spotlight: Kayla M. Vasilko

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Kayla M. Vasilko published an article in volume 10 (2020) of the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research during her time spent completing her baccalaureate degree.

Alumni Spotlight: Liza Russell

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Liza Russell published an article in volume 10 (2020) of the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research during her time spent completing her baccalaureate degree.

Alumni Spotlight: Hannah Pletcher

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Hannah Pletcher published an article in volume 10 (2020) of the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research during her time spent completing her baccalaureate degree.