Digital Commons Network^™

Cosmopolitan Spirits: Islam And The Experimental Cosmologies Of Egypt's Spiritualist Movement, 1947–1960, Arthur Shiwa Zárate

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This article considers the history of Egypt’s mid-twentieth-century Spiritualist movement through an examination of its periodical, a monthly Arabic magazine called Alam al-Ruh (The World of the Spirit) (1947–1960). As it shows, Egyptian Spiritualists defended and promoted their project by crafting an experimental cosmology, one that blended claims about empirical verification with elements of Islamic and Spiritualist cosmologies. It further shows how this combination of scientism and cosmology reflects a core dynamic within the history of scientific exploration in the Islamic world. Like spiritual seekers and occult practitioners in Muslim societies elsewhere, Egyptian Spiritualists positioned their project as one of …

Spartan Daily, October 8, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 20

A Holistic Inquiry Of Intelligent Speed-Assist Technology: Safety Impacts, Technology Implementation, And Challenges, Sahar Ghanipoor Machiani, Nusheen Baradaran, Arash Jahangiri

Mineta Transportation Institute

Speeding is a leading contributor to roadway fatalities in the United States, and California consistently ranks among states with the highest number of speed-related crashes. Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology has emerged as a solution aimed at mitigating this issue by notifying drivers of speed limits and, in some cases, intervening and lowering the speed to the posted speed limit. This work presents a comprehensive investigation into ISA system safety benefits, implementation challenges, and public perception, with a focus on California drivers. This study utilized a multi-method approach. A literature review explores the history, regulatory barriers, and international trails of …

Best Practices In Marketing And Creative Outreach For New Transportation Technologies, William Riggs, Caillou Dasalla, Cayden Rooney, Vaasu Bhartia

Mineta Transportation Institute

Emerging transportation technologies—including electric vehicles (EVs), micromobility solutions, autonomous vehicles (AVs), hyperloop systems, and mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platforms—are rapidly reshaping mobility patterns and urban environments. As these innovations gain traction, it becomes increasingly important to address concerns, communicate advantages, and foster trust across communities. This project examines marketing best practices for promoting emerging mobility solutions, synthesizing insights from scholarly research, industry standards, and case studies of successful campaigns. Emphasis is placed on the shift toward “snackable,” visually engaging content delivered through widely used social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, which are increasingly central to reaching diverse audiences. The …

Between Two Worlds: Nationality And Identity In Korean Immigrants – A Qualitative Exploration Of A Sense Of Belonging In California, The United States, Chulwoo Park, Patricia Angelica

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Korean immigrants are among the top five Asian immigrant groups in California. Many came to the United States with a visa or green card, and later some became U.S. citizens. One’s nationality refers to the country of their legal citizenship, but it is often also the country where they were born. As some people renounce their citizenship from their country of origin, the impact of nationality on identity and the influence of identity on nationality have yet to be studied. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured, in-depth interviews between March 2023 and July 2023. A total of …

Spartan Daily, September 25, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 15

Synthetic Social Engineering Scenario Generation Using Llms For Awareness-Based Attack Resilience, Jade Webb, Faranak Abri, Sayma Akther

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Social engineering is found in a strong majority of cyberattacks today, as it is a powerful manipulation tactic that does not require the technical skills of hacking. Calculated social engineers utilize simple communication to deceive and exploit their victims, all by capitalizing on the vulnerabilities of human nature: trust and fear. When successful, this inconspicuous technique can lead to millions of dollars in losses. Social engineering is not a one-dimensional technique; criminals often leverage a combination of strategies to craft a robust yet subtle attack. In addition, offenders are continually evolving their methods in efforts to surpass preventive measures. A …

Spartan Daily, September 24, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 12

The Effects Of College Students’ Online Experiences With Racial/Ethnic Discrimination, Alysha Ramirez Hall, Diana J. Meter, Demi Culianos, Aubrey Uresti, Michael Medina, Adrienne Nishina

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Time online involves the risk of direct and vicarious online racial/ethnic discrimination. This study examined the day-to-day associations between online racial/ethnic discrimination and positive and negative affect, somatic symptoms, and anxiety. Participants were 208 fourth-year college students (25% men, 72.1% women, 2.9% not reporting gender; 36.1% Asian, 30.3% White, 17.3% Latinx, 7.7% Multiethnic, 8.7% Other; M age = 22 years). The sample resided in the U.S. Data were collected in 2020. Longitudinal data were collected via online surveys using a daily report approach. The prevalence of online discrimination experiences was generally low but impactful. Main effects analyses showed direct online …

Novel Biological Prompting Technology: Automatic Directional Control By Eye-Tracking Sensor, Guannan Liu, Justin Wang, Hsiao Chun Wu, Gaojian Huang, Anil Kumar, Yiyan Wu, Shih Yu Chang, Yue Luo

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Biological prompting or human teleoperation have been appealing to many researchers lately. Hands-free and voice-free command or control of vehicles, aircraft, machines, robots, etc. would provide huge convenience to users and allow them for multi-tasking. In this work, we would like to dedicate to a new biological prompting function, namely automatic directional control using instantaneous eye gaze data. In this work, we would like to investigate how to apply advanced machine-learning models to design novel automatic gaze-direction identification techniques. We explore the difficulty, namely infliction with outliers and variations, in dealing with eye-tracking data and propose to transform the original …

Scoping Review Of Sexual And Gender Minority Health Research In Ireland, John P. Gilmore, Tonda L. Hughes, Sean Kearns, Laurie A. Drabble, Diarmuid Stokes, Siobhán D. Thomas, Chris Noone, Lauren Bochicchio

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Aim: To map existing sexual and gender minority (SGM) health research in Ireland, identify gaps in literature and outline priorities for future research and healthcare. SGM is an umbrella term that includes people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or intersex and is sometimes abbreviated as LGBTQI+. Design: A scoping review of peer-reviewed studies published between 2014 and 2024. Methods: The review followed Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines and PRISMA-ScR framework for scoping reviews. Articles were identified through systematic database searches and screened independently by reviewers. Data Sources: PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Embase were searched for articles published …

Transcultural Competence And Empathy In Language Education: Imagining The Unimaginable, Michiko Uryu

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The 2007 MLA report offered guidelines and competencies for foreign language majors at American universities in the age of globalization. The notion of translingual and transcultural competence suggests that today’s foreign language education is not merely a matter of language acquisition, but humanistic learning. The ultimate goal for foreign language learners should be to gain alternative ways of seeing the world, namely, “imagining the unimaginable” (Ozick, 1987). This underscores the central importance of empathy in foreign language education. Yet the true challenge lies in how to assess such an abstract concept. Even eighteen years since its initial publication, the report …

Human Factors For A Better World: Case Studies In Community Ergonomics, Hanna J. Barton, Andrew Thactcher, Maurita T. Harris, Wendy A. Rogers, Dan Nathan-Roberts, Leah Newman, Carlo Caponecchia

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This panel brings together global experts to explore the evolving practice of community ergonomics—an approach that applies Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) to co-design systems with and for marginalized communities. Building on the lessons articulated in Barton et al. (2025), panelists will present diverse case studies that highlight both the promise and complexity of community-engaged HFE work. Panelists will reflect on the epistemological shifts, methodological adaptations, and relational commitments required to move toward genuine collaboration and social impact. Attendees will leave with tangible strategies for engaging communities as co-designers, as well as deeper insight into how our assumptions as HFE …

Unveiling The Veil: Understanding The Intersection Of Racism And Body Image Among Vietnamese American Young Adults, Thien Dang, Meekyung Han

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Asian Americans have experienced persistent gendered racism, racial microaggressions, and orientalism. These factors have contributed to dissatisfaction with their body image and have led some individuals to turn to body modification in order to cope with psychological distress and conform to White beauty standards. However, limited research has explored how Vietnamese Americans—one of the fastest-growing Asian American populations—experience and navigate racial dynamics related to body image, particularly in relation to gender differences and the role of cultural identity. To address this knowledge gap, a qualitative study was conducted to explore the intersection of racism, internalized racism, and body image dissatisfaction, …

The Association Between Cardiac Vagal Activity And Urinary Catecholamine: Investigating The Effect Of Race And Sex, Li Shen Chong, Betty Lin, Elana B. Gordis, De Wayne P. Williams, Julian F. Thayer

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Black individuals are at greater risk for the development of cardiovascular diseases compared to White individuals. Autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation has been identified as a significant risk factor contributing to racial disparities in cardiovascular disease, yet systematic racial differences that affect the measurement of ANS activity among White and Black participants are likely obscuring understanding about ANS-health disparity links. Moreover, sex differences in ANS activity have been observed. Thus, efforts to elucidate the comparability of ANS indices across race and sex are needed. This study aimed to investigate the effects of race and sex on the associations between two …

Spartan Daily, August 28, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 4

Poster: Development Of Situation Awareness Measurement For Cybersecurity Professionals, David Schuster, Crystal Fausett, Maiyi Huang, Sabina M. Patel, Jenna Korentsides, Joseph R. Keebler, Elizabeth H. Lazzara

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Better understanding of the implications of many aspects of human behavior, especially that of cybersecurity professionals, can help develop the cybersecurity workforce. Despite efforts aimed at documenting and understanding cybersecurity professionals' knowledge, understanding of how cognition supports human performance in specific cybersecurity tasks remains limited. Specifically, understanding of the elements of situation awareness (SA), defined as goal-directed knowledge, is necessary to support human-centered evaluation, selection, training, and recruitment strategies. In this poster, we propose a framework for developing measures of situation awareness for cybersecurity professionals and a method of capturing initial effectiveness data that does not rely on access to …

Understanding Child Noncompliance In The Early Care Setting, Melody Mann

McNair Research Journal SJSU

This study examines how teachers respond to children’s noncompliance in

early care settings. This structured observational study will focus on the

moment-to-moment interactions occurring within the preschool classroom

between both the child and teacher. It is predicted that (1) teacher’s direct

bids to children will promote greater instances of child compliance than

indirect bids, and (2) teachers’ responsive language will promote greater

instances of child compliance than restrictive language. The results of this

study will contribute to existing knowledge about the nature of teacher

child interactions in the early care settings.

Conscious Control: A Case Study On Self-Monitoring And Interventions In Maladaptive Daydreaming, Caleb Chan

McNair Research Journal SJSU

Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is a persistent mental activity

characterized by immersive, excessive daydreaming that disrupts daily

life. This study examines the effectiveness of self-regulation strategies

in managing MD, including cognitive techniques, behavioral

adjustments, technology-assisted cues, and environmental

modifications. Using a single-subject ABA design, each intervention

phase lasted one week, with MD episodes tracked through self-reported

diaries and EEG monitoring. The results demonstrated that cognitive

reframing and task switching produced the most sustained reductions in

MD episodes, while technology-assisted cues had diminishing

effectiveness over time due to adaptation. Environmental modifications,

particularly workspace reorganization, con- tributed to long-term

improvements, while lighting adjustments …

Confronting The Digital Epidemic: Excessive Social Media Use (Smu) In The Wellbeing Of Young Adult Populations, Joanna Abellera

McNair Research Journal SJSU

This study will investigate the relationship between social media as a

mediator and its effects on depressive symptoms, using Social Comparisons

theory (SCT; Festinger, 1954) as a framework. A series of 8-10 articles,

obtained through the San Jose State Library Database and PsycINFO, will

explore the nature of social media addiction (SMA) and problematic social

media use (PSMU) and its relation to self-esteem of young adult

populations by comparing theoretical perspectives (i.e., cross-sectional and

experimental designs) in the literature. Studies have found that [increased

SMU has been correlated with negative outcomes such as depression,

loneliness, and increased envy]. Future studies …

Full Issue

McNair Research Journal SJSU

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Moderating Effect Of Boundary Management Strategy In A Remote Work Environment, Brandon M. Vasquez

Master's Theses

Remote work has evolved significantly, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and continues to influence employee experiences in both positive and negative ways. Managing the separation between work and personal life is of importance. More specifically, using a boundary management strategy of segmentation may be more effective than an integration strategy because those who separate the two domains of work and family/personal life may be less prone to conflict in their lives. The present study aimed to examine the moderating effect of boundary management strategy on the relationship between remote work and job satisfaction, work-life balance, and well-being. Specifically, it was …

Attention In The Age Of Tiktok: Examining The Cognitive Impact Of Short-Form Video Consumption, Samantha Shannon Sutrisno

Master's Theses

With the rapid growth of popularity among short-form video platforms such as TikTok, media consumption has shifted toward fast-paced and highly engaging formats. This trend raises questions about the potential effects of continuous exposure to brief and repetitive audiovisual stimuli on attention. Research on short-form video’s impact on attention is limited, but prior studies suggest it may influence attention in meaningful ways. This study examined the relationship between short-form video consumption and attention among TikTok users (N = 110) by using the Attention Network Task (ANT), which measures the alerting, orienting, and executive control networks of visual attention. Participants were …

A Closer Look At The Relationship Between Cultural Intelligence And Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Lesli B. Quiroz

Master's Theses

As organizations—particularly in the United States—become more multicultural due to globalization, they increasingly rely on individuals' ability to succeed in complex, cross?cultural environments. Cultural intelligence (CQ), or the ability to successfully adapt to unfamiliar cultural settings, has been previously related to expatriate cross-cultural adjustment, group effectiveness, and more recently, to organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), which are voluntary extra-role workplace behaviors that lead to positive employee and organizational outcomes. This study mainly sought to theoretically expand the limited research on the relationship between CQ and OCB with some research questions. In a sample of 93 participants based in California, results found …

Use Of Cigarettes, Cannabis, And Alcohol Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, And Pacific Islander Adults: Community-Based National Survey Analysis, Vuong Van Do, Van My Ta Park, Nhung Nguyen, Pamela May Ling, Marian Tzuang, Bora Nam, Marcelle M. Dougan, Oanh L. Meyer, Janice Y. Tsoh

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) populations have diverse cultural, immigra-tion, and sociodemographic characteristics. Aggregated data could mask substantial differences in substance use between cultural subgroups in this population. Yet, studies examining substance use among the AANHPI population are limited. Objective: This study aimed to describe cigarette, cannabis, and alcohol use among AANHPI adults by cultural subgroup and sex. Methods: We analyzed data from 3411 AANHPI respondents of a multilingual national survey “COMPASS” during December 2021-May 2022. Primary outcomes were self-report current (every day or some days) use of cigarettes, cannabis, and alcohol. Cultural subgroups included Asian …

Correlations Of Intersectional Identity Cohesion And Growth In Queer And Transgender Black, Indigenous, And People Of Color, Zoha T. Qader

Master's Theses

Past research has found that identity cohesion (how integrated multiple identities are) is a protective factor that moderates the relationship between intersectional microaggressions and mental health outcomes. Individuals with higher identity conflict (multiple identities clashing) had anxiety and depression symptoms that could be predicted by the distress they experienced from intersectional microaggressions. For those with high identity cohesion, this was not the case. While compelling, the question remains, what are the factors that contribute to identity integration versus identity conflict? The present study will utilize existing data of 417 QTBIPOC individuals. Ratings of LGBTQ+ community belonging and engagement, and LGBTQ+ …

Multimodal Emotion Detection And Analysis From Conversational Data, Abhinay Jatoth, Faranak Abri, Tien Nguyen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

—Emotion recognition in conversations has become increasingly relevant due to its potential applications across various fields such as customer service, social media, and mental health. In this work, we explore multimodal emotion detection using both textual and audio data. Our models leverage deep learning architectures, including Transformer-based models such as Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), Robustly optimized BERT approach (RoBERTa), Audio Spectrogram Transformer (AST), Wav2Vec2), Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiL-STM), and four fusion strategies that combine features from multiple modalities. We evaluate our approaches using two widely used emotion datasets, IEMOCAP and EMOV. Experimental results show that fusion models …

Exploring The Ant: How Well Do Three Attention Networks Predict Road Hazard Perception, Xander Philip Martinez

Master's Theses

Hazard perception is the ability of a driver to anticipate emerging dangers. Driving is a complex activity requiring attention to various stimuli to prevent accidents. Prior studies have shown that older, experienced drivers detect more cues and perceive hazards better than younger, inexperienced drivers. Attention is multifaceted, and three visual attention networks were focused on in the study: alerting (readiness), orienting (spatial focus), and executive control (distraction inhibition). A sample of 95 participants completed two tasks: The Attention Network Test was used to assess these three attention networks, and to measure road hazard awareness, participants viewed short dashcam videos (~233 …

A Place For Ancient Philosophy In Axial Age Historiography, John R. Shook

Comparative Philosophy

Long-standing debates over historiographical approaches to the Axial Age have distracted the history of philosophy from its own disciplined inquiry into the breadth and depth of ancient thought beyond the Greeks. The philosopher Karl Jaspers offered a vista for seeing commonalities among ancient innovations and discerning continuities along history to modern times. That dual agenda divided Axial historiography with the question of whether axiality reflects creativities of ancient systems or have modern reflections created images of axiality. A singular chronology for humanity encourages a mode of philosophical history open to providential designs, epochal turns, spiritual evolutions, psychological leaps, or cognitive …

Moral And Ethical Nature In Confucian Liang-Zhi And Islamic Fitra: Comparative Perspectives On Innate Morality, Yanrong Shi

Comparative Philosophy

This article offers a comparative philosophical analysis of Confucian liang-zhi (innate moral knowledge) and Islamic fitra(primordial nature), focusing on their accounts of innate morality and moral epistemology. Drawing on classical Confucian sources—especially the praxis-oriented interpretation of Wang Yangming—and foundational Islamic texts and commentary, the study demonstrates that both traditions posit an inborn moral faculty grounding ethical universality and responsibility. Wang Yangming’s liang-zhi is conceived as an innate moral principle that, under the imperative of zhi (to actualize or extend), is continually activated through moral practice. In parallel, fitra is understood as a God-given orientation to truth, cultivated and safeguarded through …