Digital Commons Network^™

An Unsolved Theft, Tim Pyatt

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This article explores the mysterious theft of Civil War narratives from the libraries of the University of North Carolina and Duke University in the late 1970s while the author was an undergraduate at Duke. Using records preserved in the Duke University Archives and personal accounts, the author pieces together how the theft was discovered and the investigation was conducted. Potential suspects included the notorious thieves James Shinn and Stephen Blumberg as well as individuals identified during the investigation. The secrecy around the investigation as well as the effort to protect institutional reputation may have ultimately led to the theft never …

Assessing The Effect Of Chromolaena Odorata On Maize (Zea Mays L.) Growth And Yield In The Semi-Deciduous Forest Zone Of Côte D’Ivoire, Roger Bayala, Lisette Zeh Tokpa, Firmin Kouamé Konan, Kouamé Emile Ange Brou, Ambroise Casimir Laopé Siene, Pauline Amanko Ndouba, Nathanael A. Bogie, Sabas Sadaiou Yao Barima

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Chromolaena odorata is a dominant pioneer species in the successional vegetation following deforestation in humid and sub-humid tropical regions. Despite its prevalence, the specific interactions between C. odorata and subsequent food crops remain poorly characterized. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of C. odorata on the growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) under varying nutrient regimes. The experiment employed a randomized complete block design to assess the interaction between shrub presence (present vs. absent) and fertilization (0 or 1× the recommended N–P–K rate). The results indicated that the presence of C. odorata significantly increased maize height, stem …

Disaster Preparedness, Prevention And Management In Lagos State University Library, Mausi A. Bokoh, Sophia V. Adeyeye Dr, Oluwaseun Adeola Abiodun-Asanre, Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Disasters pose significant threats to human lives, infrastructure, and national socioeconomic development. Effective disaster preparedness, prevention, and management are therefore vital for mitigating their impact and ensuring continuity of operations. This study examined disaster preparedness, prevention, and management practices at Lagos State University Library. A survey research design was adopted, and data were collected through a structured questionnaire covering key aspects of disaster management. Frequency counts, percentages, mean, and standard deviations were used to analyze data.  The findings revealed that the library employs basic preventive strategies such as turning off electricity after work hours and ensuring timely evacuation during emergencies. …

Freedom Of Thought And Speech: Charles C. Burleigh And The Refraction Of Quaker Principles In Abolitionist Non-Violence, Jennifer Rycenga

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Charles C. Burleigh (1810-1878), an important American Abolitionist speaker, agent, and theorist, was also an advocate for non-violent resistance. He had many opportunities across his 30+ years fighting slavery to test his non-violent principles, due to mob violence against Abolitionist gatherings. At some of the most significant of these events, such as the destruction of the Abolitionist's Pennsylvania Hall in 1838, Burleigh witnessed the strength and resolve of African-American and white women in upholding non-violence and moral suasion.

While Burleigh never became a member of the Society of Friends, his life and thought run parallel to ideas and practices of …

Managing Virtual Work: An Integrative Framework For Human Resource Management, Tobias Blay, Fabian Jintae Froese, Sumita Raghuram, Bradford S. Bell, Agnes Bäker

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Virtual work has become a defining feature of contemporary organizations, yet Human Resource Management (HRM) scholarship lacks an integrated understanding of how it should be managed. We address this disconnect by shifting the focus from individual and team experiences to the organizational management of virtual work through HRM. We conceptualize virtual work and organize prior research along four dimensions: spatial, temporal, technological, and employment relationship. Building on this, we develop an integrative framework based on two axes, the degree of virtuality and the nature of the employment relationship, from which four forms of virtual work emerge and between which organizations …

Demand And Capacity Management Of Runway Systems: A Review, Hao Jiang, Weili Zeng, Hainuo Zhou, Yannan Lu, Yuheng Chen, Wenbin Wei

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Runway systems serve as the critical interface between airports and terminal airspace, and their efficient operation is essential for balancing air traffic demand and airport capacity. With the continuous growth of air traffic, intelligent runway demand and capacity management has become increasingly important for mitigating congestion and delays. This paper presents a comprehensive review of runway capacity–demand management from both supply-side and demand-side perspectives. On the supply side, runway configuration selection is reviewed, including runway configuration capacity envelopes, influencing factors, and existing optimization methodologies, such as prescriptive models, descriptive models, and reinforcement learning approaches. On the demand side, flight runway …

Archeota, Spring/Summer 2026, Diane Curtis, Angela Brooks, Gaby Stephenson, Nana Turkson, Siera Milton Beal, Charlene Hardin, Lola Jalbert, Emily Stockton, Ryan Martin

Archeota

Archeota is a platform for SJSU iSchool students to contribute to the archival conversation. It is written BY students, FOR students. It provides substantive content on archival concerns and issues and promotes professional development in the field of archival studies. Archeota upholds the core values of the archival profession. Contents: “It’s Virtual, Baby!!”: Creating a Secure Digital Space for an At-risk Community Archives Online Conference by Diane Curtis, My Experience as a MARA Student at Queer History South 2026 by Ryan Martin, AI and Digital Leadership: Transforming Libraries, Archives and Museums for the Future by Angela Brooks, The Threshold …

Building Bridges: The Reference Interview As A Mechanism For Social Capital In School Libraries, Jessica M. Lilly

Learning Hub

Building Bridges: The Reference Interview as a Mechanism for Social Capital in School Libraries

Abstract

School librarians occupy a unique position within schools, interacting across all stakeholder groups and serving as a conduit between students, teachers, administrators, and the broader learning community. This article examines the reference interview not merely as a transactional information-retrieval tool but as a relational practice through which school librarians generate, sustain, and distribute social capital. Drawing on the foundational theories of Putnam (2000), Coleman (1988), and Bourdieu (1986), and on the reference transaction model grounded in Jesse H. Shera's foundational work (Coleman et al., …

Users’ Searching Preferences In Accessing The E-Library Resources Of The Federal University Of Lafia, Nigeria, Alice Olije Odu, Samuel Otsonu Aboh, Olumide Johnson Akanmidu, Grace Sewuese Ape

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Online information activities in the academic environment keeps getting better and easier thanks to the internet that forms part of regular source of connection between users and other information resources. Access to e- library resources are normally via computers and mobile technologies using local network or the internet connection. This makes searching from e-library resource more appealing to academic library users. However, libraries still experiencing low users’ patronage with the e-resource collection, hence this study is undertaken to ascertain the searching preference by the Students of the Federal University of Lafia to help devise better ways of meeting their information …

Constitutional Inferences On Emerging Technologies: Analyzing Government Overreach, The Fourth Amendment, And Democratic Process In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence, Alan To

McNair Research Journal SJSU

The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)

technologies by federal agencies presents novel constitutional questions that

existing legal doctrine has not yet adequately addressed. This paper

examines the emerging constitutional dimensions of the 2026 conflict

between Anthropic and the Department of Defense (DOD), in which the

Pentagon demanded unrestricted use of Anthropic's AI model Claude for

domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weapons systems, ultimately

designating Anthropic a supply chain risk when the company refused.

Drawing on three salient constitutional frameworks, specifically the Fourth

Amendment doctrine established in Kyllo v. United States (2001) and

Carpenter v. United …

Words Can Hurt: A Review Of Racial Microaggressions And Their Effects On Cortisol Level, Edgar Perez-Lopez

McNair Research Journal SJSU

The study examines the impact of racial microaggressions on cortisol levels,

highlighting inconsistent findings across various research methodologies.

Microaggressions--subtle discriminatory actions--are linked to stress and

can raise cortisol levels, a hormone released in response to stress. Some

studies suggest that frequent microaggressions blunt cortisol response,

making it less available for future stressors, while others reported increased

cortisol levels. The divergence in results may be due to differences in

research designs, such as cross-sectional, interpersonal research, or

nomothetic, versus longitudinal, intrapersonal research, or idiographic

approaches. Combined, the results of each type of research proves chronic

and acute impact of microaggressions. The …

Platonic Affection, Philia, And Trans-Philosophy, Kai Parker

McNair Research Journal SJSU

In this article, I review the heteronormative social conventions of cisgender

men and women's abilities to build and maintain friendships vis-.vis

traditional Western gender roles. It divides the philosophical concept of

Plato’s “platonic love” as fully realized Eros from the basic social

interpretation of “platonic” relationships as connections devoid of sexual or

romantic feelings. Aristotle's definitions of friendship, divided into the three

categories of pleasure, utility, and virtue, are compared to friendships

cisgender men and women form with others of the same orientation. Men's

friendships are found to more often fall into friendships of utility and

pleasure, while women's friendships …

The Relationship Between Gender, Platonic Physical Affection, And Interpersonal Sensitivity, Mariam Malik

McNair Research Journal SJSU

Interpersonal sensitivity (IS), also known as emotional maturity or empathy,

is characterized by recognizing emotions and displaying empathy, which

are important social skills. Understanding the factors that are associated

with interpersonal sensitivity can provide the foundation for research

revolving around improving interpersonal sensitivity, and in turn,

improving social skills. Platonic physical affection (PPA), such as holding

hands and hugging, is a social variable often associated with those close to

one another (e.g., friends and family). However, the exhibition and

receptivity to this social variable may differ across cultures and genders.

This study aimed to see if there is a relationship …

Front Matter, Maria Cruz

McNair Research Journal SJSU

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

McNair Research Journal SJSU

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Sustainability And Durability In Asphalt Pavements: Evaluating The Impact Of Low-Carbon Sulfur Polymer Modifiers And Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement, Mohammad Doroudgar, Shadi Saadeh, Elham Fini

Mineta Transportation Institute

The asphalt industry faces major challenges, including the need for pavements that last longer and are more sustainable, as traditional asphalt production is costly and has a high environmental impact. To address this, researchers have been exploring modified asphalt binders such as rubber, charcoal, and waste cooking oil, which have shown promise in extending the lifespan, resistance to deformation, and durability of asphalt pavements. In addition, governments and industries are investing in the use of recycled and “green” materials to reduce the carbon footprint and environmental degradation of conventional asphalt mixtures. Building on this momentum, this study investigates the performance …

A Framework For Enhancing Utilization Of Library Electronic Resources In Higher Institutions Of Learning, Niyonsaba Innocent, Atuha Peter, Natukunda Elizabeth, Arahe Turahe Glorious

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Electronic resources are now essential for teaching, learning, research and dissemination of knowledge in higher institutions of learning. Although many universities have invested heavily in digital collections, databases, electronic journals, electronic books, institutional repositories, and online reference services, the use of these resources is not as high as expected in many universities, especially in developing countries. Low awareness, lack of information literacy skills, limited technological infrastructure, poor internet connectivity, lack of training, and weak institutional support continue to impede the effective use of electronic resources. This is a review paper that explores the current state of electronic resource utilization …

Recent Changes In Global Ocean N2o Fluxes And Their Relationship To Ocean Climate Variability, Kai Ma, Manfredi Manizza, Yonglin Liu, Dimitris Menemenlis, Hanqin Tian, Kate Zhang, Qinghua Yang, Chuanyu Liu, Yang Feng

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

While the ocean is a critical regulator of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) levels, its specific contribution remains poorly constrained. Here, we implemented an N2O module into the Estimating Circulation and Climate of the Ocean-Darwin (ECCO-Darwin) to investigate global sea-air N2O fluxes, trends and interannual variabilities. From 1992 to 2017, the model yielded a global the oceanic N2O efflux of 2.43 ± 0.43 Tg N yr⁻¹, with a declining trend of −0.021 ± 0.0031 Tg N yr⁻², attributed mainly to a reduction in N2O production induced by strengthened upper-ocean stratification. The Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), Indian Ocean …

Assessment Of The Status Of Open Access Publications In Central Universities Of India: A Review Of Literature, Gulam Jilani, Swapna Banerjee

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Unrestricted access to research outputs and increased exposure and distribution of academic information are two benefits of Open Access (OA) publication, which has emerged as a revolutionary method to scholarly communication. With an emphasis on its economic models, international and Indian publishing trends, institutional activities, regulations, and researcher attitudes, this study explores the literature on open access publishing. The paper examines many OA models, such as gold, green, hybrid, bronze, and diamond access, emphasizing their benefits, drawbacks, and implications for the fair distribution of information. The expansion of open access publication in India and throughout the world is also covered, …

The Shrinking Caspian Sea: Eco-Hydrological Responses To Human And Climate Pressures, Jesse Duku, Mohammad J. Tourian, Marzi Azarderakhsh, Rovshan Abbasov, Ali Mehran, Ali Torabi Haghighi, Stefanos Xenarios, Azara Boschee, Salih Babagiray, Mojtaba Sadegh, Nima Shokri, Ali Nazemi, Alireza Farahmand, Samaneh Ashraf, Temur Khujanazarov, Elmira Hassanzadeh, Dalal Najib, Daniel Placht, Shamshagul Mashtayeva, For Full Author List, See Comments Below

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The Caspian Sea, the Earth's largest inland water body, faces water level decline, drawing comparisons to the collapse of the Aral Sea. Unlike the Aral Sea, the relative roles of climatic variability, hydrological changes, and anthropogenic pressures on the Caspian Sea remain poorly understood. Here, we integrate satellite observations, in situ hydrological records and reanalysis data to examine recent drivers of the Caspian water loss. We show that total river inflow to the Caspian Sea has declined significantly, primarily due to reduced discharge from the Volga River. At the same time, precipitation over the basin has remained broadly stable, while …

Performance Comparison Of Machine Learning Across Metal, Cuda, And Software-Based Neuromorphic Simulation, Ryan Saini, William B. Andreopoulos

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Machine learning’s computational demands necessitate optimal performance and utilization across diverse hardware architectures. This research compares computing as spiking neural networks (CSNNs, or simulated neuromorphic computing) and regular CNNs on Apple Silicon M3 Pro with Metal Performance Shaders (MPS), and NVIDIA RTX 3070 GPU with CUDA. We run Convolutional Spiking Neural Networks (CSNNs) and traditional CNNs on two datasets (frame-based CIFAR-10; and sequential event-based DVS) to evaluate the suitability of neural net architectures and platforms for different data problems. For both CSNNs and traditional CNNs, Apple Silicon with MPS delivers better energy efficiency but longer processing times for training and …

User Interaction, Service Effectiveness And Digital Resource Utilization In Private University Libraries Telangana State: An Empirical Study, Chandra Chary Sreeramoj, Dr. M. Sadik Batcha

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of this study is to observe the operational design, cognizance levels, complications faced and complete fulfillment of users regarding numerical resources in designated private university libraries in the state of Telangana. The study predominantly emphasizes on graduates, postgraduates, research scholars, and faculty members of Malla Reddy University and S.R. University. The study adopted quantitative descriptive design, and data were collected by means of a Google Form survey, resulting in 1796 legal valid responses. The examination included descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests and ANOVA to classify variances across different user groupings. The outcomes reveal that most respondents are mindful of …

Reshaping Academic Libraries As Dynamic Partners And Knowledge Hubs For Research Productivity And Professional Development For Academics, Abdullahi Olayinka Isiaka, Benjamin Adebisi Bamidele, Adelani Rotimi Ibitoye, Abdullahi Adebola Yusuf, Kaliat Oyindamola Abdulwahab, Ajeigbe Emmanuel Afolami, Ifelayo Esher Bamidele

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Academic libraries have long been regarded as repositories of knowledge, but their roles are rapidly evolving to meet the growing demands of research productivity and professional development among academics. This paper explores how libraries are transforming into dynamic partners and knowledge hubs to facilitate access to resources, tools, and services that enhance research output and academic growth among academics. This study adopted a survey design approach. The population of this study is all the 86 academic librarians from the nine university libraries in Kwara State. Total enumeration sampling technique was used and data were collected via questionnaire from the respondents. …

Ultra Fast Calorimeter Simulation With Generative Machine Learning On Fpgas, P. Alex May, Qibin Liu, Julia Gonski, Benjamin Nachman

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Computationally expensive, high-accuracy detector simulations are a major bottleneck for many particle physics experiments such as those at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) as well as those planned for future colliders. This challenge has motivated the development of fast generative machine learning based surrogates. We present a hardware-aware variational autoencoder model for fast calorimeter simulation that is designed specifically for field programmable gate array (FPGA) deployment, offering faster and lower power inference capability. Quantization aware training and other compression techniques are applied to respect the resource constraints of a single FPGA. The synthesized implementation of the VAE decoder achieves sub-millisecond …

Designing Captcha Systems With Reinforcement Learning For Adaptive Defense, Meghana Indukuri, Eman Naseerkhan, Joshua Rose, Martin Tran, Younghee Park

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) systems remain a widely deployed defense against automated abuse, but advances in machine learning have reduced the effectiveness of traditional challenge-based designs and exposed limitations in proprietary risk-scoring systems. This paper presents an adaptive, reinforcement learning-based CAPTCHA defense framework for high-security web applications. The proposed system formulates bot detection as a partially observable Markov decision process and uses a Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) agent with Long Short-Term Memory to analyze streamed behavioral telemetry, including mouse movements, clicks, keystrokes, and scrolling, over sequential interaction windows. During the observation phase, …

Electron And Hole Surface Roughness Scattering-Limited Mobilities In Oxygen-Inserted (Oi) Si Channel, Vikram Magendar, Yi Ann Chen, Albert Lu, Donghun Kang, Daniel Connelly, Marek Hytha, Hideki Takeuchi, Robert Mears, Hiu Yung Wong

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The electron and hole surface roughness scattering (SRS)-limited mobilities, deconvolved from 4.2 K measurements, were compared between oxygen-inserted (OI) and control Si channel for n- and pMOSFETs. It was found that electron SRS-limited mobility in the OI-Si channel is 55% higher, whereas hole SRS-limited mobility is comparable to the control. To elucidate the difference, the Si/Si O2 interface roughness and the nanoscale thickness variation of the gate oxide were analyzed in detail, via high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images, and fed into numerical calculation of the SRS-limited mobility. The power spectral densities (PSDs) based on the Yule–Walker autoregressive model revealed that …

Running Gait Kinematics Are Reproducible At The Beginning And End Of Two Different Intensity, Energy Expenditure Matched Runs, Using Either Discrete Points Or Functional Data Analysis, Sherveen Riazati, Nick Caplan, Philip R. Hayes

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction – The aims of this study were to examine reliability of treadmill running kinematics: i) during two different intensity, energy expenditure matched, runs ii) at two time points within each run iii) using two different methods of statistical analysis. Methods – Twenty healthy club distance runners performed two high intensity interval runs (HIIT) and two medium intensity continuous runs (MICR). Kinematics during ground contact were analysed in all three planes of motion at the ankle, knee, and hip. Maximum angle and range of motion were identified and for Functional Data Analysis (FDA) all of the collected data was utilised. …

Cloud-Based Ai Framework For Ev Charging Forecasting And Infrastructure Optimization, Jerry Gao, Neeraja Abhinav Buch, Thuan Chau, Yumeng Sheng, Rong Wang, Siri Kadalbal

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The growing use of electric vehicles (EVs) has created a strong need for smart, data-driven charging management systems that can support large-scale and sustainable infrastructure. This study introduces a modular cloud-based framework that combines artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide predictive insights for energy demand and station expansion. The system mainly consists of two complementary models. The first is an AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model that forecasts charging energy demand using transactional data from Palo Alto. The second is a Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) model that predicts optimal charging-station locations using spatial data from the U.S. Department …

Evaluation Of Spontaneous Awakening And Breathing Trials Prior To Mechanical Ventilator Extubation To Enhance Intensive Care Unit Liberation, Shelby Taranto

Doctoral Projects

Spontaneous Awakening and Breathing Trials (SAT/SBT) might be central to early extubation by decreasing total ventilator time and reducing the intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS). Unfortunately, these trials often have not been conducted consistently in the ICU. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the frequency of SAT/SBT performed prior to mechanical ventilator extubation on total ventilator time in hours and LOS. Quality improvement aims were: (1) to ascertain if an extubation readiness tool could be easily followed and documented, and (2) to evaluate if an extubation readiness tool would add value in clinical practice. A …

The Necessity Of Human Taphonomy Facilities, Mia Frame

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

This review explores the question of whether human taphonomy facilities (HTFs) are necessary for forensic science research. These facilities are used for multiple facets of research including postmortem interval (PMI) estimation or time since death, entomology, taphonomy, and the study of volatile organic compounds. The use of human analogues like pigs and rabbits will also be addressed to show why taphonomic research on human remains must be done. It is important to look at the physical and logistical limitations of these facilities, as well as ethical limitations including religious beliefs and public perception. This article will conclude by examining future …