Digital Commons Network^™

The Virginia Water Resources Research Center’S Experience With An Audio Show, Alan Raflo

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

This article describes one state water center’s 14-year experience in producing a short, audiobased information product and poses key questions for water centers and institutes considering audio technologies to tell their states’ water stories. From 2010 to 2024, Virginia Water Radio (VWR), produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, sought to use a short audio show to inform Virginia residents about the abundance, complexity, and use of the state’s water resources. Originally designed to be carried by radio stations, VWR evolved into a primarily podcasted show that was accompanied by a blog providing supporting material. The show produced 674 …

Jenifer Michaels. A History., Farrah Freibert

Publications

Jenifer Michaels was a legendary subcultural star within the gay liberation film milieu of 1970s Los Angeles. Taking three paths to approaching and interpreting Michaels’s filmic and archival image, this article is structured by an analysis of Michaels’s documentary appearances, her performance in sex films, and her statements published in a textual interview. Working against what I call historiographic gentrification, the article utilizes archival and micro-historical methods to think through Michaels’s subcultural stardom as a nexus for complicating biography, documentary, and the politics of veracity.

Skills Development In Hydrologic Sciences For Cohorts Of Graduate Students From Morocco, Egypt, Türkiye, And Indonesia, Alan E. Fryar, Adam M. Milewski, Carmen T. Agouridis, Carol D. Hanley, Paul A. Schroeder, Mohamed Sultan, James W. Ward, Nour-Eddie Laftouhi, Nora H. Pandjaitan, Racha El Kadiri, Lahcen Benaabidate, Ahmed Fekri, Agus Suharyanto, Koray K. Yilmaz

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

In developing countries in Africa and Asia, meeting challenges of water scarcity and pollution has often been hampered by shortcomings in higher education, including insufficient research productivity and funding, lack of opportunity for university graduates, and a mismatch between university activities and societal needs. To address these issues, we developed novel programs integrating technical instruction and preparation for professional practice in hydrology for cohorts of graduate students from Morocco and Egypt (2012–2013) and from Türkiye and Indonesia (2013–2014). Students participated in an initial online course and a follow-up workshop featuring geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and hydrologic modeling with …

Aligning Audience Needs With Scientists’ Information In The Complex Harmful Algal Bloom Outreach To Engagement Continuum, Erica Clites, Heather Triezenberg, Diane Doberneck

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

Algae, an important foundation of aquatic ecosystems, can become a nuisance or harmful when it grows in excess. Many government agencies have a role in monitoring, responding to, and confirming a harmful algal bloom (HAB). HAB scientists have important information to share, however, given the complexities of HABs, which often involve decoupled drivers from observed impacts, presents challenges to outreach and engagement. Understanding key audience information needs can help scientists prioritize key science communication and engagement opportunities to maximize the impact of such efforts. Scientists may need additional science communication training or support for scientist-community partnerships. This will be evermore …

Networked To Work?: An Analysis Of A Community College Workforce Development Program, Cynthia Finley, Kim E. Bullington, Mitchell Williams, David Ayers

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Barriers to education and training can have a generational impact on socioeconomic status and economic development. Post-traditional students have been shown to experience a variety of barriers to education and family sustaining employment. Social capital has been shown to help alleviate some of the barriers for students resulting in stronger economic outcomes, such job retention, and higher wages.

The purpose of this case study was to determine if the Network2Work model at Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) can affect outcomes for students from low socio-economic backgrounds by comparing Network2Work outcomes to non-Network2Work noncredit industry training outcomes. The research compared outcome …

Gestating And Co-Becoming With Ettingerian Maxtrixial Pedagogy, Barbara Bickel

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

This article seeks to infuse and enrich the spheres of Arts and Education through a nascent introduction of Ettingerian Matrixial Pedagogy. To articulate this, I weave together the practices of Gestare Art Collective, which we describe as “matrixial infused education,” the “placental thinking” of Nané Jordan with my own thinking, art making and teaching. This article unfolds through interlacing theory and reflections on teachings found within art practices of Ma Poses, Womb Walking, Nap-Ins, and Spontaneous Creation-Making, along with examples of pedagogical artworkings: Metramorphosis and Muted Colours of Grief. The article closes with a poetic métissage inquiry that became—a Matrixial …

Artificial Intelligence, Machines, Devices, And Robots: Mobilizing Humanness And Intelligence In The American Techno-Landscape, Carlos A. Batres

Dissertations

This dissertation is an ethnographic inquiry of artificial intelligence (AI) in the techno-landscape of three major metropolitan areas in the United States. It traces the ways in which both experts and non-experts talk about their interactions with AI via machines, robots, and other devices, and how the ways in which people deal with AI-technologies have come to shape how we think about our own ways of going about doing things. The goal is to discern what the social ramifications of this technology may be as relationships and relations are formed betwixt and between people and artificially intelligent things.

Decision-Making As Communicated Narrative Sense-Making: Resilient Experiences Of Mormon Adoptive Parents, Blake Harms

Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research

Adopting a child is a consequential decision with many effects on the wellbeing of individuals and families which is no less true within Mormon contexts. As such, scholarship within decision-making around adoption continues to focus on empirical, rational and other modernist frameworks to account for these vital decisions. In order to more fully account for a wholistic framework of how these decisions are made, this study proposes an narrative approach to decision-making to uncover the lived decision-making experience of Mormon adoptive parents holistically. Mormon adoptive parents were interviewed to understand their decision-making experience as process of communicated narrative sense-making (Koneig-Kellas, …

Co-Ethnic Voting And The Analysis Of Trust Levels In Nigeria, Ayorinde Olanrewaju

Research Papers

Hale's (2008) relational theory posits that when less politically relevant ethnic groups experience marginalization and exploitation from the dominant ethnic groups, it creates an orientation in which these groups trust only their co-ethnics in distributing patronage and public goods. To what extent do variations in institutional trust among ethnic groups influence co-ethnic voting behavior? I argue that levels of trust in the president can be understood as one of the conditions under which voters use ethnic identity to decide their vote choice. When trust in a co-ethnic candidate is high, members of an ethnic group will prefer to vote along …

Utopian Genderscapes, Michelle C. Smith

Rhetoric

No abstract provided.

Renewable Energy In Illinois: The Agrivoltaics Contribution, Quin E. Karhoff, A. Bryan Enders, Jessica L. Guarino, Tyler J. Swanson

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

Siting of renewable energy production facilities on agricultural land often engenders conflict at the community level. The desire to preserve productive farmland and protect aesthetic connections to the rural landscape can be a significant impediment to renewable energy development. With respect to solar energy production, agrivoltaics— the colocation of solar power structures and agriculture—is a potential alternative to traditional binary approaches of characterizing land use. As a novel technological and land use strategy, a better understanding of the agrivoltaic policy environment is necessary to actualize implications for rural communities and progress toward renewable energy goals. Illinois, with its abundance in …

Referrals To National Constitutional Courts: A Preliminary Examination, Benjamin Bricker

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

Many judicial systems utilize a process, often known as a referral process, in which one court has the ability to call upon another court, particularly a superior court, for definitive interpretations of law. This referral process is perhaps most widely known from its use in the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which has long thrived on receiving referrals (known as preliminary references) from national courts within the European Union. Yet, the ECJ’s preliminary reference process is itself derived from the constitutional referral processes previously adopted in several national judiciaries of the EU member states, notably Germany and Italy. This Article …

Fifty Years Of Open Source Movement: An Analysis Through The Prism Of Copyright Law, V. K. Unni

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

The open source software development model, which concerns the manner in which software technology is held, developed, and distributed, is an important phase in the evolution of the software industry. Open source software has powered the infrastructure of the Internet, and programs like Linux, Apache, and BIND, which use open source software, are often used as tools to run various Internet and business applications. Under the open source model, users are given access to software’s source code, and all components of the software are made available to the market by use of a very liberal license with few restrictions. This …

Determinants Of Water Source Choice For Irrigation In The Arkansas Delta, Kent Kovacs, Christopher Henry, Qiuqiong Huang, Larry Jason Krutz

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

The use and the share of water applied from several irrigation water sources correlate with the irrigation practices in use by the peers of Arkansan farmers. From a sample of producers from an irrigation survey in Arkansas, a bivariate sample selection model accounts for how peer use of numerous irrigation practices affects the use and the share of irrigation that comes from a water source. The bivariate sample selection model controls for the bias in the statistical estimates that occur because producers who volunteer for an irrigation survey are likely to know about and use irrigation more than the population. …

Feasibility Of Wastewater-Based Public Health Monitoring Systems In Texas’ Small Rural Communities, Itza Mendoza-Sanchez, Davida S. Smyth, Monica O. Mendez, Trish Pearl, Hanadi Rifai, Nathan Howell, Erick Butler

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

In recent years, there has been much focus on the use of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) in urban centers, particularly for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring. However, less is known about the application of WBE in rural settings or in areas of limited resources. Most WBE programs in low-resource communities have occurred outside the United States. To reap the benefits, WBE would need to be tailored to better reflect the socioeconomic challenges, technical barriers, communication limitations, and variable wastewater infrastructures associated with rural communities. The objective of this review is to evaluate the potential opportunities and challenges of deploying the current SARS-CoV-2 monitoring methodologies …

Improving Critical Digital Pedagogy In The Virtual Classroom, Timothy J. Ros

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

This comprehensive review delves into the essence and pivotal role of critical digital pedagogy within the sphere of eLearning, highlighting its indispensable contribution to modern educational frameworks. Central to our discussion is the examination of the nuanced relationship between digital literacy and the dynamic interaction of individual capabilities and societal forces in leveraging technology for educational enhancement. We scrutinize the challenges and strategies pertinent to educators in integrating digital tools and pedagogies to foster a rich, engaging learning environment that transcends traditional boundaries and caters to diverse learner needs. The exploration extends to the theoretical underpinnings of critical pedagogy, transactional …

The Influence Of Woody Cover And An Exploration Of Raptor Density On Northern Bobwhite Survival In Southern Illinois, Blake Baum

Theses

Northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) are a culturally and economically significant game bird characteristic of grassland landscapes throughout their range. Despite the variety of research conducted on this species for nearly a century, populations continue to steadily decline, raising concern for future populations and highlighting the need for region-specific research. My research was conducted at Burning Star State Fish and Wildlife Area in northeastern Jackson County, Illinois from 2020-2022. My research addressed the following two objectives to provide insight on the population ecology of bobwhites at this site: (1) investigate the impact of multiple woody cover types within the home ranges …

Fiscal Expenditure In The Selected Countries Of Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, And Saudi Arabia In Response To The Arab Spring : A Structural Break Approach, Kyle Ralev

Research Papers

I use the Zivot Andrews Test and Chow Test to determine if the Arab Spring had any effect on the fiscal expenditure of the selected countries of Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The findings suggest that the Arab Spring played a pivotal role in increasing the fiscal expenditure of Tunisia and a partial role in Saudi Arabia. Egypt and Jordan experienced protests but did not experience fiscal reinvigoration of the public sectors or services. The findings bring to light the political and fiscal dynamics and limitations of the Arab Spring.

Educator Perspectives On The Effectiveness Of Attendance Centers, Marilynn Ross

Ed.D. Capstone Reports

Little research exists regarding grade span configuration and academic achievement in the state of Illinois. With the continued pressure of accountability, schools find themselves under pressure to positively impact student academic achievement. This study describes the strategies and approaches used in elementary schools in the state of Illinois that have been designated by the state as either commendable or exemplary. The two research questions that guide this study are: (a) What effect will different grade span configurations have on the IAR of students receiving instruction at attendance centers in the content area of math? (b) What effect will different grade …

Teddy Roosevelt And The Panama Canal, Paul Mills

Legacy

No abstract provided.

A Socio-Hydrological Assessment Of Illinois Levee Systems, Nicholas Keller

Theses

Recent inspections conducted on levee safety in the U.S. that participate in the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Levee Safety Program under Public-Law 84-99 have shown that the overwhelming majority (>95%) of these levees have at least some deficiency associated with them, and many being identified as having an unacceptable safety rating (≈30%). In the U.S., many levees were constructed using funding from the federal government, but the responsibility of operation and maintenance of the levees were turned over to local government bodies. Given the local funding of levee maintenance, the socioeconomic characteristics of these levee-protected communities …

Edward C. Hegeler And The Open Court Publishing Company, John Haller Jr.

Edward C. Hegeler and the Open Court Publishing Company

No abstract provided.

Where Is Illinois Now And Where Is It Going?, Rob Paral

The Simon Review (Occasional Papers of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute)

Granted statehood in 1818, Illinois is slightly over two centuries old. During that time, in approximately fifty-year segments, our state has embodied trends that defined our nation. The early 1880s brought westward expansion by European migrants and the taking of natives’ land. The second half of that century saw a population explosion and rapid urbanization. In the first part of the twentieth century, Illinois industrialization was essential to helping our nation win two world wars and establishing the United States as the pre-eminent world power.

Most recently, a new half-century period can be identified. One of profound social and economic …

The Aesthetics Of News: Narrative Construction And Media Illiteracy In Contemporary India, Shashidhar Nanjundaiah

Dissertations

Amidst the public’s declining trust in news, media prosumers—that is, media consumers who have also become producers of mediated texts—are not equipped with any credible alternative mechanism to better understand the world around them. Prior academic studies of news and its delivery have not adequately explored the ideological framework we need to confront this frightening situation. This dissertation does so. I problematize the narration of news as an aesthetic process. Such mass-mediated narration stitches together our world in ideological ways. A tidal flow of stories highlights and obscures selected truths in a frenzy of “new” news cycles, the frequency of …

Developing A Simple Strategy For Roadside Spring Water Disinfection In Central Appalachia, Hannah Patton, Leigh-Anne Krometis, Ben B. Faulkner, Alasdair Cohen, Erin Ling, Emily Sarver

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

Several studies have highlighted issues of unreliable access to safe drinking water in the Appalachian region. In some cases, residents turn to roadside springs as a practical, and culturally valuable, drinking water source. However, public reliance on roadside springs for potable use can present concerns, as bacterial contamination of spring water has been documented throughout Appalachia. This study aimed to 1) develop a simple, low-cost protocol using household bleach to inactivate total coliform and E. coli in untreated roadside spring water; 2) provide educational materials at local roadside springs to inform users of this simple treatment strategy; and 3) assess …

Sea Grant Center For Great Lakes Literacy Shipboard Science Workshop Evaluation, Jennifer Hunnell, Heather A. Triezenberg, Brandon C. Schroeder, Meaghan J. Gass

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

Youth have an important role in current and future Great Lakes stewardship. Educating youth and empowering them to be Great Lakes stewards requires educators to be knowledgeable and confident, and therefore more likely to engage in teaching Great Lakes literacy activities in their classroom, thus contributing to a Great Lakes-literate public. The Shipboard Science Workshop (SSW) for educators is a vessel-based professional learning opportunity aboard the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's research vessel (R/V) Lake Guardian . During the week-long SSW, educators learn from professional scientists, Sea Grant staff, and each other about Great Lakes research through the lenses of place-based …

Acting Locally: Vegetable Gardening In Southern Illinois, Aimee L. Trojnar

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the everyday practice of home and community vegetable gardening in a small southern Illinois city. The project engages with questions of how diverse elements of practice interact over time in the development of both gardens and gardeners, dwelling particularly on how the material agency of nonhumans contributes to what emerges. Combining a broad investigation of societal influences and constraints involved in gardening practices with a granular focus on material interactions in the garden, I consider the kinds of relationships individuals forge with the nonhuman environment in a modern, Western context and how they do so. Understanding such …

2022-2023 Annual Report, Southern Illinois University Board Of Trustees

Annual Report Archive

No abstract provided.

Threading Memory: Performing Animacy In Text, Memorial, And Travel, Alex Keith Davenport

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the process of creating and touring a community-sourced memorial quilt for the anti-mountaintop removal activist Julia “Judy” Bonds, who died in 2011. As a practice, the project positions memorialization as a possible framework for social movements to utilize when faced with loss that allows for actions that honor members of the movement while still engaging in consciousness raising and organizing efforts. From a theoretical standpoint, the practice of memorialization—especially when it is intentionally designed to align with the practices/legacy of the person(s) being remembered—is also considered through an object oriented ontology perspective, providing insight into the affective …

Decoding The Public Service Announcements (Psas) Of Hiv/Aids: Evaluating Botswana's Aids Messages And Their Impact On 15 - 24 Ages, Enole Ditsheko

Dissertations

The study is grounded in the concept of “Start where the people are” (Nyswander, 1956) which suggests that effective health campaigns that promote prevention strategies to enhance the quality of life for those targeted must be rooted in the prevalent cultural practices and religious values of the receivers of the slogans, themes, and taglines. Health campaigns that superimpose the values of the outsiders promoted as universalized solutions have limited effectiveness.

Sub-Saharan Africa has only 1.3 billion people out of an estimated eight billion of which China and India each recording above two billion, cumulatively accounting for more than half of …