Digital Commons Network^™

Acquisitions Unit Annual Report 2024-2025, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Annual Report of the Acquisitions Unit, University Libraries, University of Rhode Island for FY2025. Covers personnel, work flow, special projects, and serial, monograph, and e-resource acquisitions. Supplemental files include data on library materials expenditures by a number of variables as well as important working documents from the year.

Alma Link Resolver Subject Report 2024-2025, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics for 2024-2025 on the number of OpenURL requests by Library of Congress classification code made to the Ex Libris Alma link resolver for items held by the University of Rhode Island Libraries.

Information provided includes Classification Code, Classifications, Number of Requests, Number of Clicked Requests, and % Clicks from Requests.

Alma Link Resolver Title & Issn Report (Top 500) 2024-2025, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics for 2024-2025 on the total number of OpenURL requests by journal title and ISSN made to the Ex Libris Alma link resolver for items held by the University of Rhode Island Libraries. Includes only the top 500 journals.

Information provided includes journal Title, ISSN, EISSN, Number of Requests, Number of Clicked Requests, % Clicks from Requests.

The Equal Rights Amendment: The 28th Amendment To The U.S. Constitution, Twiss Butler, Patrick Butler

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article reviews how Supreme Court interpretations of the 14^th Amendment have allowed laws to discriminate against women. It aims to show that the Equal Rights Amendment, ratified as the 28^th Amendment in 2020, offers a constitutional basis for eliminating all forms of legal sex discrimination against women. These forms include discrimination based on pregnancy and abortion, commodifying women’s bodies, and allowing men to intrude into women’s protected spaces. The review starts with the denial of protection for women by America’s Declaration of Independence in 1776, denounces the Supreme Court’s precedent-setting 1974 Geduldig decision, which ruled—quite illogically—that discrimination …

Faculty Senate Meeting Agenda May 1, 2025, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Meeting Agendas

No abstract provided.

3d Printing Protein-Rrna Mutations In The Ribosome, Abigail Wilson

Senior Honors Projects

Sometimes conveying research can be difficult through two-dimension models. In my project, I aimed to highlight the significance of three-dimensional visualization in science, thereby enhancing the understanding of complex biomedical concepts. Through my work in Dr. Steven Gregory’s lab, I have been studying the ribosome – the macromolecular machine that utilizes messenger RNA and transfer RNA to link together amino acids thereby synthesizing proteins. Proteins are critical for most processes that occur within every cell. I specifically focus on the interactions between ribosomal proteins and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) at the peptidyl transferase center – the active site where amino acids …

Firefighters' Perceived Effectiveness Of Peer Support For Job-Related Stressors, Camryn M. Travis

Senior Honors Projects

Firefighters experience immense job-related stress. Firefighters can respond to hundreds of traumatic calls or critical incidents throughout their careers. Witnessing a critical incident can be highly stressful and mentally taxing. Therefore, some fire departments offer mental health resources such as Critical Incident Stress Management/Debriefing (CISM/D) and Peer-group support to help firefighters cope with stressful incidents. Additionally, firefighters may seek professional mental health treatment. To investigate firefighters’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of these resources, an anonymous survey of Rhode Island firefighters was conducted. The sample included 51 firefighters (n = 51), was mostly male (90.2%), and self-identified as predominantly white (94.1%) …

Human Evolution: A Musical Portrait, Chloe S. Roper

Senior Honors Projects

The story of human evolution has been an elaborate progression entrenched in metamorphic processes and associated trial and error to create the species we are today. While these milestones are primarily explored through an academic lens, intellectual ideas are less often conveyed through a creative or abstract approach, such as through music or other art forms. Similarly, while music is often employed to evoke emotion, inspire reflection, or symbolize experiences, it is underutilized in conveying intellectual ideas. This project explores the juxtaposition of benchmark concepts of what makes our species distinctly human with instrumental musical expression in order to design …

Repair Through Recycling, Emma Murdock, Karl Aspelund

Senior Honors Projects

Repair Through Recycling is an instructional website I developed to encourage people to mend their garments rather than throw them away.I see this as a way to help address the growing issue of textile waste, where millions of garments are discarded each year. Many of these are made from synthetic materials that do not break down, contributing significantly to environmental pollution. This project features step-by-step instructional videos I created to teach the basics of mending, skills that are no longer commonly taught. These tutorials cover foundational techniques such as threading a needle and hand-stitching torn seams. The website also includes …

Assessing Use Of Suicide Prevention And Awareness Training In Rhode Island Public Secondary Schools, Marisa A. Waycuilis

Senior Honors Projects

Suicide has become the second leading cause of death in adolescents in the United States (CDC, 2023). To prevent suicide among school-aged children, the state of Rhode Island enacted the Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act (2021-H5353, 2021-S003) in July of 2021. The legislation requires teachers, students (Grade 6 through 12), and hired school personnel to be annually trained in suicide awareness and prevention. In addition, each public school district must adopt a policy addressing produces relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. This project aimed to evaluate the level of compliance with the Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act …

Nutrition And Cardiovascular Disease, Sarah Gover, Sarah Gover

Senior Honors Projects

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death globally, with poor dietary habits among its most significant risk factors. While past research has focused on individual nutrients, there is a growing interest in how overall dietary patterns contribute to CVD risk and prevention. This project explores six dietary patterns: vegan, vegetarian, ketogenic, low-fat, intermittent fasting, and Mediterranean. Each diet’s impact on cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, lipid profiles, and inflammation is evaluated, along with their benefits, limitations, and long-term sustainability. Through this investigation, I found that diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy …

Cognitive Diagnosis Of Media And Digital Literacy Knowledge Schema In Mexican High School Students, Janneth Trejo-Quintana, Guadalupe E. Morales-Martinez, Betsabe Hernandez-Alvarez

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This research explored the mental representation of media and digital literacy (MDL) in 242 Mexican high school students through a definitional task based on the natural semantic networks technique. The participants defined ten target concepts related to MDL, using verbs, nouns, and adjectives as definers, and then they rated each definer with a scale from 1 to 10. The smaller the number, the lower the quality of the definer to conceptualize the target, while the higher the rating, the higher the quality of the definer to define it. The participants showed a beginner level in MDL despite their daily navigation …

From Theory To Practice: A True-Crime Podcast, Lauren V. Peckham

Senior Honors Projects

The Criminal Element is an innovative, victim-centered podcast that bridges the gap between criminological theory and real-world criminal cases. The podcast is designed as an educational resource for undergraduate Criminology and Criminal Justice students, alongside general audience members interested in learning more about criminological theory. Through the lens of true crime, this podcast is an engaging exploration of foundational and advanced theories while avoiding sensationalism and exploitation, a prevalent problem among true crime media. Each episode connects criminological theoretical concepts – such as strain, social learning, and social disorganization – to contemporary and historical cases, providing listeners with accessible and …

The Illusion Of Brain Health Across A Plastic Canvas, Thomas J. Kelly Jr, Lauren Gaspar, Jaime Ross Phd, Guiseppe Coppotelli Phd

Senior Honors Projects

In recent years, there has been increasing concern for the role that plastic waste, and more specifically micro- and nanoplastics, play in our environment and their potential health risks. Microplastics are particles less than 5 mm in size and nanoplastics are considered to be less than 1000 nm in size. Microplastics can either purposely be produced or can sludge off larger pieces of plastic. Microplastics have not only been detected within soil, air, and water, but have also recently been found to accumulate within the human body. The mosaic artwork that is presented in this project, entitled “Our Cerebral Plastic …

Coastal Community Perspectives On Marine Resource Conservation And Access In Rote Island, Indonesia, Nara Wisesa

Oral Presentations

Indonesia’s coastal and marine environment supports high marine biodiversity, with conservation efforts aimed at sustainable management. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), such as the Savu Sea MPA, play a key role in these efforts. Rote Island, located on the eastern side of this MPA, has coastal communities heavily reliant on marine resources, primarily fishing and seaweed farming. While conservation measures impact local resource access, there is limited research on their socio-cultural dimensions, particularly from the perspective of local stakeholders. Although conservation should prioritize local communities, studies indicate minimal involvement in planning and implementation. This study examines how marine conservation affects Rote’s …

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes March 6, 2025, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Feminists For Sex-Based Rights: Trump Or Harris In The 2024 Election?, Kara Dansky

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Some US feminists who support sex-based rights for women and girls voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential election; others voted for Kamala Harris. For an American feminist to vote for a female Democrat for president is not surprising. Still, because the Democrats embraced “gender identity” at the expense of women and girls as a sex class, some feminists chose to vote for Donald Trump. This article explores some reasons for voting one way or the other (or not at all).

09. Recursion Method, Gerhard Müller

Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics (2025)

Part nine of course materials for Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics (Physics 626), taught by Gerhard Müller at the University of Rhode Island. The available PDF includes both the lecture notes, additional materials, and exercises without solutions.

06. Brownian Motion I, Gerhard Müller

Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics (2025)

Part six of course materials for Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics (Physics 626), taught by Gerhard Müller at the University of Rhode Island. The available PDF includes both the lecture notes, additional materials, and exercises without solutions.

Struggles Around Transgenderism In Hungarian Feminism: An Autoethnographic Account, Dalma Feró

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In this autoethnography, I am using my personal experiences as data to examine the inextricable personal, political, social, and cultural aspects of one of the most decisive ruptures in Hungarian “progressive” activism of the second half of the 2010s. In the mid-2010s, I was part of an informal collective of women that started to outline a feminist approach critical of mainstream individualistic renditions of women’s rights as social progress, thereby diverging fundamentally from the country’s institutionalised feminism. As I and the circle of women I worked with focused on women’s reproductive autonomy, we encountered central feminist questions about sex and …

A Reconstruction Of Gender: Implications Of Social Construct And Gender Structure Theories, Bethany Rozario Steinhagen

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The relationship between gender and social construction has long been discussed in feminist and gender studies scholarship. However, the current discussion on gender has run up against a blockage of misapplication of social construct theory. To untangle this blockage, my analysis applies the philosophy of social construction as explained by Ian Hacking in his 1999 book The Social Construction of What? and the framework of gender as a social structure as put forth by feminist sociologist Barbara Risman since the early 2000s. I apply these frameworks to elucidate better the logical implications that follow from a social construct thesis about …

Response To A Political Critique And Personal Attack Against A United Nations Report That Presented New Evidence About Prostitution As A Cause And Consequence Of Violence Against Women And Girls, Reem Alsalem

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls, Its Causes and Consequences, responses to the false and unfounded accusations and personal attacks on her Report on Prostitution and Violence Against Women presented before the 56^th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, 2024. I presented new evidence regarding the relationship between violence against women and girls and prostitution. Using human rights law, the Report described how prostitution is a system of abuse, exploitation, and violence against women and girls. The Report’s goal was to clarify concepts and terminology, …

Respuesta A Una Crítica Política Y A Un Ataque Personal Contra Un Informe De Las Naciones Unidas Que Presenta Nueva Evidencia Sobre La Prostitución Como Causa Y Consecuencia De La Violencia Contra Las Mujeres Y Las Niñas, Reem Alsalem

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Reem Alsalem, Relatora Especial de las Naciones Unidas sobre la violencia contra las mujeres y las niñas, sus causas y consecuencias, responde a las acusaciones falsas y infundadas y a los ataques personales sobre su informe sobre Prostitución y Violencia contra la Mujer, presentado ante la 56ª sesión del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas en Ginebra, 2024. Presenté nueva evidencia sobre la relación entre la violencia contra las mujeres y las niñas y la prostitución. Utilizando el derecho de los derechos humanos, el informe describe la prostitución como un sistema de abuso, explotación y violencia contra las …

Alma Link Resolver Subject Report 2023-2024, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics for 2023-2024 on the number of OpenURL requests by Library of Congress classification code made to the Ex Libris Alma link resolver for items held by the University of Rhode Island Libraries.

Information provided includes Classification Code, Classifications, Number of Requests, Number of Clicked Requests, and % Clicks from Requests.

Alma Link Resolver Title & Issn Report (Top 500) 2023-2024, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics for 2023-2024 on the total number of OpenURL requests by journal title and ISSN made to the Ex Libris Alma link resolver for items held by the University of Rhode Island Libraries. Includes only the top 500 journals.

Information provided includes journal Title, ISSN, EISSN, Number of Requests, Number of Clicked Requests, % Clicks from Requests.

Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Tr_J1 Report Fy2024 - Journal Requests (Excluding Oa_Gold) By Title, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Project COUNTER R5 Report TR_J1 for the University of Rhode Island for the period from July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024. The TR_J1 report is defined as "Journal Requests (Excluding OA_Gold)." This report presents an annual total only and only includes those platforms successfully configured for automated harvesting via SUSHI.

File for download is Excel spreadsheet generated by Alma Analytics.

Results:

Total Item Requests - 805,131

Unique Item Requests - 602,267

Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Dr_D1 Report Fy2024 - Database Search And Item Usage, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Project COUNTER R5 Report DR_D1 for the University of Rhode Island for the period from July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024. The DR_D1 report is defined as "Database Search and Item Usage." This report presents an annual total only and only includes those platforms successfully configured for automated harvesting via SUSHI.

File for download is Excel spreadsheet generated by Alma Analytics.

Results:

Searches Automated - 30,626

Searches Federated - 918

Searches Regular - 1,049,169

Total Item Investigations - 554,019

Total Item Requests - 235,329

Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Tr_B1 Report Fy2024 - Book Requests (Excluding Oa_Gold) By Title, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Project COUNTER R5 Report TR_B1 for the University of Rhode Island for the period from July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024. The TR_B1 report is defined as "Book Requests (Excluding OA_Gold)." This report presents an annual total only and only includes those platforms successfully configured for automated harvesting via SUSHI.

File for download is Excel spreadsheet generated by Alma Analytics.

Results:

Total Item Requests - 130,532

Unique Title Requests - 54,592

Sylvan Rhetoric In The Planes Of Plato’S Phaedrus, Madison Jones

Professional and Public Writing Faculty Publications

Over the past few decades, Plato’s Phaedrus has become an important text for scholars interested in tracing new materialist approaches to the history of rhetoric and writing. Drawing on rhetoric and plant studies scholarship, this essay contributes to this conversation by arguing that trees disclose an important layer of irony in the dialogue, producing a deep, if not ambivalent, unity that brings together rhetoric, writing, and discourse. Through a study of trees in the dialogue, this essay demonstrates how the Phaedrus offers rich connections between spatial, nonhuman, and ecological dimensions of writing, rhetoric, and discourse.

Spatial And Temporal Trends Of Dissolved Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers And Non-Bde Flame Retardants In The Aquatic Environment Across Countries, Lian-Jun Bao, Branislav Vrana, Rainer Lohmann, Jaromír Sobotka, Foppe Smedes, Derek Muir, Ian J. Allan, Peleg Astrahan, Terry Bidleman, Denis Crowley, Evgen Dykyi, Nicolas Estoppey, Gilberto Fillmann, Liisa Jantunen, Sarit Kaserzon, Keith A. Maruya, Brendan Mchugh, Brent Newman, Raimon M. Prats, Manolis Tsapakis, Rebecca Sutton, Mats Tysklind, Barend L. Van Drooge, Charles S. Wong, Eddy Y. Zeng

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Measuring dissolved concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and non-BDE flame retardants on a global scale provides critical insights into the effectiveness of the Stockholm Convention. In the present study, we deployed passive sampling devices at 43 seawater and freshwater sites covering 21 countries from 2016 to 2020. The detection frequencies were 20–94% for BDE congeners and 33–42% for dechlorane plus, higher than those (0–20%) for other target compounds. The median concentrations of dissolved Σ₉PBDE (sum of BDE-28, -47, -66, -85, -99, -100, -153, -154, and -183) were 0.28 and 0.64 pg L^–1 in seawater and freshwater, …