Digital Commons Network^™

Developing Low-Cost Gnss Remote Sensing Hardware To Measure Precipitable Water Vapor For Flash Flood Nowcasting In Southern Appalachia, Austin Gleydura

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

Flash flood prediction in Southern Appalachia is particularly challenging due to steep terrain, narrow valleys, highly localized rainfall patterns, and limited measurement coverage. Traditional remote sensing methods, such as Doppler radar and microwave radiometry, suffer from reduced resolution at extended range and signal blockage by mountains, while satellite instruments like MODIS lack sufficient spatio-temporal resolution for sub-kilometer measurements critical to flash flood nowcasting. GNSS-Meteorology offers an established alternative for measuring precipitable water vapor (PWV) and is currently integrated into several numerical weather models. Recent research demonstrates that GNSS-derived PWV products can be used to accurately predict rainfall intensity and timing …

Impact Of Acute Flight Training Stress On Cardiovascular Health, Toni Butler, Noah Robbins, Sophia Vaden, Bryan Hinton

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

Student pilots face a unique set of stressors that are a part of their flight training. These acute stressors can have immediate and long-term impacts on their physiological and psychological well-being. Using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure vascular endothelial function (a marker of cardiovascular health), this investigation will help us understand how the stressors involved in acute flight training affects the cardiovascular health of student pilots. We will test the hypothesis that acute flight training stress obtained from a single bout of flight training reduces cardiovascular function as shown by a reduced post-occlusive reactive hyperemic (PORH) response. Cardiovascular health will …

Mitigating Uas Airspace Risks Through Policy Innovation, Christopher Daniel Sidor

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, have become an everyday part of our lives. Once a technology reserved for the defense industry, UAS are now widely available and affordable in the commercial market. These systems have been used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, route mapping, and kinetic deployment of munitions. In modern warfare, drones have been at the forefront, leveraging new tactics, techniques, and procedures to enhance lethality and destruction. The integration of fiber-optic (FO) connected drones, first-person view (FPV) technology, and 3D printed munition-dropping devices in particular demonstrates a dire need for legislative intervention. These …

The Wildlife Intelligence For Aviation Safety (Wild-Ai), Bao Khoa Tran

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

Wildlife strikes pose a significant safety risk and economic burden to the aviation industry. Over 291,000 strikes have been reported in the U.S. since 1990, causing an estimated $248 million in annual losses. The Wild-AI (Wildlife Intelligence for Aviation Safety) project leverages cutting-edge technologies, including large language models (LLMs), machine learning (ML), explainable AI (XAI), and Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) imagery, to enhance wildlife hazard management at airports. Wild-AI transforms traditional Wildlife Hazard Assessments (WHAs) by integrating advanced data analytics and UAV monitoring. By utilizing historical wildlife-strike data and ML algorithms, we will identify key predictors of damaging strikes, such …

Creating A Culture Of Mattering In Academic Nursing: Curated Strategies From Faculty Exemplars, Natalie B. May, Julie Haizlip, Katy Marie Hall, Karen Marcdante

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Health professions students have higher rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout than their peers.^1-3 Prior research with undergraduates demonstrates that a sense of mattering is fundamental to student health and psychological well-being, and contributes to academic engagement and resilience.^4,5 Nursing organizations, as well as the US Surgeon General, are recognizing the value of this concept in the workplace.⁶ While research indicates that simple interventions can improve students’ sense of mattering,⁷ there is no literature identifying how students in academic healthcare communities experience mattering.

Mattering, the perception that one is significant to others, is essential for human …

Hospice Ownership & Quality Metrics (Analytics & Policy Link), Craig Rijkaard

Doctoral Student Association Conference

The landscape of hospice ownership has undergone a dramatic shift over the past two decades (2005-2014 and 2015-2025). Historically, hospice has been chiefly profitable as an industry comprising not-for-profit agencies. From 2015-2016, private equity entities have increasingly impacted for-profit ownership, which now owns approximately 12% of hospice agencies. This trend has raised concerns that private equity entities' emphasis on short-term profitability may reduce the quality of hospice care and services, potentially affecting end-of-life care.  The aim of the research is to examine how hospice ownership status, patients’ primary hospice diagnosis, and the setting of hospice care predict three measures of …

Ai In Government Accounting & Fraud Detection, Amy Hernandez Paz

Doctoral Student Association Conference

The United States is seeing an alarming rise in financial fraud and suspicious activity trends within its government entities (Bruce et al., 2024). According to the Accountability Office (2024) the federal government estimates the annual financial loss has increased from $233 billion to $521 billion, based on data from fiscal years 2018 through 2022. Advancements in technology are not strictly limited to government financial solutions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (2024) found a rise in generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) exploitation among criminals to facilitate financial schemes such as fraud and extortion. The literature review aims to investigate the gap in …

Secondary Trauma & Trauma-Informed Leadership, Angelic Dean

Doctoral Student Association Conference

Research on secondary trauma among K–12 educators has grown substantially, yet its translation into leadership practice remains limited. This presentation examines how doctoral research on secondary trauma can move beyond academic literature to inform sustainable, trauma-informed leadership within school organizations.

Drawing on findings from a doctoral dissertation focused on secondary trauma in urban K–12 educational settings, this session explores how prolonged exposure to student trauma affects educators’ emotional capacity, instructional effectiveness, leadership decision-making, and organizational culture. While the literature consistently documents the prevalence and consequences of secondary trauma, schools often rely on individual-level coping strategies rather than systemic leadership responses. …

Ai And Qualitative Data Analysis, Cecily Jackson

Doctoral Student Association Conference

While completing my dissertation, I had the opportunity to use AI to support my qualitative data analysis. During my presentation, I plan to share insights from the literature regarding the use of AI in analysis, as well as my own experiences, including both the benefits and the limitations. The purpose of this discussion is not to promote the use of AI, but rather to foster an open and honest dialogue about its role in research.

Poster: Hrrp & Hospital Readmissions, Afrah Mohamed

Doctoral Student Association Conference

While the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) was designed to improve the quality of care and promote value-based care, a growing body of evidence challenges the assumption that the 30-day readmission rate reflects hospital performance. Instead, several factors beyond health systems' control, such as social determinants of health (SDoH), market constraints, and post-acute care capacity, influence readmissions. Heart failure (HF) is a complex medical condition and is one of the conditions targeted by the HRRP; however, there is controversial evidence about the deterioration of patient outcomes after the implementation of the HRRP. Furthermore, evidence indicates that the HRRP imposes unequal …

Poster: Reserve & National Guard Student Transitions, James Crotty

Doctoral Student Association Conference

A qualitative study of a subgroup of veteran students facing unique socialization challenges when transitioning from the military to academic environments. This qualitative, exploratory study will use narrative inquiry to examine the socialization challenges of RANG (Reserve and National Guard) military students in the higher education community college environment. By analyzing these challenges, the researcher hopes to contribute to a greater understanding of non-traditional students and how college administrators and instructors can more effectively support their academic and career goals.

This presentation would be of particular interest to students and candidates in the Instructional Design Leadership doctoral program.

Code-Switching Among Black Businesswomen, Latrice R. Small

Doctoral Student Association Conference

Code-switching, the practice of adjusting language, behavior, and self-presentation to align with dominant workplace norms, has been widely examined in sociolinguistics and critical race scholarship. However, much of the existing literature remains theoretical or descriptive, with limited attention to how these insights can be operationalized within organizational contexts. My dissertation study, completed in Fall of 2024, with Franklin University, examined the lived experiences of Black businesswomen in Arkansas to explore how code-switching functions as both a survival strategy and an organizational signal within professional environments.

Using a qualitative, phenomenological approach, my research centers the voices of Black businesswomen across industries …

Gen Ai And Academic Integrity, Valerie A. Storey, Tracy Greene, Lori Salgado

Doctoral Student Association Conference

This qualitative study explored online professional practice doctoral students’ and recent graduates’ (2022-2025) use of editing tools, examining their employment practices and institutional policy recommendations. Using ethical authorship theory, emphasizing attribution, autonomy, and authenticity, researchers analyzed responses from 29 participants. Thematic analysis revealed four themes, three key distinctions, and six commonalities in editorial resource usage. Findings indicate that Gen AI tools increasingly support academic writing processes, creating complex academic integrity implications. Participants demonstrated ethical authorship consciousness and emphasized the necessity for guidelines ensuring editorial technologies support, rather than undermine, academic integrity. Respondents opposed blanket bans on Gen AI tools, advocating …

Poster: Poster On Statistics/Data Analytics Workforce Pipeline, Julie Webb

Doctoral Student Association Conference

The dissertation topic is on the lack of awareness and exposure to statistics and data analytics by students in secondary education, specifically high schools to support business workforce demand for hiring data analytics professionals. Research methodology is a mixed methods explanatory sequential research study. The proposed cohort is students age 18+ in high school and college and educators/mathematics teachers in secondary education.

First-Generation Doctoral Student Book, Stacey Horn

Doctoral Student Association Conference

Thriving as a First-Generation Doctoral Student: How to Navigate Academia Without a Map is a useful, encouraging, and strategic guide for students who are the first in their families to go to college and want to get a PhD. This book talks about the problems that first-generation doctoral students often face but don't always see, like imposter syndrome, the hidden curriculum of academia, financial stress, mental health issues, and not having enough access to mentors and professional networks. It does so from the point of view of someone who has lived through them and as a scholar-practitioner.

Instead of seeing …

Lightning Talks: (1) Autism Care & Parental Burnout (Equity-Of-Support Lens) And (2) Exploring The Connection Between Learning/Training Opportunities And Employee Retention, Shayla De La Rose, Annemarie Kuhn

Doctoral Student Association Conference

Lightning Talks – (Short Presentation with Discussion)

1. Autism care & parental burnout – Track 3
   Shayla De La Rose
   
   
2. Exploring the connection between learning/training opportunities and employee retention - Track 2
   Annemarie Kuhn

Lightning Talk: Ai Adoption In The Workplace (Utaut Model), Arnetta Knight

Doctoral Student Association Conference

Lightning Talks (Short Presentation with Discussion)

• AI adoption in the workplace (UTAUT model) – Track 1
  Arnetta Knight

Poster: Experiential Learning For At-Risk Students, Alaina Desjardin

Doctoral Student Association Conference

From Experience to Persistence: Using Experiential Learning Theory to Support At-Risk College Students At-risk college students—those facing academic underpreparedness, financial strain, first-generation barriers, competing work/family responsibilities, or limited sense of belonging—often disengage when learning feels disconnected from real life. This presentation explores how experiential learning theory (ELT) can be intentionally applied to increase engagement, self-efficacy, and persistence among at-risk learners. Grounded in ELT’s cycle (concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, active experimentation), the session demonstrates how faculty and student-support professionals can redesign assignments and learning routines to create meaningful “learning-by-doing” experiences that are structured, supportive, and measurable. Participants will examine …

Critical Friends Groups (Organizational Intervention Angle), Valerie A. Storey, Amiee Wagner

Doctoral Student Association Conference

Online doctoral programs face a persistent crisis with completion rates of only 40-60%, and alarming attrition rates 10-30% higher than traditional programs. While research identifies social and academic isolation as primary factors, few studies examine actionable interventions that higher education institutions can implement to reverse the trend. This sequential mixed-methods study bridges the gap between knowing the problem and implementing a solution.

Our study investigates how a Doctoral Student Association (DSA) employs Critical Friends (CF) protocols to address the challenges faced by online doctoral students. Drawing on Tinto’s model of institutional departure and Astin’s student involvement theory, we examine both …

Lightning Talk: Beliefs About “Good Education”, Kaolin Boardman

Doctoral Student Association Conference

Lightning Talks (Short Presentation with Discussion)

• Beliefs about “good education” – Track 2 Kaolin Boardman

Librarian–Teacher Collaboration Study, Beth Kiernan Ferrigno

Doctoral Student Association Conference

Educational organizations in a suburban-rural county in the New York metropolitan region struggle to support systematic librarian-teacher collaboration despite evidence of its benefits for student learning. This proposed phenomenological study will examine the lived experiences of certified public school librarians regarding collaboration and the organizational conditions that enable or constrain collaborative practice.

All certified public school librarians (estimated N=200-250) across the county will receive an invitation to participate in the study. Phenomenological interviews with 15-20 certified school librarians will explore their lived experiences of organizational conditions, organizational learning systems, and the meanings they attribute to collaboration.

The study will integrate …

Mexican Gray Wolf Reintroduction: Community Impact & Policy Tension, Jennifer Boer Vis

Doctoral Student Association Conference

The reintroduction of the Mexican gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) falls between a highly contested crossroads. Tensions in Catron County are felt in local ranches, hunting camps/communities, and rural living. In Catron County, ranching and hunting are the backbone of the economy. The reintroduction has proven to be a highly controversial topic among the communities, with most against the ESA.

Using a mixed-method approach to my research, this study unifies gathered data from government entities and oversight reports, and academically published articles. The qualitative evidence gathered during in-depth interviews with local Catron County ranchers and hunting guides …

Keynote Presentation + Q&A, Kasi M. Guillot

Doctoral Student Association Conference

Kasi Guillot, Ed.D. is a scholar-practitioner and performance strategist whose work explores what happens when research refuses to stay on the page. She earned her Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, where her dissertation, A Connectivist Approach for Introductory Biology Laboratory Courses: An Instructional Framework to Address STEM Education and Workforce Needs, examined how networked learning systems can bridge academic theory and workforce reality.

Rather than concluding with publication, her research became a catalyst. It evolved into the C-Link Framework, a connectivist-informed performance improvement model that integrates systems thinking, organizational behavior, and human performance technology to help leaders translate insight …

Écrire Pour Résister : La Littérature Francophone En Algérie Face Aux Enjeux Politiques Contemporains, Chiraz Amani

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

Cette communication propose d’interroger le rôle de la littérature francophone en Algérie dans le contexte politique, social et mémoriel du XXIᵉ siècle, à travers l’analyse d’œuvres contemporaines de Hind Soyer, Kamel Daoud, Kaouther Adimi et Samir Toumi. À rebours des discours annonçant l’obsolescence des études littéraires, ces textes montrent que la littérature demeure un espace privilégié de réflexion critique, de résistance symbolique et de mise en récit des tensions qui traversent la société algérienne contemporaine.

Dans des genres variés — autofiction, roman historique, fiction politique ou récit mémoriel — ces auteurs interrogent les héritages de la colonisation, les impensés de …

“I Don’T Like Girls”: Centring Young Children’S Perspectives On Gender In Early Childhood Care And Education Settings., Chloe Hurley, Judith Butler, Jane O'Sullivan

Women+ in Early Career Research Symposium

Gender development begins in early childhood and is shaped through social interactions, cultural norms, and institutional practices. This paper explores how young children learn, reproduce, and at times challenge gender norms within Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) settings in Ireland. Drawing on Feminist Poststructuralist and Intersectional theory, the study centres children’s perspectives, addressing a gap in ECCE gender research that has largely prioritised adult voices. Using participatory, rights-based methods with children alongside educator interviews and setting observations, the study generated rich, child-led data. Preliminary findings indicate that children largely conform to traditional gender norms in play, interactions and self-expression, …

Gastrocritical Reading Questions: A Tool For Bridging The Interdisciplinary Gap Between Food Studies And Literary Studies, Anke Klitzing

Women+ in Early Career Research Symposium

Interdisciplinary work is increasingly valued in academia but carries intrinsic challenges, among them cross-disciplinary communication and jargon; disciplinary socialisation regarding the creation and transmission of knowledge; lack of a common foundation of knowledge or canon; lack of epistemological self-awareness; and the question of how to train scholars in the interdisciplinary space. Food Studies is an interdisciplinary field, examining food in society from various angles, including history, sociology, anthropology and folklore studies. Most scholars active in Food Studies have joined the field from their respective disciplines; however, there are also a small number of graduate programmes situated squarely in the interdisciplinary …

The Ripple Effect: How The Hse Data Breach Shaped Public Opinion, Mugdha Srivastava, Abhishek Kaushik, Roisin Loughran, Fergal Mccaffery

Women+ in Early Career Research Symposium

The digital world is rapidly evolving, and healthcare systems now depend heavily on data-driven and connected technologies. While these tools bring many benefits, they also increase exposure to data breaches and cyberattacks, raising concerns about privacy, security, and trust. Although earlier research has focused on technical and policy solutions for data protection, less attention has been paid to how major cyber incidents influence public attitudes. This study addresses that gap by examining how a major cyberattack relates to people’s views on data security and trust in digital health. We surveyed individuals about their personal cybersecurity practices and their opinions on …

Pelvic Health: Lived Experience, Needs And Resources For Women With Pelvic Organ Prolapse, Louise Carroll, Catherine Doody, Cliona O’ Sullivan, Carla Perrotta, Brona M. Fullen

Women+ in Early Career Research Symposium

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) affects up to 50% of women and can substantially impact physical function, psychological wellbeing, and quality of life. Despite its prevalence, gaps remain in understanding the experiences and support needs of reproductive-age women, particularly within the Irish healthcare context. This thesis aimed to explore the lived experience of women with POP, examine knowledge and care gaps among women and healthcare professionals (HCPs), and develop an intervention to support self- management. A mixed-methods approach was used. A systematic review identified limitations in the use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and highlighted opportunities to better capture biopsychosocial characteristics …

Énumérer Pour Déjouer La Démémoration, Écrire Pour Pacifier Les Mémoires : Dans Le Ventre Du Congo De Blaise Ndala, Bilel Ben El Asker

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

Il s’agit de montrer que Dans Le ventre du Congo de Blaise Ndala s’inscrit parfaitement dans le sillage de « la littérature remédiatrice »[1]. L’auteur congolais porte le fardeau d’un écrasant traumatisme collectif, celui de la disparition mystérieuse d’un groupe de congolais exhibés et présentés dans le cadre de l’exposition universelle de 1958, un traumatisme auquel il n’a pas assisté, puisqu’il a précédé sa naissance, mais qui resterait gravé dans sa mémoire. A travers la superposition de deux récits, celui de la tante disparue et celui de la nièce, l’auteur tâche de déjouer la démémoration, cet effacement …

Am I Walking Straight? Gait, The New Frontier Of Biometric Identification, Ruhi Anand Finn

Women+ in Early Career Research Symposium

Extended Reality (XR) is an umbrella term that integrates Virtual, Mixed and Augmented Realities. Each modality presents new forms of digital experiences, offering unique opportunities, benefits and risks. Additionally, newer iterations of XR leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance numerous applications. This enhancemen is sustained through new levels and contexts of data capture, including continuous biometric data collection (gaze, face and gait) and incidental bystander capture. This paper investigates the implications of XR technologies on data privacy, and the need for considerations of collective social privacy. The paper argues that, given the very narrow definition and categorization of biometric data …