Digital Commons Network^™

Agriculture In The Urbanizing Chesapeake Bay Watershed: Views On Water Quality, Agricultural-Related Conflicts, And The Adoption Of Nutrient Management Plans, Edem Avemegah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This dissertation analyzes Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW) agriculture by exploring residents' views on water quality issues, agriculture-related conflict, and farmers' adoption of nutrient management plans. The following questions were asked: What is the level of concern among non-agricultural and agricultural residents about water quality issues in local streams and waterways and the CBW, and to whom do the two groups attribute water quality problems? What are nonfarming residents' and farmers' levels of support for various interventions outlined in previous research on water quality issues in local streams and waterways and the CBW? What is the level of nonfarming residents' and …

Ecological Interactions Of Cougars, Deer, And Wild Pigs In The Central Coast Range, California, Mitchell A. Parsons

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Wild pigs are an introduced species in the Americas that negatively affect ecosystems in many ways. Previous research has documented their negative effects on water quality and vegetation and their potential to spread disease among wildlife, domestic animals, and humans. However, how wild pigs affect predator-prey interactions between native wildlife has received little attention. This research explores multiple interactions between wild pigs, a native predator (cougars), and a native prey (black-tailed deer). First, I studies cougar diet to understand how frequently pigs are used as prey. During this project, I also placed wildlife cameras at cougar killed prey to monitor …

Designing Technology-Enriched Learning Environments: The Effects Of An Agent-Based Computer Model On Biology Students' Understanding Of The Covid-19 Pandemic And The Nature Of Models In Science, April Sullivan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Science education researchers have called for increased attention to the science practice of modeling to engage students in authentic scientific inquiry. A major challenge to integrating the modeling practice into science instruction is that students tend to conceptualize models as static end-products of research rather than generative tools for theory-building. Engaging students in using computer models, specifically agent-based computer models (ABMs), to explain and predict scientific phenomena could improve students' understanding of models in science. In this design-based research project I investigate the effects of an ABM-supported learning environment on high-school biology students' understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic and the …

Examining The Impacts Of Demographics, Individual Experiences, And Perceptions On Range Anxiety And Electric Vehicle Road Trips, Joshua Ward

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Range anxiety is perhaps the most widely cited barrier to electric vehicle (EV) adoption and use. Range anxiety is generally defined as a general fear that an EV has insufficient battery range or that there is insufficient charging infrastructure to travel from one place to another. Although this barrier is widely cited, there is little research that investigates how EV drivers experience range anxiety and how it might vary based on personal characteristics, perceptions, and experiences. Data on long-distance EV trips is also scarce in the United States and mainly limited to personal stories of an EV road trip.

This …

Constructing Qur’An Recitation Classification Using Alexnet Algorithm, Harits Ar Rosyid, Dzulkifli Abdullah, Mohammed S. Alqahtani

Knowledge Engineering and Data Science

The growing demands for accurate and efficient methods in the Qur'an recitation classification highlight the limitations of existing models, particularly in assisting the memorization process. This study aims to address these challenges by implementing the AlexNet Convolutional Neural Network architecture, widely recognized for its effectiveness in image classification, to classify the Qur'an recitations using the Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) as the feature extraction method. The research involves several stages, including data collection, preprocessing (audio segmentation by verse), data augmentation, feature extraction, and classification using the AlexNet architecture, followed by performance evaluation. Key results demonstrate that the combination of MFCC …

Audit Firms' Entry Into H-Share Audit Market And Mainland Audit Pricing: Evidence From China, Rui Zhang, Gaoliang Tian, Zichen Tian, Liuchuang Li

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Purpose: This study aims to investigate whether mainland Chinese audit firms’ entry into the H-share market to provide audit services affects their mainland audit pricing. Design/methodology/approach: Using data on A-share listed companies in China from 2008 to 2018, a difference-in-differences model to test the research question is designed. Robustness tests are conducted to rule out alternative explanations and additional tests to shed light on the extent and inner workings of the main effect. Findings: The entry of mainland audit firms into the H-share audit market leads to a significant decrease in mainland audit pricing. Moreover, this main effect is (i) …

Introduction 16(5) 2024: Special Issue: Conceptualizing Micro-Level Narratives In Thematic Constructs Of Internationalization

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Richard Joslyn And Bruce Stronach. The History Of Temple University Japan: An Experiment In International Education. Philadelphia: Temple University Press,

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Not All Samples Are Created Equal: Task-Aware Informative Sampling And Adaptive Inference For Efficient Edge Ai, Rebati Gaire

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The rapid proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has resulted in an unprecedented influx of data generated at the edge by billions of sensors. Traditional approaches relying on cloud-based processing are increasingly inadequate due to constraints in bandwidth, latency, and privacy. Edge computing has emerged as a transformative paradigm, enabling real-time data processing and decision-making by decentralizing computation to the edge. While the integration of deep learning into edge environments—termed edge intelligence—promises autonomous and personalized operations, it is hindered by challenges such as limited computational resources, energy constraints, and data redundancies.

This thesis addresses these challenges by presenting three …

Using Symbolic Execution To Analyze The Hardware Tcp Protocol, Nianhang Hu

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As the demand for high performance and flexible networking capabilities increases, the shift from software to hardware implementations of stateful networking functions (such as TCP) is becoming increasingly important. This transition not only enhances processing efficiency in modern networking environments where data transmission rates are rising, but it also reduces the inherent CPU overhead found in software implementations, allowing hardware devices to handle network traffic more efficiently. However, validating the correctness of these hardware designs poses significant challenges due to the complex timing requirements and the vast input space associated with packet-level properties.

The verification of packet-level properties requires coverage …

Picking Corn, Aaron Sanderford

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

Nebraska’s shifting media landscape, marked by the decline of newspapers and traditional broadcast viewership, has created an opportunity for innovative, local storytelling. My professional project, Picking Corn, is a podcast that gives voice to Nebraska’s political conversations, focusing on in-depth, long-form interviews with key political figures. Inspired by successful models like The New York Times Daily and NPR Politics Pod, this podcast aims to engage audiences by prioritizing thoughtful questions and meaningful dialogue.

In its first year, Picking Corn reached over 3,300 listeners across platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. The podcast achieved a 72% episode completion rate—far exceeding …

Characteristics Of High-Risk Bipolar Bone Loss Lesions Using 3-Dimensional Imaging, Petar Golijanin, Justin Arner, Claire Ryan, Qais Zai, Liam Peebles, Annalise Peebles, Phob Ganokroj, Ryan Whalen, Stephanie Eble, Danielle Rider, Srdjan Ninković, Matthew Provencher

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The concept of on-track versus off-track bone lesions in glenohumeral instability continues to evolve. Although much has been ascertained from an original biomechanical model, bony pathological changes, especially on 3-dimensional (3D) imaging, have not been fully evaluated.

PURPOSE: To compare the differences in on-track versus off-track lesions to characterize glenoid and humeral head bone defects using 3D modeling software.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS:A consecutive cohort of 75 patients with recurrent anterior instability, with evidence of Hill-Sachs lesions (HSLs) and
glenoid bone loss (GBL) and a mean age of 27.1 years (range, 18-48 years), were …

Strategies For Competitive Advantage In Libraries And Information Centers, De-Graft Johnson Dei, Linda Anane-Donkor

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Libraries and information centers keep experiencing sluggish growth due to the absence of an integrated and coherent strategy that can be deployed to enable them to be competitive, have a competitive advantage, and gain market position. This study, therefore, sought to assess the strategies for competition in libraries and information centers and develop a framework that can be deployed in libraries and information centers for competitive advantage. The study adopted a conceptual and qualitative approach to research. Based on the review and analysis, the researcher developed a framework that suggests that technology (infrastructure, social media systems, gamification, and artificial intelligence) …

Artificial Intelligence And Cracks In The Foundation Of Intellectual Property, Robin Feldman

UC Law Journal

Our implicit image of progress and the standards we use to calibrate human contribution to progress are quietly at risk from the onslaught of artificial intelligence (AI). AI has the potential to significantly shrink the pool of creative work that is protectable by intellectual property (IP) law and the range of information that is protectable, as well as shrinking the value proposition of IP regimes themselves.

As society faces this changing landscape, we must tread carefully to distinguish fears about AI from the task of defining the boundaries of intellectual property, whose theoretic concepts aren’t designed to bear such weighty …

Harnessing Collective Structure Knowledge In Data Augmentation For Graph Neural Networks, Rongrong Ma, Guansong Pang, Ling Chen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Graph neural networks (GNNs) have achieved state-of-the-art performance in graph representation learning. Message passing neural networks, which learn representations through recursively aggregating information from each node and its neighbors, are among the most commonly-used GNNs. However, a wealth of structural information of individual nodes and full graphs is often ignored in such process, which restricts the expressive power of GNNs. Various graph data augmentation methods that enable the message passing with richer structure knowledge have been introduced as one main way to tackle this issue, but they are often focused on individual structure features and difficult to scale up with …

Echo And Drag As Resistance: Coloniality, Queerness, And Practices Of Reading Student Texts, Joshua Barsczewski, Florianne Jimenez

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

In this article, a postcolonial theorist and a queer studies scholar reconsider the role of student resistance in Writing Studies’ social justice turn, arguing for a way of reading student texts that accounts for why students might choose to take up social justice or not in their own writing. Through examples from their ongoing research projects, the writers discuss how students’ resistance surfaced not as visible and explicit signs of a changed epistemological framework or political perspective, but as a series of normative rhetorical choices that made space for more transgressive or subversive possibilities.

Chanticleer | December 2024, Jacksonville State University

Chanticleer

No abstract provided.

Wills, Trusts, Guardianships, And Fiduciary Administration, Mary F. Radford

Mercer Law Review

This Article discusses significant cases decided by the Georgia appellate courts during the period of June 1, 2023, through May 31, 2024, and significant Georgia legislation enacted in that same period that relate to Georgia probate and trust law, guardianship, and estate planning. The cases discussed fall under three categories: wills and the administration of decedents’ estates (including cases relating to testamentary capacity, inheritance by children born out of wedlock, undue influence, and the disposition of a decedent’s remains); trusts and trustees (specifically a trustee’s entitlement to have attorney fees paid from the trust when defending against charges of maladministration …

It Takes A Village: Why And How Georgia Should Afford Greater Protection To Juveniles During Police Interrogations, Lillie Tate Andrews

Mercer Law Review

On June 27, 1998, Lori Duniver discovered that her five-year-old daughter, Devan, was missing from her home in New Philadelphia, Ohio. The following day, Devan’s body was found in a wooded area near her home. The Duniver family’s twelve-year-old neighbor, Anthony Harris, was ultimately convicted of Devan’s murder and sentenced to a term of incarceration to last until his twenty-first birthday. However, on June 7, 2000, the Court of Appeals of Ohio reversed his conviction on the ground that the juvenile court had improperly denied a motion to suppress his confession, which was coerced in violation of his Fifth Amendment …

Lgbtq+ College Students’ Willingness To Access Campus Health Services At A Midsized, Urban Christian University: A Study On Disparities, Samual J. Piatt, Christian Williams, Frecia Gonzalez

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Introduction

LGBTQ+ college students face inequitable health outcomes in both mental health and physical health versus non-LGBTQ+ counterparts (The Trevor Project, 2023), (Brittain et Dinger, 2015). LGBTQ+ students experience higher unwillingness and disparities in care access due to negative perceptions of and experiences with UHS providers (Hood et al, 2019). Research indicates that better provider LGBTQ+ cultural awareness contributes to a more affirming space which in turn benefits LGBTQ+ healthcare (Parmenter et al, 2020), (Prasad et al, 2023).

Methods

A 2024 cross-sectional study assessed the comfort levels of LGBTQ+ college students in accessing student health services, explore how affirming healthcare …

Incorporating Families Experiencing Disabilities Into The Rhythm Of Small Groups At Saturn Road Church Of Christ, Robby John

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project addresses the critical gap in the inclusion of families experiencing disabilities within small groups at Saturn Road Church of Christ. The primary aim is to develop a curriculum that raises awareness among small group leaders about this significant issue. To provide a theological reflection on the necessity of such a venture, I explored the topic through the lens of four theological pillars: the image of God, the incarnation, ecclesiology, and eschatological hope. This exploration revealed several key themes that serve as foundational building blocks for the awareness curriculum. Ultimately, the final artifact is an awareness curriculum designed to …

A Teacher-Development Curriculum: Encouraging Community Discipleship Through Faith And Learning Integration At Bracken Christian High School, Denice F. Knight-Slater

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

The title of this project is “A Teacher-Development Curriculum: Encouraging Community Discipleship through Faith and Learning Integration at Bracken Christian High School.” The purpose of the project was to create a seven-part curriculum that would empower educators to form an interconnected teaching community centered upon the practice of faith and learning integration. The development team hoped our work would articulate good practices and equip teachers to engage in faith conversations with their students. We utilized Parker Palmer’s classic, The Courage to Teach, as the scaffolding for our curriculum. The development team modeled faith and learning integration by creating a …

Polymeric Sumo-2/3 Chain Signals Are Antagonistically Regulated By The Sumo-Targeted Ubiquitin E3 Ligase Rnf4 And The Sumo-Specific Isopeptidase Senp6, Shaniah A. Irving M.A., Xiang-Dong Zhang Ph.D.

Biology Theses

Polymeric SUMO-2/3 chain modification is critical for chromosome segregation, DNA damage repair, genome stability, stress responses, and protein degradation. However, how these signals are regulated remains poorly understood. Both the SUMO-targeted ubiquitin E3 ligase (STUbL) RNF4 and the SUMO-specific isopeptidase SENP6 recognize poly-SUMO-2/3 chains through multiple SUMO-interacting motifs (SIMs). RNF4 contains four tandem SIMs within a short (~80 amino acids) region, whereas SENP6 possesses eight SIMs spanning a much larger (~500 amino acids) domain.

Our preliminary results show that overexpressing an RNF4 N-terminal fragment containing four tandem SIMs (wild type, WT), but not an inactive SIMs mutant (Mut), increases levels …

Post-Emption And The Mayoral Toolbox: Levers And Limits Of City Resistance To State Preemption, Quinton D. Lucas, Gavriel Schreiber

University of Chicago Law Review

States increasingly deploy aggressive preemption measures against disfavored localities. Scholars have raised the alarm, but cities’ subordinate legal status leaves them disempowered. To push back, municipal advocates need to thoroughly under- stand the complex bilateral relationship between cities and their states.

That is where I come in. As mayor of a progressive city in a conservative state, I swim in the hostile symbiosis that characterizes city-state relations. By drawing on real-life examples, closed-door conversations, and previously private documents, my coauthor and I demonstrate the potence of multipronged city power. We synthesize our stories into a thicker account of state motivation …

Solving The Housing Puzzle, George J. Vojta

University of Chicago Law Review

This Comment analyzes the entrance of institutional investors into the single- family rental market after the Great Recession of 2008. The collapse of the housing market during the Great Recession fundamentally changed the ownership structure of U.S. single-family homes in two distinct ways. First, the number of families renting single-family homes soared. And second, institutional investors entered the single-family home market, buying many homes and converting them into rental properties. This postrecession reality has introduced a housing puzzle: the pricing trends of single-family rentals in the decade after the Great Recession suggest that institutional investors have captured monopolistic power over …

Viewing The Unseen: Requesting Accommodation For Non-Visible Disabilities Under The Ada After Kelly V. Town Of Abingdon, Jason Naulty

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Interrogating Miranda’S Custody Requirement, Lauren E. Clatch

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Case Brief: In Re R.A.F.–Beware Of The "Haunting Specter", Sam W. Scheipers

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Neurological Foundations And Technological Interventions For Dyslexia: Advancements And Challenges, Piper Hutson, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Dyslexia, a complex neurological condition affecting reading and language processing, is intricately tied to variations in brain structure and function. This article explores the neurological underpinnings of dyslexia, emphasizing phonological, visual, and attention-related impairments. Furthermore, the analysis highlights various types of dyslexia—phonological, surface, rapid automatized naming, and visual—while addressing their neurological correlations. It also investigates the relationship between dyslexia and other neurodivergent conditions, such as autism and ADHD, focusing on the neurological overlap and differences. To mitigate the challenges associated with dyslexia, advanced technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and eye-tracking are discussed for their diagnostic and intervention potential. These …

How Does Fracking-Related Information Influence Fracking Risk Perceptions? Examining The Roles Of Ideology And Information On Fracking Risk Perceptions, James Ivey

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in the United States has created an economic boom that has helped fuel an ongoing policy conflict between environmental sustainability and human health versus energy independence, expansion of national security, and future economic prosperity. With little federal regulation regarding fracking, policy decisions associated with fracking have fallen to state and local jurisdictions, making the attitudes of officials and lawmakers at the local level the center of many debates regarding fracking and related policies. This paper examines how ideology and information regarding fracking interact to shape risk perceptions associated with fracking. Specifically, this paper uses a survey experiment …