Digital Commons Network^™

Ancient Chivalry And Modern Masculinity, Henry Jones Jones

Arkansas Liberal Arts and Humanities Day

I’m dissecting toxic masculinity in society through the lens of chivalry, as shown in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Knights were held to a code of chivalry that they used to interact with others and to wage war, a code heavily on display within the text of Sir Gawain. I’ve expanded into the fields of psychology, biology, and warfare to determine if there is a link between ancient chivalry and how men act today.

Religion: How Faith And Science Unite Society, James Tester

Arkansas Liberal Arts and Humanities Day

Over a billion people follow the modern Catholic church, yet one man, Dante, greatly shaped Catholicism as society now sees it today through his writings. Religion is central to humanity, influencing thousands of people’s lives every day, but it can be changed drastically by a new perspective. How, and why, does one person, or a group of people, completely alter a religion and its values? I am examining religion through texts such as Dante’s Inferno and theological studies to catch a glimpse of how societies shape religion and beliefs. Every religion has its own rules and structures, often contradictory to …

“Leafing” Through Chinese Opera: Phytopoetics In The Peony Pavilion, Madison Bussell Escoto

Arkansas Liberal Arts and Humanities Day

Ornamental flowering plants have been instrumental symbols in literature across all times and cultures. I’m examining why flowers are such perceptual stimulants, sexual symbols, and literary agents. Through the lens of Harvard Divinity’s term “phytopoetics,” botany, and literary scholarship, I will look closely at this phenomenon in The Peony Pavilion, a Chinese opera from 1598. Exploring “the garden” as a place, I will present the embodied, sensory, and relational elements of the human-flower relationship using the striking visual of Tang Xianzu’s revolutionary production. Just as we perceive the costumes and makeup of the opera as giving traits to the characters, …

Students’ Use Of Chatgpt As A Writing Tool, Hannah K. Young

Arkansas Liberal Arts and Humanities Day

Over the past decade, educational technology has drastically evolved. Generative artificial intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, have recently become popular resources for students seeking academic support. While articles discuss whether students should use generative AI, little research exists on how students engage with it in academic settings. This study analyzes student interactions with ChatGPT, where participants enrolled in College English were tasked with writing a one-page essay. This decision aimed at providing a diverse range of students from different disciplines and skill sets, rather than a large group of English majors in a higher-level course. Without specific …

Exculsivity Of Choice Of Court Agreements: Party Autonomy In Forum Selection, Mo Zhang

University of Memphis Law Review

Choice of court agreements are contractual agreements where parties exercise autonomy to agree on a forum to which the parties are voluntarily subject to should a dispute arise from their commercial transactions or other civil relationships. Exclusivity is an issue concerning how a choice of court agreement is to be enforced. Presumption of exclusivity is a doctrine aimed at ensuring an effective enforcement of the agreement as such. Acceptance of the doctrine has become a growing trend internationally, as illustrated by the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. In American courts, choice of court agreements are generally presumed …

Sexual Orientation, Rank, And Status, Duane Rudolph

University of Memphis Law Review

Dignity retains its ancient focus on rank and status. This Article, therefore, rejects the idea that we now live in the age of equal dignity, meaning equal rank and status for everyone. Rank underscores numbering, placement, and position in a predetermined hierarchy, and status underscores the power and privileges associated with each rank. Rank permits human beings to identify their preassigned location in the hierarchy, and status justifies assertions of rank since status governs the ancestral privileges, powers, and responsibilities attached to each rank. The Article relies on two constitutional cases, one before “dignity” and the other after. In 1986, …

Empowering The People Of The Developing World

Vision and mission statements

No abstract provided.

Cœur-Age, Andrew Pearson

Philomathean

No abstract provided.

2025 Editorial Board, Meredith Scheiner

Philomathean

No abstract provided.

Back Matter, Meredith Scheiner

Philomathean

No abstract provided.

All Of Us Live In Texas, But Our Friends Hang Their Hats In New Zealand, Augusta Arata, Irene L. Flores, Angel Castillo, Robert Hoilman, Donald D. Sanders Ii

Sociology and Anthropology Student Research - Archive

Cultural similarities and differences between New Zealand and Texas through an anthropological perspective. The zine focuses on cuisine, sports, consumerism, and lifestyle choices.

Evaluating How New York City’S Recycling And Organic Waste Systems Reduce Resource Waste And Methane Emissions, Zihan Cao

Publications and Research

This study analyzes New York City’s waste management systems, with a focus on food waste diversion, composting, and renewable energy initiatives, to assess their role in methane emission reduction and resource efficiency. The analysis highlights the relative effectiveness of different waste management pathways and suggests that community-scale composting and decentralized anaerobic digestion are associated with substantial methane reductions relative to cost.

Learning To Play Drums: Rote Learning Versus Note Approach, Jacob R. Brumback

Masters Theses

The purpose of this qualitative historical study is to determine whether rote-learned drummers perform better than formally trained drummers. The issue is that some drummers may excel by watching and developing aural skills exclusively, while others perform well by only reading sheet music. The goal is to decide if drummers with strong aural skills or those who rely on note-reading performed better. The rationale explained how the applicability of rudiments, complex timing, creative fills, and improvisational soloing skills influences the performances of both rote-learned and note-approach drummers. Data collection methods for this research included oral history traditions and analyzing secondary …

Ezer Kenegdo: Reviving The Stories Of Our Christian Matriarchs In The American Evangelical Church, Kayleigh Funk

Masters Theses

The silencing of women’s experiences throughout history has caused a general lack of familiarity with the contributions of Christian matriarchs in most modern church congregations. This absence of historical precedent has led to ongoing issues of identity and belonging in the body of Christ among the Christian women of today. The primary goal of this thesis is to bring attention to the erasure of women in the faith throughout history and shed new light on their individual narratives.

This study will assess how Scripture originally set up leadership dynamics, encouraged women into those roles, and allowed them to teach in …

Protein-Protein Interaction–Interfering Peptide Rescues Dysregulated Nmda Receptor Signaling, Robert E. Featherstone, Hongbin Li, Ameet S. Sengar, Karin E. Borgmann-Winter, Olya Melnychenko, Lindsey M. Crown, Ray L. Gifford, Felix Amirfathi, Anamika Banerjee, Aivi Tran, Krishna Parekh, Margaret Heller, Wenyu Zhang, Robert J. Gallop, Adam D. Marc, Pragya Komal, Michael W. Salter, Steven J. Siegel, Chang-Gyu Hahn

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

The complex and heterogeneous genetic architecture of neuropsychiatric illnesses compels us to look beyond individual risk genes for therapeutic strategies and target the interactive dynamics and convergence of their protein products. A mechanistic substrate for convergence of synaptic neuropsychiatric risk genes are protein-protein interactions (PPIs) in the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) complex. NMDAR hypofunction in schizophrenia is associated with hypoactivity of Src kinase, resulting from convergent alterations in PPIs of Src with its partners. Of these, the association of Src with PSD-95, which inhibits the activity of this kinase in the NMDAR complex, is known to be increased in schizophrenia. Here, …

Toward Understanding Multi-Agent Decision Making In Complex Societies, Jonathan Skaggs

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates Multi Agent Decision Making (MADM) within Complex Societies (CS), systems of interdependent agents whose collective behaviors emerge from local interactions. Such emergent dynamics are nonlinear and difficult to predict, posing significant challenges towards understanding how individual decisions scale to societal outcomes. Existing approaches often fall short of capturing the combined attributes of CS, including asymmetry, decentralization, and adaptivity. To address this gap, we introduce new models and analyses of agent strategies that explain how cooperation and stability can arise in CS. Structured around three interrelated projects, this dissertation enhances our comprehension of MADM in CS. The research …

The Study Of Hybrid Nanostructures For Optoelectronics, Alex Davis, Khaoula Dehhou

Publications and Research

Hybrid nanostructures that combine zero-dimensional (0D) quantum dots (QDs) with two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are promising building blocks for next-generation optoelectronic devices, such as highly sensitive photodetectors, light-emitting diodes, and tunable light sources. These hybrid systems take advantage of the strong, size-dependent emission of colloidal QDs and the high carrier mobility and tunable band structure of 2D materials. In this research, we investigate hybrid structures composed of colloidal CdSe/ZnS, CuInS/ZnS, and PbS QDs integrated with indium selenide (InSe), a TMD known for its exceptional electron mobility and robust photoluminescence in few-layer form. The goal is to understand how interfacial …

First Mammography Screening Participation And Breast Cancer Incidence And Mortality, Forruk Ahmed, Anna Aleksyeyeva, Oman Balan, Ashley Hassang

Publications and Research

This population-based cohort study evaluated the long-term relationship between initial participation in mammography screening and subsequent breast cancer outcomes among approximately 432,000 women in Stockholm, Sweden. Women were invited to their first screening between 1991 and 2020 at ages 40 or 50 and followed for up to 25 years through national health registries. Overall, 32% did not attend their initial screening. Non-attenders were significantly less likely to participate in later screening rounds and were more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease, showing 1.5-fold higher odds of stage III and more than 3.5-fold higher odds of stage IV breast cancer …

Through The Eyes Of Time, Shaneece Prince, Steven Indelicato

Publications and Research

Frames have been a staple throughout history, however in recent times, a trend of having multiple pairs of glasses opposed to one, life lasting pair, has emerged. As a result, frames have piled up in landfills contributing to the polluting of our environment. Through the analysis of previously recorded studies and statistics, conclusions of the eyewear industry's growing impact on society and the planet were formed.

Millions of frames are in constant circulation, studies show that up to 31% of spectacle wearers out of a group of 375, disposed of their eyewear in the trash. The lifespan of popular eyewear …

Place: Dwelling Within The Built And Natural Environments, Christine Gratia

Publications and Research

This study argues that “place” is not simply physical, it is actualized by the relationship between human beings and the environments they inhabit. This research will spotlight various philosophical theories that pertain to where humans do human activities, the ever evolving containers of socialization and how the external environment informs self-concept. This research narrows in on Edward Relph’s phenomenology of “place” and Martin Heidegger's concept of dwelling. Both concepts are defined as foundational structures of human existence which create an interdependent relationship between humans and the places we inhabit. From that relationship stems a responsibility of caretaking. Through a conceptual …

Improving Food Security: Determining Risk Zones For Toxic Crop Contamination, Parker J. Peterson, Cade Smith, Kirsten Sanders, Ruth Kerry, Sean Young

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Aflatoxin contamination causes significant food waste and poses liver cancer risks to humans and livestock consuming infected corn. This study identifies high-risk years and locations in Texas by analyzing relationships between drought conditions, remote sensing data (NDVI and Thermal IR), and insurance claims for spoiled crops, enabling targeted interventions to reduce contamination and waste.

The Phenomenology Of Auditory Verbal Hallucinations: A Literature Review, Daniel Wellock, David Erekson

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

AVHs are experienced by 75% of persons with schizophrenia, and they are characterized by verbal experiences that do not arise through an audible sensation. AVHs often cause debilitating comorbid symptoms and understanding them is important to ameliorate these outcomes. This paper is a literature review of studies surrounding the phenomenology of AVHs in schizophrenia. We gathered 26 papers through using the APAPsychnet and Web of Knowledge databases. We found that negative emotional valence was characteristic of AVHs in schizophrenia. Furthermore, AVHs appeared to have a distinct linguistic and tonal profile and affected behavior significantly. A command subtype, a hypervigilance subtype, …

Disclosing Mental Disorders: Whether, When, How, And With Whom To Share A Mental Disorder Diagnosis To Maximize The Likelihood Of Receiving A Positive Response, Eli Z. Hendricks

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Individuals with mental disorders face complex decisions about whether, when, how, and to whom they disclose their diagnosis. Disclosure is significant because it can lead to both substantial positive and negative outcomes. This review examined how disclosure outcomes differ across five major classifications of mental disorders. Through a search of three academic databases, 23 relevant articles were identified and analyzed. Findings indicate that both the likelihood and type of disclosure outcomes vary considerably by diagnosis. Furthermore, the optimal disclosure strategy, which maximizes the likelihood of positive outcomes, is unique for each disorder. The optimal timing, context, and audience are also …

"Judge Not The Stranger": Partisanship, Social Media, And Support For Immigration Tactics, Mary Moody, Esme Bolander, Emma Thomas

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Public opinion polls on immigration in the United States largely focus on gaps between parties and partisans. We provide a new approach, with a novel survey experiment employing randomized vignettes. We find that respondent gender, candidate gender, and candidate country of origin are insignificant predictors of immigration preferences. However, candidates with negative social media posts about the United States government were significantly more likely to face deportation, regardless of a respondent’s partisanship. This has important implications for understanding American citizens’ perceptions of immigration, free speech, and who is welcome in the United States.

Red Scare At Cuny: A Research Guide, Wilhelmine Coste, Scout Zabel, Erin A'Hearn, Patrick J. Mcgee

Publications and Research

The Red Scare at CUNY is a comprehensive guide to archives documenting anti-communist political repression of faculty, staff, and students at CUNY, primarily from the 1930s-1960s. Organized by repository, it highlights relevant collections within CUNY, evaluated by the authors in consultation and collaboration with archivists at Brooklyn College, City College, Hunter College, and Queens College in 2025. Each entry is accompanied by a description that incorporates information from finding aids and other published research. These collections include faculty personal and professional papers, student activist materials, and oral histories. The guide also includes collections from other repositories within New York City …

Finding Black Joy: Understanding How Black Students Are Seen, Affirmed, And Nourished In Expanded Learning Opportunities., Jamila Mosley

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how Black students experience Black joy within expanded learning opportunity (ELO) programs and how those programs are structured to nurture that joy. It is guided by the central research question: How do Black students describe the ways in which an expanded learning opportunity program fosters their joy through experiences of being seen, affirmed, and nourished? Using an instrumental case study design at two secondary schools, the study draws on semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and observations of students participating in robotics, debate, Sister Circle, cheer, basketball, and creative writing. Data were analyzed through multiple cycles of coding, first …

3d Printed Portable Automatic Pill Dispenser​, Amber M. Ocasio

Publications and Research

Medication adherence is a major public health concern, particularly among patients with chronic illnesses. Reports from the National Institutes of Health indicate that adherence rates are significantly lower for chronic conditions, with patients taking only ~50% of medications prescribed. Unintentional non-adherence—such as forgetting doses—is more prevalent (62.9%, 47.1%, 46.9%) than intentional non-adherence, and the consequences include medication waste, disease progression, reduced functional abilities, lower quality of life, and increased reliance on medical resources. Because existing automatic pill dispensers cost over $100 on average, they remain inaccessible for many lower-income patients who could benefit from such technology. This project addresses this …

The Effects Of Emotional Valence On Memory In Garden-Path Sentences, William Banks Mangold

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Faculty Senate Chronicle December 4, 2025, Lisa Appeldorn

The University of Akron Faculty Senate Chronicle

Minutes for the regular meeting of The University of Akron Faculty Senate on 12/04/2025.

Laboratory Monitoring In Patients With Moderate To Severe Plaque Psoriasis, Jonathan M. Fenkel, John A. Osborne, April W. Armstrong, Bruce Strober, Linda Stein Gold, Michael Cameron, Mark Lebwohl

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVES: Plaque psoriasis is a common immune-mediated disease associated with various comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, psoriatic arthritis, liver disease, and mood disorders. Biologic and small-molecule therapies are efficacious and well tolerated in adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. However, dermatologists may be uncertain about appropriate laboratory monitoring in patients treated with these therapies, especially those with comorbidities.

METHODS: This review summarizes prescribing information and provides expert recommendations based on real-world experience in the monitoring of concerning laboratory values in patients with psoriasis.

RESULTS: Individualized monitoring is essential for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the risks associated with biologic …