Digital Commons Network^™

Convergence Research For Sustainable Regional Systems, Heejun Chang, Brian Roe, Murat Erkoc, Josiah Heyman, Katherine Foo, Debankur Sanyal, Debjyoti Banerjee, Richard Rushforth, Jaishri Srinivasan

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Summary:

Convergence research addresses societal and environmental challenges by co-creating knowledge across disciplinary boundaries, often in deep collaboration with extra-academic parties to ensure that the research process is solution-focused, actionable, and just. As part of National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research projects on sustainable regional systems, we present multiple perspectives on conducting convergence research within the coupled social-ecological-technological systems framework. These projects explicitly engage extra-academic parties to co-design and co-produce knowledge throughout all stages of this participatory research. We introduce the 3 C’s model as a framework that links a research team’s Communication, Collaboration, and Creation decisions to the likely degree …

A Legacy Of Writing, Teaching, And Leading: Amplifying The Voices Of Four Women Who Shaped The National Writing Project, Ellen Ann Shelton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The origin story of the National Writing Project (NWP) is attributed to James Gray, who, in 1974, developed the foundations of a program that would eventually become a national network of teacher-leaders. Networks, however, require multiple theories of action to move forward into the future. They cannot survive on one person’s vision alone. To meet the needs of K16 educators in an ever-changing education landscape, the initial vision needed broadening, models of work, multiple points of entry, and a constant focus of keeping teachers at the center of the work. Because of the work of many, the network continues 50 …

The Shorthorn: October 14, 1966

The Shorthorn Newspaper Collection: 1960s

No abstract provided.

The Shorthorn: May 7, 1965

The Shorthorn Newspaper Collection: 1960s

No abstract provided.

The Shorthorn: March 26, 1965

The Shorthorn Newspaper Collection: 1960s

No abstract provided.

Merleau-Ponty’S Critique Of Reason, Thomas Langan

Hannah Arendt Marginalia - All

New Haven, Yale University Press, 1966

Call #: B2430.M38 L3

Contains marginalia, underlining, marginal lining and endpaper notes.

PDF Information: 59 pages – 22mb

Variability Of Immune Response To Coronavac In The Indonesian Population: A Retrospective Cohort Study In Bantaeng, South Sulawesi,Indonesia, Sitti Musafirah Arif, Juliani Ibrahim, Antariksa P. Winarno, Andi Nur Anna, Andi Weri Sompa, Ami Febriza S. Achmad, Nurdiana Nurdiana, Zulkifli Zulkifli, Irwan Ashari

Journal of Health Research

Background: The COVID-19 vaccine, including CoronaVac, is crucial in reducing severe infections and mortality due to COVID-19. However, variability in antibody responses across different populations remains a subject of investigation. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of age and BMI on Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels three months post-CoronaVac vaccination in a healthy Indonesian cohort.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 299 healthy individuals aged 18–70 in Bantaeng, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. IgG levels against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Blood samples were collected about 90 ± 7 days …

Identifying Gaps In The Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (Mdr-Tb) Cascade Of Care: Barriers And Improvement Opportunities In North Maluku, Indonesia, Eko Sudarmo Dahad Prihanto, Prayudi Santoso, Elsa Pudji Setiawati, Rovina Ruslami

Journal of Health Research

Background: The Multidrug-Resistant-Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) Cascade of Care includes MDR-TB treatments from suspicion to completion. Implementation gaps can lower treatment success. This study aimed to identify gap causes and opportunities to improve MDR-TB treatment in North Maluku, Indonesia

Methods: To identify gaps, we conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with health workers at Puskesmas (Indonesian government's primary healthcare centers) and hospitals, MDR-TB patients, and patients’ families. Thematic analysis was conducted using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) for health workersand the health belief model (HBM) approach for patients and their families.

Results: Significant gaps were found …

The Confucian Path To Utopia : Liao Ping’S Theory Of Great Harmony, 1897–1918, Jiahui Dong

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

Seeing utopia as “the expression of the desire for a better way of being” and a term that encompasses both the meanings of “good place” and “no place,” this thesis examines the theoretical interaction between Western utopianism and the concept of great harmony, or Datong, which emerged from the study of ancient Chinese classics. It focuses on the late Qing to early Republican period through the case of Liao Ping (1852–1932), a new-text Confucian scholar from Sichuan province, China. As an eminent scholar, Liao was deeply exposed to and influenced by Western concepts and literature during the time of …

Lanthorn, Vol. 60, No. 01, August 4, 2025, Grand Valley State University

Volume 60, August 4, 2025 – April 20, 2026

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Automated Semantic Segmentation Of Arctic Surface Water Features With Very-High Resolution Satellite X-Band Radar Imagery And U-Net Deep Learning: Segmentation Sémantique Automatisée Des Caractéristiques Des Eaux De Surface De L’Arctique À Partir D’Images Radar Satellite En Bande X À Très Haute Résolution Et À L’Aide De L’Apprentissage Profond U-Net, Michael Allan Merchant, Masoud Mahdianpari, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Ben Devries, Aaron Berg

Michigan Tech Publications

Repeatable methods capable of quantifying Arctic surface water extent at high resolutions are important, but still require development. Here, we present a study using very-high resolution (VHR) X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery from Capella Space for fine-scale semantic segmentation of Arctic surface water features. Our study proposes a modified U-Net encoder-decoder model for this task, optimized using the Nadam algorithm. Otsu thresholding was leveraged to rapidly generate 512 × 512-pixel patches for the U-Net, resulting in an efficient and automated training pipeline. Within this study, we also quantitatively compared the deep learning (DL) U-Net to a shallow machine learning …

The Experience Of Living With Infertility Among Women Of Color, Claudia Calvario

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Infertility affects individuals across all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds; however, the lived experiences of women of color navigating infertility remain underrepresented in research, health care, and policy. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study was to explore the lived experiences of infertility among women of color. The specific aims of the study were to (a) understand the significance of cultural values in shaping these experiences, with a focus on cultural norms surrounding motherhood and fertility, and (b) gain insight on the ways in which women of color seek assistance. The conceptual framework integrated the biopsychosocial model, stress and …

"Things That Were, Things That Are, And Things That Yet May Be": The Matter Of Time In The Faërie Realms Of Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings, Noelia Ramos

Journal of Tolkien Research

Tolkien’s feelings and relationship to Celtic themes are more nuanced than a simple binary of aversion versus passion. As he professed to Stanley Unwin—"Needless to say they are not Celtic!" (Letters #19)—his stance encompassed both resistance and fascination. His essay On Fairy-Stories, originally delivered as the Andrew Lang Lecture in 1939, can be seen as an early foundation for concepts later developed in The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955). In this context, the concept of fiction and the secondary world—particularly regarding the nature of time—is notably prominent, drawing parallels to the Celtic Otherworld.

This study aims to analyze …

“Literally Made Me Cry”: The Impact Of Course Material Costs On University Of Kentucky Students, Stephen Krueger

Library Reports and White Papers

The Student Course Materials Cost Survey was administered September 16 – October 6, 2024. It was open to current students at the University of Kentucky (UK). The goals were to help UK Libraries better understand how the cost of course materials affects students at UK and to provide a snapshot of student spending across the university. The questions were based on similar research done at other institutions in Virginia (Virginia Course Materials Survey, 2021) and Florida (2022 Student Textbook and Instructional Materials Survey, 2022). Other work based on those surveys includes the 2023 Illinois Course Materials Survey (CARLI, 2023) and …

Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-To-Zion Journey Through Every National Park, Conor Knighton

Common Reading Experience

From CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Conor Knighton, a behind-the-scenery look at his year traveling to each of America's National Parks, discovering the most beautiful places and most interesting people our country has to offer.

When Conor Knighton set off to explore America's "best idea," he worried the whole thing could end up being his worst idea. A broken engagement and a broken heart had left him longing for a change of scenery, but the plan he'd cooked up in response had gone a bit overboard in that department: Over the course of a single year, Knighton would visit every national …

Building Smarter Roads: Using Ai To Strengthen Climate-Resilient Transportation Infrastructure In Belém, Abdelrahman Sherif Kamel Fattouh Mohmed Abdelmenam

COP30

No abstract provided.

From Awareness To Action: The Educational Pillar Of Capacity Building And Ace, Emna Akrout

COP30

No abstract provided.

Nations That Cannot Drown: Reimagining The Loss And Damage Fund For A World Already Lost, Salma Ahmed Mohamed Abdalrhem

COP30

No abstract provided.

Issue 469: August 2025, The Local Voice

The Local Voice

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Kenya's Climate Adaptation Governance: A Policy Framework For Evidence-Based Climate Finance Access, Anne Wanjiru Ngarachu

COP30

No abstract provided.

A Global Mutirão In The Classroom: A National Curriculum Policy For Bangladesh To Build Youth Capacity For Green Jobs In Alignment With The Saa And Ace, Md. Shariful Islam

COP30

No abstract provided.

A Multi-Scale Approach For Integrating Species Distribution Models With Landscape Connectivity To Identify Critical Linkage Zones For African Savanna Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Lei Song, Amy E. Frazier, Anna Bond Estes, Lyndon Despard Estes

Geography

The populations of African savanna elephants have declined by an estimated 60 % since the 1970s, which can be attributed to a mixture of poaching and habitat loss. Human activities and environmental changes have caused unprecedented loss and fragmentation of elephant natural habitats, resulting in the isolation of elephant populations. Preserving habitat connectivity is thus increasingly important to conserve remaining elephants' populations and maintain ecological functions. A major challenge in large-scale connectivity modeling is data availability constraints. To tackle this issue, we developed an integrated modeling approach that leverages multiple, publicly available occurrence datasets, which vary in format and quality, …

Farming With Data: Tracing Critical Tensions Using Data Science For Food Justice, Marc Sager, Maximilan Sherard, Anthony Petrosino

Publications

In this manuscript, we explore the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and equitable learning in higher education, focusing on data science as a subset of AI and social justice as the core theme of equity. Our investigation sheds light on the nuanced tensions inherent in employing data science for social justice. Rooted in situated perspectives of learning and consequential learning, our study employs an instrumental case-study methodology and analysis techniques from interaction and conversation analysis. Collaborating with three undergraduate students and an urban farm, the students used data science practices to highlight inequities surrounding food justice and access to food. …

Hybrid Geographies And Nature In The City: A Tale Of Two Greenspaces In Louisville, Ky., Rebecca Dixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many conservation initiatives position nature and the urban as opposing constructions, which means the possibilities where cities can work with nature are often overlooked. This study uses the lens of relational geographies to examine nature in the city by comparing two greenspaces in the Beargrass Creek watershed in Louisville, Kentucky: Waterfront Botanical Gardens and the Louisville Nature Center. The two organizations are compared by using a combination of content analysis, discourse analysis, and GIS flood analysis methods to determine how their geographical location and history affect the ways in which the dynamic between nature and culture is reproduced. Results show …

Remotely-Sensed Urbanization And Local Perceptions Of Change From 1985-2024 In Southern Indiana., Marlea Ferber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is focused on the land cover change of non-built land cover being transformed into built land cover in two counties in Southern Indiana using mixed methods. Remote sensing was used to identify and quantify land cover change, and interviews were used to understand local perceptions of the physical land cover changes. The study area is situated along the rural-urban continuum with Louisville, Kentucky across the Ohio River. It is important to quantify the amount of land change conversion to built settlement as patterns and rate of urbanization help us to better manage transitions along the rural-urban continuum, but …

Polymathy: The Foundational Source Of Creativity And Innovation., Michael Araki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an era of mounting complexity and a growing need to transcend siloed thinking, this dissertation advances polymathy as a critical yet underexplored construct in the management and behavioral sciences. Polymathy is framed as an expansive approach to the pursuit, development, and application of knowledge, marked by the conjunction of breadth, depth, and integration. Building on a thought lineage that stretches from Ancient Greece through the Renaissance to the present day, this work shows that polymathy is neither a relic of the past nor an achievement reserved for a few—but a mode of being, thinking, and acting in the world …

Engaging In Movement At Work: Exploring Engagement And Physical Activity., Spencer A. Cavan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High levels of employee engagement provide organizations competitive advantages such as increased customer satisfaction, profits, and employee productivity. Despite potential benefits, the number of engaged employees is declining and organizations need to find innovative ways to enhance engagement. Emerging evidence suggests workplace physical activity may generate organizational benefits extending beyond health improvement. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of engagement among employees participating in a physical activity intervention at work. A qualitative design, guided by phenomenology, examined perceptions of workplace physical activity and perceived levels of engagement, as well as constraints related to involvement among university …

Exploring The Effect Of Social Determinants Of Health (Sdoh) Factors On The Time To Kidney Transplant Evaluation Completion For African American End Stage Renal Disease (Esrd) Patients, Kesha Levesque

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Purpose – The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationship between demographics and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) variables on diagnostic testing time completion in patients being evaluated for kidney transplant waitlisting.

Aims - Compared to White Americans, African Americans who are eligible to receive a kidney transplant are less likely to complete the required testing in order to be placed on the kidney transplant waiting list which puts African Americans at risk for morbidity and mortality due to prolonged exposure to dialysis. The COVID-19 pandemic was directly associated with a decrease in the number of patients placed …

The Effects Of Hunger, Starvation, And Famine On Certain Eating Habits: A Cross-Cultural Study, Robert Dirks

Faculty Publications – Sociology and Anthropology

This paper examines the impact of starvation and famine on certain eating habits. These include commensal relations within households, dispositions towards eating with strangers and modes of appetite expression. It tests the proposition that much of the variation seen in these aspects of eating behavior worldwide can be explained by societal experiences with hunger. The study analyzes data from 124 societies and finds significant associations between episodes of food insufficiency and non-inclusive, uncongenial eating practices. This research contributes to the understanding of how food supply and nutritional circumstances shape cultural arrangements and offers insights into the broader implications of food …

Implementing A Modified Schedule Program In South Carolina Schools: An Alternative Method To Graduate Students, Alexander J. Velasquez Escalona

All Dissertations

This study starts by exploring the impact and implementation process of the Express Lane program. This program is a modified schedule initiative developed at Excellent High School in South Carolina to tackle declining graduation rates. The research investigates whether structured, real-time communication protocols and self-pacing learning can help students improve credit completion in order to help students who have the opportunity of graduating high school on time. This investigation is in response to a persistent drop of graduation rates from 90% in 2020 to an alarming 84.3% in 2023-2024. The Express Lane program creates a student-centered learning environment that combines …