Digital Commons Network^™

Quantifying The Transfer Effectiveness Of An Artificial Intelligence-Based Simulator Pre-Training Program For Student Pilots, Ryan Guthridge

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Since the airline pilot shortage was initially studied in 2016, the pilot hiring model has been significantly impacted, with airlines hiring qualified pilots at unprecedented rates. The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed this hiring rate, however it is expected that airline hiring will soon increase to a rate higher than initially expected (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2022). With this dynamic, certified flight instructors are often the most qualified recruits for airlines, due to the number of hours and experience they have gained in the flight training organization. In turn, certified flight instructors are in short supply for flight training organizations worldwide. …

Analysis Of Public Acceptance Of Urban Air Mobility (Uam) Based On Air Travel Frequency, Seuggyun Jin, Kim O. Chambers

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an innovative air transportation system designed for efficient travel in urban and suburban areas, offering significant time saving compared to traditional ground transportation. However, concerns about UAM services, such as safety and noise, remain prominent. Understanding public acceptance of UAM is crucial to identifying potential customers and ensuring the sustainability of commercial UAM operations. This study utilizes an online survey from a total of 254 consumer attitudes on the scales of reliability, usefulness, behavioral intention, safety, and concerns to examine public acceptance of UAM based on people's air travel frequencies. Using a one-way ANOVA, the …

A Systemic Analysis Of Helicopter Instructional Accidents In The United States From 2010 To 2022, Gustavo Sanchez Cortes, Dimitrios Ziakkas, Mary E. Johnson

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

A high number of accidents during helicopter training in the United States (U.S.) highlights the need for research to investigate their causal and contributing factors. In this retrospective study, researchers analyzed helicopter instructional accidents reported in the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Case Analysis and Reporting Online (CAROL) database. The Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) and Systems-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) methodologies were used to identify hazards and unsafe control actions in helicopter training, using autorotation maneuvers as a case study. Helicopter instructional flights in the U.S. accounted for 299 accidents between 2010 and 2022, with an average accident …

Political Turbulence And Aviation Safety: A Cross-National Analysis Of Political Stability's Effects On Aviation Accidents, Léa Faure, Lilliam Maria Cáceres Malachowski

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

To what extent does political stability affect aviation safety? This research aims to link domestic political conditions and public safety through the consideration of aviation accident frequency. Political instability can indeed have profound effects on reducing overall public safety in a variety of domains through its influence on public policies. Reduced regulations and governance efforts can appear in contentious contexts for less-prioritized fields. This could influence the reemergence of technical aviation risk factors like crew training and performance, maintenance issues, infrastructure problems, human errors, etc. This would highlight a correlation between such political instability and weaker aviation safety regulations, investments …

Transgender & Disabled: Seeking To Understand The Experiences Of Transgender Disabled Students To Better Support Them In K-12 Settings, Max Brown

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This research supports the hypothesis that transgender disabled students experience different marginalization than disabled students and transgender students. Following this, this paper examines the legal protections for these students and makes recommendations for how they can best be supported in schools based on their specific needs and resiliency factors.

A Comparative Case Study Of Learners Experiencing Interdependent Empowered Care In Marginalizing Contexts, Elizabeth Gil

GSE Faculty Publications

This comparative case study’s purpose is to explore how multi-age learn-
ers, both adults and children, from immigrant backgrounds experienced
care in two educational settings in the United States and Ireland. Using
data from two separate qualitative studies, this paper draws on the
authors’ conceptualization of interdependent empowered care (IEC) to
argue that the settings exemplified three separate, but interrelated, care
elements: 1) identity-affirming counterspaces; 2) interdependency and
reciprocity; and 3) a means to achieve greater empowerment and agency.
This cross-national study illuminates the role of care in educational set-
tings to understand how it helps multi-age learners from immigrant …

Reflector Magazine, Georgia Southern University

Reflector Magazine

• The Archive
• Student Fashion
• Art as Rebellion
• Latin Rhythm and Dance
• Blackmania
• Theatre
• Lifelong Gap Year
• Lowdown Band
• Creating a Community
• Lifelong Learner
• Feeding the Community

Neuroinflammatory Signaling And Immune Cell Infiltration Differ In Brains Of Rats Exposed To Space Radiation And Social Isolation, Austin M. Adkins, Zachary N. M. Luyo, Alea F. Boden, Riley S. Heerbrandt, Richard A. Britten, Laurie L. Wellman, Larry D. Sanford

Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Inflammatory Diseases (CINID) Faculty Publications

Astronauts on the proposed Mars missions will be exposed to extended periods of social isolation (SI) and space radiation (SR). SI and SR-induced immune dysregulation can result in persistent neuroinflammation and neuronal damage which could negatively impact an astronaut’s health and ability to maintain adequate levels of performance. The synergistic effects of combined SI and SR on immune system functionality and the brain remain unknown. Determining how single and combined inflight stressors modulate the immune system is crucial for fully understanding pathways impacting astronaut health and performance. We used ground-based analogs of SI and SR in rodent models to investigate …

Loneliness Associates With Endothelial Dysfunction In A Community-Based Cohort: A Pilot Study And Translational Approach, Yvonne Baumer, Brian A. Tirado, Lola R. Ortiz-Whittingham, Andrew S. Baez, Cristhian A. Gutierrez-Huerta, Laurel G. Mendelsohn, Abhinav Saurabh, Joshua A. Jacobs, Marcus R. Andrews, Valerie M. Mitchell, Billy S. Collins, Antwan Jones, Danielle M. Schwartz, Anca D. Dobrian, Michael V. Stanton, Tiffany M. Powell-Wiley

Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences Faculty Publications

Loneliness is known to be an important contributor to cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, little is known about the impact of loneliness on endothelial barrier integrity, a crucial hallmark of CVD development and progression. In this study, we aimed to investigate how loneliness might impact the endothelium. We found greater perceived loneliness associated with the product of circulating epinephrine and TNFα (E/T), which, in turn, associated with lower VE-cadherin on endothelial cells in an ex vivo experiment. Additionally, circulating plasma levels of soluble VE-cadherin were associated significantly with subclinical CVD. To explore the mechanistic aspects of these associations, we measured the …

Obesity, Metabolic Health, And Diabetic Complications In People With Type 1 Diabetes., Yuanjie Mao, Jen-Tzer Gau, Ning Jiang

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

AIM: The concept of metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) has not been studied in type 1 diabetes (T1D). By analysing datasets from the DCCT/EDIC study, we compared the development of diabetic complications by obesity and metabolic health over 30 years of follow up.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Insulin resistance was calculated by estimated glucose disposal rate (eGDR). The participants (n = 1127) were then divided into four groups based on time-weighted mean body mass index and mean eGDR: metabolically healthy non-obesity (MHN, n = 874), metabolically unhealthy non-obesity (MUN, n = 66), MHO (n = 146) and metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUO, n …

Editorial: To Know Or Not To Know: Causes And Evolution Of Lack Of Awareness Of Cognitive Decline In Neurodegenerative Diseases, Volume Ii, Federica Cacciamani, Kristy A. Nielson, Bernard J. Hanseeuw, Geoffroy P. Gagliardi, Patrizia Vannini

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Anosognosia, or the lack of awareness of cognitive, behavioral, or functional deficits, represents a critical challenge in the clinical management of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia. This condition not only impacts patients, caregivers, and healthcare systems (D'Souza et al., 2011; Turró-Garriga et al., 2013) but also raises important questions about its underlying mechanisms and evolution (Hanseeuw et al., 2020; Starkstein, 2014; Vannini et al., 2017). Despite its critical importance, significant gaps remain in our understanding of cognitive self-awareness in neurodegenerative diseases. Building on the momentum of the first edition of To Know or Not to …

Editorial: Midlife Brain Health: Understanding Brain Aging In Middle-Age And Effects Of Interventions To Prevent Neurodegeneration In Late Life, Junyeon Won, Marissa A. Gogniat, Takuya Kurazumi, Kristy A. Nielson

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

With the rapid increase in the aging population, the prevalence of age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) has risen significantly, affecting over 55 million people worldwide in 2023, with projections suggesting this number will exceed 78 million by 2030 (Better, 2023). While much research has been focused on understanding and treating AD in older adults, there is growing emphasis on early interventions to prevent its onset (Crous-Bou et al., 2017; Dohm-Hansen et al., 2024). In this regard, middle-age has gained recognition as a critical period for the development and prevention of AD (Ritchie et al., 2017). For example, …

Osgoode Syllabus Of Courses And Seminars: 2025 - 2026, Office Of Student Services

Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Green Chelation Strategy For Deashing Of Algal Biomass, Agyare Asante, George Daramola, Ryan W. Davis, Sandeep Kumar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This study investigated a green chelation strategy for deashing algal biomass using nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and deionized water (DI) to enhance its suitability for biofuel and bioproduct applications. Solid-state algal turf scrubber (SS ATS), green algal turf scrubber (ATS), and Scenedesmus were analyzed, with Scenedesmus selected for detailed evaluation due to its high ash removal efficiency. The objective was to optimize a purification process that minimizes ash and heavy metal content while preserving biochemical integrity. Algal biomass underwent sequential washing with DI, NTA, and NTA+DI under varying temperatures (90-130 °C). Analytical techniques including Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Inductively Coupled …

Biochar For Soil Amendment: Applications, Benefits, And Environmental Impacts, Ujjwal Pokharel, Gururaj Neelgund, Ram L. Ray, Venkatesh Balan, Sandeep Kumar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The excessive use of chemical fertilizers results in environmental issues, including loss of soil fertility, eutrophication, increased soil acidity, alterations in soil characteristics, and disrupted plant–microbe symbiosis. Here, we synthesize recent studies available from up to 2025, focusing on engineered biochar and its application in addressing issues of soil nutrient imbalance, soil pollution from inorganic and organic pollutants, soil acidification, salinity, and greenhouse gas emissions from fields. Application of engineered biochar enhanced the removal of Cr (VI), Cd²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Hg²⁺, and Eu³⁺ by 85%, 73%, 57.2%, 12.7%, 99.3%, and 99.2%, …

The Bioremediation Of Nutrients And Heavy Metals In Watersheds: The Role Of Floating Treatment Wetlands, Nirmal Kumar, Bhupinder Singh, Yuanze Chen, Abishek Kafle, Ram L. Ray, Sandeep Kumar, Xiaonan Shan, Venkatesh Balan

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) are engineered systems that utilize floating platforms planted with aquatic vegetation to treat polluted water such as stormwater, agricultural runoff, and wastewater. FTWs have emerged as promising and environmentally sustainable solutions for water purification. This review synthesizes the current knowledge on FTW design, plant selection, and performance evaluation. It highlights key factors influencing nutrient and heavy metal removal, including the hydraulic retention time, mat thickness, and types of plant species. Recent findings on the roles of root architecture, microbial interactions, and seasonal variability in treatment efficiency are also discussed. Additionally, the review explores advanced analytical methods …

Optimizing An Image Analysis Protocol For Ocean Particles In Focused Shadowgraph Imaging Systems, Huanqing Huang, Alexander B. Bochdansky

OES Faculty Publications

A variety of imaging systems are in use in oceanographic surveys, and the opto-mechanical configurations have become highly sophisticated. However, much less consideration has been given to the accurate reconstruction of imaging data. To improve reconstruction of particles captured by Focused Shadowgraph Imaging (FoSI)—a system that excels at visualizing low-optical-density objects, we developed a novel object detection algorithm to process images with a resolution of ~ 12 μm per pixel. Suggested improvements to conventional edge-detection methods are relatively simple and time-efficient, and more accurately render the sizes and shapes of small particles ranging from 24 to 500 μm. In addition, …

Strategic Assessment 2025: Evolving Great Power Competition At Mid-Decade, Thomas F. Lynch Iii, Richard Andres, Natalle Cawston-Gibson, William T. Eliason, Douglas Farah, Liana Fix, T.X. Hammes, Benjamin Harris, John Hickman, Jeffrey Mankoff, Jeremy T. Mathis, Dawn C. Murphy, Marianne Richardson, Phillip C. Saunders, Joel Wuthnow

Books

Strategic Assessment 2025: Great Power Competition at Mid-Decade explores the ongoing dramatic evolution of strategic competition among and between today's three Great Powers - the United States, China, and Russia. Over the past decade, these Great Powers moved from an era of generally cooperative and collaborative interactions to those now dominated by competitive and confrontational dynamics. This book spotlights and evaluates the evolving global strategies pursued by Washington, Beijing and Moscow at mid-decade, illuminating how they clash or complement national power and international status in an array of geostrategic regions and functions.

Bridging Theory And Practice: The Power Of A Mathematics Clinic In Teacher Preparation, Kelly A. Clark, Chrystal O. Dean, Josie Barnes, Hadley Seifert, Lauren Young

Journal of Case Learning & Exceptional Learners

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the National Council on Teaching Mathematics (NCTM) released a joint statement on the importance of preparing special education teachers to teach mathematics (NCTM & CEC, 2024). They provided implications for institutions of higher education with teacher preparation programs, one of which included requiring special education majors to take a minimum of one mathematics course with mathematics content directed specifically to PK-12 mathematics and include field-based learning opportunities within that course. Powell (2015) indicated that effective preparation in mathematics related to special education should include multiple facets, including planned field experiences. Planned field experiences …

Ipeds Data Feedback Report, Georgia Southern University

IPEDS Feedback Reports

No abstract provided.

Books As Windows And Mirrors: A Catalyst For School Belonging In The Middle Grades, Kaitlin Mary Smith

Theses & Dissertations

Adolescents today are reading for leisure at historically low rates and are experiencing increased mental health challenges, such as anxiety, depression, and loneliness. However, research shows that students who engage in reading tend to report having better mental well-being. A strong sense of school belonging—the feeling of being accepted, valued, and connected within the school environment—plays a crucial role in how students engage academically and their overall mental health. For students from historically marginalized groups and diverse backgrounds, it is especially challenging to find reading material that authentically represents their sociocultural identities. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study aimed to …

Small And Mighty: Student Affairs At Small Colleges And Universities, Stacy Fisher

Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs

Book Review

Gas029054-Gas029104

Herbarium (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Liposomes As A Platform For Cd40 Ligand Presentation For The Purpose Of Feeder-Free B Cell Activation, Sydney Bone

Theses

Improvement of in-vitro culture of immune cells is critical for expanding our understanding of the immune system and advancing the treatment of diseases, whether pathogenic, cancerous, or autoimmune, via cellular immunotherapies. This study aims to develop a feeder-free B cell culture system using biomaterials-based presentation of a critical signaling molecule, namely CD40 ligand (CD40L). Traditional B cell culture methods rely on allogenic feeder cells to present CD40L, but a culture of only autologous cells is preferable for cellular immunotherapies. Previous work of our lab established an effective feeder-free B cell culture system using magnetic microbeads as a synthetic platform for …

Subconscious Warnings As A Safety Mechanism Against Phishing Attacks, Henry Schulz

Theses

Phishing attacks are very common and considerably successful in stealing people’s information, but unfortunately normal security procedures fail to warn the user of their possible dangers. By considering how subliminal messages are very effective in informing people without actively disrupting their attention, a prototype of a browser extension was made by implementing subconscious messages and the elements of an effective warning, in an attempt to subconsciously warn users of possible phishing attempts, with minimal impact on browser performance.

Application Of Machine Learning To Predict Ultrasound Wave Propagation In Biphasic Fluid–Solid Media, Jahnavi Dandamudi

Theses

The objective of this thesis is to investigate the application of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to predict ultrasound wave propagation in the cartilage tissue of the knee joint. The learning data necessary for the ML algorithm has been generated through finite-element method (FEM)-based simulations for solving the Biot theory equations governing the propagation of continuous ultrasound through the cartilage. Specifically, we computed the ultrasound-induced dilatations and displacements in the microscale cartilage that is represented as consisting of four zones, namely the chondrocyte cell and its nucleus, the pericellular matrix (PCM) that forms a layer around the chondrocyte, and the extracellular …

Efficient Lossless Compression Of Malaria Infected Image Datasets Using Vision Transformers And Deep Autoencoders, Md Firoz Mahmud

Theses

In the field of medical imaging, lossless compression techniques play a critical role in maintaining the fidelity of medical data, while improving the efficiency of data storage and transmission, especially in telemedicine applications. This thesis addresses the development of a novel machine learning-based method for lossless compression of images of erythrocytes infected with malaria. The proposed method has two stages. In the first stage, a Vision Transformer, a computer vision model that can learn long-range dependence, is employed to separate erythrocyte images into two categories: infected and uninfected. This classification stage is essential as it allows the subsequent compression approaches …

170 Years Of San Francisco Sea Level Pressure, Brendan Heaven

Theses

This data-recovery project and subsequent data analyses address the construction of a continuous, long instrumental record of sea level pressure for San Francisco, California, USA and examines what the time series may reveal about atmospheric patterns through time. Atmospheric pressure is a physical component which is associated with both daily and seasonal weather phenomena and is one of the most robust of the meteorological variables. Observational data of surface pressure (SFP) and later sea level pressure (SLP) were accessed from digital archives, with a large part of these being manually keyed from original observations on paper. San Francisco, being near …

Expression, Purification, And Characterization Of The Angiopoietin-Like 4 Protein N-Terminus, Alexis Leann Paskach

Theses

This research focused on developing protocols to express and purify the N-terminus of angiopoietin-like protein 4 (nANGPTL4), and identify its structural characteristics to understand its possible contribution to cancer metastasis. Bacteria expression was optimized by adding magnesium, calcium, and glycerol to the initial Luria-Bertani (LB) broth incubation, then transferring to Terrific Broth (TB) for induction. Purification was enhanced through overnight nickel resin suspension, extended sonification, and buffer adjustments. Protein recovery was further improved by transferring size exclusion columns to G50 superfine resin. Protein purity was analyzed using SDS-PAGE and native gel electrophoresis, while protein content was determined through UV-Vis spectroscopy. …

Subterranean Drought Classification And Ecological Risk In Karst Systems, Shaelyn Deal

Theses

Cave ecosystems depend on stable groundwater inputs, yet no standard method exists for detecting subterranean drought. This study develops a framework to define and monitor drought in karst cave systems by adapting surface-based hydrologic indicators. Using long-term water level data from Bobcat Cave in northern Alabama, we identified drought events through percentile-based thresholds and evaluated multiple surface metrics, including the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and deep-layer soil moisture, as predictors of cave drought severity. Random Forest models supported the selection of key indicators and informed classification thresholds. These thresholds were then applied across the Middle Tennessee Elk watershed to map …