Digital Commons Network^™

Neutrosophic Stance Detection And Fsqca-Based Necessary Condition Analysis For Causal Hypothesis Assessment In Ai-Enhanced Learning, Jesús Rafael Hechavarría-Hernández, Maikel Y. Leyva Vazquez, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

This study addresses the ambiguities in empirical findings on artificial intelligence (AI) in education by proposing a new methodological framework that combines neutrosophic stance detection and Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). This approach explicitly models truth, indeterminacy, and falsity, allowing for the synthesis of contradictory research. The authors evaluated four causal hypotheses related to AI-based learning, using a survey of 24 university participants to explore the necessary conditions for perceived learning improvements. The results indicate that the digital divide is a perfectly necessary condition for effective AI-enhanced learning. The findings also reveal that AI feedback and AI platform use …

Birthing While Black: The Color Of Care And Black Women’S Lived Experiences Giving Birth In The United States, Portia Cowlings

Theses and Dissertations

Black women in the United States face disproportionate maternal health outcomes during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Despite advancements in healthcare, the United States continues to report the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income developed nations, with Black women experiencing rates up to three times higher than their White counterparts. This phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of Black women in the United States to understand how they navigate the continuum of maternal healthcare, from preconception through postpartum. Guided by the social determinants of health (SDOH) theoretical framework, childbirth was examined through four interconnected …

Patterns Of Exclusive, Dual And Poly Tobacco Products Use Among Cancer Survivors In The United States, Ateeqa Ijaz, Miranda E. Gehris, Paul T. Harrell, Aditya Chakraborty, Rime Jebai, Wei Li, Olatokunbo Osibogun, Seyedeh Yasaman Alemohammad, Ziyad Ben Taleb, Ebbie Kalan

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Purpose

Identifying tobacco products use (TPU) patterns among cancer survivors (CSs) is critical to optimize survivorship care. This study examines exclusive cigarette/e-cigarette, dual (two tobacco-products) and poly (≥ 3 tobacco-products) use among CSs (vs. no cancer history) and its sub-types: smoking-related-cancers (SRCs) vs. non-smoking-related cancers (NSRCs) while also exploring socio-demographic factors.

Methods

The study analyzed 86,551 adults from the 2021–2023 National Health Interview Survey, including 10,846 (9.7%) CSs. Participants were categorized and analyzed based on their CSs status and TPU patterns. Weighted logistic regression models assessed the relationship between TPU and CSs status while adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics.

Results

CSs …

Norfolk Core Redevelopments And Population Disruption Dispersal, Sumner Darling

Institute for the Humanities Master's Papers, Projects, and Capstones

This project is an analysis of the racial impacts of the redevelopment of the downtown area of Norfolk, Virginia in the period of 1939-1959. The overall goal is to understand the ethnic and racial impacts of redevelopment and how populations were treated differently during the two styles of redevelopment that were employed in the city. The existing research on this topic tends to focus on the segregation of the education system in the city over the community population segregation. This makes it difficult to find sources that show the impacts of other factors like redevelopment of minority communities. Through research …

A Kind Of Goodness, Marianne Chan

English Faculty Publications

[Introduction]At the playground, my mother hid from me, I couldn’t find her, and I called her name a thousand times.

And when she reappeared, I ran to her, and she ran to me, and I clenched her neck, and I put my hands on her face, and I said, Where were you? Where were you? and she said, I’m so glad you found me. And we hugged, and she smiled as she cradled me, and I howled, like a gibbon, at her shoulder.

The Effect Of Need For Closure, Gender Essentialism, And Contact On Transphobia, Jacob E. Vargas

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Using a motivated social cognition framework, this study explores whether there is an indirect effect of need for closure on transphobia via gender essentialism and whether this relationship is moderated by transgender contact. Data were collected from an undergraduate sample of 405 cisgender participants (n_men = 159, n_women = 246). A simple mediation and a moderated mediation were used to examine the hypothesized relationships, controlling for participant gender. Results reinforced the positive correlation between gender essentialism and transphobia and the negative correlation between transgender contact and transphobia. However, the mediation and moderation hypotheses were not supported. Need …

Echo Chambers On The Left, Echo Chambers On The Right: How Socioideological Identity Emotion Shape Social Interaction Behavior On Social Media, Dean Carl Jackson

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation investigates how echo chambers emerge on social media by shifting the lens from aggregate patterns of information exposure to moment-by-moment, individual level interaction decisions between peers. I theorize that selective exposure online is not only about what content people consume or avoid, but also about selective social exposure—accepting, rejecting, or sharing with the sources of that content—guided by sociopolitical identity, ideological distance (ID), and discrete emotions. To test this, I employ two survey experiments using real tweets varying in ideological extremity and measure user’s likelihood to Block, Follow, Retweet, or reply, alongside self-reported emotional reactions and ID between …

Fire History, Ecological History, And Historical Human-Environment Interactions In The Northern Great Plains, James Victor Benes

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation explores the spatiotemporal signatures of fire in North American grassland ecosystems. In three chapters, I explore different aspects of fire history in the northern Great Plains. Chapter 1 is an introduction. Chapter 2 focuses on the Euro-American Settlement Period (ca. 1850–1950 C.E.). Fire histories from six different lakes in the Nebraska Sandhills are compared with two periods of historic drought and the establishment of United States Post Offices. Five of the six records show increased levels of biomass burning during the initial phases of Euro-American Settlement. Chapter 3 is a long-term (ca. 15,000 years), high-resolution fire history and …

Boston Scientific Strategic Audit, John Trilling, Carly Gorter, Anna Coffey, Leo Ray

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Boston Scientific had a strong 2023, achieving 13.6% organic growth, $1.208 billion in profit, and maintaining a focus on employee satisfaction and sustainability. Recognized as a top workplace and leading innovator, the company is well-positioned for continued success. Its competitive edge stems from four key strengths. First, its top-tier innovation, driven by strong R&D investment, reinforces its credibility and specialization. Second, its skilled workforce accelerates product development. Third, its deep product lines foster extensive industry knowledge and creativity. Lastly, its logistical capabilities and strategic acquisitions have built a specialized, dominant portfolio. With a focused differentiation strategy, Boston Scientific competes with …

Developing A Culturally Sensitive Nursing Framework For Muslim Patients Practicing Ramadan: Focusing On Fasting Benefits And Islamic Dietary Recommendations, Amreen Mahmood Munshi

Nursing | Student Research Posters

Background: Muslims practice Ramadan, a month-long period of fasting from dawn to dusk, yet many healthcare providers lack knowledge of its principles and practices. Hospitals lack formal education on caring for fasting Muslim patients, leading to a knowledge deficit in cultural competence and sensitivity of Islamic practices. Purpose: This paper proposes a research design for a nurse education program on Ramadan fasting to promote cultural competence and sensitivity in nursing care. The proposed research aims to educate nurses on Islamic practices, particularly Ramadan, to bridge the cultural competency gap. The literature review also explores the health benefits of …

Health Disparities After Redlining: A Comparative Analysis Of Health Outcomes And Health Disparities In Richmond, Virginia And Portland, Oregon, Amal Ali

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

Redlining was a discriminatory housing practice introduced by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation that denied loans and mortgages to Black residents and resulted in a heavily entrenched system of economic discrimination in the U.S. Existing literature points to a strong relationship between redlining and worsened health outcomes in communities of color. For example, redlining is associated with a higher risk of heart failure, a higher risk of death from breast cancer, and a higher risk of COVID-19 infection. While previous research has focused on the relationship between redlining and health outcomes and proposed several possible interventions, there is a lack …

In Re Firstenergy Corp. Securities Litigation: Where Macquarie Meets Affiliated Ute, Elizabeth Cosenza, Amanda M. Payne

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

The central question this Article seeks to address is whether there is any world in which the Affiliated Ute presumption can still apply to cases under Rule 10b-5(b) after the Supreme Court’s decision in Macquarie? Put differently, if only half-truths and affirmative misrepresentations remain actionable under Rule 10b-5(b), is the Basic presumption the only pathway left for securities plaintiffs? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit will likely be the first court to address this issue in In re FirstEnergy Corp. Securities Litigation. The case will test the availability of the Affiliated Ute presumption post-Macquarie in cases based …

The Role Of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners: Addressing The Shortage And Its Implications For Healthcare, Isabel Mary Mccarthy

Nursing | Student Research Posters

The increasing prevalence of sexual assault cases has highlighted the crucial need for trained healthcare professionals who can effectively provide sensitive care for survivors. Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) are registered nurses specifically trained to perform forensic examinations and provide medical and emotional support to sexual assault victims. However, many nursing programs lack formal education on SANE practices, which can hinder students' preparedness to address such cases in their future careers. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a specialized Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) training module integrated into an undergraduate nursing curriculum at Dominican University of California. By …

Networking Among The Human Capitalists: The Organizational Dynamics Of Change And Power In The Large Corporate Law Firm, Alan James Klugel

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Law firms are unique creatures. They are subject to market pressures as well as ethical obligations and professional norms. They are in direct competition with other organizations for both clients and the lawyers necessary to perform work for those clients. They are comprised of lawyers who are simultaneously cooperative and competitive with one another. They are neither hierarchy nor anarchy, neither a collection of independent actors nor an entity under which its employees are subsumed. Instead, they are organizations shaped and reshaped by their members; organized around shared goals, internal contestations and external constraints; and defined by the ties between …

The Black Panther Party: From Militancy To Social Activism, De'andre Brown Jr.

History and Political Science | Senior Theses

This research project examines the ways in which the Black Panther Party (BPP) was negatively portrayed by the media and targeted by the government from the moment of the organization's inception in 1966. The BPP’s shift in rhetoric style from militancy to social activism is emphasized by examining the organization’s “survival” programs, such as the Free Breakfast Programs, Free Health Clinics, and Education Programs, and their impact on black communities around the country. Past scholarly opinions about the BPP were driven by a fear from white America toward the organization’s aggressive style of protest and social activism. The government looked …

This Is How You Can Be A Cool Adult, Angelica Angelica

ENGS 15.11: Design and Education

“This Is How You Can Be a COOL Adult” is an interactive and self-reflective lesson designed to help high school juniors through college seniors practice being more compassionate, open-minded, optimistic, and laughing-out-loud (humorous) in their everyday lives. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to describe and explore research-based strategies that foster compassion, open-mindedness, optimism, and humor, and create a personalized “COOL Action Plan” with self-reflection logs to track progress. The lesson takes place in an unconventional classroom setting (outdoors) and includes mini-lectures, meditation, collaborative games, creative role-play, personal reflection, and practical methods for applying these qualities …

Space For The Departed: Burial, Land Scarcity, And Bone-Ash Apartments In China, Xinyi Wu

Pitzer Senior Theses

The rise of bone ash apartments in China reflects a layered response to urban land scarcity, shifting funeral policies, and real estate speculation. As the state mandates cremation and restricts private cemetery development, traditional burial customs are increasingly reshaped by spatial limitations, economic pressures, and political regulation.

For some families, bone ash apartments function as modern ancestral halls—domestic spaces for remembrance and ritual continuity. For others, they represent a pragmatic investment strategy, offering long-term storage of ashes within assets that retain market value.

This thesis examines how urban planning, state funeral policy, real estate dynamics, and the disintegration of neighborhood …

Art As Asset: The Rise Of The Financialized Art Market And The Abstraction Of Value, Kenneth Knothe

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the financialization of art through the expanding use of art-backed loans and institutional involvement. It focuses on how artworks—once primarily valued for their aesthetic or cultural significance—are now routinely treated as financial assets within the art market. The paper uses case studies from Sotheby’s Financial Services and Mitchell F. Chan’s blockchain-based reinterpretation of Yves Klein’s Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility. Drawing on the work of Walter Benjamin, Pierre Bourdieu, and Wendy Brown, it argues that this shift undermines museums’ roles as cultural stewards and redefines the meaning of value in the art world to something more quantifiable. …

The Solar Maya: Resilience And Strength In The Face Of Climate Change, Anna Frances Paradise

Pitzer Senior Theses

The solar maya of Yucatán, Mexico is an example of a sustainable agroecosystem that holds the potential to embed resilience in the livelihoods of those who utilize it. However, this traditional and indigenous system of agriculture is threatened by the immense forces of urbanization and modernization imposed on the area. I conducted research that included 14 different in-person and online interviews of academic and local personnel in Mérida and in nearby Yucatecan municipalities as well as visited seven different solares mayas, documenting my findings through audio recordings and photographs. With this collection of qualitative data, I found trends in the …

Farming As Life: Reframing Smallholder Farming As A Site Of Self-Sufficiency And Cultural Heritage In Botswana, Natasha Yen

Pitzer Senior Theses

Dominant neoliberal frameworks often frame smallholder farming through a deficiency lens, reducing it to metrics of productivity, efficiency, and profitability. These perspectives overlook the deeper material, cultural, and social significance that farming holds in the lives of smallholder farmers. In Botswana—where approximately 70% of the rural population engages in smallholder farming—farming remains a vital part of everyday life, yet few studies adopt a culturalist or holistic lens to examine its meaning. To center smallholder farmers’ lived experiences and perspectives, this study is based on semi-structured interviews with ten smallholder farmers in southeast Botswana. Grounded in a culturalist framework and critical …

Public Land And Political Identity: Problematizing Open Space Preserves In Marin County, California, Samantha Gottsegen

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis is an interdisciplinary exploration of the role of protected natural areas—namely county-run open space preserves—in shaping political identity in Marin County, California. I critically examine the politicization of public lands and the sociorelational dynamics that emerge within local communities surrounding protected open space. I seek to deconstruct dominant understandings of landscape and nature as apolitical, neutral, or untouched, instead approaching public land as a site of ongoing meaning-making, identity formation, and power negotiation. I further place emphasis on the role of the state, through county governing bodies and affiliated organizations, in mediating access, constructing narratives of ownership, and …

The Impact Of Class Size On Students’ Learning Outcome And Educational Experience: A Comprehensive Examination Of Students At Msu, Mankato, Yakubu Ali

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The topic of class size and its relationship to students' learning outcomes and educational experiences has been extensively examined in the field of education. While prior research has explored associations between class size and academic performance, less is known about how class size shapes professor-student and student-peer interactions and how these interactions relate to students' perceived learning outcomes and overall educational experiences. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study conducted a comprehensive examination of undergraduate students at MSU, Mankato, combining quantitative survey responses with qualitative reflections. Findings suggest that class size is closely tied to patterns of engagement, with smaller classes …

Creative City Making As A Theoretical Research Practice By Using Soft Systems Methodology, Salfitrie Maryunani, Togar Simatupang, Isti Mirzanti

Journal of Urban Culture Research

This study proposes a novel conceptual framework for creative city development that integrates cultural and economic perspectives, moving beyond the traditional singular focus of existing literature. It identifies three core variables – culture, creativity, and the creative economy – within a balanced model. Using Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) as a structuring tool, the framework conceptualizes these interrelations within a complex urban system. Its originality is demonstrated through a design for application in Bandung, Indonesia, an underexplored context, providing a foundation for empirical validation. The paper concludes with actionable activities for implementation, offering a comprehensive tool for integrated diagnosis and planning …

From Urban Space To Everyday Place : Appropriation Of Public Leisure Areas In Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Marcos Guimarães (Guimaraes)

Journal of Urban Culture Research

The dramatic changes occurred in the organization of cities reverberate in the very individual and interpersonal levels of spatial relationships. This essay approaches the public space by transposing fundamental concepts identified among the urban cultural system to the everyday experience of particular places. This transposition gives an insight into the comprehension of the built environment by exploring links between scales. The referential frame adopted is the set of discourses by Soja (2000) on the post-metropolis. The study cases, two contrasted leisure areas situated in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, are potential spots for the cultural and spatial appropriation of …

Musical Analysis Of Chanting Melodies In The Teochew Chinese Yoga Tantra Ritual In Thailand, Rachan Sornchai, Narongchai Pidokrajt, Poonpit Amatyakul

Journal of Urban Culture Research

This study explores the musical elements of the Dharma Sankhita chants in the Mahayana Teochew Chinese Yoga Tantra ritual at Kak Hang Niam Huk Lim Monastery, Bangkok, Thailand. It examines the ritual’s background and musical analysis. Practiced by both Teochew and Cantonese Chinese, the ritual known in Teochew as “Bang Iem Kao” is a profound act of filial piety and ancestor veneration, rooted in the Eight Cardinal Virtues of Chinese ethics. The ceremony is held to dedicate merit to deceased ancestors and preserve cultural traditions. It can be performed at both family and community levels, encouraging intergenerational participation and solidarity. …

The Impact Of K-Pop On Thai Popular Music : A Study Of Cross-Cultural Communication & Influence, Chananya Piratanatsakul, Vich Boonrod

Journal of Urban Culture Research

This study examines K-Pop's influence on Thai popular music, focusing on cross-cultural communication and its impact on the Thai music industry. Using a mixed-methods approach including content analysis, interviews with industry professionals, and a consumer survey, this study investigate changes in musical style, production, marketing, and audience reception. The findings reveal significant K-Pop-influenced shifts in Thai pop music, encompassing musical composition, visual aesthetics, artist development, and fan engagement. The study argues this phenomenon represents a complex interplay of cultural adaptation and localization rather than mere imitation, reflecting broader cultural globalization trends. The study provides insights into the negotiation between global …

Analytical Approach To Find Effective Factors On Users' Attachment To Public Spaces (Case Study : Khayyam Street, Qazvin), Maryam Chakhchian

Journal of Urban Culture Research

Different physical, social, activity and meaning aspects define public spaces as a social space. Several studies argue the relations between those main aspects and users’ attachment to such spaces. In this regard, this study tries to evaluate the significance of the relations between those four mentioned aspects in a selected public space based on the citizens' choice as a successful and desirable urban space. Data have been analyzed by SPSS software and the results indicate all of mentioned dimensions have a positive significance correlation users’ attachment to the place. Although, the result of path analysis shows activity aspect has an …

Local Material Practice As A Collective Spatial System In A Craft Neighborhood, Resza Riskiyanto, Yandi Andri Yatmo, Paramita Atmodiwirjo

Journal of Urban Culture Research

This article demonstrates how spatial production occurs within local material practices as socially and spatially structured phenomenon. Discourses in local material practice often emphasized the repetitive production processes as cultural expressions; however, the spatial dimension of these practices remains under-explored. Understanding how space is produced and utilized in the process of making 'gerabah' as one of the original Indonesian pottery crafts in Yogyakarta provides new insight into the ecological, social, and technological systems that sustain local communities. This research is important to bridge the knowledge between cultural production studies and spatial analysis within the context of local craft industries. The …

Perceived Obligations Of Older Partners In Living-Apart-Together Relationships, Allison M. Martin, Timothy S. Killian

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Older and middle-aged adults are increasingly in Living-Apart-Together (LAT) relationships characterized by committed romantic relationships without marriage and cohabitation. Because of assumptions that older adults will receive family caregiving as they grow older and need caregiving, it is not clear how people are likely to perceive obligations to provide caregiving assistance. As adults move into old age and incidence rates of Alzheimer’s Disease or Related Dementia (ADRD) increase, questions about the availability of family members to provide needed assistance are complicated by LAT relationships. The purpose of this study was to examine perceived obligations to provide assistance to older adults …

Community Engagement Newsletter, January 2025, University Of Northern Iowa. Office Of Community Engagement.

Community Engagement Newsletter

Contents:

--- Happy New Year
--- Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement
--- Cedar Valley Young Professionals
--- Service-Learning Course Designation
--- Engaged Department Institute: Save the Date, May 27-28
--- Spring Syllabus Consideration
--- Nonprofit Explore-A-Ganza
--- Certified Nonprofit Professional Credential
--- Community Engagement Celebration Day
--- UNI Engaged Podcast