Digital Commons Network^™

Identity, Familia, And Belonging: Librarians Of Latino American Heritage And Professional Associations, Alicia Long, Denice Adkins

School of Information Faculty Publications

The lack of diversity in the library and information science (LIS) field is a historical problem in a profession that strives to provide access to information for all. Many librarians of Latin American heritage are and have been members and/or leaders of the American Library Association (ALA). Some of them are also members of and participate actively in the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA). The purpose of this case study is to understand how librarians of Latin American heritage (LLAH) experience a sense of belonging within librarianship based on their …

From Realism And Socio-Cognitivism To Ai Constructs: Enhancing Domain Analysis Through Artificial Intelligence?, Martin Thellefsen, Alon Friedman

School of Information Faculty Publications

Introduction. This study explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) within the framework of domain analysis (DA), traditionally grounded in socio-cognitive and realist perspectives. The aim is to assess AI's potential to enhance DA's focus on contextual and disciplinary knowledge, while examining possible epistemological challenges.

Method. Building on established concepts from Hjørland’s socio-cognitive DA framework, this paper employs a theoretical review to examine AI's capacity to augment DA by improving classification, retrieval and interdisciplinary mapping within knowledge organisation.

Analysis. The study critically analyses how AI may either enhance or disrupt DA’s philosophical foundations by potentially reducing domain specificity. Particular attention …

Nutritional, Phytochemical, And Toxicological Profiles Of Blood Fruit (Haematocarpus Validus), Raju Sasikumar, Kambhampati Vivek, Jatindra Kumar Sahu, Paras Sharma, Kadirvel Govindasam, Amit K. Jaiswal

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Haematocarpus Validus is commonly known as blood fruit, is a significant dietary staple in Southeast Asia, particularly in Meghalaya, India. This comprehensive study evaluates the pomological, chemical, nutritional, anti-nutritional, and toxicological properties of the fruit harvested from five different altitudes in Meghalaya. The firmness of the fruit varied significantly, ranging from 65 to 72 N, influenced by altitude and geographical coordinates. Total soluble solids (TSS) ranged from 15.9 to 18.2 °Brix, while titratable acidity (TA) decreased with altitude. Nutritional analysis revealed a protein content of up to 1.5 % and potassium levels reaching 1890 mg/100 g. Phytochemical analysis indicated total …

Recent Progress In Bioactive Loaded Hydrogels For Food Applications, Navjot Kaur, Hamid, Pintu Choudhary, Amit K. Jaiswal

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

The review aims to explore the utilization of hydrogels in the food industry, specifically focusing on their capacity to encapsulate bioactive compounds for enhancing food safety, quality, and health benefits. Hydrogels, with their unique capacity to incorporate various bioactive agents such as antioxidants, antimicrobials, and probiotics, are emerging as transformative tools in the development of functional foods. These hydrogels offer numerous advantages, including the preservation of food quality and the controlled release of encapsulated compounds. Their responsiveness to environmental stimuli allows for targeted release, which is crucial for optimizing the efficacy and shelf-life of bioactive substances. Research indicates that bioactive-loaded …

Biodegradable Curcumin-Nanoclay Films For Extending Shrimp Shelf-Life And Freshness, Kalpani Y. Perera, Sneha Sabu Mathew, Luana De S.C. Carnaval, Dileswar Pradhan, Amit K. Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Preserving food freshness is fundamental for minimizing waste. Intelligent packaging offers valuable information, enhances safety, and improves food quality during storage and transit. This study aimed to develop biodegradable, intelligent food packaging for shrimp using curcumin (Cur), gelatin (Gel), sodium alginate (SA), and nanoclay (NC) to enhance food safety and extend shelf life. The films with 1 % NC-Cur exhibited a 3.46-fold increase in UV barrier properties compared to the control, although Cur reduced transparency. Mechanical testing showed that films containing 0.5 % NC-Cur achieved optimal tensile strength (38.6 ± 30.9 MPa). The water contact angle (WCA) increased to 84.12 …

Prevalence And Concentrations Of Four Waste-Pathogen Combinations From Land-Spreading Across High-Income, Temperate Regions: Meta-Modelling And Distribution Fitting For Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (Qmra), Jennifer E M Mccarthy, Paul D Hynds, Declan J Bolton, Jesús M Frías Celayeta

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

No abstract provided.

Fairness And Data Quality Assessment Of Urban Air Quality Monitoring Datasets: Perspective On Insights From F-Uji Evaluation, M. S.B. Syed, Paula Kelly, Paul Stacey, Damon Berry

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Advancements in information technology have supported the open availability of environmental monitoring datasets to aid global initiatives such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Despite these efforts, challenges concerning data quality and adherence to FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles continue to restrict the effective reuse of such datasets, particularly for secondary applications. This study uses the F-UJI assessment tool and a set of eight established DQ dimensions to evaluate the FAIRness and Data Quality (DQ) of four publicly available urban air quality monitoring datasets from international agencies. Each dataset was assessed against 17 FAIR metrics and …

Engineering Ethics Education Bingo 1.0, Shannon Chance, Mike Murphy, Celina P. Leão, M. Tobosaru, Mary Nolan

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

This paper introduces Engineering Ethics Education (EEE) Bingo 1.0, an active learning tool designed to support ethics education among engineering educators. Drawing inspiration from game-based learning, EEE Bingo provides a playful yet purposeful framework for exploring diverse pedagogical approaches in engineering ethics. The game stimulates discussion and reflection on the alignment between ethical issues and suitable teaching methods, promoting greater pedagogical awareness and collaboration. This paper outlines the motivation behind the game, its structure and rules, and illustrative examples. EEE Bingo encourages critical engagement with teaching strategies, reinforcing the importance of contextualized, interdisciplinary, and reflective ethics education.

A Post-Normal Environment-Centered Approach To Engineering Ethics Education, T Børsen, Shannon Chance, G Meskens

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

This chapter probes engineering responses to contemporary socio-ecological challenges – like climate change and loss of biodiversity – and advocates for a new, post-normal engineering (PNE) paradigm. The chapter promotes cultivating, via reflection and dialogue, a nuanced ethical understanding for grappling with urgent socio-ecological problems, underscoring the need for a diverse palette of ethical frameworks for current and future engineers. The proposed PNE paradigm rejects today's conventional engineering practices and extractive cradle-to-grave model, prioritizing global responsibility and advocating for reflexivity in constructing new approaches to complex present-day issues. Existing theories like virtue ethics and utilitarianism (covered elsewhere in this handbook) …

“I Can Do This”: Resilience Of Women Students In Engineering And Technology Courses In Portugal, Bill Williams, Shannon Chance

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

To understand the factors that influenced female students to choose their degree programs and complete them successfully, we gathered data from 11 women undergraduate students in Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, and Construction Management programs at a Portuguese polytechnic. All participants completed their courses within the two years following the interviews. The two authors analyzed the data gathered via interviews with individual students using thematic analysis and present four generated themes along with their implications.The findings suggest that further research is warranted on the role of short-cycle programs within the Portuguese polytechnic sector in providing routes to help young women overcome obstacles …

Accreditation Considerations In Engineering Ethics Education: Bridging Global Standards And Local Practices: Bridging Global Standards And Local Practices, Louise O'Gorman, Alison Gwynne-Evan, Leah Ridgeway, Marek Rebow, Shannon Chance

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Accreditation can drive curricular innovation and change in engineering and can have a role in encouraging students' development of ethics-related competencies. Despite engineering educators' competence in the technical aspects of design and research, there can be an element of discomfort in planning and delivering lessons relating to ethics that span social justice, diversity and inclusion, environmental sustainability, and ethical theories. Because engineering accreditation can encourage and/or require the inclusion of ethical content in accredited engineering courses, the recently published Routledge Handbook of Engineering Ethics Education dedicated an entire section to the topic. This paper critically assesses the handbook's accreditation section …

A Systematic Review Of The Use Of Electronic Nose And Tongue Technologies For Detecting Food Contaminants, Muhammad Zia Ul Haq, Baljit Singh, Xolile Fuku, Ahmed Barhoum, Furong Tian

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Sensor operations in the food industry are faced with several major challenges, including in sensitivity, selectivity, accuracy and rapid detection. Among emerging technologies, e-nose and e-tongue systems have attracted much attention from researchers. This review examines 112 studies published from 2004 to 2025, and examines the functionalities and performance in detecting various food product-associated analytes. The sensitivity of e-nose and e-tongue systems was analyzed using various data processing techniques. Recent research and development in leading countries (i.e., China, United Kingdom, Columbia, India, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, Ireland) was examined. The findings indicate that principal component analysis (PCA) was the most widely …

Making The Jump: A Self-Study Of The Implementation Of Gamification And Student Discussion In Middle School Mathematics, John Pauly

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Middle school mathematics teaching is a complex practice that incorporates both cognitive and emotional factors (Sen, 2022). Students must have permission to get stuck and unstuck in their thinking while critically considering their approaches (Kapp, 2016), along with opportunities to engage in decision-making, deep reasoning, and discussions about mathematics (Stein et al., 1996). Gamification and game-based learning can place students in an environment where discussion, collaboration and perseverance are highly valued in overcoming challenges and achieving common goals (Kapp, 2016).

This qualitative self-study reflects on the journey of John Pauly, a middle school mathematics teacher, told through his experiences and …

Opportunities And Barriers In Iowa’S Teacher Apprenticeship Program, Patricia Ryan

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this qualitative study is to better understand opportunities and barriers in Iowa’s Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Program (TPRA), framed through the lens of social capital and wellbeing. By examining the lived experiences of apprentices and journeyman/mentor teachers, this study aims to provide deeper insights into the dynamics of teaching apprenticeships, highlighting the challenges and successes faced by teachers in this alternative route to teacher certification. Through in-depth interviews with both apprentices and journeyman/mentor teachers, this research explores how participants build social capital through mentoring relationships, as well as how these connections impact career wellbeing for both …

Competitive School Culture And The Gifted Adolescent, Kailyn Bettle-Nilles

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Academic stress is changing the dynamics of school and the culture of learning for students (Challenge Success, n.d.). This is especially apparent in gifted students who indicate higher instances of feeling it is important to do well in school, being competitive in school, and a desire to be the best at everything (Baker, 1996). Gifted high school students today experience a competitive school culture, defined in this study as the drive for students to take as many honors courses, Advanced Placement (AP), and course accelerations as possible. Previous studies indicate that students in academically rigorous courses like AP experience more …

The Impact Of Administrator Beliefs On Positive School Environments: A Quantitative Study Of High School Administrators In One East Central Iowa District, Sarah E. Kruse

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Creating and maintaining a positive school environment is critical for fostering academic achievement, social-emotional development, and the well-being of students and staff. Research consistently demonstrates that a positive school climate enhances student engagement, reduces disciplinary issues, and improves teacher satisfaction and retention (Brookover et al., 1979; Cohen et al., 2009; Thapa et al., 2013). Effective school climates are characterized by safe, supportive, and inclusive environments that encourage collaboration and mutual respect among all members of the school community (National School Climate Center, 2020).

2025 Cheshire County Advisory Council Agenda & Minutes, Diane Dugray

Advisory Council

No abstract provided.

Strafford County Advisory Council 2025 Meeting Minutes, Cooperative Extension

Advisory Council

No abstract provided.

Adapting To Win: Churchill Downs Inc. And The New Era Of Entertainment And Betting., Mahesh Gupta, William Ferko, Thomas E. Lambert

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of Churchill Downs Inc. (CDInc), a cornerstone of the Thoroughbred racing industry and the distinguished host of the Kentucky Derby. Situated at a critical juncture in the rapidly evolving spheres of gambling and entertainment, CDInc faces unique challenges and opportunities to maintain its preeminence and adapt to new market demands. Utilizing the Service Triangle framework, this study offers a deep dive into CDInc’s strategic operations, service delivery, and competitive positioning. The framework helps illuminate how shifts in consumer behavior, technological innovations, and regulatory changes are reshaping the industry. Despite facing challenges such as declining …

Rescuing Teachers From Burnout: Etiology, Symptoms, And Intervention Strategies, Helen Richelle Ceballo-Hernández

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Reconfigurable Framework For Hybrid Quantum–Classical Computing, Pratibha Fnu, Naveed Mahmud

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Hybrid quantum–classical (HQC) computing refers to the approach of executing algorithms coherently on both quantum and classical resources. This approach makes the best use of current or near-term quantum computers by sharing the workload with classical high-performance computing. However, HQC algorithms often require a back-and-forth exchange of data between quantum and classical processors, causing system bottlenecks and leading to high latency in applications. The objective of this study is to investigate novel frameworks that unify quantum and reconfigurable resources for HQC and mitigate system bottleneck and latency issues. In this paper, we propose a reconfigurable framework for hybrid quantum–classical computing. …

A Survey On Distributed Denial-Of-Service Attack Mitigation For 5g And Beyond, Sanzida Hoque, Abdullah Aydeger, Engin Zeydan, Madhusanka Liyanage

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

The introduction of 6G networks is expected to significantly change the threat landscape related to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, requiring robust detection and mitigation measures. This paper methodologically classifies and evaluates the growing collection of research efforts focusing on detection and protection mechanisms against DDoS attacks in 5G and beyond networks. The survey covers various methods used in the scientific literature and categorizes DDoS mitigation efforts into two main areas: DDoS detection and DDoS defense. It thoroughly analyzes each approach, highlighting its benefits, limitations, and effectiveness in mitigating DDoS attacks against B5G. This survey also discusses the experimental …

Challenges In Machine Learning-Based Social Bot Detection: A Systematic Review, Nasser Alkathiri, Khaled Slhoub

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

The rise of social digital network platforms has led to the widespread presence of social bots, automated entities that actively engage with users and content. While some bots serve beneficial purposes, others pose significant threats by manipulating public opinion, spreading misinformation, and conducting coordinated attacks. As a result, detecting and mitigating the influence of social bots has become a critical area of research. Machine learning-based detection techniques have shown promise in distinguishing bots from human users; however, their implementation presents several challenges, including issues related to data quality, model generalizability, feature selection, adversarial resistance, and computational efficiency. This systematic literature …

Efficient Discovery Of Frequently Co-Occurring Mutations In A Sequence Database With Matrix Factorization, Michael Robert Kolar, Debasis Mitra, Valerie Kobzarenko

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

We have developed a robust method for efficiently tracking multiple co-occurring mutations in a sequence database. Evolution often hinges on the interaction of several mutations to produce significant phenotypic changes that lead to the proliferation of a variant. However, identifying numerous simultaneous mutations across a vast database of sequences poses a significant computational challenge. Our approach leverages a matrix factorization technique to automatically and efficiently pinpoint subsets of positions where co-mutations occur, appearing in a substantial number of sequences within the database. We validated our method using SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domains, comprising approximately seven hundred thousand sequences of the Spike protein, …

Highly Scalable Solid-Core Inhibited-Coupling Fiber-Based Plasmonic Refractive Index Sensor, Mohammad Al Mahfuz, Md Selim Habib

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Advancements in plasmonic sensing require simultaneous detection capability that ensures large-scale detection with reduced losses. In this work, we propose a new solid-core fiber-based refractive index (RI) sensor with an ultra-broad detection range. The proposed fiber consists of a relatively simple single-ring cladding with six circular tubes in which the light is guided in the core based on the inhibited-coupling (IC) mechanism. The sensing performance is investigated using extensive finite-element modeling (FEM) through the combination of IC and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing technology. Our results show a low loss of <3 dB/cm across the RI detection range from 1 to 1.60, peaking the wavelength sensitivity (WS) of 3000 nm/RIU and figure of merit (FOM) of 120 RIU−1. Our study also includes the investigation of the fabrication tolerance, fiber bending, and the use of alternative plasmonic materials, providing insights into the practical implementation capability of the proposed sensor. Our findings highlight the potential of the proposed sensor in emerging applications such as detecting air pollutants, biochemical substances, and DNA, paving the way towards bio-sensing within a lab-on-a-chip platform. © 2025 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement.

Towards The Application Of Graphrag To Network Security, Marco Carvalho, Fitzroy Nembhard, Dhanish Mehta

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

The adoption of large language models (LLMs) has facilitated significant advancements in natural language processing. In a short space of time, LLMs have permeated a wide array of disciplines including healthcare, finance, education, etc. However, in their native form, LLMs retain information in their parameters, which sometimes causes the underlying models to produce inaccurate results or hallucinations. To that end, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) has been proposed to address some of the challenges of LLMs by referencing an external knowledge base while formulating a response to queries. Still, traditional RAG fails to handle the complex structure of relationships among different entities …

The Next Generation Science Standards And Their Implementation In Iowa High Schools, Janell Wright

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Almost a decade ago, the state of Iowa used the Next Generation Science Standards’ (NGSS) performance expectations as the basis for its state science standards for K-12 students. Several key changes were implemented within these standards, including an increase in the amount of Earth and space science content at the high school level and a three-dimensional approach interweaving science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts along with disciplinary core ideas. In this dissertation, I used a three-paper format in an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to explore how districts in Iowa are using scope and sequence to address the NGSS. …

Collaboration Is Key: How Collaborative Learning Unlocks The Door To An Inclusive Legal Writing Classroom, Lisa M. White

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Judging Bankruptcy Without Distress, Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

In Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, the United States Supreme Court rejected the bankruptcy plan of OxyContin producer Purdue Pharma, which purported to settle claims against both Purdue (the bankruptcy debtor) and Purdue’s individual owners and managers, all members of the Sackler family who had not themselves filed for bankruptcy (the Sackler Release). Concluding that the United States Bankruptcy Code does not authorize settlement of claims against non-debtors without claimant consent, the Harrington Court appeared set to stem the tide of “bankruptcy without distress,” a flourishing practice in which solvent non-debtors (like the Sacklers) would settle their liabilities within the …

All Alone, Rachel Sisley

EMET Projects

This artwork depicts a child all alone while she is being cared for in a pediatric hospital.