Digital Commons Network^™

Harnessing Kenyan Aquaculture Through Social Media: Impacts, Challenges And Strategic Directions, Domitila Kyule, Jonathan Munguti, Mavindu Muthoka, Esther Magondu, Menaga Meenakshisundaram, Chrysantus M. Tanga, Kevin Obiero, Cecilia Githukia

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Aquaculture is increasingly important for food, nutrition and livelihoods in Kenya, but the sector still faces persistent constraints in extension delivery, farmer learning, input access, market coordination and information reliability. This review examines how social media and related digital communication tools are shaping aquaculture development in Kenya, with attention to impacts, challenges, governance needs and strategic directions. A systematic literature review of studies and institutional sources published between 2015 and 2025 was conducted. The search identified 388 records, of which 45 sources were included in the final synthesis after screening, eligibility assessment and quality appraisal. Because the evidence was heterogeneous, …

Trademarks, Functionality, And Competition, Glynn Lunney

Faculty Scholarship

Courts and commentators have long thought that the purpose of trademark and unfair competition law is to distinguish fair competition from unfair competition and prohibit the latter. Yet, trademark law has a more fundamental, more foundational purpose. Before trademark law can distinguish fair competition from unfair competition, there must first be competition. That makes ensuring competition trademark law’s highest priority. Identifying and prohibiting unfair competition becomes, by necessity, a subordinate concern. Until 1982, courts recognized this hierarchy and enforced a broad and flexible functionality limitation on trademark or trade dress protection to ensure competitive markets. In 1982, however, this changed. …

History, Myth, Courage, And Selflessness: Kate Shelley And The Bridge Of Darkness, Stephen M. Jennings

All Theses

This thesis documents the research, creative development, and production of the animated short film Kate Shelley and the Bridge of Darkness. The project is inspired by the historical account of Kate Shelley, a fifteen-year-old girl who in 1881 crossed a railroad bridge during a violent storm near Moingona, Iowa, to warn a nearby train station of a catastrophic bridge collapse. Over time, Shelley’s actions became both a documented historical event and a subject of mythologized retellings in American cultural memory. The film explores this tension between history and legend through an interpretation that balances historical research with cinematic storytelling. The …

Painting A Scene: 3d Painterly Rendering From Curves To Rebelle, William M. Luttrell

All Theses

Stylized 3D rendering has seen much development and success over the past few years. From Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to The Bad Guys, many studios have developed tools to incorporate stylistic elements from graphic novels, comic books, watercolor paintings, and more into their productions. This stylization process incorporates the pacing, visual style, and themes from the source medium into the animated work, allowing a much greater freedom of expression for artists and directors.

Inspired by these films as well as the needs of the short film Kate Shelley and the Bridge of Darkness currently in production, This paper presents …

Immersive Attraction Design Using Real Time Virtual Production Techniques: A South Carolinian Ghost-Lore Dark Ride, Gabrielle M. Delo

All Theses

The role of themed entertainment can serve as a tool for cultural enrichment by integrating regional folklore into attraction design, using South Carolina’s “Gray Man” legend as the narrative foundation for a proposed dark ride. This project highlights how attractions can introduce wider audiences to lesser-known folktales while fostering appreciation for regional identity. It also examines the use of real-time virtual production, specifically using Unreal Engine 5.5, as a unified platform for previsualizing narrative-driven environments, enabling efficient iteration and integration of both physical and digital storytelling elements. This project positions game engine technology as a means of preserving and communicating …

Characterizing Microplastics In Flood Sediments After Hurricane Helene In Asheville, North Carolina, Abigail Sgan

All Theses

Microplastics are contaminants of emerging concern whose ubiquity across natural environments results in their involvement in many kinds of natural processes, including transportation and deposition in natural systems. The purpose of this thesis is to characterize microplastics and determine the mechanisms that affect their distribution, transport, and sequestration within known Hurricane Helene flood deposits in fluvial and Southern Appalachian wetland environments after Hurricane Helene in Asheville, North Carolina. Four fluvial and four Southern Appalachian wetland environments were sampled after Hurricane Helene. Samples collected in fluvial environments were taken as grab samples from surficial sandy flood deposits left behind by flooding …

Evaluating Pfas And Marine Microbial Interactions In Estuarine Sediments With Varying Urbanization And Assessments Of Microbial Responses To Pfos, Zachary J. Padgett

All Theses

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse class of synthetic chemicals that have become globally distributed due to their extensive use in industrial and consumer products and their extraordinary resistance to environmental degradation. Their persistence and documented toxicity have made them a growing concern in coastal environments, particularly in estuaries where urban runoff, wastewater, and industrial discharges concentrate these compounds. Estuaries are unique in that tidal mixing and interactions with fine-grained sediments and organic matter promote PFAS retention, while the microbial communities living directly within estuarine sediments are positioned where PFAS preferentially accumulate, creating conditions for prolonged exposure and …

Habitat Associations Of Small Mammals And Their Role As Sentinels For Biodiversity In The Southern Blue Ridge, Katelyn Steen

All Theses

Small mammals play important roles in healthy forests, but we still know very little about many of the rare and state-listed species living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina. Traditional surveys are expensive and time-consuming, so we tested a newer, camera-based method called AHDriFT. From 2024 to 2026, we set up 60 camera systems across high-elevation forests to track six state-listed species: the Carolina red-backed vole, woodland jumping mouse, eastern woodrat, masked shrew, pygmy shrew, and eastern spotted skunk. We detected all six target species and conducted occupancy modeling for four. We found spotted skunk occupancy increased near …

Evaluating The Potential For Chain Elongation To Produce Medium Chain Carboxylates From Anaerobic Conversion Of Lipids, Erin Boyer

All Theses

Medium Chain Carboxylates (MCCs), including caproate and caprylate, are valuable chemicals in various industries that can be produced biologically through an identified chain elongation pathway called reverse β-oxidation. During lipid degradation in anaerobic co-digesters at wastewater treatment plants, methane production is maximized to ensure the successful breakdown of the lipids. It remains unclear whether the anaerobic conversion of lipids possesses the potential to produce MCCs, and this study sought to evaluate the potential using anaerobic co-digester sludge from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant. Batch assays were conducted using the sludge from the plant as inoculum, as well as palmitic acid, …

Understanding The Potential Sources Of Bacteria And Turbidity Pollution In The Edisto Island Watershed, Brynne Sumner

All Theses

Anthropogenic pollution introduces contaminants, such as pathogenic bacteria and turbidity, into coastal watersheds. These contaminants are the major contributors to water quality impairments in the three sub-watersheds encompassing Edisto Island and the Town of Edisto Beach (hereafter referred to as the Edisto Island Watershed), located within the ACE Basin, South Carolina, USA. With 18 locations impaired for fecal bacteria and 19 for turbidity on the 2024 South Carolina 303(d) list of impaired waters, the Edisto Island Watershed offers valuable insights into the water quality challenges rural coastal communities face.

This study aimed to identify the sources of fecal bacteria and …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Sea Turtle (Chelonia Mydas, Caretta Caretta, And Lepidochelys Kempii) Suture Morphology, Adolfo Emanuel Artigas Iv

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

Sea turtle shells are formed of modified ribs, which, structurally, are sandwich composites. Sandwich structures provide both physical protection and pressure response associated with diving at depth. Carapacial sutures, tight joints between adjacent bones, connect modified ribs with collagenous fibers. Previous research on freshwater turtle shells suggests that sinuous sutures (highly convoluted) enhance compression strength. Limited research explored the form and functional significance of sutures in marine turtles. To investigate suture morphology and potential ontogenetic effects, I analyzed sutures in green (Chelonia mydas), Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtles. Samples …

On The Paces Of Artaud: An Attempt To Examine An Afro-Futurism Template Through The Lens Of Theatre Of Cruelty, Nihal Hassan Abdulla

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the scenic rationale of Baby Love, highlighting its poetic stage language and metaphoric choices. Referencing Artaud, it investigates how scenery challenges conventional theatre and demonstrates the feasibility of Afro-futurist aesthetics within the Theatre of Cruelty. The approach prioritizes sensory communication, following Artaud’s emphasis on stage techniques.

Referring to the influence of Artaud’s intense artistic milieu, which contributed to the crystallization of the concept of Cruelty, and identifying methodologies used in developing my design metaphor.

Tracing the emergence of the Afrocentric movement in America reveals that the literary roots of Afro-futurism were established in cyberculture a bit earlier …

A Genetic Analysis Of The Rare Endemic Astragalus Ripleyi Barneby, Juan Antonio Jaramillo-Chico

Master's Theses

Astragalus ripleyi Barneby is a rare endemic species found in the San Luis Valley of the southern portions of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and New Mexico. Though not federally listed as endangered, the species is on the Bureau of Land Management’s Sensitive Species List, warranting protection and continued management. This study aims to provide information about the genetic health of the species to inform conservation efforts and provide updated management recommendations. A genetic health analysis was conducted investigating the levels of diversity present in the species, how genetic diversity is structured across the known range of the species and …

Fish Meal Serum Modulates Mitochondrial Membrane Potential In Steroidogenic Cells: Implications For Luteoprotection In Cattle, Tyra Marie Goodluck

Master's Theses

The bovine corpus luteum (CL) is a transient endocrine gland that forms after ovulation and produces progesterone, a hormone crucial for early pregnancy. The cattle industry faces tremendous losses annually due to early embryonic mortality within the first 100 days of gestation, where approximately 16% occur during a critical timeframe known as the maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP). In a normal estrous cycle, if no viable embryo is present, the uterus secretes prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) during the late luteal phase, triggering luteal regression. One key action of PGF2α is reducing luteal blood flow, leading to hypoxia. This hypoxic state induces …

The Acute Effect Of A Single Dose Of Berberine On Blood Glucose Response Following A Standardized Meal And 2-Mile Walk Performance In Healthy Adults, Victor Emmanuel Obaro

Master's Theses

It is clear that exercise improves overall health status, and it is possible that berberine (BR) may work through some similar mechanisms to improve health status as well.  Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the acute effects of a single dose of BR on health status following a standardized meal and a 2 mile walk treadmill protocol with outcomes including blood glucose (BG), blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and a two-mile walk time trial performance. Methods: This study used a cross-over design where 14 healthy, young adults were given berberine (BBR) …

Van D. And Barbara B. Fishback Honors College Annual Report 2025-2026, Van D. And Barbara B. Fishback Honors College

Honors College Annual Reports

Table of Contents:

[Page] 4   Honors Engagement Showcase
[Page] 6   Honors by the Numbers
[Page] 8   College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences
[Page] 10 College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
[Page] 12 College of Education and Human Sciences
[Page] 14 College of Natural Sciences
[Page] 16 College of Nursing 
[Page] 18 College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions
[Page] 20 Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering
[Page] 22 Imagine Honors Progress Report
[Page] 26 Cultivating the Honors Community
[Page] 28 Study Abroad
[Page] 30 The Justice Challenge
[Page] 32 Celebrating Honors: Honors Convocation
[Page] 36 Honors Grads Going …

Impact Of Inguinal Fat Trauma On Collateral Arteriolar Sympathetic Innervation Following Arteriogenesis, Sydney Christina Luong

Biological Sciences

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is caused by a buildup of plaque in the arteries, leading to reduced blood flow and tissue ischemia. Arteriogenesis, the formation of natural bypasses through collateral vessels, is a promising therapeutic target for PAD, but the presence of enlarged collaterals does not always result in a protective effect. This may be because arteriogenesis is associated with loss of vascular tone, or the ability to vasodilate in response to changes in tissue metabolic demand or pharmacological agents. One of the primary regulators of vascular tone is the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), the increased activity of which increases …

Timely Trials, Costly Remedies: Remedial Deterrence After Jordan, Maggie Morris

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article critiques the Supreme Court of Canada’s ceiling–stay regime under sections 11(b) and 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which imposes a presumptive limit on trial delay and mandates a stay when the ceiling is breached. The regime’s design is best understood through the analytical lens of remedial deterrence, which examines how the cost of a strong remedy shapes judicial interpretation of a right. I argue the automatic stay has produced meaningful gains by forcing governments and justice actors to internalize the costs of delay, but its rigidity has also encouraged doctrinal adjustments that risk narrowing …

Introduction To Liah Greenfeld’S Scholarship On Nationalism, Civilizations, And Humanity, Zeying Wu

Comparative Civilizations Review

This introduction to the special issue of Comparative Civilizations Review, dedicated to the late Professor Liah Greenfeld, summarizes her original approach to the study of nationalism, civilization, and humanity. It describes her groundbreaking contributions across multiple disciplines ⎯ including sociology, political science, anthropology, economic history, and psychiatry ⎯ and introduces Greenfeld’s comparative civilizations project, an ambitious endeavor to which she dedicated her final years. The introduction concludes by examining examples of her influence on the work of scholars around the world featured in this special issue and how her intellectual legacy provides vital frameworks for understanding the world in …

The First Principles Of Chinese Civilization: Relationalism And Pragmatism, Sai Zhang, Yongnian Zheng

Comparative Civilizations Review

This article examines the first principles of Chinese civilization, relationalism and pragmatism, through Liah Greenfeld’s (2024) definition of civilization as a distinct cultural reality. By comparing Chinese civilization with others, particularly in the context of globalization, we seek to identify its distinctive characteristics. Our overview analysis draws on interdisciplinary literature (including linguistics, philosophy, sociology, political economy, and social psychology). We argue that the complexities of Chinese civilization require a nuanced understanding of its first principles, which are codified in language and cognition. The article explores how these principles manifest in mainstream thoughts such as Confucianism and Legalism, influencing social structure …

Cognitive Foundations Of The Absence Of Antisemitism In Japan: Towards A Civilizational Perspective, Chikako Takeishi

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper explores the gap between civilizations in the forms antisemitism takes and the cognitive modes on which it is based, given its significance for comparative civilizational analysis. Antisemitism is characterized by two features — the expressive nature of violence and an orientation toward the elimination of an entire group — which are particularly salient compared to other forms of anti-sentiment familiar in the age of nationalism. In the first section of this paper, I argue that antisemitism exhibiting these features has not been present in Japanese history. The subsequent sections, building on Greenfeld’s theory of civilization, examine existential envy …

Children’S Literature As A Site Of Cross-Civilizational Analysis: Hong Kong In Crisis After 2019, Faye Dorcas Yung Schwendeman

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper applies Liah Greenfeld’s cross-civilizational framework to Hong Kong children’s literature published from 2017 to the present, with emphasis on post-2019 works. Existing scholarship argues that 2019 marked the crystallization and mass diffusion of Hong Kong national consciousness; a nationalism lens therefore helps explain the intensified production of Hong Kong-centered narratives, civic pedagogy, and Cantonese-language transmission. I argue, however, that nationalism does not fully account for a crisis register that becomes salient in parts of the corpus: texts that frame the conflict as a struggle over singular truth, counter-memory, and intolerable contradiction, and that assign to ordinary people a …

The “Original Spirit” Of Chinese Civilization: Wang Huning And The Indigenization Of Reform In Post-Mao China, Chandler Rosenberger

Comparative Civilizations Review

For several centuries, modernizing intellectuals in China have struggled with the question of how to move their country forward against the inertia of a large peasant population rooted in millennia-old traditions. The Communist Party of Mao Zedong tried to fill that peasantry with revolutionary fervor, but grew fearful as chaos quickly destroyed traditions and reforms alike. In the last three decades, however, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seems to have found a way to engage the population in modernizing within their own familiar cultural framework. Guided by chief ideologist Wang Huning, the CCP has embraced a civilizational approach to reform …

The Family As A Mechanism Of Civilizational Continuity: Absorption, Localization, And Rejection Of Modern Values In The Indic Case, Monika Monika

Comparative Civilizations Review

Contrary to the common view that the family socializes the individual into a given culture, this paper insists that the family performs a far more profound, indeed, a constitutive function. It is not simply the first school of civilizational values; it is the primary institutional site through which a civilization reproduces its symbolic order and, in so doing, acts as the gatekeeper of civilizational continuity and change. It is here that a civilization’s foundational principles are first internalized; and it is here, too, that modern values, or new norms thrust upon it by encounters with alien civilizations ⎯ are first …

Unconventionality In Liah Greenfeld's Thought, Francesco Duina

Comparative Civilizations Review

As certainly all of her readers recognize and many of the contributions to this special issue will point out, Liah Greenfeld’s writings covered an almost unparalleled breadth of themes and empirical levels ⎯ from the very macro to the very micro. Hence, she produced seminal contributions to the study of empires, globalization, states in history, nationalism, economic systems, the arts, religions, groups and organizations, terrorism, animals and humans, the social sciences, science in general, mental illnesses, and the mind. Most recently, she had turned her attention to civilizations (Greenfeld, 2016, 2025). The rigor of her writing was equally impressive: it …

Exploring Rural Culture And Gambling Harm Among Young Adults In Central Appalachia, Noah S. Anderson, James P. Whelan, Meredith K. Ginley

Appalachian Student Healthcare Research Review

Background: Gambling-related harms are increasing among young adults, yet limited research has examined how rural cultural identity shapes gambling engagement and associated harms. Appalachia is a predominantly rural region with distinct cultural values, limited behavioral health access, and increasing exposure to legalized and informal gambling opportunities.

Purpose: This study examined whether Appalachian self-identification and affective states are associated with gambling engagement and gambling-related harm among college students residing in central Appalachia.

Methods: Participants were 395 undergraduate students recruited from a central Appalachian public university who completed an online survey assessing Appalachian self-identification, gambling engagement, gambling-related symptom severity (Problem Gambling Severity …

2026-2027 Faculty Handbook, August Publication, St. Norbert College

Faculty Handbooks

No abstract provided.

Expression Levels Of Heat Shock Protein 72 And Their Correlation With Biomarkers Of Renal Function Among Hispanic Construction Workers Exposed To Ambient Heat In El Paso, Texas, Maria Fuentes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Heat shock proteins (HSP) are intracellular molecular proteins that are upregulated in response to cellular stress, including heat exposure. Through their protective functions, HSP help maintain protein structure, prevent protein denaturation, and preserve cellular homeostasis during states of physiological stress. Because of their cytoprotective properties, HSP have emerged as potential biomarkers for detecting early signs of tissue injury and predicting clinical outcomes associated with heat related illnesses (HRI), including acute kidney injuries (AKI). AKI is a leading cause of hospitalizations due to heat stress exposure and heat stroke. In the absence of early detection and effective therapeutic interventions, AKI may …

Tissue-Specific And Sex-Dependent Microbiome Structure In East African Cattle Ticks (Amblyomma Gemma And Rhipicephalus Pulchellus) And Their Bovine Hosts, Dennis Getange, Samson Mukaratirwa, Rua Khogali, Epaphrus Yuko, James Kabii, Joel L. Bargul, Jandouwe Villinger

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Ticks and their vertebrate hosts share intimate ecological interactions that shape microbial community composition, with implications for tick fitness and pathogen transmission. However, the extent and specificity of tick–host microbial interactions remain poorly understood, particularly in East African tick species. Here, we characterised microbial communities across multiple tissue types from two economically important tick species (Amblyomma gemma and Rhipicephalus pulchellus) and their shared bovine host using 16S rRNA V1-V2 gene sequencing. We profiled haemolymph, midgut, salivary glands, and gonads from individual ticks (25 Am. gemma and 8 Rh. pulchellus), alongside 12 bovine blood samples. Microbiota were dominated by Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, …

The Horror Of Female Autonomy: The Transformation Of Women In Vietnam War-Era Fiction And Film, Regan Roberts

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

During the Vietnam War era, cultural fears intersected with evolving gender roles, particularly as women gained greater autonomy and visibility in public and private spheres. Fears such as these are realized and explored in the horror genre. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried explores this societal tension in its short story, “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong,” through Mary Anne Bell, a young girl whose transformation from innocent girlfriend to the monstrous Other subverts traditional femininity. I will explore this short story and its significance by contextualizing it alongside other media from the horror genre of the Vietnam War era, …