Digital Commons Network^™

International Declaration On Gender Apartheid And Its Destructive Consequences, Georges Abi-Saab, Belquis Ahmadi, Hala Alkarib, Waheeda Amien, Penelope Andrews, Zainah Anwar, Marzia Babakarkhail, Cecilia Bailliet, Manizha Bakhtari, Karima Bennoune, Laurence Boisson De Chazournes, Roya Boroumand, Terry Boullata, Charlotte Bunch, Rebecca J. Cook, Roberta Clarke, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Suraya Dalil, Wesahl Domingo, Shirin Ebadi, Yakin Ertük, Alda Facio, Stephanie Farrior, Hannah Garry, James Thuo Gathii, Richard Goldstone, Pablo De Greiff, Mozn Hassan, Yoko Hayashi, Helena Kennedy, Sisi Khampepe, Fawzia Koofi, Viviana Krsticevic, Joanna Lewis, Marina Mahathir, Haanya Malik, Elham Manea, Gay J. Mcdougall, Juan E. Méndez, Davood Moradian, Denis Mukwege, Nadia Murad, Elizabeth Odio Benito, Thandi Orleyn, Mikiko Otani, Tamana Zaryab Paryani, Pragna Patel, Fausto Pocar, Javaid Rehman, Mary Robinson, Kenneth Roth, Albie Sachs, Mariam Safi, Gita Sahgal, Sima Samar, Habiba Sarabi, Fatou Sou, Leigh Toomey, Melanne Verveer, Zarqa Yaftali, Ganna Yudkivska

Other Publications

The Declaration is the result of an 18-month process of global consultation with leading experts, including a series of virtual consultations with women human rights defenders (WHRDs) from Afghanistan in spring 2025 and an in-person convening of United Nations (UN) experts, Afghan and South African WHRDs, civil society representatives, and international law experts at the University of Michigan Law School in September 2025.

This effort builds on the precedent of other experts’ declarations, signed on to by leading international legal and human rights experts, which were very influential in developing a human rights jurisprudence on a range of issues, and …

Efficacy Of Endophytic Fungi In The Management Of Spoladea Recurvalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) On Amaranth (Amaranthus Dubius), Druscilla Obonyo Nyamamba

All Master’s Theses

Amaranth is a Traditional African Vegetable (TAV) that in recent years has gained global popularity due to its exceptional nutritional, medicinal and economic attributes. However, its production is significantly limited by insect pest infestations, mainly lepidopteran defoliators. Spoladea recurvalis, commonly known as Hawaiian beet webworm has been reported as the major pest that feeds voraciously on the leaves leading to substantial yield losses of up to 100% under severe pest infestation. Chemical control remains a widely used method for the management of S. recurvalis. The use of fungal endophytes has emerged as a promising, sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to …

The Molecular Effects Of Microwave Irradiation Upon Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Pathogens, Alistair White

Peninsula Dental School Theses

IntroductionAntimicrobial resistance is a global health crisis due to the emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria, driven by poor antibiotic stewardship, particularly in low to middle income countries where antibiotics can be bought over the counter. Currently, the molecular diagnosis of infections and genomic DNA extraction are both hindered by several factors including, expense, time, technical expertise, and the requirement of a laboratory-based setting. This makes it difficult to extract genomic material at point-of-care preventing the use of rapid molecular methods for the detection of antibiotic resistant genes. Thus, the gold standard for determining the appropriate antibiotics to treat infections …

Freedom Beyond Colonialism: Fanonõs Critique Of Nžgritude As Liberation, Fiona Martinelli

Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Report Open The Watermark (1993–2022): A Publication History And Reconstruction, Carston Anderson

The Watermark: A Journal of the Arts (1993-2014)

This record outlines the publication history of and background context for the legacy UMB student journal, The Watermark, which published from 1993 to 2022.

Integrating Web-Gis And Inquiry Learning To Enhance Spatial Thinking In Geography Learning, Nyokro Mukti Wijaya, Meri Herlina, Sugeng Widodo, Suhendro Suhendro

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This study investigates the impact of integrating Web-GIS with Inquiry Learning on secondary school students’ spatial thinking skills. A 2×2 factorial experimental design was employed with 116 eleventh-grade students from SMA Negeri 13 Bandar Lampung, divided into four treatment groups: direct instruction with printed maps, direct instruction with Web-GIS, inquiry learning with printed maps, and inquiry learning with Web-GIS. The Spatial Thinking Ability Test (STAT), a widely validated international instrument, was used to measure outcomes. Data were analysed using two-way ANOVA. The findings indicate that the learning media had a significant effect, with Web-GIS outperforming printed maps, whereas learning strategies …

Virtual Reality And Creativity In Visual Art Education: The Mediating Role Of Exploration Within A Project-Based Learning Framework, Lidan He, Shaharuddin Bin Md Salleh

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly integrated into creative education for immersive, interactive learning. While prior research confirms VR’s potential to enhance learning outcomes, its support for creativity remains underexplored. This study examines whether exploration mediates the relationship between VR use and creative performance within a project-based learning framework. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 80 second-year visual art students, who were allocated by intact sections to either a VR–PBL group or a traditional PBL group. Over four weeks, students completed an illustration-based design project. Creative performance was rated by experts, and exploratory behavior was measured using the Experiential Learning Survey, …

Developing A Serious Game-Based Platform To Support Programming Learning, Noven Indra Prasetya, Nia Saurina, Arief Ardiansyah

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Programming learning, especially among informatics students, faces significant challenges related to understanding concepts and syntax, as well as low engagement in programming courses. To address these issues, this research developed DolananCoding, a serious game-based learning platform specifically designed for C++ programming learning. The platform integrates a live coding feature, enabling students to write code directly, along with a leaderboard to motivate them through healthy competition. The immersive concept in DolananCoding is designed to provide an interactive and enjoyable learning experience, aiming to enhance students’ engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes in C++ programming. This research aims to test the effectiveness of …

Teacher-Guided Video Instruction For Dance Appreciation: A Design-Based Research Study, Cuiqing Meng, Tiantian Zhou

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Video is widely used in dance appreciation courses; however, unguided viewing often leads to passive observation rather than analytical understanding. Grounded in multimedia learning theory and instructional scaffolding, this study employed a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach to develop and evaluate a teacher-guided video instructional model in a dance appreciation course in a Chinese university. The DBR process involved iterative phases of design, implementation, analysis, and refinement within an authentic classroom context. A convenience sample of 23 undergraduate dance majors participated in the study. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire consisting of Likert-scale items and open-ended responses. Quantitative data were …

Enhancing Academic Literacy Through Ai-Supported Writing Analytics In Multilingual Higher Education, Riki Nasrullah, Septia Rizqi Nur Abni

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This study examines the longitudinal impact of AI-supported writing analytics on academic literacy in multilingual higher education. Using a quasi-experimental design over two semesters with 124 undergraduates, the treatment group employed a GPT-based analytics tool, while the control group relied on conventional feedback. Using a longitudinal quasi-experimental design and repeated-measures analyses, the study found significant group effects and significant Group × Time interactions, indicating that the treatment group achieved larger and more sustained gains in academic literacy. Process-oriented indicators and learning analytics further showed a shift from surface editing to global revision, accompanied by deeper metacognitive engagement.

Artificial Intelligence In Higher Education: How Educators’ Perception, Readiness, And Well-Being Shape Performance, Fatimah Pohan, Dicky Aprillo Siregar, Muhammad Bangun Siregar

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming higher education, but its effectiveness depends on how educators perceive, adopt, and psychologically respond to the technology. This study examines the effects of educators’ perception of AI and AI adoption on self-reported educators’ performance through AI readiness and psychological well-being. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model, Readiness for Change Theory, and the Job Demands–Resources framework, the study employed a quantitative cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from 121 educators at private higher education institutions in North Sumatra, Indonesia, using purposive sampling of active educators. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. …

Coding, Machine Learning, And Game Engines In Initial Teacher Training, Sara Redondo-Duarte, José Manuel Sáez-López

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This study evaluated the integration of coding, visual block programming, game engines, and machine learning (ML) modeling in initial teacher education. The aim was to examine the feasibility of this instructional approach and its association with pre-service teachers’ computational knowledge and attitudes toward programming and artificial intelligence (AI). A one-group pretest-posttest design was implemented with 129 undergraduate students enrolled in Primary Education degree programs at two public universities in Spain. Knowledge of computational concepts was assessed with a 10-item test analyzed using a paired-samples Student’s t-test, while attitudes toward programming and ML were evaluated with two Likert scales analyzed using …

Investigation Of Dean’S Transformational Leadership Profiles And Digital Transformation Maturity In Guangxi Public Higher Vocational Colleges, Lili Ding, Jamilah Binti Ahmad, Yuqiang Luo

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Background: As China builds an innovation-driven economy, vocational education provides essential skilled workers for key industries, helping to elevate vocational colleges into crucial centers for talent development and social mobility. In this context, the dean’s transformational leadership may play an important role in supporting institutional digital transformation.

Research Question: How do deans’ transformational leadership domains predict institutional digital transformation maturity across leadership and pedagogy in vocational education?

Methods: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design combined a faculty survey with semi-structured interviews. Valid survey responses from 30 faculty members were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression, followed by thematic analysis of …

Guest Editorial For Alabama Libraries: What We Can Learn About Library Instruction From K-12 Education, Summer Upton

Alabama Libraries

No abstract provided.

The Homerathon: A Collaborative Teacher - Librarian Project, Douglas Welle, Dutcha Lawson

Alabama Libraries

This article, co-authored by a high school librarian and a Latin teacher describes a highly successful collaboration at the high school level designed to enhance the curriculum and promote the role of the library as a continuous learning environment. The “Homerathon” read-aloud attracted nearly 140 participants over a four-day period in 2024. Benefits included engaging students in the act of reading, increasing awareness and understanding of a classical work of literature, and highlighting the role of the school library as a vibrant learning hub. Building on the success of the Homerathon, a second read-aloud event was held in 2025 and …

Creating Safe Spaces: A Trauma-Informed Approach In Alabama State University's Special Collections Department, Kashonda Murphy

Alabama Libraries

A trauma-informed library is a library that adopts practices and policies designed to understand, recognize, and respond to the impact of trauma on individuals who use its services. This approach aims to create a safe and supportive environment for patrons who may have experienced trauma, such as abuse, violence, poverty, discrimination, and natural disasters. Key principles of trauma-informed care are promoting safety, trustworthiness, peer support, collaboration, and empowerment in all aspects of library operations and interactions. This article details the approaches taken to initiate trauma-informed principles into the Special Collections Department at Alabama State University.

Overcoming Egfr-Mediated Dendritic Cell Dysfunction To Enhance Anti-Tumor Immunity In Egfr-Mutant Nsclc By Precisely Targeting Cd73 With Ph-Responsive Nanocarriers., Xiaoling Shang, Xudong Geng, Zixu Wang, Shumin Yuan, Shanshan Ding, Ni Liu, Xinchun Ma, Xuan Sun, Huimin Wang, Ying Sun, Xun Qu, Guangwen Ren, Yong Qiang Li, Xiuwen Wang, Yanguo Liu

Faculty Research 2026

EGFR mutations remain a major challenge in immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with poor responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors driven by mechanisms associated with EGFR mutation-mediated tumor microenvironment (TME) modulation. This study reveals that EGFR mutations prominently impaired dendritic cell (DC) maturation, disrupting their capacity to effectively prime CD8+ T cells and thereby compromising anti-tumor immune responses. By application of clinical specimen analyses, multi-omics approaches, and in vivo mouse models, this work demonstrates that EGFR mutations elicited adenosine production through the ERK/c-Jun signaling axis in tumor cells, establishing an immunosuppressive TME that impeded maturation and antigen presentation of …

Growth And Development Of Lettuce And Mizuna Under Urrm-Representative Conditions, Claudia Garrido-Ruiz, Bruce Bugbee, Juan D. González-Teruel, Alexandra Cartwright, Scott B. Jones

NASA

The Utah Reusable Root Module (URRM) is a zero-discharge plant growth system under development for operation in microgravity aboard the International Space Station. Qualification of the URRM requires defining expected crop performance under representative operating conditions to evaluate nominal biological behavior. This study presents experimental results documenting the growth of mizuna (Brassica rapa var. japonica) and Outredgeous lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under URRM-representative conditions defined by the use of a silicone rubber fringe top cover for root-zone containment. 

Ground-based experiments were conducted using the Greenhouse System, URRM Simulator – Replicate 1, and URRM Simulator – Replicate 2, …

Research Support Newsletter (Winter 2026), Elizabeth D'Angel

The AC's Research Support Newsletter (Formerly AISR Connections)

Sections

• New Resources & Updates 
• Research Support & Data Management
• Grants & Funding Opportunities
• Writing & Publishing Support
• Design & Presentation Tools
• Research Integrity
• Research Workshops

Winter 2026, Humayun Islam

PMI Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Abortion On The Move: Navigating The Fractured Reproductive Healthcare Landscape, Kim D. Ricardo

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

From Copper To Ashes: Violations Of The Right To A Healthy Environment And Health In Tsumeb, Namibia, Sarah Dávila A.

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Equitable Disaster Relief In Western Alaska: Rebuilding The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta After Typhoon Halong, Emma Knapp

2026 Claremont Colleges Library Undergraduate Research Award

This zine, created for Professor Kareem Collie's Design & Equity seminar at The Hive, examines disaster relief efforts in Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta following the landfall of ex-Typhoon Halong on October 12th, 2025. Halong displaced over 1,600 people in nearly fifty Alaska Native communities. The project combines journalistic reporting from local Alaskan news sources with library resources that grounded the research in anti-colonial and environmental justice frameworks. This zine uses an equity-driven lens to deconstruct how colonial policies continue to shape disparate impacts of climate change. It also illuminates how complex systems of oppression emerge over time. Overall, the decolonization of …

Power Of Sogurup: How Disguised Intellectuals Mobilized Korea’S Labor Sector, Jun Kwon

2026 Claremont Colleges Library Undergraduate Research Award

This paper situates the efforts of disguised laborers in 1980s South Korea within the broader movement for democracy against then-President Chun Doo-hwan's rule. Resistance began in education, where high school and college-aged students began organizing through academic and social channels across the country. To leverage the platforms students had built on campuses post-Kwangju, many students, either suspended or graduated, disguised themselves as academic elites to enter factories and sweatshops to work with and radicalize laborers. The analysis identifies the types of interactions between disguised laborers and full-time laborers and provides historical reasoning for how this process catalyzed the impactful set …

Imperfect Guardians, Amna A. Akbar, Ryan D. Doerfler

Articles

Professor David Strauss attributes the U.S. Supreme Court’s reactionary jurisprudence to a breakdown of elite consensus. He observes that lawyers and judges disagree about the proper “victims” of our political process: Are they Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ people or, instead, Whites, Christians, and gun owners? Strauss worries the jurisprudential approach that emerged from Carolene Products now allows for judicial intervention on behalf of groups loaded with political power. Even then, he insists on the classic liberal defense of the courts: that courts serve as an important if imperfect check against the majoritarian domination of minorities.

In this Essay, we identify …

Untangling Ai Openness, Parth Nobel, Alan Rozenshtein, Chinmayi Sharma

Articles

The debate over AI openness—whether to make components of an artificial intelligence system available for public inspection and modification—forces policymakers to balance innovation, democratized access, safety, and national security. By inviting startups and researchers into the fold, it enables independent oversight and inclusive collaboration. But technology giants can also use it to entrench their own power, while adversaries can use it to shortcut years and billions of dollars in building systems, like China’s DeepSeek, that rival our own. How we govern AI openness today will shape the future of AI and America’s role in it.

Policymakers and scholars grasp the …

The Link Fantastic: Detecting And Linking Simulated, Nongravitationally-Accelerating Objects With The Rubin Observatory Pipeline, Ellie White

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the Solar System. After only a few months of regular operations, Rubin has already discovered over 11,000 new Solar System bodies, and is projected to discover millions more. With discoveries pouring in, and with the development of moving object detection pipelines for routine observing, one key question is: how effectively can Rubin detect and identify objects with anomalous trajectories? The answer is of interest not only for natural bodies in our Solar System, but also in the search for technosignatures, which could be identified …

Sexually Dimorphic Effects Of Gpnmb Modulation On Vertebral Bone Mass Regulation And Intravertebral Disc Health, Hakem Altawil, Fayez Safadi

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Osteoporosis and vertebral degeneration are major contributors to musculoskeletal morbidity, yet the molecular mechanisms regulating vertebral bone and intervertebral disc (IVD) homeostasis remain incompletely understood. GPNMB (osteoactivin) has been identified as a regulator of bone remodeling, though its role in spine health is unclear. This study evaluated the effects of GPNMB deficiency on lumbar vertebral bone microarchitecture and IVD integrity in a sex-dependent context.

Six-month-old male and female wild-type (WT) and GPNMB knockout (KO) mice were analyzed using micro–computed tomography (µCT) of lumbar vertebrae (L4–L6) and histological assessment of the L5–L6 IVD. KO males exhibited increased bone volume fraction, bone …

Three Essays On Financial Social Media And Capital Market: Editorial Promotion, Authors’ Communicating Style, And Implications On Firms, Wenzhuo Zhao

2026

Financial social media platforms have emerged as an increasingly important source of information for investors, as illustrated by the role of Seeking Alpha, Reddit, X (Twitter), and other platforms in the 2021 “meme stock” episodes and the subsequent SEC report on equity market structure. While prior research has largely focused on the informativeness of social media content—asking whether social media sentiment predicts stock prices or trading activity—our understanding of how social media reshapes the broader capital market information environment remains limited. Using data collected from Seeking Alpha, a leading crowd-sourced financial research platform and one of the largest online investing …

Implementing Impact Data Collection And Program Evaluation In A Nonprofit, Jamie Devellis

OTD Capstones

This doctoral capstone highlights a gap between data collection practices and nonprofits, which impacts participation rates of children experiencing poverty. This gap is an issue for nonprofits because stakeholders and donors are more likely to fund organizations that can provide impact data about their services. This capstone addresses that gap through creating and implementing data collection and program evaluation for a grassroots nonprofit that funds enrichment programs for children experiencing poverty in southeastern Massachusetts. Data collected found that the program has a positive effect on the children and families of whom they serve that surpass their main goal of building …