Digital Commons Network^™

Accuracy Of The Phenotypic 1g Test To Detect Mycobacterium Tuberculosis And Drug Resistance From Sputa In The Us-Mexico Border, Mia Aguirre, Doris Ayala, Juan Ignacio Garcia, Yoscelina Estrella Martinez-Lopez, Amberlee Hicks, Nadine M. Chacon, Ashley Gay-Cobb, Alyssa Schami, Selena Zavala-Perez, Blanca I. Restrepo

School of Medicine Publications

Background: With >10 million new tuberculosis (TB) cases/year, a limitation to TB control is the lack of simple and accurate tests for TB diagnosis and drug-susceptibility testing (DST) in endemic regions. We evaluated the accuracy of the first-generation, low-complexity phenotypic TB test (1G test), designed for simultaneous Mtb detection and resistance to isoniazid, rifampicin and moxifloxacin, suitable for resource-limited settings.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using sputa from 426 possible pulmonary TB subjects from two small Mexican cities bordering Texas. The 1G test was compared against phenotypic TB detection tests in the region [acid fast bacilli smear microscopy and …

Carceral Schools: Black Geographies Of Confinement, Surveillance, And Policing, M. Alex Evans

FIU Law Review

This Article charts the deeply entrenched traditions of policing, containing, and surveilling blackness throughout this Nation’s history, with particular focus on Black students and schools. It provides school discipline data demonstrating the perpetual racial, gender, and ability disparities that Black students face decade after decade. It employs Black Geography as a theoretical framework to analyze school as a spatial and racial experience for all youth. This reading of carceral schools as Black geographic terrains of struggle expands the notion of school policing beyond dominant ideations which are largely limited to law enforcement officers in schools. It highlights the extent to …

Data Breaches, Causation, And Constitutional Standing, Anthony Palermo

FIU Law Review

This Article examines the causation requirement of Article III standing in modern data breach litigation. It argues that federal courts have systematically diluted constitutional limits on judicial power by presuming traceability where none exists. While data breaches are ubiquitous and alarming, the Article contends that the mere occurrence of a breach—and even an injury—should not itself establish a justiciable case or controversy. Drawing on foundational separation-of-powers principles, the Article situates the standing doctrine as an essential mechanism of judicial self- restraint—one that prevents courts from reflexively adjudicating societal fears untethered from any fair attribution to the defendant before the court. …

Efficacy Of Induced After Death Communication Therapy For Grief: A Single-Group Wait-List Controlled Trial, Thomas J. Nehmy, John Daniels, Paul Williamson, Sarah E. Stegall-Rodriguez

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Induced After-Death Communication (IADC) therapy, which uses bilateral stimulation derived from EMDR, is an emerging approach to reducing grief symptoms in bereaved individuals. The present study evaluated the IADC protocol, consisting of two 90-min sessions, in 43 bereaved adults with assessments at four time points including a one-month waitlist period to provide control data. Large reductions in grief symptoms were observed from baseline to follow-up (global grief severity d = 1.56; average daily sadness d = 1.33). Two-thirds of participants who exceeded the clinical cutoff score for prolonged grief at baseline scored below this threshold at follow-up. Treatment effects were …

Factors Influencing Vaping Behaviors Based On Social Cognitive Theory: A Qualitative Study Among Mexican-American College Students, Bara S. Bataineh, Liza Talavera-Garza, Alexandra Loukas, David J. Badillo, Sherman Chow, Geronimo B. Cardenas, Erika Garza, Anna Wilkinson

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Background: Vaping rates among Mexican-American college students are high, yet the contributing personal and environmental factors remain understudied. The current qualitative study applies Social Cognitive Theory to examine how personal factors (e.g., self-efficacy, beliefs, and outcome expectations) and environmental influences (e.g., social norms and social media) shape vaping behaviors in this vulnerable population. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 Mexican-American college students (ages 18–25 years), 68% of whom were female, and all were current vapers. Participants discussed the personal and social contexts of their vaping experiences, with questions exploring their beliefs and outcome expectations. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and …

Música Y Nacionalismo: Selección De Música Con Comentarios, Kristina F. Nielsen, Jessie M. Vallejo

World Music Textbook

Esta es una selección musical sobre el tema del nacionalismo y la música. Puede usarse para acompañar el artículo “Música y Nacionalismo” de World Music Textbook.

Early Sound Recording Technologies, Peter James Verdin

World Music Textbook

This chapter recounts the history of early sound recording technologies, their development up until the early 20th century, and the commercial pressures and colonial legacies that shaped how these technologies were used.

Holding The Past Carefully In Players’ Hands: Historically-Structured Boardgames And The Troubles In History Education, Hugh D. O'Donnell

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

Controversial histories, such as the Troubles in Northern Ireland, are often excluded from formal education, forming a "null curriculum" due to their political sensitivity, emotional difficulty, and risk of bias or re-traumatising students. To address this, Historically-Structured Boardgames (HSBGs) offer an innovative pedagogical approach, engaging students cognitively and emotionally while navigating sensitive historical terrain.

HSBGs like "The Troubles: Shadow War in Northern Ireland 1964-1998" embed players within historically accurate socio-political and economic structures, emphasising player agency and the consequences of their actions. Players assume roles from six factions, confronting ethically charged "Narrative Cards" representing critical historical decision points. The game's …

Secondary Traumatic Stress In Front Line Professionals: An Exploration Of Risk Factors, Laura Lanigan, Sharon Lambert Dr, Raegan Murphy, Graham-Gill Emerson

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

Objective: This study sought to explore the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress in a range of front-line services and the potential impact of age, gender, experience, occupation and adverse childhood experiences. Literature has identified the vulnerability of front-line workers to secondary traumatic stress. However, the literature exploring risk factors for secondary trauma is limited and inconsistent. It was hypothesised that secondary traumatic stress would be prevalent in front-line services. It was hypothesised that demographic factors would not be identified as potential risk factors, while adverse childhood experiences would increase the risk for secondary traumatic stress. Method: Analysis of data collected …

Investigating The Potential For First Year Residential Field Courses To Facilitate The Establishment Of Teacher-Student Relationships In Biological Sciences Undergraduate Degrees, Anne Plessis, Alison Stokes

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Teacher-student relationships (TSRs) in higher education impact many aspects of the student experience, including engagement and performance. However, relatively little is known about the mechanisms of establishment of TSRs, and in particular how these are influenced by specific learning environments and contexts. Here, we undertake an exploratory investigation using first year biological sciences undergraduate residential field courses to examine how this teaching context affected the frequency and nature of teacher student interactions, and consequently the development of TSRs. Data were collected from teacher and student participants using questionnaires and focus groups. We found that interactions during fieldwork took place frequently …

Promoting The Concept Healthy Ageing For Use In Gerontological Health And Social Care Policy And Practice, Claire Donnellan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aims: The concept of healthy or successful ageing dates back to the 1960s, where its goal is more realistic in today's ageing society as a result of effective interventions to control and reduce disability and health risks. The aim of this paper is to outline the importance of defining ageing, the semantics and indicators used, and to identify common challenges for health professionals' understanding and application of a healthy ageing approach in their everyday clinical practice. Design and Methods: This discursive paper demonstrates how realistic ageing indicators are for highlighting the variation and impact of challenges associated with ageing. It …

Przedsiębiorczość: Praktyczny Przewodnik Dla Sukcesu W Biznesie, Jalleh Sharafizad, Violetta Wilk, Kerry Brown, Aglae Hernandez Grande, Fleur Sharafizad, Dorothy Wardale, Arkadiusz Gwarda, Artur Korkoszkiewicz, Marta Komorska, Bartosz Sobotka, Michał Wójcik

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This book is tailored for entrepreneurs in their startups or moving to the next stage of their businesses, micro and small business owners, as well as individuals who are considering starting their own ventures. It brings together essential insights, practical tools, and valuable resources developed through two Western Australian government initiatives focused on entrepreneurial training and support. In addition, it draws on a range of business concepts from other sources, refining and simplifying them to suit the specific needs of emerging and growing enterprises.

Designed to be both flexible and supportive, the book serves multiple roles throughout your entrepreneurial journey. …

Beyond Compliance: Transformative Co-Design For Gender-Based Violence Prevention In Higher Education, Narelle Lemon, Christina Gray, Jason Goopy, Lisa Holmes, Bec Ball, Melissa Perry, Elisa Fear

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study examines how university staff and students experience transformative learning through voluntary participation in a gender-based violence (GBV) prevention programme that transcended compliance-oriented approaches. While universities increasingly rely on mandatory modules that fail to create sustainable change, this research investigates whether self-nominated participation and co-design pedagogy can foster genuine transformation and voice development among participants from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. A qualitative multi-method design examined eight university students (aged 18–24) at an Australian university through pre-post focus groups, observational field notes, and artefact analysis. Participants voluntarily engaged in workshops co-designing peer-focused social media prevention messaging. Inductive thematic analysis identified patterns …

Table Of Contents

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Ideological Narratives In Literacy Reform, Maya Mcgrew

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper assumes a discourse analysis approach to examining if partisan control has influenced why red states have demonstrated faster gains in early literacy than blue states. This is done by investigating whether ideological presence in political framing, and particularly crisis-oriented rhetoric, drives reform adoption as much as policy design. Recognizing the ongoing discourse surrounding the continual improvement of pedagogy and programming, especially in areas of foundational skills such as reading, writing, comprehension, and oral communication. The research employs a systematic coding methodology, and the analysis combines a qualitative review of media narratives and state reform histories with a small-sample …

Ranked Choice Voting At The State And Local Level, Khel Gordhan

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many people across the political spectrum are frustrated with many of the problems that come with simple plurality voting, also known as first-past-the-post, which is implemented in the lion’s share of elections across the United States. To solve many of these problems, some activists and other political organizations advocate for cities and states to adopt Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) as a viable alternative. However, many people, both Republicans and Democrats, claim that implementing this system would be too complicated for people to understand. Due to this, there would be high rates of ballot exhaustion, which would disenfranchise vulnerable minorities who …

Little Saigon Vote: The Mobilization Of Vietnamese Voters Through Ethnic News Media, Vân Lê

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Informed inspectors suspect Vietnamese Americans associate with the Republican Party because of the model minority mindset and their bond over the anti-Communist attitude. These two components created a sense of Vietnamese American nationalism in the refugee community. A way this Vietnamese American nationalism sustains is through ethnic media, which comes in many forms. The most prominent one is YouTube, where many Vietnamese voters (specifically the older generation) gain their political information from. This research seeks to explore how Vietnamese voters make their voting decisions based on the information that they consume by analyzing the content of the four most popular …

Evaluating The Determinants Of Tourism Demand For Policy Implications: Insights From The Moroccan Case, Hakim Lakhlifi, Ghialy Yap

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: This study aims to assess the key determinants influencing Morocco’s international tourism demand to guide the development of an effective national tourism policy aligned with the country’s 2023–2026 tourism roadmap. By analyzing tourist arrivals (TA) from 45 source countries between 2000 and 2022, the research identifies economic and non-economic factors critical to achieving the target of 17.5 million tourists. Priority areas include pricing, infrastructure, security, governance and climate risk resilience. Design/methodology/approach: Using a hypothetico-deductive and quantitative approach, the study applies dynamic panel data models, including the generalized method of moments, to account for endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity. Key variables …

A Mass Cytometry-Based Blood Cell Phenotyping Workflow Enabling Inclusion Of Resource-Limited And Rural Sites In Immune System Studies, Natalie J. Smith, Michael Cohen, Lauren Tracey, Julie Alipaz, Christina Loh, David King, Neha Pulyani, Rebecca Auzins, Elin Gray, Sandra Taylor, Rajat Rai, Steven Kao, Barbara Fazekas De St Groth, Helen M. Mcguire

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Insight into disease detection and treatment through comprehensive immune phenotyping relies on the generation of high-quality data. However, the execution of robust immune monitoring in clinical trials by flow cytometry is complex due to logistical challenges in sample preparation and reagent stability. These challenges are exacerbated when considering remote and rural communities in Australia, which are burdened by both an increased prevalence and a worse prognosis of many chronic and infectious pathologies. This is not unique to the Australian context as globally remote and rural communities are underrepresented in biomedical research studies, contributing to persistent health inequities. To address these …

Transnational Youth And Social Mobility: The Role Of Family Financial Support In Unsettled Lives, Alexandra Lee, Anita Harris, Loretta Baldassar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Transnational mobility is typically seen as an opportunity to break out of fixed class positions and facilitate social mobility. However, the availability of parental support remains a persistent if complex determinant of the social mobility opportunities available to young adults who move abroad. The influence of family support and class background on youth social mobility has been clearly recognised in class scholarship in Australia. Yet, this relationship has remained under-examined in transnational mobility contexts, where social mobility has tended to be examined more in relation to young people’s employment opportunities and visa pathways. Seeking to fill this gap, our paper …

Extending Social Penetration Theory To Online Brand Communities: The Impact Of Perceived Identifiability On Relational Development And Perceived Enjoyment, Stephanie Meek, Claire Lambert, Laureane Du Plessis

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Online brand communities (OBCs) rely on members forming relationships, yet many platforms normalise anonymity. Drawing on Social Penetration Theory (SPT), this study examines whether feeling recognisable to other members (perceived identifiability) shapes relational outcomes and enjoyment in consumer-initiated OBCs. Survey data from 307 members were analysed using structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis. Perceived identifiability significantly increased members’ network ties and sense of belonging but did not directly enhance perceived enjoyment. Instead, belonging mediated the link from identifiability to enjoyment, and network ties strengthened belonging, yielding a serial indirect pathway from identifiability to enjoyment. Comparing lurkers and posters showed that …

Peptidomic Profiling Of In Vitro Digesta From Diverse Microalgae Species, Sara Hamzelou, Damien Belobrajdic, Henri Brook, Wei Chen, Fletcher Hiten, Kim Lee Chang, Diane Purcell, Utpal Bose, Simone Osborne, Cassandra Pegg, Michelle L. Colgrave

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Microalgae are a sustainable protein source, yet few species are used for human nutrition. This study evaluated eight species for protein quality, digestibility, and peptide profiles after simulated gastrointestinal digestion using INFOGEST. Amino acid content, and intestinal-phase peptide mixtures were analysed by mass spectrometry. The methanol precipitation method was used to separate digested (supernatant) and undigested (pellet) peptides following in vitro INFOGEST digestion. The pellet was further separated by molecular weight into 3–10 kDa and >10 kDa fractions to isolate the lower molecular weight peptides from the higher ones. This separation method enabled the identification of potential digested peptides within …

It's The Most Diverse Job I’Ve Ever Had: What Do Registered Nurses Working In Australian Schools Do?, Anita Moyes

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Although nurses have been working in Australian schools for many decades, research has focused primarily on narrow aspects of clinical practice or service delivery in specific regions. The aim of this study was to identify the domains of practice registered nurses report in a typical working day in Australian schools, using interview data from a national sample. Forty-five nurses working in government and nongovernment schools in every state and territory of Australia participated. Interviews were analyzed using inductive content analysis ( Elo & Kyngas, 2008). Six distinct domains of practice characterized nursing work in Australian schools: (i) responding to diverse …

Making Room For ‘Feelings’: What's At Stake For The Theory Of Practice Architectures?, George Variyan, Brad Gobby

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper responds to Thelin, K. [2024. What about feelings? Elaboration on and consideration of the theoretical construct of emotions in practice and practice architectures. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 1–14] intriguing proposal that the theory of practice architectures (hereafter TPA) would benefit from an augmentation to its oft-repeated analytical mantra of ‘sayings, doings and relatings’ by adding the notion of feelings. Thelin's work is motivated by the increasing realisation amongst adherents that TPA has thus far been relatively silent on how emotions mediate practice. As such, there are ongoing efforts to think through the place of emotions in …

From Idea To Implementation: Evaluating The Influence Of Large Language Models In Software Development—An Opinion Paper, Sargam Yadav, Asifa Mehmood Qureshi, Abhishek Kaushik, Shubham Sharma, Roisin Loughran, Subramaniam Kazhuparambil, Andrew Shaw, Mohammed Sabry, Niamh St John Lynch, Nikhil Singh, Padraic O'Hara, Pranay Jaiswal, Roshan Chandru, David Lillis

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

The introduction of transformer architecture was a turning point in natural language processing (NLP). Models based on the transformer architecture, such as bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) and generative pretrained transformer (GPT), have gained widespread popularity in various applications such as software development and education. The availability of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Bard to the general public has showcased the tremendous potential of these models and encouraged their integration into various domains such as software development, for tasks such as code generation, debugging, and documentation generation. In this study, opinions from 11 experts regarding their …

En Ritmo: A Praxis In Decolonizing Traditional Dance Spaces, Megan Curet

School of Art, Design and Architecture Theses

En Ritmo: Praxis in Decolonizing Traditional Dance Spaces is an investigation that explores the intersection of bomba, a traditional Puerto Rican song, music and dance form, and North American contemporary dance. This PhD research aims to decolonize culturally hegemonic dance spaces through a cultural syncretism of contemporary dance and the elements of bomba as foundational principles for training both professional and non-professional dancers. This practice challenges traditional Western dance training paradigms. Therefore it is crucial to clarify that this research is not positioned within the realm of pedagogy; rather, it critically interrogates and deconstructs the distinctions between dance practice and …

Diffusion-Enhanced Nat-Bart Vision Language Transformer For Unified Urdu Word Recognition, Wahid Hussain, Shahbaz Hassan, Isma Ul Hassan, Ahmad Raza Shahid, Asif Naeem, Muhammad Usman Yaseen, Nouman Ashraf

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Handwritten Urdu text recognition remains a very challenging problem due to the cursive and complex nature of the Nastaliq script. Each writer has a unique style, and there is a severe lack of large, well-labeled datasets. These challenges make Urdu text recognition much harder than for many other languages. Here we propose a novel and effective approach for handwritten Urdu word recognition that addresses both data scarcity and feature complexity. We utilized conditional diffusion models to generate synthetic handwritten Urdu word images. These models produce realistic word samples covering a wide range of variations, such as stroke thickness, curves, and …

The Effectiveness Of Digital Therapeutics Intervention In Oral Anticoagulation Management: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Jiayue Guo, Lili You, Lu Liu, Xitong Jiao, Debasish Kar, Jitendra Jonnagaddala

Peninsula Medical School

Objective: To summarize the key intervention characteristics and evaluate the effectivenessand safety of digital therapeutics (DTx) in patients receiving oral anticoagulation, witheffectiveness evaluated using time in therapeutic range (TTR), thromboembolic events (TEE),and mortality, and safety evaluated based on bleeding events.Patients and Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the CochraneLibrary from inception to June 20, 2025, and identified ten randomized controlled trialsinvolving 7,237 patients. The criteria required studies to assess software-based DTxsupporting anticoagulation management and report effectiveness or safety outcomes. Studyquality was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development,and Evaluation (GRADE) framework, and random-effects models were applied.Results: …

Investigating The Impact Of Carboxylated Polystyrene Nanoplastics In The Liver Using Cell Lines And Precision-Cut Liver Slices, Namrata Pandey, Paula Boeira, Nathaniel J. Clark, Eleanor T. Walker, Somaiah Aroori, Jemimah Denson, Richard C. Thompson, Matthew E. Cramp, Shilpa Chokshi, Ashwin Dhanda

Peninsula Medical School

Background and Aims: Increasing reports of plastic accumulation in human tissue have raised concerns about potential adverse health outcomes. Evidence of negative effects of nanoplastics is heterogeneous and provides limited insights into the underlying pathogenic toxicity mechanisms in humans. Methods: In the present study, carboxylate-modified fluorescently labelled polystyrene nanoparticles (PS NPs) were used to investigate uptake and cytotoxicity in three different hepatic models of varying complexity, including HepG2 cells, IHH cells, and human precision-cut liver slices (hPCLS). Results: The results show model- and dose-dependent effects on hepatocytes. 74.2% ± 13.4% of the IHH cells showed PS NPs uptake at 0.1 …

Microplastics, Nanoplastics And Liver Disease: An Emerging Health Concern?, Shilpa Chokshi, Ashwin Dhanda, Matthew E. Cramp, Richard Thompson

Peninsula Medical School

Human liver tissue has been found to contain microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs), with evidence that hepatic MNP accumulation has markedly increased over the past 10 years, prompting critical questions regarding their potential causal role in liver disease. In cell-based and murine models, MNP exposure can trigger oxidative stress, fibrogenesis and inflammation, pathological features that resemble those of advanced liver disease, suggesting shared mechanistic pathways. Furthermore, the capacity for MNPs to act as vectors for microbial pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, endocrine-disrupting chemicals and carcinogenic additives might have important implications for liver pathology. This Perspective examines emerging evidence on the consequences of MNPs …