Digital Commons Network^™

From Measuring Clicks To Inclusion: Coverage Of Digital Adolescent Sexual And Reproductive Health Programs, Miriam Temin, Christabel Gero

Adolescents and Young People

Digital platforms have become popular tools to address adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR) in low- and middle-income countries. Digital programming has the potential to bridge the SRHR information gap, especially for adolescents who face SRHR risks. Given what is known about the digital divide, it is essential to understand who digital ASRHR programming reaches, who is excluded, and how coverage aligns with risk. This brief summarizes an exploration that aims to stimulate interest and seed research on issues of coverage of digital programming for adolescents and its public health importance.

Evaluating Datasets And Models For Offensive Language Identification, Skye Deson Morgan

Theses

Social media platforms enable people to easily communicate with one another, share ideas and express their opinions. Unfortunately, the anonymity provided by platforms such as Twitter and Facebook is more than enough to foster the spread of harmful content. Government agencies, as well as technology companies, are actively working towards finding better means of curbing offensive and objectionable content in social media and contributing to a more welcoming online environment. In this study, I first present a critical literature review on offensive language identification, exploring offensive language datasets and computational models using both machine learning and deep learning. Next, I …

Re-Evaluating Virtual Reality Manipulation Techniques For Precise Alignment Of Complex 3d Objects, Cherelle Connor, Alexander Giovannelli, Leonardo Pavanatto, Francielly Rodrigues, Haichao Miao, Vuthea Chheang, Brian Giera, Peer Timo Bremer, Doug A. Bowman

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Prior research has developed a number of manipulation techniques that can achieve precise object placement in virtual reality, but studies of these techniques typically use simple objects. We conducted a study comparing two existing techniques, (AMP-IT and WISDOM), during alignment of objects with complex geometry to evaluate the potential influence of geometric complexity on performance, usability, workload and preference. Our findings indicate that participants had faster completion times and higher trial completion rates with AMP-IT on high-precision alignment tasks, contrary to earlier findings that used simple objects. Yet WISDOM is still preferred and considered more usable, despite increased workload and …

Pattern-Aware Graph Neural Networks For Handling Missing Data, Minett Tran, Taehee Jeong

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Missing data is ubiquitous in real-world datasets. Traditional methods either discard incomplete samples or apply imputation techniques that ignore potentially informative missingness patterns, implicitly assuming that missingness occurs randomly. However, missingness patterns might provide additional information. We propose pattern-aware graph neural networks that explicitly encode which features are missing alongside observed values. We used four encoding strategies-learned embeddings, frozen random embeddings, statistical features, and hierarchical representations-across seven UCI datasets with naturally occurring missingness. Our Pattern-aware methods achieve substantial improvements over baselines, with an average improvement of 17% in balanced accuracy and 22% in F1-macro across all datasets. Our code and …

Statistical Cryogenic Characterization Of Commercial 14nm Finfets For Analog Applications, Wesley Xi, Le Minh Long Nguyen, Vikram Magendar, Hiu Yung Wong

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Cryogenic devices at 4.2K are indispensable in the control electronics for large-scale quantum computers. Due to its small manufacturing volume, a standard commercial foundry process is likely to be used in the near and medium terms. Moreover, 77K electronics are promising for high-speed server applications. Besides digital circuits, analog circuits with non-minimal channel length are particularly important in quantum computing control. In this paper, special structures are designed to characterize the device properties of medium- and long-channel length devices at 292K, 77K, and 4.2K in a commercial 14nm FinFET process. About 100 structures were measured for both NMOS and PMOS. …

Engage & Empower Vol. 2, Elhanan Marvit

Open Touro Created

2026

Engage & Empower, Volume 2 is the second installment in the “Engage & Empower” OER series by Elhanan Marvit LCSW. It serves as the logical next step following Volume 1 (Spring 2025). While the first volume introduced foundational concepts in social work practice, ethics, and generalist skills This volume guides students and readers deeper into the applied, interpersonal, and reflective dimensions of becoming a competent practitioner.

Students begin their reading journey as they strengthen their understanding of professional competence. They achieve this by learning how to navigate field placements, engage in supervision, manage boundaries, and integrate feedback. The text …

Surface Marker Identification To Capture Live Circulating Tumor Cells In Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Bree M Lege, Khushali J Patel, Brendan Panici, Ping Gong, Michael T Lewis, Matthew J Ellis, Chonghui Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is highly aggressive and lacks targeted therapies. Circulating tumor cells (CTC) are invaluable for monitoring metastatic tumor progression and treatment response but are difficult to capture because of their rarity and heterogeneity. Surface-based staining for live CTCs is essential to preserve RNA quality in single cells, but current markers tend to perform poorly on more mesenchymal tumor cells such as TNBCs. To enhance live TNBC CTC detection, we developed a workflow for live CTC capture and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). Using a mouse model of metastatic TNBC, we identified four new CTC surface markers, AHNAK2, …

Lysine Demethylase 4a Is A Centrosome-Associated Protein Required For Centrosome Integrity And Genomic Stability, Pratim Chowdhury, Xiaoli Wang, Richard I Han, Manga Motrapu, Ashley G Boice, Yuya Nakatani, Sofia Vargas-Hernandez, Julia F Love, Claude Chew, Sandra L Grimm, Dereck Mezquita, Frank M Mason, Elisabeth D Martinez, Cristian Coarfa, Cheryl L Walker, Anna-Karin Gustavsson, Ruhee Dere

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Centrosomes play a fundamental role in nucleating and organizing microtubules in the cell and are vital for faithful chromosome segregation and maintenance of genomic stability. Loss of structural or functional integrity of centrosomes causes genomic instability and is a driver of oncogenesis. Here we identify lysine demethylase 4A (KDM4A), an epigenetic 'eraser' of chromatin methyl marks, as a centrosome-localized protein, visualized at the nanometer-scale resolution. We additionally uncovered that KDM4A demethylase enzymatic activity is required to maintain centrosome homeostasis and integrity; a previously unknown functionality unlinked to altered expression of genes regulating centrosome number. We find that KDM4A interacts with …

Strategies And Challenges For The Recruitment Of Young Healthy Participants In The Dietary Approaches To Longevity And Health (Dial Health) Pilot Trial, Hannah E Cabre, Courtney M Peterson, Gareth R Dutton, Kimberly L Drews, Stephanie T Broyles, Robert Dubin, Laura Q Rogers, Catherine Champagne, Dennis T Villareal, Daniel S Hsia, Leanne M Redman, Corby K Martin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Understanding the impact of nutrition on human aging requires long-term trials in young, healthy, unmedicated adults. As part of the Dietary Approaches for Longevity and Health (DiAL Health) pilot project, we evaluated strategies for recruiting this population for aging-related dietary intervention studies.

Methods: We analyzed recruitment costs to enroll 70 participants (ages 25-49, BMI 22.0-29.9 kg/m2) across two DiAL Health sites and used NHANES data (2017-March 2020) to estimate the proportion of U.S. adults meeting partial trial eligibility. Additionally, a formative study surveyed 492 U.S. adults (≥18 years) to assess interest in aging-focused dietary trials.

Results: Of 2049 applicants …

Therapeutic Potential Of Hookworm Proteins In Promoting Regulatory Immune Responses To Modulate Trypanosoma Cruzi Induced Liver Inflammation And Oxidative Stress, Maria Jose Villar, Cristina Poveda, Bin Zhan, Maya Gonsoulin, Kathryn M Jones

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection causes significant liver pathology, and current antiparasitic treatments often worsen hepatic damage. Hookworm-derived proteins have shown immunomodulatory effects in inflammatory diseases, including T. cruzi-induced myocarditis.

Objective: This study evaluates recombinant hookworm proteins AIP-1 and AIP-2 for treating liver inflammation in a murine model of chronic Chagas disease (CD).

Methods: Female BALB/c mice infected with T. cruzi were treated with AIP-1 or AIP-2 (1 mg/kg) for seven days. Controls were untreated or received aspirin (25 mg/kg) for 14 days. Liver tissues were analyzed for parasite burden (quantitative polymerase chain reaction - qPCR), histopathology (H&E, Picrosirius Red), …

The Development And Pilot Evaluation Of An Out-Of-Hospital Immersive Birthing Simulation Training Application For Paramedics And Ambulance Officers Using Virtual-Reality Technology, Michella Hill

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Out-of-hospital births (OOHBs) are births which occur outside a hospital setting. This includes planned home births attended by midwives, or unplanned OOHBs where the intention was to birth in a hospital or maternity centre, however, occurs in an unintended location. Prehospital clinicians, inclusive of registered paramedics and volunteer ambulance officers (VAOs) infrequently attend OOHBs, as most births occur in maternity wards as anticipated. OOHBs comprises < 1% of emergency ambulance requests and requires specialised skills for prehospital clinicians to competently manage birthing and potential complications. As exposure to birthing is so rare, these specialised skills and knowledge are underutilised and subject to rapid decay. Compounding the problem, obstetrics is infrequently taught across undergraduate education, in-service training, or within individual clinician’s continuing professional development. Placements shadowing midwives are scarce due to nursing and medical students receiving priority. Previous research regarding OOHBs is limited, nonetheless suggests prehospital clinicians are underprepared to manage an OOHB, which has serious patient safety implications. The present research sought to explore prehospital clinicians’ preparedness and confidence in managing OOHBs. It also investigates whether a digital training solution such as virtual reality (VR) simulation may reduce the theory-practice gap and assist in competency retention.

Publication one provides a comprehensive methodology outline which is applied to Study One; a scoping review of prehospital clinician and birth parent experiences with OOHBs. Risk factors, complications and interventions provided by prehospital clinicians, as …

On The Surface: The Mural Of Shireen Abu Akleh As Space For Encounter, Saja Abd El Hai

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis examines a mural of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the city of Baqa al-Gharbiya as a site of political encounter. Rather than approaching the mural solely as a commemorative image, the study analyzes how it generated a series of interactions through acts of creation, defacement, restoration, performance, and digital circulation. Drawing on scholarship in visual culture, graffiti studies, and political theory, I argue that the mural operates as a gendered space of political encounter through which grief, resistance, and national identity are negotiated in public space. Methodologically, the project combines visual and contextual analysis with rhetorical criticism, …

Two Cheers For Cox V. Sony, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

There’s a lot to dislike about the Supreme Court’s opinion in Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment. It mischaracterizes, oversimplifies, and ignores precedent. It fails to engage with important arguments. It mangles the meaning of “intent.” And it introduces uncertainty into the workings of secondary liability across other intellectual property regimes.

For these reasons, the decision doesn’t deserve three cheers. But it deserves two. Because in two important ways, the Supreme Court has succeeded. First, the opinion fixes some misguided appellate court holdings by articulating a relatively workable standard for future copyright cases involving secondary liability. Second, despite …

Lethal Injection Then And Now: A Topsy-Turvy Moment For The Abolition Movement, Corinna Barrett Lain

Law Faculty Publications

At first glance, how states execute prisoners is an entirely unattractive question for those who think that states shouldnot be executing prisoners at all. Indeed, one might reasonably take the position that discussions about how states execute presume that executions can be carried out in ways that are acceptable and unacceptable, which is antitheticalto the very core of the abolitionist position. As the renowned Henry Schwarzschild-longtime director of the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project and founder of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty-wrote in 1980, "Theworst sin of all is to do well that which should not be done …

Dismantling The Whiteness Of Legal Education, Doron Samuel-Siegel

Law Faculty Publications

Whiteness is not merely a racial description. Whiteness operates as allegiance to structural racism. The quiet engine of racial hierarchy, whiteness pervades and shapes traditional legal education, rendering legal pedagogy a structurally racist enterprise. Legal education not only reproduces the racism embedded in the law and legal profession, but also obscures the ways legal doctrine, professional norms, and pedagogical practices normalize, protect, and make invisible the advantages that accrue to whiteness itself. In doing so, itproduces lawyers ill-equipped to dismantle structural injustice.

This Article breaks new ground in the scholarship on legal pedagogy by defining whiteness as it operates within …

Masculine Devotion And Moral Decay: The Paradox Of Chivalry In Malory's Le Morte Darthur, Julia Annunziato

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis investigates how, within Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, the concept of chivalry as a literary construct is misunderstood and misrepresented by the knights who attempt to uphold it. Through a close reading of Le Morte, this paper concludes that Malory presents chivalry not as a coherent moral code, but as a paradoxical system that both promotes and undermines the values it claims to uphold. While chivalry is typically meant to emphasize honor, loyalty, and spiritual devotion, Malory’s narrative reveals how these ideals are compromised by structures of masculine competition, performative identity, homosocial desire, and corrupted …

Exploring The Temporal Dynamics Of Gaming-The-System And Self-Regulated Learning Behaviors Within A Game-Based Learning Environment, Cameron E. Marano

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Consistently monitoring and regulating cognitive and metacognitive skills during learning is difficult. As a result, game-based learning environments (GBLEs) have been designed to provide richer learning experiences. They foster self-regulated learning (SRL) skills and offer a way to study learners' interactions within complex environments. Although SRL in GBLEs has been widely studied, large gaps remain. For example, it is unclear how improper or maladaptive regulation in GBLEs signals gaming-the-system, in which learners manipulate features to avoid authentic learning. This phenomenon is widely studied in intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs). Limited research has examined how and when both gaming-the-system and SRL behaviors …

Lucha Libre: Legends Of The Mask, Anthony J. Aguilar

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Lucha libre, also known as Mexican wrestling, is a cultural phenomenon whose history dates to 1933. Every wrestling match pits flamboyantly costumed and masked wrestlers (luchadores), classified as either the good guys (técnicos) or the bad guys (rudos), against each other in choreographed and dramatized battles. Although lucha libre is often seen as campy or “low brow” due to its exaggerated, theatrical style, this perception overlooks the deeper cultural significance and narrative potential inherent in the form. This thesis will explore the cultural evolution of lucha libre as a highly interactive themed ride attraction. By integrating guest participation through custom …

Enhancing The Immersive Experience Through The Diversification Of Operational Costuming, Emma Nevitt

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis will be a comparative creative project that analyzes current operational wardrobe options within immersive lands, utilizing case studies and applied research, a neutral proposed immersive land will be created with operational costuming options that provides variety to the operational wardrobe that will enhance the immersive guest experience by creating a more compelling environment through wardrobe diversity. This will be achieved through a kit-of-parts approach where staffing will have a small variety of tops, bottoms, headwear, outerwear, and accessories to create a unique look to their own wardrobe while providing narrative insight. Each piece will be designed specifically for …

Un Lugar A Donde No Puedo Volver: Perteneciendo En La Distancia, Alberto J. Alonso

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

“A Place I Cannot Return To: Distance and Belonging” investigates how home is not limited to a fixed place, but instead a reconstruction sustained through memory and longing, which focuses on personal experiences of being away from Puerto Rico. I contribute to this broader dialogue by offering a deeply personal perspective shaped by the complexities of cultural belonging. Through photography, collage, and painting, my art practice reconstructs fragmented visual narratives of lived experience to explore homesickness, nostalgia, and displacement, examining how personal and shared histories become anchors to what continually slips away. Although I can physically return to Puerto Rico, …

Teoría Y Creatividad. La Literatura Como Herramienta Educativa En El Aprendizaje Moderno De Textos Clásicos En El Idioma Español, Isabel D. Simon

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

In the following master’s thesis, literature is studied as an educational tool in the modern learning of classical texts in the Spanish language from both theoretical and creative perspectives. The theoretical framework to be used is based on the hermeneutic theory of Jean Grondin. The study is divided into three chapters, each focusing on a different literary piece. First, the medieval period is examined through Poema de Mio Cid (Cantar de Mio Cid) of anonymous authorship. In the second chapter, the Golden Age is analyzed through Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. In the closing …

Machine Learning Acceleration Of Micro-Credentialing, Knowledge Gap Remediation, And Micro-Recruiting Of Stem Assessments: From Learner Data To Hardware, Paul Amoruso

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

The growing demand for a skilled STEM workforce calls for adaptive, data-driven education that personalizes learning while aligning competencies with industry needs. This work introduces a multi-layered framework that integrates artificial intelligence (AI), data mining and hardware-aware optimization to support this goal. At its core, the AchieveUp system applies generative AI-assisted skill tagging to digitized assessments, enabling multi-semester tracking of student progress. Analysis across 14 semesters shows that underperforming students were found to benefit most from attending score clarification sessions, a relationship validated by an R² value of 0.83, indicating strong predictive validity between attendance and skill acquisition. To remediate …

'But George Floyd Wasn't A Saint': A Critical Discourse Analysis Pre And Post George Floyd, Raya Berkley-Jacobs

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

May 25, 2020, George Floyd died at the hands of former police officer Derek Chauvin after he placed his knee on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. His death sparked outrage, protests, and calls for accountability, justice, and reform. This study addresses the impact of George Floyd’s death as a focusing event that created a policy window under which federal legislation was introduced as a response to his death. Drawing on Punctuated Equilibrium Theory and Social Construction Theory, the study utilizes a critical discourse analysis to test how the death of George Floyd impacted the amount and …

Exploring Governance And Government Policies Of Preparedness And Response To Flooding In Juneau, Alaska, Derreck Asiamah

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Flooding poses an escalating threat to human well-being, economic stability, and environmental resilience in climate-sensitive regions such as Juneau, Alaska, where the retreat of the Mendenhall Glacier has produced an actively expanding ice-dammed lake, Suicide Basin, capable of triggering an annual Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). This thesis explores the governance and government policies shaping flood preparedness and response in Juneau, Alaska, with particular attention to GLOF risk and the August 2024 GLOF, one of the most destructive flood events in the city's history. Grounded in adaptive governance theory and political ecology, the study offers a multidimensional perspective on institutional …

Navigating Liminality: Building Resources For And With Undocumented Students, Yaneyry Delfin Martinez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Rooted in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and Liberation Sociology, this project outlines an institutional blueprint for the resources and support systems needed to address the lived realities of undocumented students at Cal Poly Humboldt (CPH). Conducted during the second Trump Administration amidst escalating hostility towards immigrants and attacks on DEI initiatives, this work documents both the structural conditions shaping undocumented students’ lives and the collective resistance that emerged in response. Furthermore, it examines how immigration policy, access to and restrictions on federal and state aid, geographic conditions, and on-campus barriers reproduce and maintain legal liminality within higher education. Grounded in …

Repairing Estranged Death: Care, Politics And Ecology In The Us Funeral Industry, Cecilia Catherine Rodriguez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The industrialization of death practices in the US has separated humanity from natural cycles while centering white settler colonial norms that marginalize other cultural ways of caring for the dead. Through necropolitics, the contemporary death industry embodies capitalist values of commodification and a monopolization of care, separating death from community and its ecological cycles. Black and Indigenous feminist knowledges understand death as not a discrete event but instead as an ongoing process that shapes our relationships with both the human and more-than-human worlds. Engaging with feminist political ecologies, I extend a conversation about care and repair to contemporary death practices …

Examining The Physiological Stress-Reducing Effects Of Virtual Nature Exposure And Slow Breathing, Jesse Benefiel

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In a time of excess stress, it is essential to examine accessible stress-reduction methods. Research has demonstrated that virtual nature exposure and slow breathing can independently reduce stress, but the literature is lacking with regard to their combined effects. The present study aimed to replicate independent effects of breathing and nature on stress and to test for potential effects, including whether their combination would produce an interaction effect. Using a 2 Environment (Natural v. Control) by 2 Breathing (Slow v. Normal) between-subjects design, 63 participants completed a modified color-word Stroop task to induce stress and were then exposed to either …

Neoliberalism And The Crimes Of The Powerful: Transforming The State During The First Trump Era (2017-2021), Charles Brandon Lonon

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis examines the way the American capitalist state transformed during Donald Trump’s first presidential term (2017-2021), especially focusing on neoliberal policy and the framework of the crimes of the powerful. This thesis aims to answer the question of how neoliberalism transformed the state under Donald Trump. Drawing on Nicos Poulantzas’ theory of authoritarian statism and Frank Pearce’s conception of crimes of the powerful, this thesis examines how the state becomes more authoritarian to protect capital accumulation and the capitalist class. The research shows that Trump weaponized authoritarian populist rhetoric that targeted women, immigrants, and vulnerable populations to build support …

Reclaiming Presence: An Anthropological Study Of Digital Disconnection And Meaning-Making, Leslie De Paz

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Human attention is increasingly at risk in an unregulated digital ecosystem where overconsumption shapes neurological function, social interaction, and the ways people make meaning of everyday life. Dominant discourse around digital overuse tends to medicalize the problem, framing it as individual addiction or clinical dysfunction. In this thesis, I argue that such framing obscures what a cultural phenomenon is fundamentally, one in which people are actively questioning their relationship with technology, building awareness, and developing practices that help them slow down and reclaim agency within algorithmically mediated environments. This study draws on 22 semi-structured interviews with Gen Z and millennial …

Living With Water In Fields Landing & King Salmon: Community Knowledge Of Flooding And Adaptation Strategies In Coastal California, Kailin Sepp

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Known as “ground zero,” Humboldt Bay is among the most vulnerable areas to sea-level rise (SLR) due to geological and tectonic factors on the West Coast. While the land subsides, oceans rise, resulting in an area with one of the highest recorded rates of relative SLR on the West Coast. The residential communities of Fields Landing and King Salmon in South Humboldt Bay already experience regular coastal flooding. There is a need for better information and planning to understand the vulnerability to flooding/SLR and plan for adaptation. Typically, studies addressing flooding, such as vulnerability assessments and adaptation plans, are developed …