Digital Commons Network^™

Spanish Flu Hits New York City In 1918, Eric C. Cimino Ph.D.

History and Political Science: Faculty Publications

A look at how the city and one of its hospitals, Willard Parker Hospital for contagious diseases, responded to the pandemic.

Problems And Possibilities Of Namelessness In Late Antiquity And The Early Middle Ages, Jamie Wood, Hope Williard, Máirín Maccarron, Julia Hillner, James R. Burns

Medieval People

No abstract provided.

Emotional Labor, Well-Being, And Community Care In Student Conduct Administration, Tiffany M. Shierling, Kelly A. Burlison

College of Education Faculty Publications & Presentations

This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined emotional labor, stress, and coping among student conduct administrators (SCAs). SCAs work in emotionally intensive, high-stakes environments that require balancing student development, institutional risk management, and legal compliance. Despite clear parallels to other helping professions, the emotional toll of student conduct work remains underexamined. Grounded in self-compassion theory and resilience theory, this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined the emotional labor demands, stressors, and coping strategies experienced by SCAs in higher education. Quantitative (n = 101) findings revealed strong relationships among stress, burnout, and anxiety, while individual self-care practices offered limited protection without institutional support. …

Impact And Requirements Of Future Robots In The Urban Realm: Dubai Silicon Oasis Case Study, Abduljalil Abbasi

Theses

Robots are moving from factories and warehouses into the streets, sidewalks, and shared public spaces of cities, and Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) is at the forefront of this shift in the Gulf region. Through the Talabat ‘talabot’ autonomous delivery pilot, DSO has demonstrated that sidewalk robots can operate reliably in a hot-climate, mixed-use urban district, but this operational success has outpaced the governance frameworks, spatial design standards, and long-range planning foundations needed to scale deployment safely, inclusively, and sustainably to 2035. This thesis addresses that gap by asking how DSO can design and govern the integration of robots into its …

Hexahive: Simulating Vulnerability Bounty Economies Through Game-Theoretic Models, Lucille Blain

Theses

Bug bounty programs encourage security researchers to responsibly disclose software vulnerabilities by offering financial rewards, recognition, and opportunities to build long-term relationships with organizations. However, vulnerability discovery also creates competing incentives. A researcher may report a vulnerability through an official program, exploit it for passive income, trade information with other actors, delay disclosure, or seek compensation through alternative markets. These decisions are shaped by the expected value of rewards, perceived fairness of company responses, reputation benefits, competition, and the risk of penalties. Because directly observing these choices in real-world bug bounty programs presents ethical, legal, and practical challenges, controlled environments …

Leveraging Open-Source Llms For Infrastructure Drift Detection And Correction, Kemoy S. Campbell

Theses

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) enables organizations to provision and manage infrastructure at scale using version-controlled, declarative specifications. Despite these advantages, infrastructure drift where deployed resources diverge from their intended configuration remains a persistent operational challenge and is often addressed manually and reactively. Recent advances in Large Language Models (LLMs) have accelerated their adoption within software engineering and DevOps workflows; however, the sensitive nature of IaC artifacts, particularly Terraform state files, has limited organizational willingness to rely on public LLM services for drift detection and remediation. This thesis investigates the feasibility of using open-source, self-hosted LLMs to assist with IaC drift …

Cmn 2010, Clas

Executive Actions

No abstract provided.

Nanoscale Analysis Of Ssb-Reco Interplay In Ssb Interaction With The Target, Shivkumar Sharma Irukuvajjula, Shaun Filliaux, Yuri L. Lyubchenko

Journal Articles: Pharmaceutical Sciences

Single-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSB) coats single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and recruits downstream factors, yet this same coating must be cleared for SSB-interacting proteins to bind. RecA is a central protein in homologous recombination, which requires SSB-free ssDNA to load during the process. RecO, a recombination mediator protein, is thought to regulate this handoff, but it has not been shown directly that RecO drives the release of full-length, ssDNA-bound SSB. Using atomic force microscopy, we show that RecO actively displaces full-length wild-type SSB from a defined ssDNA substrate, reducing occupancy from 67% to 29%. Displacement efficiency decreases after deleting the C-terminal tip …

Pubh 4175 Hyflex, Chhs

Executive Actions

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Hot V. Cold Water Immersion On Post-Exercise Recovery, Cameron Moss, Aaron Krukemeyer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Muscle recovery following exercise-induced soreness has been the focus of extensive research and debate, with Cold Water Immersion (CWI) and Hot Water Immersion (HWI) emerging as two of the most widely used modalities. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of CWI and HWI on muscle recovery by determining changes in maximal force production of knee extension, range of motion (ROM) of the hip joint in flexion, extension, and abduction, and subjective muscle soreness using a validated Likert scale. Seven male recreational athletes participated in hot and cold-water immersion, and passive recovery. Despite thorough data collection, the …

Using Nmr Spectroscopy And Linear Discriminant Analysis To Molecular Profile Varietal Honey, Taylor Mac

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, varietal honey has been a massive target of adulteration through mislabeling and the addition of other sugars. Unethical companies do this to cut production costs while still charging the consumer full price. Previous studies have used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to unravel possible adulteration in honey, but currently, there are no standard rapid methods to authenticate varietal honey. In our research, we collected NMR signatures (“fingerprints”) and combined them with linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to predict the varietal, country, and region of varietal honey. As a part of the project, we investigated whether an adjustment to the …

The Coral Microbiome Under Climate Change: Shifting Symbiotic Interactions, Katherine E. Parker, Kate M. Quigley

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Host–microbe symbioses are central to organismal health, yet these complex partnerships are often strongly shaped by the environment. Climate change is increasingly altering environmental conditions, disrupting the balance of host–microbe interactions and pushing them along a continuum from mutualism (both partners benefit) toward parasitism (one partner gains at the other’s expense). Reef-building corals provide a clear example of this vulnerability, as the coral holobiont, an ecological unit comprising diverse photosynthetic algal symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) and other microbial partners, depends largely on these mutualistic interactions for nutrition, immunity, and stress tolerance. Increasingly, evidence suggests that under heat stress, the algal symbionts retain …

The Shoreline Protection Potential Of Oyster Reefs: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Jessica R. Fergel, Robert E. Isdell, Gabriella Dipetto, Karinna Nunnez, Sean T. Gregory, Evan Hill, Donna Marie Bilkovic

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Nature-based solutions for erosion control that incorporate oyster reefs, alone or in combination with other habitats, are an increasingly popular approach due to their potential to protect shorelines and enhance oyster production. However, the extent to which natural or constructed oyster reefs provide shoreline protection remains unclear. We conducted a global systematic literature review and meta-analysis to summarize and evaluate the potential of oyster reefs in attenuating waves, promoting sediment accretion, and/or reducing shoreline erosion. Factors extracted from studies included shoreline protective measures examined, oyster reef structure type, and oyster reef tidal location. The results of the meta-analysis showed generally …

Leveraging Cross-Reactivity For Dual Serological Detection Of Closely Related Schistosoma Species, Oyetunde T. Oyeyemi, Lisa M. Shollenberger

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Schistosomiasis is a disease of poverty that is highly prevalent in Sub-Saharan African countries. Cross-reacting proteins in Schistosoma mansoni (Sm) and S. haematobium (Sh) have been reported to pose diagnostic challenges. Proteins from these two parasites may help overcome diagnostic limitations caused by cross-reactivity and poor species discrimination in serological assays. The study aims to identify cross-reacting protein markers from S. mansoni and S. haematobium for possible concurrent diagnosis of the two parasites. High-quality protein extracts were prepared from the eggs (soluble egg antigen, SEA) and adult worms (Schistosoma worm antigens preparation, SWAP) of S. haematobium and S. mansoni …

Exploring The Influence Of A Longitudinal Small-Group Mentorship Course On Occupational Therapy Graduates’ Professional Identity Formation, Tosh Whitley, Lovejot Mangat, Susan G. Rappolt, Daniela Testani, Siobhan Donaghy, Lynn Cockburn, Sylvia Langlois, Ruheena Sangrar, Eric Lee, Rachel Roby, Erin Knobl, Susan Hannah, Anne Fourt, David Gerstle, Naomi Davids-Brumer, M. Shone Joos

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Professional identity formation is a critical aspect in facilitating the transition of healthcare professionals into entry-level practice. Previous literature has highlighted the benefits of mentorship in shaping professional identity formation among healthcare learners. However, few studies have explored longitudinal small-group mentorship courses on professional identity formation in entry-level occupational therapists. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of graduates on whether pre-certification mentorship influenced their professional identity formation. Online surveys, comprising open-ended and fixed-choice questions, were collected from graduates of a professional Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MScOT) program across four cohorts (2020-2023) who completed a …

Leveraging Ai, Iot, And Predictive Analytics For Crisis Management And Urban Resilience In Dubai, Suhail Bin Kalli

Theses

The thesis will discuss how smart technologies could be incorporated in the crisis management structures of Dubai to make the city more resilient. As Dubai grows more urbanized, it experiences increased problems with managing its crisis especially in the high population density places, traffic congestion, utility disruption, and extreme weather. This paper discusses how artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and predictive analytics can be used to ameliorate the response to emergencies, manage the allocation of resources, and enhance the coordination between different agencies. The crisis management systems at Dubai are still ineffective despite the level of technologies …

Cultural Crossroads: Dubai's Cultural Influence On Mobility & The 20-Minute City Feasibility, Hiba Malik

Theses

The research explores the feasibility of the 20-minute city concept in the context of Dubai, an idea that was first proposed by Professor Carlos Moreno in 2016. While this model, which is based upon the theory that residents should be able to reach essential services within a certain time (i.e., 15 or 20 minutes), has been adopted globally in various cities across the world, its application within non-Western, high- income, car-dependent settings remains largely unexplored. For this reason, this study analyzes the 20- minute city concept in Dubai s unique context within its sociocultural, climatic, and cultural settings in the …

Enhanced Pulsar Timing Precision For The Era Of Nanohertz Gravitational Wave Astronomy, Sofia V. Sosa Fiscella

Theses

In 2023, several international collaborations comprising the International Pulsar Timing Array achieved a major scientific milestone with the first detection of a signal in pulsar timing observations consistent with the signature expected from a stochastic gravitational wave background, created by an ensemble of unresolved supermassive black hole binaries in the early Universe. The next breakthrough in the field is expected to be the first detection of a continuous wave from a single such binary, which would allow us to better understand their evolution and that of our Universe. However, this feat will require unprecedented precision in our timing measurements. To …

Understanding Computer-Mediated Human Experience In Digital-Physical Hybrid Space, Jiangnan Xu

Theses

With the rapid development of mobile and immersive technologies, the boundary between the digital and real world is increasingly blurred, giving rise to hybrid spaces. Hybrid spaces have permeated daily life and reshaped spatial meaning-making and social interaction. Despite their growing prevalence, empirical understanding of human experiences in hybrid spaces remains limited. If left unexamined, hybrid spaces risk becoming technology-centered rather than human-centered environments that overlook socio-cultural dimensions, potentially leading to harmful consequences for individuals and society. To investigate human experience in hybrid spaces, this thesis comprises five studies and uses gameful systems as research probes. Prior literature identifies collaboration …

Predicting Student Academic Performance Using Behavioural And Parental Engagement Data From Learning Management Systems, Saeed Alfalasi

Theses

This paper explores how behavioral, academic, and parental engagement data provided within the xAPI-Edu-Data dataset can be used to predict the academic performance of students when training on machine learning models with supervised learning. Due to the developing demands of the data-driven initial selection of the learners under risk, the study will create a valid and explainable predictive model that can consider the most significant factors of student success in Learning Management System (LMS). The research is based on behavioral engagement and self-regulation learning theories; the observations included in the analysis of student interaction, i.e. resource usage, classroom engagement and …

Predicting Undergraduate Fallout And Success, Ammar Ahmed Alzarooni

Theses

Universities need to uncover students who are likely to drop out early and do something about it. It should be easy to find and use this information. This thesis evaluated interpretable machine-learning models (MLMs) for predicting three final student outcomes including Dropout, Enrolled and Graduate, using solely demographic, administrative/financial and first-semester academic variables. Study employed publicly accessible Portuguese UCI student retention dataset (4,424 records) and incorporated end-of-Semester-1 feature window to prevent look-ahead leakage and align with actual advising cycles. We trained and compared models using stratified validation, explicit class-imbalance handling and decision-threshold optimization to make dropout detection most critical factor. …

Cochlear Micropump Drug Delivery System: A Noninvasive Technique For Murine Intracochlear Drug Delivery, Janette Collins

Theses

In a 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) study, over 400 million people worldwide were affected by hearing loss (World Health Organization, 2023). Cochlear implants have provided a conventional route to aid inner ear issues but are ineffective either delivering to unintended targets or delivering unknown concentrations of a particular drug and create toxicity to the user. With medical advances and using 3-D printing technology, new opportunities to use programmable drug delivery systems to treat auditory disorders have been created. Borkholder Labs in Rochester, NY have created and improved a miniaturized implantable and scalable peristaltic micropump that provides programmable and accurate …

Physics-Constrained Generative Adversarial Networks For Dimensionality Reduction In Optimization, Samuel Sisk, Xiaosong Du

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft make a unique form of urban air mobility due to their low noise, zero emission, and precision control. To maximize efficiency, high-fidelity simulation-based multidisciplinary design optimization discovers the optimal balance among subsystems within an eVTOL. However, conventional multidisciplinary design optimization is computationally intensive due to excessive high-fidelity model evaluations. Moreover, complex nonlinear constraints deteriorate optimization efficiency and convergence. While surrogate models enable efficient design optimization, surrogate modeling suffers in large-scale applications and surrogate-based optimization still has to deal with nonlinear constraints. To address these challenges, the authors' previous work proposed physics-constrained generative adversarial …

Distributed Vibration Sensing For Identification Of Loose Connectors In Coaxial Data Transmission Lines, Saidanvar Esanjonovich Valiev, Anthony C. Okafor, Jeremiah J. Rittenhouse, Jie Huang, Daniel S. Stutts

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study investigates the effect of vibration-induced loose connections on signal reflection (S11) for loose connection identification in aerospace coaxial cables using distributed sensing approach, which is effective in filtering the noise and identifying minor discontinuities. In this approach, a sliding gated window is applied to S11 signal, a fast Fourier transform is performed over the gated windows, cross-correlation is computed between the baseline and vibration-affected signals, and the standard deviation is mapped along the cable length. Sinewave signals from 9 kHz to 5 GHz were swept through cables with vibrating connectors under three conditions: fully tightened, loosened by 180°, …

Tomo-Piv Study Of A Parallel Two-Dimensional Jet In Supersonic Flow, Josiah Mcdermott, Connor Bell, Davide Vigano

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Stabilizing combustion in supersonic flows is a formidable challenge due to the small time scales afforded for air-fuel mixing. Numerous studies in this area have demonstrated the potential of strut-style platforms for fuel injection and mixing enhancement, which remains an active area of research. In the Aerodynamics Research Laboratory at Missouri S&T, a strut-style injector system has recently been installed. In this study, we characterize the flow structures behind this platform in a range of injection pressures and corresponding mass flux ratios. The wake generated by a strut and injection plume, even absent combustion or mixing enhancement geometry, has an …

100 Conversation Starters To Develop Student Critical Thinking In Intermediate And Financial Accounting Courses, Joe B. Hoyle

Bookshelf

INTRODUCTION

Why create a book containing nothing but accounting problems?

The genesis of an idea is often difficult to recall, but I can trace the creation of this project to a single sentence found in a specific book.  One recent summer, to help prepare myself for the upcoming academic year, I began reading Why Don’t Students Like School? by Daniel T. Willingham.  On page 16 of the dog-eared copy I acquired on the Internet, I was drawn to a key sentence like a moth to a flame.  The words were buried rather unobtrusively within a long paragraph but, for me, …

Assessing The Criticality Of Construction Trades: Skilled Labor Shortages And Their Cost And Schedule Impacts, Tamima Elbashbishy, Islam H. El-Adaway

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Skilled labor shortages are a pressing issue in the construction industry. Existing research has primarily focused on the effects of labor shortages at the project or industry level, but there is limited exploration of how these shortages vary across specific trades and their distinct impacts on project outcomes. Evidence indicates that labor shortages vary significantly among trades. This paper addresses this knowledge gap through quantitatively assessing the criticality of key construction trades based on the (1) extent of skilled labor shortages currently witnessed in each trade, (2) impact of these shortages on cost and schedule performance, and (3) degree of …

Environmental Engineers Develop Solutions To Problems Of Planetary Health: The Legacy Of Professor P. Aarne Vesilind, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The principal ethical obligation of the engineering profession, to "hold paramount the health, safety, and welfare of the public," has been challenged for decades. Professor P. Aarne Vesilind identified two primary deficiencies: an anthropocentric bias that values nature only instrumentally and the use of non-mandatory, aspirational language for environmental protection, which resulted in the exclusion of enforceable environmental canons. This paper argues that two recent developments provide a comprehensive response to Vesilind's recommendations for engineering ethics. First, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has redefined environmental engineering as "developing solutions to problems of planetary health." Second, Oerther proposed a …

Covering The Care: Medical Debt: A Uniquely American Issue, Kimberly Persson

All Materials

Healthcare is one of the most prominent issues facing Americans due to issues of affordability, access, and potential for debt.¹ A July 2025 poll from Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that approximately half of U.S. adults say it is difficult to afford healthcare costs and about one third of adults say they have postponed care in the last year because of the cost.² According to a 2024 New Hampshire specific survey, 69% of adults have delayed or gone without healthcare due to cost, 71% of adults have experienced a healthcare affordability issue in the past year, and more than …

Covering The Care: The Fourth Trimester, Susy Hawes

All Materials

The weeks following the birth of a baby are often described as a time of extremes: profound joy paired with deep exhaustion, vulnerability, and adjustment. For birthing people, this period involves physical recovery from childbirth, dramatic hormonal shifts, disrupted sleep, learning to feed and care for an infant, and navigating major emotional changes. While some new parents have strong support systems, others face isolation, housing instability, or unsafe home environments. This critical 12-week period after birth is now widely known as the “fourth trimester.” Although the language is new, the reality is not. Across cultures and history, the postpartum period …