Digital Commons Network^™

Neither Here Nor There: Cultural Identity Among Vietnamese Immigrants, Duyen Thu Pham

Theses - ALL

Acculturation is a fundamental aspect of the migration experience that enables individuals to adapt to new environments while maintaining meaningful connections within both familial and social spheres. Depending on class, economic conditions, and sociopolitical context, experiences of acculturation differ across generations. This thesis argues that, through the ongoing process of cultural negotiation, Vietnamese immigrants create unique cultural identities that balance adaptation to the host country with the preservation of Vietnamese cultural values, beliefs, and practices. It also explores how migration history, intergenerational differences, and cultural memory influence varied experiences of acculturation and belonging among Vietnamese immigrants in the United States. …

Impure Evidentialism: Essays On The Sources & Structure Of Doxastic Normativity, Felipe Oliveira

Dissertations - ALL

The four papers of my dissertation provide a new defense of Impure Evidentialism. The combination of evidentialism about normative reasons for belief with pragmatic encroachment (i.e. impurism) about epistemic justification is a familiar and intuitive view. However, many of the combo view’s finer points, unique advantages, and objections have not been addressed. My dissertation fills this gap by offering a new defense and in-depth look of what I take to be the most plausible version of the combo view. My version of Impure Evidentialism offers an improved and comprehensive account of the norms that govern our beliefs, explains why these …

Learning Under Information And Experience Constraints In Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning, Qinwei Huang

Dissertations - ALL

Reinforcement learning is a powerful approach for training cooperative multi-agent systems. However, it is usually studied under idealized conditions. Standard formulations assume abundant experience, reliable communication, and cleanly observable state. Physical multi-agent systems rarely satisfy these assumptions, and instead operate under several kinds of scarcity. This dissertation studies reinforcement learning for cooperative multi-agent systems under two practical resource constraints. We show that effective learning in these settings depends not only on how much communication, computation, or experience is available, but also on how limited information and experience are represented, reused, and evaluated. Part I addresses information constraints in cooperative multi-agent …

Using Low-Frequency Vibrational Spectroscopy To Develop Analytical Profiles For Polymorphic Organic Molecular Crystals, Salvatore Zarrella

Dissertations - ALL

Low-frequency vibrational spectroscopy provides a sensitive approach for characterizing polymorphism and intermolecular dynamics in organic molecular crystals. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) and low-frequency Raman spectroscopy probe collective lattice vibrations arising from weak intermolecular interactions, offering direct insight into crystal packing, phase stability, and structural organization that is often inaccessible to conventional diffraction and mid-infrared techniques. To interpret these modes, experimental measurements are combined with periodic solid-state density functional theory (ss-DFT), which enables vibrational assignments to specific intermolecular motions, and crystal structure prediction (CSP), which maps accessible polymorphic energy landscapes. Together, these methods form a unified experimental–computational framework for understanding molecular …

Bio-Inspired Visual Intelligence: Improving Efficiency And Robustness Through Foveal-Peripheral Sampling And Learned Saccades, Jiayang Liu

Dissertations - ALL

Deep neural networks have achieved state-of-the-art performance across a wide range of computer vision tasks, yet their deployment in real-world and safety-critical domains remains limited by two major challenges: vulnerability to adversarial perturbations and high computational cost. While adversarial training can improve robustness under certain threat models, it is computationally expensive and often generalizes poorly to black-box or transferable attacks. At the same time, conventional vision pipelines process uniformly sampled high-resolution images, introducing substantial data redundancy, latency, and energy overhead. In contrast, the human visual system achieves efficient and robust perception through space-variant foveal-peripheral sampling, attention-guided saccadic eye movements, and …

Older Recent Widows’ Physical Activity Before And After Spouses’ Deaths A Qualitative Investigation Of The Impact Of Duration And Intensity Of Care Work And Social Support, Mary Theresa Pagan

Dissertations - ALL

Abstract This study investigates and expands understanding of how care work, widowhood, social support, and physical activity intersect in the lives of older recent widows. The study addresses three primary research questions examining the duration and intensity of care work, pre- and post-death social support, and factors that influenced widows’ physical activity before and after the death of their spouses. Thirty semi-structured, face-to-face interviews conducted with heterosexual widows aged 60 and older residing in Upstate New York who were widowed within 6–24 months prior to interview. Interviews explored care work experiences, social support, widowhood transitions, and both structured and non-structured …

Wmu Board Of Trustee Board Meeting, Thursday June 25, 2026, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

• Acceptance of the Agenda
• Approval of the Minutes (April 16, 2026)
• Remarks by the Chair of the Board
• Remarks by the President
• Updates by the Faculty Senate President
• Updates by the Western Student Association Speaker of the Assembly
• Updates by the Graduate Student Association President
• Western Michigan University Employee Graduates
• Academic Tenure and Promotion
•  Public Comments Regarding Action Items

Action Items

• Academic Tenure and Promotion
• Fall 2026 Differential Tuition Rates
• Fall 2026 Tuition and Required Fee Rates
• 2026-27 General Fund Operating Budget
• Teaching Assistants Union (TAU) Labor Agreement
• Michigan State Employees Association (MSEA) Labor Agreement
• President’s Annual Review/Compensation/Contract
•  Memorandum of …

Wearable Sensor Technology And Biomechanical Gait Analysis In Post-Stroke Rehabilitation: A Review With Implications For The Saudi Healthcare System, Abdullah H. Alzahrani

Neurosciences

Stroke remains a major cause of disability worldwide, with gait impairment affecting up to 80% of survivors and contributing to long-term dependence, fall risk, and reduced quality of life. In Saudi Arabia, stroke incidence is rising, with a significant burden on younger populations and disparities in access to post-stroke rehabilitation services. Conventional gait analysis tools rely on expensive, specialized laboratory equipment, which limits their availability in low-resource and rural settings. Recent advances in wearable sensor technologies, including inertial measurement units, pressure insoles, and electromyography systems, offer portable, scalable, and cost-efficient options for assessing gait in real-world environments. These systems can …

Investigating The Patent Foramen Ovale–Migraine Link In Southern Saudi Arabia, Al-Amir Bassiouny Mohamed, Maeed Alkathiri, Saad Mushabab Ali Alqahtani, Naif H. Ali, Saima Kashif, Saad A. Alshahrani, Mohammed S. Alqahtani, Mohamed Gaber Mahmoud Gabr, Eltohami Zydan Dafalla, Basharat Hameed Zargar, Wael Qenawi, Ali Mohammed A. Alshehri, Fatimah Asiri, Ahmed Borai

Neurosciences

Objective: Migraine is a highly disabling neurological condition, and increasing attention has focused on a possible connection with patent foramen ovale (PFO).

Methods: This single-center observational study enrolled 45 individuals from January to April 2024: 30 migraine patients with PFO (Group 1) and 15 migraine patients without PFO serving as controls (Group 2). All subjects underwent transthoracic echocardiography and completed standardized instruments including the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), Headache Impact Test (HIT-6), Migraine Symptom Severity Scale (MSSS), Allodynia Symptom Checklist (ASC-12), Visual Aura Rating Scale (VARS), and Migraine Treatment Optimization Questionnaire (mTOQ-6).

Results: The participant's mean age was 37.3 ± …

(R2155) Mathematical Insights Into Cancer Cells Growth Stability And Chaos, Pardeep Kumar, Kashish Agarwal, Tripti Anand, Sarita Jha

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this research paper, we examined a recently proposed three-dimensional dynamical model of cancer cell growth that explicitly couples the populations of tumour cells, healthy host cells, and immune cells (Pardeep et al.). We aim to elucidate the model’s novel biological features relative to classical tumour–immune interaction models and to characterize its dynamical regimes. This model is governed by nonlinear differential equations featuring a quadratic tumour proliferation term and bilinear coupling terms for tumour–immune and tumour–host interactions. Then, we performed the rigorous analysis by solving the fixed-point equations and from the Jacobian matrices at the resulting equilibria to identify the …

(R2167) Global Stability Of Seirs Model With Single Dose Vaccination In Varying Population, Govind Jha, Prabhat Mandal, Sarita Jha

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

Understanding the evolution of infectious diseases within a dynamic population is essential for formulating effective public health strategies. This work introduces an enhanced SEIRS epidemic model that incorporates demographic variation and a single-dose vaccination strategy, supporting that immunity can be reduced over time. The model reflects diseases in which individuals may return to the susceptible state after recovery. Extending prior reduced three-dimensional models, this study develops a complete four-dimensional SEIRS framework, thereby increasing the model’s applicability to real-world scenarios. The inclusion of the full system presents greater analytical challenges. To overcome this, we extend the second additive compound matrix and …

(R2124) Impact Of Delay And Awareness On Hiv/Aids Epidemic Model, Debashis Biswas

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

A delayed HIV/AIDS epidemic model with awareness has been taken here. Essentially, it is mentioned that the disease spreads among the population only through contact (horizontal transmission). The equilibrium points of both the proposed models are investigated, and their stability is discussed. Both models have two types of equilibria, namely the disease-free and the disease positive. The basic reproductive number of both models has been calculated by using the next generation matrix technique. In this paper, the main motivation is to find a way to decrease the disease transmission. Also discussed the impact of delay and awareness on the HIV/AIDS …

Exploratory Study Of Stress Myocardial Blood Flow And Myocardial Perfusion Reserve In Relation To Cerebral Small Vessel Disease On Mri: A Hypothesis-Generating Analysis, Young Ju Kim, Tsun Hei Sin, Chi Wai Stephen Cheung, Ka Fung Henry Mak, Ming Yen Ng

Journal of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology

Background: Small vessel disease of the heart and brain share common risk factors and pathophysiological mechanisms, but imaging-based evidence of a direct link between coronary microvascular dysfunction and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) remains limited. This study aimed to assess whether stress myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) are associated with brain magnetic resonance imaging (BMR) markers of CSVD. Methods: This retrospective study included adult patients who underwent both cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and BMR between January 2021 and December 2025 at a tertiary center. Quantitative stress MBF and MPR were assessed using adenosine stress CMR. …

Degrees And Certificates Awarded To Native American Students In Nevada, 2010-2022, Devin Streuter, Kevin Yang, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet presents data on certificates and degrees awarded to Native Americans from the Nevada System of Higher Education’s (NSHE) teaching institutions —College of Southern Nevada (CSN), Great Basin College (GBC), Nevada State University (NSU), Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), and Western Nevada College (WNC)— from 2010 to 2022. Additionally, the fact sheet reports data on degree type, gender, and the most common majors pursued by Native American certificate and degree earners in Nevada. The data are derived from the Nevada P-20 Workforce Research (NPWR) Data System.

Overcoming Legal And Policy Barriers To Net Energy Generation At Water Resource Recovery Facilities, David Strifling, Nigel Blake, Scout Devoti

LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources

No abstract provided.

Balancing Innovation & Safety: The Role Of State Law As The Use Of Artificial Intelligence Increases In Oil And Gas Operations, Anna Trahan

LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources

No abstract provided.

Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project: Navigating Endangered Species Act Litigation For Human Welfare, Dane Eastman

LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources

No abstract provided.

Mighty Mangrove Trees Bring The Creditors To The Yard: China To Swap Sri Lanka's Debt-For-Nature, Tharuka Fernando

LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources

No abstract provided.

(R2149) Heat, Hall, And Ion Slip Effects On Chemically Reacting Mhd Casson Flow Through Moving Surface, Gaurav Kumar, Vinod Kumar

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

The present investigation aims to analyze the combined effects of heat generation/absorption, Hall current, and ion slip on the flow of chemically reacting MHD Casson fluid over a moving vertical surface, considering ramped wall temperature and mass diffusion. The flow medium has been made porous. The analytical solution of the model's partial differential equations is derived using the Laplace transform technique aided by the Heaviside step function. The expressions for the Sherwood Number, Nusselt Number, and shear stress on the plate have been derived. The results obtained are found to be in outstanding agreement. The outcomes achieved are displayed through …

(R2129) Layer Resolving Classical Scheme For A System Of N Time-Dependent Singularly Perturbed Problems With Spatial Delay And Robin Initial Conditions, K. Ramiya Bharathi, G. E. Chatzarakis, M. Joseph Paramasivam

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

This article deals with solving a system of n time-dependent singularly perturbed problems with spatial delay and robin initial conditions. Each equation’s leading term is multiplied by a distinct small positive parameter, inducing overlapping initial layers. Due to presence of these parameters and delay terms, intricate layers occur at interior regions of the domain. To capture the behavior of these layers the solution is decomposed into two components and layer functions are also formulated. The formulation of the layer resolving numerical scheme involves temporal and spatial discretization on uniform and piecewise uniform Shishkin meshes respectively. The proposed framework is found …

Career Decidedness Among Multicultural Adolescents In South Korea: Relational Support And Internalized Psychological Resources, Kahyen Shin

Dissertations - ALL

Despite the growing number of multicultural adolescents in South Korea, little is known about how to support their career development. Specifically, Korean multicultural adolescents who have foreign-born mothers and Korean fathers have experienced educational and career gaps compared to non-multicultural adolescents in Korea. Given that relational supports are documented to have significant associations with adolescents' career decidedness, this study aims to examine the relationship between relational supports and career decidedness through internalized psychological resources such as self-esteem and achievement motivation. Grounded in the Relational Theory of Working (RTW; Blustein, 2011), the researcher focused on the mediating role of internalized psychological …

Secukinumab Treatment Response In Moderate-To-Severe Plaque Psoriasis: A Monocentric Retrospective Study, Benny Effendi Wiryadi, Yuriawati Hendrawan, Rini Herlina, Albertus Agung Mahode

Journal of General - Procedural Dermatology and Venereology Indonesia

Background: Psoriasis affects approximately 2% of the global population and is associated with comorbidities such as depression, psoriatic arthritis, and cardiometabolic syndrome. Secukinumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-17A, is effective for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. This study assessed the real-world effectiveness of secukinumab over 52 weeks.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 53 patients aged ≥18 years who received secukinumab and were followed for 52 weeks. Patients received weekly loading doses followed by maintenance injections every four weeks. Effectiveness was evaluated using changes in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI).

Results: At week 16, 86.8% of patients achieved PASI <5, 79.2% PASI <3, 69.8% PASI <2, and 64.2% PASI <1, indicating substantial improvement. PASI 75 was achieved by 77.4% of patients at week 8. PASI 90 was achieved by 71.7% of all patients and by 76.9% of patients with psoriatic arthritis at week 16. No patients discontinued treatment because of adverse events.

Conclusion: …

Syphilis And Hiv Co-Infection Risk Factors At Dr. Moewardi Hospital, 2018–2022: A Retrospective Study, Endra Yustin Ellistasari, Prasetyadi Mawardi, Pratiwi Prasetya Primisawitri, Stella Gracia Octarica

Journal of General - Procedural Dermatology and Venereology Indonesia

Background: Treponema pallidum, the agent causing syphilis, is transmitted through contact with infectious lesions, bodily fluids, blood transfusions, or perinatally. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection can mask the clinical manifestations of syphilis, while syphilis may exacerbate HIV progression. This study aimed to analyze risk factors associated with HIV co-infection among patients with syphilis.

Methods: This retrospective, analytical, observational study reviewed medical records from the Dermatology and Venereology outpatient clinic at Dr. Moewardi Hospital, Surakarta, Indonesia, between January 2018 and December 2022. Demographic, behavioral, and clinical variables were extracted. Univariable analysis was performed using simple binary logistic regression to …

(R2161) Robust Optimization Of Industrial Hazardous Waste Location-Routing Problem Considering Response Actions To Environmental Risk, Sharareh Teimoori, Farhad Hosseinzadeh Lotfi, Seyyed Esmaeil Najafi, Navid Rafiei

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

The management of hazardous industrial waste has emerged as a significant global challenge due to rapid technological advancements. Industrial hazardous waste management systems must be designed not only to be cost-effective but also to minimize environmental risks. This study proposes a mixed-integer programming model for the location-routing of industrial hazardous waste that incorporates both primary and secondary environmental risks, along with suitable response actions. Furthermore, a scenario-based robust optimization model is developed to address uncertainties in the quantities of industrial hazardous waste. A case study is conducted to demonstrate the applicability and comparative performance of the nominal and robust models. …

Components Of Skin Boosters: A Therapeutic Role In Dermatologic Conditions, Ita Anggraini, Yuwandita Tamara Putri Dermawan, Eka Komarasari, Prima Kartika Esti

Journal of General - Procedural Dermatology and Venereology Indonesia

Background: The term “skin booster” is commonly referred to in dermatology. These products may comprise several components, including exosomes, secretomes, chitosan, polydeoxyribonucleotide, platelet-rich plasma, and hyaluronic acid. In today’s world, the use of such products is not confined to aesthetic purposes; they are also used to treat several other skin conditions. This review paper highlights the role of “skin booster" components for different skin disorders based on their in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies.

Discussion: “Skin boosters” are bioactive agents typically administered into the dermal layer. Understanding the mechanisms of each component is important because their applications extend beyond …

From Detection To Segmentation: A Foundation Model Approach To Organoid Brightfield Image Analysis Using Sam 3, Hiren Manani

Theses - ALL

This thesis presents the first systematic application of SAM 3, a unified foundation model for promptable segmentation, to mouse small intestinal organoid brightfield microscopy image analysis. The work spans the complete pipeline from zero-shot baseline evaluation through domain-specific fine-tuning on a GPU cluster, and documents the full engineering process required to adapt a state-of-the-art foundation model to a novel biomedical imaging domain. A comprehensive literature review of over 20 papers spanning detection-based, classical segmentation, foundation model, and morphological analysis approaches identified a clear research gap that this thesis addresses. Five critical compatibility patches were developed to deploy SAM 3 on …

Rapid Synthesis And Processing Of High-Capacity Layered Oxide Cathode Materials For Lithium And Sodium Batteries, Hansheng Li

Dissertations - ALL

Lithium-Manganese-Rich-Oxide (LMRO) is a type of layered oxide cathode active material with high energy densities of up to 900 - 1,000 Wh kg-1, competitive in capacity-demanding rechargeable lithium batteries. The increased energy density is beneficial for the range and recharging interval of electric vehicles. Based on layered Ni/Mn/Co oxide cathode materials, a high Mn content is chosen for this project as being abundant, while increased Ni concentration trades off thermal stability with specific capacity, while Co is carcinogenic and sourced less sustainably. Lithium content is increased along with Manganese content stoichiometrically as a second phase is introduced. Traditional synthesis routes …

Inundated With Uncertainty: A Cartographic Assessment Of Fema’S Flood Insurance Rate Maps (Firms) And Flood Risk Discourse, Michael Cabal

Theses - ALL

Flooding accounts for almost 90% of all natural disasters in the United States. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) is the authoritative agency tasked with mapping Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) that determine high-risk flood zones. These maps, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), are used to establish mandatory flood insurance requirements, regulate local floodplain building requirements, inform future development, and mitigate potential flood damage. However, the process for updating and implementing flood maps has come under significant scrutiny for being oversimplified, inaccurate, and incomplete. Despite existing scholarship on the shortfalls of FEMA’s recent responses to disasters, there is limited …

William Lewis, Jr. V. Tracey Chance

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Racial Differences In Hiv Testing And Hiv Infection Among Adults With Seborrheic Dermatitis In Atlanta, Georgia, Olivia Elizabeth Collins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.