Digital Commons Network^™

Author Biographies

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Haze Gray, Stay Away: How Extending The Feres Doctrine To Ship Collisions Usurps Justice In Admiralty, Caroline Stanton Chlaupek

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Watch Hill Fire Dist. V. Westerly Zoning Bd. Of Rev., 338 A.3d 326 (R.I. 2025)., Trent Huff

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

What To Do About The Decay Of The Conventions Of The Canadian Constitution, Léonid Sirota

Dalhousie Law Journal

Constitutional conventions are central to the operation of the Canadian constitution. Yet because they are not legislated rules, their coming into being and disappearance can be subject to considerable uncertainty. Worse, it appears that conventions can disappear or be replaced inadvertently, without anyone fully appreciating that this is happening. This article describes this process in relation to three conventions of the Canadian constitution: the one regulating the appointment of the Chief Justice of Canada, the convention of civil service neutrality, and the convention governing the choice of Prime Minister in a hung Parliament. It argues that these conventions are being …

Evaluating The Effects Of Autonomous Learning, Goal Orientation And Self-Efficacy On The Academic Performance Of Ethiopian Stem Students’ Through Structural Equation Modeling (Sem), Jerusalem Yizengaw, Asnake Tarekegn Nigussie

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

The study investigates the relationships among self-efficacy, goal orientation, and autonomous learning and how these factors affect Ethiopian STEM students’ academic performance. A descriptive survey design using mixed-methods research was used. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were employed to gather data from eight teachers and 151 STEM students. CFA and EFA attested to the validity and reliability of the questionnaires. Quantitative data were assessed using structural equation modeling (SEM), and qualitative data were analyzed using word descriptions. Self-efficacy was positively correlated with STEM students’ academic performance (β = .12, p < .01), whereas autonomous learning and goal orientation were negatively correlated (β = -.01, p < .01) and (β = -.04, p < .01), respectively. Findings suggest that techniques that help Ethiopian STEM students develop self-efficacy should be prioritized, with implications for curriculum design and instructional approaches. According to the findings, methods that support Ethiopian STEM students in developing self-efficacy should be prioritized, with consequences for instructional strategies and curriculum design. Although self-belief appears crucial for success, further research is required to fully understand the complex interaction of these factors in Ethiopia and other contexts.

Ai-Generated Content In Education: Moving Beyond Theory Toward Data-Driven And Actionable Insights, Huong Thi Pham, Nhung Thi Phuong Nguyen

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

The emergence of AI-powered content such as text, images, and videos generated by large language models (LLMs) has rapidly transitioned from an experimental novelty to a structural force in higher education. Yet, previous reviews have remained largely conceptual or focused on the early stages of the AI wave. This study offers an updated, multi-faceted overview of AI-generated content in education based on data from 2022 to 2025. Following the PRISMA protocol, we systematically identified and reviewed 64 peer-reviewed studies to examine usage, transformation of teaching practices, impacts on learning outcomes, and challenges related to academic integrity, bias, trustworthiness, and teacher …

Development Of The Digital Literacy Scale Based On A Socioformative Approach In University Students, Pedro Luis Arroyo-Pizarro, Renzo Esteban Martinez Laya, Elizabeth Deisy Herrera Bustillos, Esperanza Carmen Quiñones Aldazabal, Ernesto Elias Mamani Tipula, Alex Giovanny Arestigue Navarro, Christian Daniel Palomino Huananchin

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Abstract: The objective of this study was to develop and validate a digital literacy scale grounded in the socioformative approach for university students. An instrumental, cross-sectional design was used with a sample of 174 students from Metropolitan Lima. Content validity was established through expert judgment, and construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis. The results supported a four-factor structure—Metacognitive-Adaptive ICT domain, Critical digital information management, Multimedia communicative production, and Digital socio-ethical practice—that explained 61% of the variance. Reliability indices were acceptable across dimensions (α=.716–.810; ω=.728–.817). The findings indicate that the scale (EADigit) is a valid and reliable tool for …

Trends And Innovations In The Development Of Immersive Technology In Science Education (2019-2024): A Literature Review, Aziz Kurniawan, Hartono Hartono, Bambang Subali

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact, including the change in learning methods from face-to-face to non-face-to-face learning. This change in method accelerates innovation in the use of technology to support non-face-to-face learning. Immersive technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Virtual laboratories, have offered authentic and interactive non-face-to-face learning experiences in science education. This study employed a systematic literature review (SLR) method to map trends and innovations in the development of immersive technology in science education from 2019 to 2024. The literature data were obtained from the Scopus database and then selected using the PRISMA …

Case-Based Learning In Biology Education: A Systematic Literature Review, Elsje Theodora Maasawet, Jullya Christin Kolow

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Biology education often relies on content-intensive instructional materials that may encourage rote memorisation rather than conceptual understanding, potentially contributing to misconceptions. Case-Based Learning (CBL) offers an alternative by engaging students in applying biological concepts to authentic, real-life cases and promoting meaningful learning. Despite growing empirical interest in CBL, no systematic literature review has specifically synthesised its application in biology education. This study therefore examined publication trends, learning skills addressed, and conceptualisations of CBL in biology education. Relevant literature was retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science using “Case-Based Learning” as the search term. Following PRISMA-guided screening, 42 articles were included …

Integrating Digital Tools To Foster Soft Skills In Vocational Education: A Flipped Classroom Approach In China, Shanshan Wu, Renee Shiun Yee Chew, Yanhua Bi, Hui Jin

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Changes in the global demand for labor have highlighted the need for vocational education and training (VET) systems to develop not only technical skills but also soft skills like critical thinking, communication, and adaptability. This research investigates the use of digital technologies in a flipped classroom (FC) model and their impact on the development of soft skills in vocational students with particular attention to the growing VET ecosystem in China. With data gathered from a cross-sectional quantitative survey of 270 students from a Chinese vocational college, the research seeks to assess the impact of specific digital tools, such as video …

Engineering A Bioactive Pmma−Silica Hybrid Scaffold For Enhanced Bone Regeneration, Wai Ching Liu

Department of Food and Health Sciences

Bone health is crucial for maintaining mobility, structural integrity, and overall well-being. However, bone-related surgeries are the second most common type of tissue transplant worldwide. A reliable and bioactive material is needed to address these issues. This has led to growing interest in bone tissue engineering (BTE) as a viable substitute strategy. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a commonly utilized material in implant fixation and bone tissue applications due to its mechanical and chemical stability and ease of processing. However, its low bioactivity and poor osseointegration limit its effectiveness in bone repair, posing a significant technical challenge. In this study, we …

Theranostic Angiopep-2-Conjugated Fetaox@Au Core−Shell Magnetic Nanoparticles For Glioma Treatment And Dual Medical Imaging, Wai Ching Liu

Department of Food and Health Sciences

In this work, iron−tantalum oxide nanoparticles (FeTaOx NPs) with a gold coating modified by Angiopep-2 (FeTaOx@Au-ANG) were developed to achieve dual-modality imaging and magnetically induced hyperthermia therapy for glioma. The 13.5 nm sized FeTaOx@Au-ANG NPs’ exhibited superparamagnetic behavior with excellent dual T1/T2-weighted MRI contrast of Fe existence and enhanced X-ray attenuation for computed tomography (CT) imaging, enabling accurate tumor localization through complementary imaging modalities. The incorporation of Ta and Au not only improved biocompatibility but also provided a high CT contrast effect. Upon magnetic stimulation, the NPs efficiently elevated the intratumoral temperature, leading to a significant (∼90%) reduction in glioma …

Effects Of Particle Size Difference In Two Different Sweet Bran Products On Total Tract Digestibility And Rumen Ph, Emily K. Hoefling, Anna Kobza, Jessica L. Miller, Maggie E. Youngers, Galen E. Erickson, Jim C. Macdonald

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Summary with Implications

Seven ruminally fistulated heifers were utilized in a 6 x 7 row-column design to evaluate two different Sweet Bran particle size products (1.8 or 2.5 mm) included at 13%, 18%, or 23% of the diet (DM) on total tract digestibility and rumen fermentation parameters. The treatment design was a 2 x 3 factorial. Rumen pH was reduced and organic matter digestibility tended to be reduced with the small particle size when Sweet Bran was included at 13% of the diet. Both NDF digestibility and dietary digestible energy concentration tended to improve with the larger particle size. The …

Storytelling & Simulation-Based Experiences (Sbes): Immersive Environments That Support Student Learning, Meredith Deegan, Lauren Goeke, Kristina Sandberg, Josh Blubaugh, Kimberly Davis, Mary Murigi

School of Nursing Publications

Storytelling and Simulation-Based Experiences (SBEs) offer a powerful, equity-minded approach to teaching population health. Drawing on the NLN Jeffries Simulation Theory, Kolb’s experiential learning model, and the AACN 2021 Essentials, this session presents a SBE that integrates narrative design to immerse learners in community-centered care through a simulated Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) waiting room experience.

This SBE places students in a crowded FQHC waiting room to explore cultural humility, empathy, and health promotion in underserved settings. After the prebrief establishing purpose and psychological safety, students enter a conference room transformed with tight seating, limited walking space, and ambient noise. …

Celebrating Faculty Scholarship 2026, Smith College Libraries

Celebrating Faculty Scholarship: Bibliographies

Bibliography of selected scholarly and creative work produced by Smith College faculty and submitted by faculty for the 2026 celebration in the Neilson Library Skyline Reading Room, Smith College on September 14, 2026.

Development Of A Functional Artisanal Sugar-Free Ice Cream And Study Of Physicochemical Behavior, Popescu Mariana, Dabija Adriana, Chetrariu Ancuta

Annals. Food Science and Technology

The use of natural sweeteners in ice cream production could meet the demands of modern consumers focused on natural and nutritionally balanced foods. The objective of this work was to fill the gap in the basic knowledge about the effects of sugar-free apple concentrate, a natural substitute for sugar, rose petal jam and oat milk on the properties of artisanal ice cream. As a reference sample (REF), an ice cream sweetened with sugar-free apple concentrate, rose petal jam and oat milk base was produced, then increasing the amount of apple concentrate and the amount of oat milk, and in parallel …

Evaluation Of Food Quality Of White Yam Cultivars (Pona And Dente) Stored In Two Improved Traditional Storage Structures, Akrasi Juliana, Akyereko Yaw Gyau, Wireko-Manu Faustina Dufie, Oduro Ibok

Annals. Food Science and Technology

To curb yam postharvest losses, two improved traditional barns have been introduced, however, their effects on yam quality have not been studied. The study aimed to determine the effect of these storage structures on the physical, chemical and sensory properties of two yam cultivars; pona and dente. A total of 240 tubers of each cultivar were stored in these barns for six months, and their quality characteristics were determined. Temperature in the barns over the storage period was 25.4-30.8 oC in Rectangular barn (RB) and 25.4-30.4 oC in the Circular barn (CB) with minimal rodent damage. Relative humidity in the …

A Personal Take: An Argument In Favor Of Adopting The Uniform Partition Of Heirs Property Act In Rhode Island, Isiah Dipina, Natasha Varyani

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

New England Prop. Servs. Grp., Llc V. Ngm Ins. Co., 329 A.3d 889 (R.I. 2025)., Justin Edward Keyes

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Machine Learning-Based Lifetime Prediction Of Lithium Batteries: A Comparative Assessment For Electric Vehicle Applications, Abdelilah Hammou, Raffaele Petrone, Demba Diallo, Boubekeur Tala-Ighil, Philippe Makany Boussiengue, Hicham Chaoui, Hamid Gualous

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper evaluates and compares four data-driven methods (Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), echo state network (ESN), gated recurrent unit (GRU), and long short-term memory (LSTM)) for lithium-ion capacity prognostics adapted to electric vehicle conditions. This comparison aims to find the most efficient prognosis method considering two constraints: the limitation of computational power and the unavailability of on-board capacity measurement that requires full charge and discharge conditions. The machine learning models are trained using capacity values estimated under vehicle conditions. The ageing data is collected from cycling tests of two battery chemistries, Lithium Fer Phosphate (LFP) and Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC), …

Understanding Ai Usage On Campus: Perspectives Of Faculty, Staff, And Students At A Regional Comprehensive Institution, Sudarshana Bordoloi Dr., Brooke Burk

Essays in Education

The rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has reshaped teaching, learning, research, and administrative work across higher education. To better understand how campus communities are engaging with AI, this study examines the perspectives and practices of faculty, staff, and students at a regional comprehensive university in Minnesota. Drawing on survey data from 143 respondents, the study explores patterns of AI usage, perceived benefits and challenges, and the training needs required for ethical and effective integration of AI tools. Findings indicate that students primarily use AI for tutoring, idea generation, and drafting written assignments; faculty rely on AI for research, …

Exploring Undergraduate Women’S Experiences Of Collaborative Learning In Engineering Education: A Phenomenological Study Of The Social World, Sandra Ireri Cruz Morena

Doctoral

The persistent underrepresentation of women in engineering education remains a concern across global and national contexts, despite rising overall enrolment of women in higher education. In Ireland, the national average of women entering Engineering, Manufacturing, and Construction (EMC) programmes has gradually increased; however, the rate at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) has stayed at approximately 15% since 2016. This study seeks to better understand the gendered challenges underlying such trends by exploring the lived experiences of female undergraduate engineering students at TU Dublin, particularly in relation to collaborative learning environments such as project- and problem-based learning (PBL).

Consumer Responses To Ethical And Privacy Concerns In Ai Chatbots: Evidence From Offensive Language, Gender Bias, And Digital Privacy, Jikhan Jeong

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Due to the rapid innovation of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, AI chatbots have become increasingly influential computational social systems (CSS) in everyday life. However, the expansion of interactions between AI chatbots and consumers has raised significant ethical and privacy concerns. Using data from an online survey, this study empirically examines how consumer concerns about AI ethics and privacy influence their intention to use AI chatbots. These concerns are categorized into three types: 1) offensive language (generated by AI chatbots or users); 2) gender-biased language (from either source); and 3) digital privacy violations. The findings suggest that prior experience …

Searching For Nooks And Crannies: Geometric And Mechanistic Perspectives On Transformer Language Model Interpretability, Anna Marbut

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable linguistic capabilities, but the internal mechanisms driving their performance and behavior remain poorly understood. This dissertation investigates the interpretability of transformer-based language models from two complementary perspectives: the geometric organization of model internals in encoder-only models, and the mechanisms underlying safety behavior in decoder-only generative models.

In Part I, we address the challenge of measuring geometric properties in high-dimensional latent spaces, proposing and evaluating alternative measures of data spread that improve upon commonly used metrics. We then apply these measures alongside quantization-based metrics to examine the relationship between latent space geometry and downstream …

Continental Violence And The "Oregon Question": George Frederick Ruxton And The Nineteenth-Century Pacific Northwest, Rory Orion Johnson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper builds on recent efforts to depict Indigenous polities across North America in their international relations with European and Euro-American colonists and their centralized governments. It examines George Frederick Ruxton, a private English citizen and former army lieutenant, as he developed his response to the U.S.-British Oregon dispute while living in London in early 1846. He concluded that continental warfare was imminent and took overt steps to influence British policy, which he believed could halt U.S. expansion and definitively resolve the “Oregon Question.”

Long Short-Term Memory (Lstm) -Based Neural Network Model For Optimizing Composite Manufacturing Process Using Autoclave, Sourav Bolar, Steven Corns, Nayan Pundhir, Kumbla Chandrashekhara

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Producing high-quality fiber-reinforced composites requires precise temperature control during autoclave curing, as even small variations can lead to defects that compromise strength and reliability. At the same time, manufacturers aim to reduce energy use and shorten curing cycles without sacrificing material performance. To address these challenges, this study develops a data-driven Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network model capable of forecasting temperature evolution inside the autoclave throughout the curing cycle. The model is trained on time-series temperature data collected from multiple sensing locations, enabling it to learn the spatial and temporal trends that govern heat flow during curing. Data augmentation …

Work-In-Progress: Evaluating Feasibility Of Band Matrix Solvers For Scaling Up Extreme Learning Machine Method, Anton Akusok, Kaj Mikael Björk, Amaury Lendasse, Leonardo Espinosa Leal

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This work presents the results of the potential of band linear system solvers for improving the scalability of the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) method at large model sizes. The model is tested on the standard MNIST dataset with a range of solvers provided by the SciPy Python library. The results are analyzed taking into consideration the overall performance and the performance impact of band solvers across different matrix bandwidths, as well as the performance versus runtime analysis. The findings show potential in applying the proposed method to very large ELM models with narrow band matrices.

Sme Ai Outreach In Finland—A Case Study, Kaj Mikael Björk, Anton Akusok, Amaury Lendasse, Leonardo Espinosa-Leal

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a project (work in progress) where entrepreneurship and higher education in AI (from Master level to postdoc level) are integrated in order to produce a dual effect; helping SMEs to gain insight in how AI can aid in the corporate environment and to expose AI researchers to the real-life situations in the company world. If successful, the companies are made ready for the AI revolution and the researchers more equipped for corporate settings. The project is ongoing, so this paper addresses a work-in-progress project. The paper reflects on the project as well on some aspects that need …

The Case For Contractual Exculpation Of Lawyers’ Liability: Doctrine, Economics, And Policy, Timothy Ke

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

For over a century, Canadian lawyers have been prohibited from agreeing to contractual clauses limiting, allocating, or excluding their civil liability—a stark contrast to the graduated regimes governing other Canadian professionals and lawyers in major international jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium. This article seeks to initiate a critical conversation about legitimizing such clauses. It anchors its analysis in doctrinal integrity, economic efficiency, and policy, addressing competing objectives in relation to fiduciary responsibility, the market for legal services, and liability insurance. In doing so, this work delineates the benefits and bounds of contractual freedom, …

Space Mining, Richard Painter

Articles

The Trump Administration and U.S. Congress are promoting new ventures to extract valuable minerals from outer space. This Article does not dismiss the idea out of hand, but explores reasons for caution, including practical problems with space mining, its environmental impact, the likelihood that the United States could violate international law, and the risk of armed conflict. These problems are exacerbated by financial conflicts of interest in our government with a handful of billionaires, who have a financial interest in space mining work. The promotion of their agenda could involve wasteful government spending on subsidies for private ventures, with a …