Digital Commons Network^™

Data-Driven Decision-Making Frameworks For Energy Procurement And Dynamic Pricing In Electric Vehicle Charging Networks, Pallavi Khanal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The continued growth of electric vehicles (EVs) is increasing the demand for charging infrastructure and creating new operational challenges for charging network operators (CNOs). Uncertainty in charging demand, electricity market prices, and user charging behavior can significantly impact both the economic performance and reliability of charging network operations. To address these challenges, this thesis develops an integrated data-driven framework that combines charging demand modeling, risk-aware energy procurement, machine learning, and reinforcement learning for intelligent EV charging network operation. The research begins by developing queueing-based models to characterize EV charging demand under time-varying and stochastic arrival conditions. Time-varying Mt/M/1 and Mt/M/c …

Task-Aligned Knowledge Transfer For Vision-Language Models Across Diverse Visual Challenges, Dongyoun Kim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pretrained vision–language models (VLMs) encode broad visual and semantic knowledge, but this knowledge does not always translate into reliable performance on specialized visual tasks. Multi-object region understanding requires fine-grained relational alignment, scientific document question answering requires structured reasoning over tables and charts, and robotic manipulation requires task-relevant perception to influence action generation. This dissertation studies these gaps as a problem of knowledge utilization: helping a pretrained model use available knowledge in a form aligned with the target task. Its central claim is that effective adaptation depends not only on model scale, data volume, or full-backbone fine-tuning, but also on three …

Assessment Of Mechanical Performance And Quality Assurance In Fabricated Aa6061-T6, Anesti Nasi, Kledi Ushe, Klodian Dhoska, Anis Sulejmani, Odhisea Koça, Panagiotis Kyratsis, Aleksandra Petrovic

Babylonian Journal of Mechanical Engineering

This paper focuses on integrated methodology for the experimental mechanical properties of produced AA6061 aluminum alloy, coupled for a rigorous quality assurance framework to validate material reliability for structural applications. The approach combines microstructural analysis, tensile testing analysis, and systematic measurement uncertainty quantification, all performed through the relevant international standards. To ensure statistical reliability, the overall standard uncertainty was computed utilizing the propagation law of uncertainty for k = 2 with a confidence level of roughly 95%. The experimental results yielded a tensile strength of309.4±4.0N/mm2, showing excellent repeatability with a lower relative uncertainty that correspond to 1.3%. These values not …

Religious Riders And The Sherman Act, Bailey Sanders

Faculty Scholarship

Can corporations engage in anticompetitive behavior on the basis of religious belief? While the answer may seem like an obvious no, in fact this question has largely been overlooked. It has hovered at the margins of the debate over religious exemptions: Proponents of religious exemptions have essentially argued that there is no harm in providing such exemptions to businesses because a competitive market will ensure consumers who might be denied services or goods by a religious firm can still obtain those goods and services elsewhere. But what if religiously minded businesses act in ways that are specifically designed to limit …

Oompa 2025.08: A First Cut Of The Toolkit For Object-Oriented Modeling For Planning And Acting, Mark Roberts, David H. Chan, Dana S. Nau, Jamie C. Macbeth

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

OOMPA is a partially implemented Python 3.13+ toolkit for modeling hierarchical planning domains as annotated Python classes, without writing a separate PDDL or HDDL domain file. State properties, actions, and hierarchical methods attach to domain classes via decorator syntax; OOMPA projects the resulting model into a flat dictionary of dictionaries, like the Pyhop family of planners. We describe OOMPA’s motivation and architecture as we demonstrate its use in a restaurant planning domain. There are many unrealized features, so we end with a discussion of limitations and future work.

Rethinking Behavior - Winter 2026, Midwest Symposium For Leadership In Behavior Disorders

ReThinking Behavior Magazine

A magazine for professionals serving children and youth with behavioral needs.

Winter 2026, Volume 9, Issue 2

Formation-Based Ai Ethics: Ethical Formation, Responsibility, And Opportunity Cost In Ai Ecosystems, Maurice Emelu

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Recent efforts in AI ethics have been dominated by the proliferation of high-level principles intended to guide responsible development and deployment. Yet persistent implementation failures suggest that principlism and tool-based approaches alone do not cultivate the moral capacity required to govern sociotechnical systems. This article advances a formation based framework for AI ethics that situates moral agency throughout the developmental conditions of design, use, and the AI lifecycle. Drawing on Aristotelian-MacIntyrean virtue ethics applied to media ecology, and sociotechnical responsibility, the argument reframes AI as a formative environment that shapes patterns of attention, judgment, delegation, and accountability over time. Against …

Grading In The Digital Age: Ai Feedback Versus Professor Feedback, Latoya Russell, Andrew Zeisler, Ronald Mickler Jr.

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Feedback is a cornerstone of academic development, particularly in marketing education, where skill development often requires iteration and applied practice. While instructors spend considerable time providing effective feedback, artificial intelligence (AI) tools can significantly reduce this burden by generating timely, tailored responses. For example, AI-based chatbots can supplement instruction, providing students with timely feedback and reducing instructors’ workload. This study examines how marketing students perceive feedback quality based on its source, specifically whether it is delivered by an AI system or a human instructor. Through a scenario-based experiment, we investigate student perceptions of feedback quality and effectiveness based on the …

Analytics And Irony In Organizational Change: Agency And Emotions In The Mangle Of Practice, Uri Gal, Sean Hansen, Kalle Lyytinen

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Advanced data analytics technology has experienced an explosion of interest as firms seek to increase profits, operational efficiency, and employee engagement through evidence-based management. However, empirical evidence of the impact of this technology on organizational outcomes remains mixed, which assertions of benefits closely matched by concerns about potential adverse outcomes. In this study, we explore the adoption of a popular application of analytics technology – a people analytics system – at Everest, a leadership development consulting firm. By juxtaposing idealized and realized facets of the organizational practices mediated by the system, we highlight the emergence of situational ironies, in which …

Artificial Neural Network Based Protection For Dc Bus Using Solid State Dc Breaker, Eswaraiah Giddalur, Askani Jaya Laxmi

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Low voltage Direct Current (LVDC) microgrids have been extensively used as a hopeful technology with high access to distributed energy resources (DERs) and DC loads, due to the absence of multiple conversions. A high amplitude Fault current together with the vulnerability of electronic devices, poses a great challenge to the line protection in LVDC microgrids. Electromechanical switches are slow and take long tripping time to clear the short circuit fault. Power electronic circuit breakers are used to achieve fast fault interruption recent progress in areas like machine learning and natural language processing have affected nearly every assiduity and area of …

Systematic Study On Preparation And Characterizations Of High Performance Bimetallic Pt-Co/Sba-15 Catalyst In N-Heptane Isomerization, Talib M. Albayati, Khalid A. Sukkar, Nisreen S. Ali, Mahir A. Abdulrahman, Basheer A. Abdulhussein, Issam K. Salih, Narges Elmi Fard

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Bimetallic catalysts were prepared by deposition of 1% of loading of (Pt-Co) onto SBA 15 support using heterogeneous reaction for enhancing hydroisomerization and promoting hydrocracking for the decomposition of n-heptane. The catalytic performance of the catalysts was subsequently evaluated thereafter. Characterization of the prepared catalysts was done by various techniques, which include XRD, FTIR, BETBJH, SEM/EDS, and TEM. The temperature range studied for this catalytic activity was 250 to 400 °C, at atmospheric pressure in a plug-flow reactor. The experimental setup kept a very rigorous control over the temperature, flow rate for the reactants, and pressure, while gas chromatographic techniques …

Design Of An Economic Order Quantity–Based Dashboard For Vaccine Packaging Inventory Management, Hadi Susanto, Susmitha Canny, Alexandra Elizabeth Callistha, Shakira Dwi Purwandari, Naila Davina Aurelia

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Background: Timely availability of vaccine packaging is critical to pharmaceutical supply chain reliability, as packaging materials play a key role in maintaining cold chain integrity during distribution. Inadequate availability of packaging materials can disrupt vaccine delivery even when finished vaccines are ready for shipment. The case company faces frequent delivery delays, insufficient safety stock, and irregular replenishment of vaccine packaging materials, which have jeopardized the organization’s target of achieving a 90% on-time delivery rate.

Objective: To design and evaluate an Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)–based inventory dashboard for vaccine packaging that standardizes ordering decisions and strengthens stock visibility in pharmaceutical distribution …

High Potential, Uneven Uptake: Off-Grid Renewables In Agriculture Across The Global South, Muhamad Setyawan Bahari, Destia Mardhotillah

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Reliable energy access is widely recognized as essential for agricultural development, yet adoption of off-grid renewable energy technologies (RETs) in the Global South remains uneven despite their high potential. While RETs are increasingly promoted as solutions to food insecurity and energy poverty, evidence on what enables or constrains their uptake across agricultural contexts remains fragmented. This study systematically reviews 18 peer-reviewed articles published between 2013 and 2025 using the PRISMA framework and synthesizes findings through a PESTEL lens. The literature has expanded in recent years, reflecting growing policy attention to the energy–agriculture nexus, but remains concentrated in Asia and heavily …

Hypoxic Stem Cells From Apical Papilla-Derived Exosomes Enhance Dental Pulp Stem Cells Migration And Differentiation Via Mitochondrial Activation, Deyan Yuan, Rui Tao, Bi Yin, Meng Gu

Journal of Dental Sciences

Background/purpose Stem cells from apical papilla (SCAPs) and dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) play critical roles in dental tissue regeneration. Although intercellular communication through exosomes is known to influence stem cell regulation, the effects of exosomes derived from hypoxic SCAPs on the migration and odontogenic differentiation of DPSCs have not been elucidated. This study aimed to investigate SCAPs derived exosomes mediated modulation of DPSCs biological functions under hypoxic conditions. Materials and methods Exosomes were obtained from SCAPs cultured under normoxic or hypoxic conditions. DPSCs were treated with these exosomes, and their migration capacity was evaluated using scratch and transwell assays. …

Ai Is For Alma Implementation: Evolution Of Finding Ex Libris Documentation, James M. Day

Publications

Those of us who administer the Ex Libris Alma Library Services Platform for our institutions often need help with procedures for configuring or customizing Alma and its related applications: Alma-D, Leganto, Rapido, Primo, Summon, Analytics, etc. The way we have done this has evolved over the years. This paper reviews how methods for finding Ex Libris documentation online have changed, even as older methods are still in use today.

Artificial intelligence chatbots are changing the way we access information, including software application help. A recent Alma implementation project at my university provided the perfect opportunity to put a new, fully …

Part 2: Divergent Paths? Rising Defense Spending And Headwinds For The Port And Tourism, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The most recent economic data shows that the three-legged stool is tilting under the weight of conflicting economic policies. National defense spending has continued to expand, and we expect that, as a result, defense spending in Hampton Roads will also rise in the coming years. Declines in federal civilian employment will limit these gains, and the defense industrial base in the region faces an existential threat from the rise of uncrewed systems on the modern battlefield. The Port of Virginia performed well, gaining market share, but higher tariffs have negatively impacted the dollar volume of trade flowing through the Port. …

Part 4: Arts And Culture In Hampton Roads: Exploring A Challenging Future, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads hosts a remarkably vibrant and dynamic arts and culture ecosystem. It includes not only high-caliber professional institutions such as the Virginia Arts Festival, Virginia Opera, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and Chrysler Museum of Art—but many other museums and galleries, theaters and performance spaces, open-air festivals, creative districts, public art, independent artists and creators, large performance venues for outside talent, and a wide array of professional and amateur arts organizations. This chapter discusses the arts in Hampton Roads and explores its impact on the region.

Novel Insights Into Early Alzheimer's Disease: Quantitative Gradient Recalled Echo Mri Reveals Preatrophic Neuronal And Myelin Injury Concurrent With Emerging Amyloid Pathology, Satya V V N Kothapalli, Tammie L S Benzinger, Randall J Bateman, Melody Li, Cihat Eldeniz, John C Morris, Dmitriy A Yablonskiy

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Brain amyloid accumulation is considered an early sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, appearing decades before manifestation of clinical symptoms. However, very little is known about neurodegeneration during this early AD stage. Herein we use quantitative gradient recalled echo (qGRE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to reveal preatrophic microstructural neuronal and myelin damage concurrent with amyloid pathology.

METHODS: qGRE MRI and positron emission tomography (PET) amyloid [

RESULTS: qGRE detected significantly lower gray matter neuronal density and white matter myelination in the group of participants with amyloid level below the conventional amyloid-positive threshold (mean cortical standardized uptake value ratio of …

Biological Aging Acceleration In Major Depressive Disorder: A Multi-Omics Analysis, Breno Satler Diniz, Shangshu Zhao, Gabin Drouard, Eero Vuoksimaa, Miina Ollikainen, Eric J Lenze, Ming Xu, Richard H Fortinsky, George A Kuchel, Jaakko Kaprio, Chia-Ling Kuo

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is linked to a higher risk of premature aging, but the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Using data from two population cohorts (UK Biobank and Finnish Twin Cohort), we evaluate the relationship between systemic and organ-specific proteomic and epigenetic aging acceleration and MDD. A lifetime history of MDD was associated with accelerated proteomic aging at both systemic and organ-specific levels-including the brain-in both cohorts, with stronger associations than those observed with systemic epigenetic aging. Systemic and brain-specific proteomic aging acceleration were linked to higher risks of incident MDD and a greater risk of Alzheimer's disease, …

Antihypertensive Medications And Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence For Specific Medication Use, Osvaldo J. Laurido-Soto, Alejandra Camacho-Soto, Irene M. Faust, Kassu M. Beyene, Aaron Katz, Jordan A. Killion, Brad A. Racette

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Participatory Systems Modeling In Implementation Research: Exploring Benefits, Facilitators, And Future Needs, Natalie Riva Smith, Jennifer L Cruz, Jessica Gannon, Stephanie Mazzucca-Ragan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Implementation science increasingly uses participatory systems modeling (PSM) approaches to handle the complexity inherent to implementation science issues. To support the process of integrating PSM with implementation science, we aimed to understand and explicate the benefits, facilitators, and future needs of applying PSM to implementation research.

METHODS: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 23 researchers (n = 18) and practitioners (n = 5). We purposively sampled participants and identified additional participants through recommendations. Interviews were inductively analyzed. Key concepts were identified via iterative description, comparison, and conceptualization.

RESULTS: Engagement with people in the system was typically focused in earlier …

Primary Avian Tracheal Cell Models For The Isolation Of Emerging Avian Metapneumovirus Strains, Tricia Serrao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) subgroups A and B in the United States poultry industry has created an urgent need for standardized, host-specific diagnostic platforms. Historically, reliance on continuous, multi-species cell lines has limited the primary isolation of field strains and introduced potential adaptation artifacts. To address these challenges, this research first established and characterized a reproducible primary cell culture system derived from the tracheal tissues of 1-day-old turkey poults. This system was maintained in an optimized DMEM/F-12 formulation supplemented with 5% FBS, EGF, and ITS, with early-passage cultures achieving 90% confluence within 24 to 48 hours. Morphological and …

Regulatory Design Choices For Ai: The What, The Who And The How, Aziz Z. Huq

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

This chapter identifies three common design choices that must be made in the course of an effort to regulate artificial intelligence “AI”). By isolating the way in which those different sovereign regulators approach these choices in respect to AI, it is possible to evaluate more clearly the likely effects of regulation, and to better understand aspects of regulatory design that to date have been overlooked. First, the “what” of AI regulation is not just a matter of how “AI” is defined, but also which element of the technology stack is targeted by law: compute, data, or models. Second, the “who” …

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition And Stress Adaptations Underlie Yttrium-90 Resistance In Liver Cancer Cell Lines, Alexander Zheleznyak, Dhanusha Duraiyan, Prasanth Thunuguntla, Jessica Camacho, Shuang Wu, Jingxia Liu, Jason D Weber, Daniel L J Thorek, Benjamin S Strnad, Ryan C Fields, Matthew A Ciorba, Christine Yoon, Valerie Blanc, Nicholas Davidson, Jessica Silva-Fisher, Christopher D Malone

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: Molecular signatures predict prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma, but their relevance to transarterial radioembolization (TARE) with yttrium-90 (90Y) is unknown. We aimed to identify baseline and treatment-induced pathways associated with response and nominate biomarkers. Ten transcriptomically diverse human liver cancer cell lines were exposed to escalating activities of glass 90Y microspheres for 10 days. Normalized AUC values quantified sensitivity. Whole-transcriptome RNA sequencing at baseline and after treatment was analyzed with elastic net regression and gene set enrichment. Findings were corroborated by qRT-qPCR and exploratory analysis of pretreatment tumor samples from patients undergoing TARE. Liver cancer cell line responses to 90Y …

Why Are Executions Becoming Crueler?, Deborah W. Denno

Faculty Scholarship

Since the modern death penalty era, this country’s six execution methods have become crueler over time. This article details the execution procedures adopted across death penalty states up to the end of 2025, analyzing their societal and cultural underpinnings and explaining how they were implemented, including their shared flaws, unscientific origins and protocols, and reliance on untrained, unqualified, or unknown executioners. While legislatures and courts claim that states move from one technique to the next to enhance greater humaneness, history shows that such switches are primarily propelled by constitutional challenges to a state’s particular technique. In theory, rendering a state’s …

Untangling Ai Openness, Parth Nobel, Alan Z. Rozenshtein, Chinmayi Sharma

Faculty Scholarship

The debate over AI openness—whether to make components of an artificial intelligence system available for public inspection and modification—forces policymakers to balance innovation, democratized access, safety and national security. By inviting startups and researchers into the fold, it enables independent oversight and inclusive collaboration. But technology giants can also use it to entrench their own power, while adversaries can use it to shortcut years and billions of dollars in building systems, like China’s Deepseek-R1, that rival our own. How we govern AI openness today will shape the future of AI and America’s role in it.   Policymakers and scholars grasp the …

Cgrp Expression And Signaling Sensitization In A Mouse Model Of Chronic Oxaliplatin-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy, Junwei Du, Leland C Sudlow, Margaret H Johnson, Kanishk Satish, Abraham Villagomez, Hongzhen Hu, Mikhail Y Berezin

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a frequent and dose-limiting side effect of oxaliplatin treatment, yet its molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Calcitonin gene-related peptide alpha (CGRPα, encoded by

Teacher Perceptions Of Administrative Support, Student Behavior, And Work Environment: Effects On Morale, Commitment, And Retention Of High School Teachers In A Mid-Sized School District In North Carolina, Joseph M. Serviss

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Teacher attrition remains an ongoing challenge in secondary education, often linked to declining motivation or commitment. This mixed-methods sequential explanatory study aimed to explore high school teachers’ perceptions of administrative support, student behavior, and work environment factors, and how these elements impact job satisfaction and retention. Quantitative data were collected through an internal Teacher Working Conditions Survey distributed to high school teachers within a single public school district. For qualitative insights, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 high school teachers, and inductive thematic analysis was used to interpret the survey findings. Quantitative results showed mostly positive views regarding administrative support, …

Implementing Stem In Elementary Schools: Teacher Perceptions, Practices, And Supports, Casey Wester

Doctor of Education Dissertations

STEM education is a critical component of maintaining global competitiveness, underscoring the need to begin it in early childhood. Integrating STEM education requires teachers to move beyond traditional teaching methods toward a transdisciplinary approach. Research has shown that there can be a variety of barriers to integrating STEM into the classroom. This explanatory mixed methods research study investigated elementary school educators' perspectives on implementing a STEM initiative, the fidelity of implementation post-initiative, and the current supports and additional support needed to sustain implementation. To carry out this investigation, a survey was deployed to elementary educators in three elementary schools, and …

Playing With Fire: A Phenomenological Study Of Burnout Among Career And Technical Education Teachers And Factors That Fuel The Dilemma, Kaye C. Harris

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers who self-identified as having suffered from burnout. While burnout in education is a commonly researched topic, burnout related to CTE is underrepresented but relevant due to an increasing emphasis on the need for skills-based training. This study sought to understand the internal and external factors that contributed to teacher burnout and how shame, gaslighting, and toxic positivity influenced professional identity and emotional well-being. A qualitative phenomenological approach was used to conduct 14 personal interviews and a follow-up focus group consisting of six participants. Findings indicated that …