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20141218: President Stephen J. Kopp Memorial Materials, 2014-2015, President's Office

Guides to University Archives

These items include materials from the office of the President at Marshall University from 2014-2015. Items were received in that time period and include notable materials from President Kopp's departure from this Earth. Included are newspaper articles, obituary write-ups, copies of his memorial service, and write-ups about his life published in the Herald-Dispatch. Please download the inventory for a complete list of the contents.

Nourishing Births: A Program Evaluation Proposal For Community-Based Nutrition Education, Food Access, And Garden Engagement Among Black Birthing People, Naa Deedei-Vera Hammond

Master's Projects and Capstones

Black birthing people in the United States continue to experience unequal maternal health outcomes, shaped in part by racism and barriers to nutritious food, culturally relevant health education, and supportive community spaces. While prenatal nutrition education and food assistance programs can provide important resources, information alone cannot address the challenges many people face when trying to access healthy and affordable food during pregnancy. The Nourishing Births Initiative is a proposed community-based maternal health program designed to respond to these needs by bringing together prenatal nutrition education, help connecting to food resources, community gardening, and peer support for Black birthing people …

Adolescent And Young Adult Cancer Survivorship: Supportive Care Needs, Resources, And Barriers, Allison Bryn Koplos

Master's Projects and Capstones

Background: Adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors experience unique physical, psychosocial, developmental, and healthcare-related challenges that often persist beyond treatment completion. Although survivorship resources have expanded, gaps in supportive care needs persist. This scoping review examined the supportive care needs, survivorship resources, and barriers to accessing supportive care among AYA cancer survivors.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted following the Arksey and O'Malley framework and reported in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and 2026 was identified through searches in PubMed and Google Scholar. Studies examining supportive care needs, survivorship resources, or supportive care services …

The Cost Of Helping Hand: Lost Revenue On Overnight Hand Call, Tia Taylor

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

The Making Of A Counselor: How My Life Shaped My Purpose, Grace M. Christopherson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This Plan B Project Analysis of Self explores the life experiences of an aspiring school counselor. The goal of a self-analysis project is to further explore the contents of oneself before entering the mental health field. Personal stories and experiences will be debriefed with the purpose of showing what has led to a pursuit in a career as a mental health counselor. Assessment results will also be shown and drawn from further enhancing the analysis of self. Additionally, theoretical orientation will be elaborated on and illustrated. All the different aspects of the analysis of self will reveal development both professionally …

Operating Room Waste Reduction In Watts And Water: Savings Beyond The Shift To Reusable Textiles, Taylor R. Sweeney

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Robust Statistical Methods For Microbiome Abundance Data, Yiming Shi

WUSM Theses and Dissertations – All Programs

Differential abundance analysis in microbiome studies aims to identify taxa whose abundance differs across biological or clinical conditions. The observed data are typically taxon-specific sequencing read counts, representing reads assigned to different taxa within each sample. These counts are indirect measurements of the underlying microbial abundance profile and are constrained by sample-specific library sizes. Microbiome count data are also typically sparse, overdispersed, and heteroscedastic. Together, these characteristics create substantial challenges for differential abundance analysis and make the results highly sensitive to normalization procedures, model specification, and the statistical methods used for inference.

Normalization defines the scale on which samples are …

Investigating The Ability Of Presequences To Influence Mitochondrial Protein Import, Youmian Yan

WUSM Theses and Dissertations – All Programs

Mitochondria are essential organelles housing over 1000 proteins, 99% of which are nuclear-encoded and synthesized in the cytosol. Most mitochondrial proteins are targeted by a positively charged sequence called the presequence, which lacks a common sequence motif and is poorly conserved across evolution. Accumulating evidence suggests that presequences encode meaningful information that influences mitochondrial protein uptake. For instance, multiple stress response models propose that stress sensing proteins contain “weak” presequences which allows them to monitor mitochondrial health. However, there is a lack of systematic examination about how presequences influence import kinetics and what constitutes presequence strength. These gaps in knowledge …

The Hemostatic Properties Of Green Plasma, David J. Sun

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Port And Vessel Communication Traffic Intrusion Detection: A Variational Autoencoder‑Enhanced Multilayer Perceptron Approach, Chien-Lin Chiang, Hsien-Cheng Chou, Ming-Yuan Peng, Yi-Yuan Chiang, Yu-Shun Liu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Port and vessel networks increasingly operate on IP/Ethernet backbones with high‑noise, high‑dimensional traffic. We present a lightweight hybrid intrusion‑detection model that couples a variational autoencoder (VAE) with a multilayer perceptron (MLP) and augments training with a boundary‑oriented latent‑space mixup strategy. The VAE models the distribution of normal traffic and identifies anomalies through reconstruction errors. Subsequently, it generates robust latent vectors, enabling the MLP to perform highly accurate supervised classification. On the UNSW‑NB15 dataset, the proposed pipeline attains ≥97% accuracy and an outstanding recall of 99.56% in binary intrusion detection, and visualization of the latent space (PCA) together with reconstruction‑error analyses …

Sar Ship Detection Based On Shallow Feature Guidance, Chenxu Xia, Peng Chen, Ya Zhang, Ying Li

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Maritime ship detection is of great significance for both military security and civilian applications. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), with its all-weather and all-day imaging capability, plays a vital role in maritime surveillance. Nevertheless, SAR ship targets typically appear small in scale, embedded in complex backgrounds, blurred at boundaries, and easily confused with near-shore features, which pose substantial challenges for accurate detection. To address these issues, we propose a SAR ship detection network that integrates dual enhancements of small-object representation and edge information. The network introduces two key components: the Small Target Refine Pyramid (STRP) to strengthen shallow feature representation for …

Enhancing Shipboard Safety Management Under The Ism Code: An Innovative Risk Assessment Framework With A Stern Tube Case Study, Pi-Yen Lin

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The shipboard safety management system (SMS) is designed to enhance safe operations, risk management, and emergency response to improve overall ship safety and efficiency. This paper demonstrates the use of an engine room simulator (ERS) for collecting failure modes and applies it to a comprehensive failure analysis of the stern tube lubricating oil system. A new risk closeness coefficient method was developed, integrating expert background knowledge and weighted risk assessments. The analysis, based on multiple expert evaluations, covered five subsystems, eight main components, 23 failure modes, and 112 failure causes. This study presents 26 recommendations for maritime practitioners and onboard …

Improvements Upon Reprocessing Of Orthopedic Single-Use Instruments, Alyssa P. Nguyen

Master's Projects and Capstones

Internal Medline data for Hospital A, a level I academic trauma center, identified a quality gap due to improper segregation and underutilization of orthopedic single-use device reprocessing bins. The baseline reprocessing rate of 4% for orthopedic products results in missed sustainability opportunities, financial strain, and increased regulated waste. A proposed quality improvement intervention implemented updated communication strategies, visual management tools, and education modules to reinforce current reprocessing workflows and close knowledge gaps. Outcome measures include the percentage of SUDs collected for reprocessing, survey results on reprocessing awareness, and potential financial savings in Appendix I. Early data showed a 10% year-to-year …

Diverging Impacts Of Organizational Dei Practices: The Role Of Objective And Subjective Group Status, Julia Oberlin, Claudia Toma, Tessa L. Dover

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose – While DEI practices aim to enhance the outcomes of disadvantaged groups, their impact remains uncertain, with disparities often persisting. This paper examines whether the accumulation of DEI practices helps reduce psychological and work disparities between employees, considering both their objective (e.g. gender and race) and subjective (or perceived) (dis)advantage.

Design/methodology/approach – Study 1 surveyed 602 employees to assess the impact of perceiving their organization as having many orfew DEI practices on theirsense ofinclusion and job satisfaction. Study 2 used an experimental design (N 5 739) to extend the findings of Study 1 by manipulating the number of DEI …

Firms’ Darq Readiness And Marketing Implications: A Systematic Literature Review, Ali N. Tehrani, K. Roy, Richard Gruner

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose – This study aims to systematically review literature across diverse disciplines, including marketing, management and information systems, to synthesise insights on firms’ readiness to adopt and implement DARQ technologies and their marketing implications. DARQ technologies are emerging and cutting-edge technologies, including Distributed Ledger Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Extended Reality and Quantum Computing (hence, DARQ). Design/methodology/approach – Through a systematic review of over 2, 500 papers across three databases, this study distilled a focused sample of 88 papers. It comprehensively explores the reported dimensions, antecedents, outcomes and marketing implications of firms’ readiness for DARQ technologies. Findings – This study identified three …

Assessment Of The Best Practices Of Pose Estimation And Machine Learning Use For Clinical Gait Analysis, Micah B. Stull

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Social Procurement As A Catalyst For Dei In Construction: Some Takeaways For Hrm?, Jennifer Waterhouse, Robyn Keast, Judy Lundy, Martin Loosemore

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives aim to foster workplaces where all employees feel valued and can add value. Increasingly, the success of these initiatives is influenced by environments and interactions beyond organisational boundaries, including recent backlash. Despite this, most DEI research remains focused on intra-organisational aspects and human resource management (HRM) activities. The purpose of this paper is to introduce social procurement as a novel and promising framework for advancing DEI in theory and practice through a collaborative, inter-organisational approach that has the potential to overcome institutional barriers and mitigate backlash. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through 15 in-depth …

Bridging The Gap: Assessing Barriers To Patch Testing Across Diverse Skin Tones, Ritesh V. Soule

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Does The Court Follow The Election Returns?, Thomas Keck

Political Science - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of A Play-Based Nature Camp On Self-Regulation In School-Age Children, Margaret Berkemeyer

Doctoral Dissertations

This study is a program evaluation with a mixed-methods design that evaluated the effectiveness of Y Rangers, a summer camp offered by the YMCA of San Francisco, in increasing the self-regulation abilities of school-age children. A total of 18 caregivers completed the quantitative portion of this study that included pre/post-test analyses of self-regulation measures. There were no statistically significant changes between pre and post assessments of self-regulation. A subset of seven caregivers and three Y Rangers counselors participated in interviews, the transcripts of which were analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Caregivers experienced Y Rangers as a unique opportunity for their …

Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices (Kap) Of Parents Regarding The Prevention And Control Of Childhood Iron Deficiency Anemia In Egypt: A Cross-Sectional Study, Omnia Soliman

Theses and Dissertations

Childhood Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) remains a major public health challenge in Egypt, where its persistently high and rising prevalence carries substantial consequences for child growth, cognitive development, immunity, and long-term health outcomes. Globally, approximately 40% of children aged 6–59 months are affected by anemia (World Health Organization, 2025), and Egypt mirrors this burden, with national data showing a worsening trend in recent years. In Egypt, national strategies have traditionally focused on biomedical interventions such as iron supplementation and food fortification, while less attention has been directed toward behavioral and household-level determinants, particularly parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related …

Working Mothers Of Children With Disabilities: Professional And Social Identity Negotiation, Christy D. Boyles

Dissertations

Women who have children with disabilities may struggle with both employment and childcare, and have barriers to re-entering the workforce. One struggle is the role identification and negotiation that occur when one transitions from one role to another. This research sought to answer the following questions: RQ 1. How does professional identity influence the “return to work” decisions for mothers who have children with disabilities? RQ 2. How do working mothers of children with disabilities negotiate their identities as caregivers and professionals? RQ 3. What other emerging factors affect women’s decisions to return to the workforce? A purposeful sample of …

The Relationship Between Acculturative Stress, Body Dissatisfaction, And Disordered Eating Behavior Among Latina Women In The United States, Emily Lillian Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

The majority of research on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors focuses predominantly on the experiences of white women, neglecting the significant impact of acculturative stress on these issues, especially among understudied groups like Latina women. The present study seeks to address the gap in the literature by obtaining data that explores the extent to which acculturative stress, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating behavior have a relationships. Additionally, it investigates the roles of cultural values and ethnic identification in protecting against body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behavior within this population. To determine whether acculturative stress is predictive of body dissatisfaction …

A Novel Acoustic Emission Technology For Assessing Osseointegration In Bone-Anchored Implants, Ethan Snyder

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Mixed-Reality Visualization In Revision Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Retrospective Comparative Study, William C. Smoot

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Routine But Rarely Needed: Blood Type And Antibody Screen Testing In Pediatric Surgical Patients, Avery N. Sinnathamby

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Investigating Patient Reported Outcomes (Pros) Of Long Covid, Luke A. Sims

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Non-Medical Determinants Of Health In Thoracic Aortic Disease: A Montalcino Aortic Consortium Study, Alberta S. Simmons

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Centering Community Voices: Protocol For Qualitative Inquiry In A Produce Prescription And Chatbot Intervention, Yesmeena Mahmoud Shmaitelly

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Understanding Patient Reported Outcome Measures And Perceptions In Trauma, Jerome D. Scott

Summer Research Program Abstracts

No abstract provided.