Digital Commons Network^™

Designing Playful Education: A Game Changing Matrix To Rule ‘Em All, Letizia Vaccarella, Giulia Teverini, Annamaria Recupero

Learn X Design Conference Series

Games have transcended their role as mere entertainment tools evolving into powerful mediums for driving meaningful change. Whether addressing environmental sustainability, health promotion, or educational engagement, these games for change hold immense transformative potential. But the successful design of this type of games requires consideration of several aspects (context, objectives, participants, game elements), and there are no structured methods available yet to support this process. To fill this gap, this paper introduces the Game Changing Matrix, a novel methodology developed to support the design of games aimed at meaningful transformation. Building on the frameworks of the MDA (Mechanics, Dynamics, and …

Intertwining The Materiality And The Criticism In The Critical Making Studio, Özgün Dilek

Learn X Design Conference Series

This paper presents a studio-based course in a higher education setting that explores the pedagogical potential of the Critical Making (CM) approach. The course was designed to investigate how B.Sc. level industrial design students could integrate critical thinking and material exploration within the design process. It aimed to cultivate students’ abilities in three interrelated areas: articulating social criticism through design, employing interactive technologies to support critical expression, and engaging in personal inquiry into design processes. Structured at the intersection of art and design, the course employed studio pedagogy supported by class exercises and coding workshops. These activities encouraged students to …

Permaculture Of Game Development Education: The Intertwined Nature Of Games Research And Game Design Practice, Asli Tece Bayrak, Sofia Piven

Learn X Design Conference Series

Game development is an interdisciplinary collaborative process which involves programming, art, and design expertise. A game development education, therefore, builds upon the already unique challenges of learning game programming and game art, while acknowledging that successful video game development relies on designing and producing compelling player experiences. Given this complexity, to date there is not a standardized approach to building game development curriculum. Recent curriculum overviews reflect a large degree of variation in foci - technical degrees focusing on courses such as mathematics, physics, programming, graphics or art degrees focusing on courses such as 2D or 3D art, animation, world …

Framework For Ethical Worldbuilding With Solidarity-Driven Co-Design, Laura Cechanowicz, Steven Zuiker, Michelle Jordan, Ed Finn, Ruth Wylie

Learn X Design Conference Series

Diversity is a fundamental resource in co-design processes; however, centering wide-ranging participants around a design rather than individual, disciplinary, or other forms of expertise can be challenging. Expanding the scope of design to include the entanglements of temporality and community amplifies these challenges. Addressing these challenges requires a reconfiguration of the fundamental relationships between designers, researchers, research participants, collaborators, and the land and place where research and design outcomes occur, including a deeper form of engagement with communities. Despite the substantial groundwork existing approaches have developed, emerging efforts challenge us to conceptualize an ethical approach for recognizing, working with, and …

Ecological Sustainability And Exhibition Design Education, Jennie Schaeffer

Learn X Design Conference Series

This letter reflects on the need to integrate ecological sustainability into exhibition design education. Despite growing awareness of environmental challenges, exhibition design education seems to struggle to embed sustainability as a core teaching principle. Exhibition design frequently involves temporary structures, intensive resource use, and tight deadlines, which conflict with sustainability goals.

Mindful Design And Techno-Empathy. Toward A Better Tomorrow, Dominika Sobolewska

Learn X Design Conference Series

This paper explores the integration of techno-empathy and mindful design as tools for addressing global challenges through speculative storytelling and interdisciplinary collaboration. Drawing on principles advocated by Neri Oxman and others, it positions design as a bridge between technological progress and imaginative, socially engaged practices. Design is presented not merely a as a medium of representation, but as a research method, persuasive tool, and mode of speculative fabulation—capable of crafting alternative futures through material and interactive experimentation. Mindful Design Studio (MDS) at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art & Design exemplifies these principles by emphasizing simple interactive technologies that create …

Creating Landscapes: Sustainable Insights Through Art-Based Methods, Karolina Uggla, Andrea Hvistendahl

Learn X Design Conference Series

The interactive, art-based workshop concept Creating Landscapes was piloted twice in November 2024. The workshop invites participants to critically engage with questions of sustainability and materiality through hands-on interaction with discarded objects, addressing the complexity of planetary and societal resources and life in a concrete way. The workshop starts from how we interact with material artefacts and how to create new landscapes and see things differently. Following the initial implementations, we – the designers and facilitators – collected participant feedback to inform future iterations. This case study provides a description of the workshop idea, its implementation process, and preliminary insights, …

Decolonizing The Engineering Designer, Leslie Wexler, Matt Borland, Kate Sellen

Learn X Design Conference Series

In a dynamic conversation between three design educators, the group explores their experiences in decolonizing education and fostering transformative learning environments. Their discussion emphasizes nurturing the "whole self"—intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual dimensions. The educators reflect on how to integrate holistic practices into a graduate level Engineering design reading course (SYDE760 - Decolonizing Engineering Design) that challenged traditional approaches which prioritize technical skills and expertise. Instead, their goal was to balance all aspects of the self, creating spaces where students could authentically engage and grow. The conversation highlights practical classroom experiences associated with Indigenous pedagogies and traditional knowledges, such as …

Interdisciplinary Community-Based Research: A Sum Of Disparate Parts, Nancy Watterson, David Dunbar, Melissa Terlecki, Caroline Nielsen, Lisa Ratmansky, Amy Persichetti, Kristen Travers, Susan Gill

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

For faculty committed to socially responsible community engagement, the process of interdisciplinary course design and assessment can be charged and challenging. At Cabrini College, faculty are involved in precisely this kind of work as part of the College's new core curriculum, Justice Matters. Our study of two connected interdisciplinary courses marks a shift in conceptual models: how we developed from a “community service learning (CSL) approach into a participatory, collective process that embeds community based research (CBR) protocols more intentionally and explicitly. Additionally, the two linked courses illustrate how interdisciplinarity, when combined with CBR best practices, can offer powerful solutions …

Issues With Implementing Service Learning Into An Agricultural Sciences Equine Program, Aleta C. Overby, Erin Tucker, Aaron Lusby

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

In the spring of 2007 service learning classes were implemented in an equine science program after being funded for animal evacuation and recovery grants. This program was met with great student enthusiasm and participation; however, the authors raise questions about some of the obstacles they have found while implementing this program. The three major areas of concern include the optimum class size for service learning, transportation, and the depth of responses to student reflective pieces.

Service-Learning Pathologies And Prognoses, Roy Schwartzman

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

This essay diagnoses and suggests treatments for several pathologies that afflict service-learning. Structural challenges include geographic isolation and optimization of institutional administration. Student challenges include reinforcing stereotypes, deficiencies in practical skills, elitism regarding suitable service, underdeveloped empathy, and excessive focus on time spent in service. Community partner challenges include appropriately defining student labor and systematically under-reporting negative experiences. The prognosis explores how service-learning projects could instigate student engagement with the systemic nature of social injustice.

Lanthorn, Vol. 60, No. 04, September 22, 2025, Grand Valley State University

Volume 60, August 4, 2025 – current

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Faye Calhoun, Faye J. Calhoun M.S., Ph.D.

We Are NIH Oral History Project

No abstract provided.

Vol. 69, No. 05 (September 22, 2025)

Indiana Law Annotated

No abstract provided.

A History Of African Americans In Nebraska, Preston Love Jr., Adam Fletcher Sasse, Le Clara Gilreath, Portia Love, Heather Fryer

Truth and Reconciliation History Project

Black people have been present in Nebraska from its earliest days as a U.S. territory. The first U.S. Census of Nebraska, conducted in 1860, counted eighty-one Black people who, together, formed .28 percent of the young territory’s 28,841 residents. That number grew to 3,443 Black residents in 1900, representing 3.5 percent of the 102,555 residents of the state of Nebraska. The number and location of Black Nebraskans varied greatly through the twentieth century, comprising 13.7 percent of the state’s population in 1940 and 11.8 percent in 2020. Although African Americans have been relatively small in numbers, the historical record reflects …

Designing A Hybrid Renewable Energy System For The College Of Engineering And Computer Science At Arkansas State University, Partho Das Neer

Student Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this thesis is to design and analyze the performance of a hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) for the college of engineering and computer science at Arkansas State University. By implementing the framework as a micro-grid to supply the required power to the Lab Science West building of the college. The proposed model ensures energy reliability and cost reduction. The model consists of photovoltaic (PV) panels, wind turbines (WT), and batteries, whereas MATLAB software was used to design the system and the Electrical Transient Analyzer Program (ETAP) Software is utilized to analyze the effectiveness of the operation …

Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Diversity And Water Quality As Indicators Of Wetland Health In Natural And Constructed Wetlands Of Northeast Arkansas, Helena Grace Wheeler

Student Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to different abiotic factors drives a shift in macroinvertebrate communities. In wetland systems, soil is the primary driver of the aquatic system. Analyzing community dynamics in association with soil composition, water physiochemical properties, wetland size and age is valuable in determining wetland health. Little research has been done to examine the direct relationship between wetland soil parameters and macroinvertebrate communities. Macroinvertebrate diversity, community composition, and soil and water composition data were analyzed from natural wetlands, Agricultural Conservation Easement - Wetland Reserve Easement Program (ACEP-WRE) wetlands, and agricultural wetlands within the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Sample collection occurred from February to …

Mcsa Forum Minutes 09/22/2025, Morris Campus Student Association

Morris Campus Student Association

No abstract provided.

Use Of Amplified Lewy Body Dementia Fibrils And Autoradiography To Characterize Binding Of Radioligand Tg-1-90b To Alpha-Synuclein Fibrils In Postmortem Brain Tissue, Jennifer Y O'Shea, Dhruva D Dhavale, Helen Hwang, Zachary Smith, Thomas J A Graham, Robert H Mach, Paul T Kotzbauer

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Parkinson's disease (PD) and Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) are defined by accumulation of alpha-synuclein (Asyn) fibrils within Lewy bodies (LBs) and Lewy neurites (LNs). The development of a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) tracer for quantifying Asyn fibrils would improve diagnostic accuracy and provide a biomarker for disease progression. We previously described radioligand [

Global Variations In Surgical Techniques For Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction At Minimum 2-Year Follow-Up: A Systematic Review Of Randomized Clinical Trials, Sina Tartibi, Derrick M Knapik, S Ryan Pierson, Christopher K Bozorgmehr, Daniel C Touhey, Matthew J Matava, Matthew V Smith, Robert H Brophy

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Regional differences in primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) remain largely unknown.

PURPOSE: To systematically review the literature examining Level 1 and Level 2 studies to identify global differences in surgical techniques associated with primary ACLR.

STUDY DESIGN: Scoping review; Level of evidence, 1.

METHODS: A literature search was conducted following the 2020 PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines using keywords and Boolean phrases in Embase, Cochrane, and PubMed on October 25, 2024. A total of 741 articles were identified. The inclusion criteria were as follows: Level 1 and Level 2 human studies reporting …

The Free Press Vol. 57, Issue 3, 09-22-2025, Julz Levesque, Caraline Squires

Free Press, The

Seeking Solitude and Silence--Mid=Semester Success--Gorham Sells to Amazon--Are Movie Theaters Dying?--PMA Expansion--Games & Activities

Neurofilament Light (Nfl) Chain Levels Predict Clinical Decline In Alzheimer’S Disease: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Kim Thomas, Paul Spin, Nikita Sir, Kevin Hou, Nicholas J. Ashton, Henrik Zetterberg, Sonya Miller, Carol Pringle, Richard G. Stefanacci, Claude M. Wischik, Serge Gauthier

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Regulatory approval of new investigational Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapies could be accelerated if reasonably likely surrogate endpoints could be used. Neurofilament light chain (NfL) has potential utility as a prognostic biomarker of neurodegeneration in AD.

OBJECTIVE: To synthesize available evidence on the relationship between baseline NfL levels and longitudinal clinical decline.

METHODS: A systematic literature review identified 19 eligible studies, contributing 37 longitudinal statistical models evaluating the association between baseline NfL (plasma or cerebrospinal fluid [CSF]) with subsequent clinical decline based on validated clinical scales including Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale, and Clinical Dementia Rating. …

Retracted: Idea Density And Grammatical Complexity As Neurocognitive Markers, Diego Iacono, Gloria Feltis

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Language, a uniquely human cognitive faculty, is fundamentally characterized by its capacity for complex thoughts and structured expressions. This review examines two critical measures of linguistic performance: idea density (ID) and grammatical complexity (GC). ID quantifies the richness of information conveyed per unit of language, reflecting semantic efficiency and conceptual processing. GC, conversely, measures the structural sophistication of syntax, indicative of hierarchical organization and rule-based operations. We explore the neurobiological underpinnings of these measures, identifying key brain regions and white matter pathways involved in their generation and comprehension. This includes linking ID to a distributed network of semantic hubs, like …

Designing For Shalom: Deepening Faith Integration In Engineering And Technology, Fred Haan

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Presented on 9/22/2025 at the event, Integration of Faith and Learning in the Disciplines at the University Pelita Harapan in Jakarta, Indonesia

One Is The Loneliest Number: The Impact Of Social Isolation On Blaberus Discoidalis, Jaden Jackson

Student Theses and Dissertations

Isolation in humans and its consequences has been documented by researchers as early as the 1700s (McNeil et al., 1984). More recently, interest in the impact of social isolation has been renewed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the studies covering social isolation and the COVID-19 pandemic rely on self-report measures obtained through questionaries or interviews. Studying social isolation experimentally is difficult due to risk factors associated with isolating one from conspecifics. This is particularly true when studying humans. Animal models of social isolation are important as they allow for implementation of necessary controls needed to establish …

Immunotherapy For Precision Medicine In Colorectal Cancer, Miao Cao, Michael Xu, Zinah Bairmani, Babar Bashir, Scott A. Waldman, Adam E. Snook

Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. The implementation of CRC screening has decreased CRC incidence in adults older than 65 years. However, among young adults who experience more aggressive disease progression, CRC incidence has been increasing for decades. Immunotherapy represents a collection of innovative and promising approaches with greater efficacy and safety. In this review, we discuss modalities and selected targets of immunotherapies for CRCs that are guided by precision medicine.

AREAS COVERED: The following review focuses on immunological approaches for CRCs, including therapeutic monoclonal …

Species Delineation, Phylogeography And Conservation Of Temperate Perches (Actinopterygii: Percichthyidae) From An Endemism And Climate Change Hotspot, Michael P. Hammer, David L. Morgan, Stephen J. Beatty, Mark G. Allen, Peter J. Unmack, Sean J. Buckley, Luciano B. Beheregaray, Jon Murphy, Mark Adams

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Context: The south-western corner of Australia is a biodiversity hotspot that includes a freshwater fauna with a high proportion of endemic species. The temperate perches comprise nearly half of the obligate freshwater fishes of the region, representing important components of local ecosystems and are of significant conservation concern. Aims: Provide a spatially comprehensive molecular genetic assessment of species boundaries and major substructure for all local members of the family to better understand the interplay of ecology and environment across a common landscape. Methods: Nuclear markers (allozymes) and matrilineal (cytb) datasets were generated to infer genetic groupings and any instances of …

Comparative Neurobiology Of Vigilance And Stress Adaptation Systems In Wild And Laboratory Rodents (Rattus Norvegicus), Molly Kent, Brendan Crockett, Aditya Narayanan, Isabel Dilandro, Andrés Mauco, Gabriella Handford, Paean Luby, Troy Richter, Jonatahn Richardson, Olivia Harding, Joanna Jacob, Sarah Hartvigsen, Kelly Lambert

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although chronic stress is typically associated with disease and negative outcomes, wild animals often survive—and even thrive—in environments marked by recurring threats. In this study, we investigated neurobiological differences in vigilance-associated and stress-coping systems, as well as resilience, in wild and laboratory-bred rats (Rattus norvegicus) to explore potential survival-related adaptations in wild populations. Consistent with previous findings, wild rats exposed to chronic environmental stressors exhibited heightened hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, evidenced by enlarged adrenal glands and elevated fecal metabolites of glucocorticoids. Brains were processed using thionin staining for neural and glial cell counts and immunohistochemistry for immunoreactive targets. Wild …

The Rider (2025-09-22), Daniela Martinez Salazar

The Rider Archives

Vol. 11, No. 4

The 3d Double Spherical Pendulum: Modeling, Analysis, And Simulations, Alexander Gofen

CODEE Journal

This paper presents an inquiry-based research project that develops and analyzes the system of ordinary differential equations governing the motion of the 3D double pendulum, blending computational experiments with applied and theoretical mathematics. We formulate the Lagrangian for the three-dimensional double spherical pendulum and use Maple to derive the four coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs) in angular variables; for completeness, we also present an equivalent Cartesian formulation. We then compare and visualize the models using the Taylor Center high-order Taylor-series solver, which delivers high-accuracy trajectories and real-time animations in 2D and anaglyph 3D (red/blue). We place the system in context …