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April 2025 Library & Learning Newsletter, Minnesota State University, Mankato. Library & Learning Dean’S Office Communications Team

Library & Learning Newsletters

PDF version of the April 2025 (Volume 3, Issue 6) Library & Learning Newsletter.

Commonly Encountered Insect Pests Of Virginia, Angel Almaas

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Foreword

The goal of this pamphlet is to provide an outline of over 50 commonly encountered pest species that occur in Virginia. Care was given to represent each category of pest. This is by no means an exhaustive list of insect pests in Virginia. However, the profiles chosen are reflective of data from insect inventories performed on military bases in coastal Virginia (Fort Eustis, Langley Air Force Base, and Camp Pendleton), sampling from counties in central Virginia, insect species diversity surveys performed in northern Virginia, annual species counts of vector surveillance data from the Virginia Department of Health, and information …

A Comprehensive Catalog Of The Important Insects Found Within The Usa's National Parks, Raven Patrick

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

To fulfill the Masters in Entomology Masters Project requirement, I chose to focus on creating a list of the important insects found within the National Parks of the United States. Important insects, although subjective, was grouped into four categories for my project: Keystone Insect Species, Invasive Insect Species, Insect Species of Conservation Concern, and Culturally Significant Insect Species. Keystone insects include those that are important parts of ecosystems and who which without would cause a significant upset to the food web. Invasive insect species includes those that are introduced into parks accidentally, usually through anthropogenic means, and are causing ecological …

Development And Evaluation Of The Da Vinci Ai Tutor: Enhancing Accessibility And Personalized Learning In Art History Education, James Hutson, Tiffani Barner

Faculty Scholarship

This study examines the implementation of the Da Vinci AI Tutor, an innovative artificial intelligence (AI)-based tutoring platform designed specifically for enhancing personalized and accessible learning in art history within higher education. Launched in Fall 2024 at a private liberal arts institution in the Midwest, the system integrates a conversational AI avatar modeled after Leonardo da Vinci, incorporating immersive virtual reality environments and multimodal interaction capabilities to engage students across undergraduate survey courses, advanced Renaissance classes, and graduate comprehensive exam preparations. Addressing significant gaps in existing humanities education research, the current study explores two primary research questions: (i) How AI-driven …

The Man, The Myth, The Mothman: Cryptid Folklore And West Virginian Identity Formation, Bailey South

Munn Scholars Awards

“Cryptids” as a theme within Appalachian (more specifically West Virginian) folklore has gained increased interest in recent years, yet limited scholarly attention has been paid as to why. Along similar lines, many West Virginians have reclaimed the West Virginia regional identity. In this study, I collected and analyzed the opinions of West Virginians on the West Virginia identity and on cryptids to argue that the popularity of cryptids within folklore (a reclamation) has coincided with the reclamation of the West Virginian identity. I surveyed a demographic of mainly students through an online survey to analyze their perspectives, gathering demographic data …

Marine Animalia Diversity And Coral Reef Condition At Big Creek Beach And Boca Del Drago, Bocas Del Toro, Panamá: A Decade Of Change, Lucy Cornett

Panama: Tropical Ecology, Marine Ecosystems, and Biodiversity Conservation

As the oceans’ largest biological structure, coral reefs provide vital ecosystem services, including coastline production, food production, tourism, and preservation of biodiversity. The calm waters provided by the Bocas del Toro archipelago protection from the Caribbeans Sea promotes many coral reefs because of the calmer waters caused by protection from the Caribbean Sea. While many reefs are present, increases in tourism and other anthropogenic threats make monitoring the health of these coral reefs and the diversity of marine organisms of the utmost importance. This study examines the percent substrate cover and the diversity and density marine organisms of two coral …

Singing At Clocks, Kathryn Bratt-Pfotenhauer

The Lindenwood Review: a journal of literary prose

No abstract provided.

Sheep Production, Profitability And Greenhouse Gas Emission Of Mixed Farming Systems In Western Australia's Wheatbelt, Tafesse Estifanos, Amir Abadi Abadi Ghadim, Kate Pritchett, Christophe D'Abbadie, Johnny Machon, Paul Mattingley, Bradley Plunkett, Gus Manatsa, Kerrine Blenkinsop, Ross Kingwell, Clinton K. Revell Dr

Animal production and livestock research reports

The south-western agricultural area of Western Australia is a vital contributor to Australia's agricultural output. It generates over $10 billion annually in agricultural production from 2017–18 to 2021–22 and more than $8 billion in export value over the same period. Mixed farming systems characterise the region, producing broadacre crops (primarily wheat, barley, and canola) and livestock. The region's livestock industry is dominated by sheep production for meat and wool, and the state’s share of the national sheep flock in 2020–21 was at 18%.

This report provides a comprehensive review and industry analysis of sheep production in WA, its economic significance, …

Impacts Of The 2024 Coral Bleaching Event On Reef Fish Biodiversity, Misali Island, Zanzibar, Louisa Blakely

Tanzania-Zanzibar: Coastal Ecology and Natural Resource Management

Coral reefs are critical ecosystems that support roughly a quarter of all marine life, yet they are increasingly under threat from climate change. In spring 2024, Misali Island—a well-conserved reef site off the coast of Pemba, Tanzania—experienced one of the most severe coral bleaching events since the global mass bleaching of 1998. This study investigates how the most recent bleaching event has affected fish biodiversity around Misali. Survey data collected through underwater transects revealed that, despite the bleaching, overall biodiversity remains high. This points to a degree of ecological resilience in the reef system. However, a low presence of corallivorous …

‬ ‭ Spiritual Geographies And Living Ritual:‬ ‭ Misali Island’S Caves In Swahili Religious Life In Zanzibar, Everett Gordon

Tanzania-Zanzibar: Coastal Ecology and Natural Resource Management

Caves along the East African Swahili coast are more than geological formations—they are spiritual landscapes where the boundaries between visible and invisible worlds collapse. This paper explores the ritual and religious significance of three caves on Misali Island, a small coral rag island off the coast of Pemba in the Zanzibar Archipelago. Drawing on vegetation surveys and three weeks of ethnographic fieldwork, including interviews with local fishermen, waganga (healers), and marine rangers, this study investigates how these caves serve as sites of prayer, healing, and spirit veneration. It argues that the practices performed within and around these caves exemplify the …

The Mikvah And The Menstrual Other: Shame, Spirituality, Sexuality, And Contradiction In Jewish Ritual And Modern Art, Molly Greenwold

Netherlands: International Perspectives on Sexuality and Gender

The Amsterdam Jewish Museum’s exhibit “Sex: Jewish Positions” creates a crucial space for modern art to reflect, comment, and expand on ancient Jewish rituals. One such ritual is the ideologically fraught space of the mikvah: a Jewish bath house for spiritual cleansing. This ritual deals with the abject Menstrual Other who is both unclean and infectious, but also spiritually elevated. The Menstrual Other is cleansed by the mikvah and then brought back into society via prescribed but pleasurable sex. Using three pieces of contemporary art on display at the Amsterdam Jewish Museum, Five Plus Seven by Hagit Molgan, Kit for …

Exploring The Urban-Rural Divide: Diabetes And Malnutrition In Kisumu Communities, Elizabeth H. Kohler

Kenya: Global Health and Human Rights

No abstract provided.

Do Systems Exist?: A Conversation, Adam Walls, John M. Flach

Books Authored by Wright State Faculty/Staff

“Do Systems Exist? A conversation” is a refreshing and ambitious exploration of systems thinking, framed as a cross-disciplinary dialogue between Adam Walls, a business consultant, and John Flach, a cognitive systems theorist. The book resists the conventions of both academic textbooks and business manuals, opting instead for a conversational format that invites readers to think alongside the authors, rather than simply absorb pre-packaged conclusions.

This strength, however, may also be a limitation for some readers. Those expecting a structured framework or a step-by-step methodology for applying systems thinking in organizations may find themselves adrift in what feels more like a …

Nessca: A Meditative Process From Dis-Ease To At-Onement, Jonathan Colley

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

In the beginning was the verb. I asked a coworker whose native language is Spanish how is John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word…” translated in the Santa Biblia. The Greek word logos translates to “word,” and many of us are familiar with the squeezing of the logos into English. Is it “word” the way that we use word-units to speak, write, communicate? This would be palabra in Spanish. Is it word as “reason,” logos as logic, as an ability to think through and make sense of and bring order to the seemingly chaotic existence we behold? This would …

Examining Cookstove Use Pemba Island, Tanzania, Mabel Degrandpre

Tanzania-Zanzibar: Coastal Ecology and Natural Resource Management

This study focuses on the realities and perceptions of cookstoves among community members in Pemba. With a secondary focus on how the realities and perceptions of cookstove 2 use intersect with the Community Forest Pemba cookstove initiative. This study is centered in Wete District on Pemba Island Tanzania. Using a qualitative approach with semi structured interviews and biographical sketch methodology 29 total interviews were conducted which illuminated the traditional significance of the three stone fire (TSF), awareness about the health risks of cookstoves, and the impact that the Community Forest Pemba (CFP) cookstove initiate has on community members. Interviewees used …

Life Line Spring 2025, Otterbein Biology And Earth Science Department

Life Line - The Biology Department Newsletter

In this issue:

Greetings and Farewell!; COSI 2024; Ketchup, Culture, and an Unforgettable Conference; Alumna Earns PhD; Tortoises, Butterflies, and Cockroaches, Oh My!; Licking River Roundup 2024; Aquarium Students Explore Coral Restoration in Fiji; The Galapagos Islands: Geology, Ecology, Conservation, and Culture; Dr. Svitana Presents on Otterbein Lake Well Field; Cell Bio Pilots Unique Approach to Learning; Hoggarth to Retire, June 2025; AED is BACK on Campus!; The Greenhouse Gets a Lifeline; Acoustic Rabies Identification (ARID): A Sound-Based Approach to Rabies Testing

Existencia Y Percepciones De Intercambio Cultural Entre Medicina Mapuche Y Medicina Tradicional China En Araucanía, Chile: Práctica Y Recepción De Cuidado, Bowei Li

Chile: Public Health, Traditional Medicine, and Community Empowerment

Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, has been documented in Chile since the late 19th century, and since 2006, acupuncture has been formally integrated into the Chilean Ministry of Health (MINSAL) as an “auxiliary” medicine. In spite of the proliferating practice of MTC within Chile, however, very little is known about the state of such practices within the south of Chile, in regions such as La Araucania. Representations of Eastern medicine, such as the advertising of the well-known Chilean tablet Oblea China, show a fascination with traditional Chinese medical practices in relation to the fortitude and health of indigenous peoples of …

Spring 2025, Humayun Islam

PMI Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Long Live The Good King: Arthur’S Niebuhrian Kingship And Pursuit Of Justice In The Once And Future King, Camille Bewley

Harding Undergraduate Research Conference

The classic The Once and Future King, written by T.H. White, is a selection of four fantasy novels with one, linear plot: the story of Arthur, the mythological King of England. Reinhold Niebuhr’s book Moral Man and Immoral Society details the Christian realism of a world in need of justice without the ability to achieve perfect application. Through good education, Arthur is well endowed with Niebuhr’s requirements for a functional society: knowledge, honor, wisdom, and compassion. Such king-like qualities make him one of the most influential mythological characters in history, and a grand exemplar for maintaining ethical goals and personal …

Annual Faculty Research Symposium 2025, Oakwood University

Proceedings

No abstract provided.

The Promised Land: Mexican Immigration And American Theology, Christine Deeds

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

The topic of immigration is a familiar concept in the bible. Adam and Eve migrated from the lush lands of the Garden of Eden (albeit, not their first choice) to a land east of Eden after disobeying God. Other biblical characters like Noah and family, Abram, (later Abraham), his son Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob, and one of Jacob’s progeny, Joseph were all too cognizant with voluntary or involuntary migration. Perhaps one of the most famous travelers across land in search of a better life is found in the Old Testament with a man named Moses. If anyone could speak to …

Courage In Context: An Ethic Of Leadership In A Changing Church, Maximilian Zehner

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

It is my belief that the Church universal, and the United Methodist Church in particular, are both living within a very vulnerable period. Increasingly, reports suggest that there are more people who consider themselves non-religiously affiliated than there are members of religious groups. More specifically, the United Methodist Church has been experiencing a slow decline in membership since its creation. And perhaps worse than church members losing their religion, some younger clergy are leaving the ministry, while other younger church members are resisting a potential call to ministry in the first place. Meanwhile, the average age of United Methodist clergy …

Generative Artificial Intelligence In Hollywood: The Turbulent Future That Lies Ahead, Zachary T. Young

West Virginia Law Review

Since the dawn of time, the human race has used some form of technology to assist their unwavering dedication to push society forward. From the first stone tool to the first computer, some sort of regulation controlled their usage, ranging from government regulations to industry standards. When artificial intelligence (“AI”) entered the arena of technology, regulatory bodies froze at the daunting task of controlling such a powerful tool. Across almost every industry, artificial intelligence has found its home in various work functions. Generative artificial intelligence has furthered the complexity that stems from regulating a new, and never before seen technology. …

Towards Testing, Detecting, And Debloating Insecure Components In Android Applications, Zicheng Zhang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The Android ecosystem’s openness and extensibility have fueled its dominance in the mobile market, but they also broaden the attack surface of applications by introducing insecure or redundant methods. Vulnerabilities arise from various sources, including insecure API usage, code cloning, and feature bloat, especially from unneeded components introduced during development. To address these challenges, this dissertation presents a systematic, three-phase pipeline that transitions seamlessly from vulnerability discovery to clone-based detection and, ultimately, to dynamic mitigation through runtime debloating. Each phase builds upon the insights and limitations of the previous, collectively forming a practical approach to improving Android app security.

In …

Zooplankton Protect Viruses From Sunlight Disinfection, J. A. Wang, O. Aryal, L. N. Brownstein, H. Shwwa, A. L. Rickard, A. E. Stephens, M. Lanzarini-Lopes, Niveen S. Ismail

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Sunlight disinfection is an important inactivation process for enteric viruses in water. Understanding how dark biotic processes, such as zooplankton filter feeding, impact sunlight disinfection for viruses has important implications for public health. This research quantifies the uptake of MS2, a model for enteric viruses, by the filter feeder Branchionus plicatilis (rotifer) and the effects of such uptake on subsequent sunlight inactivation of MS2. Experiments co-incubating MS2 with rotifers showed 2.6 log viral removal over 120 hours. Viable virus was recovered from rotifer bodies after co-incubation, indicating incomplete viral inactivation via ingestion. When live rotifers were co-incubated with MS2 and …

Infestations Stored In A Jam Jar, Cara Young

English Senior Capstone

Infestations Stored in a Jam Jar is a collection of fiction and poetry that delves into the inner mind of characters using a variety of genres. The collection creates a scrapbook of pieces, forming a textured exploration of the human experience through subgenres like persona poetry and flash fiction. Each piece approaches themes of fear, time, the artistic mind, and forgotten memories under varying lights of horror, dystopia, and reminiscence. The title is from the newest and last piece of the collection, “Somewhere in a Spider Neighborhood,” referring to the buried memories and thoughts that are lost to time and …

The Crisis Of The Spotlight, Matthew Roach

English Senior Capstone

The Crisis of the Spotlight is a collection of mostly fiction and poetry that measures one's journey to the spotlight.

Falling In Love, Falling Apart: The Intersection Of Love And Tragedy In The Book Thief And Thirteen Reasons Why, Hannah Crowe

English Senior Capstone

The Book Thief and Thirteen Reasons Why depict love in dramatically different ways; these differences come into focus when analyzed through the lens provided in C.S. Lewis’ The Four Loves. The relationships differ in both the nature of the love they depict and the stability they maintain amid tragedy. In Thirteen Reasons Why, Hannah and Clay's connection primarily embodies lust, rooted more in fleeting desire than lasting emotional depth. In contrast, Liesel and Rudy in The Book Thief cultivate a deep love, developing it through a gradual process that aligns with the stages of Lewis' concept of love.

The Interplay Of Website Characteristics, Attitude, And Booking Intentions For Different Hotel Websites: A Theory Of Reasoned Action Perspective, Atefeh Charmchian Langroudi, Imran Rahman, Maryam Charmchian Langroudi, John Stephan, Parisa Mohammadi

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

Using the theory of reasoned action as the underlying theoretical foundation, this study examines the direct effects of compatibility, perceived usefulness, communicability, perceived risk, and perceived playfulness on attitudes toward online booking and the indirect effects of these variables on consumers’ intention to use three different online hotel booking channels - independent hotel websites, chain hotel websites, and third-party hotel websites. Additionally, this study tests the direct effect of attitude towards online booking on consumers’ intention to use the three online booking channels. Collected data from 638 participants via Amazon M-Turk was analyzed using partial least squares based structural equation …

Virtual Victor: Bringing Our Mascot To Life, Juan D. Guzman-Duran, Jonathan T. Hunnacutt, Honesty Beaton

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

In this project, we transformed the Fort Hays State University tiger mascot into a fully rigged, animated virtual character. Using Adobe’s character animation tools, we created a model that can mirror and perform human movements in real time. The system uses a camera to track facial expressions and body motion, which are then mapped onto the tiger character. This poster includes the following: "Why We Made Virtual Victor," "Procedure," "Why is Victor Useful," and "What We Learned."