Digital Commons Network^™

Neurogen: Effects Of Near-Infrared Light Stimulation On Cognition And Eeg Biomarkers, Damilola Gbadamosi, Cassie Hashemi, Taj Keny

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Concussion is the most common form of traumatic brain injury, and a substantial fraction of those affected develop post-concussion syndrome (PCS), a condition characterized by persistent cognitive, emotional, physical, and sleep symptoms for which no definitive treatment currently exists. Transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), the delivery of near-infrared (NIR) light to brain tissue, has shown promise for addressing the metabolic dysfunction that underlies concussion. Still, commercially available tPBM devices rely on fixed, open-loop protocols and do not integrate electroencephalography (EEG), limiting a clinician’s ability to monitor neural biomarkers during treatment. Our team’s objective was to develop a system that utilizes tPBM to …

Blink & Beat: Pupillometry Response In Autonomic Nervous System Monitoring, Ximena Castillo

2026 Spring Honors Capstones Projects

In the neuroscience intensive care unit (NSICU), nurses rely on advanced monitoring tools to detect neurological deterioration. Two noninvasive measures, heart rate variability (HRV) and pupillary light reflex (PLR), are used to assess autonomic nervous system function; however, it remains unclear whether these indicators provide overlapping or distinct information. The purpose of this observational prospective study is to evaluate the relationship between HRV and quantitative pupillometry measurements to determine whether these noninvasive indicators provide congruent information. Data already collected as routine care from NSICU patients is extracted from the medical record for analysis. Understanding the correlation between HRV and PLR …

The Guardian The Month Of April 2026, Wright State Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

News articles from The Guardian for the Month of April 2026. The Guardian is the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. It has been published regularly since March of 1965.

How Media Framing Impacts Juror Bias In A Fictional Criminal Case, Teah Sharon Swartzon

Journalism

This study examines how media framing influences juror bias among college-aged students when evaluating a defendant's guilt in a fictional criminal case. Utilizing framing theory, the research explores whether biased news coverage can shape perceptions of a defendant's guilt before trial.

Participants, consisting of students at California Polytechnic State University, aged 18-22, were asked to read two news articles about a fictional criminal case. One framed the fictional defendant as guilty, while the other framed him as innocent. Both articles were generated using the Artificial Intelligence Platform, Claude.

Data was collected in a survey where participants indicated whether they believed …

Dark Wave - Comics And Transgender Studies In Practice, Mieke Vanderveen

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

This is a thesis in two parts. Its goal is to provoke the intersection of superhero comics and transgender studies in order to interrogate the parallels between those two identities and explore ways in which pairing them together can strengthen each other narratively and academically. Rather than seeking an answer to a question, the project as a whole serves as a way of communicating trans internalities from a transfeminine perspective in a format that brings the issues to the forefront of the narrative in an in-depth and entertaining way. The result is hopefully a coherent artistic work that achieves those …

Sigma Gamma Epsilon Student Research Poster Session, Geological Society Of America Annual Meeting 2025, San Antonio, Texas, Usa, Scott R. Beason, Lee S. Potter

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

The Society of Sigma Gamma Epsilon (SGE) sponsors a poster session at every annual meeting of the Geological Society of America. The 37th SGE undergraduate research poster session took place during the 2025 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (GSA Connects) in San Antonio, Texas, USA, on Monday, October 20, 2025. Fifty-seven (57) posters were presented in Exhibit Hall 1 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center between 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM at the poster session, with authors present between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM. Titles, authors (italics for the presenting author), affiliations, and abstracts for each poster are …

Ai Interpretability In Healthcare Communication, Ananya Jeyappragash

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Artificial intelligence has increasingly been adopted in healthcare, largely for specialized tasks and under significant human oversight. The use of large black-box systems raises important concerns about transparency in high-stakes environments such as clinical decision-making. Clinical communication is fundamentally human-centered, and failures in judgment can have serious consequences for patient care. Overestimating the reasoning abilities of large language models may lead to undue trust in fabricated or “hallucinated” outputs, while rejecting AI-assisted tools altogether may preserve inefficient workflows and contribute to missed or delayed diagnoses. These concerns reflect a broader tradeoff between accuracy and interpretability: although more complex models may …

Robo2 Variants Associated With Atrial Septal Defect Define A Novel Regulatory Element, Seong Won Kim, Michael Parfenov, Laura Rodriguez-Murillo, David A Conner, Arun Sharma, Inga Peter, Feng Xiao, Olivia Layton, Angela Tai, Tarsha Ward, Lauren K Wasson, Joshua M Gorham, Erica Mazaika, Valentina N Lagomarsino, Tracy L Young-Pearse, Elizabeth Goldmuntz, Hiroko Wakimoto, A J Agopian, David M Mckean, Steven R Depalma, William T Pu, Christine E Seidman, Bruce D Gelb, Jonathan G Seidman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Atrial septal defects (ASDs) are a prevalent type of congenital heart disease. Previous GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Studies) have identified common variants associated with ASDs, though their mechanisms remain unknown. We aimed to expand insights into the architecture of common variants associated with ASD risk and elucidate functional mechanisms.

Methods: We conducted a GWAS using isolated ASD cases and healthy controls and replicated findings in an independent cohort. We examined epigenetic marks within this ASD locus in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and fetal human hearts. We characterized the consequences of deletions introduced by CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis of human induced …

Developing Scenario-Based Strategies For Health, Climate, And Environmental Preparedness: The One Health, One Earth Approach, Azar M Abadi, Kyle D Brumfield, Moiz Usmani, Gemma Jiang, T C Chakraborty, Yuzhou Wang, Zhijie Zhou, Cenlin He, Minghao Qiu, Jennifer D Stowell, Douglas Fritz, Sunil Kumar, Qiang Guo, Ying Xiong, Georgia Destouni, Qian Xiao, Xindi C Hu, Kelvin C Fong, Yun Hang, John Nielsen-Gammon, Rima Habre, Jennifer R Bratburd, Christopher W Tessum, Antarpreet Jutla, Rita R Colwell, Gabriel M Filippelli, Thanh H Nguyen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Climate change amplifies many threats to human health. Despite advances in understanding climate change dynamics and impacts, there remains a critical gap in translating scientific knowledge into equitable, and community‐driven health interventions. The inaugural One Earth, One Health workshop sought to explore this gap through human‐centered design exercises involving interdisciplinary researchers from climate and Earth sciences, engineering, epidemiology, microbiology, and environmental health. Although participants did not co‐develop solutions with affected communities, they used stakeholder role‐playing to guide ideation and lay groundwork for actionable plans. Through these methods, participants identified community needs and proposed prototype solutions to alleviate health threats …

The Internal Motivation Of English Language Learners To Acquire The Language, Milos Slaninka

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This case study utilized qualitative research to investigate how the adult education program at a school in a northeastern state’s English as a second language (ESL) program affected the students’ intrinsic motivation. Students’ recruitment followed the principle of homogenous sampling, which entailed choosing a small number of the population that fit the study’s parameters. As a result, the data collection for the study consisted of interviews with 11 individuals enrolled in the ESL program. All interviews were carried out in the interviewee’s private setting via the Zoom platform to ensure the collection of the most genuine data possible. The main …

D&D And The Law Syllabus, Chris Ridder

Historical and Topical Legal Documents

No abstract provided.

El Leñador, April 2026, El Leñador Staff

El Leñador Newspaper

El Leñador is an English and Spanish newspaper produced by Humboldt State University students. Our staff cover and provide news to Latinx and other diverse communities on campus and in Humboldt County. We are committed to providing relevant news and expanding the representations and stories told about people of color and other marginalized groups. Our work helps create more social, political and cultural diversity in local media.

El Leñador es un periodico en español y inglés producido por estudiantes de la Universidad Estatal de Humboldt. Nuestro personal cubre y provee noticias a la comunidad Latinx y otras comunidades diversas en …

Comparing Student Performance And Perceived Learning Between In-Person And Online Sections Of An Undergraduate Human Anatomy And Physiology Laboratory Course, Madeline M. Knox

Honors Thesis

Online laboratory courses are increasingly common in undergraduate science education, but their effectiveness relative to in-person laboratories remains unclear. This study compared students’ academic performance and perceived learning outcomes between online and in-person anatomy and physiology laboratory sections at the University of South Dakota. Final course grade distribution between the two modalities across three semesters (n = 158 in-person and n = 312 online) was analyzed, and student perceptions of cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning were assessed using the CAP Perceived Learning Scale instrument in post-course surveys (n = 81 in-person and n = 37 online). Grade distributions …

Leveraging Aspiring And Inspiring Mentorship Relationships To Promote Stem Persistence, Rayann K. Hoppe

Honors Thesis

While several mentorship interventions for STEM students already exist, persistence and retention in STEM fields remain relatively low. Additionally, there is limited research examining the intersections between aspiring (upward) and inspiring (downward) mentorship roles.

This article aims to address these gaps by examining existing literature and mentorship frameworks, with a focus on how mentorship dynamics influence STEM persistence. Two principal findings emerge from the literature: (1) effective mentorship should be conceptualized as an interconnected ecosystem rather than a hierarchical structure, and (2) the intersection of aspiring and inspiring roles contributes to the development of identity, self-efficacy, and a sense of …

A Culture Divided: How Irish Americans Responded To Ireland’S Wartime Neutrality, Robert J. Barron

Honors College Theses

In the Second World War, the nation of Ireland declared its neutrality and maintained this status through the course of the long conflict. Meanwhile, Germany, Great Britain, and eventually the United States all competed to gain Ireland’s support in the war. However, one overlooked group continued to keep tabs on the affairs within their homeland: Irish Americans. How does one respond to a nation you have a connection with staying neutral in such a deadly conflict? The answer, for Irish Americans, was that it depended on the year. Before the United States entered the war, Irish Americans firmly defended the …

Gamma Sigma Delta, Nebraska Chapter Newsletter, Issue #69 Spring 2026

Gamma Sigma Delta, Nebraska Chapter: Newsletters

President's message, Dustin Loy

Undergraduate Scholarship Awards

2026 Chapter Officers and Committees

Faculty Awards

Membership info and dues form

Grad Student Scholarship

Award of Merit

NU Foundation Fund

New Initiates

Save the Date

In Memoriam:
Kara Daye Heideman (March 31, 1980-December 11, 2025)
L. Dale Van Vleck (June 11, 1933-December 23, 2025)
James (Jim) Eugene Specht (September 12, 1945-February 13, 2026)
Irvin Thomas Omtvedt (June 12, 1935-April 6, 2026)
Fayrene L. Hamouz (June 6, 1946-April 8, 2026)
Robert L. Raun (April 22, 1928-April 22, 2026)

Probing The Prevalence Of Pharmaceutical Corruption, Marc A. Rodwin

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

This article reviews the history and current evidence of systematic pharmaceutical industry corruption.  It draws on studies by the OECD on international corruption; reports of the Securities and Exchange Commission; studies of the Public Citizen health Research Group of settlement agreements between federal and state authorities and pharmaceutical firm; the history of the Medicare and Medicaid Anti-Kickback Act; professional and industry codes of ethics; the literature on institutional corruption; and studies of conflicts of interest.  These sources support findings of systemic corruption since the mid-20th century. The paper also explores the relationship between classic corruption, institutional corruption and conflicts of …

Beyond Parallel Programmes: A Roadmap For Operational Integration Of Family Planning And Nutrition In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Marleen Temmerman, Samuel Ojong

Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

No abstract provided.

Measure Theory, Probability, And The Structure Of Economic Models, Grace Etzel

Math Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Key Components Of An Effective Gifted Program, Amanda Fjeld

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This inquiry-based research project aimed to identify the essential components of an effective gifted education program. The study examined which factors of a gifted pull-out program impact student learning through identifying consistent patterns. A mixed-methods approach was used. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered on program structures, instructional approaches, and teacher preparedness. This study gathered information from peer-reviewed articles and survey responses from four Iowa gifted educators. The results revealed that while there are consistencies across many pull-out programs, there are many different goals. Key themes that were identified in gifted programs include 21st-century skill development, project-based learning, and social-emotional …

The Impact Of Culturally Responsive And Inclusive Instructional Practices, Avril Baccam

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Culturally responsive and inclusive instructional practices are essential for supporting student engagement and participation in increasingly diverse elementary classrooms. However, some second-grade students do not experience equitable opportunities to engage in learning due to instructional practices that may not fully address cultural, linguistic, and learning differences. This inquiry-based research study aimed to examine second-grade teachers' perceptions of culturally responsive and inclusive instructional practices and their impact on student engagement and participation. The study also explored which instructional strategies teachers identify as most effective for promoting equitable engagement among diverse learners. A mixed-methods approach was utilized, including quantitative survey data and …

Schoolwide Pbis And Its Influence On Engagement And Discipline For Students With Disabilities, Morgan Peterson

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a framework adopted by schools to proactively teach and reinforce expected and prosocial student behaviors. The framework is implemented across three tiers and provides opportunities for data collection to support decision-making at each level of intervention. PBIS emphasizes clear behavioral expectations, consistent reinforcement, and systematic responses to behavior within a schoolwide system (Simonsen et al., 2022; Meyer et al., 2021). Previous research suggests that when PBIS is implemented across all three tiers, the use of exclusionary disciplinary practices decreases for all students, with particularly notable effects for students with disabilities who are supported …

Using Play-Based Learning To Support Early Academic-Related Learning Behaviors: A Case Study In An Early Childhood Classroom, Tracy Montalvo

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This inquiry-based research study examined how play-based learning supports early academic-related learning behaviors for an individual child in a preschool early childhood special education (ECSE) classroom. The purpose of this study was to understand how engagement, persistence, and problem-solving developed over time through play-based experiences and teacher facilitation. Data were collected over a four-week period using multiple tools, including structured observation checklists, frequency and duration recording sheets, anecdotal field notes, and reflective journal entries. The findings of this study suggest that play-based learning supported the development of early academic-related learning behaviors, as the child demonstrated increased engagement, improved persistence, and …

The Impact Of Structured Reflective Journaling On Self-Efficacy In Early-Career Teachers, Ashley Van Dusseldorp

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Teacher self-efficacy is a critical factor influencing instructional effectiveness, classroom management, and teacher retention, yet many educators in their first five years of teaching report low confidence in their professional abilities as they navigate the complexities of the classroom. This lack of confidence can negatively impact instructional decision-making, classroom practices, and long-term commitment to the profession. The purpose of this inquiry-based research study was to examine the impact of a structured reflective journaling intervention on the self-efficacy of new teachers with fewer than five years of teaching experience. Using a mixed-methods design, participants completed pre- and post-intervention self-efficacy surveys and …

Improving Bullying Victimization And Supports For Autistic Students, Sidney Swanson

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Bullying and peer victimization remain persistent concerns for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who experiences higher rates of peer exclusion, rejection, and social isolation than their neurotypical peers. These experiences can negatively affect school engagement, emotional well-being, peer relationships, and long-term mental health outcomes. This practitioner inquiry study examined how classroom based social emotional learning (SEL) and inclusion strategist influenced peer relationships, student belonging, and bullying related behaviors for students with autism in an elementary school setting. This study was conducted over a six-week period in one first grade general education classroom and one Strat II ID/ LD classroom …

Co-Teaching Classroom Management And Relationships: Impact On Ell Student Engagement And Achievement In 5th Grade Ela, Jesse Strong

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This study examines how co-teaching influences English Language Learner (ELL) engagement, behavior, teacher-student relationships, and academic achievement in a fifth-grade ELA classroom. As classrooms become more diverse, teachers need strategies that support language development while still holding students to grade-level expectations. Co-teaching, where a general education teacher works alongside a support teacher, allows for shared planning, instruction, and assessment to better meet student needs. The purpose of this study was to explore how different co-teaching approaches affect student engagement, confidence, classroom behavior, and learning outcomes. Data were collected through classroom observations, student work and performance data, and teacher reflections. Findings …

Oil And The Macroeconomy: A Theory Of Sticky Oil Production, Sean Mcdermott

Economics Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Precision Or Invasion? Mapping The Personalization Paradox, Shyamala N. Chalakudi, Gnana Bharathy

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

AI-driven personalization has transformed consumer engagement, yet existing research offers no systematic way to determine when personalization shifts from helpful to intrusive. Current research and models explain privacy concerns or expectancy violations but do not measure the point at which personalization triggers user discomfort, creating the personalization paradox. This study introduces the Discomfort Threshold Assessment & Measurement (DTAM) framework, a conceptual model that identifies and evaluates this threshold by integrating Dual Process Theory, Expectation Violation Theory, and Privacy Calculus Theory. DTAM distinguishes between affective discomfort reactance and cognitive discomfort reactance and outlines how these constructs could, in future empirical studies, …

Eros, Again, Is Looking At Me Meltingly: The Role Of Vision In Archaic Lyric And Hellenistic Epigram, Ruth Patterson

Classical Studies Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Administering Election Disputes, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

U.S. election administration has become supercharged with controversy. A process that should be mundane—casting and counting votes—has become the target of relentless litigation, much of which ends in non-merits rulings that risk perpetuating rather than resolving public concerns. The high volume of election litigation is costly, strains election officials, and risks eroding public trust in both elections and the courts. Recognizing the need to resolve election claims fairly and efficiently, Administering Election Disputes examines administrative remedies as an under-theorized alternative to judicial resolution. Increased use of well-designed administrative election dispute resolution (AEDR) could reduce pressure on courts, deliver faster and …