Digital Commons Network^™

The Colby Echo (2026-02-26), Colby College

The Colby Echo

Published by the students of Colby College since 1877, The Colby Echo is the weekly, editorially independent student-run newspaper of Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Published monthly, 1877-1886; semi-monthly, 1886-1897; and weekly during the academic year, 1898-present.

Spartan Daily, February 26, 2026, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2026

Volume 166, Issue 16

The Instrumental Value Of Private Regulation: Evidence From The Case Of Corporate Non-Financial Reporting, Matthew Maguire

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Critics of private regulation argue that voluntary standards often fail to meaningfully improve corporate conduct while simultaneously functioning as a stumbling block that prevents the development of more stringent, mandatory regulation by states. This paper complicates this view by illustrating the instrumental value of private regulation—that is, its potential to act as a building block that facilitates the development of new government regulation that serves the public interest. Through a combination of in-depth interviews and analysis of publicly available documents, I examine the impact of voluntary corporate non-financial reporting on public policy over the period 1997–2025. The analysis highlights the …

Translating Community Voices To Build Meaningful Engagement: A Community Health Worker Led Study, Lauren Workman, Julie Smithwick Msw, Chw, Kimberly C. Rawlinson, Mark M. Macauda, Lashandra Morgan, Whitney Davis

Faculty Publications

Background: Understanding community perspectives on barriers and facilitators of meaningful engagement, equitable decision making, and sustainable community improvement is critical for advancing health equity. Community Health Workers can make significant contributions to research teams, as they are bridges into communities and bring unique perspectives. This study describes community voices on barriers to authentic engagement and insights on strategies to build trust, as well as the way in which these data were translated into a tangible assessment tool and a community-facilitated learning academy.

Methods: A team of Community Health Workers led a series of 24 ‘open mic’ discussions in four South …

Montana Kaimin, February 26, 2026, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

Turning Zwitterions Into Toughening Agents: Salt-Activated Microdomains In Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Double-Network Hydrogels, Louis D. Zhang, Jintao Yang, Si Yu Zheng

University Research

Zwitterionic hydrogels, although highly biocompatible, are widely regarded as mechanically fragile, with typical tensile strengths below 0.1 MPa, which restricts their use in load-bearing applications. Here, we address this limitation by integrating a polyzwitterionic network with a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) network through high-speed pregelation agitation that enhances chain entanglement and induces flow orientation. By exploiting the salt-driven conformational transition of zwitterionic chains, a controlled salting-out step generates uniformly dispersed nanoscale microdomains that act as reversible energy-dissipating units. At the same time, balanced hydrogen bonding between the two networks moderates PVA crystallinity, limiting embrittlement while preserving elasticity. The resulting double-network hydrogel …

Third-Grade Teachers’ Experiences When Implementing Technology Tools To Enhance Literacy Instruction, Sherry Ann Kim Marie Meeks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed through this study was that third-grade teachers had challenges fostering students’ use of technology during instruction to increase literacy proficiency at rural schools in the western Caribbean. Grounded in Siemens’s connectivism theory, the purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of third-grade teachers when using technology to improve students’ literacy proficiency levels. Data were collected from 14 third-grade teachers from regional primary schools who had in-depth knowledge about integrating technology into third-grade instruction. Thematic analysis using open coding yielded six themes: teachers (1) believe technology plays an important role in preparing third-grade students …

Medical-Surgical Nurses’ Perceptions On Incivility In A Hospital Setting, Monsurat Atinuke Mohammed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Incivility in nursing has become a chronic issue that harms nurses, patients, teams, and organizations. Individuals often feel belittled, which contributes to frequent job dissatisfaction and resignation, ultimately resulting in financial losses for an organization. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study, guided by Johnson’s behavioral model, was to explore nurses’ perceptions about incivility in a medical-surgical hospital setting. Ten semistructured audio-recorded interviews were conducted with registered nurses recruited through a professional organization. The data were manually transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Saldana’s approach. Results indicated four themes: (a) workplace culture and interpersonal dynamics, (b) need for support and mentorship, …

An Exploratory Study Of Employability, Work Readiness, And International Experiences For One-Year International Postgraduate Taught Business Students In The Uk, Fa Wang

Plymouth Business School Theses

Delivering world-class student experiences, navigating evidence-based graduate outcomes, and advancing the employability agenda are central to the current landscape of UK universities. While maintaining high educational standards and remaining competitive in international student recruitment have become increasingly challenging after the global pandemic and amid ongoing financial pressures faced by the UK universities, limited academic attention has been given to the employability of one-year international postgraduate taught students (IPGTs) in UK higher education. Recognising IPGTs as a significant cohort that makes substantial economic, sociocultural, and expertise-related contributions to both tertiary education and the host country’s labour market, this doctoral study aims …

A Comparative Assessment Of School Psychological Services In A Select Higher Education Institution, Alvin Ryan Alcantara Dizon

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

This quantitative descriptive-comparative research assessed the effectiveness and adequacy of SPS in a higher education institution in Southern Tagalog, Philippines. This study aimed to identify the perceived importance of both direct and indirect psychological services and evaluate the extent of administrative support in implementing them. Participants included 75 administrative personnel, 30 mental health staff, and 384 faculty and student respondents selected through stratified proportional sampling. Data were collected using a validated and reliable instrument (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.966-0.989) and analyzed using analysis of variance and independent sample t-tests. Results revealed that all respondent groups rated direct services as very important …

Marital Satisfaction And Social Media Use: A Comparative Study Based On Addiction Levels, Fatma Ayhan, Elif Arık, Merve Gülsüm Saçan, Zehra Sevim, Esme Arguç

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

In recent years, the widespread use of social media platforms has raised questions about their impact on marital relationships. This study examined the relationship between marital satisfaction, social media use, and certain sociodemographic characteristics. This descriptive and cross-sectional study comprised 461 individuals residing in Turkey who had been married for at least one year. Data were collected using the Bergen Social Media Addiction and Marital Satisfaction Scales. Statistical analyses included t-tests, analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression analysis. Social media addiction was high among 16.5% of the participants. Marital satisfaction was higher among males, those who married at age …

Quaker Campus, February 26, 2026 (Vol. 24, Issue 9), Whittier College

Quaker Campus

No abstract provided.

Kenyon Collegian - February 26, 2026

The Kenyon Collegian

No abstract provided.

The Contribution Of Local Wisdom In The Nagasasra Textbook As Support For The Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening Project (P5), Nurhidayati Nurhidayati, Suwarna Suwarna, Sri Hertanti Wulan, Nujumun Niswah, Laura Zarbaliyeva

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

The Merdeka Curriculum places strong emphasis on students' character development, which is operationalized through the Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening Project (P5) comprising six core dimensions. As one of the primary curricular resources, textbooks are expected to reflect and mediate these character values in classroom learning. This study aims to examine the contribution of Javanese local wisdom represented in the Nagasasra textbook to supporting the implementation of P5. Employing a qualitative descriptive design, this research adopts a document-based analysis of the Nagasasra Javanese language textbooks for grades X, XI, and XII. Data were collected using a read-and-record technique and analyzed through …

Advances In Real-Time American Sign Language Recognition System Using Deep Learning Techniques For Enhanced Accessibility, Bader Alsharif

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Advancements in technology have significantly contributed to the development of innovative tools aimed at improving communication and accessibility for individuals with hearing impairments. This dissertation explores various machine learning and deep learning techniques for recognizing American Sign Language (ASL) gestures, focusing on enhancing accessibility and bridging the communication gap between hearing-impaired and hearing individuals. Traditional machine learning models, such as Random Forest, Support Vector Machines (SVM), and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), alongside deep learning architectures like AlexNet, ResNet-50, EfficientNet, ConvNeXt, and VisionTransformer, were investigated for their effectiveness. Experiments conducted on an extensive dataset of 87,000 ASL gesture images revealed exceptional recognition …

An Interoperable Vaccine Record: A Roadmap To Realization, Xia Jing, Arild Faxvaag, Christian G Nøhr, David Robinson, Paul G Biondich, Timothy D Law, Hua Min, Adam Wright, Yang Gong, Dean F Sittig

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to educate the healthcare professional and the general public about interoperable vaccine records by elaborating on its definition, why we need one, what the challenges are, and what progress has been made in this direction.

Methods: The vaccination practices and vaccine record-keeping in the Nordic countries, the UK, and the USA are used as examples to demonstrate the necessity of interoperable vaccine records. The authors' expertise and experience in interoperability, medicine, and HealthIT, along with the literature, informed this paper's content, structure, and organization. Real-world examples and scenarios illustrate the reality …

Isu Philharmonia String Orchestra: Samuel Chen, Director; February 25, 2026, Samuel Chen, Jayce Milburn

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and seventh program of the 2025-2026 season.

Kemp Recital Hall

February 25, 2026

Wednesday Evening

7:30 p.m.

February 26, 2026, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2020-

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Family Imprint Reveals Basin-Wide Patterns Of Amazon Forest Embolism Resistance, Julia Valentim Tavares, Emanuel Gloor, Thiago S.F. Silva, Rafael S. Oliveira, Fernanda Coelho De Souza, Caroline Signori-Müller, Francisco Carvalho Diniz, Luciano Pereira, Martin Acosta, Martin Gilpin, Manuel J. Marca Zevallos, Carlos A. Salas Yupayccana, Flor M. Perez-Mullisaca, Halina Jancoski, Marina Corrêa Scalon, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, Yadvinder Malhi, Imma Oliveras Menor, Lucy Rowland, Patrick Meir, Paulo Bittencourt, Antonio Carlos Lola Da Costa, João Antônio R. Santos, Renata Teixeira De Oliveira, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Esteban Álvarez-Dávila, Miguel N. Alexiades, Edmar Almeida De Oliveira, Ana Andrade

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Amazon rainforests face intensifying water stress due to increases in vapour pressure deficit and changing hydrological regimes. Embolism resistance (Ψ₅₀) is a critical metric of tree survival under drought conditions, it is defined as a plant’s capacity to resist disruption of xylem water flow due to air bubble formation from water stress. However, measurements of Ψ₅₀ are only available for a limited number of Amazon locations and species. Conversely, data on forest taxonomic composition are abundant across Amazonia, and if Ψ₅₀ is conserved phylogenetically, these data could provide a way to scale-up drought resistance patterns. Here …

Amicus Brief In Trump V. Barbara: An Originalist Defense Of Birthright Citizenship, Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Evan D. Bernick

Faculty Scholarship

For nearly all of the first 235 years under the Constitution, the citizenship of every child born in the United States to alien parents, with immaterial exceptions, was a given. Then, in 2025, the Trump administration changed course. Even though the Fourteenth Amendment makes no mention of limiting birthright citizenship to the children of domiciled parents, the Government now claims that is what “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” has always meant. While the Government and its amici admit that the common law recognized the citizenship of children of transient aliens, their remaining “survey of history range[s] from the constitutionally irrelevant” …

Recognizing Structural And Social Determinants Of Health In The Diagnosis And Care Of Dementia, Shana D Stites, Sharnita Midgett, Nisha Patel, Kimberly Halberstadter, Rosalie Schumann, Marissa L Streitz, Yidan Shi, John C Morris, Jason Flatt, Crystal M Glover, Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Structural and social determinants of health are environmental conditions that affect individuals' health and functioning across the life course. These determinants are salient factors at the apex of individual psychology, community variables, and larger sociological factors, exerting prominent effects on individuals' wellbeing. The National Institute on Aging seeks to understand their influence on aging and Alzheimer's disease. We propose that the benefits of doing so may reach beyond knowledge of disease mechanisms - it may also improve clinical outcomes. We describe efforts introducing structural and social determinants of health data into the national network of Alzheimer's disease research centers. We …

Bl(U)E Crab: Bluetooth Low Energy Connection Risk Assessment Benchmarking, Dylan Christopher Conklin

Dissertations and Theses

The usage of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-based tracker devices for stalking has become a salient privacy concern. Detecting unwanted or suspicious trackers is challenging due to their cross-platform compatibility issues, inconsistent detection methods, and lack of an industry-wide standard for detecting malicious devices. BL(u)E CRAB, Bluetooth Low Energy Connection Risk Assessment Benchmarking, scans data and generates risk factors about nearby devices to classify them as suspicious or not. These risk factors include the number of encounters the user had with a device, the duration of time a device has been near the user, the distance a device has traveled …

Merritt-Putnam Symposium | Tumor-Associated Epilepsy And Epilepsy-Associated Tumors: Exploring The Bidirectional Crosstalk Between Tumors And Seizures, Tracy A Bedrosian, Michael Wong, Erin L Heinzen, Benjamin Deneen, Catherine A Christian-Hinman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Links between cancerous and noncancerous brain tumors and epilepsy have long been recognized. However, recent clinical and preclinical studies emphasize that not only do tumors impinge on surrounding brain tissue in ways that promote hyperexcitability and epileptogenesis, but that neural activity also influences tumor progression. In this review, inspired by the Merritt-Putnam Symposium of the 2025 meeting of the American Epilepsy Society, we present a cross-disciplinary dialog between cancer and epilepsy research, including discussion of tumors and epilepsies that are more prominent in pediatric versus adult populations. First, we discuss the neuropathology, genetics, and surgical outcomes of epileptogenic brain tumors, …

Bridging The Intention-Implementation Divide In Generative Ai Adoption: An Integrated Model Of Psychological, Behavioral And Social Drivers, Mohamed Walid Mohamed Lotfy Abdallah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the gap between professionals’ intentions to use Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and their actual adoption behavior in workplace settings. Although Generative AI offers substantial potential to improve efficiency and performance, concerns about control, misuse and organizational risk have led to inconsistencies between intended and enacted use. Motivated by this misalignment, the study investigates the psychological, behavioral and social mechanisms that shape the intention-implementation divide. Drawing on an integrated framework combining the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Technology Acceptance Model, alongside personality traits, the research conceptualizes adoption as a phase-specific process involving evaluative, motivational and volitional components. …

Preferred Panethnic Terms Among Latina/O And Hispanic Sexual And Gender Minority People, Alexis Ceja, Nguyen K. Tran, Juan M. Peña, David J. Kinitz, Devin Hursey, Ramon Ramirez, Lilia Cervantes, Micah E. Lubensky, Juno Obedin-Maliver, Annesa Flentje, Mitchell R. Lunn

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Importance Latino and Hispanic individuals in the US represent a diverse and growing population, including a significant number of sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals whose identities challenge the use of a single panethnic (ie, ethnicity) label. Little is known about SGM individuals’ preferences for panethnic terms. Objective To understand Latino and Hispanic SGM individuals’ preferences and rationales for panethnic terms. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study used survey data from SGM-identifying Latino and Hispanic adults in The PRIDE Study, an online, community-engaged cohort of SGM adults in the US completing 2021 or 2022 annual questionnaires, with qualitative analysis …

Sensi-Train: Context-Aware Sensitive Content Detection Using Transformers And Large Language Models, Nazeefa Muzammil

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The detection of sensitive content has become a critical task in natural language processing due to the widespread use of online platforms and the social harm caused by it. Even though current methods have advanced significantly, many of them mainly rely on surface-level text and neglect to take into consideration contextual and cultural elements that are crucial for correctly assessing sensitivity of any content to a particular individual. Due to this, implicit offense, sarcasm, and culturally grounded expressions frequently cause problems for such systems. To enable culturally grounded sensitive content detection, this thesis presents Sensi-Train, a context-rich dataset and modeling …

Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy And Adjuvant Pembrolizumab In Recurrent High-Grade Astrocytoma: A Phase 1/Randomized Phase 2b Trial, Jian L Campian, Omar H Butt, Yifei Xu, Jingxia Liu, William A Leidig, Tanner Johanns, George Ansstas, Alice Y Zhou, Sangami Pugazenthi, Jiayi Huang, Milan G Chheda, Albert H Kim, Eric C Leuthardt, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) show minimal efficacy in recurrent high-grade astrocytoma (rHGA). Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), a minimally invasive cytoreductive approach, may prime rHGA for ICI response. A phase 1/randomized phase 2b trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02311582 ) was designed to test pembrolizumab in combination with LITT in patients with rHGA. Nine patients were enrolled in the phase I dose-escalation lead-in study. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed and 200 mg of pembrolizumab every three weeks was determined as the recommended phase 2 dose. The phase 2b study was initially designed to randomize (up to 45) patients 1:1 to either LITT followed …

Assessing The Capabilities Of Ai-Based Large Language Models (Ai-Llms) In Interpreting Histopathological Slides And Scientific Figures: Performance Evaluation Study, Khanisyah Erza Gumilar, Grace Ariani, Priangga A. Wiratama, Rimbun Rimbun, Tri H. Yuliawati, Hong Chen, Ibrahim H. Ibrahim

BioMedicine

Background: Integrating artificial intelligence-based large language models (AI-LLMs) into medical and other scientific domains is increasingly recognized as a tool to support complex tasks, such as interpreting histopathology slides and scientific figures. AI-LLMs can simplify these processes by providing clearer explanations. By improving accessibility and comprehension, AI-LLMs can significantly assist healthcare professionals in diagnosing and therapy determination. Students and the public also find it easier to understand complex scientific concepts and images.

Objectives: This study explores the capability of AI-LLMs in interpreting histopathological slides and scientific images. This study aims to evaluate the performance of AI-LLMs in supporting diagnostics and …

Teachers’ Views On The Relevance Of Local Wisdom Values In Strengthening Students’ Character Education, Fatkhurozqi Razaq, Oktaviani Adhi Suciptaningsih, Aynin Mashfufah

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

The digital era has had a dual impact on basic education, where technological advances are often accompanied by cultural erosion and moral degradation among students. The increase in bullying cases and the decline in manners indicate that conventional character education has not been able to effectively filter the negative influences of globalization. This study aims to explore the perception of urgency and pedagogical strategies of elementary school teachers in integrating local wisdom values into character-building learning. The research method used was descriptive qualitative, involving ten elementary school teachers as participants selected through purposive sampling. Data collection was carried out using …

Strengthen The Implementation Of 2013 Curriculum Based On Local Wisdom In Growing Elementary School Student Character, Amina Divina P

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

The entry of foreign culture which increasingly erodes local values and culture is a problem for the Indonesian nation. This problem arises due to a lack of public interest and concern for the cultural wealth they have. In order to foster the potential of students with characters based on culture, values, and local wisdom that are in accordance with the demands of society, this study aims to examine the strengthening of the implementation of the operational curriculum of the SD Gunongsekar 1 Madura education unit towards the character of students based on local wisdom. The development of the 2013 curriculum …