Digital Commons Network^™

Guest Editorial For Alabama Libraries: What We Can Learn About Library Instruction From K-12 Education, Summer Upton

Alabama Libraries

No abstract provided.

The Homerathon: A Collaborative Teacher - Librarian Project, Douglas Welle, Dutcha Lawson

Alabama Libraries

This article, co-authored by a high school librarian and a Latin teacher describes a highly successful collaboration at the high school level designed to enhance the curriculum and promote the role of the library as a continuous learning environment. The “Homerathon” read-aloud attracted nearly 140 participants over a four-day period in 2024. Benefits included engaging students in the act of reading, increasing awareness and understanding of a classical work of literature, and highlighting the role of the school library as a vibrant learning hub. Building on the success of the Homerathon, a second read-aloud event was held in 2025 and …

Creating Safe Spaces: A Trauma-Informed Approach In Alabama State University's Special Collections Department, Kashonda Murphy

Alabama Libraries

A trauma-informed library is a library that adopts practices and policies designed to understand, recognize, and respond to the impact of trauma on individuals who use its services. This approach aims to create a safe and supportive environment for patrons who may have experienced trauma, such as abuse, violence, poverty, discrimination, and natural disasters. Key principles of trauma-informed care are promoting safety, trustworthiness, peer support, collaboration, and empowerment in all aspects of library operations and interactions. This article details the approaches taken to initiate trauma-informed principles into the Special Collections Department at Alabama State University.

Sovereign Cat Bonds: Evaluating Issuance, Matthew Sharretts

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

Research Support Newsletter (Winter 2026), Elizabeth D'Angel

The AC's Research Support Newsletter (Formerly AISR Connections)

Sections

• New Resources & Updates 
• Research Support & Data Management
• Grants & Funding Opportunities
• Writing & Publishing Support
• Design & Presentation Tools
• Research Integrity
• Research Workshops

Winter 2026, Humayun Islam

PMI Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Why Do Communities Build Bridges? Social Studies: 5e Model Inquiry Lesson Plan, Ryanna Thorson

OER Materials

This lesson plan presents a 5E inquiry-based social studies lesson designed for 5^th-grade students to explore the compelling question, “How does a bridge change a community?” Through the analysis of primary sources (including historical photographs, maps, engineering diagrams), students investigate how bridges influence transportation, access, safety, and community development. The lesson integrates vocabulary supports, structured observation, and literacy connections to help students evaluate the significance of human-made structures in shaping community life. Grounded in constructivist learning theory, this word demonstrates how inquiry and evidence-based reasoning can deepen students’ understanding of social studies concepts.

2025-2026 Common Data Set, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Common Data Sets

This document contains data compiled by the SWOSU Office of Institutional Research for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Integrating Domain Knowledge And Machine Learning In Rice Cultivation: A Case Study Of Algeria, Sara Faruqui, Jenna M. Handal, Navi Gill Dhillon

Bioinformatics

Research has highlighted Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a promising solution to mitigate the threat of food insecurity. Rice, a staple in the global diet, is particularly vulnerable to heat stress caused by climate change. The challenges of climate change, population growth, and increased famine risk may be alleviated through the implementation of AI models in rice cultivation. For decades, agricultural workers have faced the dilemma of needing to increase crop yields while dealing with dwindling resources and the need for more efficient practices. AI models, however, are limited by the quality and scope of the data they receive. Integrating domain …

Abortion On The Move: Navigating The Fractured Reproductive Healthcare Landscape, Kim D. Ricardo

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

From Copper To Ashes: Violations Of The Right To A Healthy Environment And Health In Tsumeb, Namibia, Sarah Dávila A.

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Revolution Or Restoration? Historiographical Perspectives On The Glorious Revolution And The Evolution Of English Constitutionalism, Utku Özgür

2026 Claremont Colleges Library Undergraduate Research Award

This paper examines how historians have interpreted the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89 and asks whether it should be understood as a true modern revolution or as a conservative restoration. Rather than offering a narrative account of events, it traces three major historiographical frameworks through which scholars have analyzed the Revolution: legal, fiscal, and political. The legal interpretation shows how concepts such as abdication, social contract, trust, and consent allowed Parliament to frame the removal of James II as a constitutional act rather than an act of rebellion. The fiscal interpretation emphasizes the post-1688 transformation of public credit, parliamentary control over …

Equitable Disaster Relief In Western Alaska: Rebuilding The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta After Typhoon Halong, Emma Knapp

2026 Claremont Colleges Library Undergraduate Research Award

This zine, created for Professor Kareem Collie's Design & Equity seminar at The Hive, examines disaster relief efforts in Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta following the landfall of ex-Typhoon Halong on October 12th, 2025. Halong displaced over 1,600 people in nearly fifty Alaska Native communities. The project combines journalistic reporting from local Alaskan news sources with library resources that grounded the research in anti-colonial and environmental justice frameworks. This zine uses an equity-driven lens to deconstruct how colonial policies continue to shape disparate impacts of climate change. It also illuminates how complex systems of oppression emerge over time. Overall, the decolonization of …

A Descriptive Study Of Cancer Care Experiences And Burden Of Rural South Dakotans, Sarah Mollman, Teddi Dowling, Patricia Woolridge, Jamie Hillmer, James Odom, Marie Bakitas, Hossein Moradi Rekabdarkolaee, Brandon Varilek

Journal Articles: College of Nursing

BACKGROUND: American Indian (AI) persons with advanced cancer (PwAC) in South Dakota have seen increased rates of cancer incidence and mortality compared to national rates. These inequities are driven by social determinants of health. Providing early palliative care is highly important for rural PwAC but is sparsely available in rural South Dakota.

OBJECTIVE: To explore cancer care experiences and patient symptoms and caregiver burden among AI and rural PwAC, and their family caregivers (FCGs), to understand the barriers and opportunities for adapting an early palliative care intervention.

DESIGN: Descriptive study design reporting on the qualitative and quantitative data collected.

METHODS: …

Constitutional Limits On The President's Authority To Adjourn Congress, Allan Erbsen

Articles

Can the President adjourn Congress, declare that the adjournment constitutes a recess, and appoint cabinet officers without the Senate’s consent? President Donald Trump has considered invoking this supposed power. Adjourning Congress would enable the President to appoint otherwise unconfirmable officials. Even if the President does not adjourn Congress, the looming threat of adjournment could chill the Senate’s review of nominees.

This Article concludes that the President cannot evade the Senate’s role in the appointments process by adjourning Congress. Three clauses in the Constitution inform the analysis: the Consent Clause, which requires each house to consent to the other’s adjournment; the …

Follow The Money: A Historical And Bibliometric Reflection On The Rise Of Law And Economics, 1970-2025, Scott H. Dewey

Articles

From roughly 1970 to 2010, law and economics rose from the margins to a dominant position in American legal academia, accompanied by a dramatic increase in citations to law and economics scholarship. Citation analysis is often treated as a proxy for intellectual merit, but that assumption becomes questionable when ideas are advanced through systematic, well-funded, and sustained promotion aimed at serving specific political and economic interests. This study examines the right-wing funding networks that supported the rise of law and economics and analyzes the resulting bibliometric patterns in legal scholarship. By tracing these financial and citation dynamics, the study argues …

Space Mining, Richard Painter

Articles

The Trump Administration and U.S. Congress are promoting new ventures to extract valuable minerals from outer space. This Article does not dismiss the idea out of hand, but explores reasons for caution, including practical problems with space mining, its environmental impact, the likelihood that the United States could violate international law, and the risk of armed conflict. These problems are exacerbated by financial conflicts of interest in our government with a handful of billionaires, who have a financial interest in space mining work. The promotion of their agenda could involve wasteful government spending on subsidies for private ventures, with a …

Hepatocyte Peroxisome Biogenesis And Phytol-Induced Metabolic Stress In Liver Disease, William Galloway

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Hepatocyte peroxisomes are required for metabolism of phytol-derived branched-chain fatty acids through the ACOX2-SCPx beta-oxidation pathway. This study tests whether hepatocyte-specific deletion of PEX16 (Pex16^Alb-Cre), which eliminates peroxisome biogenesis, sensitizes the liver to phytol-induced injury. The Pex16^Alb-Cre mice and their normal control Pex16^fl/fl mice were fed the Lieber-DeCarli liquid with or without 0.1 percent phytol for eight weeks. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and liver index were measured. Liver sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and Masson’s trichrome. Immunoblot analysis of peroxisomal enzyme expression was also performed. Phytol had no effect in Pex16^fl/fl mice as …

Making Inquiry Accessible: Inquiry-Based Design And Instruction For English Learners In Secondary Social Studies Classrooms, Meghan T. Hawkins

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation explores inquiry-based instruction for English Learners (ELs) in secondary social studies classes. The first article explored the existing literature in the field. The second article considered instructional design choices that could increase learning outcomes in an inquiry designed for ELs, implemented in a culturally and linguistically responsive classroom. Finally, the third article is an exploratory case study that examined how a secondary high school social studies teacher and ESL co-teacher designed and implemented inquiry-based instruction in a co-taught ESL class. The research questions included: 1. How do teachers build trust in a culturally and linguistically responsive social studies …

Investigating The Viability Of Fully Online Asynchronous Physics Instruction In Formal Education, Clifton W. Massey-Noel

Physics Dissertations

In this dissertation we present results from two consecutive investigations into the fully online asynchronous modality in Physics Education. We first discuss the efficacy of a fully online asynchronous section of Modern Physics held in Fall 2024. The asynchronous section is compared with four prior partially-flipped sections of the same class, two of which were held in-person, and two of which were held synchronously online. Results suggest that all three modalities can be made to be about equally as effective. We also discuss the efficacy of a fully online asynchronous section of Calculus-Based Introductory Mechanics held in Fall 2025. The …

Conch Gone? Examining Cultural Preservation Through Bahamian Menu Analysis, Adiah J. Saunders

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Social identity theory and acculturation theory expose how cultural practices, such as cuisine, can adapt due to external pressures. In The Bahamas, external pressure from the tourism industry shapes many aspects of public life, by analyzing menus we can see how cultural identity resists or succumbs to change. This study examined how Bahamian cuisine is represented on restaurant menus in Nassau, New Providence amid a dominating tourism industry. Using a stratified random sample of 30 restaurants, 1,155 menu items were coded for cultural origin, cultural language use, promotional features, as well as pricing. The results show that international dishes appear …

Three Essays On Financial Social Media And Capital Market: Editorial Promotion, Authors’ Communicating Style, And Implications On Firms, Wenzhuo Zhao

2026

Financial social media platforms have emerged as an increasingly important source of information for investors, as illustrated by the role of Seeking Alpha, Reddit, X (Twitter), and other platforms in the 2021 “meme stock” episodes and the subsequent SEC report on equity market structure. While prior research has largely focused on the informativeness of social media content—asking whether social media sentiment predicts stock prices or trading activity—our understanding of how social media reshapes the broader capital market information environment remains limited. Using data collected from Seeking Alpha, a leading crowd-sourced financial research platform and one of the largest online investing …

Implementing Impact Data Collection And Program Evaluation In A Nonprofit, Jamie Devellis

OTD Capstones

This doctoral capstone highlights a gap between data collection practices and nonprofits, which impacts participation rates of children experiencing poverty. This gap is an issue for nonprofits because stakeholders and donors are more likely to fund organizations that can provide impact data about their services. This capstone addresses that gap through creating and implementing data collection and program evaluation for a grassroots nonprofit that funds enrichment programs for children experiencing poverty in southeastern Massachusetts. Data collected found that the program has a positive effect on the children and families of whom they serve that surpass their main goal of building …

Breaking The Boom-Bust Cycle: Supporting Pediatric Fatigue And Participation After Hsct Using The 5-Pet And Caregiver Education, Annelie Claire Kershaw

OTD Capstones

Pediatric patients recovering after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) often experience persistent fatigue, physical deconditioning, cognitive changes, and decreased participation after discharge. Fatigue is complex and multidimensional, making it difficult for children to understand, communicate, and manage as they return to school, play, social activities, and daily life. Occupational therapists are well positioned to support participation, activity pacing, caregiver education, and health management for children recovering after HSCT.

This capstone project addressed the need for developmentally appropriate fatigue management resources through the creation of multiple deliverables. The primary deliverable was the 5-Zone Pediatric Energy and Fatigue Scale (5-PET), which is …

Atomic Steps Toward Sustainable Learning With Open Educational Resources (Oer), Eng Ling Lynn Yeo

Research Collection Library

Open Educational Resources (OER) are gaining momentum globally as one of the tools to equitable and sustainable education. In an academic landscape shaped by rapid digital change and budget constraints, libraries must adapt to support sustainable learning.

This lightning talk will share how SMU Libraries has taken atomic, strategic steps to introduce and encourage OER adoption, aligning collection strategies with institutional goals for sustainability. It will highlight initiatives such as faculty workshops, participation in a regional OER special interest group, and efforts to integrate OER discovery into existing library systems. It will also share examples of leveraging existing collection workflows …

Pathways To Senior Leadership For Women In Student Affairs At Public Universities, Julie Lynn Anderson-Roy

All Capstone Projects

Access to higher education is a fight women won over a century ago; however, research shows that women remain underrepresented in leadership positions in higher education. Leadership roles in higher education, especially at public institutions, encompass a range of positions, including the president, provost, deans, and chairs of academic departments. Although higher education administration and student affairs continue to attract more women than men to graduate preparation programs, men hold more administrative positions. The imbalance of women in leadership roles is not only a national issue but also a global issue. The relevant purpose of this qualitative study was to …

Student Perceptions Of Autism Support Program Participation In Higher Education: Relationships To Academic, Psychological, And Social/Identity Success, Anne Frosh

All Capstone Projects

As the number of students with autism enrolling in higher education continues to rise, institutions have expanded autism support programs (ASPs) to promote student success and inclusion. Despite this growth, limited quantitative research has examined how participation in ASPs relates to students’ multidimensional perceptions of success. This quantitative, non-experimental study examined the relationship between ASP participation and student-reported outcomes across academic, psychological, and social/identity domains among college students with autism in the United States. Grounded in the Social Model of Disability and Critical Disability Studies, the study explored associations between ASP participation and perceived success, the importance of success, and …

Exploring Gaps And Opportunities For Nonprofit Support For African American Veterans: Insights From The Historymakers Digital Archive, Michael A. Davis Ii

All Capstone Projects

This study draws on qualitative thematic analysis of oral histories from The HistoryMakers Digital Archive to examine gaps in services experienced by African American veterans during their transition from military to civilian life and how nonprofit organizations can develop more resilient and equity-centered support systems to better meet veterans’ needs. The findings confirm existing literature that characterizes veteran reintegration as complex and multidimensional, while extending it by demonstrating how challenges such as mental health, employment instability, and housing insecurity are deeply interconnected and cumulative. The findings also reveal that African American veterans face additional structural barriers due to systemic inequalities …

From The Margins To Presidency: The Pathways Of African American Women Into Community College Leadership, Patricia A. Edmond

All Capstone Projects

African American women hold only 7% of community college presidencies nationally, a disparity rooted not in deficits of preparation or qualification but in structural conditions shaped by the intersection of race and gender bias. This phenomenological qualitative study explored the lived experiences of six African American women currently service as community college presidents, examining how race, gender, and mentorship influence their pathways, challenges, and success strategies. Guided by the theoretical frameworks of Black Feminist Through (Collins, 2000) and Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989), the study collected data through semi-structured interviews, reflective narratives, and document analysis. Five themes emerged: Pathways and Access to …

George W. Bush’S Contemporary Crusade: Binary And Peace Rhetoric During The Global War On Terror, Justin Lotito

Cohort 2025-2026

Justin Lotito is a senior majoring in communication studies, with minors in business administration, and journalism. Lotito’s Time Machine research investigates President George W. Bush’s rhetoric following the attacks of September 11. He contends that Bush established a binary world through the application of Manichean and Crusader rhetoric. Following this contention, Lotito applies Bush’s binary world framework into an analysis of the Setonian’s March 20, 2003, edition covering the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Archival Collection Used: SHU 0054 The Setonian