Digital Commons Network^™

Languages Of Marginalization: Educational Inequality And Identity Formation Among Rohingya Refugees In Bangladesh, Md Khalid Rahman

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research paper investigates how language-of-instruction policies shape educational inequality and identity formation among Rohingya refugee children living in protracted displacement in Cox’ Bazar, Bangladesh. Analyzed from a human right–based framework, the study examines whether existing educational policies align with international legal standards on the right to education, including the UDHR, ICESCR, Child Convention and SDG 4. While these frameworks guarantee non-discriminatory and inclusive access to education, the reality in Cox’s Bazar reveals a persistent gap between normative commitments and policy implementation. Moreover, the study explores how the exclusion of both the host language (Bangla) and the native Rohingya language …

Participation, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Faculty Publications

What does it take to participate in direct, naturally occurring social interaction? Conversation analytic (CA) studies reveal that “participation”—who participates, when, and how—is dynamic and locally, multimodally achieved by the people involved. Particularly in social situations when people are concurrently accessible to one another’s naked senses (Goffman, 1964), co-participation is enabled and performed through embodied and vocal resources including talk, gaze, facial displays, body orientation/posture, proximity, and gestures (e.g., M. H. Goodwin, 1999; C. Goodwin & M. H. Goodwin, 2005; Pillet-Shore, 2010; Sidnell, 2009). Using a multimodal CA lens, this chapter illuminates how “participation” is achieved in real-time, naturally occurring …

Silencing As Blackening, I. Bennett Capers

Faculty Scholarship

We are so accustomed to seeing defendants sit silently at criminal trials while their lawyers speak that we hardly question it. Or we tell ourselves this silence is for their own protection, part of their privilege against self-incrimination and the rules we have created for their own benefit. But what if we've gotten everything wrong? What if encouraging defendants to remain silent does not inure to their benefit at all, but to the State's? And what if this silencing is tied to race? "Silencing as Blackening" tells a fuller story about silent defendants. One, that this silence is rarely voluntary, …

Using A Multimedia Icu Diary To Support Patient Recovery And Enhance Family Engagement In The Medical Intensive Care Unit Primary, Eliza Palow

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center

The purpose of this project was to design and implement a multimedia ICU diary incorporating QR-coded educational tools to support patient and family engagement, improve understanding of the ICU environment, and enhance emotional orientation and recovery during and after hospitalization.

Geriatric Comfort Cart Implementation In The Emergency Department, James Benson, Robert Anderson, Jake Simon, Doris Meehan

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center

Background: As emergency departments (ED) increasingly serve aging populations, evidence-based approaches to improve geriatric care are essential. The Mayo Clinic’s Geriatric Comfort Cart received strong provider endorsement, but little was known about item choices. Understanding these differences is critical for patient centered care. This project examined whether items chosen by ED staff differed from those chosen by patients and tracked selection rates.

Navigating Critical Communication Pedagogy As International Graduate Teaching Assistants In The United States' Communication Classrooms, Janifar Nova

Research Papers

As U.S. universities continue to diversify, international graduate teaching assistants (iGTAs) play a central yet understudied role in communication classrooms. Guided by the framework of Critical Communication Pedagogy (CCP), this study examines how iGTAs interpret and embody critical pedagogical principles as they navigate linguistic, cultural, and institutional expectations. Using an interpretive approach, I held a focus group discussion with seven iGTAs to explore how participants’ identities, experiences, and emotions influence their teaching practices. Five main themes emerged, including (1) interpreting CCP through identity and positionality, (2) embodying CCP through collaboration and mutual learning, (3) negotiating ethical and shared uses of …

A Guide To Human Ecology Mapping: An Approach For Understanding Human-Environment Connections, Thien-Kim Bui, Rebecca J. Mclain, David Banis, Lee Cerveny

Occasional Papers in Geography

Occasional Papers in Geography Publication No. 9

Places matter to people, and maps can help people and communities share why places matter. Over the past 30 years, public participation GIS (PPGIS) and other forms of human ecology mapping (HEM) have become important ways for agencies, non-governmental organizations, environmental and community advocacy groups, university researchers, and others to learn about or advocate for what matters to people about landscapes they visit, use, or love.

HEM is a method for mapping human-environment interactions and connections. This manual is intended for the planner or practitioner who is interested in using HEM to strengthen …

Compositional And Functional Shifts In Fish Community Structure In Response To Low-Head Dam Removals, Joshua D. Bruegge

Masters Theses

Low-head dams serve as intermittent barriers to aquatic connectivity and directly alter both upstream and downstream habitats and biotic communities. In 2018 and 2019, two low-head dams in the Vermilion River watershed of eastern Illinois were removed, reconnecting over 1,700 kilometers of upstream habitat within the basin. To determine the impacts of these dam removals, fish community surveys were conducted at 12 fixed sites across three reaches in two rivers from 2012-2022. This study assessed reach-specific temporal responses of the fish community and habitat characteristics. I linked trait expressions within the fish community to abiotic variables using the co-inertia RLQ …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Proactive And Reactive Behavior Management Strategies, Anna Wilzbach

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to expand the praise literature by examining K-12 teachers’ preferences for proactive behavior management strategies (e.g., praise, acknowledgement, rewards). In addition, teachers’ opinions on the efficacy of proactive strategies were assessed to see if efficacy of strategies decreased as grade level increased. Teacher opinions of efficacy and preferences for proactive strategies and reprimand were collected through the Teacher Praise and Reprimand Preference Survey (TPRPS). A total of 93 teachers from rural and suburban school districts completed the TPRPS survey. Results indicated as grade level increased, teachers found praise less effective for managing student appropriate …

You’Re Gonna Be Popular: A Semiotic Exploration Of Meaningful Tools Used To Promote Popular Music Artists, Maya Raye Kurth

Masters Theses

I have been to dozens of concerts, but after experiencing The Era’s Tour I became a Swiftie so quickly and passionately that I was looking for comparable concerts and fan experiences and found very few. It made me wonder how and why this fan experience stuck with me and what made it so special. With that question in mind, I started this project with the question of how successful indie music is marketed.

To answer this question, I used semiotics as the driving theory behind this study. Semiotics allowed me to establish a binary between organic and manufactured and allowed …

The Role Of International Student Office Directors In Facilitating The Transitional Adjustment Of International Students In U.S Higher Education, Agnes Afi Yigah

Masters Theses

This qualitative study explored how International Student Office Directors facilitate the transitional adjustment of international students in U.S. higher education institutions. Guided by Schlossberg’s Transition Theory (1981) and Schlossberg’s Mattering and Marginality Theory (1989), this study examined the challenges international students face, the support strategies implemented by International Student Office Directors, and the institutional factors influencing student adjustment and well-being. International students experience challenges related to housing and logistical adjustment, financial and immigration-related stressors, academic system adjustment and self-advocacy, and social integration and emotional adjustment. Proactive and holistic support approaches, including pre-arrival communication, orientation programs, academic support, emotional support, and …

“If He Did It, I Can Do It, Too. I Can Change My Life Around”: The Social Model Of Recovery Within The Context Of Recovery Homes Accepting Residents Prescribed Medications For Opioid Use Disorder, Jodie M Dewey, Kathryn R Gallardo, Meenakshi S Subbaraman, Amy A Mericle

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: This paper provides an in-depth examination of examines four recovery residences, that serve individuals prescribed medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). The study has two primary aims: first, to deepen understanding of how recovery residences adopt and operationalize Social Model of Recovery principles; and second, to identify gaps in staff integration of residents receiving MOUD-gaps that may either support or undermine the integrity of the social model within these settings.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 residents receiving MOUD living in four participating recovery homes. The interviews were conducted between August 2022 and January 2024 using a semi-structured …

Plasma Proteomic Profile Of Dietary Potassium And Incident Ckd, Jiaqi Yang, Lauren Bernard, Jingsha Chen, Valerie K Sullivan, Bing Yu, Eugene P Rhee, Paul A Welling, Casey M Rebholz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background:: There is a need for objective biomarkers of dietary potassium. The mechanisms through which dietary potassium influences kidney health are incompletely understood.

Methods:: Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study participants at visit 3 (1993–1995) with dietary and proteomics data were randomly divided into discovery (N=6,814) and replication (N=3,380) sets. We examined associations between dietary potassium and 4,955 aptamers using multivariable linear regression, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, health behaviors, and estimated glomerular filtration rate, with a false discovery rate of 0.05. Then, we tested the prospective associations between potassium-related proteins and incident chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Results:: …

Adapting A Smartphone-Based Auricular Point Acupressure Self-Management Program For Rural Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Qualitative Study, Jungkyung Min, Peiyin Hung, Jane N Bolin, Rupsikha Bora, Sarah Pace, Patricia Pitones, Hulin Wu, Jennifer Kawi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Chronic musculoskeletal pain is more prevalent in rural areas where access to pain interventions, including complementary approaches like Auricular Point Acupressure (APA), remains limited. APA is a non-invasive, needle-free approach, and its smartphone-based self-management delivery model has not been optimized for rural contexts.

Objectives: To explore the perspectives of rural partners on adapting a smartphone-based Auricular Point Acupressure-Self-Management (APA-SM) program to better meet rural needs. Study objectives were to: (1) refine the APA-SM program for rural adults, (2) identify implementation barriers, (3) understand practice workflows and engagement, and (4) identify strategies to integrate the APA-SM program into rural pain …

Carbon Nanotube/ Thermoplastic Polyurethane (Cnt/Tpu)-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator With Self-Charge Pumping For Implantable Knee Load Sensing And Energy Harvesting, Osama Abdalla, Maryam Hosseini, Milad Azami, Amir Ameli, Emre Salman, Milutin Stanacevic, Ryan Willing, Shahrzad Towfighian

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Scholarship

Aseptic loosening and joint instability remain the primary modes of failure in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). To provide real-time biomechanical load monitoring, this study presents a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) utilizing a carbon nanotube/foamed thermoplastic polyurethane (CNT/TPU) composite dielectric layer paired with a Kapton tape between dual electrodes. By leveraging the triboelectric effect, the device functions simultaneously as an energy harvester and a self-powered load sensor. To overcome power density limitations, a self-charge pumping mechanism via a multi-stage voltage multiplier circuit (VMC) was integrated and evaluated under physiological cyclic loading (2100 N at 1 Hz). The system’s charge dynamics were further …

Subgroup Identification Of Disparities In Buprenorphine Discontinuation In Opioid-Use Disorder: A Virtual Twins Machine Learning Approach Using Nationwide United States Claims Data, 2006–2022, Kehe Zhang, Paula A Jaimes-Buitron, Wanru Guo, Yanmin Gong, Yuanxiong Guo, Carolina Vivas Valencia, Cici Bauer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Buprenorphine retention is crucial for effective treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), yet disparities in treatment discontinuation persist. This study aims to identify and quantify disparities in buprenorphine treatment retention using a machine learning framework adapted from Virtual Twins approach focusing on disparities related to sex, age, insurance type, geographic region, mental health status and community-level Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Using a nationwide longitudinal cohort, we applied a two-stage machine learning approach. In Stage one, we trained classification models to estimate the counterfactual differences in treatment discontinuation across disparity types. Model performance was assessed using C-statistics and precision-recall curve. In …

Relationship Between Foraminiferal Assemblages And Cassiopea Coverage Across A Gradient Of Human Influence In Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Puerto Rico, Nylah Barber, Angelique Rosa Marín, Natalia López-Figueroa, Darma Ramos-Negrón, Xiomara Cruz-De León, Andrea Acevedo Colón, Pamela Hallock

Making Waves REU

Ecological Relevance: Foraminifera and Cassiopea (upside down-jellyfish) are symbiont-bearing organisms that respond rapidly to environmental changes in tropical systems, hence potential candidates as bioindicators to support ecological monitoring at JBNERR. Purpose: By using foraminiferal assemblages and Cassiopea as potential bioindicators, we can assess environmental conditions and contribute to management needs in the reserve. Hypothesis: Foraminiferal assemblages and the percent coverage of Cassiopea will reflect the habitat conditions of sites with varying levels of human influence at JBNERR.

A Qualitative Examination Of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Access, Beliefs, And Behaviors Among Adult Males Aged 18–35: Applying The Health Stigma And Discrimination Framework, Jacquelin I Cordero, Louis D Brown, Jesús M Alemán, María E Fernández, Serena A Rodríguez, Eva M Moya

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Males, who disproportionately account for 83% of oropharyngeal cancer cases, are underrepresented in health promotion research, including human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination studies. The initial exclusion of males in HPV vaccine research, policies, and interventions has negatively affected male vaccine uptake. Furthermore, stigma, a well-documented barrier to healthcare engagement, has been overlooked in HPV vaccination behaviors. This study aimed to provide a more contextualized understanding of HPV vaccine disparities among adult males by applying the Health Stigma and Discrimination Framework (HSDF) to examine how stigma is produced, enacted, and sustained across social systems, which may impact male vaccine uptake.

Methods: …

Religious Radio Broadcasting In Ukraine In The Context Of Digital Mediatisation And Social Transformation, Oleh Sokolovskyi, Olena Yurchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The study carries out a religious studies analysis of contemporary forms of spiritual communication implemented through audio and digital media platforms. The work highlights the particular features of organizing religious broadcasting under conditions of transformation of the information space, when traditional models of transmitting doctrine become integrated into new technological formats. Mechanisms of the formation of religious identity, ways of maintaining spiritual continuity, and strategies of interaction between religious institutions and their audiences are examined. An analysis is conducted of the structures that ensure access to spiritual content, including forms of catechetical communication, mentoring practices, and models of pastoral support …

An Interdisciplinary Approach To Understanding The Social Ministry Of The Orthodox Church Of Ukraine In The Context Of Christian Theology And Socio-Humanitarian Sciences, Rostyslav Didukh

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article presents a comprehensive interdisciplinary scientific and theological analysis of the social ministry of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in the context of Christian theology and socio-humanitarian disciplines. Modern approaches of Orthodox theology to the social mission of Christianity ensure the integrity of the development of the human and society. The need to ensure the coherence of theological concepts of the Orthodox Church social teaching with the existing church and parish life, church educational mission, theological education, and social work is emphasized. Special attention is paid to the interdisciplinary connections of Orthodox theology, religious studies, psychology, pedagogy and …

Italian Missionary Activities In Georgia: Historical Legacy And Modern Inter-Religious Dialogue, Zaza Tsotniashvili

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines the historical development, cultural contributions, and contemporary significance of Italian missionary activities in Georgia spanning seven centuries, from medieval Catholic presence through the traumatic Soviet period to the post-independence revival. Drawing upon Georgian, Italian, and Vatican archival sources, including the manuscripts of Arcangelo Lamberti, Cristoforo de Castelli, and Michel Tamarati, the study provides comprehensive analysis of Italian Catholic missionaries' multifaceted engagement with Georgian society. The research demonstrates that Italian missionaries, particularly members of the Theatine, Capuchin, and Augustinian orders, played roles extending far beyond religious evangelization, functioning as diplomatic intermediaries, medical practitioners, linguistic documentarians, ethnographic observers, and …

Signs Of Life: Interkingdom Communication And The Sympoietic Organism, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Glimpse Of Early Ellensburg, Washington From The 1980'S Excavations At 45kt800, Leah M. Shenyer

All Master's Theses

The Robber’s Roost site, located in the town of Ellensburg, Washington, was excavated in a partnership between Central Washington Archaeological Survey and Kittitas County Youth Services in the summers of 1986 and 1988. In 2023, the collection consisted of 110 boxes of artifacts including bottle glass, ceramics, leather, and faunal remains, with no significant prior analysis and little information on the dig itself. The purpose of this thesis is to document this poorly-known excavation project and gain a better understanding of Ellensburg’s history through analysis of the artifacts recovered. I compiled all the available paper records and communicated  with past …

Analyzing Geographic Distribution And Distressed Community Index Trends In Black Dermatologists Of The Southeast United States, Laci Turner, Charlotte Mcrae, Michael Anderson, Lamario Williams, Tiffany Mayo

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2026 research poster

Occupational Identity & Career Preparation, Leah Shea Simpkins, Karen R. Puckett

Pedagogicon Conference Proceedings

Regardless of the profession, having occupational identity is highly important. Students are in need of preparing themselves for their future careers whilst in college. Having a career portfolio is a great tool for students to have upon graduation which showcases their occupational identities regarding future career preparedness.

Fostering Durable Skills In A Hybrid Accelerated Program: Insights From Doctor Of Physical Therapy Education For A Practical Approach For Teaching Essential Professional Competencies, Rajiv Dalal, Vicki Lafay, Steven Hammons

Pedagogicon Conference Proceedings

Durable skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and self-management are essential in today’s professional world. These skills should be reinforced through various educational platforms. This application from a hybrid Doctor of Physical Therapy program highlights AI-driven simulations and innovative strategies adaptable across disciplines, offering practical methods to prepare career-ready students.

Teaching Durable Skills In A School Principal Certification Program, Kevin Hub

Pedagogicon Conference Proceedings

Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) offers principal certification through a specialized Principal Certification Cohort Degree program. One component within this academic program is teaching durable skills through a deeper dive into curriculum, a broader range of field experiences, and the development of durable skills through a series of experiential learning assignments.

Exploring Faculty And Student Experiences With Languages: Building Durable Skills Through Multilingual Engagement, Ali Yaylali, Cui Zhang, Sara Rico-Godoy

Pedagogicon Conference Proceedings

This creative activity focuses on students’ and multilingual faculty members' real-life experiences navigating linguistic and cultural diversity. The informal dialogue across multiple undergraduate courses in a third space strengthens student learning by enhancing multiple durable skills such as intercultural communication, career readiness, and the understanding of different cultural backgrounds.

Teaching Transfer: Building Durable Skills For All Learners, Jilliane Mccardle, Jessica Spears, Ty Shouse, Amber Catron

Pedagogicon Conference Proceedings

Transfer tasks in educational settings offer opportunities for durable skill development in areas including critical thinking, problem solving, and communication. This article explores research and the implementation of transfer tasks at a university and the affiliated P12 lab school, highlighting the role in fostering authentic assessment and enhancing durable skills.

Book Clubs: Building Communication, Critical Thinking, And Leadership Skills, Erin Eliassen

Pedagogicon Conference Proceedings

This brief report describes the structure of a book club in the college classroom to build specific durable skills, reflects on an assignment in a nutrition research course, and identifies benefits of a book club in a college classroom. Applications are versatile based on course content and student learning outcomes.