Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Pre-Trial Attitudes And Educational Jury Instructions : Juror Decision-Making In Mens Rea Cases Involving Mental Illness, Victoria E. O'Connell

Theses

Juror decision-making in cases involving mental illness is shaped by legal understanding and subjective attitudes. This study examined how juror attitudes and jury instruction type influence the application of mens rea defenses—Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI), Diminished Capacity (DC), and Guilty but Mentally Ill (GBMI)—in criminal case vignettes involving defendants with mental health presentations. Enhanced jury instructions improved understanding of mens rea concepts but did not improve the application of these concepts to verdict decisions. Biases against mens rea defenses were associated with DC verdict decisions, with more negative NGRI attitudes predicting less legally accurate but more confident …

Down The Rabbit Hole : A Journey Of Writing And Liberation, Mckenzie Sharp

Theses

Down the Rabbit Hole: A Journey of Writing and Liberation is a hybrid creative thesis composed of poetry, memoir, and auto-fiction that explores trauma, mental illness, abuse, and resilience through non-linear narrative and surrealist imagery. This collection examines writing as both a survival practice and reclamation of agency after prolonged silencing by drawing on feminist theory, trauma studies, and experimental literature techniques. Structured as an anthology, the thesis mirrors fractured memory and identity and the cyclical nature of healing. Organized into three chapters— “Awakening,” “Deconstruction,” and “Enlightenment”—the collection traces recognition of harm, dismantling of inherited belief systems, and the ongoing …

Transformation Of Public Earth Datasets For 3d Narrative Visualization Of Disaster Events, Connor Bleisch

Theses

Communicating large datasets in ways that are appealing to non-scientific audiences has been a recent focus of big data visualization. Interest has grown for using 3D environments with game-like structures and immersive technology like AR and VR since they are more engaging. We introduce a method, based on the structure of the datasets and domain knowledge of the natural phenomena, for transforming public National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth datasets into 3D narrative data visualizations, specifically of disaster events. Two visualizations were created using this method: one of the KNP Complex Wildfire in 2021 and one of Hurricane Beryl …

The Influence Of Defendant Mental Illness Characteristics On Prosecutorial Decision Making, Claire Elise Martin

Theses

As most criminal cases are now resolved via plea-bargaining, research on legal decision making has extended beyond the jury to evaluate judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors. Although legal actors are obliged to remain objective and dispassionate, extralegal factors regarding defendant characteristics (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic class) can influence case outcomes. Extant research on the effect of defendant mental health status and defendant demeanor on sentencing outcomes in court hearings is limited. Therefore, the present experiment solicited 134 prosecutors in a vignette study designed to assess how extralegal characteristics, specifically those related to mental illness, may affect the punitiveness of …

Nandworks : A Low-Cost Testbed For Interfacing Onfi-Compatible Nand Flash Memory Devices, Mark Scheidker

Theses

NAND flash memory is the basis for modern digital storage, but direct access to raw flash functionality remains difficult due to limitations in available interface tools. Industrial characterization systems can issue low-level commands but are prohibitively expensive for most researchers and students. USB-based bit-banging tools lack the timing fidelity needed for certain experiments. This thesis introduces NANDWorks, a testbed based on the Raspberry Pi 4 that provides direct access to ONFI-compatible NAND flash devices via GPIO bit-banging in Linux user space, building on prior work for the Terasic DE1-SoC platform. NANDWorks has a layered software stack that includes a hardware …

Observations Of Internal Boundary Layers And Near-Surface Wind Estimation During The Landfalls Of Hurricanes Ida (2021), Zeta (2020), And Laura (2020), Zebulon W. Leffler

Theses

Accurately estimating near-surface winds during hurricane landfalls is crucial for enhancing situational awareness and facilitating post-storm recovery efforts. Previous studies have used coastal radar Velocity Azimuth Display (VAD) winds to estimate 10-m winds during hurricane landfalls; however, a notable weak bias was observed. This work demonstrates that the significant weak bias results from neglecting the wind structure within a shallow internal boundary layer (IBL). Results from an operational radar VAD analysis during the landfalls of Hurricanes Ida (2021) and Zeta (2020) indicate that leveraging the IBL winds is essential for accurate 10-m wind estimates during hurricane landfalls. Additionally, a theoretical …

Impact Of Oxidative Stress On Mapk Signaling In Human Pancreatic Ductal Cell Line, Alexis Fink

Theses

The main processes linked to diabetes (type 1 or type 2) and obesity are impaired insulin production and glucose intolerance. The imbalance between antioxidant defense systems and oxygen-reactive species are known as oxidative stress. Understanding oxidative stress and its substantial effects on diabetes is crucial. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can activate mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). We hypothesize that altered MAPK phosphorylation and hence downstream signaling is associated with changes in oxidative stress in the human pancreatic duct epithelial cell line (H6C7). While H6C7 cells are often engineered to be cancerous precursors, the natural phenotype of these cells and their expression …

Optical Turbulence Estimation From Numerical Weather Prediction Models: Methods And Error Analysis, Richard Minor

Theses

Optical turbulence plays a critical role in electromagnetic wave propagation through the atmosphere, directly affecting imaging systems, wireless communications, and high-energy laser (HEL) performance. Realistic three-dimensional characterization of atmospheric turbulence is essential for understanding these impacts, particularly within the atmospheric surface layer, where turbulence is often strongest. The refractive index structure parameter, Cn2, is used to quantify optical turbulence. This thesis evaluates the capability of the High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model to characterize surface layer Cn2. As the highest resolution and most frequently updated numerical weather prediction model covering the continental US, HRRR offers strong potential for operational HEL …

Intercomparison Of Remote Sensing Methods For Calculating Cn² Profiles, Isaiah Joseph Montgomery

Theses

Propagation of electromagnetic waves through the atmosphere is affected by turbulence. The impact of turbulence on wave propagation is characterized by the refractive index structure function (Cn²), which characterizes the intensity of fluctuations of the refractive index of air due to turbulence. Observations of vertical profiles of Cn² are essential for evaluating numerical model predictions. This study presents an intercomparison of Cn² derived from multiple ground-based remote sensing systems, including 915 MHz profiler, sodar, and a parameterized method that uses doppler wind lidar and radiometer. Results indicate that the sodar is the most accurate near- surface Cn² profiler, but above …

Mapping Cave Vulnerability And Priority Areas For Biospeleological Conservation, C. Lael Anderson

Theses

Alabama contains some of the highest levels of subterranean biodiversity in North America, yet no statewide assessment of cave vulnerability has previously been conducted. A spatially explicit vulnerability assessment was developed for Alabama caves using species occurrence records, landscape characteristics, anthropogenic threat data, and groundwater vulnerability metrics. Distribution maps were generated for cave- obligate and bat species, and vulnerability was assessed using human population, land- use, groundwater quality, groundwater quantity, and modified DRASTIK models. Results identified numerous single-site endemic species, regional biodiversity hotspots, and cave systems facing elevated anthropogenic threats. Conservation priority rankings highlighted species and caves of greatest management …

Effects Of Energetic State On Male Mating Preferences In Poeciliid Fishes With Differing Mating Strategies, Katherine E. Taylor

Theses

Reproduction is energetically costly, making condition (i.e., energetic state) a potential factor in shaping reproductive behavior. However, its role in male mate choice remains largely unexplored. Here, we investigate condition-dependent effects on male mate choice in two species of Poeciliids: one coercive species (Gambusia affinis) and one courting species (Xiphophorus hellerii). Diet treatments were used to manipulate male and female conditions, and male preferences were assessed in dichotomous-choice tests using animated female stimuli. X. hellerii males showed a preference for high-condition females, whereas G. affinis males showed no overall net preference. Diet influenced preference in G. affinis, with high-fed males …

Experiencing Followership: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of Executive Assistants In Higher Education, Trina R. Smith

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The burgeoning study of followership needs more follower-centric qualitative research that describes follower beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and experiences. The traditional view of leadership is that a single person is responsible for the success or failure of a project, team, or organization. However, scholars have suggested that 80% of the success of a team or organization may be attributed to followership. Followership research is rapidly expanding, and scholars are calling for more empirical follower-centric research to add to the discipline. Likewise, the executive assistant (EA) position is one of increasing responsibility, but there are few empirical studies on EAs' experiences across …

Comprehensive Performance Evaluation Of Devops Infrastructure Under Dynamic Workloads, Abdulrazaq Mamud

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This research aims to investigate performance optimization and reliability issues related to cloud-based computing environments through an analysis of three key infrastructure components: virtualized CPU resource management, distributed API rate limiting, and web server deployment architectures. This research combines machine learning and system experimentation as a way of exploring the impact of infrastructure-level behaviors on overall system performance and scalability. The first component of the research focuses on analyzing CPU Fragmentation in Virtualized Environments, where unbalanced workload allocation on Virtual CPU Cores causes increased tail latency, resulting in Service Level Agreement violations. Metrics are analyzed using the Random Forest classifier …

Examining The Multilevel Effects Of Instructional Leadership On Teachers’ Professional Commitment And Classroom Management, Nuruddin Ahmed Masud, San Su Su San, Kim Ki Bong, Mst Taherun Nesa Subarna

Georgia Educational Researcher

This study examined the multilevel effects of instructional leadership on teachers’ professional commitment and classroom management in secondary schools. Using a multilevel modeling (MLM) approach, data were collected from 250 teachers nested within 8 schools. The analysis assessed the influence of both school-level instructional leadership and teachers’ perceptions of leadership on professional commitment and classroom management outcomes.

Results indicated that instructional leadership at both levels significantly predicted teachers’ professional commitment (teacher-level: β = .32, p < .001; school-level: β = .45, p < .001). Similarly, instructional leadership demonstrated significant positive effects on classroom management (teacher-level: β = .28, p < .001; school-level: β = .41, p < .001). Furthermore, teacher professional commitment was positively associated with classroom management (β = .36, p < .001) and moderated the relationship between instructional leadership and classroom management, such that the effect was stronger under higher levels of leadership support.

These findings highlight the importance of instructional leadership in shaping teacher-related outcomes across organizational levels. The study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence …

The Ambitions Of History And Tradition In And Beyond The Second Amendment, Joseph Blocher, Reva B. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the ambitions of history-and-tradition review in and beyond the Second Amendment. In Bruen and Rahimi, the Roberts Court rejected means-end review in favor of a historical-analogical approach, claiming to constrain the exercise of judicial discretion and thus to promote the democratic decisions of the founders. But our examination of these cases shows that the Court has created new opportunities for judges to advance their values in considerably less transparent ways. We identify contexts in which Second Amendment doctrine enables judicial discretion, key among them that it allows judges to reason about gun rights and regulation at disparate …

Drawing And The Pursuit Of Progress In The Late 19th-Century Dominican Republic, Felix V. Rodriguez Suero

Faculty Publications – Art

Eugenio Maria de Hostos, with the support of late 19th-century Dominican liberals, spearheaded the transition from scholastic education to an education grounded on scientific principles and liberal ideals. Through the discussion of four fundamental principles for drawing instruction in Hostos’s educational project, I examine why teaching young people drawing skills was central to his anticolonial political project. Drawing from decolonial and critical frameworks, I analyze the connection between art classes in schools and the political struggles to democratize and modernize Dominican society. I argue that, despite seemingly good intentions, the influence of Western philosophy and 19th-century scientific rationalism led Hostos …

Does Auditor Quality Enhance Csr Disclosure?, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald J. Lobo, Yanping Xu

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We investigate the relation between auditor quality and client firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure. Using an international sample of firms from 36 countries over the period 2009–2018 and a measure of the extent of CSR disclosure from Bloomberg, we find strong evidence that client firms with higher quality auditors provide more CSR disclosure. In cross-sectional analyses, we show that the relation between auditor quality and CSR disclosure is accentuated when the information environment is poorer and when the financial reporting environment and the legal institutions are weaker. Lastly, we document that firms with higher quality auditors also exhibit better …

Eagle Accountant - 2026, Georgia Southern University

Eagle Accountant

• Accounting Advisory Council
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A Narrative Review Of The Central Neural Control Of Swallowing And Its Implications For Dysphagia Rehabilitation, Kuo-Chang Wei, Tyng-Guey Wang, Ming-Yen Hsiao

Rehabilitation Practice and Science

Swallowing is controlled by a distributed neural network spanning the brainstem central pattern generator, subcortical modulatory circuits, and cortical regions responsible for volitional planning and sensorimotor integration. Evidence from lesion studies, neuroimaging, and neurophysiology demonstrates that dysphagia arises from disruptions at different nodes of this network, producing lesion-specific impairment profiles rather than a uniform swallowing deficit. This network-based perspective has shifted rehabilitation from predominantly compensatory management toward mechanism-driven interventions aimed at restoring physiological function. Behavioral skill-training and resistance-based exercises harness motor learning and cortical plasticity, whereas neuromodulatory approaches—including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), pharyngeal electrical …

Experience And Barriers In Pediatric Dysphagia Rehabilitation: A Quantitative Survey Study, François-Xavier Brajot, Ai-Ju Wu, Pao-Chuan Torng

Rehabilitation Practice and Science

Purpose: Despite an important need for health care services targeting pediatric dysphagia, there exist a number of barriers to doing so, including workforce competence. The current study surveyed practicing Speech-Language Pathologists to determine (1) the importance of pediatric dysphagia in their caseload, (2) the adequacy of existing educational resources, and (3) perceived barriers to providing quality care in Taiwan.

Methods: An anonymous survey was completed by Speech-Language Pathologists working in Taiwan. Responses were analyzed with respect to current work setting, experience, preparation, and perceived barriers.

Results: Survey results from 122 respondents indicated that the pediatric dysphagia caseload is unexpectedly low …

Bridging The Gap Between Function-Based And Iddsi Standards In Dysphagia Care, Chien-Hui Cheng

Rehabilitation Practice and Science

No abstract provided.

Disability And Accessibility In The Voice Studio: An Open Educational Resource, Katherine Meizel, Anne Slovin

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

What's The Point Of Reparation?, Daniel Fryer

Articles

Despite its ancient history in philosophical and legal thought, importance to progressive social movements, and relative simplicity as a notion of fairness—if you break something, you ought to fix it—reparative justice is largely misunderstood. This is problematic given increasing calls for reparation from historically disadvantaged groups. Rather than assessing the validity of these claims, this Article addresses a fundamentally antecedent issue: what’s the point of reparation? Rejecting arguments that claim reparation is about compensation, supplementing distributive justice, and reconciliation, I argue that the point of reparation is to repair unjust social relations created by past wrongdoing. The relational theory of …

Seasonal And Geographic Trends In Photodynamic Therapy And Cryosurgery Use In The United States: A Cross-Sectional Study From 2015-2022., Dawn Merritt, Jon Lyons, Mouna Mikati, Christian Geils, Todd Schlesinger

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

BACKGROUND: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective field treatment for actinic keratoses (AKs). It is an ideal option for patients who prefer a minimally invasive procedure conveniently administered in their physician's office. Anecdotal clinician insights suggest that it may not be used at the same rate year-round.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates whether PDT and cryosurgery usage is affected by season and geographic location in the United States.

METHODS: The data source is an aggregate of closed and open United States medical procedural claims (

RESULTS: PDT utilization is affected by season and geographic location. Procedural claims peak during cooler months …

Exploring Religious-Spiritual Struggles Among Muslim Immigrants In The Canadian Context, Ayse Erenay

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Migration to a new culture and adaptation to a different lifestyle may cause emotional and psychological stress. In some cases, immigrants may experience religious and/or spiritual (R/S) struggles due to challenges to their beliefs and practices in the country they have immigrated to. Based on Pargament (2007, 2013)’s R/S struggle framework, these struggles may include questions about the ultimate meaning of life, one’s relationship with God, or doubt about one’s belonging within a religious or spiritual community. Muslim immigrants face unique struggles since Islamic teachings require Muslims to visibly practice their faith and reflect on God’s presence as a central …

Is Prosocial Behavior A Unique Correlate Of Academic Success In Emerging Adulthood?, Jacqueline Di Biase

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Prior developmental research has frequently linked prosocial behavior to stronger academic functioning during childhood and adolescence (Cruz et al., 2024; Gerbino et al., 2018; Oberle et al., 2022), yet its relevance to academic success in emerging adulthood remains unclear. Guided by a Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework, the present study sought to address gaps in emerging adulthood research by examining the academic relevance of prosocial behavior while accounting for influential developmental assets and testing its independent contribution to academic achievement. Undergraduate students (N = 501) completed a cross-sectional self-report survey assessing prosocial behavior, self-control, dutifulness, sociability, and cumulative grade …

Mixed Methods Insights Into Understandings Of And Stigma Towards Autism In Children And Young Adults, Natalia Gc Van Esch

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

BACKGROUND: Autism is widely stigmatized and misunderstood. Existing research using methods such as questionnaires finds that autistic individuals are often evaluated more negatively than their non-autistic counterparts. Unfortunately, this approach provides limited insight into the underlying representations of autism that individuals hold. The present study seeks to examine how children and adults define, describe, and represent autism, and how these representations relate to stigma. METHODS: In Part I, children participated in a semi-structured interview in which they defined autism and created autistic and non-autistic characters using a guided character-building task. Children then rated their characters on a series of social …

Fear Across The Map: A Cross-Municipal Analysis Of Fear Of Crime In Canada, Muhammad Ali

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study examines the predictors of fear of crime (FOC) across three Canadian municipalities: Hamilton, Ontario; Brantford, Ontario; and North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Data from 1,956 survey responses were analyzed to understand how certain factors shape FOC across different municipal contexts in Canada. This study uses descriptive statistics, reliability analyses, correlation matrices, and Ordinary Least Squares regression models to examine whether FOC, and the predictors of FOC, operate consistently across municipalities. The findings indicate that the predictors of FOC are relatively reliable across municipal contexts. However, the influence of the predictors of FOC can vary across municipalities. Importantly, the level of …

Timing, Targets, And Teaching: How Employee Help-Seeking Influences Downward Knowledge Sharing, Nicholle E. Kovach

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Knowledge sharing between managers and employees is critical for employee development and organizational performance. However, managers differ in whether they share knowledge, and in the type of knowledge shared. While solution-oriented knowledge offers immediate answers to improve short-term performance, process-oriented knowledge promotes long-term learning and employee development. The purpose of my dissertation is to investigate factors that influence managers’ knowledge-sharing decisions.

I conduct two studies to investigate my predictions. In Study 1, I examine how the timing of employee help-seeking requests, the source of performance targets and employee historical performance influence the type and quality of managers’ knowledge-sharing responses. Drawing …

Mapping Climate Risks & Building Resilience: A Participatory Approach To Harvester Safety In Kakisa, Nwt., Susan Kerubo Ombwori

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation (KTFN) community in the Northwest Territories is experiencing rapid environmental changes which are driven by climate change. These changes are threatening the community’s food security. The community is seeing a disruption to its traditional land-based food systems due to increasing climate risks such as unpredictable weather, thawing permafrost, wildfires, and flooding. These changes are reducing access to traditional foods and intensifying threats to harvester safety. Building on the existing relationship with the community through previous projects, this thesis examines the impacts of climate risks on the availability and access of the KTFN’s on the land …