Digital Commons Network^™

“A Safe Place”: Exploring Black Couples’ Perceptions Of Black Love And Relationship Coping In The Context Of Their Lived Experiences With Racism, Melinda Murdock

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Historically, Black couples have not been studied within the context of their lived experiences as it relates to the effects of racism on relationship health. Only in the last decade have relationship scholars begun to consistently link racism-related stressors to relationship processes and outcomes. Despite the growing literature, recent studies are primarily quantitative in method and rely on samples, theoretical models, and measures that predominantly represent White couples’ experiences. It remains unclear how Black couples’ perceptions of love and relationship coping lead to resilient outcomes despite the negative effects of racism.

Therefore, the goal of the present study is to …

Voltage And Var Control And Real-Time Digital Simulator-Based Protection System Testing For Power Distribution Systems, Gaurav Yadav

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

Rising power demand calls for electric distribution systems to manage peak load. One option is reducing feeder voltage, which lowers voltage-dependent load demand and may also reduce energy usage. The technique, known as Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR), may operate independently or within a volt/var control system. This dissertation examines CVR factor calculation using measurements collected at the substation, and proposes a curve-fitting and artificial neural network method to estimate active power losses using input active power, reactive power, and substation voltage. As utilities integrate more inverter-based resources (IBRs) to support increasing demand, rapid voltage fluctuations arise due to the intermittent …

Cordon-Metering Rules For Present-Day And Future Cities, Xiaopeng Li, Yang Li, Heye Huang

Research Reports

Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) play a pivotal role in alleviating urban road network congestion. This study adopts a macroscopic approach to identify strategies for using CAVs to ease traffic congestion and reduce energy consumption. Specifically, this study proposes an Area Transmission Model (ATM) based on Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) suitable for city-level network applications. It also presents a macro-optimization control strategy that utilizes speed advisories to modulate traffic flow across the network, thereby ensuring effective congestion management and enhanced energy efficiency. By employing the city of Madison as a case study, the research examines the optimal speed advisory solution. …

Precipitation, Perceptions, And Participation: An Analysis Of Individual Perceptions Of Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority's Cloud Seeding Pilot Program And Suggestions For Public Outreach And Communications, Rachel A. Rowlee

Pitzer Senior Theses

Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification intended to increase the amount of precipitation by introducing a seeding agent. The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) has implemented a four-year cloud seeding pilot program utilizing silver iodide as a seeding agent during rain storm events. Over the last year, SAWPA received various feedback, much of which exists in the social media realm. This research consists of open-ended interviews with water resource managers, SAWPA employees, and individuals expressing disapproval of the program on social media and Instagram comment analyses. Interview and comment analyses are put into conversation with the theory …

Influences Of Sex, Alcohol, And Stress On Conditioned Fear Responses, Heyam K. Mayberry

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Learned fear responses are acquired through the identification and association of threatening stimuli with aversive outcomes. Fear responding and the proper maintenance of defensive behaviors is integral to survival. However, without the homeostasis of such systems, fear responses can become maladaptive and lead to dysregulated behavioral responding. Psychological conditions such as alcohol use disorder (AUD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often lead to impairments in fear learning, deficits in fear memory, and heightened fear responses. While there are clear sex differences in the prevalence of both AUD and PTSD, development of either disorder increases the risk for comorbid AUD/PTSD, leading …

Impacts Of School-Based Agricultural Education On The Resilience Of Senior Appalachian High School Students Living In Economically Disadvantaged Counties In Kentucky And Virginia, Ruth D. Toole

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

Students in Central Appalachia, particularly those in economically disadvantaged (ED) counties, may face unique risks related to their geographic and socioeconomic circumstances. However, school-based and youth development programs have been shown to foster resilience among youth. This convergent mixed-methods study aimed to explore whether involvement in School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) can enhance youth resilience. Data were collected through a resilience questionnaire and semi-structured focus group interviews, which were analyzed, interpreted, and integrated to uncover key findings. Results indicated that participants living in ED areas exhibited relatively high resilience scores. Focus group discussions revealed that, despite the challenges they face, participants …

Jasmine Mata Diaz Honors Portfolio, Jasmine Mata Diaz

Honors Capstone Portfolios

Jasmine Mata Diaz's honors portfolio captured in May 2025.

Addressing Ai Usage In Your Course Syllabus: A Guide For Faculty, Diana Almodovar Ph.D.

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Attracting Secondary Public School Teachers Through Servant Leadership In South Carolina, Chetara Lee

Dissertations

This study investigated the impact servant leader administrators have on the recruitment of secondary public-school teachers in South Carolina. The purpose of this study was to identify effective servant leadership behaviors that align with teacher recruitment. This research sought to enhance the existing body of knowledge on servant leadership in education by offering a comprehensive understanding of how school leaders can recruit career changers as teachers by aligning their servant leadership behaviors with the motivations of prospective educators for transitioning into teaching.

This research assessed 16 secondary public-school teachers and 3 school district HR personnel employed within various school districts …

Long Covid And Vulnerability To Climate Change’S Health Effects: An Informational Booklet For Healthcare Settings, Rachel Nussbaum

Public Health Theses

According to the World Health Organization, around 10–20% of people infected by COVID-19 may go on to develop symptoms that can be diagnosed as Long COVID, also known as the post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). While the risk of Long Covid among people who received the primary vaccine series fell to 3.5% in one study, as of September 2024, over 1.3 million Americans were being infected with SARS-CoV-2 every day, and reinfections increase the likelihood of experiencing Long Covid in some studies. Continued transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has led to roughly 400 million people experiencing infection-associated chronic conditions, creating an accumulating …

Effect Of Wildfire Smoke Pm2.5 On Preterm Birth Outcomes: A Generalized Synthetic Control Analysis Of Preterm Births In The Contiguous United States From 2006 To 2020, Alexandra Maria Nechaev

Public Health Theses

Wildfire activity has intensified across the United States due to climate change, contributing to rising levels of smoke-attributable fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in ambient air. Wildfire-specific PM2.5 is linked to adverse health outcomes, including increased risk of preterm birth, a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Despite growing concern, few studies have applied quasi-experimental methods to evaluate the causal effects of wildfire-attributable PM2.5 on preterm birth across large, diverse populations and geographical areas. This study estimated the effect of wildfire-specific PM2.5 exposure on preterm birth rates across all counties in the contiguous United States from 2006 to 2020 using …

Enhancing Disease Surveillance In Conflict Settings: An Ecological Case Study On Cholera In Sudan At The Intersection Of Environmental And Conflict Drivers, Kinsey Medlin

Public Health Theses

Cholera outbreaks are complex and driven by an interaction of environmental circumstances and conflict-related disruptions, yet few studies have integrated both in the context of conflict regions. This ecological study examines cholera transmission dynamics in Sudan from 2016 to 2025, exploring temporal associations using cross-correlation analysis and applying generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) to analyze the influence of remotely sensed environmental variables (rainfall, temperature, NDVI, NDWI) and conflict indicators (civilian targeting, political violence, demonstrations) on cholera cases. Weekly cholera surveillance data, combined with satellite-derived environmental variables and conflict event datasets, were modeled across two time periods: pre-conflict (2016-2018) and active …

A Framework For Icu Culture In Australia & New Zealand, Smriti Sukesh Kumar

Public Health Theses

Organizational culture is increasingly recognized as a fundamental determinant of operational performance and clinical outcomes in healthcare, particularly within high-acuity settings such as Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Despite a growing body of international literature affirming this relationship, there is a paucity of context-specific evidence on the role of organizational culture within ICUs in Australia and Aotearoa, New Zealand. This absence has constrained the capacity of health systems in these regions to design and implement culture change interventions tailored to local realities. In response to this gap, this thesis offers a conceptual framework that maps domains of organizational culture hypothesized to …

Social Media Influences On Youth Substance Use, Sexual Health, And Mental Health In Paterson, New Jersey: A Rapid Qualitative Analysis, Nimisha Srikanth

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Social media use among youth has become a topic of concern among public health professionals and policymakers. Youth have grown to rely on social media for communication and entertainment, but are exposed to negative health behaviors with the potential to model them in their lives. In this study, we investigated youth’s perspectives on social media content and the impact it has on their health and lives.Methods: We conducted a rapid qualitative analysis of individual interviews of youth from Paterson, New Jersey. Among the sample (n=20), the mean age was 16 years, 80% identified as male, and 30% were justice-involved. …

Youth Views On Health Content, Ads, And Messages On Social Media, Christina Tong

Public Health Theses

This study aims to investigate youth perspectives on nutrition and healthism-related content, promotions, and messaging on social media. With the growing usage and impact of social media, especially in younger generations, it is important to recognize how social media may influence types of exposures and messaging of nutrition, weight management, and supplement-related content that youth are exposed to, which can, in turn, influence their perceptions on health and healthy lifestyles. These perspectives can then initiate engagement in helpful or harmful health behaviors. Through a qualitative analysis of focus group and interview responses of 29 Massachusetts teenagers, emerging themes were about: …

Cross-Sectional Study On The Distribution And Epidemiology Of Plasmodium Ovale Species In Asymptomatic And Symptomatic Individuals In Gulu, Uganda, Xiaohan Xu

Public Health Theses

Despite global progress in malaria control, Plasmodium ovale remains an under-recognized contributor tothe malaria burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Its ability to form dormant liver-stage hypnozoites enables silent, recurrent transmission that often escapes detection by routine diagnostics. This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence, species distribution, and clinical profile of P . ovale infections in Gulu, Uganda, comparing asymptomatic individuals from the community to symptomatic patients presenting at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital. Molecular diagnostics, including qPCR, nested PCR, and hemi-nested PCR, were used to detect and differentiate P . ovale curtisi and P . ovale wallikeri. Geographic sampling was conducted across 33 …

Missing White Woman Syndrome: Racial Bias In Media, Law Enforcement, And Forensics, Theresa Iafolla

Spectrum

No abstract provided.

Highlands Vs Lowlands: An Analysis Of Genetic Adaptations Associated With Linguistic Diversity In Papua New Guinea, Alexandra Rassias

Spectrum

No abstract provided.

Design Of Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Single Cantilever Beam For Iot Applications And Micro-Electronic Devices, Ramizi Mohamed, Amna Riaz, Mahidur R. Sarker, José Luis Olazagoitia

Artículos científicos

A few years back the power requirement of electronic devices was very high. But with the technological developments in the field of internet-based systems, the design of low-powered microelectronic devices, WSN and IoT devices became necessary. In these systems the size and the power requirement are low and in most situations the replacement of batteries is challenging. For these microelectronic and IoT devices the abundant energy harvester is very useful. Among different abundant energy resources, vibrational energy harvesting with piezoelectric cantilever beam energy harvesters is of interest. This research work presents the design and analysis of an energy harvester (EH) …

Understanding Parental Perspectives On Youth Substance Use In Urban New Jersey: A Rapid Qualitative Analysis, Mirriam Mananah

Public Health Theses

Adolescent substance use remains a significant public health issue, particularly for Black youth who face disproportionate consequences due to systemic inequities and community-level risk factors. While existing prevention programs exist, few are culturally tailored to the needs of Black families in urban environments. This thesis uses the ADAPT-ITT framework to guide the cultural adaptation of the Strong African American Families (SAAF) program, focusing on the “Assessment” phase through qualitative research.Twenty interviews were conducted with Black parents and guardians of youth aged 10–17 in Paterson and East Orange, New Jersey. Using rapid qualitative analysis, five key themes emerged: (1)Parent-Led Communication as …

Astrovascular Decoupling In Awake 5×Fad Mice Is Associated With Reduced Astrocytic Calcium, Ruei-Lung Lin, Sophiya L. Sims, Nicholas A. Wright, Léopoldine B. Galopin, Blaine Weiss, Susan D. Kraner, Jacquelyn E. Rhinehart, Ting-Hsuan Lu, Pradoldej Sompol, Christopher M. Norris, Olivier Thibault

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION

Evidence points to dysregulated Ca²⁺ in neurons and astrocytes in models of amyloidosis. While most of these data were obtained in vitro or in vivo under anesthesia, less work has investigated these variables in awake ambulating mice.

METHODS

Astrocytic Ca²⁺ fluctuations (GCaMP8f) were imaged concomitantly with vasoreactivity in S1 on a two-photon microscope during rest and ambulation. Single-cell resolution variables were extracted using continuous wavelet transform and traditional ΔF/F measures.

RESULTS

Along with increases in amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulation, we found significant reductions in measures of astrocyte functional connectivity, pairwise correlations, and network synchronicity in older 5×FAD …

Itihas Vol. 25 Issue No. 1, Sastra Univ

ITIHAS

NEWSLETTER FROM SASTRA DEEMED UNIVERSITY

Glitched Humanity: A Digital Media Arts Advocacy Project, Shelly Maloney

Teaching Resource Archive

This lesson includes an original sample project and website that directs students towards learning how to utilize digital glitch art to create advocacy or raise awareness for the social, cultural, environmental, or political issue of their choice. It is designed to engage students in critical thinking skills, cross-curricular connections, reflective writing, digital art making, group discussion, and peer review.

Artists can use video and other media sources to explore the self-destructive tendencies of human nature (i.e. violence/war, consumption, and/or carelessness/environmental neglect) or other social, cultural, or political issues using digital manipulation, layered imagery, sound, and video.

Layers Of Identity, Elizabeth Toffel

Teaching Resource Archive

Students explore identity, specifically that identity is layered, shaped by personal experience, cultural background, community ties, and unique traits. Students conduct interviews with peers, reflect on identity components, both individually and collectively, and create a layer artwork on transparent acetate sheets. When stacked the layers visually showcase the layers of the student’s identity and represent how identity is complex, constructed, and always shaped by multiple influences.

Decentral Intelligence Agency: The Law And Autonomous Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Andrew W. Torrance , Ph. D., Dr. Bill Tomlinson , Ph.D.

Touro Law Review

Artificial intelligence (“AI”) is rapidly gaining autonomy across a range of domains, such as business, education, social relationships, and warfare. This article examines the legal and policy implications of autonomous AI agents, a rapidly evolving technology that challenges existing regulatory frameworks. Drawing from tort, agency, property, contract, privacy, human rights, and constitutional law, we propose a comprehensive approach to govern these increasingly independent entities. Our analysis begins with a historical perspective, tracing both the evolution of autonomous computational systems and of legal responses to such technologies. We then conduct a comparative study of AI governance across jurisdictions, highlighting regulatory gaps …

A Framework For Ai Implementation In Construction: Use Cases, Challenges, And Benefits For Contractors, Jaqueline De Aquino Leite Gomes

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

The construction industry is one of the most important sectors that contribute to the economy worldwide, but it has been very slow in adopting digital transformation. Artificial Intelligence is the backbone of digital innovation, and it can help solve inefficiencies, improve safety, and enhance decision-making in construction. This thesis reviews 85 academic papers, identifies 354 AI use-cases, 180 benefits, and 173 challenges. Key findings have looked at the role of AI in safety monitoring, design optimization, and operational efficiency, while barriers involve data scarcity, high costs, and readiness of the workforce.

All of these challenges have one very handy framework …

History Newsletter, 2024-2025, University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Department Of History

History Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Protection And Guarantee Of Human Rights In Digital Environments, Claudia Martin, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon

American University International Law Review

We are delighted to present this year’s special issue of the American University International Law Review and the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, which includes the best essays in English and in Spanish recognized in the 2024 Human Rights Essay Award competition. It is satisfying to think that this competition allowed a number of participants an opportunity to expound their thoughts on so many important topics, regarding so many areas of the world. We hope these participants are able to use their articles as mechanisms for change.

Can Prior Censorship Be A Necessary Tool For The Protection Of Human Rights?, Leandro Leo Rebelo

American University International Law Review

Prior censorship is unequivocally interpreted by the Inter-American Human Rights System (“Inter-American System”) as a step too far in moderating expression. Except in the quite narrow circumstances allowed for under Article 13(4) of the American Convention on Human Rights (“ACHR”), the Inter-American System has reiterated that prior censorship is forbidden. However, prior censorship is widely used in social media platforms as a tool of content moderation. Should such techniques be banned, or should more exceptions be allowed in the regulation of speech?

Graduate Catalog Of Studies, 2025, University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Graduate School Catalog of Studies

No abstract provided.