Digital Commons Network^™

Hooked On Sight: Teen With Eye Trauma, Anjeza Cipi, Emily Sealy

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Publications

[Case presentation] A 14-year-old male with no prior ocular history presented to the emergency department after accidentally striking his left eye on a metal garden hook while on vacation. He experienced a brief flash of light but denied floaters, vision changes, pain, or diplopia. Visual acuity was 20/20 bilaterally with correction. Pupils were equal and reactive, intraocular pressures were normal, and extraocular movements were intact. The injury noted is seen in Figures 1 and 2. There was no evidence of scleral penetration or foreign body on slit lamp examination. Intraocular pressure measurements were deferred until globe rupture was ruled out …

On Disciplining States, Aziz Z. Huq

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Yes, The Founders Were Originalists, William Baude

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

Jonathan Gienapp’s Against Constitutional Originalism accuses originalism of a kind of self- defeat, arguing that the Founders weren’t really originalists. But like Jefferson Powell’s sim- ilar argument forty years ago, which encouraged a shift from original intent to original meaning, Gienapp’s work may only help along a similar shift, this time from original mean- ing to our original law.

Gienapp makes four main claims: that the Founders’ Constitution wasn’t conventional law; that the Founders couldn’t agree on how to read it; that much of their fundamental law was unwritten; and that no originalist theory can account for this. As we …

Framed By Education: Labeling, Stigma, And The Behavioral Pathways Of Alternative School Students, Abigail Dempsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alternative education has emerged as a critical part of the education system, addressing the needs of students who face academic, behavioral, or personal challenges. However, concerns persist about their long-term effectiveness and the stigma associated with alternative school placements. This study examines how stigma tied to alternative school placements impacts delinquency outcomes among adolescents, utilizing labeling theory as a conceptual framework. Drawing on longitudinal data from the Pathways to Desistance dataset, this research explores the relationships between school placement, self-perception of success, and delinquent behaviors. It also serves to investigate whether labeling of an alternative school placement creates a self-fulfilling …

Voltage-Dependent Anion-Selective Channels 1 And 2 Wild Type And Mutant Bh3-Like Domain Peptides: Analysis Of Secondary Structure And Binding Stoichiometry To Recombinant Bax, Mackense Kathleen Greico

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates Bax binding to voltage-dependent anion-selective channels (VDAC1 and VDAC2) N-terminal 26-mer peptides, which have strong sequence homology to BH3 domains, to assess binding stoichiometries, affinities, residues involved in binding, and the potential role of peptide secondary structure in this process. Peptide helical content was assessed without or with Fos12 detergent using circular dichroism spectroscopy. Fluorescent-tagged peptides were used to assess binding affinities and stoichiometries to recombinant Bax, after correction for non-specific binding using bovine serum albumin. Affinities for VDAC1 and VDAC2 were three- to six-fold, respectively, lower than for the Bim BH3 domain, but all three peptides …

Resilience Imagined In The Mississippi Delta: Exploring Housing, Education, And Community Adaptation In Mississippi’S Internal Colonies, Semonti Jannat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of housing insecurity on educational attainment and community resilience in Cartersville, Mississippi, a historically marginalized community in the Mississippi Delta. Utilizing a qualitative research design, the study draws from in-depth interviews with eleven primary caregivers, revealing the multifaceted ways in which inadequate housing conditions affect children’s learning environments, mental health, and academic performance. The findings indicate that housing instability, manifested through overcrowding, poor infrastructure, and high financial burdens, significantly disrupts students’ educational experiences, contributing to absenteeism, limited academic focus, and stress-induced underperformance.

While the study highlights the persistent socioeconomic challenges linked to the enduring legacies …

Salinity Tolerance Of Bighead Carp And Its Implications For Dispersal In The Lake Pontchartrain Ecosystem, Alan Katzenmeyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The introduction of invasive bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) into the Pearl and Pascagoula River systems via the Bonnet Carré Spillway during flood control operations poses a significant threat to these unique ecosystems. This dissertation's experiments investigated the role of salinity in limiting bighead carp dispersal, demonstrating that brackish waters do not necessarily restrict their range as previously assumed. While bighead carp exhibited no significant impairment in swimming performance in salinities at or below 5 ppt, acute and chronic exposure to salinities at 15 ppt proved lethal within 50 hours, representing a critical salinity threshold. Despite mortality at elevated salinities, the …

Opportunity Restored: Using Creative Measures To Provide Students With Academic Advancement Opportunities Lost During Covid-19, Randal Clint Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods action research study examines the Fast Track and Graduation Path (FTGP) programs—equity-focused interventions developed to offer opportunity to students who experienced academic disruption during COVID-19 emergency schooling (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). The programs targeted students retained due to socioeconomic status, learned helplessness, or the technology learning gap, rather than a lack of ability or low prior performance (Jenson, 2013; Maier & Seligman, 1976; Bower, 2019). FTGP provided structured academic pathways, daily facilitation, technology-based instruction, and character education to rebuild learner confidence and achievement (Reimer & Hill, 2022).

Quantitative data from the Edgenuity© learning platform revealed the program’s …

Optimizing Infill Density For Fabricating Novel Radio Frequency Devices Utilizing Additive Manufacturing, Bibek Kattel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, is revolutionizing radio frequency engineering. Along with rapid prototyping and fabricating complex structures, it enables varying substrate thickness and dielectric properties, which are highly beneficial for radio frequency research. However, despite its growing popularity, there’s a gap in understanding how 3D printing process parameters affect the electrical properties of the 3D printed structure. In radio frequency design, where device performance and characteristics heavily depend on electrical parameters such as relative permittivity, this hinders the consistency, repeatability, and reliability of 3D printed radio frequency devices.

This research addressed this gap by investigating the relationship …

Exploring Simplified Reservoir Computing Systems For Resource-Constrained Edge Ai Hardware, Ziyi Niu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Echo State Networks (ESNs) have emerged as a promising paradigm for modeling complex temporal dynamics due to their unique architecture in which only the output weights require training, while the recurrent internal reservoir remains fixed. This characteristic significantly reduces training complexity and computation time, making ESNs particularly attractive for real-time processing and resource-constrained, low-power hardware implementations. However, conventional ESNs typically employ the computationally demanding hyperbolic tangent (tanh) activation function within the reservoir neurons, which poses challenges for efficient hardware realization. To address this limitation, recent research has focused on exploring alternative lightweight activation functions—including Logistic, Tent, tanh-Linear, ReLU, and Quadratic …

The Characterization Of Radiation Forces Using Tunable Acoustic Lenses, Sina Rostami

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the design, analysis, and optimization of tunable acoustic lenses with a primary focus on beamforming, dynamic focusing, and the generation of limited diffraction beams. The study examines the performance of four-channel and six-channel lenses in producing highly controlled ultrasonic fields with minimal diffraction. Numerical simulations and experimental validation are used to demonstrate how these lenses effectively form focused beams that maintain spatial coherence over a range of distances.

A systematic comparison between the four-channel and six-channel lenses is performed at multiple focal configurations (5.5 cm, 7.8 cm, and 10.0 cm). The results show that both lens types …

The Daily Choices And Personality Quiz: Designing And Testing A New Manipulation Of Masculinity Threat, Caitlin M. Shaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Boys receive unique messaging about their gender identity from an early age, including that they must avoid anything associated with femininity (Blakemore, 2003). Failure to follow this group norm is usually met with punishment or ridicule (Kane, 2006; Katz, 2020). Unsurprisingly, this socialization might teach boys that manhood is not guaranteed. Precarious manhood theory (Vandello & Bosson, 2013) argues that manhood–but not womanhood–is a status that must be socially earned, but can be revoked, making it “precarious.” Since the theory’s inception, researchers have explored ways to experimentally examine the consequences of “lost manhood” using masculinity threat paradigms which describe men …

Efficient Hierarchical Design In Reservoir Computing, Shuai Song

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reservoir Computing (RC) has established itself as a compelling paradigm for modeling complex temporal dynamics, particularly owing to its efficient training regime, theoretical grounding in dynamical systems, and growing compatibility with hardware-oriented deployments. Among RC variants, Echo State Networks (ESNs) remain popular due to their simplicity and effectiveness; however, traditional ESNs with densely connected, randomly initialized reservoirs present inherent limitations in scalability, energy efficiency, and hardware realizability challenges that hinder their adoption in edge and embedded intelligence scenarios.

In this work, we present an efficient hierarchical reservoir computing framework that integrates three complementary strategies: (1) deterministic Simple Cycle Reservoirs (SCRs) …

1:1 Ipad Implementation & Standardized Testing, Kristen Lane Whitehead Zemek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the relationship between 1:1 iPad implementation and student performance on the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) standardized tests. As school districts increasingly adopt 1:1 technology initiatives, it is critical to understand their impact on key academic outcomes. This research examines the extent to which the consistent use of iPads in the learning environment influences student achievement in core subjects. By analyzing test score data from schools with established 1:1 iPad programs, this paper seeks to provide empirical evidence to inform educational stakeholders, administrators, and policymakers. The findings aim to contribute to the broader discourse on technology integration …

“Listen To The Angels Shouting”: Witnessing, Erasure, And The Legacy Of John Wesley Work Iii, Kennedy Uselton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Questions surrounding the relationship between erasure, music, and memory are deeply embedded within contemporary academic discourse. Music and its makers are continually remembered, forgotten, rediscovered, and lost. How we frame these conversations about memory is especially critical when considering the legacy and cultural remembrance of the Blues. This includes acknowledging that the truth of musical memory extends beyond the artists themselves—it includes those who document, study, and shape how the Blues is archived, interpreted, and narrated. This thesis addresses these questions of memory and erasure through a reconsideration of the figure of John Wesley Work III (1901–1967), a Black scholar, …

A Model For Understanding Anxiety And Practices To Alleviate It As It Relates To Divine Sovereignty And Human Free Will, Patrick K. Prentice

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the lack of practices that address emotional anxiety in rural church attendees in Southwestern Iowa caused by the apparent absence of control over situations that require trusting divine sovereignty or human free will. The research theorized that the anxiety of rural church attendees in Southwestern Iowa is caused by inadequate control over adverse situations. As a result, adverse impacts were always considered harmful. However, according to Scripture, what an individual perceives as harmful is always used by God for their good in some manner. Thus, anxiety seems rooted in a desire to avoid perceived harm rather …

Barriers To Churches Understanding How They Are Impacted By White Supremacy Culture, Pamela R. Ngunjiri

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem this project addressed was the barriers to Christian churches' understanding how they are impacted by white supremacy culture. The research identified themes that hinder racial equity and arrived at recommendations on how to disentangle white supremacy culture and the Christian Church. Biblical and theological resources were utilized to provide support for the scriptural foundation of the Christian faith, and current literature provided scholarly backing to identify the barriers to understanding the possibility of the entanglement of Christian churches and white supremacy culture. Conclusions reached included that the same foundational faith among folks of different races/color, results in a …

How Effective Structured Linguistic Phonics Instruction In K-2 Classrooms Support Early Literacy Development, Madison G. Dorn

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This literature review explores what current research shows about how young children learn to read and what kinds of instruction best support students in kindergarten through second grade. The studies make it clear that early readers benefit from structured, explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, and letter–sound relationships. Researchers such as Ehri and the National Reading Panel demonstrate that helping children connect the sounds they hear to the print they see is essential for building strong decoding and word recognition skills. Several intervention studies highlight how small-group instruction, intentional modeling, and consistent routines can significantly help struggling learners. The review …

The Effects Of A Seizure Safety Program Implemented In Non-Public Schools On Teacher Knowledge And Confidence In Managing Seizures, Laura Brockman

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study investigated the impact of a seizure safety training program implemented in non-public schools on teachers’ knowledge and confidence in managing seizures. Utilizing a pre-course, post-course, and three-week follow-up design, the research assessed educators' seizure-related knowledge, first-aid preparedness, and shifts in perception through quantitative questionnaires and self-reported confidence measures. Results demonstrated increased knowledge and confidence immediately following the intervention, with retention sustained at follow-up. Both live and virtual formats were effective, though virtual participants showed slightly higher immediate post-training scores. Participants reported reduced misconceptions and increased preparedness, emphasizing the value of structured and recurring professional development. These findings support …

Choice Of Law In The American Courts In 2024: Thirty-Eighth Annual Survey, John F. Coyle, William S. Dodge, Aaron D. Simowitz

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This is the Thirty-Eighth Annual Survey of American Choice-of-Law Cases. It was written at the request of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Conflict of Laws. It is intended as a service to fellow teachers and to students of conflicts law, both inside and outside of the United States. Its purpose remains to inform, rather than to advocate. This Survey covers cases decided by American state and federal appellate courts during 2024.

More Than What You Say: Nonverbal Communication In The 21st Century, Stephanie Montgomery

Textbooks

Nonverbal communication is a distinct form of communication, transcending the spoken word. It is communication through our gestures, eye behavior, vocalics, and body language. Nonverbal communication is often misinterpreted, though, because accurate interpretation depends on a variety of skills. This is not an easy or natural ability. However, with education, awareness, and training, errors can be minimized.

Pro-Government Militias And Political Instability: The Consequences Of Outsourced Regime Security, Ben J.A. Leo

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

The state is often conceptualized as an entity with a monopoly over the use of force within some set borders. Yet, more and more frequently, states allow or deliberately create friendly non-state military organizations. Five-hundred and four of these groups, known as Pro-Government Militias (PGMs), were observed between 1981 and 2014 and were present in a little more than thirty percent of country-years in that timeframe (Carey et al. 2022). Moreover, while some groups are relatively small and weak, many constitute a considerable military force within their country and beyond. For example, the Xinjiang Construction Corps in China, which maintains …

How Sleep Disorders And Sleep Duration Impact Memory, Alexandria J. Sims

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

INTRODUCTION: Sleep duration and sleep disorders can cause changes in memory function as populations age. Previous studies have shown that disordered sleep is associated with increased risk of cognitive dysfunction and long and short sleep durations can cause memory impairment. This study studies aims to find if there is an association between sleep disorders and sleep duration and the impacts on memory.

METHODS: In this study, 3,478 participants aged 60 year and older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2014 dataset were included in adjusted and unadjusted models, comparing the sleep disorders and sleep duration exposures to …

Comparative Effects Of Low- And High- Tech Visual Activity Schedules On Transition Latency In Young Children With Autism, Mikayla Nelson

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Low-technology (low-tech) and high-technology (high-tech) visual activity schedules (VAS) were implemented for transitions with three kindergarten males diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). An alternating treatment design was used to compare the latency of transitions from a preferred activity to an academic task after presenting a low- or high-tech VAS. Results indicated different effects between participants. Low-tech VAS was effective for one participant, and high-tech VAS was not effective for any participants in this study. Implications and further research are discussed regarding the importance of creating VAS on an individual basis, ensuring that each VAS meets an individual's communication and …

You’Re On Fire: Social Skills Training To Increase Sportsmanship For Teenagers With Disabilities, Madeline K. Wainwright

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

This study presents findings from a multiple probe design that evaluated the effects of social skills training as a method of teaching an increase of good sportsmanship, more particularly compliments of gameplay, for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The research included three U.S. high school students with intellectual disabilities and the data was analyzed across conditions. Following mastery criterion, generalization sessions across contexts were conducted. All participants acquired complimenting behavior through social skills training. However, none of the participants were able to generalize the skill to different contexts. Results and directions for future research regarding generalization in replication and use of …

How Do Couples Of Autistic Children Perceive Their Quality Of Life? A Case Study Featuring Sequential Mixed Methodology, Amanda Duncan Dr.

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Families who have autistic children report significantly lower quality of life indicators than neurotypical families and those with other developmental disabilities (Bitsika & Sharpley, 2004; Brown et al., 2006; Charnsil & Bathia, 2010; De Sousa, 2010; Merkaj et al., 2013). However, the reports fluctuate between family members as mothers report more mental health challenges than fathers, including stress, anxiety, and depression (Dabrowska & Pstiula, 2010; Hodapp et al., 2003; Merkaj et al., 2013). Yet, these findings are based on the limited research that has been done on fathers and couples (Cheuk & Lashewicz, 2015; Osborne & Reed, 2008; Papageorgiou & …

Assessing The Content Validity And Usability Of An Implementation Fidelity Checklist For The Assessment, Evaluation, And Programming System, 3rd Edition (Aeps-3), Cameron A. Tyrrell

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The included studies examined the content validity and useability of an implementation fidelity checklist for the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System (AEPS) for Infants and Young Children 3^rd Edition (AEPS-3). Study 1 assessed a revised version of an implementation fidelity checklist for item clarity and criterion clarity. After further revisions, Study 2 asked administrators of early childhood educational programs to implement the fidelity checklist in a classroom environment and assess the clarity of items, criterion, and feasibility of scoring different items. In addition, administrators included the length of time it took the implement the checklist and the strengths and …

Exercise As An Antecedent Intervention, Alexis M. Estephan

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Special education classroom teachers often experience students demonstrating challenging behaviors causing themselves and their peers to fall off task. This study examined the effect of antecedent exercise on on-task behaviors. This exercise included modeling a dance video to assess increasing levels of duration of on-task behaviors.

Effectiveness Of Class-Wide Function Related Intervention Teams On The On-Task Behavior Of Middle School Students With Disabilities In A Resource Settings, Sharon Manikya

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The current study examined the effectiveness of Class-Wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) in promoting on-task behavior and improving classroom functioning. The study was conducted with five students, and a single-subject withdrawal experimental design was used to evaluate the impact of CW-FIT on students’ behavior. Results demonstrated a functional relation between the intervention and increased on-task behavior. Overall, findings indicated that CW-FIT had a positive effect on student behavior and classroom functioning, suggesting that the intervention is an effective strategy for enhancing engagement and promoting a productive learning environment. Implications for future research include examining CW-FIT with larger groups of students, …

Special Educator Persistence: Unveiling Teacher Perceptions, Janet Nutt

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

There is a continually growing shortage of special education teachers (SET). The shortage is so dire that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024) anticipates that as many as 35,900 new SET will be needed each year for the next decade. One of the leading factors contributing to the shortage of special educators is attrition, or any loss of teachers from their positions (Darling-Hammond, 2003; Ingersoll, 2001). Teacher persistence, therefore, is a critical concern in addressing the teacher shortage. The purpose of this mixed-methods research study is to examine the association between previously identified factors of attrition and SET decisions …