Digital Commons Network^™

Legitimacy, Learning, And Launch: Exploring Relationships, Community, And Connection In An Undergraduate Research Experience, Randi J. Sims

All Dissertations

Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) are critically important methods for integrating undergraduate students into legitimate scientific practices. While widely celebrated for producing positive outcomes such as increased self-efficacy, research skills, and STEM retention, less is known about the processes through which undergraduate mentees become integrated members of their research groups and the broader scientific community. This dissertation presents findings from both a systematic literature review and a quantitative ethnographic study of a biological sciences URE at a southeastern R1 predominantly white institution (PWI). Grounded in communities of practice and legitimate peripheral participation frameworks, this study explores how undergraduate researchers build relationships, …

Teacher Self-Efficacy As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Perceived Stressors And Overall Stress During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Study Of Dominican Public-School Teachers In The Usaid Leer Project, Yira I. Vargas

All Dissertations

This study examined the predictive and moderating roles of teacher self-efficacy (TSE) in the relationship between teacher perceived COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors and overall stress among public-school teachers in the Dominican Republic. Using secondary data from the USAID Leer Project (2021), the study analyzed responses from 142 teachers who completed validated instruments measuring teacher self-efficacy (TSES), pandemic-related teacher stressors (Oros et al., 2020), and perceived stress (PSS-14). The study had three main objectives: (1) to examine whether pandemic-related stressors negatively predicted teacher self-efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management; (2) to determine whether teacher self-efficacy moderated the relationship between …

An Experimental Evaluation Of A Gamified Learning Approach To Address Bullying Knowledge, Perceptions, And Self-Efficacy Among Elementary Students: Playing Yozgoo In Albania, Sashen Rexhepaj

All Dissertations

This study evaluated the effectiveness of Yozgoo's web-based gamified educational intervention in enhancing elementary school students’ knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy related to bullying prevention in Albania. Utilizing a true experimental pre-test and post-test control group design, the study involved 120 students (ages 10-12) equally divided by gender and randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 60) or a control group (n = 60). The experimental group participated in Yozgoo gameplay sessions over six to eight weeks, while the control group engaged in standard activities without exposure to the intervention.

Three validated measures were administered to assess outcomes: …

Collective Learning In Philanthropy: Ai, Trust, And The Future Of Grant Reporting, Rachel Kimber, Valerie Ehrlich, Blanch Vance, Abigail Osei

The Foundation Review

Grant reporting has largely devolved from a learning tool to a bureaucratic exercise that reinforces power asymmetries and burdens nonprofits. As philanthropy confronts mounting crises demanding equity and transparency, reporting must transform into a space for collective sensemaking.

This paper explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI), paired with Oral and Alternate Reporting (OAR) methods, can build equitable, human-centered reporting systems. We propose the E⁴ framework — Efficiency, Effectiveness, Expansiveness, and Equity — for intentionally leveraging AI in service of more equitable reporting practices.

Traditional reporting often sidelines the expertise of nonprofit staff and communities most affected by funded programs. Drawing …

Closing The Achievement Gap: School Counselors’ Role In Enhancing College And Career Access For First-Generation Students, Conswyla J. Decoteau

All Dissertations

Professional school counselors play a vital role in supporting each student's academic, experiential, and personal growth, especially in preparing them for success in post-secondary education. Due to social, academic, and financial disadvantages, first-generation students face significant obstacles. Given that inequities persist despite efforts to improve access to higher education, this problem is important to address. To close the academic gap that first-generation students face, effective counseling programs that are sensitive to cultural differences are necessary. In order to better understand how school counselors in rural high schools may help first-generation students close the gap in access to college and careers, …

Interfaces To Enhance Performance In Human-Ai Teams Conducting Safety-Critical Military Operations: A Route Reconnaissance Use Case, Sarvesh Sawant

All Dissertations

Military teams frequently operate in hazardous and dynamic environments where they must recognize threats, act swiftly, and maintain awareness of their surroundings. To assist soldiers in identifying threats, analyzing data, and creating safer routes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are being integrated into these teams. But only when humans comprehend what AI is doing, why it is doing it, and how to collaborate with it can AI be helpful in these high-stakes missions. To enhance human-AI collaboration during military route reconnaissance missions, this dissertation explores ways to improve human-AI communication. In a route reconnaissance mission, teams of soldiers must navigate through …

Enhancing Teacher Planning Practices To Improve Teacher Self-Efficacy Through Professional Learning Communities, Philip L. Price

All Dissertations

This improvement science dissertation investigated the impact of implementing Professional Learning Communities (PLC) on teacher self-efficacy at Parkway Elementary, a Title I school serving a diverse student population with historically lower academic performance. The study addressed the problem of low teacher self-efficacy, a critical factor influencing Tier 1 instructional quality and student outcomes. Utilizing the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle, this research tested the theory that adopting a four-question framework within weekly collaborative grade-level meetings would measurably increase teacher self-efficacy. Seven teachers participated in the research, with data collected through the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale, semi-structured interviews, and PLC observations. Quantitative findings …

End-To-End Direct Current For Standalone Power Network, Eyad Ahmad Aldarsi

All Dissertations

The primary issue that faces the humanity is climate change and because of that greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions are rising. The consequences of this issue have emphasized the necessity for replacing the dominant method of electricity generation, which mostly utilizes fossil fuels, to be centered on access to all, green, low-cost, and renewable sources of energy. Currently, photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines are the two technologies so far that can convert the source of renewable energy, which is produced by sun irradiance and wind respectively, into large-scale electric power that can be distributed into the electricity grid. The work in …

Armando’S Case: Diagnostic Emergent Literacy Assessment For Children With Complex Communication Needs, Bronwyn A. Harris, Tonya R. Moore, Ashley E. Pennell

Journal of Case Learning & Exceptional Learners

This practice-based case study is designed to offer a tutorial on how to adapt an informal, diagnostic emergent literacy assessment to meet the needs of students like six-year-old Armando, a Latino, multilingual learner with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and complex communication needs (CCN) in an inclusive kindergarten classroom. Armando’s informal literacy assessment adaptations and outcomes are discussed, including descriptions of his emergent literacy skills observed through his engagement in literacy stations, small group reading instruction in his classroom, and his use of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) in both instructional and assessment settings. This case study illustrates how traditional literacy …

"Forgive Our Living And Our Dead": Colonial Warfare In The Philippines, Mattie Fitzpatrick

History

In March of 1906, American troops massacred over 1,000 Filipino civilians on Bud Dajo mountain. American service members were commended for this incident. My research examines this massacre to ask why wars of insurgency are specifically subject to abuses of power, particularly during the American-Philippines War and the ensuing colonial warfare between 1898 and 1906 under the colonization of the US. My research will focus on the circumstances created to excuse US soldiers after atrocities were committed and the colonial attitudes of the time in addition to the brutal methods used by the American government in Philippines. American colonial administrators …

Breaking Barriers For Student Success: Leading In Challenging Times, Lisa Marie Dewey

Dissertations

This study explores how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) directors in one Midwestern state understand and lead equity initiatives in K–12 public education. The purpose of the study was to examine how DEI leaders make sense of their roles and the challenges of sustaining equity work within complex and often politicized systems. Using a basic qualitative methodology, the research examined how personal identity, sociopolitical context, and organizational structures shape DEI leadership. Critical Race Theory (CRT) framed the study, centering race, power, and systemic inequity in participants’ experiences.

Seven DEI directors participated in semi-structured interviews. Three key themes emerged. First, participants’ …

The Messenger, Vol. 52, No. 2

The Messenger (archival - 1870-)

No abstract provided.

Exploring 2d Geometric Shape Classification Using Ai-Driven Feature Tables In Mathematics, Yasemin Gunpinar, Woonhee Sung

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study explored the effectiveness of an AI-integrated instructional task designed to enhance preservice teachers' understanding of the features and hierarchical relationships of 2D geometric shapes. Originally developed and tested in online K-12 professional development settings, this intervention was adapted for in-person preservice teacher education context in this study. Data were collected from 17 preservice teachers through demographic surveys, pre- and posttests using the Van Hiele geometry framework, hierarchical diagram tasks, feature table creation during the intervention, and postintervention reflections. Findings indicated a statistically significant improvement in the accuracy and complexity of postintervention hierarchical diagrams, along with a descriptively higher …

Existence, Difference, And The Nigerian Woman: A Feminist Praxis Beyond Patriarchy, Hannah Yemisi Ajewole

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the postcolonial condition of Nigerian woman through a critical philosophical engagement with feminist theory, focusing particularly on Simone de Beauvoir’s existentialism and Irigaray’s ethics of sexual difference. It interrogates the historical processes through which gender became the basis of hierarchy in the Nigerian society, arguing that colonial and patriarchal override precolonial forms of relationality—marked by dual-sex relationship and age-based hierarchies—into rigid, male-dominated structures of authority and representation. Drawing also on Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí’s critique of western gender epistemologies, the work contextualizes the Nigerian woman’s experience within a broader matrix of colonial imposition, cultural displacement, and epistemic violence. This …

Climate Change And Population Aging, Anastasia Rhule, Michele Dinman, Natalie Galucia

Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging

Glaciers are shrinking, river and lake ice is melting earlier, plant and animal habitat ranges are changing, and trees and flowers are blooming earlier. Additionally, longer and more severe heat waves are occurring. Droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall are happening at a faster rate than previously predicted by scientists.

Incentives Influence Congruency Pre-Cue Utilization In The Stroop Task, Christopher O. Nuno

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Prior work using 4-choice conflict tasks has shown that pre-cues signaling the congruency of the following trial tend to produce robust pre-cue benefits (i.e., faster RTs relative to uninformative pre-cues) for congruent but not incongruent trials. The scarcity of evidence for pre-cue benefits on incongruent trials raises the question of whether people can adjust cognitive control on demand, given that incongruent trials uniquely require participants to enact an abstract control setting to ignore the goal irrelevant feature and focus on the goal relevant feature when presented with the pre-cue. One potential explanation is that participants are not sufficiently motivated to …

The Effect Of Zakat Compliance On Institutional Performance Through Strategic Planning As A Mediating Variable: An Applied Study At The General Authority Of Zakat, Yemen, Ali Nasser Al-Ahnomi

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This study aims to analyze the mediating role of strategic planning in the relationship between zakat compliance and institutional performance in the General Authority for Zakat in Yemen, filling a research gap in fragile environments (Bin-Nashwan et al., 2021; Bryson, 2018).  The study employed a quantitative descriptive-analytical approach using a questionnaire as a key tool which was distributed to all administrative and functional leaders in the Authority and its branch in the capital, Sana'a, totaling 515, thereby representing a comprehensive survey of the research community. A total of 417 questionnaires were received. However, 398 were valid for final statistical analysis. …

Ai-Driven Decision-Making In Leadership: Balancing Automation And Human Judgment For Optimal Organizational Performance, Arafat Mohammed, Sulaiman Abdullahi Bambale, Umar Abdullahi

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This study examines how artificial intelligence (AI)-driven decision-making can be effectively balanced with human judgment to enhance organizational performance and ethical leadership. The research adopts a systematic literature review covering studies from 2015 to 2025, retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, and Google Scholar. Through thematic analysis, the review identifies three core dimensions: (1) the impact of AI on strategic accuracy and operational efficiency, (2) the mediating role of human judgment in fostering innovation and trust, and (3) the influence of ethical AI governance on employee well-being and accountability. The findings reveal that organizations integrating AI’s analytical precision …

Investigating The Impacts Of Facial Gestures On Global Participants’ Perception Of The Speaker, Perception Of The Message, Emotional Responses, And Engagement During Video Conferencing, Hanan Mohammed Alghamdi

Theses and Dissertations

Facial expressions play a crucial role in shaping communication and emotional understanding during virtual interactions. This study investigated how facial expressions influence participants’ perceptions of the speaker, perceptions of the message, emotional responses, and engagement during video conferencing across diverse cultural contexts. A hybrid experimental design was implemented using self-administered questionnaires to collect quantitative data and examine cause-and-effect relationships. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three facial-expression conditions Positive (smiling and joyful), Negative (angry or nervous), or Neutral (expressionless) and viewed speakers representing three ethnic backgrounds: White American, Black American, and Middle Eastern. Using a seven-point semantic differential scale, …

New Hampshire Coastal Flood Risk Summary, Part 1: Science, Jamie Carter, Anna Simpson, Chris Gloninger, John Trowbridge, Kirk Bosma, Jayne F. Knott, Mary Lemcke-Stampone, Elizabeth Burakowski, Jennifer Gilbert, Kirsten Howard, Lisa Wise

UNH Cooperative Extension

The New Hampshire Coastal Flood Risk Summary – Part 1: Science provides a synthesis of the state of the science relevant to coastal flood risks in New Hampshire. Specifically, this document provides updated trends projections of sea-level rise, coastal storms, groundwater rise, precipitation, and freshwater flooding for coastal New Hampshire. This 2025 report updates the earlier 2019 report. This information is intended to serve as the scientific foundation for the updated companion resource, Part II: Guidance for Using Best Available Science, which will be published in 2026.

Improving Intimate Partner Violence Screening In Telehealth Mental Health Settings, Marina Oliynyk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive yet frequently underrecognized public health concern, particularly within telehealth psychiatric care, where nonverbal cues may be absent. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to improve the identification and response to IPV by implementing a standardized, evidence-based screening protocol in a private telepsychiatry practice. Guided by the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework, the validated E-HITS screening tool was introduced, along with structured trauma-informed care training, to six psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs). Six PMHNPs completed pre/post-confidence surveys (5-point Likert) and tracked screening activity across 100 telehealth encounters (98 of 100 visit were eligible). Over a three-month …

From Awareness To Action: Improving Advanced Directives With The Five Wishes In College Aged Young Adults, Dina M. Giovanetti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This quality improvement project aimed to increase early education, initiation, documentation, and completion rates of advance directives (ADs), specifically the Five Wishes, among college-aged young adults (18–24 years old) in a concierge primary care setting. The project addressed the low engagement and completion rates of ADs in this population, which can result in inadequate end-of-life care planning. The initiative involved training all staff members through collaborative instruction, informational sessions, and personalized provider-patient discussions. A convenience sample of eligible patients was identified via chart review. Inclusion criteria included English-speaking young adults aged 18–24, regardless of comorbid conditions who were members of …

Illinois State University, One Hundred And Sixty-Sixth Annual Commencement, December 2025, Illinois State University

Commencement Programs

Illinois State University

One Hundred and Sixty-Sixth Annual Commencement

December 2025

Impact Of Propofol Or Sevoflurane On The Renoprotective Effect Of Remote Ischaemic Preconditioning In Cardiac Surgery: The Hypnorenalrip Randomised Clinical Trial, Alexander Zarbock, Ludwig Maximilian Schöne, John A Kellum, Joachim Gerss, Raphael Weiss, Hendrik Booke, Melanie Meersch

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC) might reduce acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery. Protective effects appear to be restricted to patients with early and transient increases in two cell cycle arrest markers, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7), in urine. Studies suggest that propofol can attenuate the preconditioning effect on the myocardium. This study investigated whether propofol diminishes the renoprotective effect associated with the early transient increases in TIMP-2 and IGFBP7.

Methods: This was a single-centre, prospective randomised double-blind 2×2 factorial clinical trial of high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Patients were randomised to receive …

A Novel Drying Technology Based On Supercritical Carbon Dioxide To Enhance The Functional Properties Of Red Lentil Proteins, Niveditha Asaithambi, Arda Tuhanioglu, Ali Ubeyito

Food Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Red lentils are protein-rich sources that are highly regarded in the plant-based food industry for their color. Appropriate drying methods are essential for maintaining the physicochemical and nutritional properties of the proteins. This study investigates the impact of three drying methods, namely oven drying, freeze-drying, and supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) drying, on the physicochemical and functional properties of red lentil proteins (RLP). SC-CO₂ drying was optimized at varying temperatures (35–55 °C), pressures (10–20 MPa), and CO₂ flow rates (2–3 L/min), with optimal drying observed at 55 °C, 20 MPa, and 3 L/min, resulting in significantly reduced moisture content (5.7 %). …

Allogeneic Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells For Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Trial., Mya C Schiess, Jessika Suescun, Juan D Martinez-Lemus, Charles Green, Tia S Thomas, Mohammad Shahnawaz, Emily Tharp, Nikunj B Satani, Jerome G Saltarrelli, Christopher Adams, Marie-Francoise Doursout, Vanessa Thyne, Rula Abuamouneh, Elsa M Rodarte, Sean I Savitz, Timothy M Ellmore

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Neuroinflammation contributes to Parkinson's disease (PD) progression and motor dysfunction. Allogeneic human mesenchymal stem cells (allo-hMSCs) may reduce neuroinflammation and improve motor symptoms.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of repeated intravenous doses of 10 × 106/kg allo-hMSCs in improving motor symptoms in patients with PD (PwP).

Methods: In this phase 2, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (November 2020-July 2023), mild-to-moderate PwP received either three allo-hMSC infusions, one placebo followed by two allo-hMSC infusions, or three placebo infusions at 18-week intervals. Follow-up lasted 88 weeks. The primary outcome was a >70% posterior probability (PP) of a difference in the proportion of participants …

Prospective Trial Of Cerebrospinal Fluid Filtration After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Via Lumbar Catheter Extension (Pillar-Xt), Spiros L Blackburn, Marc A Babi, Andrew W Grande, Omar A Choudhri, Erik F Hauck, Christopher P Kellner, Michael C Giordano, Shivanand P Lad, Aaron R Mccabe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: There is a growing consensus that blood in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is deleterious to outcomes in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. The extracorporeal filtration of subarachnoid hemorrhage via spinal catheter extension study evaluated the safety, tolerability, and filtration curve of blood and its lysis products from hemorrhagic CSF using the Neurapheresis CSF Management System.

Methods: After aneurysm repair, a dual-lumen intrathecal catheter was inserted into the study participant's spinal canal. CSF was extracorporeally filtered for up to 72 h, removing blood products from the lumbar cistern, and reintroducing filtered CSF to the thoracic subarachnoid space. Neurological examinations were …

Short-Term Preeclampsia Prediction: Cutoff Variations For Sflt-1/Plgf In U.S. Patients With Or Without Hypertensive Disorders, Yaxin Li, Kristen Cagino, Jim Yee, Caroline Andy, Dajana Borova, Ayush Shah, Isla Racine, Tracy B Grossman, Zhen Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a complex disorder with significant maternal and fetal risks. The soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and placental growth factor (PlGF) ratio shows promise as a diagnostic tool, but its adoption in the U.S. remains limited due to the lack of accessible testing platforms, U.S.-based studies, and evidence-based implementation guidelines.

Patients/materials and methods: We conducted a cohort study to evaluate the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio for predicting PE within two weeks among pregnant individuals ≥18 years, ≥20 weeks gestation. Serum samples were obtained from routine prenatal visits or triage evaluations. sFlt-1/PlGF ratios were measured using Roche Elecsys assays, and …

Assessment Of Postoperative Range Of Motion In Pediatric Patients Undergoing Surgical Reduction And Fixation Of Lateral Condyle Fractures, Gabrielle Rogie, Timothy Borden, Lindsay Crawford, Surya Mundluru, Brennan Roper, Rohini Mahajan Vanodia, Shiraz Younas

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of various methods of fixation for pediatric lateral condyle fractures. The null hypothesis was that there would be no difference between the three treatment groups and time of return to the full range of motion.

Method: There were three fixation groups-Algemeinshaft fur osteosynthesegragen (AO) cannulated screws (n = 11), buried Steinmann pins (n = 13), and unburied Steinmann pins (n = 36). Variables evaluated were time to return to full range of motion of the elbow, whether therapy was required, average number of follow-up visits, fracture …

Prone Percutaneous Jungbluth For Reduction Of Irreducible Posterior Pelvic Ring Injuries: A Technical Trick, Joseph M Radley, Jonathan A Copp, Daniel S Gloekler, Jonathan G Eastman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Unstable pelvic ring injuries represent a challenge due to the complex anatomy. Further, surgical access to the pelvic ring is altered by patient positioning in the supine versus prone position. Certain injury patterns present with the posterior pelvis in a fixed displaced position. These injuries can be exceedingly challenging to reduce from a supine position. In the prone position, these injuries can be reduced more directly with an open approach, but this is associated with wound healing complications. The technical trick herein demonstrated a successful technique utilizing a large Jungbluth clamp percutaneously applied to the posterior superior iliac spines with …