Digital Commons Network^™

Experimental Evaluation Of Resource Allocation To Organelles In Eukaryotic Cells, Ronan Hanley

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

Among the hallmarks of the eukaryotic cell is its organization into spatially defined sub-compartments known as organelles. Organelles provide optimized environments for otherwise incompatible biochemical reactions within the cell. It has been shown that there is significant variation in the properties of organelles in a cell, and that cells have access to a limited pool of resources that they can allocate to organelles. This begs the question: by what principles do cells dictate how resources are allocated? To begin to explore this question, we look at resource allocation in S. cerevisiaefrom two perspectives. First, we use a combination of …

Held Together, Falling Apart: Classical Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome As Embodied Abstraction, Chloe S. Macaulay

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

Reconciling life within a body defined by fragility, I create worlds of connectivity to embody and refigure Classical Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (cEDS)–a connective-tissue disorder causing hypermobile joints, fragile skin, easy bruising, and poor wound healing. Large-format oil paintings employ a multi-layer method, layering paint like skin to reform the body onto canvas. Drawing on Surrealist automatic processes and theories of unconscious production, my methodology combines intuitive, process-based mark-making with traditional oil painting techniques and experimental material practices to subvert and reassert artistic agency, weaving between control and surrender. Scientific imagery, particularly SHG imaging of cEDS collagen tissue, informs a visual language …

Containers Of Becoming, Embodied Thresholds: Wearable Art As Performance, Bei Qi Ms.

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

My interdisciplinary art practice investigates wearable sculpture as a tool for emotional processing, identity negotiation, and embodied performance. Beginning with early works like a cape made from thrifted scarves—exploring how different wearers transform the same garment—I have expanded their role into vehicles for personal and collective meaning. Drawing from the work of artists including Nick Cave, Stan Brahkage, Lucy McRae, Lucy Orta, and Rebecca Horn, I examine how bodily concealment, distortion, and constraint can foster new modes of self-discovery.

Over time, my practice has evolved to incorporate performance, time-based media, and psychological frameworks. For example, my choreographed dance Enneagram: Beings …

Trans-Dimensional Coexistence: I No Longer Hold You But I See You, Keren Guo

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

We live in a world where impermanence is the only lasting truth. Fleeting moments and fading relationships reoccur in our lives, but the journey continues, nonetheless. My practice projects my individuality onto universal connections between humans through depicting worlds full of colorful imaginations, experiences, creatures, and figures. I draw inspiration from work by Inka Essenhigh, Yoko Ono, and Pipilotti Rist, studying contemporary artists’ use of colors, materials, and audience participation to make an array of works from paintings to an interactive installation as my final work. Additionally, I look into historical sources about mythical creatures and religious beliefs to enhance …

Weep No More, My Lady (Oh! Weep No More Today): Love, Violence, Printmaking, And Kentuckian Futurity, Madison Brown, Marshall Brown

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

Situated within a regressive political climate, this essay considers the writer’s thesis artwork Weep No More, My Lady as a simultaneous account of Southern gendered violence and a desire for healing. Through personal and historical connections to Kentucky’s material culture, the work navigates binaries of class, race, and gender that have dictated the dominant contemporary conception of the region. Placing the competing forces of care and brutality in dialogue, Weep No More, My Lady translates these theoretical challenges into formal attributes. The work suggests modes of making — stitching, unraveling, tearing — can act against the construction and naturalization of …

The Seroprevalence And Risk Factors For Spotted Fever Group And Typhus Group Rickettsia Along The Texas-Mexico Border, Frederick M Cramer, Lauren M Leining, Timothy A Erickson, Josephine Tolan, Craig L Hanis, Eric L Brown, Sarah M Gunter

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Rickettsial pathogens are an endemic and emergent source of disease in Texas, with a historically high rate of transmission along the United States-Mexico border. To better understand the prevalence and risk factors for spotted fever group Rickettsia (SFGR) and typhus group Rickettsia (TGR) along the Texas-Mexico border, we conducted a seroprevalence study of adults residing in Starr County, Texas (N = 616). Plasma samples were screened for IgG reactivity to SFGR and TGR using commercially available ELISA. ELISA-positive samples were confirmed using a dual spot IgG indirect immunofluorescent assay. Seropositivity was defined as having a ≥1:128 titer. Analysis was conducted …

Interview With Early Career Librarians Marianne Donley And Rebecca Johnston, Grace Suhadolnik

Information Literacy Collab

No abstract provided.

Women And Politics In Nigeria: A Typology And An Assessment, Emma Chukwuemeka

Journal of African Policy Studies

The study was carried out to investigate the extent women participate in politics in Nigeria. Abia and Imo states were closely studied. Two hypotheses were formulated. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaire, interview and focus group discussion. A total of 354 copies of questionnaire were distributed, out of this number, 349 copies were completed and returned by the respondents. Z-test statistical tool was used to analyze the data, Based on the analysis, the major findings revealed that violence against women deters women from getting actively involved in politics in Nigeria. Also culture and traditional ethos prevent the advancement …

Political Corruption, Critical Governance Problem Facing The Nigerian State: Comparative Assessment Of Various Regimes, Brian-Vincent Ikejiaku

Journal of African Policy Studies

This paper examines political corruption as the most critical problem of Governance besieging Nigeria, by looking at, assessing and comparing the various administrations, both the civil and the military. The state of poverty, peace and development in each government were used as assessment indicators. The focus is from 1979 when democracy was introduced in Nigeria to 2007 when President Obasanjo left the corridor of power. Whereas this paper uses few direct citations and evidence from other works/reports to support its case, it however argues that political corruption impacted negatively on the poverty, peace and development of the Nigerian state. The …

Insecurity And The African State: The Myth And Reality Of Armed Non-State Actors, Eliza M. Johannes

Journal of African Policy Studies

Armed non-state militia groups of different shades—comprising rebels, criminals, extremist religious militants, and other opportunistic outfits—have played a significant role in creating instability and undermining human security in Africa. The militia and rebel groups, including the Islamist militant groups have fomented unending ethnic and religious tensions and conflicts in the region. Cognizant of this state of affairs, in this paper I analyze and try to explain the rise of some notable militia groups in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the Central African Republic. While focusing on the Mungiki, the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) in …

Anglophone Cameroon In Search Of Identity: Obstacles And Prospects, Tangie Nsoh Fonchingong

Journal of African Policy Studies

The former British Southern Cameroons opted in a UN organised plebiscite in 1961 to unify with La Republique du Cameroun to form a federation of two states that were said to be on a footing of equality. But contrary to declarations and expectations, the federation was not one of equal states. It was instead a veiled preparatory stage for the total assimilation of the Southern Cameroons into the highly centralised La Republique du Cameroun francophone unitary state. Through a number of assimilation stages, the Southern Cameroons has lost its autonomy to La Republique du Cameroun, its people marginalised, institutions destroyed, …

Learning A Little Bit Harder: The Intersecting Experiences Of First-Generation And Single-Mother College Students, Natalie Lecy, Elizabeth Hendrix, Brian A. Droubay

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

This study examines the experiences of nine first-generation, single-mother college students, focusing on these intersecting, double-jeopardy identities. Participants’ difficulty navigating college varied; contributing factors included family background, social capital, the type of college attended, and whether they established a mentor. The following themes were established: 1) realizing college is an option, 2) caught between two worlds, 3) college wasn’t designed for us, 4) economic barriers, and 5) disparities in social capital. Our findings indicate colleges were unprepared to meet the unique challenges faced by this group. We present recommendations for the …

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 9, Issue 1, Spring 2025

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full-length Spring 2025 issue (Volume 9, Issue 1) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version (with downloadable EPUB format) here.

The issue includes five articles addressing challenges in higher education: faculty-student interactions with Generation Z students, experiences of first-generation single-mother college students, implementation of an interdisciplinary museum studies course, guidance for creating educational videos, and a book review on resistance to change in higher education. The journal emphasizes practical strategies for effective teaching, inclusivity, and innovative approaches to pedagogy across various educational contexts.

Effectiveness Of Osteopathic Manipulation Therapies Vs Pt/Rehabilitation Therapies On Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms, Daniel A. Dolinski, Sierra L. Hudson, Francis E. Jenney

Research Day

Introduction:

We review some of the epidemiologic and genetic aspects of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) while highlighting the benefits of an osteopathic approach to relieving symptoms and psychological distress in MS and similar disease states.

We focus on the efficacy of current PT/rehabilitation therapies versus Osteopathic Manipulative Therapies for selected symptoms in patients with MS, including changes in mood, motor functions, fatigue, vertigo, sleep, and chronic pain.

Living with MS is extremely expensive, ranging from an average per-person per-year cost of $65,612 for direct medical costs and an average of $18,542 for indirect costs/non-medical costs (Bebo et al., 2022). This study …

Social Determinants Of Health In Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Ii, Iman N. Ashraf, Donald Penney

Research Day

Introduction: More than 37 million people in the United States have diabetes, the majority 90-95% with type 2 diabetes. The social determinants of health (SDH) are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. These forces and systems include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies and political systems. The SDH have an important influence on health inequities - the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and …

A Prehabilitation Protocol For The Asymptomatic, Newly Diagnosed, Stage Iv Colon Cancer Patient., Scott Salters, Kaitlyn Wright, Sumana Moole

Research Day

Introduction

Prehabilitation is defined as the process of optimizing a patient’s health prior to a medical or surgical intervention. Although this is an emerging concept and is not yet standard of care, literature has shown prehabilitation to be a potentially useful tool in medicine. In the field of gastroenterology, it has been primarily used for patients undergoing surgery to remove cancers. We want to utilize prehabilitation and apply it towards patients that are awaiting oncological treatment for asymptomatic, advanced gastrointestinal malignancies. This case report highlights the need for a specific prehabilitation protocol in these scenarios and discusses evidence-based recommendations based …

Cutaneous Sarcoidosis Imitating Necrobiosis Lipoidica: A Case Report And Review, Felix Bui, Noor Hasan, Jeannel Miclat, Joseph Dyer

Research Day

Introduction

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous skin condition of unknown etiology, which is diagnostically challenging because it can mimic various skin conditions. In this review, we report the case of a 59-year-old male presenting with previously undiagnosed cutaneous sarcoidosis in the form of alopecia and atrophic plaques on his scalp that clinically resembled necrobiosis lipoidica (NL).

Objectives

The primary objective of this study is to compare the treatment outcomes of our case report along with other existing cases of NL-like sarcoidosis.

Case Report

A 59-year-old male patient exhibited a shiny pink-yellow atrophic plaque with crusting, telangiectasias, and secondary alopecia. With a …

Spine-Tingling 3d Prints: Bringing Spinal Tracts To Life!, Alexandra She, Nathan She, Robert Mcafee, Donald Penney

Research Day

The concept of “neurophobia” has been a known global issue in the attitudes of medical trainees. Accordingly, studies have suggested that medical students considered neurology the most challenging specialty and one in which they had the least knowledge and confidence. Studies noted that the primary culprit was the comparatively increased complexity of neuroanatomy and insufficient teaching. Herein, we propose a novel way of teaching a common neuroanatomy and neuropathology concept - the spinal tracts. We have designed and built a 3D-printed model of the spinal cord and brain stem cross sections and brain coronal sections to enhance the learning and …

Health Complications Of Antibacterial-Based Mouthwash On Oral Microbiota: Literature Review, Bhavik Singh, Zoë Rushetsky, Rehana Lakhani, Shifa Gandhi, Francis Jenney

Research Day

Introduction

The human microbiota, including bacteria, fungi, archaea, and viruses, is a diverse and dynamic community of microorganisms that maintains both systemic and oral health. This population regulates immune response, prevents pathogen colonization, and facilitates metabolic processes such as nitrate reduction. Oral microbiota are distinct from gut microbiota but are interconnected through microbial translocation and inflammatory signaling, disruption of this balance is linked to various diseases, including cardiovascular conditions. Emerging evidence suggests that antibacterial mouthwash use may reduce nitrate-reducing bacteria, impairing nitric oxide (NO) production, a key molecule in vasodilation and blood pressure regulation. Understanding this relationship is crucial in …

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy And Number Of Repetitive Impacts In American Football Players, Chase A. Forbes, Bhavik Singh, Malik I. Watson, Etop U. Udoh, Jonathan L. Mosley, Kévin Borgella, Erik Zarandy

Research Day

Background:

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disorder associated with repeated head injuries over the course of an individual's lifetime. A definitive diagnosis of CTE requires a post-mortem examination to thoroughly identify pathological markers such as hyperphosphorylated tau protein and astrocytic abnormalities. This review seeks to investigate the correlation between the amount of repetitive head impacts in American Football careers and the likelihood of developing CTE.

Methods:

Data was sourced from PubMed and compiled using the search “((CTE) and (Football))”, between the years of 2014 to 2025. The data included focused on the estimated number of head impacts …

Micro Finance In Eritrea: A Catalyst For Women Development, Ravinder Rena

Journal of African Policy Studies

The microfinance refers to small-scale financial services (primarily credit and savings) provided to people who engage in the farming, fishing and operate micro-enterprises to gain subsistence income from these activities and subsequently support the rural economy. Microfinance is a highly accepted and recognized development tool. It has been playing a vital role in many developing countries of the world. The women are considered to be a pillar of the society and economy. For example, 45 per cent of the measurable Gross Domestic Income comes from the work of women in the world's richest countries. Eritrea, a poor but young nation …

Beyond The Geometry Of State Sovereignty: Regionalism And Non-State Actors In The Southern African Development Community (Sadc), Lesley Blaauw

Journal of African Policy Studies

The collapse of the Cold War and accelerated globalization have reshaped the international political economy and in the process ignited a new impetus for regionalism. This paper posits that despite the transformation of SADCC into SADC, regional integration in southern Africa remains quintessentially statist with minimal (if any) involvement of civil society organizations and the private sector. This suggests that states in SADC remain crucial in lending scope and providing guidance about the content and character of regional integration. There is, therefore, in SADC, not yet a realization about the complimentary roles to be played by states, civil society organizations …

Cpa - New Sudan, Old Sudan Or Two Sudan? A Review Of The Implementation Of The Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Johan Brosche

Journal of African Policy Studies

On 9 January 2005 the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan (GoS) signed a peace agreement called the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the conflict in southern Sudan that had been going on since 1983 and had resulted in at least 54 000 battle-related deaths. In total it is estimated that two million people have died during the war as a result of violence, famine and disease. The CPA was the final outcome of the so-called Machakos peace process which began in July 2002. Overall the implementation of this agreement is lacking in momentum. Some …

Secessionism In Africa, Edmond J. Keller

Journal of African Policy Studies

No abstract provided.

Population Increase, Environment, Food Access And Development In Africa: The Role Of The African Union, Amado J. Kaba

Journal of African Policy Studies

This paper examines the impact of the massive population increase in Africa in the post World War II era and the environmental challenges the continent confronts in trying to feed such a high number of people. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section examines the demographics of Africa, which show that the continent has increased its total population by 750 million people from 1950 to 2008. The second section of this paper then presents arguments by scholars pertaining to the environmental challenges, especially for agriculture, facing Africa as it finds ways to feed this massive number of …

Pathologies In De-Bureaucratic Public Organizations In Nigeria, Joseph E. Imhanlahimi

Journal of African Policy Studies

Because of the nouveau and rapidly growing interests in, and acceptance of, de-bureaucratization (popularly called "deregulation" in Nigeria), as a more attractive organization concept than bureaucratization, the central concern of this paper is an identification and objective analysis of bureau-pathologies in de-bureaucratic public organizations in Nigeria, in response to those of bureaucratic organizations which have already been analysed in the literature. The major and prevalent bureau-pathologies identified and analyzed are inconsistency and unpredictability, informality and denials, unlimited or uncircumscribed flexibility, personalization, limitation of de-categorization, laziness, and goal displacement. Their effects can be summarized as the prevalence of worrying degree of …

Information, Public Policy Analysis And Sustainable Development In Nigeria, Joseph E. Imhanlahimi, M. O. Ikeanyibe

Journal of African Policy Studies

Information and public policy analysis are critical factors in adequate public policy formulation, implementation and evaluation if the public good is to be achieved in Nigeria. This paper has carried out a critical examination of the interface between information and the public policy process and the effect on public policy analysis and has found that there is a crucial interrelationship among them in order to promote sustainable development. The paper found that the interrelationship is however, seriously interfered with or obstructed by a variety of dominant constraints. The constraints include inadequate human capital, financial resources, large-scale secrecy in government business, …

The Wheel Of Fire: An Obsessive-Compulsive Reading Of Frodo Baggins, Andreas J.W. Minshew

Journal of Tolkien Research

Although addiction has been the main psychological framework for understanding the Ring’s influence, it does not fully capture Frodo’s inner conflict. This paper argues that an obsessive-compulsive reading accounts for his ego-dystonic relationship with the Ring and his lack of an initial period of using it for pleasure, both of which differentiate his experience from other Ringbearers. This reading, rather than in opposition to addictive or post-traumatic frameworks, can coexist with both to bring added nuance to how readers and scholars understand Frodo’s experience.

2025 Conference Program, Georgia Southern University

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

No abstract provided.

Explicit Curricular Instruction Needed: Merging Adventist Christian Worldview With Critical Thinking Skills In Adventist Tertiary Institutions, Kathy E. Goddard

The Journal of Biblical Foundations of Faith and Learning

From the founding of the first tertiary institution in 1874, Seventh-day Adventist administrators and educators have grappled with the tension between faith and learning, a duality implicit in the sacred/secular curricula split in Seventh-day Adventist tertiary institutions today. This duality fails to represent the Seventh-day Adventist holistic life-view. The Higher Education Biblical Foundation Course Design Model developed by Cynthia Gettys and Elaine Plemons and published by The Center for Teaching Excellence at Southern Adventist University is a curriculum design model that can help mitigate this sacred/secular dichotomy and make scripture central to each course offered at Adventist colleges and universities. …