Digital Commons Network^™

Association Of Delayed Asthma Diagnosis With Asthma Exacerbations In Children, Chung-Il Wi, Euijung Ryu, Katherine S King, Jung Hyun Kwon, Joshua T Bublitz, Miguel Park, Sergio E Chiarella, Jason D Greenwood, Thanai Pongdee, Lynnea Myers, Björn Nordlund, Sunghwan Sohn, Elham Sagheb, Bhavani Singh Agnikula Kshatriya, Dave Watson, Hongfang Liu, Beverley J Sheares, Carla M Davis, Wade Schulz, Young J Juhn

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: There is a significant delay between symptom onset and diagnosis of childhood asthma, but the impact of this delay on asthma outcomes has not been well understood.

Objectives: We sought to study the association of delayed diagnosis of asthma with asthma exacerbations (AEs) in children.

Methods: Using the Mayo Clinic birth cohort, we identified children with a diagnosis of asthma from electronic health records. We defined onset date as the date when subjects first met predetermined asthma criteria ascertained by an electronic health records-based natural language processing algorithm. Delay in diagnosis (DD) was defined as first diagnosis >30 days …

"Integrative" Vs "Integration": Stem Skills And Concept Development In 6th Grade Students, Kathryn Chain

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

As a whole, interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in schools is on the rise at a national level, and it is widely recognized that the development of skills and concepts in science, technology, engineering, and math are not only beneficial to students, but are in fact necessities for future citizens of an increasingly global world (Kelley & Knowles, 2016.) Despite this increasing acceptance and awareness of the need for STEM literacy, there is a critical lack of guidelines on what STEM education actually entails and how to effectively integrate these concepts and skills into the educational …

A Future For The U.S. Department Of Education, Keith V. Allen

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This thesis examines the persistent inequities within the U.S. public education system, particularly affecting low-income and underserved communities. Despite the founding mission of the U.S. Department of Education to ensure equitable access to quality education, systemic disparities continue to prevent millions of students from realizing their full potential. By exploring the Department’s historical evolution, this research highlights three critical areas undermining educational equity: unequal funding, an overreliance on standardized testing, and the lack of universal access to preschool and higher education. The thesis argues that equitable funding is not merely a financial issue, but a moral imperative—an investment in the …

Nature Vs Nurture: Place In Perceval, Zoe Fosbinder

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Perceval’s identity as a Welshman has its roots deep in his character, even if he is not aware of it. Raised in ignorance by his mother in an attempt to keep him safe from the dangers of his knightly heritage, Perceval represents a fascinating blend of culture and instinct that makes the crux of his character the age-old argument: nature versus nurture. Has his blood, heritage, and genetic history had more of an impact on him? Or has it been how he was raised, what he was taught as he grew? Much like Perceval himself, the answer is complicated, and …

Sprachlerner Aufbauen, Eine Studie Zu Us-Amerikanischen Und Deutschen Lehrplänen, Kyley Bishop

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Das Sprachenlernen ist eine Fähigkeit, die nicht nur dabei hilft, das Gedächtnis, die Aufmerksamkeit und die Entscheidungsfähigkeit zu verbessern, sondern auch Türen zu einer Vielzahl von Karrierewegen und Lebenserfahrungen öffnet. Das Nutzen des Sprachenlernens wird seit Jahren als eine entscheidende Lebenskompetenz von Wissenschaftlern unterstützt. Der Wert des Sprachenlernens wird im Lehrplan der US-Schulen jedoch nicht berücksichtigt. Die Frage ist: wie können Länder mehrsprachige Menschen erziehen? Wie unterscheiden sich diese Lehrpläne von denen in den USA? Wie kann das US-Bildungssystem das Fremdsprachenlernen besser fördern? Deutschland gehört zu den Ländern, die durch ihre Bildung zwei- und mehrsprachige Menschen ausbilden. Durch die Untersuchung …

Die Weltwettbewerbsvorteile Deutschlands, Theresa Isbilir

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Der Weltwettbewerb ist schärfer als immer. Im Jahr 2020 wurde China der Erste im Maschinenbau auf der Welt. Früher war das Deutschland. Die vier Branchen der Wirtschaft Deutschlands sind die Elektro- und Digitalindustrie, chemische Industrie, Maschinenbau und Kfz-Industrie (Automobilindustrie). China begann, Deutschland in all diesen Anteilen zu überholen. Der Staat hat fast keinen Plan darauf zu reagieren, und die technologische Infrastruktur Deutschlands liegt hinter anderen Ländern. Diese sind die ersten Zeichen einer sterbenden industriellen Ökonomie, besonders für ein Land, dessen Exportquote 48,9 Prozent ist.

Beneath The Spray Bottle, Eliana Jolanda Alzate

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

"Eliana Alzate is a Junior English Writing and Computer Science major at DePauw University. Her works explore the intersections of diasporic identity, political chaos, and artistic discovery. When she isn’t writing stories and poems, you can find Eliana filming vlogs and singing karaoke."

Phoneme Recognition For Pronunciation Improvement, Matthew Heywood

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This project aims to improve English pronunciation by investigating speech errors and developing a tool to provide precise feedback. The study focuses on creating a new pronunciation tool that offers localized feedback, identifies specific errors, and suggests corrective measures. By addressing the shortcomings of current methods, this research seeks to enhance pronunciation refinement.

Utilizing cutting-edge technology, the tool leverages speech-to-phoneme AI models and modified lazy string matching algorithms to compare the user's spoken input with the intended pronunciation. This allows for a detailed analysis of discrepancies, providing users actionable insights into their phonetic errors. The speech-to-phoneme AI models mark a …

Assessing And Addressing The Needs Of Socially Vulnerable Populations To Enhance Community Emergency Preparedness And Resilience: A Mixed Methods Study, Jennifer E. Harris

Dissertations: Doctor of Public Health

Background: A robust understanding of the needs of individuals and communities can help reduce the impact of a disaster, especially on those communities that already have associated health disparities. By strategically including these populations into mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery planning, emergency management plans can be enhanced to be more inclusive and effective by identifying targeted resources during a crisis. Additionally, understanding and improving upon individual resiliency can potentially bolster a community’s resiliency level and reduce overall susceptibility to a disaster event, and expedite the recovery phase. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the emergency …

Animation Gumbo: Stirring Up Style, Story, And Self, Miguel Caffey

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media Culminating Experience

This project explores how animation can serve as a space for blending identity, culture, and artistic techniques. Drawing inspiration from layered works like Arcane and Spider-Verse, I fuse 2D and 3D animation methods to reflect my experience growing up mixed-race Black American and Puerto Rican. Through frame rate manipulation, layered aesthetics, and the use of 2D visual effects within 3D spaces, I experiment with storytelling that embraces contradiction and complexity rather than smoothing it away. This paper traces the evolution of my creative process, the technical challenges of merging 2D and 3D, and the broader cultural significance of hybrid storytelling. …

On Death And Disease: How Physicians’ Perspectives Compare Across Specialties Through Written Work, Stephanie Anne C. Alkonga

Honors Capstones

Narrative medicine is a tool that the medical field is increasingly utilizing to cultivate patient-centered and culturally competent doctors and to reflect on lived experiences through texts that focus on psychosocial best practices. This study aims to examine the language used in physician-written works that address how physicians in different medical specialties treat the aging and the terminally ill, and how they view the deceased. Qualitative data guided by thematic questions will primarily be used in the analysis and comparison of these texts’ tone, rhetoric, diction, and similar literary devices to uncover if certain patterns arise across such specialties. Findings …

Perceptions Of Identity And Blame Attribution In Sexual Harassment Scenarios, Avarie Lambert

Honors Theses

Sexual harassment is a widespread issue influenced by societal attitudes that stem from victim blaiming and rape myth acceptance. These perceptions are often shaped by the identities of the parties involved, however there is limited research on how gender and race influence blame attribution. The purpose of this study is to examine how different identities shape public perceptions of victims in sexual harassment scenarios. Through using a nationwide sample and survey experiment, participants were randomly assigned to receive one of eight different hypothetical scenarios that differed by the race and gender of the victim, and the gender of the perpetrator. …

Toujours Beaucoup: Representations Of Childhood And Education In 20th Century French Literature And Cinema, Delaney Drury

Honors Theses

The Third Republic’s reforms established France’s public education system on several foundational ideals: upholding republican values, resisting autocratic authorities, promoting critical thinking, and promoting personal liberty and freedom of thought. This project explores French literature and cinema with significant representations of education for the purpose of examining to what extent such ideals are upheld or undermined in their portrayals of education. Such an examination of French education and its underlying values is significant in such a time in history when France is experiencing a “contemporary crisis of republican schooling” (Sachs 179). Alongside the historical significance of such studies, the more …

Improving Blood Culture Contamination Rates In The Emergency Department: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Project, Kerri Maciejko

DNP Projects

Background/Significance

Blood culture (BC) contamination in the Emergency Department (ED) leads to false-positive results, unnecessary antibiotic use, prolonged hospital stays, and increased healthcare costs. Contamination rates at the project site ranged from 2.2% to 6.8%, exceeding the hospital goal of <1%. Addressing this issue is critical for accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and optimal resource utilization.

Purpose

The purpose of this project was to reduce BC contamination rates in the ED by implementing a modified BC kit, providing staff education, and conducting real-time blind audits with feedback over three months.

Methods

An evidence review, appraisal, and synthesis using Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt’s EBP process confirmed that BC kits and diversion devices are effective interventions to reduce contamination. …

How Do You Ask Questions? A Thematic And Discursive Analysis Of Question-Asking In Stranger Conversations, Nicholas Elliott

Dissertations

This study used a mixed-methods approach to explore how questions are used in casual conversations between strangers. While conversation has long been studied by linguists, sociologists, anthropologists, and psychologists, a methodological divide persists: conversation analysis versus experimental approaches. Despite extensive research, the rules guiding question-asking in conversation remain unclear. This study integrates both conversation analysis and experimental literature to investigate the role of questions in interactions with strangers. The research began with a quantitative content analysis of questions drawn from a set of recorded conversations known wholly as the Candor Dataset, informed by Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory, which suggests …

The Attorney General V Rajan Mahthani (Appeal No. 4 Of 2020) [2025] Zmsc (24 July 2025): Judicial Recusal And Why It Is Important To Strike A Balance, Mwami Kabwabwa

SAIPAR Case Review

This contribution examines The Attorney General v Rajan Mahthani, a Supreme Court ruling on judicial recusal. The author critically assesses the Court’s insistence on proving actual, extrajudicial bias as a prerequisite for recusal. Though the importance of shielding the judiciary from frivolous motions is acknowledged, the piece warns that the Court’s rigid stance, paired with its admonishing tone, may undermine the right to a fair hearing guaranteed under Article 18 of the Constitution. Drawing on South African and Kenyan jurisprudence, the author proposes adopting a “reasonable apprehension of bias” standard that respects judicial independence while safeguarding public confidence in the …

Scholarship Info

The Prairie Light Review

No abstract provided.

Building Connections: Enhancing Primary Source Literacy And Student Success Through Canvas Modules, Darcy Pumphrey, Katie Strand, Sarah Berry, Jen Kirk

Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

This presentation outlines how Utah State University has used Canvas modules and multi-discipline workshops to promote primary source literacy and organizational skills to students and instructors. Collaborations beyond Special Collections have led to the creation of online modules that guide students in using finding aids and digital repositories while strengthening their research habits. Archivists from various institutions will gain practical strategies for building similar resources and forming cross-department partnerships. The session highlights how these efforts enhance student confidence and create deeper connections between archives and other academic disciplines.

Exploring Hypothyroidism’S Effects On Lipid Profiles: Evidence Of Metabolic Consequences In Subclinical Disease, Haifa M. Alnahdi

Saudi Medical Journal

ABSTRACT Objectives: To investigate the association between thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and lipid profiles in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) to assess the metabolic risks. Methods: This retrospective study included patients diagnosed with SCH between January 2023 and August 2024. Thyroid function markers (TSH, free triiodothyronine, and free thyroxine levels) and lipid profiles (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and triglyceride levels) were assessed in 137 patients. Results: The mean age of patients was 44.6±13.6 years, with 86.1% being female and 92.7% having dyslipidemia. Thyroid-stimulating hormone levels were correlated with serum creatinine levels (r=0.27, p =0.001) and showed a non-significant …

Hematological Parameters In Recent And Past Dengue Infections In Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia, Abdulrahim Hakami, Ryhanh Tomehi, Ahmad A. Irekeola, Gasim Dobie, Sultan Alasmari, Mohammed Makkawi, Yahya Matari, Ahmed Mohammed, Ahmad A. Alshehri

Saudi Medical Journal

ABSTRACT Objectives: To analyze hematological parameters for potential predictive markers of dengue. Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 146 individuals suspected of having dengue at 2 hospitals in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Control samples were concurrently collected from healthy adults (n=59). Samples were screened for anti-dengue antibodies by employing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Hematological parameters, such as hemoglobin (HGB), white blood cells, hematocrit (HCT), platelets count, and red blood cells (RBCs) levels were determined for the dengue positive samples and all the controls. Results: Of the patients examined, 15% were dengue immunoglobulin M positive and 25% were immunoglobulin G positive. Dengue-infected patients …

Community-Based Approaches To Promote Uptake Of Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine For Intermittent Preventive Treatment Of Malaria In Pregnancy: Midline Findings From Kisumu And Migori Counties—Evidence Brief, Zoe Nakuya, Dennis Matanda

Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Choices

No abstract provided.

Mapping The Path Forward: A Dual Approach Using Ot Assessment & Mentorship To Support The Well-Being Of Youth In Dcf Custody, Kimberly T. Santos

OTD DEx Reports - College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

This literature review investigates the external relationship needs of foster youth, with particular focus on the prevalence of attachment disorders and trauma-related symptoms resulting from adverse childhood experiences. The Doctoral Experiential (DEx) Capstone Project centers on the development of an occupational therapy-based assessment tool designed to evaluate emotional and environmental safety for youth in residential care. In collaboration with Gandara Mental Health Center and direct care staff, the project also includes the implementation of a training program aimed at enhancing staff understanding of trauma-informed care, youth development, and the role of meaningful mentorship. Foster youth often lack stable, supportive external …

Pottery As A Socio-Economic Marker In Prehistoric Burials Along The Southern Coast Of South Korea, P. Codi Shoemaker

Theses

This thesis investigates the role of pottery as a socio-economic marker in prehistoric burials along the southern coast of South Korea, with a focus on the Late Jeulmun to Early/Mid-Mumun Pottery Periods. Through an interdisciplinary analysis of burial sites at Janghang (Gadeok-do), Sangchonri, and Yulha-ri, the study examines how ceramic design, placement, and associated grave goods reflect evolving social structures within early Korean communities. While pottery has long been examined through functional and chronological lenses, this research considers its symbolic and cultural value in funerary contexts. Findings suggest that pottery served not only utilitarian or ritual purposes, but increasingly signaled …

Framing Queenship: Gender, Power, And Political Representation In Holbein’S Portraits Of Jane Seymour And Anne Of Cleves, Kateryna Chernenko

Theses

This paper explores the intricate relationship between queenship, gender, and political representation as depicted in Hans Holbein’s portraits of Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves, two wives of Henry VIII. By analyzing these works within the framework of Tudor England's gender dynamics, we can better understand how Holbein’s portraits transcend mere artistic expression to serve as critical commentaries on the roles of women in a predominantly patriarchal society. Recent scholarly trends emphasize the significance of gender in the interpretation of historical art, revealing how these portraits reflect, challenge, and reinforce the societal constructs of their time. This study focuses on …

A Critical Look At A New Iowa Law Allowing Minors To Serve Alcohol, Tom Hubbard

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In the never-ending tug-of-war of today’s charged political climate, the child labor discussion has been caught right in the crosshairs. While the Biden administration promised to crack down on child labor law violations (with varying degrees of success), more states continue making it easier for children to work. Because of this, the opportunity to exploit a progressively younger workforce will continue to grow. Amidst this backdrop, this article focuses particularly on a new Iowa law that expands child labor across the state. While there are many states seeking to roll back child labor law protections, Iowa’s new law seems to …

Negotiating Food Security, Maria Cudowska

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In the United States and worldwide, nutrition and food emerge as both high-profile public policy targets and as fundamental aspects of the right to self-determination. This Article examines how national security impacts food security in the United States. It explores conflicts and synergies between municipal, state, and federal law developments related to the right to food and investigates recent developments in how those commitments have been negotiated. The challenge and nebulous justiciability of the right to food can be in part attributed to existing global and national systems, which include supply chains, welfare programs, and foreign investment in the U.S. …

Jtc 25: The Warmth Of A Teacher’S Light, Jennifer Parsons

University of Mississippi News

This story is part of the 2025 Journey to Commencement series, which celebrates the pinnacle of the academic year by highlighting University of Mississippi students and their outstanding academic and personal journeys from college student to college graduate.

Estimation And Testing In A Fixed Effects Panel Data Model With Serially Correlated Error Component Disturbances, Badi H. Baltagi, Long Liu

Center for Policy Research

This paper revisits the fixed effects panel data model with AR(1) remainder disturbances and provides a bias corrected estimator for the serial correlation coefficient based on first differencing the panel regression to get rid of the fixed effects. This bias corrected estimator builds upon the estimator proposed by Han and Phillips (2010). Asymptotic properties as well as Monte Carlo results are provided that show the better performance of this new proposed bias corrected estimator. This is extended to the unbalanced panel data case and also illustrated using the empirical application in Donohue and Levitt (2001).

Associations Between Retinopathy Of Prematurity And The Risks Of Hearing Loss: A Propensity Matched Analysis, Hejin Jeong, Todd Otteson

Student Scholarship

Purpose: While retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and hearing loss (HL) share many risk factors, whether patients with ROP have a higher risk of HL remains largely unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the association between ROP and the risk of having HL. Methods: The electronic medical records contained in a United States national database were retrospectively reviewed. Patients younger than 18 years old with a record of receiving hearing screening were included. Eligible patients with a history of ROP were assigned to the ROP cohort, while those without ROP diagnosis after vision screening served as controls. After adjusting for …

Local Systems Change: Applied Research Methods For Sustainable Communities, Taylor Barrett Hill

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.