Digital Commons Network^™

Pilot Program For Telemental Health Access To Rural Underserved Localities, Traci Brickhouse Jones, Sarah Kott, Oswaldo Moreno, Aneida Winston

The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute Publications

This proposal recommends legislation directing Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to establish a two-year pilot program focused on expanding telemental health access in rural Virginia. The purpose of the pilot is to address persistent behavioral health disparities in areas where residents face major barriers to obtaining timely mental health care.

The legislation is designed to build on existing telehealth infrastructure and aligns with Virginia’s Statewide Telehealth Plan under § 32.1-122.03:1, which already supports broader use of telehealth services across the Commonwealth. By creating a focused pilot first, the state can test implementation strategies before considering broader expansion.

Celebrating Faculty Scholarship 2026, Smith College Libraries

Celebrating Faculty Scholarship: Bibliographies

Bibliography of selected scholarly and creative work produced by Smith College faculty and submitted by faculty for the 2026 celebration in the Neilson Library Skyline Reading Room, Smith College on September 14, 2026.

Modeling Rank Distribution And The Relative Importance Factor Index In Discrete Power-Law Models: Application To Social Resilience Using The Scopus Database, Brian Llinas, Jose Padilla, Humberto Llinas, Erika Frydenlund, Katherine Palacio

VMASC Publications

Prior research on power-law distributions has primarily focused on modeling frequency patterns, with less attention given to rank distributions and how ranked positions reflect relative importance among elements. In discrete power-law distributions, frequency-based metrics often provide limited discrimination in the tail, where elements may exhibit similar counts but differ in relative dominance. These patterns are especially evident, for instance, in academic publishing, where keywords, affiliations, and citations commonly exhibit power-law behavior. To address this limitation, we introduce the Relative Importance Factor (RIF) Index, a statistical measure derived from the estimated discrete power-law rank distribution rather than an additional independent parameter. …

Whole Genome Sequencing: Considering Regulations, Policies, And Procedures, Nyaw Lar Too

Athena: Undergraduate Research and Literary Journal

This research explores the opinions of young adults between the ages of 19 to 30 about the vulnerabilities of using DNA sequencing tests as a part of couples’ prenatal care to determine every possible mutation, variation, and cancers possible for future offspring. A survey-based experiment was used to gather information from a sample of 17 young adults within the aforementioned age group. The findings from the surveys are intended to assist scientists in acknowledging public opinion and aid in guiding their decisions on how to move forward with genome sequencing. Ultimately, the survey findings could give scientists an idea of …

Validating Uas-Based Ndvi Data With Satellite Landsat Imagery For Bald Eagle Habitat Prediction In The Del Rio Springs Ecosystem, Noah Morales, Colton Weeks, Hank Vincent, Ronny Schroeder

Student Works

Vegetation health is commonly assessed using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which can be derived from multispectral sensors operating at different spatial resolutions. Validating NDVI products across sensor platforms is essential to determine their reliability for environmental monitoring and habitat assessment. This research compares NDVI derived from moderate-resolution satellite imagery and high-resolution unmanned aircraft system (UAS) imagery collected over the same study area. Landsat imagery, provided through the joint USGS–NASA mission, was used to represent satellite-based vegetation patterns, while high-resolution multispectral data were acquired using a MicaSense sensor mounted on a UAS to capture fine-scale vegetation detail.

NDVI values …

Integrated Geospatial Analysis Of Burn Severity And Vegetation Recovery Of The California August Complex Fire In 2020, Dharm Barot, Ronny Schroeder

Student Works

Large wildfires increasingly alter vegetation structure and ecosystem recovery trajectories at landscape scales, requiring reliable geospatial methods for post-fire assessment. This study evaluates burn severity and vegetation recovery following the 2020 California August Complex Fire using an integrated framework combining multispectral satellite imagery, spatial statistics, and airborne LiDAR data.

Burn severity was quantified using differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR), and vegetation recovery was assessed through a multi-temporal NBR time series spanning pre-fire (2015), fire-year (2020), and post-fire (2025) conditions. Optimized Hotspot Analysis (Gi*) was applied to isolate statistically significant clusters of high burn severity and reduce bias in recovery estimates. …

Precision Rockslide Hazard Mapping With Multispectral Imaging And Lidar Along Arizona Highway 89a, Hank Warner, Ronny Schroeder

Student Works

Along mountainous roads, rockslides, mud slides and avalanches pose a significant risk for continued access to a region and can cause large amounts of damage to infrastructure, taking time to clear and repair. The prediction of where these events will occur can allow preventative measures to be taken, allowing sustained access and preventing costly repairs.

This study develops a method to analyze and predict rockslide risk using satellite-sourced multispectral imagery and airborne LiDAR data.

The developed method started with multispectral LANDSAT 8 imagery and airborne LiDAR captures over Arizona Highway 89A, with all data taken between late August and early …

Green As Cure: The City Beautiful Movement And The Spatial Politics Of Health, 1870-1950, Avi Patel

Library Map Prize

At the turn of the twentieth century, Progressive Era reformers understood the American city not merely as disordered but as pathological—an environment that bred disease and eroded civic life. This thesis argues that the City Beautiful Movement (CBM), embodied in Washington's 1902 McMillan Plan, advanced a spatial logic it terms "green as cure:" the conviction that disciplined landscape design could function as a form of environmental medicine, restoring health to the urban body. Drawing on maps, planning documents, and congressional reports, the thesis shows how plans defined disorder, prescribed intervention, and embedded assumptions about race and belonging into the built …

Mechanisms Driving Disparities In Income Mobility Across The Income Distribution, Joe Larkins

Honors Theses

This study examines intergenerational income persistence across the income distribution, testing whether mechanisms driving inequality differ between families in the top and bottom halves of the income distribution. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), a nationally representative longitudinal survey of 8th grade students and their parents, this research estimates an interaction model comparing parental income effects for children in advantaged versus disadvantaged economic circumstances. The analysis reveals that a $1,000 increase in parental income yields eight times greater income gains for children in the bottom half of the distribution compared to those in the top …

People And Movement: A Unit Of Study On The Great Migration, Maria Arteta-Martelo

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This unit of study for third graders on the Great Migration was developed to fill a gap in a year-long immigration curriculum by incorporating Black history and the often-overlooked experiences of internal migration.

Book Reviews, Mea Boykins, Kimberly F. Monroe, Denzel Oliver, Latif A. Tarik

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

No abstract provided.

Esg Risk And Agricultural Commodity Integration, Alper Gormus, Yoav Wachsman, Elif Gormus

Finance and Economics

This study investigates how major agricultural commodities interact with diversified U.S. equity funds, sorted by their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk exposure. Using daily Morningstar data on 880 U.S. equity mutual funds, we construct portfolios representing high- and low-ESG-risk equities and examine their linkages with prices for eight agricultural commodities. Applying Fourier-augmented Toda–Yamamoto VAR and LM-GARCH models that accommodate both abrupt and gradual structural breaks, we document clear heterogeneity across ESG risk segments. Low-ESG-risk portfolios exhibit minimal price and volatility spillovers from agricultural commodities, whereas high-ESG-risk portfolios display strong and often bidirectional transmissions—particularly for coffee, corn, cotton, livestock, and …

Coastal Hazards Preparedness Through Wargaming, Modeling, And Simulation: Application Of A Military Installation Resilience Review To Inform Stakeholder-Engaged Planning For A Maritime Community, Austin Becker, Hank J. Brightman, Pam Rubinoff, Isaac Ginis, Peter Stempel, Rosemarie Fusco, Deborah Crowley

Marine Affairs Faculty Publications

This paper describes the application of wargaming-based approach (scenario-based planning via a tabletop training exercise) to address the complex issue of local climate impacts germane to Naval base operations within the context of its neighboring communities. Using a novel interdisciplinary approach, our team conducted a Military Installation Resilience Review to inform Naval Station Newport (Rhode Island, U.S.A.) and the three surrounding municipalities on fostering, protecting, and enhancing a resilient future against natural hazards. This approach – and its outcomes – provide a strong foundation for continued collaborative efforts of federal and local entities to build present-day resilience and response to …

Value Perception: Contrasting Priorities On The Choice Of Foreign Language Study, Lesley Machimbidza, David Mukuruva

Research Papers and Posters from ASCL 60.20: Languages and Scripts of Gender, Class, and Nation

This study examines the factors influencing the popularity of Chinese as a foreign language over Japanese at Dartmouth. On average, across US colleges and universities, Japanese language programs tout higher enrollment when compared to their Chinese counterparts. Dartmouth College subverts this trend, as the Chinese language program has higher overall enrollment compared to the Japanese program. This study aims to understand the motivating factors underlying Dartmouth students’ choice of foreign language in the context of the study of East Asian languages. The study design employed a quantitative survey and qualitative interview to probe the factors students considered when choosing their …

Adult Tobacco Product Use Patterns Across The Urban–Rural Continuum: The Longitudinal Population Assessment Of Tobacco And Health (Path) Study, 2016–2023, Jing Zhang, Shyanika W. Rose, Ellen J. Hahn, Megan E. Roberts, Bethany Shorey Fennell, Jenny E. Ozga, Seth Himelhoch, Saber Feizy, W. Jay Christian, Amanda Thaxton Wiggins, Melissa Abadi, Delvon T. Mattingly, Mary Kay Rayens

Nursing Faculty Publications

Purpose: To determine the association between adult tobacco/nicotine product use over time and residence location (urban, suburban, town, rural), controlling for demographics.

Methods: Data from Waves 4–7 (2016–2023) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study (N = 18,590 adults) were analyzed using survey-weighted logistic regression to evaluate location and time differences in likelihoods of current, daily, and established use of combustible tobacco, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), smokeless products, and poly use (≥2 products).

Findings: Compared to those residing in urban locations, suburban residents were less likely to report current (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) …

Ai-Enabled Urban Decision-Making: From Infrastructure To Policy Implementation, Amir Hosein Taherkhani

Doctoral Dissertations

Urban infrastructure systems face unprecedented compound threats from aging physical stock, climate-driven hazard escalation, and large-scale systemic shocks, yet the analytical tools available to decision-makers remain inadequate in both empirical scope and equity orientation. This dissertation advances urban resilience science along two complementary empirical frontiers.The first investigation develops a deep reinforcement learning framework for socially equitable, flood-aware bridge portfolio maintenance optimization. Using Proximal Policy Optimization, a portfolio of 19 flood-vulnerable bridges in Suffolk County, Massachusetts is optimized over a multi-year planning horizon integrating HAZUS-based flood hazard simulation across four return-period scenarios (10, 50, 100, and 500 years), HEC-18 hydraulic scour …

Using Remote Sensing Technology To Develop A Framework For Improving Hydrologic Models, Marissa Cook

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

With increased storm intensity due to climate change and urbanization, flash flooding has become an increasingly significant issue globally and regionally. Although the factors influencing urban flash flooding are well-known, there is a growing need for technology to accurately and remotely predict the chance of a flash flood occurring from any given rain event to give people time to prepare. This study aims to use multispectral satellite imagery to provide a framework for improving near real-time flood predictions in an urban area of a high gradient, fourth order stream impacted by flooding. Specifically, we utilize satellite imagery to create the …

"Queens Of Ghost-Land" 134 Years Later: Un-Masking An Appalachian Witchcraft Accuser, Aine Norris

English Faculty Publications

In 1891, newspapers across America printed a story about witches in the Appalachian Mountains and the alleged powers they possessed to control their small farming community. The article was scathing in accusation and ultimately contributed to continued othering of the women profiled, increasing their visible vulnerabilities of class, gender, and societal status. Despite an implied familiarity with the region, the article was published with initials for its byline, an act that simultaneously identified the author to locals as historian Eva Grant while offering her anonymized national protection as a subject expert. For over five years the accusations were re‐printed in …

Criminalizing Survival: How The Grants Pass Decision Is Intensifying The Homelessness Crisis In California And Beyond, Riley, Laura

Santa Clara Law Review

This article examines the intensifying criminalization of homelessness in the United States since the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which removed the ability of people to challenge laws under the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause that prohibit survival behaviors in public places like sitting, sleeping, or lying down. The article explores the legal and practical challenges in documenting criminalization of homelessness, analyzes national and California-specific legislative trends and enforcement practices, and assesses the impacts on unhoused populations. The article concludes with policy recommendations to shift the state of homelessness criminalization from one of punitive …

Vol 19 Issue 1 Table Of Contents

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Table of Contents

Application Of Artificial Intelligence In Case-Based Teaching: A Qualitative Study In Mba Education, Tianjiao Xu, Mohd Nazir Bin Zabit

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This study examines the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into case-based teaching (CBT) within Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs in China, amidst the rapid digital transition in higher education. Guided by the Context–Input–Process–Product (CIPP) evaluation framework, the study adopted a qualitative design and conducted semi-structured interviews with five instructors from three core MBA courses. The findings indicate that AI enhanced classroom interaction and reduced teachers’ workload by supporting real-time feedback and dynamic discussion processes. Institutional support, including teacher training, digital infrastructure, and technical assistance, was recognized as a vital facilitator of effective implementation. Despite its various benefits, the study …

Analysis Of Policies And Incentives For The Successful Implementation Of Hydrogen-Fueled Medium-Duty And Heavy-Duty Vehicles In Humboldt County, California, Alka Verma

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The 21st century has seen a significant rise in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with the transportation sector contributing 23% of these emissions. Medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles (MD/HD) are particularly impactful, accounting for over a quarter of transport-related emissions. In Humboldt County, California, transportation represents 53% of total emissions, with MD/HD vehicles being a major contributor. As light-duty vehicles shift to zero-emission alternatives, the MD/HD sector faces unique challenges. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles offer a promising solution, providing longer range, higher energy density, and quicker refueling compared to battery electric vehicles (BEVs). These features make hydrogen an attractive option for …

A Critical Toponymy Of Humboldt County: Ethics And Tensions Within Efforts To Change Place Names, Serenity Aleta Wood

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This project explores how Humboldt regional placenames enact toponymic silencing and how Indigenous activists challenge colonial names and geographies, advancing un-settled interpretations that position language revitalization/regeneration as a means of revitalizing relationships with the land. Mobilizing Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy’s concept of (re)naming, I analyze two case studies, the Baduwa’t documentary and the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation’s film A'-t'i Xwee-ghayt-nish: Still, We Live On, as well as three additional artistic works: Sarah Biscarra Dilley’s every pattern needs a passage, Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe’s Thunder Song, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s painting, State Names. In tandem with film and poetry analysis, I survey local …

Geospatial Assessment Of Urban Tree Condition Using Ndvi In Eureka, Maria Hurtado

IdeaFest 2026

This project evaluates whether remote sensing can be used to assess urban tree condition in Eureka. NDVI was derived from satellite imagery to represent vegetation vigor, while LiDAR data were used to generate a canopy height model (CHM) to capture tree structure. Additional variables, including proximity to roads, buildings, and impervious surfaces, were integrated to represent urban environmental stressors. Preliminary results show spatial variability in NDVI across the city, suggesting that geospatial methods can help identify areas where trees may require priority monitoring.

Case Study Of The Loch Ness Monster, Ava Bauch, Cami Mayo, Sean Savage

OER Materials

This lesson plan presents an engaging interdisciplinary learning experience for fourth-grade students that integrates social studies and language arts through the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster. Using the 5E instructional model, students investigate the legend while developing literacy and geographic reasoning skills. The lesson aligns with standards requiring students to make inferences using text evidence and use geographic tools to gather and report information. Students begin by examining a map of Scotland through See-Think-Wonder and Think-Pair-Share strategies, using observation and discussion to identify locations and making predictions about where the Loch Ness Monster story takes place. This opening activity …

The Borderline Constitution, Pratheepan Gulasekaram

Publications

This Feature identifies and theorizes a distinct constitutional regime that federal courts have constructed at, adjacent to, and because of the nation’s border. Drawing together strands of First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment law, along with habeas doctrine, constitutional torts, tribal sovereignty, and separation-of-powers concerns, this Feature demonstrates how constitutional guarantees systematically recede in the border’s shadow. These deviations from canonical and mainstream constitutional norms authorize intrusive state invasions of privacy and other fundamental rights, abdicate judicial oversight in favor of outsized executive discretion, and entrench racial and religious subordination.

The Feature further demonstrates that the effects of border exceptionalism …

Islamic Education And Imperial Governance: Kazakh Institutions In Turkestan (1867–Present), Mavluda Smanova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article explores development of religious education among Kazakh populations within Turkestan Governor-Generalship from 1867 to the early twentieth century, placing it within wider context of imperial administration, Islamic intellectual heritage, and reformist initiatives. It contends that Islamic learning institutions were not merely shaped by colonial influence but operated as flexible and enduring systems deeply rooted in local social structures. Rather than suppressing these institutions, Russian imperial authorities adopted a policy of controlled integration, bringing them under administrative oversight while simultaneously promoting alternative educational models. This dynamic gave rise to diverse and negotiated educational landscape rather than a uniformly imposed …

Hybrid Identity And Religious Radicalization: On The Effectiveness Of Kazakhstan's State Policy, Sholpan Zhandossova, Marhabbat Nurov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines the relationship between hybrid identity and religious radicalization in Kazakhstan, arguing that state policy has been built on a systematically inverted risk hierarchy. Drawing on secondary analysis of longitudinal sociological surveys, expert assessments, and official statistics, the article demonstrates that the intensity of religious practice is a statistically non-significant predictor of radicalization (ρ=+0.18; p>0.05), whereas identity fragmentation– the internal incoherence between competing ethnic, Soviet-secular, Islamic, and civic- Kazakhstani identity layers–carries the strongest positive correlation (ρ=+0.61; p<0.001). The normative architecture constructed between 2011 and 2024 is evaluated against these empirical predictors across four analytical levels: longitudinal trend analysis, regional identity profiling, factor correlation analysis, and institutional trust trajectories. The article finds that successive policy instruments have concentrated institutional resources on the weakest risk factor while leaving the strongest predictors structurally unaddressed. The post-2016 decline in registered criminal cases is attributed primarily to the organizational collapse of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as a recruitment structure rather than to domestic policy effectiveness. Trust in the state-affiliated religious authority declined by twenty percentage points over the period of maximum normative intensity–an outcome directly contrary to policy intent. The article concludes with three evidence-based corrective directions: reorienting the diagnostic framework toward monitoring identity fragmentation, recovering protective social factors as explicit policy targets, and restructuring formal religious authority to allow community-derived legitimacy to carry preventive functions.

Yugoslavia As A Future To Fear: Evangelical Anti-Communism And The Cold War Imagination Of Yugoslavia, Aleksandra Djurić Milovanović

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

For some, Yugoslavia represented an alternative form of socialist modernity. Others, especially those within conservative religious discourse, believed that socialism inevitably leads to moral collapse, and saw Yugoslavia as an example of this idea. In this article, Aleksandra Djurić Milovanović reflects on an unusual archival encounter between competing visions of the future and explains why it matters today.

Testing The Transferability Of Ai Models For Cold-Water Coral Detection And Classification, Kyran P. Graves, Louise Allcock, David K.A. Barnes, Amelia E.H. Bridges, Kerry L. Howell

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The proliferation of accessible deep-water imaging platforms has resulted in the acquisition of vast amounts of image data, resulting in an analysis bottleneck. Object detection is now being applied to assist the image annotation process, with the potential to reduce analysis time. However, for object detectors to effectively tackle the scale of the challenge, models need to be generalisable to allow the transfer between imaging platforms and in space. This study trains YOLOv5 object detection models to identify six coral morphology groups using annotated imagery collected by ROV ISIS in the UK (JC136). Model performance was tested with independent datasets …