Digital Commons Network^™

2025 Conference Program, Georgia Southern University

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

No abstract provided.

Algorithms Of Destruction: Examining Israel’S Ai-Powered Military Response In Gaza, Hayley Shay

Prologue: A First-Year Writing Journal

No abstract provided.

Prologue Vol. 16

Prologue: A First-Year Writing Journal

No abstract provided.

Peer Educator Recognition & Awards Banquet, April 30, 2025 [Program], University Of Northern Iowa. Undergraduate Studies Program.

Graduation with Distinction Posters

The program for the 2024 Peer Educator Recognition & Awards Banquet held on April 30, 2025.

Governing Climate Mobility: A Case Study Of Urban Education Policies In Mexico City, Mattie Carroll

Working Papers

Mexico’s migration landscape is shaped by internal displacement, return migration, and transit migration, increasingly influenced by the social and environmental pressures of climate change. Mexico City, as both the capital and most populous urban center, plays a central role in receiving and shaping the experiences of mobile and displaced populations.This paper uses climate mobility as an entry point to examine the intersection of migration, education policy, and integration in Mexico City.
Drawing on the mobilities paradigm, the study challenges fixed categories of migration and settlement, emphasizing how movement is embedded in everyday life and reshapes both people and places. Rather …

An Overview Of The Lassa Fever Responce In Iowa, Michael Hartley

Conferences

No abstract provided.

Understanding California's Climate Zones, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, Caroline Stillitano

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

California’s diverse geography led the California Energy Commission (CEC) to divide the state into 16 Climate Zones, each reflecting local weather patterns and energy demands. These zones guide energy-efficient building standards by setting energy budgets tailored to regional conditions. This fact sheet explains the role of climate zones in shaping energy policy, using San Diego County’s four distinct zones as an example of how local climates influence building code requirements.

Link - A New Interface: Bridging Social Isolation Through Immersive Discovery, Andrew Phillips

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Link: A New Interface explores how public spaces—historically designed to encourage social interaction—have declined in vibrancy due to shifting behaviors, remote work, and the long-term effects of the Covid pandemic. Modern digitalization, while offering convenience, has also contributed to decreased face-to-face engagement, reduced attention spans, and increased social isolation. This thesis proposes a revitalization of public social spaces by reimagining digitalization not as a distraction, but as a tool to foster immersive, multisensory experiences that reconnect people. The project focuses on bridging generational divides, nurturing meaningful social interactions, and creating inclusive spaces that support intergenerational engagement. The methodology introduces a …

Breath Of Formosa: Designing For Respiratory Health In Taiwan, Andi Chen

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Climate change and environmental pollution have led to an alarming increase in respiratory diseases, particularly in urban populations and especially for children. The effects of air pollution are significantly detrimental to children because they are far more susceptible to air pollutants. This is due to their developing lungs and immune system, higher breathing rate, and their proximity to ground level pollutants. Respiratory diseases caused by air pollution can have long term effects on children such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), pneumonia, or asthma. Struggles with these respiratory diseases will lead to absenteeism in schools, further damaging children’s development. Additionally, according …

How Extreme Rainfall And Failing Dams Unleashed The Derna Flood Disaster, Ayman Mokhtar Nemnem, Ahad Hasan Tanim, Audrika Nahian, Sadik Khan, Erfan Goharian, Jasim Imran

Faculty Publications

On September 11, 2023, Storm Daniel unleashed unprecedented rainfall over the Wadi Derna watershed, triggering one of the most devastating floods in modern history, striking Derna, a coastal city in Libya. This study reconstructs the disaster using an integrated modeling approach that combines satellite imagery, hydrologic, hydraulic, and geotechnical simulations, machine learning, eyewitness accounts, and digital elevation data to assess the impact of cascading dam failures. Our findings reveal that the region’s dams, even if structurally sound, would have provided minimal protection against the extreme runoff. However, their failure unleashed a destructive surge wave, amplifying the disaster’s magnitude and devastation. …

Building Bridges: Weaving Culture And Community Through A Museum-Housing Hub In South Downtown Atlanta, Tony Vu

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis explores the architectural potential of a facility that combines a museum and affordable housing, focused on revitalizing South Downtown Atlanta. This historically significant district, rich in African American culture, has faced neglect due to urban sprawl and economic challenges. By addressing the needs of the unhoused population alongside the area’s diminished cultural vibrancy, the design proposes a strategic intervention through urban infill and the adaptive reuse of vacant parking lots. The project envisions an inclusive museum alongside supportive housing and vocational training facilities, aimed at facilitating the reintegration of the unhoused into society while providing affordable housing units …

Home, Exile, And Displacement In The Lord Of The Rings And The Hobbit, Sarah Park

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Chinese Students, Jim Crow Schools: Navigating Education In A Black-And-White Society, Amanda Young

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

Previous research on the history of education in the Jim Crow South has largely focused on the effects of legal segregation on Black communities. However, there existed another group: the Chinese. In the seemingly bifurcated system, their intermediate status was particularly discernible in the school. After Lum v. Rice (1927) stipulated that Chinese people, as members of the “colored” race, should be excluded from white schools, Chinese families sought other forms of education, including private tutors and church-sponsored mission schools. Still, they remained steadfast in their commitment to accessing white public education. The Chinese reproduced, acquiesced to, and in some …

How Employers Shape The Earnings Gap Between Mothers And Fathers, Rebecca Jack, Daniel Tannenbaum, Brendan Timpe

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Employment Research, Vol. 32, No. 2, April 2025

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

How Extreme Rainfall And Failing Dams Unleashed The Derna Flood Disaster, Ayman Mokhtar Nemnem, Ahad Hasan Tanim, Audrika Nahian, Sadik Khan, Erfan Goharian, Jasim Imran

Faculty Publications

On September 11, 2023, Storm Daniel unleashed unprecedented rainfall over the Wadi Derna watershed, triggering one of the most devastating floods in modern history, striking Derna, a coastal city in Libya. This study reconstructs the disaster using an integrated modeling approach that combines satellite imagery, hydrologic, hydraulic, and geotechnical simulations, machine learning, eyewitness accounts, and digital elevation data to assess the impact of cascading dam failures. Our findings reveal that the region’s dams, even if structurally sound, would have provided minimal protection against the extreme runoff. However, their failure unleashed a destructive surge wave, amplifying the disaster’s magnitude and devastation. …

Empow{Her}: Architecture As A Tool For Healing, Dignity, And Collective Power In Underserved Communities, Miciah Norman

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis investigates the role of architecture as a catalyst for empowerment, healing, and social transformation within underserved communities, with a specific focus on the lived experiences of Black women. Empow(her) centers Black women as co-victims — individuals who are often forced to carry the emotional and economic weight of losing loved ones to gun violence, a crisis perpetuated by systemic neglect and ineffective gun legislation. These women, frequently overlooked in policy and design conversations, navigate generational trauma in environments that fail to support their healing or acknowledge their pain. Through the lens of feminist, trauma-informed, and justice-oriented design, this …

Emotional Labour In The Boundary Work Of Filipino Transnational Workers In Indian Cities, Jozon A. Lorenzana

Department of Communication Faculty Publications

This article examines the boundary work undertaken by Filipino transnational workers in globalizing Indian cities. While the ‘practice turn’ in boundary studies has shed light on boundary work's mundane and performative dimensions, the role of emotions in performing such work needs to be ascertained. To account for both the performative and emotional dimensions of boundary work, I present an ethnographic study on Filipino professionals in India that engages Hochschild's concept of emotional labour. Since the mid-2000s, local and multinational companies have hired Filipino professionals to set up businesses and manage operations. I examined their practices of boundary work through in-depth …

Student Engagement In Ela Choice-Based Core Curriculum: A Case Study Of The Dramatic Writing For Film, Television, And Theater Course, Brian Thomas Clements

Dissertations

This paper describes a case study examining student feelings towards engagement in choice-based core ELA courses and teacher feelings towards student engagement specifically within the Dramatic Writing for Film, Television, and Theater course offered in the state of Georgia. The context of this study focuses on the impact that student agency, choice, and voice have on student engagement from their own perspective and how Invitational Education Theory connects to this impact and the course itself. The case study examines the course, its students, and teachers in two schools in a large, suburban metro Atlanta school district. Through interviews and observations, …

From Camps To Communities, Briyonna A. Reid

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis explores the potential to reimagine refugee camps not as temporary settlements, but as long-term, resilient communities that foster hope, dignity, and social cohesion for displaced populations. While refugee camps have historically provided critical emergency shelter from violence, persecution, and economic instability, their design and infrastructure often prioritize short-term survival over long-term well-being. As protracted displacement becomes increasingly common, there is an urgent need to rethink how these spaces function and evolve. This research argues that through innovative, inclusive design and planning, refugee camps can become sustainable environments that promote self-sufficiency, stability, and integration with host communities.

The thesis …

Immigrants Reduce Unionization In The United States, Town Oh, Alex Nowrasteh

School of Business and Leadership Working Papers

Since the 1960s, U.S. union density has consistently dropped as the immigrant share of the population has risen. Using the Naylor and Cripps (1993) model of union formation, we argue that immigrants lower unionization by increasing diversity in the working population that, in turn, reduces solidarity and by having lower preferences for unionization. Empirically, we employ the skill-cell method devised by Borjas (2003) over the 1994-2020 period. Immigration can explain 30 percent of the decline in union density from 1994-2020.

Northern Humboldt Indians: History Of Humboldt County People And Places, Jerry Rohde

Trade & Scholarly Monographs

In what is now Humboldt County and southern Klamath County, seven Indian tribes made their home: the Mawenok, Whilkut, Tsnungwe, Hupa, Karuk, Yurok, and Wiyot. They arrayed themselves upon the land and sent their roots down into the earth, so that they had become as one with the place. Their villages were of long standing, and even their individual houses could sometimes be traced back, by name, for hundreds of years. In 1850, whites arrived on the shores to rage like a gale across the land. For 15 years the gale would sweep up the rivers and over the ridges …

Your Accent Sounds Tough: Exploring Shifting Indexicalities Of Appalachians Through The Lens Of Citizen Sociolinguistics, Sarah Ramsey

Honors Theses

This study investigates how Appalachian English is perceived in online discourse, focusing on the intersections of dialect, identity, and ideology. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s 2024 devastation across Southern Appalachia, YouTube became a site of unexpected metalinguistic and cultural commentary. A citizen sociolinguistics framework is used to examine how outsiders engage with perceived Appalachian English, especially through discussions of class, gender, and accents.

Findings show that Appalachian identity is more favorably received when speakers minimize regional dialect features and align with urban, mainstream ideals. In contrast, speakers who are strongly marked as Appalachian, especially the rural and working class, …

Advancing Faecalibacterium Prausnitzii Growth To Mitigate Psychological Stressors In Space, Alina Loseva, Lane Law

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Isolation and Confinement are two of the five main hazards of human spaceflight identified by NASA, leading to sleep loss, circadian desynchronization, and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. These conditions can impair intestinal barrier function and decrease populations of butyrate-producing bacteria like Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, increasing the risk of stress-related brain disorders. Different fiber sources in diet can affect the growth and butyrate production of F. prausnitzii. This study reviews existing data on F. prausnitzii's fiber response and suggests new fiber combinations for testing, aiming to prevent reductions in F. prausnitzii populations and mitigate psychological disorders in astronauts, …

What Model For Language Planning In Education And Development?, Raymond Mopoho

Journal of African Policy Studies

The implementation of language policies by African countries after independence was very similar to what prevailed in the colonial era in that its centerpiece was the promotion of European languages, to the exclusion of native languages. The official rationale for such policies was political and economic in nature: In a multiethnic context, imposing a foreign language would promote national unity and foster the acquisition of the technical know-how necessary for development. Such a policy was characterized by several weaknesses. In its implementation, for many years, the school system seemed content with being a graduate generating machine, with little attention being …

Nigeria, Globalization And The Development Of Underdevelopment In The Third World, Kema Lrogbe

Journal of African Policy Studies

There are two contending opinions on the issue of globalization. There are some observers who believe that globalization has brought rapid prosperity to the underdeveloped countries while others argue that globalization serves the needs of the metropolitan countries at the expense of the peripheral countries. This paper posits that globalization is economic terrorism. Using a dependency theory to analyze the asymmetric relationships between the developed and the underdeveloped countries, the writer applies some economic indicators to highlight the widening gap between the two worlds. In doing so, it is argued that the socio-economic and political structure of the peripheral countries …

Fertility Transition In West Africa, Samuel Agyei-Mensah

Journal of African Policy Studies

This paper examines the fertility transition in West Africa against the background of recent declines in fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa. Two major questions are addressed: First, what is the status of the West African fertility transition at the end of the 20th century? Second, what are the facilitators of the West African fertility transition? Using data from Demographic and Health Surveys as well as localized studies the paper provides insights into the historical pattern of the West African fertility transition. It attempts to push the interpretation of the West African fertility transition into new theoretical directions by highlighting the importance …

Cover And Table Of Contents, Institute On African Affairs

Journal of African Policy Studies

No abstract provided.

A Perennial Kind Of Service: Flannery O’Connor, Protégé And Mentor, Brent S. House

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

Flannery O’Connor stands among the great authors of the second half of the twentieth century, with a canon of literary work—two novels and a National Book Award-winning collection of stories, along with essays, speeches, letters, and journals—that belies her limited years. If her life had been longer, she would have completed a greater body of work, but she also might have affected the development of creative writing pedagogy in the United States. O’Connor, after all, was one of the most successful of the early graduates of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, the first and most prestigious graduate program for creative writers. …

Introduction To This Special Issue Of Joaps: Dynamics Of Conflict, Peace, And Security In Africa, Earl Conteh-Morgan

Journal of African Policy Studies

No abstract provided.