Digital Commons Network^™

Socio-Legal Framework For Vulnerability: Using Public-Private Partnerships As A Tool For Disaster Management, Latisha Nixon-Jones

Pepperdine Law Review

As disasters continue to grow in size and intensity, the question arises: can governments effectively meet local and regional disaster response and recovery needs? This Article examines the history of utilizing public-private partnerships (PPPs) to enhance government functions in disaster management. The primary objective of this Article is to assess whether involving private entities in governmental roles is an effective strategy for building resilient communities and ensuring public safety, particularly for vulnerable populations. Existing literature focuses on the financial and logistical aspects of PPPs with mere mentions of legal importance. To address these failures, this Article proposes a novel socio-legal …

Standing Firm: The Theological Significance Of Στήναι / Στῆτε In Ephesians 6:10–20, Angela Brown

Liberty University Research Week

Building upon prior research that examined the armor of God as an expression of divine empowerment in Ephesians 6:10–20, this study offers a focused syntactical and discourse analysis of Paul’s repeated use of ¿st¿µ¿ (st¿¿a¿ / st¿te). Particular attention is given to the aorist infinitive st¿¿a¿ (6:11, 13) within purpose constructions (p¿¿¿ t¿ d¿¿as¿a¿ ¿µ¿¿ st¿¿a¿) and the aorist imperative st¿te (6:14), evaluating their aspectual force and imperatival nuance. Rather than conveying punctiliar or once-for-all action, the aorist forms are interpreted within current verbal aspect theory as undefined in internal temporal structure but rhetorically urgent, summoning decisive, covenantal resolve. The …

On Speaking Up: Fluency Isn’T Intelligence — Living With A Stutter In A World That Expects Perfection, Dalton D. Conden

The Penguin Review

I-I-I-I’ve lived most of my life in the space between words—the pause, the breath, the moment of uncertainty where my voice decides whether it wants to cooperate. People often assume stuttering is a tiny inconvenience, like forgetting your keys or having bad Wifi. A stutter doesn’t fade just because you enter adulthood, college, or leadership roles. It grows with you. It travels into classrooms, meetings, speeches, and any moment where your voice becomes your first introduction to the world.

Deaf Development In The Church: The Importance Of Deaf-Led Ministries, Emma Chupp

Liberty University Research Week

This study examines the lived experiences of Deaf pastors across the United States to identify gaps of resources and technical Deaf ministry training and better understand how dDeaf pastors are being equipped to lead dDeaf churches. For the purposes of this study the capitalization of Deaf refers to culturally deaf individuals and the term dDeaf refers to the entire dDeaf and Hard-of-Hearing community. In the United States and around the globe, it is common for the dDeaf community to be excluded from mainstream Christian churches – not out of intention but cultural differences. Traditional hearing churches are not accessible nor …

The Ethnic And Cultural Amalgamation In Buenos Aires And The Evolution Of Argentine Tango, Damien N. Ehie

Create@State

Ethnic and Cultural Amalgamation in Buenos Aires and the Evolution of Argentine Tango

Argentine tango is widely recognized as a national symbol of Argentina, yet it did not originate as a unified cultural expression. This project examines how large-scale immigration and urban geography in Buenos Aires between approximately 1880 and the mid-twentieth century shaped tango’s musical language and social meaning. During this period, the city absorbed massive numbers of Italian and Spanish migrants alongside existing Afro-Rioplatense communities, creating dense neighborhoods where diverse populations lived in close proximity. Shared housing, informal performance spaces, and working-class leisure environments produced sustained cultural interaction. …

Tom: Treatment Outcome Monitor - A Web-Based Tool Designed Specifically For Clinics With Limited Resources, Saurabh Shashikumar Nair, Alba Kihn Alarcon, Maritza Elodia Cupil Barrios, Milton Estuardo Ixquiac Cabrera, Mynor Villeda, Joseph Steyn, Anneray Richards, Ricardo Ruggeri, Loida Orozco, Angel Velarde, Indranil Mallick, Graeme Lazarus, Christoph Trauernicht, Vicky De Falla, Tim Edwards, Johnny Inthaphone, Adenike Olanrewaju, Laurence E. Court, Joshua Niedzielski

Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement

Background: Although three-fourths of cancer deaths are expected to occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by 2030, most cancer research still comes from high-income countries. One barrier to cancer research in LMICs is lack of infrastructure for systematic data collection, including electronic medical record systems. We developed Treatment Outcome Monitor (TOM), a cloud-based tool for tracking cancer patient outcomes, designed specifically for resource-limited settings.

Methods: TOM was developed through iterative design cycles with continuous feedback from health care providers from across the world. We focused on creating a simple, web-based solution that addresses real-world challenges in resource-limited …

Educators’ Experiences With Structured Word Inquiry For Spelling Underachievement In K–8 Students, Leah Skinner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this basic qualitative study was that K–8 students in the western United States continue to experience spelling underachievement despite structured literacy interventions. Grounded in Bowers and Kirby’s structured word inquiry (SWI) framework, the purpose of this study was to explore educators’ experiences implementing SWI for spelling instruction with K–8 students in the western United States. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 16 K–8 educators with SWI experience who were selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Thematic analysis using open and axial coding resulted in six themes. Findings indicated that educators perceived SWI as an effective, …

Integrating Traditional Samoan Music With School-Aged Children In Fostering Culturally Appropriate Behaviors Within The Framework Of Fa'afaletui And Multimodal Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Stormi Rachelle Winscot

Theses and Dissertations

Fa’aSamoa, the cultural framework shaping Samoan values, relationships, and daily life, deeply informs educational experiences in American Samoa. Music, as both cultural expression and communal practice, offers a powerful lens through which student engagement can be understood. This exploratory study employed multimodal interpretative phenomenological analysis (MMIPA), guided by the Fa’afaletui framework, to examine how Samoan and Pacific Islander students responded in embodied ways to traditional Samoan, culturally adapted Western, and other Western (folk, classical, pop) music in classroom settings. Drawing on focus group interviews and systematic observations, the study centered students’ movement, vocal expression, rhythmic participation, and peer interaction as …

A Study Of Zomi Pentecostalism In Its Social, Cultural, And Political Context: A Pentecostal Quest For The Lost Paradise, Thang San Mung

College of Theology and Ministry Dissertations, Projects, & Theses

This dissertation examines the paradisal quest of the Zomi people, an ethnic Christian minority in Myanmar, through the lens of Pentecostal spirituality. Historically, the Zomi have experienced political displacement, loss of their ancestral homeland (Zogam), and ongoing marginalization. While existing scholarship has primarily interpreted Zomi struggles in terms of ethnic identity, nationalism, and socio-political resistance, this study offers a theological reorientation by interpreting Zomi paradisal longing through the Spirit-Restored Paradise framework, a Pentecostal theological model developed here. Employing a qualitative ethnographic methodology grounded in contextual theology, the research draws on semi-structured interviews with twenty-four Zomi Pentecostal participants from Myanmar and …

Competition And Community In Marx’S Alienation Theory: Addressing 21st Century Social Isolation Through A Laclauian Lens, Brett J. Zimmerman

Theses

Capitalism reorients human priorities by necessitating socio-economic competition and tying the preeminent priority of survival to the rate at which one accumulates material resources. The orientation of wage as the only means to survival has replaced the need for the working class to form tribes, build inter-group solidarity, and engage in their communities, resulting in a less fulfilling society. Marx is traditionally conceptualized as a political or economic thinker, and while much of his political and economic thought will be useful supplementary material, in Section I, I will be viewing Marx through a more interpersonal lens. The section will take …

Do We Even Know What ‘Even’ Does? A Ca Investigation, Emily Johnson

Comm-entary

Emily is a Senior communication major with a Business Administration minor. She is originally from Merrimack, NH, and is planning on working in PR or something similar when she graduates in May.

What does “even” do in conversation? This study shows that when used mid-turn, “even” functions as a systematic device for intensifying stance. Analyzing naturally occurring interactions, I demonstrate how speakers use “even” to upgrade assessments, noticings, and complaints, making them more extreme or noteworthy. Recipients consistently orient to this intensification through agreement, accounts, or escalation. Even when the upgrade is left incomplete, others step in to realize it, …

Language Deprivation In Deaf Children, Kaleb Holske

Comm-entary

Kaleb is an American Sign Language English Interpreter with a double major in Linguistics, from Chester, NH. He’s also a professional balloon twister!

This piece examines how language deprivation affects deaf children when they don’t necessarily receive early access to natural language, especially during the most critical developmental years. It further explains how the medical model of deafness, reliance on cochlear implants or hearing aids, schooling, and limited sign language access can negatively impact the emotional, social, and academic growth of these children. This piece argues that early access to sign language and deaf centered support is essential for preventing …

Conventions Of Photography As Means Of Social And Technological Critiques, Ava Lannery

Comm-entary

Ava is a Communication major with a specification in Business Applications. She’s an Irish dual citizen from Newton, MA.

This piece looks  at how photography can be used as a form of Social and technological critique. Through Mark Peterson’s ICE’s Spectacle of Intimidation and Jack Latham’s Beggars Honey, this essay argues that photographers can manipulate composition, technology to create deeper meanings about power, style, social stage agency, immigration enforcement, and modern digital manipulation. Ultimately, this writing piece shows how photography depends on audience context and literacy to be fully understood. 

Physiobridge: Physiology-Constrained Self-Supervised Foundation Model For Cross-Device Ecg–Ppg Learning With Conformal Risk Control, Abbas Alzubaidi, Ali Al-Shuwaili, Ali Al-Bayaty

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wearable and bedside sensors continuously generate electrocardiograms (ECG), photoplethysmograms (PPG), and related physiological waveforms that could enable earlier detection of deterioration and more personalized care. However, current deep learning pipelines in biomedical signal processing often remain taskand device-specific, degrade under domain shift (new hospitals, sensors, skin tones, motion), and provide limited uncertainty information for safety-critical decisions. We propose PhysioBridge, a foundation-model approach that learns a shared representation space for ECG and PPG via self-supervised pretraining and explicit physiology constraints, then supports downstream adaptation with distribution-free risk control. PhysioBridge introduces (i) multi-rate patch tokenization that preserves clinically meaningful morphology across heterogeneous …

Originalism's Unbalanced Ledger, David Zaring

Duke Law Journal

This Essay examines the fundamental tension between originalism and cost-benefit analysis—the two dominant methodologies shaping modern, public law decision-making. Originalism, currently triumphant, prioritizes historical meaning and textual fidelity. It operates in stark contrast to cost-benefit analysis, the byword of the administrative state since 1982, which focuses on the future and efficiency. Descriptively, the two methodologies are irreconcilable. Nor is it possible to pair them by claiming they serve different purposes; originalism and cost-benefit analysis conflict when assessing agency design, constitutional rights, and judicial review of administrative action. As regulatory policymaking continues to rely on empirical and economic assessments, originalism's influence …

A Multi-Valued Rough Neutrosophic Approach For Multi-Criteria Decision-Making: Application In Hospital Selection, K. Gomathi, G. Deepa

Baghdad Science Journal

Decision-making problems are often characterized by complexity and uncertainty, presenting significant challenges for individuals or organizations. Traditional aggregation methods often struggle with the imprecise, inconsistent, and unclear data found in these situations. To address these issues, this study proposes a new multi-criteria decision-making method based on Multi-Valued Rough Neutrosophic Numbers. We first introduce the fundamental operational laws for multi-valued rough neutrosophic numbers, based on t-norm and t-conorm. Subsequently, we establish four new multi-valued rough neutrosophic number-based aggregation operators: the Multi-Valued Rough Neutrosophic Arithmetic Mean Operator, the Weighted Multi-Valued Rough Neutrosophic Arithmetic Mean Operator, the Multi-Valued Rough Neutrosophic Geometric Mean Operator, …

Pengantar Dari Editor Vol. 16 No. 1 (April) 2026, Rahayu Surtiati

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This edition of Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya Vol. 16 No. 1 (2026) presents a range of studies that affirm culture as a dynamic domain continuously shaped by processes of negotiation, transformation, and reinterpretation across diverse social, historical, and political contexts. The articles explore the creation and innovation of artistic practices as representations of collective identity, the dialectics between preservation and renewal of tradition, and the strategic role of culture in national development. In addition, issues of historiography and colonial legacy are examined through postcolonial perspectives that offer new readings of Indonesian art, while discussions on values and social structures address …

Does Ethnic Identity Moderate The Association Between Ethnic Discrimination And Gambling Harm Among Hispanic Or Latino/A/X College Students, Adrianna Jordan Valencia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

No abstract provided.

Generative And Large Language Models For Library Knowledge Graphs, Partha Sarathi Mandal, Sukumar Mandal Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Structured Abstract

Purpose - Knowledge graphs play a key role in modern library and information services for information discovery, advanced search, and explainable recommendation systems. Recent progress in generative and large language models (LLMs) is changing. The present paper presents a clear and concise overview of how these models support knowledge graph construction in library and information science.

Design/methodology/approach –This study shows a conceptual and analytical approach. It considers the latest trends in generative models and LLMs as applied to the construction of knowledge graphs. Their application in entity extraction, relation identification, schema mapping, and triple generation on unstructured text …

Book Review: Social Justice Design And Implementation In Library And Information Science Edited By Bharat Mehra, Ellie F. Kawada

School of Information Student Research Journal

Social Justice Design and Implementation in Library and Information Science, edited by Bharat Mehra, is an engaging volume that explores the pursuit of social justice in its many forms in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS). The included chapters cover case studies of social justice implementation in library services, theoretical frameworks for subversive methods of research and education, and the future of library advocacy for social justice. While the volume is centered on English-speaking countries and lacks the perspective of paraprofessional library staff, the themes and examples presented in the book are invaluable to any LIS students, professionals, …

Development Of Bestari Eco-Environmental Learning Teaching Materials To Enhance Critical Thinking Skills Among Fifth-Grade Students On The Topic Of “My Earth”, Mayna Aryunita, Siti Mayang Sari, Mhd. Syafii

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

This research aims to develop contextual teaching materials based on the "BESTARI" eco-environment framework to enhance the critical thinking skills of 5th-grade students on the topic "My Earth." Utilizing the Research and Development (R&D) method with the ADDIE model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation), the study was conducted at SD Negeri 4 Aceh Tengah. Data collection involved expert validation, practicality questionnaires, and pretest-posttest instruments. Results indicate that the materials achieved a "Very Valid" status (90.6%) and "Very Practical" status (92.3%). Effectiveness tests demonstrated a significant improvement in critical thinking, with a student mastery rate of 88.7%. This study implies …

Reading The Room: A Structural Account Of Constraint-Based Processing And Its Limits In Artificial Systems, Griselda Poe

Publications and Research

This paper does not introduce a new structure.

It makes explicit a structural relation implied but not directly stated in prior work.

Human interpersonal processing is grounded in the co-presence of internal constraint and dependency.

These do not exist as separable components.

They form a single structural condition.

This paper shows that what is commonly described as “reading the room” is not a unitary function.

It differs across configurations in how this condition is processed.

In EF configurations, the effect of this condition is expressed through translation into self-return: outputs are evaluated in terms of how they return to the …

Extreme Cf: A Structural Account Of Processing Absence And Category Absence In Cf-Foregrounded Configurations, Griselda Poe

Publications and Research

Existing frameworks of cognition and intervention assume that processing occurs, meaning is available, and evaluation can be applied.

This paper describes a configuration in which this assumption does not hold.

In CF-foregrounded processing where modulation is absent, processing occurs only when coherence is satisfied. When coherence is not satisfied, processing does not occur. Under this condition, no representation is generated, no evaluation applies, and no action selection is produced.

Within single-layer cognitive models, EF and CF are not distinguished. Within such models, CF does not exist as a condition.

This configuration has not been represented as a category within existing …

From Tradition To Transition: Evaluating Culinary Medicine As A Tool For Metabolic Health Among Nigerian Immigrants In The United States And The United Kingdom, Simi Oduwole M.S.

Department of Nutrition Student Projects

This scoping review examines existing publications to evaluate whether Culinary Medicine can be used as a tool for metabolic health among Nigerian immigrants in the United States and the United Kingdom. Nigeria is one of the fastest-growing populations globally, with increasing migration to high-income countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Evidence suggests that Nigerian immigrants experience a rise in diet-related chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, as duration of residence increases. This phenomenon is often attributed to dietary acculturation and shifts toward Westernized eating patterns. This scoping review evaluates whether culinary medicine can mitigate …

The Celebrity Fantasy: Digital Identity, Performance, And Catfish Deception, Erin L. Dutton

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper examines how celebrity fantasy shapes digital identity and contributes to vulnerability in catfishing scenarios. Using ideological criticism, this study analyzes two episodes of MTV’s Catfish involving celebrity impersonation to explore how digital spaces make it easy to perform a public persona. Research on online identity and parasocial relationships argues that people often feel close to celebrities and are drawn to the fantasy of being noticed by them. In these episodes, the fantasy becomes a tool for deception. Findings suggest that catfishers rely on celebrity tropes to gain appeal, while victims are pulled in by the thrill and validation …

Cannibal Ghouls Of Japan: The Representation Of Cannibalism In Contemporary Japanese Manga, Nico Indovina

Research and Creativity Symposium

A noticeable uptick in depictions of cannibalism has appearing in the last few years in Japanese manga. It has appeared across several genres of the medium and has given rise to questions over its inclusion. Previous research connected the inclusion to the Japanese oni, a creature originating in Buddhist art, as early as the 8th century in Japan. This article argues that the connection goes beyond simply the oni and also derives inspiration from real cannibals of the 20th century in Japan and theory on monsters. The visual similarities between the historical representations and those of contemporary Japanese manga …

Benchmarking Digitalized Innovation In Business Strategy Across Msmes, Shyam Sundar. S, Uma Raman. M, Shanmuga Priya. G, C. M. Sudha Arogya Mary

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The contemporary globally interconnected economy is fundamentally changing international trade and opening up new prospects for businesses, particularly Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs). The basic concept of global business is changing in the modern world due to the digital environment. To preserve their competitive advantage both domestically and internationally, businesses must look for new opportunities. Since the usage of digital technology is causing entrepreneurial processes to become more fluid and irregular over time and space, our research chose a conceptual approach to examine how the digitalization of MSMEs would benefit decision-makers in global organizations. Using a conceptual approach, as …

The Analysis Of Ppg English Teachers' Knowledge In Implementing Genre-Based Approach In Schools

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

This study examines the effectiveness of the Platform of Emancipated Curriculum (PMM) in supporting professional and pedagogical competencies among English teachers participating in the Piloting 2 batch of the Program of Teachers Professional Education (PPG), which notably removed facilitator-led Zoom meetings. Using a survey research design with data collected via Google Forms from 30 English teachers, the study assessed their understanding of genre -based approaches-particularly those informed by systemic functional linguistics and the Derewianka model. Quantitative findings indicate a moderate grasp of these approaches, while quali tative responses reveal significant challenges in their practical application. Participants also expressed a need …

Antecedent And Anaphora: A Window Into Efl Students' Linguistic Development

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

This study investigates the understanding and challenges of using antecedents and naphors in sentences made by English as a foreign language (EFL) students at Tadulako University, focusing on nominal antecedent and pronominal antecedent (indefinite pronouns, quantifiers, demonstrative pronouns, and distributive pronoun), pronominal anaphora and adjectival anaphora. The purpose of this study is to identify which element is more difficult between antecedent and anaphora used by EFL students as well as what factors affect their difficulty. This study used a quantitative descriptive approach, with data collected through tests and questionnaires from 148 third-semester students. The results show that antecedent usage is …

Coping Strategies To Reduce English Speaking Anxiety Problems

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

Speaking anxiety in English remains a significant barrier to effective communication among language learners, particularly in academic settings. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of Andrew (a pseudonym), a university professor who experienced intense English speaking anxiety during his undergraduate years. Through in -depth interviews, the study investigates the coping strategies he employed and how these contributed to his eventual communicative competence. The findings reveal five key strategies used to manage his anxiety: participation in a community development camp (social support), self -reflection and mental imitation (cognitive strategy), recitation of religious texts (spiritual grounding), physical adjustment during presentations …