Digital Commons Network^™

Sex Offender Prison Treatment Programs: Outdated Science Masquerading As A Legitimate Penological Objective, Shelby Jones

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Cuba And The Constitution Of A Stable State Of Misery: Ideology, Economic Policy, And Popular Discipline, Larry Catá Backer

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Methodological Memorandum For Michelle Llado-Wrzos' Phd Dissertation, Michelle Llado-Wrzos Ed.D., Cristo Leon Ph.D.

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

This methodological memorandum outlines the research approach for Michelle Llado-Wrzos' PhD dissertation, which explores the underrepresentation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Despite multiple efforts to reduce the gender disparity, female students remain significantly less likely to pursue STEM majors compared to their male peers. The research focuses on assessing the impact of extrinsic motivators—specifically financial incentives and exposure to female role models—on the STEM major choices of female high school students. By adopting a mixed-methods approach, this study thoroughly integrates quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to examine these motivators.

A quasi-experimental design will assess the …

La Representación Del Sistema Nocional De La Estructura Bélica En Videojuegos De Multiplataforma: Una Discusión Semiótica, Alfonso Rincón Vaquero, Edgar Ávila González

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

En este estudio de reflexión discutimos la manera en que los videojuegos de guerra multiplataforma potencialmente refuerzan estructuras de poder dominantes en la actualidad. Para ello, recurrimos a la semiótica (Eco, 1977) y, particularmente a la teoría de la segmentación de la cultura y producción de sentidos de González (2012), por medio de la cual contemplamos a los videojuegos como subespacios de la cultura que proporcionan visibilidades específicas sobre el mundo. Asimismo, nos apoyamos brevemente en la concepción del poder establecida por Michel Foucault (1978), pues llama la atención su concepción sobre las relaciones de poder como una red productiva …

Of Modern Monsters And Scientific Magic: The Design Challenges Of Simulating An Enchanted World In Dungeons And Dragons 5th Edition, Leonid Moyzhes

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

This article analyzes the magical system of Dungeons and Dragons 5 edition in the context of an idea of the enchanted world, highlighting controversial relationships between this concept and the rules of the game. On the one hand, D&D’s magic constantly borrows the imagery and ideas from different texts that follow the logic of enchanted world, starting with the idea of magic itself and ending with particular spells being grounded in the fundamental traits of enchanted world like ubiquitous of liminality and the anxiety about agency. On the other hand, broader logic of D&D’s rules inadvertently influences the way those …

Narrativas Y Convergencias Transdisciplinarias: Contribuciones Académicas Relevantes, Desafíos Y Horizonte Editorial, Cristo Leon Ph.D.

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

La Revista de Estudios sobre Juegos de Rol y STEAM (JRPSSTEAM) se ha consolidado como un espacio transdisciplinario, multilingüe y de acceso abierto que articula investigación, práctica y comunidad en torno a los juegos de rol. En esta editorial, se reflexiona sobre los aprendizajes y patrones emergentes de los tres volúmenes y cinco números publicados hasta la fecha, abordando tanto aciertos como áreas de mejora. Se ofrecen lineamientos prácticos para autores potenciales, destacando errores comunes, criterios de relevancia temática y aspectos que enriquecen la comunicación entre disciplinas. Además, se revaloriza el carácter abierto e inclusivo del JRPSSTEAM, que acoge desde …

Cutting-Edge Methods For Analyzing Student Behavior In Educational Settings: A Review, Shatha Talib Rashid, Hasanen S. Abdullah

Journal of Soft Computing and Computer Applications

The ability to predict students' performance in educational settings like schools and universities is crucial. A key objective of this effort is to increase academic outcomes and prevent dropout rates, among other benefits. Automating student activities, encouraged by information collected from any technology-based learning tool, has an important role in the process here. Those big quantities of information ought to be completely studied theoretically and processed for gaining worthy insights concerning a student's background as well as interacting with scientific missions, facilitating the development of advanced ways and algorithms to predict students' performance. The current study reviews several contemporary mechanisms …

Modern Face Recgognition Systems: A Review Of Methods And Empirical Findings, Zahraa Naji Razoqi, Raheem Ogla, Abdul Monem S. Rahma

Journal of Soft Computing and Computer Applications

The face recognition system is a biometric technique that replaces traditional passwords and personal identification. This research is dedicated to presenting a study of some facial recognition systems. Since it is unlikely to replicate and is more stable over time, the domain of facial feature extraction has proven to be more effective in attaining exact facial recognition, which is important, especially in intelligent security surveillance systems. Face recognition systems encounter several challenges, primarily related to pose variations, illumination conditions, and occlusions such as hair, glasses, and so on. To address these challenges, enhance performance, and boost the accuracy and speed …

Cunning Commies, Dumb Democrats, And Exiled Germans: A Holistic Postmortem Of The 1948 Czechoslovak Coup D'État, Douglas Joys

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

The role played by the post-WWII expulsion of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia in catalyzing the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état has been underexplored in favor of the traditional narrative of an East-West clash between Czechoslovak democratic and communist parties backed by the United States and Soviet Union, respectively. Scholarship on the expulsion and the coup has on occasion brought up connections between the two events, albeit briefly and only as a small part of larger examinations of one of the two. The Eastern and Western forces at play in Czechoslovakia were undoubtedly key factors in the coup’s outcome: the end of …

Transitional Justice: Understanding The Impact Of The Initiatives In Bosnia-Herzegovina And Guatemala, Rachel Bienstock

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis examines the impact of transitional justice initiatives on reconciliation and healing in regions that have experienced mass atrocities, with a focus on Guatemala and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). While transitional justice processes aim to address the legacies of human rights violations and foster sustainable peace, their impact varies significantly depending on the context and the mechanisms employed. By analyzing existing scholarship and using a case study methodology to gather in-depth data about each instance, this research explores how different approaches to transitional justice can serve a diverse group of communities and how different factors contribute to their success. …

Storytelling In Reappraisal: How Narratives Can Change Emotion, Makabe Aberle

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Emotion regulation strategies, including cognitive reappraisal, are essential for maintaining psychological well-being. While prior work has demonstrated the effectiveness of reappraisal and begun to dig into different specific aspects such as the goals and structure of reappraisals, little is known about how the narrative quality of generated reappraisals impacts their success. The present, preregistered study investigated whether the quality of reappraisal narratives is associated with decreases in negative emotion following reappraisal. Participants across two studies (N = 342) wrote about a recent stressor and then reappraised the event by writing a redemption narrative. Narratives were rated for qualities such as …

Sex And Control In Redeemer Georgia, Anthony Michael Kreis

Georgia State University Law Review

This Essay explores the interplay of history, law, and morality behind the first abortion law in Georgia. Examining the philosophical underpinnings of liberty and equality as articulated in Georgia’s constitutional history through time, this Essay highlights the moral contradictions inherent in the legal frameworks of Reconstruction Georgia. The origin of Georgia’s 1876 abortion law contains multitudes—rooted in race-based contestations for political power, the sociological evolution of medical practice, and evolving attitudes on individual rights. At times, White elites used abortion to attack Yankee culture and stir up racist fears about moral contagion associated with Radical Republicans. To this end, when …

Medication Abortion And The Mails: The Ghost Of Anthony Comstock Rides Again?, Lars Noah

Georgia State University Law Review

Mail-order dispensing of the prescription drug mifepristone has become the latest flashpoint in this country’s long-running debate over abortion access. It also has brought back from the dead one of the oldest federal statutes to address that contentious subject. In their fight to limit access to a drug approved by the FDA one quarter of a century ago, abortion opponents have rediscovered the Comstock Act. Although amended on several occasions since 1873, Congress never managed to repeal or clarify its ambiguous language relating to abortion. On its narrowest reading, this provision would have no impact whatsoever on access to mifepristone; …

The Role Of Stress In Venipuncture Pain In Adolescents: Secondary Analysis Of A Prospective Observational Study, Joel Brown, Zoe Ademuyiwa, Elizabeth Wu-Chen, Hadas Nahman-Averbuch

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Emotional Eating Behaviors And Parental Feeding Practices In Three-Year-Old Children And Their Association With Body Composition One Year Later, Keely Wright, Kenia Rivera, Elysia Poggi Davis

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Emotional eating – eating in response to negative emotions regardless of hunger – is an obesogenic trait that often develops in childhood and remains a habit through adulthood. Greater emotional eating is associated with a higher body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) in 7-12-year-old children (Webber et al., 2009). However, few studies have examined the relations between emotional eating and weight gain in preschool-aged children. Moreover, there is limited research on parental feeding practices and weight gain in preschool-aged children. The current work investigated the association of emotional eating behaviors during an emotional eating task in three-year-old children with change in …

Freedom To Misinform: The First Amendment Victory Against California’S Medical Speech Law, Brennan O'Boyle

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

In 2022, California was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Heightened political polarization and the unmitigated spread of misinformation was straining state and federal governments’ ability to rein in the pandemic through collective action. The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) issued a warning that doctors spreading misinformation were violating their ethical and professional responsibility to accurately inform their patients. In response, California passed AB 2098, classifying COVID-19 misinformation in the patient-doctor context as unprofessional conduct subject to stiff penalties, including suspension or loss of the offender’s medical license. The law was quickly challenged in federal district court on content-neutrality and …

Evolutionary Dynamics Of Artificial Agents: Exploration And Learning In Games, Brian Mintz

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The natural world abounds with examples of complex behavior in humans and many other species. Evolutionary game theory is a powerful mathematical framework to understand the origins of many such behaviors like cooperation. Since these behaviors are often selected against initially, understanding why they are so widespread has been a longstanding question. Rather than assuming agents' rationality, like in traditional game theory, this approach studies the mutation and selection of strategies themselves. However most behavior is neither perfectly rational nor entirely determined by genetics. This dissertation works to bridge the gap between these two perspectives by analyzing models where individuals …

History In Motion: Applying The Archival Collections Of Frank And Lillian Gilbreth’S Time And Motion Studies To Business Education, Annette Bochenek

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

No abstract provided.

Intrapersonal And Interpersonal Factors Of Participation In Physical Activity And Resistance Training In Adolescent Girls: A Narrative Review, Ben Banse-Fay

University Honors Theses

Low rates of participation in physical activity and resistance training among adolescent girls are a concern due to increased health and injury risks. Adolescent girls participate in physical activity and resistance training at a lower rate than boys, which may explain higher rates of injury. Research examining physical activity of adolescent girls often utilizes an ecological framework, identifying intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental factors. Of these ecological levels, intrapersonal and interpersonal factors are modifiable without large costs.

Therefore, this review aimed to identify and summarize recent research that explores the intrapersonal and interpersonal factors associated with participation in physical activity and …

Artistic Exploration Of Synesthesia, Lexi James

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis investigates synesthesia as both a neurological condition and a broader sensory perception shaped by culture, cognition, and creative practice. Although not a synesthete in the medical definition of the condition, I explore how sensory overlaps particularly between sound, sight, touch, taste, and smell can be simulated and explored through art. Through historical research, theoretical analysis, and personal experimentation, I examine synesthesia as a potential extension of universal perceptual pathways rather than an isolated anomaly. Drawing from semiotic theories by Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce, the project considers how meaning is made through sensory signification and how …

Urban-Rural Divide In Inequality’S Impact On Substance Abuse, Jonathan E. Flores

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis focuses on investigating the relationship between income inequality, measured through the Gini coefficient, and drug addiction, proxied through substance-related mortality. Specifically, this thesis focuses on how these dynamics vary across rural and urban counties in the United States, using population size as a proxy. County-level data from 2016 to 2020 were collected through both the CDC and the Census Bureau and subsequently analyzed using Stata, with crude death rates from drug and alcohol causes serving as a function of the Gini coefficient, labor force participation, racial composition, and other socioeconomic indicators. Through a quadratic version of the model, …

Analyzing Human - Nonhuman Primate Conflict Mitigation Techniques In Mto Wa Mbu, Northern Tanzania, Lil Adams

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Human-wildlife conflict is a widespread challenge faced by those living in regular contact with wildlife that can have profound impacts on livelihood outcomes for humans, wildlife, and their shared environment (Barua et al., 2013; Blackie, 2023). Human – non-human primate conflict is particularly crucial due to primates’ high capacity to live among human populations (Chapman & Chapman, 1990; Alberts & Altmann, 2006; Reader et al., 2011; Sinha & Vijayakrishnan, 2017), and is currently on the rise due to increasing contact between human and non-human primates (Hockings, 2016; Uddin et al., 2020). To characterize and analyze techniques currently being used to …

Support For The Us Endangered Species Act Is High And Steady Over The Past Three Decades, John Vucetich, Jeremy T. Bruskotter, Robyn Wilson, L. Mark Elbroch, Adam Feltz, Thomas Offer-Westort

Michigan Tech Publications

Conservation professionals expect increased attempts to weaken the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) during the second Trump administration. As such, it is important to understand Americans’ level of support for the ESA. Prior research indicates that support for the ESA remained consistently strong across four studies conducted over a two-decade period, 1996–2015. The research presented here extends those observations to six studies conducted over a three-decade period, 1996–2025. We find that support of the ESA over that period has remained consistently high, at about 84%, and opposition has remained consistently low, at about 12%. We also report on other trends …

Together We Thrive: A Co-Production Toolkit For People With Ms And Care Providers, E. Chandlee Bryan

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Nearly a million people in the U.S. have Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a progressive neurological disease. People with MS (PwMS), are more likely to have a decreased quality of life (QoL) and are at greater risk for unemployment, loneliness, and depression than people without MS. As MS symptoms can include fatigue, balance issues, mobility problems, and changes to bladder and bowel function, managing MS requires patient engagement that includes coordination of care between neurology, primary care, and specialists. This thesis was researched and written by a PwMS who has worked in collaboration with her neurologist, Dr. Andrew D. Smith III, and …

The Magdala Moms Of La Jolla, Rebecca Shepard

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

The Magdala Moms of La Jolla is a satirical novel set at The Magdala School, an elite Christian academy in La Jolla, California, where social status, curated faith, and community performance are indistinguishable. The story follows Mitzi Madigan, a brash, ambitious mother whose carefully constructed persona hides a troubling past. Her world begins to unravel when Caroline—a single mother working in construction—is granted a scholarship for her daughter, Emma, to attend Magdala.

As Emma enters the private school’s polished social ecosystem, she begins to uncover the secrets buried beneath the sun-drenched surface. The Mag Moms, a clique of hyper-polished, scripture-quoting …

Sentiment Analysis Of The Israel-Palestine Conflict On X: Insights From The Indonesian Perspective Using A Long Short-Term Memory Algorithm, Mohammad Taleb Noori, Muhammad Alif Rahman, Agus Purnomo, Aripin

Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering

The Israel-Palestine conflict which has persisted for decades drives mounting global interest that consequently influences public opinion worldwide. This article examines the sentiment analysis of X (Twitter) data pertaining to the conflict using the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model. This study presents public reactions through an analysis of 1,700 tweets collected between May and July 2023 which encapsulate key recent developments. In this study, several steps were conducted, namely 1) crawling process to get raw data; 2) preprocessing: cleansing, case folding, tokenization, stop word removal, and stemming; 3) modelling and validation using the LSTM model; 4) model evaluation based on …

Sentiment Analysis And Topic Modelling On Twitter Related To Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Game Using Lexicon-Based, Lda, And Svm, Hikmal Muhammad, Fauzi Adi Rafrastara, Kristoforus Adrian Setiadi, Arley Japardi

Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) has become a significant phenomenon within the global e-sports landscape, attracting millions of active players and fans. This study presents a comprehensive sentiment analysis and topic modelling of MLBB-related discussions on Platform Twitter, combining a lexicon-based approach, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification within a unified analytical pipeline. A dataset of 4,313 tweets was analysed, revealing that 70.8% expressed neutral sentiment, suggesting that much of the community's communication is informational rather than emotionally charged. Positive sentiments were associated with game content updates and rewards, while negative sentiments focused on technical and …

Diabetes Risk Prediction Using Shapley Additive Explanations For Feature Engineering, Chinwe Miracle Chituru, Sin-Ban Ho, Ian Chai

Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering

Diabetes is prevalent globally, expected to increase in the next few years. This includes people with different types of diabetes including type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. There are several causes for the increase: dietary decisions and lack of exercise as the main ones. This global health challenge calls for effective prediction and early management of the disease. This research focuses on the decision tree algorithm utilization to predict the risk of diabetes and model interpretability with the integration of SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) for feature engineering. Random forest and gradient boosting models were developed to identify the risk …

Machine Learning Model For Assessing Human Well-Being Using Brain Wave Activities, Sellappan Palaniappan, Rajasvaran Logeswaran, Yoke Leng Yong

Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering

This study presents a novel machine learning approach to assess human well-being through the analysis of brain wave activities. We developed a Random Forest classifier to categorize brain wave patterns into three states of well-being: good, normal, and bad. Using synthetic data simulating electroencephalography (EEG) readings, our model achieved an overall accuracy of 96.17%. The feature importance analysis revealed that alpha waves (34%) and beta waves (29%) were the most significant predictors of well-being states, which aligns with existing neuroscientific literature linking alpha activity to relaxation and beta activity to cognitive engagement. The confusion matrix demonstrated the model's particular strength …

Durability And Defamation: How Defamation Law Continues To Adapt In The 21st Century, Austin C. Vining

Florida Entertainment and Sports Law Review

A commentary on the history of defamation and how defamation law has adapted over time.