Digital Commons Network^™

Prevalence And Predictors Of Intimate Partner Violence Against Men In Kisumu Slums, Kenya, Elizabeth Akello Odemba, Edward A. Frongillo Jr. Ph.D., Sheri D. Weiser

Faculty Publications

Background

Men in sub-Saharan Africa experience intimate partner violence, with few reporting their cases to the legal authorities or coming out for assistance. Consequently, data on the prevalence and drivers of intimate partner violence in different parts of sub-Saharan Africa are inadequate. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the prevalence and predictors of intimate partner violence against men in Kisumu slums, Kenya.

Methods

This retrospective cross-sectional study included 398 randomly selected men in intimate relationships aged 18–54 years and residing in Kisumu slums. The sampling frame used was from Community Health Volunteers covering the area of study. Data collection …

Highway-Transportation-Asset Criticality Estimation Leveraging Stakeholder Input Through An Analytical Hierarchy Process (Ahp), Kwadwo Amankwah, Sarah Hernandez, Suman Kumar Mitra

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Transportation agencies face increasing challenges in identifying and prioritizing which infrastructure assets are most critical to maintain and protect, particularly amid aging networks, limited budgets, and growing threats from climate change and extreme events. However, existing prioritization approaches often lack consistency and fail to adequately incorporate diverse stakeholder perspectives. This study develops a systematic, stakeholder-informed method for ranking transportation assets based on their criticality to the overall transportation system. As a novel approach, we use the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and present a case study of the applied approach. Six criteria were identified for ranking assets: annual average daily traffic …

Pace Financing: A Legal Guide To Energy And Water Efficiency Funding, James P. Cargas

PEEL Alumni Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Battery Capacity Degradation Prediction Of Large‑Scale Energy Storage Power Station Based On Binary Neural Network, Hang Yang, Yiguo Guo, Xiaoqing Huang, Putong Wen, Dan Xie, Qibin Bo, Yimu Fu, Jingxuan Li

Journal of Electric Power Science and Technology

The number of battery cells in a large-scale energy storage power station is enormous. The conventional convolutional neural networks achieve high prediction accuracy for battery capacity degradation. However, they have high demand for computational resources, which limits their application in practical battery management systems of energy storage power stations. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a battery capacity degradation prediction method based on a binary neural network. First, a lightweight model is designed by binarizing the network weights and activation functions, using the discharge capacity-voltage curve of the battery as input to output the cumulative distribution function values of …

Currere, Antiblack Racism, Education, Amphitrite, And Shadow Swimming, Dorothy Heard

Department of Art and Design Scholarship and Creative Works

What does it mean to make the ordinary and the everyday special? What would it mean to teach African American children as though their every moment is special?

The Relationship Between Food Label Comprehension And Consumer Dietary Choices, Marline Denis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Poor dietary choices and limited understanding of nutritional information are ongoing public health concerns that contribute to the rise of chronic illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. This quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational study investigated the associations between health literacy and food label comprehension with consumer dietary choices and adherence to dietary guidelines among individuals aged 16 and older in the United States. Guided by the Nutrition Label Literacy (NLL) framework, this study explored whether components such as basic nutritional knowledge, numeracy skills, health motivation, and label usage predict healthier food choices. Age, education, and gender were included as covariates. …

Staff Education On Substance Use Screening In An Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, Kelvin Okwudiogor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This DNP project aimed to enhance the quality of care by improving healthcare providers’ knowledge and fostering confidence in the utilization of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT). At the practice site, patients were not screened for substance use due to the lack of provider knowledge on evidence-based screening tools. The practice-focused question for this project was, Among healthcare providers in outpatient mental health clinics, does education on the use of the SBIRT screening tool increase their knowledge and skill after educational intervention? The project used a sample of 12 healthcare professionals, including four mental health practitioners and …

Cauda Equina Syndrome: A Survey Of Guideline Utilisation In Primary Care In England, Jonathon Gill, Sue Greenhalgh, Jos M. Latour, Gillian Yeowell

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Background: Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a spinal emergency. Over half of known cases first present to primary care for initial assessment. In February 2023, the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) national programme launched new CES guidelines, which included an important change in practice: a new urgent referral route. Aim: This study aims to explore the awareness and use of the GIRFT guidelines in a primary care setting in England. Design and Setting: A cross-sectional online survey was used to collect data from primary care clinicians working across England. Method: Using purposive sampling, the survey was shared with primary …

Medicare Advantage Dominance In Puerto Rico’S Healthcare System: Exploring Its Financial Landscape, Marketing Strategies And Quality Measures Using The Commercial Determinants Of Health Framework, Sergio Andrés Rivera-Rodríguez

Dissertations and Theses

Over time, Medicare Advantage (MA) has seen an increase in enrollment in the United States and Puerto Rico. This program, which is the privatized version of traditional Medicare, has faced critiques in recent years for being focused on profit maximization and reducing accessibility to Medicare beneficiaries. In Puerto Rico, the majority of Medicare beneficiaries (95%) choose a MA plan over traditional Medicare. Despite being the primary financier of healthcare in Puerto Rico and covering populations that require extensive healthcare services, individuals over 65 and those with disabilities, there are still numerous research gaps about the MA industry. This dissertation examines …

A Literature-Informed Nutrition Patient Communication Toolkit For Hashimoto’S Thyroiditis, Kieren Ritter

Department of Nutrition Student Projects

This project is intended to help bridge the gap in nutrition education and treatment for the autoimmune disease Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT). Current research was synthesized and converted into a communication tool for adults diagnosed with HT. The toolkit was based on 33 articles, from three databases, that passed the inclusion and exclusion criteria for analysis. The education toolkit was intended to be practical and valuable for below a high school reading level. The aforementioned articles reviewed the effects of dietary changes on HT with vitamin D, selenium, gluten removal, dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean diet and Autoimmune Protocol, and …

The Ecology Of Gender-Based Violence For Syrian Refugee Women In Tripoli And Akkar, Dima Masoud

Dissertations and Theses

Lebanon is a country that suffers from multiple economic, political, and health crises. Additionally, the mass displacement of Syrian refugees to Lebanon after the war in Syria over a decade ago has left Syrian refugees vulnerable, including the vulnerability of Syrian refugee women to gender-based violence (GBV). While these conditions have affected all of Lebanon, this dissertation focuses on the regions of Tripoli and Akkar in northern Lebanon. Tripoli and Akkar are regions that border Syria, which means that an influx of Syrian refugees, mostly unregistered, comes in. While other regions in Lebanon also border Syria, Tripoli and Akkar are …

Behavioral Skills Training: Comparing Parent Implementation To Registered Behavior Technician Implementation, Jessica Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Behavioral Skills Training (BST) is an evidence-based practice appropriate for practitioners, parents, clients, and other populations. It is frequently used in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to support and augment skill development. Parent training in ABA has been found to be beneficial, and often critical, in the progress of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While BST is a popular method of parent training, it is unclear how effective this type of training is in comparison to the training given to a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT). This study took place in conjunction with an ABA clinic providing in home therapy. …

The Influence Of Father Involvement On Early Childhood Outcome In China, Shuiyan Guo

Theses and Dissertations

Using a sample from China, this study examined the influence of father involvement on child outcome in early childhood in areas of internalizing problems, externalizing problems and prosocial behaviors. The participants were drawn from the larger PACIFIC project, a cross-cultural study of family processes in Asia. 479 families with a preschool or kindergarten child living in Beijing and Dalian, China were included in this study. Using multiple regression analysis, result indicated that father involvement was not significantly associated with child’s internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and prosocial behaviors. Moderation analysis was also conducted and found that the effect of father involvement …

Distribution And Habitat Use Of Sounders Gray Whales From 1990 To 2023, Sara N. Mach

Honors Projects

Abstract: Every spring, a small subgroup of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), referred to as “Sounders,” migrate to northern Puget Sound (NPS), Washington State, to forage on small crustaceans, particularly during years of low prey availability in the Arctic, the primary foraging habitat for gray whales. In contrast to gray whales in other locations, Sounders primarily forage on ghost shrimp (Neotrypnea californiensis) while in NPS. These small crustaceans live in the sediment in the intertidal to shallow subtidal zones, so gray whales must wait for higher tides to feed. Gray whale abundance in NPS and time spent …

A Pre–Post Study Evaluating An Online Cbt-Based Intervention To Improve Academic Performance In Students With Low Mood, Suheir Awadalla, E. Bethan Davies, Cris Glazebrook

All Works

Online cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)-based interventions have shown the potential to improve the mental health of university students. However, their impact on West Asian cultures and educational achievement has yet to be fully investigated. This study explores the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of a self-directed, internet-delivered, cognitive–behavioural skills training programme (MoodGYM) in reducing depression and improving academic performance among university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This exploratory pre- and postintervention study with a historical control group recruited 50 students, having a GPA <2 and self-reporting at least one of two key depressive symptoms, from one UAE university. The results demonstrated that the total Hospital Depression and Anxiety Scale (HADS) depression score (HADS-D) decreased after the intervention (P = 0.004), and the proportion of participants scoring above the cutoff for depression (HADS-D ≥8) decreased from 77.2 to 27.3% (p < 0.001). There was also a significant reduction in HADS-anxiety scores (p < 0.001), and the proportion of participants above the cut-off for anxiety (HADS-A ≥8) decreased from 50% to 11.4% (p = 0.001). GPA improved significantly over time (p < 0.001, d = 1.3), and attendance warnings decreased (p = 0.008, d = 0.6). Most students (79.6%) evaluated MoodGYM as useful, and all students completed at least two MoodGYM modules. This study shows that MoodGYM, a web-based mental health promotion intervention, improves academic achievement in university students with depressive symptoms. Further research is needed to explore how MoodGYM can be best implemented within university settings.

(M)Other Tongue Aspirations: Negotiating Banjara Language, Identity, And Education Policy In Rural India, Jessica Chandras, Devayani Tirthali, Sameer Honwad

UNF Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Agglomeration Economies In Social Economy Clusters: The Role Of Networks, Mina Kim

Dissertations and Theses

The social economy is an economic framework that prioritizes social value over profit, emphasizing cooperation, solidarity, and community-based solutions to the failures of neoliberal market systems. In East Asia, the development of the social economy is often government-led, raising concerns about resource dependency and the long-term sustainability of Social Economy Organizations (SEOs). This dissertation investigates how network structures and diversity within a policy-driven social innovation cluster shape SEO survival, and how agglomeration economies operate differently compared to conventional industrial clusters. The case of Seoul Innovation Park (SI Park) in South Korea provides the empirical basis for the analysis.

A mixed-methods …

Analyzing The Intention To Volunteer Through The Integrated Model Of Behavioral Prediction, Sage Mendre

University Honors Theses

Nationwide, a significant portion of adults lack basic, functional literacy skills. To combat functional illiteracy in the United States, non-profit organizations who focus on literacy require the services of volunteers. In Portland, Oregon, the Portland Literacy Council (PLC) is responsible for training volunteer tutors to help people learning English as a second language (ESL) and native English speakers who want to improve their literacy skills. The integrated model of behavioral prediction (IMBP) is a communication theory that identifies the core factors that can lead to the intention to perform a behavior. The connection between volunteering in literacy environments and IMBP …

2025.06.05 - Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes, Northeastern Illinois University Board Of Trustees

Board of Trustees - 2025

Meeting materials for the NEIU Board Trustees

Evaluating The Gomath! Curriculum For Supporting Middle School Students' Mathematics Learning, Janet J. Muckerheide

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was that the GoMath! curriculum implemented in 2016 by St. Anne Middle School’s (a pseudonym) administration to support Grades 6-8 student mathematics learning had not been evaluated to determine its effectiveness. Guided by Stufflebeam’s context, input, process, and product (CIPP) evaluation model, the purpose of this project study was to evaluate if the GoMath! curriculum was effective in supporting Grades 6-8 students’ mathematics learning. This program evaluation assessed the curriculum across four CIPP dimensions: context (alignment with standards), input (teacher support and professional development [PD]), process (student engagement), and product (academic outcomes). Document analysis …

Journal Of The Arts And Special Education: Volume 5, Issue 1

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

No abstract provided.

2025 June 5 - From My Notepads Newsletter, Office Of The President, East Tennessee State University, Brian Noland

From My Notepads: A Newsletter from President Brian Noland

No abstract provided.

Promising Partnerships In Art Education And Special Education: An Interview With Beverly Gerber, Jennifer Elaine Smith, Yilin Shen

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

Dr. Beverly Gerber is a strong advocate for developing “promising partnerships” between art educators and special educators. She has spent her career working to advocate for increased inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities. From this advocacy, she has written books that have sat atop the National Art Education Association’s best seller’s list. In addition, Dr. Gerber is a co-founding member of the Division of Visual and Performing Arts Education (DARTS) in the council for Exceptional Children. DARTS will celebrate it’s 10^th anniversary in 2025. Dr. Gerber’s work has had a notable impact on the intersection of art and special …

Why Would I Befriend A Bot? Assessing Factors Influencing The Usage Of Social Chatbots For Digital Natives, Mohammad Amin Kuhail, Jihene Mrabet, Rafiq Hijazi, Justin Thomas

All Works

With advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), social chatbots (SCs) can now simulate meaningful, sympathetic interactions that blur the line between human and machine connection while also providing social and emotional support to its users. Generation Z (Gen Z), as tech-savvy digital natives, prefers individualized and emotionally engaging digital interactions, making them an important demographic for the adoption of AI-powered SCs. This study investigates the factors influencing Gen Z's use of SCs, focusing on emotional support, attitudes towards AI, loneliness, and hedonic motivation. The study employed a quantitative survey with 156 participants who interacted with an SC and completed a questionnaire …

Decoding Readiness For Clinical Practicum: Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Perspectives, Clinical Evaluations, And Comparative Curriculum Variations, Imad Maalouf, Wafaa El Zaatari

All Works

Background: Nursing students’ readiness for clinical practicums is critical to nursing education. Concerns about students’ preparedness for clinical courses have emerged due to increased student-to-educator ratios and limited hands-on practice time. Moreover, feedback from clinical instructors reveals that many student nurses lack the necessary knowledge and skills for patient care, thereby raising questions about their readiness for clinical practicum. Purpose: This study investigates undergraduate nursing students’ readiness for clinical practicum in the UAE by examining their perspectives, the variation in clinical study plans across different contexts, and the evidence gathered from clinical evaluations. Methodology: A case study design was adopted, …

Exploring The Figured Worlds And Identity Of Religious Women In Mathematics-Related Majors, Rachel K. Reynolds

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis investigates how religious women in mathematics construct and navigate their identities within the intersecting figured worlds of gender, religion, and mathematics. Drawing on Holland et al.’s (1998) theory of figured worlds and informed by identity theory, this study examines how these women experience, negotiate, and position their identities within these figured worlds. Through interviews with women who are simultaneously committed to religious life and mathematical scholarship, the research reveals that rather than perceiving conflict between these domains, participants often find points of integration and mutual reinforcement. Their narratives illuminate how identity is shaped through cultural contexts, institutional expectations, …

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction And Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy As Interventions For Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Meta-Analytic Review, Amitojeroop Kaur

Honors Scholar Theses

This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), specifically Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), in reducing anxiety symptoms in individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). A review of the literature revealed that while GAD affects millions globally, many individuals diagnosed with GAD do not receive treatment. This review evaluated the effectiveness of MBIs using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs, focusing on effect sizes, study quality, and control conditions. The central hypothesis was that MBCT would significantly reduce anxiety symptoms, particularly in comparison to inactive control groups. Meta-analytic results showed that MBSR …

Cotton/Soybean Insect Newsletter, June 5, 2025, Jeremy K. Greene

Clemson University Cotton/Soybean Insect Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Cotton/Soybean Insect Newsletter, June 5, 2025, Jeremy K. Greene

Clemson University Cotton/Soybean Insect Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Utah Farmers Market Consumer Preferences For Local Cut Flowers, Alison Bingham, Kynda R. Curtis, Makaylie Langford

All Current Publications

In this fact sheet, we review the results of a 2024 study examining consumer preferences for local cut flowers at Utah farmers markets. Study data were collected in person via Qualtrics at six farmers markets across northern Utah, with 51 total responses. We discuss farmers market consumer purchasing preferences, familiarity with labeling programs, and preferred flower colors and varieties. Additionally, the factors influencing consumer decisions when purchasing cut flowers, as well as the product information they rely on, are discussed. Overall, the information in this fact sheet will assist cut flower growers in making informed decisions regarding production methods and …