Digital Commons Network^™

Traditional Institutions As Change Agents: Understanding Cultural Norms And Practices Promoting Gender-Based Violence In Nigerian Communities, Titilayo Ogunbambi

Dissertations

Traditional institutions in Nigerian communities hold a strong cultural foundation and significantly influence cultural norms and practices. Due to the increasing need for effective community-based approaches in addressing social and health problems on a global scale, we explore the attitudes and behaviors of traditional institutions as custodians of cultural customs and norms related to gender-based violence (GBV) and examine their potential role in ensuring community safety. By addressing harmful gendered norms and practices, traditional institutions could become key agents of change, promoting meaningful social transformations. This study explores the dynamics cultural norms and practices play in community safety, emphasizing the …

Narratives Of Jewish American Public School Educators Amid Rising Antisemitism Post October 7, 2023, Cassandra Schwartz

Dissertations

This study investigated how Jewish American public school educators are responding to rising antisemitism post-October 7, 2023. While research exists on global antisemitism, the experiences of Jewish educators within the unique context of American public schools represent a significant and under-explored gap in academic literature. A qualitative narrative research approach, grounded in critical theory, was employed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight Jewish American public school educators and analyzed thematically. The findings revealed participants’ experiences of a heightened sense of fear and silence from colleagues and institutions, leading to feelings of isolation and being unsupported. Critically, this study …

Land Access As Liberation: A Qualitative Study On Faith, Food, And Farming Of Urban And Rural Black Land Stewards In The United States, Dominique Edwards

Dissertations

Since 1920, Black farmers in the United States have held less than 2% of the nation's farmland, a direct result of race-based discriminatory policies embedded within federal, state, local, and county-level institutions (Daniel, 2013). Structural barriers—ranging from exclusionary lending practices by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the systematic dispossession of land through legal loopholes, heirs’ property laws, and violent racial terror—have contributed to this staggering decline in Black land ownership (Gilbert et al., 2002). The erosion of Black agrarian landholdings intensified in the latter half of the 20th century, as government programs, civil rights legislation, and technological advancements, …

Formulation And Characterization Of Ready-To-Drink Nutraceutical Beverage From Blood Fruit (Haematocarpus Validus), Raju Sasikumar, Selva Kumar T, Kambhampati Vivek, Sandeep Kumar Panda, Amit K. Jaiswal

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Blood fruit (Haematocarpus validus) is a rich source of bioactive compounds with potential health benefits. This study aimed to develop and characterize a ready-to-drink (RTD) fermented nutraceutical beverage (FNB) using controlled fermentation at 20, 23, and 26 °C and to assess its biochemical composition, antioxidant potential, volatile profile, anti-nutritional factors, and sensory attributes. The beverage was analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Gas Chromatography High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (GC-HRMS), and High-Resolution Liquid Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry (HR-LCMS), with key parameters such as total sugars, organic acids, total polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, …

Imri Newsletter, June 2025, International Marian Research Institute

IMRI Newsletter

• Welcome from IMRI director
• Congratulations to Pope Leo XIV
• Marian Studies Spotlight: "Weaving Ways of Knowing Mary"
• "All Things Marian" podcast
• Announcement: Journal of the International Marian Research Institute
• Upcoming events
• Recent events
• Alumni news
• Marian Studies at the University of Dayton
• Recent IMRI publications and presentations
• Call for Marian Fellows
• Save the date: IMRI and IPI anniversary celebration

Student Disengagement In Years 7 To 9 In Victoria: A Review Of Recent Evidence, Fabienne Van Der Kleij, Suijing Yang, Romany Manuell

Student learning processes

The research reported here was conducted as part of the Reclaiming the Lost Years project, which aims to raise awareness of the need for structural reform in Years 7 to 9 schooling in Victoria, Australia. As an initial research paper within the project, this review adopted a rapid review methodology to review relevant literature and broader evidence about student disengagement in Years 7 to 9 in Victoria. Findings can inform the project’s advocacy for reform and key policy recommendations by defining and measuring student engagement and disengagement, and analysing evidence about rates of student disengagement in Victoria.

“You Can Rise Back Up Again”: Using Photovoice To Understand Healing From Intimate Partner Violence Among Lgbtq+ Racial-Ethnic Minority College Students, Stephanie Lim

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a longstanding public health crisis that has been linked to deleterious mental and physical health issues and negative academic outcomes among college students. Further, IPV disproportionately affects LGBTQ+ individuals and certain racial-ethnic minority students. Campus services are not adequately meeting the needs of these survivors and these efforts would be better informed by centering students disproportionately affected by IPV. Guided by intersectionality and minority stress theories, the current photovoice study examined the strengths that fostered healing and the challenges that LGBTQ+ racial-ethnic minority survivors faced in their recovery journeys. Participants were eight LGBTQ+ racial-ethnic minority …

A Bad Apple: Supreme Court Of Georgia Delivers Loss To Educators Holding It Is Constitutional For Tenured Georgia Educators To Lose Tenure When Public Schools Convert To Charter Schools, Brantley B. Swindell

Mercer Law Review

The Supreme Court of Georgia dealt a major blow to educators in existing charter school systems with tenure rights earned under the Fair Dismissal Act (FDA) after 1993. The court’s decision in Woods v. Barnes meant a big win for existing charter school systems and public school systems that intend to convert to charter systems. In Woods, a public school teacher and the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) sought enforcement of tenure rights afforded by the Fair Dismissal Act in a charter school system that was previously a public school system. These rights included notice of the reasons for …

Open Repository @ Binghamton Monthly Additions And Top Downloads - May 2025, Caitlin Holton

Library Created Resources

Newly added work in the Open Repository @ Binghamton (ORB) from 5/1/2025-5/31/2025. Top downloads from same time frame.

(Wp 2025-02) How Does The Fomc Form Forecasts? An Adaptive Learning Approach Utilizing Sep Data, Stephen J. Cole

Economics Working Papers

This paper examines how FOMC participants construct their Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) forecasts. FOMC expectations are assumed to contain two components: (1) an endogenous part that follows an adaptive learning model and (2) an exogenous part defined as sentiment (waves of optimism and/or pessimism). The results include key policy takeaways. The forecasts of FOMC members are responsive to new economic information. Their sentiment about future GDP growth and inflation also displays persistence and is correlated with each other. Moreover, FOMC participants rely more on their endogenous/learning model to form expectations. However, sentiment plays a larger role during and around …

Health And Wellbeing: A Report Of The 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey, A. Rastogi, L. Menard, G. H. Miller, W. Cole, Daniel Laurison, J. Caballero, S. Murano-Kinney, R. Heng-Lehtinen

Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Works

The 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) is the largest survey that examines the experiences of transgender people in the United States. The National Center for Transgender Equality (now Advocates for Trans Equality) conducted the survey in the fall of 2022 and 92,329 binary and nonbinary transgender respondents from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. military bases took the survey. The USTS was an anonymous, online survey for transgender people ages 16 and older in the United States and was available in both English and Spanish. The 2022 survey followed the 2015 USTS …

Investigating Terrorist Use Of Improvised Explosive Devices In The United States: Evidence From Us Federal Court Cases, 2009 – 2024, Angie Benda, Austin C. Doctor

Political Science Faculty Publications

Terrorist use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) remains a persistent and evolving threat within the United States. Until now, few data collection and analysis efforts have focused on the systematic capture of terrorist bombing plots and attacks. Filling this evidence gap, this research note presents and analyses an original dataset of US federal charges associated with terrorism-related IED incidents in the United States observed from 2009 through 2024. The data features 110 related cases, the analysis of which indicates a sample peak in the use of IEDs in terrorist incidents occurred in 2024. Incidents are not siloed to a specific …

Nebraska's Lgbtqia2s+ Laws And Politicians Timeline, Claire Du Laney Dunker, Haleigh Diltz

Pride and Joy: Nebraska History

Note: This is a zine.

The legal system in the United States has a long history of discrimination towards the LGBTQIA2S+ community. This was no different in Nebraska. Beginning in the seventies and continuing today, people have been advocating for protections for the LGBTQ+ community and electing representatives of the community to office.

While there have been setbacks, there has also been considerable progress in these goals. This timeline is by no means a comprehensive list of the policies, people, and officials that impacted the LGBTQ+ community in Nebraska.

Pride And Joy: Nebraska History (Banners), Claire Du Laney Dunker, Haleigh Diltz

Pride and Joy: Nebraska History

Banners for the "Pride and Joy: Nebraska History" exhibit that explores the history of LGBTQIA2S+ communities throughout the state of Nebraska. LGBTQ+ individual and community histories are an important part of Nebraska and the nation. This traveling exhibit seeks to share evidence of community gatherings, activism, publications, organizations, and other important topics.

This history is more complex than can be expressed in a single exhibit. Communities continue to experience joy and sorrow, community engagement and turmoil, resilience and discrimination. This is not an exhaustive LGBTQIA2S+ history. At this time, no one has written that comprehensive history. There are more stories …

Quantifying Return On Controls In Llm Cybersecurity, Richard Helder Moulton

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

As large language models are increasingly deployed in real world systems, concerns about their security have grown. While these models demonstrate impressive fluency and utility, they are also susceptible to a variety of attacks, including prompt injection, data leakage, and adversarial manipulation. These vulnerabilities pose serious risks in high stakes environments where privacy, reliability, and trust are essential. Despite emerging efforts to document and mitigate such issues, a gap remains in the ability to systematically measure the effectiveness of proposed defenses in a quantifiable and reproducible manner.

This research addresses the question: how can security vulnerabilities in language model based …

The Caitlin Clark Effect: Evidence Of Athlete-Driven Market Disruption In Women’S Collegiate Basketball, Lawrence W. Judge, Jeffrey C. Petersen

Journal of Applied Sport Management

Caitlin Clark’s emergence as a generational collegiate basketball talent triggered a profound shift in consumer behavior, known as the “Caitlin Clark Effect” (CCE) (Lucas, 2025). This study examined attendance and venue utilization data from the University of Iowa’s women’s basketball program, spanning pre-, during-, and post-Clark periods. Results from one-way ANOVA analyses showed a statistically significant increase in average game attendance (home, away, and neutral), rising from 5,387 pre-Clark to 13,877 in her senior year (p < .001), with a sustained post-Clark average of 9,890. Arena capacity utilization followed a similar trajectory, increasing from 37.3% to 92.4%. Notably, post-Clark utilization remained at 74.3%, indicating durable fan interest. These findings provide time-sequenced evidence of a singular athlete catalyzing lasting institutional and market change in women’s collegiate sports. The study advances sport business theory by illuminating the strategic implications of athlete-driven branding and challenges assumptions underpinning facility planning and resource allocation.

Single-Sided Hearing Assistance Application, Harryson Nguyen, Jp Haratani

Electrical Engineering

The product is a hearing assistance smartphone application which aims to improve the quality of life of people with single-sided hearing loss/deafness by providing them with a cheaper and more reliable alternative to medically-prescribed hearing aids. Due to development setbacks, the product instead uses open-ear earbuds. Since the earbuds are not directly inserted into the user’s ear canals, they will not obstruct the hearing of the user’s non-deaf ear, and the user will still be able to hear the sounds that come from their non-deaf side. Some users may find that Bluetooth earbuds can be quite expensive, but are ultimately …

Wireless Communication In Autonomous Vehicles, Ethan Paul Spalard, Alan Rubalcava, Jarnail Singh Sanghera

Electrical Engineering

This project focuses on building a realistic, standards based V2X communication platform using DSRC (IEEE 802.11p) to support future autonomous vehicle control research. The system is built around commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, specifically the NXP i.MX 8XLite – V2X Evaluation Kit, which integrates an automotive-grade processor and the SAF5400 V2X modem to handle low-level DSRC transmission in the 5.9 GHz band.

We successfully completed the hardware bring-up, verified over-the-air communication between two nodes, and performed initial RF characterization using a spectrum analyzer. The SAF5400 was confirmed to operate on all seven DSRC channels (172–184), maintaining the correct 10 MHz bandwidth …

Direction Finding From Aerial Platforms With Amateur Radio Arrays, Ben Duval Iii, Esteban Perez

Electrical Engineering

This senior project presents the development of a communication network designed to remotely control and program a distributed digital antenna array for autonomous synchronization and calibration. The system facilitates command transmission using a custom BPSK communication protocol operating in the UHF band (430–450 MHz) and employs a two-tone waveform to extract frequency, phase, and timing offsets between array nodes. These offsets are critical for aligning received signals in preparation for digital beamforming. The array comprises four nodes: three aerial units and one ground-based control unit. Each node is built using a LimeSDR Mini 2.0, Raspberry Pi, portable battery pack, and …

Synthetic Aperture Radar Processing For Increased Resolution Of Englacial Strata, Ava Stockman

Electrical Engineering

Glaciological research relies on a variety of remote-sensing methods to study the internal structure of glaciers and other bodies of ice. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) serves as one method for imaging large cross sections of englacial strata, reducing the need for labor-intensive, costly, and hazardous ice coring expeditions and operations. Characterizing englacial structures using SAR images allows scientists to learn about the ice dynamics of past and present which provides the basis for discoveries about climate history and glacial dynamics. This project explores the benefits of employing various SAR processing methods to raw phase history data acquired through the British …

Leader-Follower Platooning With Turtlebot3: A Low-Cost Ros Test-Bed Using Vision-Lidar Fusion, Patrick Kelly Crandall, Kalon Ma Bienz

Electrical Engineering

This report presents the design, implementation, and indoor validation of a two-robot leader–follower platoon built on low-cost Turtlebot3 platforms. Each robot runs ROS Noetic on an on-board Raspberry Pi 4, fusing a fisheye camera for HSV-based lane detection with an LDS-02 LiDAR for clustering-based leader identification. A dual-loop architecture (PD steering for lateral control and PID for longitudinal gap regulation) maintains a 0.40m headway and keeps the follower centered within +/- 5 cm of the lane midline, without any inter-vehicle communication or external localization. Track experiments at speeds up to 0.18m/s achieved mean gap error of +/- 3 cm and …

Advanced Light Dimming Power Converter, Jaden Nguyen, Edwin Lin, Alan Thai

Electrical Engineering

This senior project discusses and follows the development of the Advanced Light Dimming Power Converter meant to modernize the power electronics curriculum and improve student safety for a lab. The power converter attempts to replace the original experiment which includes a traditional TRIAC-based dimmer and focuses on demonstrating phase angle control for incandescent light bulbs. However, several drawbacks including high-voltage exposure and outdated technology warranted a revamp. The redesigned module includes a dual-experiment setup with an updated TRIAC-based dimmer circuit and a new AC-DC LED driver circuit with constant current control and PWM dimming capability. Both systems have been fabricated …

The Role Of Advisory Opinions In International Law In The Context Of The Climate Crisis, Maria Antonia Tigre, Armando Rocha

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Between December 2022 and March 2023, three requests for an advisory opinion were submitted to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Furthermore, a request for an advisory opinion from the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCtHPR) is being prepared. As such, 2024–2025 marks an unprecedented moment in global climate litigation: as of November 2024, we are on the verge of having four of the world’s most important international and regional courts and tribunals answering crucial legal questions on the (ex …

Nationwide Survey Of Clinical Practice Patterns In Point-Of-Care Ultrasound Use In Emergency Departments, Yan-Rong Ho, Hung-Mei Chen, Su Weng Chau, Hua Li, Chien-Yu Liao, Yi-Kung Lee, Wan-Ching Lien, Tou-Yuan Tsai

Journal of Medical Education

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is widely used in emergency medicine (EM), but trends in familiarity and training needs in Taiwan remain unclear. This study aimed to assess trends in POCUS familiarity among EM physicians in Taiwan. Methods: This nationwide, questionnaire-based descriptive study was conducted in Taiwan during 2019 and 2023. EM physicians actively practicing in emergency departments were surveyed; those not practicing emergency medicine were excluded. The questionnaire evaluated demographic characteristics, overall POCUS familiarity using a 10-point scale, most familiar core emergency applications, and least familiar applications. Descriptive statistics summarized data, with Likert scale responses reported as medians with interquartile …

Nationwide Implementation And Stakeholder Perceptions Of Taiwan's Publicly Funded Medical Education Program: A Cross-Sectional Survey, Cheng-Heng Liu, Chih-Wei Yang, Hann-Shyan Hwang, Wang-Huei Sheng, Yen-Hsuan Ni, Shan-Chwen Chang, Taiwan Publicly Funded Medical Education Program Development Task Force

Journal of Medical Education

Background: Taiwan's Publicly Funded Medical Education Program (PFMEP), launched in 1975, aimed to address urban-rural healthcare disparities. Due to limited physician retention in underserved areas, a revised second-generation program was introduced in 2016 to enhance rural workforce sustainability. Objective: This study assessed attitudes and professional identities of publicly funded medical students and their mentors four years after implementing the second-generation PFMEP, identifying gaps and providing feedback for program improvement. Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional survey examined stakeholder perceptions using a structured questionnaire covering workforce demand/career planning, clinical practice in underserved areas, and perceived program effectiveness. The survey was distributed to students …

Factors Influencing Medical University Students' Emotions And Infection Prevention Behaviors Amid The Spread Of Covid-19: Analysis From A Social Network Perspective, Jian-Jhou Chen, Peih-Ying Lu

Journal of Medical Education

Background: By adopting a social network perspective, we estimated the impact of the extent of information dissemination and exchange on the emotions and behaviors of medical university students during the COVID-19 epidemic. Methods: Students from a medical university in southern Taiwan were selected through stratified sampling. From October 5 to October 11, 2020, a survey was conducted using a self-developed COVID-19 Response Assessment Scale. A total of 1,162 valid responses were collected. Results: Higher frequencies of information acquisition from social networks or news media and information exchange with others in social networks were associated with higher levels of worries regarding …

Advocacy Under Authoritarianism: Civil Society's Impact On Environmental Treaty Ratification In Southeast Asia, Christianna Sirindah Parr

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Does civil society in competitive authoritarian and authoritarian countries impact environmental policy? Specifically, does civil society speed up the ratification of international environmental treaties? Treaty ratification is a crucial step for translating international commitments to domestic politics. I argue that in competitive authoritarian regimes, where civil society operates under constraints but retains some space for advocacy, more robust civil society accelerates the ratification of environmental treaties compared to states with weaker civil society. These regimes often tolerate civil society pressure on non-threatening issues, such as environmental governance, which allows for strategic concessions without undermining state authority. Focusing on Southeast Asia, …

The Feasibility Of A Concise Online Anatomical Atlas For Nonmedical / Dental Healthcare Profession Education, Ming-Fong Chang, Chi-Chuan Yeh, June-Horng Lue, Chung-Liang Chien, Shu-Hao Hsu, Meng-Lin Liao

Journal of Medical Education

The web-based anatomical atlas of the National Taiwan University (NTU-WAA) was established in response to the reduction in teaching hours and reported to enhance the anatomy learning of nursing students. This study aimed to further analyze the use time over the entire semester and explore the learning outcomes of a large-scale cohort of students from seven nonmedical/dental healthcare professions using the NTU-WAA for their anatomy learning. The anatomy scores of lecture and laboratory examinations and questionnaires from 222 students were collected and analyzed. Participants were categorized into subgroups based on their self-report use time on NTU-WAA: less than 1 hour …

Research Nexus : Volume 26 - 2025, Office Of Research And Graduate Studies

Office of Research and Graduate Studies

• Researcher Spotlight
• AKU joins UN Academic Impact Network
• Research Townhalls: Listening, Learning, and Looking Ahead
• Call for Applications: Last Mile Travel Awards – Round 3
• Capacity Building Initiatives
• Balancing the Load: Strategies for Pre and Post Award Management
• Promoting Research Integrity
• Strengthening Grant Support: Training for Research Administrators
• The Collective Spark: AKU Academic Entities
• Newborn Infections: Can Home Treatment Be Just as Safe?
• From Data to Impact: Advancing Injury Research Capacity in Kenya

Arkansas Corn And Grain Sorghum Research Studies 2024, Jason Kelley, Travis Faske

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

The 2024 edition of the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Research Studies Series includes research results on topics pertaining to corn and grain sorghum production, including weed, disease, nematode, and insect management; economics; irrigation; agronomics; soil fertility; drone use; and research verification program results.

Our objective is to capture and broadly distribute the results of research projects funded by the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Board. The intended audience includes producers and their advisors, current investigators, and future researchers. The Series serves as a citable archive of research results.

The reports inform and guide our long-term recommendations, but should not …