Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Teacher Efficacy:Teaching Practices And Strategies To Enhance Student Success, Terilyn Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Through interviews with a diverse group of educators across grade levels and subject areas, the researcher explored teachers’ lived experiences focused on their instructional efficacy and teaching practices influencing student success. Guided by Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, the purpose of the study was to examine how teachers’ beliefs in their instructional capabilities shaped their classroom practices. The researcher analyzed participants’ narratives using a thematic analysis approach to identify recurring patterns and themes related to instructional practice, professional beliefs, and classroom experiences. Participants represented varying years of teaching experience, content areas, and school contexts, providing a comprehensive perspective on instructional efficacy across …

Intersection Of Food Insecurity And Housing Among Veterans And Disabled Adults, Julie Anne Stepp

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how housing tenure is associated with food insecurity (FI) among veterans and adults with disabilities, utilizing the housing-food insecurity nexus framework. Previous research documents elevated FI among veterans and individuals with disabilities, yet few studies assess housing tenure as a mechanism connecting these statuses to food hardship. Using data from the 2024 National Health Interview Survey Adult Sample (n=32,629), logistic regression models estimate the independent and interactive effects of renting, veteran status, and disability status on FI. Results suggest renters have significantly higher odds of FI than homeowners, even after adjusting for poverty status, SNAP participation, and …

Evaluating The Spatial Relationship Between Geomorphology And Subsurface Structures On The Us Atlantic Margin With Applications To Other Terrestrial Planets, Andrea Caitlyn Stiles

Theses and Dissertations

High-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) are widely available for terrestrial planetary bodies, but subsurface structural data remain limited. This research evaluated whether surface geomorphology could predict subsurface features, specifically faults and methane seeps, along the US Atlantic continental margin as an analog site. Faults were mapped with seismic interpretation and compared with quantitative geomorphic classifications derived from 100-m bathymetry including slope, aspect, rugosity, bathymetric position index, and geomorphon classes. Maximum-entropy modelling was used to predict fault occurrences from surface data. Results indicated that specific geomorphic landforms and slopes had the strongest control on fault presence, reflected in topographic expression of …

Impacts Of Goat Grazing On Coastal Upland Understory, Maya Stratman

Theses and Dissertations

Coastal upland pine savannas and flatwoods along the northern Gulf of Mexico are biodiversity hotspots degraded by woody encroachment following fire suppression and loss of herbivory. Conservation grazing has been proposed as a management tool, yet its effectiveness in these systems remains understood. This study evaluated how goat grazing frequency and duration influence understory vegetation structure, diversity, productivity, and light availability in an Ilex-dominated coastal upland in Mississippi. Five grazing treatments (monthly, every three months, biannual, seasonal, and ungrazed control) were applied across 25 plots over one year. Vegetation percent cover, genus richness, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, light penetration, and …

Students’ College Choice: Factors Influencing The Decision To Attend A Particular College, Miss Thompson Gordon

Theses and Dissertations

Community colleges play a vital role in expanding access to higher education by offering affordable and flexible opportunities for diverse learners, including many who face academic and socioeconomic challenges. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the factors that influence high school seniors' decisions to attend a particular college. Guided by Hossler and Gallagher's (1987) three-stage college choice model of predisposition, search, and choice, the research explored how students gather information; the influence of family, peers, and school personnel; and the importance of college characteristics such as cost, location, and campus environment. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten high school …

Multisystem Complications In Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type Iii: Chronic Respiratory Failure And Intractable Epilepsy, Olivia R. Kaufman, Christopher M. Ahmad, Samira Haberman, Curtis King

Student Publications

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder characterized by progressive motor weakness with multisystem involvement. Type III SMA, also known as Kugelberg-Welander disease, typically presents in childhood and allows survival into adolescence and adulthood, during which cumulative complications may emerge. We report the case of a 19-year-old female patient with genetically confirmed SMA type III (zero copies of SMN1, two copies of SMN2) whose disease course was complicated by chronic respiratory failure with hypercapnia requiring non-invasive ventilation and intractable generalized epilepsy. She was born prematurely at seven and a half months via emergent cesarean section for placenta previa …

Optical Performance Of Wall-Mounted Inverted Absorber Asymmetric Compound Parabolic Concentrators For Air Heating Solar Collectors, F. S. Guerreiro, M. Mckeever, D. Kennedy, B. Norton

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

The optical performance of inverted absorber asymmetric compound parabolic concentrators (IACPCs) for solar air heating applications is analysed. An inverted absorber concentrates incident solar energy on to a downward-facing transpired surface from which convective and radiative heat losses can be minimised. Three-dimensional ray tracing is used to model optical behaviour, simulating solar radiation pathways and interactions with reflective surfaces. The variations of optical efficiency and effective concentration ratio with reflector geometry, truncation and collector length are analysed. Findings indicate that smaller, elongated concentrators maximise optical performance and reduce material requirements when integrated over a fixed façade area. Design configurations that …

Inclusion On The Margins: Exploring Multicultural Education In Predominantly White Areas, Suparna Bagchi

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

At a time when the Western world is facing major sociocultural and geopolitical turbulence through far-right and anti-immigration protests, it has become even more important to practise multicultural education. This is particularly pertinent in unique topographies that remain predominantly White, despite experiencing an increase in their global majority populations. This article is based on a doctoral study that explored teachers’, parents, and students’ experiences and understanding of multiculturalism in mainstream primary schools in an under-researched geographical location in southwest England. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with adult participants, students’ classroom activities, field notes, and classroom and corridor displays. This …

Precise Kinetic Parameters For Thermal Resetting Of Clumped Isotope Signatures In Biogenic And Abiogenic Calcites, Nico Kueter, Nathan Looser, Jordon D. Hemingway, Nils B. Gies, Gregory D. Price, Alberto Perez-Huerta, Stefano M. Bernasconi

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Carbonate clumped isotope (∆₄₇) thermometry is a powerful tool to reconstruct paleotemperatures. However, episodes of heating or cooling can alter original ∆₄₇ values through diffusive C-O bond reordering—i.e., isotopic exchange between neighboring carbonate groups within the mineral lattice—and/or oxygen-isotope exchange between carbonate groups and water (collectively termed “thermal resetting”). Nevertheless, if precise kinetic constraints are available, altered ∆₄₇ values can be utilized to reconstruct thermal histories of sedimentary basins or to restore primary ∆₄₇ values from carbonates which experienced thermal resetting in their geological history. Here, we present new high-resolution heating experiments on optical (abiogenic) …

Machine Learning Approaches For Predicting Biochemical Oxygen Demand And Ammonium Nitrogen: A Decade-Long Weekly Field Study At A Full-Scale Water Resource Recovery Facility, Hoda Khoshvaght, Ratish Ramyad Permala, Amir Razmjou, Mehdi Khiadani

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Unlike previous studies that rely on high-frequency (15-min or hourly) datasets, this study is among the first to use low-frequency (weekly) data to evaluate the performance of linear and nonlinear machine learning (ML) algorithms for predicting biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and ammonium nitrogen (NH4⁺-N) in the primary and secondary treatment effluents from the Subiaco Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) in Western Australia. Various feature selection methods, including filters, wrappers, and embedded methods, were employed to identify the most effective approach that achieves the highest model performance while enhancing computational efficiency. The results demonstrate that a reduced set of …

Cultivating Confidence And A Habitus Of Ex Corde Prayer Among The Baptized, Abigail Reynolds

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Reynolds, Abigail C. “Cultivating Confidence and a Habitus of Ex Corde Prayer Among the Baptized: Encouraging Ex Corde Prayer Among the Baptized as Part of Diaconal Soul Care.” M.A. thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2026. 77 pp.

Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions abound with encouragement to pray, describing prayer as communication between children and their heavenly Father. Yet, for many parishioners in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, praying ex corde prayers aloud with other Christians (family or friends) causes anxiety and is not a common practice. This thesis examines the Lutheran teaching that prayer is based in baptismal identity as God’s child and …

Multiple Intracranial Aneurysms: An International Consensus Statement, Stavropoula Tjoumakaris

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

Introduction: Multiple intracranial aneurysms (MIAs) pose diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, and widely used rupture-risk scores have not been validated for this subgroup. Research question: To develop expert-based recommendations for the diagnosis, rupture-risk assessment, treatment selection, and follow-up of patients with MIAs. Material and methods: A modified Delphi process was conducted. After topic generation from the literature, iterative questionnaires were administered anonymously online to invited experts. Consensus was prespecified as ≥70% agreement. Twenty-six of 35 invitees (74.3%) completed the survey. Results: Consensus identified the ruptured lesion in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) using computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and 3D rotational digital subtraction …

Subclinical Neuropsychiatric Trait Variation In Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cohort Study, Lindsay J Mullin, Carolyn Lasch, Natasha Marrus, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Many neuropsychiatric conditions share overlapping features underpinned by shared genetics. In this study, we examined the co-aggregation of sub-threshold variation in neuropsychiatric phenotypes in biological parents of autistic children to provide insights into the intergenerational transmission of genetic liability for autism.

METHODS: Autistic, neuropsychiatric (i.e., anxiety, depression, ADHD), and cognitive traits were characterized in biological parents of children enrolled in a longitudinal developmental study: 189 families of autistic children and 100 families with no autistic children were included. Families were further characterized as having only one (simplex) or more than one (multiplex) autistic child. Maternal and paternal traits were …

Quantification Of Sarm1 Nadase Activity In Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells, Lila F Dabill, Ivana R Shen, Jennifer M Brazill, Alicia Neiner, Yo Sasaki, Erica L Scheller

2020-Current year OA Pubs

SARM1 (sterile α and TIR motif-containing protein-1) is an NADase enzyme that serves as the central executioner of Wallerian axon degeneration. Given this, SARM1 is of high interest as a candidate therapeutic target, and SARM1 inhibitors are currently in clinical trials for treatment of neurodegeneration. Beyond neuroscience, emerging studies reveal that SARM1 may also drive aspects of bone fragility, liver pathology, adipose expansion, and insulin resistance in metabolic disease. However, we lack methods to quantify SARM1 activation in humans to better define patients at high risk of SARM1-mediated tissue damage. Unlike neurons, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) represent an easily …

Longitudinal Changes In Cognition And Brain Imaging In Persons With Human Immunodeficiency Virus, James Kennedy, Sarah A Cooley, June Roman Fox, Kalen J Petersen, Elizabeth Westerhaus, Pat Reid, Linet Lopez, Beau M Ances

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: As persons with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) live longer, interactions between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), aging, and structural brain integrity become increasingly vital for understanding cognitive disorders. This study analyzed the effects of aging, HIV serostatus, and viral load on cognition and brain volumes in a large cohort of persons without HIV (PWOH), PWH with undetectable virus (PWHU) (HIV RNA ≤50 copies/mL), and PWH with detectable virus (PHWD) (HIV RNA >50 copies/mL). Cross-sectional and longitudinal data were included.

METHODS: Cognitive composites (NPZ4) and brain volumes were obtained from 259 PWOH, 264 PWHU, and 84 PWHD with a total of …

Stochastic Invasion And Extinction In Environmentally Transmitted Diseases, Mahmudul Bari Hridoy, Lauren M. Childs

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Miss Ogilvy Does Not Find Herself: The Repression Of Queer Expression Post World War I, Kennedie Krieger

2026 Symposium

World War l was a historical period of intense societal change, and although it brought upon a lot of devastation, there were also groups of people that experienced liberation because of the war. Radclyffe Hall’s short story “Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself” is an example of the ways in which the war offered relief for queer women who had previously been expected to exist within rigid gender roles. Through an uncommon perspective, readers are able to get a sense of the ways in which gendered societal expectations shifted during the war and the positive outcomes this brought about. Although these hopeful …

Hegel, A Re-Examination,, J N Findlay

Hannah Arendt Marginalia - All

New York, Humanities Press, 1964 [©1958]

Call # : B2948 .F47 1964

Contains marginalia, underlining and marginal lining PDF Information : 33 Pages, 13.1 MB

The Making Of An Extremist: How Do We Become Someone Else’S Nightmare?, María Paula Morales

The Confluence

This article explores how ordinary people can be pulled into extremist movements and what psychological forces drive that process. It looks at three perspectives: social identity theory, which explains how group belonging shapes behavior, identity development, which shows how people searching for meaning may find it in extremist causes; and social neuroscience, which connects radicalization to brain activity linked to fear, loyalty, and moral judgement. Together, these approaches show that radicalization is not simply about ideology but about identity, emotion, and belonging. By understanding these dynamics, we can find better ways to prevent extremism and promote healthier, more inclusive communities.

The Purpose Of Life: An Analysis Of The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty As A Cinematic Guide To Eudaimonia, Eric W. Stroud

The Confluence

This paper examines the moral formation of the protagonist of the film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) through the framework of Aristotelian virtue ethics. Though extensive research has been conducted on the use of film as a vehicle for moral education and a tool for ethics pedagogy, there exists a demonstrable gap in research which applies the principles of virtue ethics to character analysis in film. This paper presents a scene-based, qualitative analysis comparing the actions of the main character to the model of habituation of virtue as presented in The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle. In observing the …

Satire And Sentiment: Dickensian Characterization In Hard Times, Helen R. Ball

The Confluence

Readers of Charles Dickens both celebrate and criticize his characters, who are paramount among the quintessential aspects of his writing. His industrial novel Hard Times bears particularly the weight of such criticism in its portrayal of Stephen Blackpool, one of the Coketown factory Hands. Scholars have complained that Blackpool exemplifies, in too boring or didactic a manner, the typical virtues of the Victorian era, such as saintliness, humility, and long-suffering (Spector 365), and that his character lacks the necessary traits to compel and inspire readers.

Such a critique has prompted the following research and analysis. Using formalist observation of diction …

From Your Pov: Using Narrative-Focused Methodology To Study Psychological Correlates Of Sexual Health Behaviors, Zoë E. Sweaney, Stephanie Afful

The Confluence

How far would you go (or not go) to protect yourself from risky sexual behaviors? Additionally, what influence does our gender identity and socialization have on these decisions? In the current series of studies, a story-driven safe-sex behavioral assessment was developed and administered to participants to assess the relationships amongst psychological indices, personal values, and sexual health. This research confirms the validity of an instrument that queries sensitive data while controlling for social desirability concerns. The applications of this research are especially pertinent to improving upon interpersonal communication, sexual health education, and women’s sexual health advocacy.

Worldmaking Against Disposability: Review Of Banu Bargu’S Disembodiment: Corporeal Politics Of Radical Refusal (Oxford University Press, 2024), Daniel Loick

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Toward A Non- Or Post-Historical Materialism. Review Of Banu Bargu'sdisembodiment: Corporeal Politics Of Radical Refusal (Oxford University Press, 2024), Amy Allen

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Revolution At A Snail’S Pace: Lessons From Chiapas, Adil Khan

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

On Knowledge As An Act, Zakaria Al Shmaly

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Experience As A Site Of Knowing, Daphne Nicolaidis Saunders

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Literature In Dider Eribon’S Returning To Reims: An Emancipatory Review, Noa De Kievit

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

This paper examines Didier Eribon’s Returning to Reims (2009) as a model for understanding how literary and autobiographical writing can enact ''the politics of literature.'' While Eribon is widely recognized as a sociologist, his “autosociobiography”—tracing his trajectory from a working-class upbringing to an academic career alongside his coming out—blends personal narrative and sociological insight to illuminate structural inequalities and social marginalization. Reading the text through Jacques Rancière’s concept of the politics of literature, I argue that Eribon simultaneously expands the scope of what is visible, sayable, and thinkable, while reflecting critically on the interpretive authority he exercises. Building on Caroline …

Jason Read's The Double Shift: A Double Reading, Tedd Siegel

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Resilience Otherwise: Ambivalence, Care, And The Cultural Politics Of Endurance Under Neoliberal Capitalism, Vered Ben David

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

Over the past two decades, resilience has emerged as a central cultural keyword circulating across psychology, public policy, education, labor, and popular culture. Frequently celebrated as a marker of strength and adaptability, resilience has also become entangled with neoliberal forms of governance that relocate responsibility for managing insecurity onto individuals and communities. This analysis offers a critical cultural account of resilience as an ambivalent formation that operates simultaneously as a lived capacity for adaptation and as a normative demand that responsibilizes subjects under conditions of structural precarity. Drawing on scholarship in developmental psychology, political economy, and critical cultural theory, the …