Digital Commons Network^™

Community Engagement And Advocacy In Distributed Leadership: Pathways To Social Justice Leadership Praxis In South U.S. Schools, Atefeh Ataran, Jacquelyn Williams, Brandi Hinnant-Crawford

Publications

This study explores the relationship between distributed leadership and social justice leadership behaviors among K–12 school leaders in the South U.S. Survey responses from 179 principals and assistant principals showed a significant positive correlation. Leaders who engage in distributed leadership, particularly through community engagement and advocacy, tend to demonstrate social justice leadership practices. The findings emphasize the importance of collaborative leadership in creating inclusive schools and preparing future leaders to use distributed leadership strategies.

Can Limited Partners Mitigate Negative Externalities In Private Equity?, Teodor Duevski, Chhavi Rastogi, Tianhao Yao

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics

We show how Limited Partners' (LPs) environmental and social (E&S) concerns transmit to private equity (PE) rms through capital supply. E&S incidents in portfolio companies reduce PE fundraising, as E&S-concerned relationship LPs refrain from recommitting and are not easily substituted. Using a legal reform that expands E&S-concerned public pension capital to PE, we causally show that PE rms internalise LPs' E&S concerns, reducing dirty sector portfolio allocation and increasing ESG hiring. Additionally, PE rms with E&S- concerned relationship LPs engage with portfolio companies to manage E&S risks. Limited capital substitutability enables LPs to delegate E&S preferences, shaping PE allocation and …

“In The World”: The Journal Of International Women’S Studies At 25, Andrew Holman

Bridgewater Review

Academic journals are at the heart of our system of communicating scholarly ideas and research results, and have been since at least the 1640s, but at no time has the genre undergone such challenge and change as in the past 25 years. In that span, the perennial quest among editors to stay relevant has been joined by successive waves of novel transition: a shift from print to online publishing, the push for an open-access model of consumption, the growth of alternative, non-journal communication networks (from listservs to weblogs, podcasts, and more), and now, the uncertainty of generative AI. To face …

Table Of Contents

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Retrofitting Through The Facade: An Integrated Architectural Retrofit Assesment, Marie Danielle Danso

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

Dynamic façades can be used as architectural tools to reduce heat gain in a building. This kinetic design reforms energy efficiency and can improve user comfort. Dynamic façades change their form and appearance in response to the environment. They can reduce stress on heating and cooling systems by mitigating the amount of solar radiation a building receives. Additionally, this architectural approach can control internal heating and cooling loads by managing the intake of sunlight. This study investigates a dynamic façade as an architectural tool to substantially reduce the heat gain of the Engineering Research Building on the campus of The …

Book Review: Who Is Government? The Untold Story Of Public Service, Michael Lewis, Editor, Melinda R. Tarsi-Goldfien

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Scaling Up Biomedical Vision-Language Models: Fine-Tuning, Instruction Tuning, And Multi-Modal Learning, Cheng Peng, Kai Zhang, Mengxian Lyu, Hongfang Liu, Lichao Sun, Yonghui Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To advance biomedical vision language model capabilities through scaling up, fine-tuning, and instruction tuning, develop vision-language models with improved performance in handling long text, explore strategies to efficiently adopt vision language models for diverse multi-modal biomedical tasks, and examine the zero-shot learning performance.

Methods: We developed two biomedical vision language models, BiomedGPT-Large and BiomedGPT-XLarge, based on an encoder-decoder-based transformer architecture. We fine-tuned the two models on 23 benchmark datasets from 6 multi-modal biomedical tasks, including one image-only task (image classification), three language-only tasks (text understanding, text summarization, and question answering), and two vision-language tasks (visual question answering and image …

Exploring Multimodal Large Language Models On Transthoracic Echocardiogram (Tte) Tasks For Cardiovascular Decision Support, Jianfu Li, Yiming Li, Zenan Sun, Evan Yu, Ahmed M Abdelhameed, Weiguo Cao, Haifang Li, Jianping He, Pengze Li, Jingna Feng, Yue Yu, Xinyue Hu, Manqi Li, Rakesh Kumar, Yifang Dang, Fang Li, Shahyar M Gharacholou, Cui Tao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Multimodal large language models (LLMs) offer new potential for enhancing cardiovascular decision support, particularly in interpreting echocardiographic data. This study systematically evaluates and benchmarks foundation models from diverse domains on echocardiogram-based tasks to assess their effectiveness, limitations and potential in clinical cardiovascular applications.

Methods: We curated three cardiovascular imaging datasets-EchoNet-Dynamic, TMED2, and an expert-annotated echocardiogram (TTE) dataset-to evaluate performance on four critical tasks: (1) cardiac function evaluation through ejection fraction (EF) prediction, (2) cardiac view classification, (3) aortic stenosis (AS) severity assessment, and (4) cardiovascular disease classification. We evaluated six multimodal LLMs: EchoClip (cardiovascular-specific), BiomedGPT and LLaVA-Med (medical-domain), and …

A Blunt Reality: How § 922(G)(3) Of The Gun Control Act Violates The Second Amendment Rights Of Marijuana Users, Christian Z. Macdonald

SMU Law Review Forum

Over 98% of Americans live in a state that has some form of legal marijuana, with over half of Americans having used the drug at least once. The United States also has a strong historical tradition of individual gun ownership for the purposes of self-defense, with gun ownership currently at its highest level in decades. In this modern era of both rising gun ownership and marijuana usage, could it truly be the case that any American who uses cannabinoids forfeits her presumptively protected constitutional right to firearm possession? The answer depends upon whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) unconstitutionally infringes on …

Empowering Community Health Workers In Dementia Care In South Texas, Stephanie Santiago-Mejias, Shanae L. Rhodes, Fayron R. Epps, Robin C. Hilsabeck, Noe Garza, Sudha Seshadri, Neela K. Patel

School of Medicine Publications

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias disproportionately affect minority racial and ethnic communities. Community health workers are essential in addressing these disparities. We evaluated the impact of an educational workshop focusing on improving knowledge and preparedness in dementia care. Sixty-one CHWs attended in-person sessions in Texas and completed surveys to measure confidence and plans to apply the knowledge gained. Results revealed a significant increase in confidence in providing dementia care post-training (p < 0.001). Qualitative analysis identified five primary roles of CHWs. These findings demonstrate the potential of training interventions to improve knowledge gaps and empower CHWs to address dementia in underserved communities.

Opening Remarks, Gideon Taylor

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Remarks, Ellen Germain

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Seeing The Humanity In Each Object: Finding Justice Amid The Law, Gideon Taylor, Ruth J. Weinberger

Fordham Law Review

The restitution of Nazi-looted cultural and religious property remains an important aspect of providing a measure of justice for Holocaust victims and their heirs. The United States has played a leading role, from early postwar restitution efforts to shaping international principles, such as the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art (the “Washington Conference Principles”), the Terezin Declaration, and the recent Best Practices for the Washington Conference Principles. Yet restitution within the United States continues to rely largely on litigation, with varying outcomes and limited provenance research compared to some European countries. The following Essay examines America’s contributions and challenges and …

Oligarchy, State, And Cryptopia, Julie E. Cohen

Fordham Law Review

Theoretical accounts of power in networked digital environments typically do not give systematic attention to the phenomenon of oligarchy—to extreme concentrations of material wealth deployed to obtain and protect durable personal advantage. The biggest technology platform companies are dominated to a singular extent by a small group of very powerful and extremely wealthy men who have played uniquely influential roles in structuring technological development in particular ways that align with their personal beliefs and who now wield unprecedented informational, sociotechnical, and political power. Developing an account of oligarchy and, more specifically, of tech oligarchy within contemporary political economy therefore has …

It’S A Balancing Act: Analyzing The First Fair Use Factor, Taylor Gluckman

Fordham Law Review

Fair use has always been an important element of copyright law. The first fair use factor, “the purpose and character of the use,” has become especially important after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith. The “purpose and character” is typically analyzed by determining if a secondary work is “transformative,” but lower courts do not agree on what it means to be transformative. There is also disagreement on how to balance a secondary work’s transformative nature with its commercial nature when deciding whether the first factor favors fair use.

This …

Oesophageal Cancer And Its Associated Factors Among Patients Attending Surgical And Oncology Clinics At Garissa County Referral Hospital, Kenya: A Case-Control Study, Abdi Bashir, Moses Ngari, Berrick Otieno, Makorani Y’Dhidha-A-Mjidho, Osman Abdullahi, Symon Kariuki

Institute for Human Development, East Africa

Background Oesophageal cancer (EC) is a common cause of cancer mortality. Evidence on the burden, risk factors and treatment outcomes is limited in low-income and middle-income countries. This study aimed to describe the features of EC cases and determine associated factors among patients attending surgical and oncology clinics in Garissa County Referral Hospital (GCRH).

Methods We conducted a case–control study in which cases were patients with EC and positive histological confirmation and controls were patients admitted to GCRH for other diseases. Data on exposures were extracted from patient files. Data on tobacco and alcohol use were based on current or …

Correctional System Involvement And Health Outcomes, Sarah Mason Eck ,Ph.D

All Materials

The Institute for Health Policy and Practice (IHPP) at the University System of New Hampshire commissioned Scientific Health to conduct an evidence-based review of the relationship between criminal justice system involvement and health outcomes. This research synthesized findings from recently published, peer-reviewed academic literature and relevant reports to examine how correctional system involvement affects physical health, mental health, and overall well-being among incarcerated individuals, their families, and communities. The review identified common themes related to behavioral health, chronic conditions, and systemic impacts, providing insight into the broader health implications of mass incarceration and deinstitutionalization. These findings aim to inform policy …

Multiscale 3d Whole Joint Cellular And Molecular Mapping Reveals Disease-Specific Neurovascular Plasticity Underlying The Structure-Pain Relationship, Peng Chen, Jiaxin Chai, Abirami Soundararajan, R. Glenn Hepfer, Benjamin Kheyfets, Jiaxin Hu, Ishraq Alshanqiti, Swarnalakshmi Raman, Ikue Tosa, Jun Tae Huh, Matthew Yee, Brooke J. Damon, Shangping Wang, Yu Shin Kim, Man-Kyo Chung, Mildred C. Embree, Janice S. Lee, Tong Ye, Hai Yao

Publications

Understanding musculoskeletal joints from a 3D multiscale perspective, from molecular to anatomical levels, is essential for resolving the confounding relationships between structure and pain, elucidating mechanisms regulating joint health and diseases, and developing new treatment strategies. Here, a musculoskeletal joint immunostaining and clearing (MUSIC) method specifically developed to overcome key challenges of immunostaining and optical clearing of intact joints are introduced. Coupled with large-field light sheet microscopy, this approach achieves 3D high-resolution, microscale neurovascular mapping within the context of whole-joint anatomy without the need for image coregistration across various joints, including temporomandibular joints, knees, and spines, and multiple species, including …

Independent And Interdependent Self-Construal: An Examination Of Migration History And Gender In Chinese- And European-Canadians, Nicolle F. Cai, Silvain S. Dang, Paul L. Hewitt

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

Despite previous work on independent and interdependent self-construal, there is more limited research in self-construal with relation to migration history. Additionally, gender influences on self-construal and the correlation between the two self-construal dimensions remain unclear, given the mixed findings in existing literature. Current study aims to replicate and extend self-construal findings from Chinese- and Euro-Canadians in relation to migration history and gender. We hypothesized that men and individuals with earlier migration history to Canada will report higher independent and lower interdependent self-construal. Canadian university students (N = 524) completed the Self-Construal Scale (Singelis, 1994) and reported their gender, ethnicity, and …

Avasopasem Manganese Treatment For Severe Oral Mucositis From Chemoradiotherapy For Locally Advanced Head And Neck Cancer: Phase 3 Randomized Controlled Trial (Roman), Carryn Anderson, Christopher M. Lee, Joseph Randall Kelley, Gary V. Walker, Neal E. Dunlap, Voichita Bar-Ad, Douglas A. Miller, Vernon J. King, Abhinand V. Peddada, Douglas F. Ciuba, Francois Vincent, Brian C. Muzyka, Amanda Lynn Gillespie-Twardy, Stephen T. Sonis, Jon Holmlund, Robert A Beardsley, Eugene P Kennedy, Deborah Saunders

Jefferson Hospital Staff Papers and Presentations

BACKGROUND: Of patients who receive standard concomitant chemoradiation (CRT; intensity-modulated radiation therapy [IMRT] plus cisplatin) for locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC), approximately two-thirds will develop severe oral mucositis (SOM), limiting their ability to eat solids (WHO grade 3) or drink liquids (WHO grade 4). In a randomized, double-blind phase 2b trial, avasopasem manganese substantially reduced duration and incidence of SOM versus placebo. This phase 3 trial further assessed avasopasem's reduction of SOM due to CRT.

METHODS: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03689712), patients receiving 60-72 Gy IMRT (>50 Gy to ≥2 oral mucosal sites) plus cisplatin …

Enhancing The Biopreservative Effect Of Non-Starter Lactic Acid Bacteria Using Soluble Fiber During Cheese Ripening, Rakesh Kaushik, Sanjeev Anand

Dairy Science and Food Science Faculty Publications: 2022 to Present

Cheddar cheese ripening creates favorable conditions for desired microbial changes but also allows survival and outgrowth of spores like Clostridium tyrobutyricum and Bacillus licheniformis, leading to late-blowing defects. In the first phase of the study, NSLAB dynamics were evaluated in the presence of spores, where pilot-scale cheeses (110 L) were produced in four treatments: control, T1 (BL), T2 (CT), and T3 (BL+CT), each inoculated at 2.0 Log10 CFU/mL with spores. Results showed that SLAB declined from 8.0 to 0.2 Log10 CFU/g, while NSLAB increased from 2.0 to 8.5 Log10 CFU/g by the third month and remained stable thereafter. Spore counts …

Pulse: The Monthly Newsletter Of Nnlm Region 2, November 2025, Network Of The National Library Of Medicine, Regional Medical Library 2

NNLM Region 2 Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Harnessing Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution In Α-Fe2o3/2h–Mos2 Heterojunction: A Theoretical And Experimental Study On Electronic Modulation And Basal Plane Activation, Mohamed Sayed, Ossama Metwalli, Sameh O. Abdellatif, Kai Yin, Mohamed Saber, Ahmed Khalil, Hossam Abdelwahan

Electrical Engineering

Hydrogen production through water electrolysis is a promising method for storing renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the efficiency and stability of hydrogen production electrodes remain challenging issues. In this study, we present a rationally designed α-Fe2O3/2H–MoS2 heterojunction that unlocks the electrocatalytic potential of the inert basal plane of the semiconducting 2H–MoS2 phase. The heterostructure, synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method, features α-Fe2O3 nanocubes anchored onto flowerlike 2H–MoS2 nanosheets. The electrochemical performance of the α-Fe2O3/2H–MoS2 heterojunction electrode was evaluated by linear sweep voltammetry, Tafel polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results showed that the α-Fe2O3/2H–MoS2 electrode exhibited lower …

Variation In Cycling Exercise Mechanical Efficiency In The Heritage Family Study, Angelo Tremblay, Claude Bouchard, Mark A. Sarzynski Facsm, James S. Skinner, Élisa Marin-Couture, Patrick Schrauwen, Guy Thibault, Marie-Eve Mathieu, Louis Pérusse

Faculty Publications

The objectives of the study were to assess the effects of cycling endurance exercise training and sex on cycling exercise mechanical efficiency (ME) and to explore its associations with body composition, glycemic profile, and skeletal muscle characteristics. Subjects were males (n = 371) and females (n = 465) of European (ED) and African descent (AD) of the HERITAGE Family Study. The measurements were repeated after a 20-week controlled endurance exercise program. A substudy involving 78 participants from 19 ED families was used to evaluate associations between skeletal muscle traits and variations in ME. An increase in ME of …

Happiness, Trust, And Mental Fitness In The Workplace: Part Ii, Maureen L. Mackenzie-Ruppel Ph.D.

Business: Faculty Presentations

This paper is the second in a series of papers that will explore happiness in the workplace as a driver of performance. This research agenda was launched at the 2024 NBEA conference with a literature review revealing seven themes that collectively described and defined Workplace Happiness. With IRB approval, thirty-three seasoned professionals were invited to complete a structured questionnaire. Both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered and analyzed. Results revealed the interconnected nature of happiness with key workplace elements. The integration of Happiness within workplace processes, was found to be of critical importance. The nuanced interplay of happiness in the …

Transformative Solidarity: Confronting Neoliberal Hegemony In Urban Schools With Constructivism And Critical Pedagogy, Ryan J. Lundell, Pedro Nava, Jonathan Montoya

Educational Leadership

Neoliberalism is more than a bundle of economic policies; it is a hegemonic ideology that permeates institutions and relationships, creating isolation and inequality (Brown, Undoing the demos: Neoliberalism’s stealth revolution, Zone Books, 2017; Han, Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and new technologies of power, Verso, 2017). Neoliberal hegemony in urban schools limits student learning and propagates the purpose of education as the creation of human capital, not a socially aware citizenry (Brown, Undoing the demos: Neoliberalism’s stealth revolution, Zone Books, 2017); this creates a depoliticized labor force that strives for self-optimization rather than solidarity (Han, Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and new technologies of power, Verso, …

Peer To Peer Connections: Student Ambassador Team Encourage Belonging Through Library Supports And Services, Amy Odwarka

All Faculty Scholarship

Libraries are an integral support system for students within a university organization, serving a unique purpose for students as they reinforce both academic and social emotional needs, ultimately lending to persistence, retention and graduation efforts. Academic libraries are also a third place in the lives of many students, helping them find their people and make community on campus. Over the last three years, faculty librarian Amy Odwarka from Mary J. Booth Library at Eastern Illinois University collaborated with students to build a robust student driven engagement team, the Library Ambassadors of Booth (the LAB), encouraging peer to peer communication and …

Sailors And Scholars: The History Of The U.S. Naval War College, 1884–2009, Vol. 2, John Hattendorf

Sailors and Scholars, Second Edition

Volume II, 1984–2009, brings this history of the Naval War College into the modern era. For over 125 years, the institution has left its mark on maritime strategy and the naval profession in the United States. This volume contains chronological appendices listing significant events, College leaders, and distinguished graduates.

Front Matter

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Revisiting The Geneva Summit 40 Years Later:, Thomas Quinn Marabello, Jonah S. Schaller

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Forty years ago this month, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev met for the first time in Geneva, Switzerland. What became known as the “Geneva Summit” was an important Cold War meeting between the two superpowers that would reset and impact their relations to this day. The Geneva Summit, some would argue, was the beginning of the end of the Cold War, as both leaders began working towards arms reduction, peace, and cultural and educational exchanges between both countries. It is hard to believe that November 1985 was forty years ago. The world watched as the …