Digital Commons Network^™

Patients V. Profits: Addressing Private Equity’S Incursion On Healthcare, Michael Mccarthy

Washington and Lee Law Review

Between 2013 and 2023, private-equity-sponsored investment funds spent one trillion dollars on healthcare acquisitions, targeting hospitals, physician practices, and specialty providers. This Note examines the growing role of private equity in the US healthcare system and its implications for cost, quality, and competition.

ring struggling hospitals and medical practices much-needed capital and managerial expertise. In practice, however, prevalent private equity practices often create moral hazards by prioritizing short-term financial gains over long-term community health. Their reliance on debt, short investment horizons, and consolidation strategies can translate into higher prices, compromised care, and anticompetitive behavior. Mounting empirical studies reinforce these concerns, …

Chat With The ’For You’ Algorithm: An Llm-Enhanced Chatbot For Controlling Video Recommendation Flow, Shuo Niu, Dikshith Vishnuvardhan, Venkata Sai Reddy Punnam

Computer Science

The rise of short-form video platforms like TikTok, driven by algorithmic recommendations, fosters immersive flow experiences. While users value personalization and engagement, they also seek greater agency over their For You recommendations. This paper designs, prototypes, and evaluates TKGPT, an LLM-enhanced conversational interface that helps users articulate their interests and understand recommendations. Through qualitative interviews and a user study, we examine how the TKGPT influences algorithmic folk theories and the sense of agency. Findings show that users primarily use TKGPT to seek relevant videos, explain preferences, and exert control over the algorithm. The resulting For You videos better reflect user …

News From Uab Libraries, 07 2025, Uab Libraries

UAB Libraries News

No abstract provided.

Volume 11 Issue 10 (July 1912)

The Soul Winner

No abstract provided.

Experimental Analysis Of Satellite Operator Training Using Game-Based Virtual Reality Simulation, Lana Laskey

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Satellite data plays a vital role in modern global infrastructure by enabling communications, navigation, and weather forecasting. As demand for satellite technology grows, so does the need for highly trained satellite ground operators. Traditional training regimens for satellite operators employ simulation using two-dimensional computer console displays paired with the varied ability of trainees to generate abstract mental imagery of the scenario. However, this development of mental imagery imposes a considerable learning curve and cognitive workload on the trainee, which may negatively impact the user experience and knowledge gained during the training scenario.

This experimental study investigated the effects of game-based …

Effect Of Vehicular Electrification On Transportation Emissions In Florida, Shreya Sapkota Dhakal

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Vehicular emissions from fuel-based passenger cars emit an array of gases and particles that are detrimental for human health and the environment. In that regard, electric vehicles (EVs) present a viable, sustainable solution. This study investigated the impact of electrification of passenger cars on air quality in Florida, in five major urban counties namely Miami-Dade, Duval, Hillsborough, Orange, and Leon. Between 2018 and 2022, these counties experienced a significant increase of 219.50 ± 52.32% in EV adoption, coupled with a 11.55 ± 6.13% decrease in fuel-based vehicle usage. Herein, we characterize five pollutants primarily generated from fuel-based passenger vehicles- carbon …

Defending The Golden Fleece: A Study Of Disruption And Resilience In The Movement To Defund Public Libraries In Louisiana, Ciel Lane Quebedeaux

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this moment of societal change and institutional capture, public educational institutions have become sites of contention where national ideological and political debates are carried out in local school and library board meetings across the country. In Louisiana, the creation and expansion of a statewide conservative organization has led to the defunding of public libraries sparked by accusations of grooming and inappropriate programming. In response, local library defenders have created another statewide organization to share information and organizing strategies to combat disinformation campaigns propagated by conservative organizers at local and state levels. This qualitative study includes in-depth interviews with library …

Exploring Veteran And Non-Veteran Nursing Student Satisfaction Utilizing Marginality And Financial Stress, Juanita Nickols

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

It is widely recognized that there is a nursing shortage in the U.S. due to a growing aging population, nurses retiring, and a low nursing school capacity. Nursing schools can ameliorate part of this shortage by devising ways to increase nursing student success and graduation rates. This three-manuscript paper aims to present various ideas to help nursing schools in this endeavor. A relatively unstudied population is the veteran nursing student (VNS), the focus of this paper. The first chapter, Chapter 2: A Concept Analysis of Overload: Implications for Undergraduate Nursing Students Success, discusses the concept of overload so the …

Property Values: Accounting For Racial Valorization And Stigmatization In Development, Audrey G. Mcfarlane

Articles

No abstract provided.

Evolving Ontology And The Case Against Predictive Algorithms In The U.S. Justice System, Eryn Reyes Leong

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

In the United States today, predictive algorithms, a particular form of artificial intelligence (AI), permeate all segments of society, including the criminal justice system. With the help of AI, judges are able to “plug” defendants into algorithms and generate outputs that produce a deterministic and homogenous view of defendants. Proponents of predictive algorithms cite accuracy, neutrality, fairness, and efficiency, but what is missing from their calculus is the human person, the central figure who shapes and is shaped by algorithms. Using the story of defendant Darnell Gates as a case study, this article seeks to contribute to the development of …

Genetically Proxied Blood Pressure, Vascular Brain Injury, And Alzheimer's Disease Pathology, Iyas Daghlas, Michelle R. Caunca, Lincoln M.P. Shade, Malik Nassan, Kristine Yaffe, David W. Fardo, Dipender Gill

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Lower blood pressure (BP) is linked to reduced dementia risk, though it is uncertain whether this benefit stems solely from mitigating vascular brain injury (VBI) or also extends to directly influencing Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. We leveraged Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess whether lifelong lower BP is causally associated with neuropathological correlates of VBI and AD. METHODS: We identified genetic proxies for systolic and diastolic BP (n = 1,028,980) and applied them in MR analyses of post mortem neuropathological measures of VBI and AD (n = 6363–7786). RESULTS: Genetically proxied lower systolic BP associated with reduced risk of all …

Step By Step, Patrick M. Filanowski, Jeremy A. Steeves, Emily Slade

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background/Objectives: Although public health organizations encourage family walking, no studies have examined children’s physical activity and enjoyment during outdoor parent–child walks. This study addresses those gaps by examining children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and enjoyment during outdoor walks with their parents, along with parental barriers and their relationship with parent’s self-efficacy and co-activity minutes. Methods: Fifty parent–child dyads (children aged 6–12 years) completed 10 min, self-paced outdoor walks while wearing waist-worn ActiGraph monitors. Parents reported perceived barriers to walking outdoors with their child and self-efficacy for supporting their child’s daily physical activity. Results: Children reported high enjoyment (mean = 5.1 …

Perceptions Of An English Language Learner Program In A Florida Middle School, Kristifer M. Harden

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

A growing number of English Language Learners (ELLs) exists within the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore administrators' and teachers' perceptions of a school district’s ELL program and determine how those perceptions align with the ELL supports used in the classrooms of a small school district in Florida. The study intended to answer the question: How do the perceptions of an ELL program held by the administrators and teachers responsible for the implementation of the ELL program differ from one another and from the ELL supports being provided in classrooms? This qualitative case study was developed …

Navigating Learning Gaps: Exploring Elementary Teachers’ Perspectives On Literacy-Based Strategies For Ells In Group Instruction, Ashley N. Banegas

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Teachers are to implement frequent pedagogical self-reflection to effectively differentiate instruction in whole-class and small-group settings for English language learners (ELLs). This qualitative, exploratory case study explored the perspectives of general elementary education teachers toward implementing varied instructional strategies used to target the literacy learning gap in ELLs. This current study investigated 12 kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers from a public charter school in southern Florida who participated in an interview or completed a journal entry. Information retrieved from scholarly literature and data were analyzed to answer this study’s three research questions. Findings determined the importance of teachers’ learning about their …

The Effects Of Extreme Weather On Rural Transportation Infrastructure And Crop Prices Along The Lower Mississippi River, James Mitchell, Hunter D. Biram

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Extreme weather events are worsening the fragile rural infrastructure in the United States, impacting trade flows of agricultural products. The Mississippi River, vital for transporting agricultural commodities, reached historic lows during the 2022 and 2023 fall harvests, increasing transportation costs and lowering crop prices. This paper estimates the cost of these drought events by analyzing Arkansas soybean basis data and Mississippi River stream gauge data. Low river levels significantly weaken soybean prices, with the impact being a function of a grain market's distance to a river port. Findings have implications for public policy investment in rural infrastructure and risk management …

Nh Ece 2025 Data Snapshot Infographic, Harshita Sarup, Jess Carson, Tyrus Parker

New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium

The NH ECE 2025 Data Snapshot infographic provides easy access to data describing and explaining the early care and education landscape in New Hampshire. Learn about Granite Staters' need for child care, the high prices that families face, the low wages earned by child care workers, and the high operating costs of care. The infographic also offers a policy snapshot featuring the reach of the NH Child Care Scholarship Program.

Arcadia Magazine, 2025-07

Alumni Magazine

No abstract provided.

Multilevel Intersectionality And The Deployment Of Disability In Schools, Rachel Elizabeth Fish

Education and Child Study: Faculty Publications

Teacher perceptions of and decisions about students’ academic ability and behavior are key to the micro-level production and maintenance of inequality at the intersection of gender, race, and disability in schools, yet we know little about how these micro-level processes relate to meso-level features. Using an experimental survey design of 369 factorial vignettes, I tested for racial and gender differences in 276 teachers’ ratings of referral to begin disability evaluations—what I call the deployment of disability—across 115 Wisconsin schools with varying racial compositions. Findings show that teachers in schools with low proportions of White students were less likely to deploy …

Decreasing Burdensome Transitions In Hospice Care By Increasing Nursing Visits, Kristin S. Rivers

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Burdensome transitions occur when hospice patients discontinue hospice services to seek hospital treatment, often disrupting end-of-life goals and creating distress for patients and caregivers. These transitions continue to rise throughout the country, highlighting the need for strategies to support patients in remaining at home throughout the dying process.

Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to decrease hospital transitions by increasing nursing visits for hospice patients at high-risk for burdensome transitions.

Project Design: This quality improvement project used a Plan-Do-Study-Act methodology to form and implement an intervention to reduce burdensome transitions. Patients were already identified as low or high-risk …

Cv: Steven Nawara (Political Science), Steven Nawara

Political Science Department Faculty Curricula Vitae

No abstract provided.

Can Esg Reduce Credit Risk? An Empirical Investigation Across Asean-5 Markets, Arrafif Pratama Zaini, Maria Ulpah

The Indonesian Capital Market Review

Based on stakeholder theory and signaling theory, companies with strong ESG performance send signals to various stakeholders, thus building trust and influencing better credit risk evaluation. This study empirically examines the effect of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance on the credit risk of non-financial public companies in ASEAN-5 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand) over the period 2019-2023. Corporate credit risk is measured using 2 main approaches: the accounting-based and market-based models. Merton's KMV model calculates the probability of default (PD) using a market-based approach. In contrast, the Altman Z-Score predicts bankruptcy risk based on financial ratios in …

The Impact Of Effective Tax Rate And Cash Effective Tax Rate On The Capital Structure, Nguyen Vinh Khuong Dr., Tran Thao Vy, Nguyen Phuong Anh, Pham Thi Anh Hong, Bui Thi Ngoc Trinh, Cao Phuong Uyen

The Indonesian Capital Market Review

The study examines the impact of tax avoidance on the capital structure of listed companies on the Vietnam’s stock market. Conducting GLS regression testing and analysis through data of 657 enterprises listed on the two stock exchanges of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the period from 2015 to 2022. Research results have shown that initially, when businesses carry out tax avoidance, it will reduce the capital structure of the business because the marginal benefits received from tax avoidance are lower than the marginal costs from tax avoidance. However, after businesses carry out tax avoidance and the benefits from …

Underpricing Of The Malaysian Initial Public Offerings (Ipos), Wahidah Shari

The Indonesian Capital Market Review

This study evaluates the short-term performance of 469 Malaysian IPOs between 2002 and 2020. Previous studies have found that IPOs are underpriced in the short-term yet underperform in the long term. The short-term underpricing describes the phenomenon characterized by a significant increase from the offer price to the first day of closing price. The finding shows that Malaysian IPOs are significantly underpriced by 24.6% using offer-to-close return (OTC), which confirms the findings reported in previous literature. Separating OTC to offer-to-ask (OTA) and ask-to-close (ATC) indicates that a significant positive return is observed only in the OTA period but not in …

Electronic Resources Updates - 2025 Q2, Brigitte Galauner, Gregg Harris

Electronic Resources Quarterly Updates

No abstract provided.

Drone Delivery Of Bioweapons: Responsibilities For Force Readiness, James Giordano, Diane Dieuliis

Strategic Forums

This Strategic Forum by Dr. James Giordano and Dr. Diane DiEuliis explores the convergence of drone technology and emerging biotechnologies. This includes synthetic biology, gene editing, and nanoscale biomaterials, and their implications for military readiness and national security. It examines how these dual-use technologies could enable novel delivery methods for biological agents, expanding the threat landscape and lowering technical barriers. The analysis emphasizes the need for proactive defense planning, enhanced detection and countermeasures, and integrated strategies to mitigate risks, ensuring force readiness in the face of evolving biological threats.

Marketplace Summer 2025, Southern Adventist University

MarketPlace - School of Business Newsletter

The Summer 2025 issue of MarketPlace features an articles by Florence Merryman, '05 and Franklin Farrow, '93, and information on Southerns' Enactus chapter serving in Uganda,

Primary Investigation Of Rice-Fish Co-Culture: Investigating The Feasibility Of Raising Fish In Flooded Rice Paddies In The Southern Usa, Yulin Jia, Aaron K. Jackson, Bartholomew Green, S. Adam Fuller, Heather Box, Laduska Sells, Candis Ray, Paxton Harper, Brennan Smith

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

With limited land and water resources available it has become critical to maximize output for agricultural products while maintaining sustainable farming practices. Ricefish co-culture can be used to maximize limited land and water resources for production of rice and fish concurrently and reduce the need of chemical inputs. While rice-fish co-culture has been practiced in Asia for centuries, very few studies have examined the feasibility and economic impact of rice fish co-culture in the U.S.A. Two studies were conducted in Stuttgart, Arkansas, U.S.A. from 2023-2024 to investigate the suitability of raising Koi carp in flooded rice paddies with a sushi …

At The Nexus Between Epigenetics And Senescence, Toby L. Chambers, Jaden Wells, Pieter Jan Koopmans, Francielly Morena, Zain B. Malik, Nicholas P. Greene, Antonio Filareto, Michael Franti, Patrizia Sini, Harald Weinstabl, Robert T. Brooke, Milda Milčiūtė, Juozas Gordevičius, Steve Horvath, Yuan Wen, Cory M. Dungan, Kevin A. Murach

Physiology Faculty Publications

Senescent cells emerge with aging and injury. The contribution of senescent cells to DNA methylation age (DNAmAGE) in vivo is uncertain. Furthermore, stem cell therapy can mediate “rejuvenation”, but how tissue regeneration controlled by resident stem cells affects whole tissue DNAmAGE is unclear. We assessed DNAmAGE with or without senolytics (BI01) in aged male mice (24–25 months) 35 days following muscle healing (BaCl₂-induced regeneration versus non-injured). Young injured mice (5–6 months) without senolytics were comparators. DNAmAGE was decelerated by up to 68% after injury in aged muscle. DNAmAGE was modestly but further significantly decelerated by injury recovery with …

The Neurophysiological Basis Of Cognitive Impairment And Brain Fog In Migraine: A Literature Review, Manny Edward Campos

MEDI 9331 Scholarly Activities Clinical Years

Migraine is a prevalent neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headaches and a range of neurological symptoms. This review examines the neurophysiological mechanisms linking migraine pathophysiology to cognitive impairment and the subjective experience of brain fog. The review synthesizes findings from neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and experimental models. Key mechanisms, including cortical spreading depression, neuroinflammation, neurotransmitter imbalances, and hemodynamic alteration,s are discussed. The review identifies the neuroanatomical structures and networks involved and describes the patterns of cognitive change observed across the migraine spectrum. Cognitive impairment and brain fog are significant aspects of migraine, extending beyond the headache phase. A distributed network of brain …

Afit Librarian Newsletter : Check It Out (Third Quarter 2025), D'Azzo Research Library, Air Force Institute Of Technology

AFIT Library Knowledge Base

In this issue:

• Interview with a Featured Library Advocate, Dr. Michael Miller, ENV.
• 25th Anniversary of the joint library operations with AFRL