Digital Commons Network^™

Navigating Inclusive Education In The United Arab Emirates: Perspectives From School Leaders And Teachers, Daisy Loyd, Rhoda Myra Garces-Bacsal, Zachary Walker, Najwa Mohamed Alhosani, Hala Elhoweris, Osha Almuhairy, Ahmed Mohamed, Rachel Alison Takriti, Sana Butti Al Maktoum, Amani Mohamed, Hamdah Jibar Alhashmi

All Works

Inclusive education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been promoted through ambitious policies. These have included a mandated change in nomenclature alongside strengthening the infrastructure and professional development to support inclusive education in mainstream schools. Perspectives from school leaders and teachers across the country about these changes and their implementation have not been captured. This research used a qualitative methodology to explore school leaders' and teachers' perspectives of inclusive education policy and practice. Participants included 22 school leaders and 57 teachers from public and private schools across the seven Emirates of the UAE. Data were collected through group and …

A Critical Narrative Review Appraisal Of The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines: Scientific Strengths, Conceptual Gaps, And Overlooked Dimensions Of Sustainability And Health Equity, Dimitrios Papandreou, Azza Alsuwaidi, Zainab Taha, Constantinos Giaginis, Georgios K. Vasios, Eleni P. Andreou

All Works

The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines introduce an important shift in public health nutrition, emphasizing minimally processed foods, higher protein intake, greater inclusion of full-fat dairy, and a food-based advice centered on “real food” consumption. While several of these recommendations align with accumulating evidence, particularly the discouragement of ultra-processed foods and added sugars, substantial concerns remain regarding their internal coherence, population-level applicability, risk of misinterpretation, as well as environmental footprint. This critical narrative review evaluates whether the scope, emphasis, and framing of the new guideline components are proportionate to the strength, consistency, and context of the underlying evidence. Using a novel framework …

Psychology Lecturer Confronts Ai, Attendance Decline, And Future Of Student Learning, Valerie Reynolds

Digital Edition

No abstract provided.

Electronic Resource Updates - 2026 Q1, Brigitte Galauner, Gregg Harris

Electronic Resources Quarterly Updates

No abstract provided.

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles And Chitosan Exhibited Synergistic Protection Against Diabetic Nephropathy In Mice Model, Abdulkader M Shaikh Omar, Zainab M Al Aamri, Salim M El Hamidy, Muhamed A. El Nobey

Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a progressive complication of diabetes mellitus characterized by oxidative stress, impaired glucose metabolism, and renal dysfunction. This study explored the protective effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), chitosan, and their synergism on renal function disorders, oxidative stress, and histopathological alterations in a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice model. Mice treated with STZ exhibited marked hyperglycemia (284.08 ± 0.76 mg/dL), elevated HbA1c (17.35 ± 0.13%), and reduced insulin levels (3.09 ± 1.00 μI/mL), along with increased levels of renal biomarkers: urea (46.01 ± 0.28 mg/dL), uric acid (8.09 ± 0.19 mg/dL), and creatinine (1.79 ± 0.06 mg/dL). …

Herblens: A Multilingual Retrieval-Augmented Generation (Rag) Framework Integrating Cross-Cultural Herbal And Nutritional Knowledge Bases, Lilly Shaw, Benjamin Wilson, Hana Mossaddad, Daniel Tehrani, Dezhao Fu, Ali Rahnavard

GW Research Showcase 2021-2026

No abstract provided.

The Missing Lynx: Investigating Passive And Active Rewilding With The Eurasian Lynx, Isaiah Charles, Tatiana Flores, Isabella Lopez

Conservation Biology

The Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) is a wild cat native to the boreal forests, mountains and grasslands of Europe and Asia (Bhattacharyya, 2025). The Eurasian lynx keep ungulate populations in check which allow for forests to recover from overgrazing, promoting biodiversity and ecological balance. However, the Eurasian lynx had become locally extinct across Europe by the 1900s due to habitat loss, hunting by farmers in retaliation for predation of livestock and the illegal fur trade. Conservation and ecological restoration efforts to rebuild the lynx population have been underway. Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration involving the reintroduction of a …

Commencement Program: 2026, Governors State University

Commencement Documents and Videos

Lincoln Laureate: Jonathan Cooper

May 17, 2025
10 a.m.

Student Speaker: Journey Mae Manuel

College of Education and Human Development
College of Health and Human Services

May 17, 2025
4 p.m.

Student Speaker: Victoria Gómez

College of Business
College of Arts and Sciences

Discussion From Andrea Smith's Book, Conquest: Sexual Violence And American Indian Genocide, Alexis M. Auman

Student Publications

Discussion from Andrea Smith's book, Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide

The Importance Of Body Size And Spatial Scale In Modeling Winter Bird Distributions, Carissa M. Mobley

Student Publications

Birds’ annual cycles include biologically linked breeding and non-breeding seasons, yet most research and bird atlases focus exclusively on the breeding season. There have been very few winter bird atlas projects in North America, and none have been published for the northeastern United States. Short daylight hours and harsh weather limit winter survey coverage, making species distribution models (SDMs) essential for addressing spatial gaps.

I evaluated the optimal spatial scale for SDMs across bird species differing in body size and tested whether optimal scale varies with body mass. Using 16,967 eBird checklists collected during the first winter survey period (December …

"Nobody Forced My Mom To Stay Home": College Men’S Perspectives On Parental Leave, Marisa Conners

Student Publications

From "The Second Shift" to Claudia Goldin’s Nobel Prize-winning research on women in the labor market, the inequities affecting women in the labor market have been widely documented. However, progress on this issue has been largely one-sided on behalf of women, perpetuating gender inequality. The goal of my research is to understand how social subgroup values influence male-identifying Gettysburg College students’ predictions on how they will engage with parental leave. This project gathered information on ways to increase male uptake of parental leave, which, if implemented, will help improve gender equity in the labor market.

How are male-identifying Gettysburg College …

Leadership Approaches In Music Administration: Intra And Interconnections Of Adaptive, Servant, And Transformational Leadership In Music Educators Transitioning To Administrative Roles, Joel Raynald Defayette

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Music educators who transitioned into administrative leadership roles brought a distinct set of pedagogical, interpersonal, and artistic leadership practices; however, these approaches were not always fully recognized or understood within broader educational leadership contexts. As leadership theory expanded across disciplines, a need emerged to examine how music educators’ leadership identities evolved as they moved from classroom instruction to administrative positions. This study addressed how leadership styles—particularly adaptive, servant, and transformational leadership—were experienced, interpreted, and enacted by music professionals who advanced into educational leadership roles. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore whether a dominant leadership style emerged …

Technostress, Worker Wellbeing, And Ethics: An Integrative Review, Mackenzie Moreno

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Rapid advances in workplace technologies have led to increasing concerns about technostress and its implications for worker health and wellbeing. While the technostress literature has at times addressed psychological and physiological wellbeing outcomes, these outcomes have not been examined consistently, and explicit integration of ethics is largely absent. This integrative review addresses these gaps by synthesizing empirical findings on how technostress impacts worker health and wellbeing, and by examining the extent to which ethical considerations are integrated into the extant literature. Drawing on these findings, the review proposes a theoretical model of technostress mechanisms. Finally, it summarizes organizational recommendations for …

Pfas And Western Diet Effects On Adolescent Rat Feeding And Metabolism, Whesli Kim

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of widespread persistent organic pollutants associated with metabolic and neural dysfunction in humans. These processes are also affected by Western diet high sugar high fat contents. However, interacting effects of PFAS exposure and Western diet on metabolic regulation and feeding behavior have not been tested. Exposure to PFAS is high during sensitive gestational and neonatal periods of development. Adolescence is a key period where nutritional demands shift, eating habits are established, and gonadal hormones change. This study tests the hypothesis that early life exposure to PFOS alters adolescent metabolic function and feeding …

Examining The Relationship Of Work Stressors And Resilience Among Inpatient Oncology Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study:, Blanca Melida Vasquez-Clarfield

Theses & Dissertations

Burnout among inpatient oncology nurses remains a concern in a specialty marked by high patient acuity, complex care regimens, emotional intensity, and repeated exposure to suffering and death. Resilience is often discussed as a protective resource in nursing, yet less is known about how personal resilience and work resilience relate to work stress and burnout within inpatient oncology practice. This study examined the relationships among perceived work stress, personal resilience, work resilience, and burnout among registered nurses working in inpatient oncology units. It also explored whether selected nurse characteristics were associated with these variables and how nurses described workplace stressors, …

Redefining Retention: Analyzing The Experiences Of Black Men In Higher Education Through The Lens Of Race, Masculinity, And Strength-Based Approaches, Roderick Waters

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Black male students have continued to face systemic challenges in higher education, particularly at historically White institutions (HWIs), where they experience lower retention and graduation rates compared to their peers. Although enrollment numbers have increased, institutional barriers, racialized campus environments, and deficit-based narratives have continued to contribute to disparities in academic success. Much of the existing research has focused on the challenges Black male students encounter rather than the strategies, relationships, and institutional conditions that support their persistence. This study sought to shift that focus by exploring the lived experiences of Black men who persisted at an HWI through an …

The Moderating Effect Of Gender And Humor On Leader Evaluation, Russell John Marshall

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

There has been much discourse in the popular press, political, and professional spheres about the humor used by leaders and aspiring leaders. Although humor is seen as mostly positive in the workplace, there have been significant findings that humor’s impact is influenced by gender/sex. Male humor use is often seen as functional, while female humor use is seen as disruptive (Evans et al., 2019). This study examines how humor and gender/sex affects likeability and professional respect for leaders. It was predicted that humor use would increase male leaders likeability and professional respect while decreasing these rating for female leaders. Participants …

Does One Size Fit All? A Lifespan Perspective On The Relationship Between Work Design And Mental Health, Christina Ju

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

As the global workforce ages, traditional work design models that assume job resources are universally beneficial require re-evaluation. Drawing upon lifespan development and socioemotional selectivity theory, this longitudinal study examined how chronological age moderates the effects of skill discretion and coworker support on job-related mental health over a 20-year period. Data from three waves of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) survey (N = 3,890) were analyzed using linear mixed models to separate within-person changes from between-person differences. Results indicated that skill discretion and coworker support were positively associated with job-related mental health overall. The hypothesis that the benefits …

A Phenomenology On The Possibility Of Freedom, Grounded In The Lifeworld, Sheldon T. White

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

The work here is aimed at three primary goals. The first is largely exegetical and focuses on explicating Edmund Husserl’s phenomenological analysis of the intentional process which constitutes our empathic experience of other people. This is relevant because phenomenology’s capacity to examine intersubjectivity depends on the validity of the pairing association put forth by Husserl in section 51 of the Cartesian Meditations. I accomplish this by analyzing not only the sections in the Cartesian Meditations where Husserl makes his case, but also by engaging with his previous works, upon which his analysis of the pairing association depends. The second goal …

The Perceptions Of Early Adolescents: Academic Stressors Within Under-Resourced Schools, Problem Solving, And Important Adults, Aliyah White

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Early adolescence is marked by increasing academic demands and the growing need for effective coping strategies. The present study examined early adolescents’ perceptions of academic stressors, use of primary control coping mechanisms, and identification of important related and unrelated adults within their lives. Participants included 96 youth ages 10-14 recruited from Chicago Public Schools in under-resourced South Side communities. Results indicated that youth reported substantial exposure to academic stressors, including teachers yelling, difficulties understanding coursework, and pressure to perform well academically. Findings revealed a significant decrease in the use of primary control coping strategies over time, despite increasing academic stress. …

The Impact Of Social Support On Somatic Health Symptoms In Emerging Adults: Examining The Role Of Cortisol And Cytokines, Autumn Sharon Rajcevich Schwer

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

There is a wealth of previous research demonstrating that increased levels of social support are associated with mental health benefits, with several potential pathways supported, including social support leading to increased emotional comfort and resilience (Mohan et al., 2024). However, research also demonstrates that increased social support is associated with numerous physical health benefits as well, including lowered risk of chronic disease development and longer lifespans (Hale et al., 2005). But there seems to be a gap in research regarding how social support creates this positive physiological effect. The present study aimed to address this gap and investigate the potential …

Analysis Of Mitochondrial Dna Haplotype Groups For South Texas Canids, Canis Rufus, After Past Hybridization Events, Isabella Lopez

Presentations - 2026

mtDNA: mitochondrial DNA; passed from maternal parent to offspring (Haplotype)

Haplotype:  a group of genes or genetic markers inherited together from a single parent (Haplotype)

Mitochondrial DNA haplotypes specific sequences of mtDNA that is passed exclusively from maternal parent to offspring (Giles et al. 1980)

Pro's:

It is passed unchanged from mother to offspring, meaning it is fairly stable (Giles et al. 1980)

Each cell has multiple mitochondria vs one nucleus , which means mtDNA it is more likely to be recoverable from degraded samples like scat (Templeton et al. 2013)

Microplastic-Mediated Delivery Of Di-Butyl Phthalate Alters C. Elegans Lifespan And Reproductive Fidelity, Chiara Angelyn Maldonado

Presentations - 2026

•The challenge: microplastic contamination •The question: How do microplastics and chemical contaminants affect living organisms? •The follow-up: What’s next!

2026 Awardees, Office Of Sponsored Projects, Academic Research And Compliance (Sparc)

Showcase Awards

Every year, St. Mary's honors their students and faculty at the showcase with awards to recognize their hard work and leadership in research on campus. These are the award winners for 2026.

Raptor Abundance And Occupancy In Urban Parks Within Metropolitan Landscapes, Mary- Esther Leblanc

Posters - 2026

Rapid urbanization is one of the most significant and accelerating drivers of global biodiversity change, reshaping wildlife communities by fragmenting habitat, altering prey availability, and introducing human disturbances. Despite these pressures, some wildlife species are attracted to and may even flourish in urban settings, primarily because urbanization creates an altered landscape that often unintentionally provides resources functioning as components of habitat. (Chiron et al., 2024) Raptors, as apex predators within avian food webs, offer a valuable lens through which to examine these dynamics. While raptor communities are broadly negatively impacted by urbanization, some species can thrive in urban areas. (Leveau …

The Effects Of Low Stimulating Music Vs. High Stimulating Music On Visual And Auditory Reflexes In Young Adults, Monabelle Elbayeh, Vania Galindo, Ria Modi, Gianna Montelongo

Posters - 2026

This study investigates the effects of high-stimulating versus low-stimulating music exposure on human reflexes, specifically examining how different levels of auditory stimulation influence reaction time. Music is known to impact cognitive and motor performance, but its direct effect on reflex responses remains less understood. In this experiment, participants are exposed to high-stimulating music and low-stimulating music in separate trials, with reflexes measured before and after each condition using visual and auditory tests in the LabScribe program. It is hypothesized that after listening to high-stimulating music for five minutes, individuals will demonstrate shorter reaction times compared to after listening to low-stimulating …

Untangling G-Quadruplexes In Dna: The Effects Of Nucleotide Excision Repair, Jaidelin Alvardo, Abiageal Riley, Erick Morales Orrante, Raynne Malik

Posters - 2026

Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER) remo ves bulky DNA lesions that are attributed to UV irradiation, environmental mutagens, and chemo-therapeutic agents (Schärer, CSH Perspectives Biology, 2013). G4- quadruplexes are formed by four guanines hydrogen bonded together to form a planar ring, and stacking of the hydrophobic G quartets stabilizes the quadruplex structure Capra et al.,PLoS Computational Biology, 2010). A surplus of this structure is linked to genomic Instability and cancer development.

Prior studies indicate that because NER eliminates large lesions of DNA, there may be a link to the removal of G4-quadruplexes through Nucleotide Excision Repair (De Magis et al, Nature,2020). …

Mapping Sensory Landscapes: Distribution And Arrangement Of The Anterior Lateral Line System In Texas Catfish, Tatiana K. Flores, Ruben Tovar

Posters - 2026

Fish have a system of sensory organs known as the lateral line system. This system contains numerous mechanoreceptive neuromasts and electroreceptive ampullary organs (Northcutt et al, 2000). Neuromasts are small, hair-like structures located within canals in the lateral line system just under the fish’s skin and are open to the environment through small pores visible on its skin (Parker, 2025). Water flows into these canals through the pores which stimulates the sensitive hair cells, resulting in electrical signals sent to the fish’s brain. The brain interprets these signals and creates “images” of the fish’s surroundings, helping it to see even …

Does Habitat Predict Head Shape? A Comparative Geometric Morphometric Analysis Of Eurycea Spp., Sarah Flores-Garza, Alexa Miner, Gianna Montelongo

Posters - 2026

Subterranean environments impose strong selective pressures, including complete darkness and reliance on non-visual sensory systems. In Eurycea salamanders, these conditions are associated with traits such as reduced eyes and expanded head regions that improve sensory detection (Tovar et al., 2025). Subterranean species are often expected to share similar head shapes due to convergent evolution. However, not all species experience these pressures equally. Eurycea latitans is a polymorphic species that inhabits both surface and cave environments. Eurycea sp._NB is an obligate subterranean species, while Eurcyea sosorum is a surface species. This study tests whether habitat predicts head shape in Eurycea, or …

Using Ai To Predict Energy Expenditure In Lower Limb Prosthesis Users, Nelly Diaz, Siem Hadish

Posters - 2026

• Computer vision has evolved from simple image classification and object detection to analyzing human motion and biomechanics (1). • CNN’s are usually focused on image classification, but, in this case, we are not asking the model if a person is walking. • Many real-world problems require regression: Predicting a continuous number like energy expenditure of walking is a complex task. • It is essential for Prosthetists to understand energy expenditure of their prosthetic patients (2). • An amputee may use 20-30% more energy to walk. • In this project, we developed an AI model to analyze human motion and …