Digital Commons Network^™

From Professional Learning To Classroom Impact: Continuous Professional Development And Student Learning Outcomes, Nyagwegwe Wango, Jane Rarieya

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

Purpose: This study examines how Teacher Continuous Professional Development (TCPD) initiatives implemented through the Strengthening Education Systems in East Africa (SESEA) and Foundation for Learning (F4L) projects influence teaching practices and foundational learning outcomes in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.

Methodology: The study employed a mixed-methods research design using longitudinal data from classroom observations, teacher questionnaires, student assessments, and key informant interviews. Data were collected from trained teachers, teacher educators, school leaders, and learners across selected project regions to evaluate changes in instructional practices and learning outcomes.

Findings: The findings indicate that TCPD significantly improved teachers’ adoption of child-centered, play-based, …

Stress-Strain Behavior Of Saturated Clays From Vane Shear Test Results: A Numerical Approach, Gustavo Rodrigues De Avila Oliveira

Master’s Theses

The vane shear test (VST) is widely used to estimate the undrained shear strength of soft cohesive soils; however, it does not directly provide constitutive information such as the stress–strain response. Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), a mesh-free numerical method, offers an attractive alternative for modeling the large deformations involved in the VST and extracting additional information from the test.

This study develops and calibrates a two-dimensional SPH model to simulate the field vane shear test and investigate the stress–strain behavior of soft soils. The VST was implemented within an SPH framework, while field and laboratory data were used to define …

Dokdo/Takeshima And Maritime Delimitation Between The Republic Of Korea And Japan: A Comment On Icj Dispute Resolution, Katherine Angell

Celebrating WCL Student Authors

The Republic of Korea (Korea) should agree to submit the issue of sovereignty over Dokdo/Takeshima and the issue of maritime delimitation in the East Sea/Sea of Japan to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) because the ICJ is likely to decide that Dokdo/Takeshima is Korean territory and the tensions in the East Sea/Sea of Japan can be resolved to allow further cooperation between the two nations. The ICJ is the primary avenue for peacefully resolving territorial and maritime delimitation disputes between nations, and the ICJ has developed a substantial body of case law analyzing these issues. The ICJ considers various …

The Garden Of The Machine: Simulated Wildness And Digital Domestication In American Literature 1970-2020, Cameron Netland

Doctoral Dissertations

Studying American literature produced during the Information Age, from 1970 to 2020, reveals an evolution of wild human resistance to the increasing powers of digital technology. These increasing powers include capturing attention, fostering dependence, and training behavior through a process I call digital domestication. Digital domestication distances people from wildness, and as William Cronon writes in “The Trouble with Wilderness”, “Learning to honor the wild—learning to remember and acknowledge the autonomy of the other—means striving for critical self-consciousness in all of our actions.” (20). Through this framework of wildness, one reads characters in fictional narratives resisting non-coercive new technologies as …

04 Dielectrics I, Gerhard Müller

Electromagnetism (2026)

Part 4 of course materials for Electromagnetism taught by Gerhard Müller at the University of Rhode Island.

09 Electrodynamics Ii, Gerhard Müller

Electromagnetism (2026)

Part 9 of course materials for Electromagnetism taught by Gerhard Müller at the University of Rhode Island.

Ceramics And Trade In Mesoamerica: Identity And Resistance In The Maya Culture, Mason A. Swanson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The region of Mesoamerica has been researched extensively by archaeologists over the past decades. There are numerous cultures and civilizations that occupied Mesoamerica over thousands of years. This paper will focus on the Maya, one of the most researched and examined of the cultures of Mesoamerica. By examining the ceramics and trade of the Maya one can reconstruct how the Maya identity was viewed in the past. Often the Maya are suggested to have experienced a collapse at the end of the Classic period around (AD 900). This, however, is an oversimplification of the events that occurred. The goal of …

Ohio Redistricting And The Meaning Of Fairness, Elena G. Klingler

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The failure of Ohio’s Issue 1, a redistricting reform amendment to the state constitution proposed in 2024, has been a topic of significant discussion. Though the controversial change to the language of the amendment made by the Ohio Ballot Board has often been identified as the consequential factor, the full implications of this change – why it was made, what it says about the meaning of ‘gerrymandering’ and ‘fairness,’ and why different groups define those words differently – have not been fully explored. This project will qualitatively assess whether the failure of Issue 1 was affected by definitional disagreements based …

Presidential Slaves: The Story Of Black People In The Lives Of Antebellum U.S. Presidents, Nika Davis

History Dissertations

The historical narrative about American slavery included many topics such as the African slave trade, the Middle Passage, slave culture, rebellions, religion, and abolition.  This study revealed more information to be examined in the record of American slavery relating to the presidents of the United States and their enslaved laborers.  This oversight proved prevalent during the years leading to the American Civil War from 1820-1860.  Therefore, this dissertation focused upon the enslaved and free Black people who intersected with the presidents and their friends, political acquaintances, and family.  By studying their lives, this dissertation revealed that the slaves associated with …

Perceptions Of Prek-Eighth Grade School And District Administrators On The English Language Learner Reclassification Criteria, Impacting Long-Term English Learners, Elma Adelina Rodriguez

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of school and district administrators regarding English Language Learner (ELL) criteria that affect the academic trajectories of Long-Term English Learners (LTELs). ELL criteria differ across states and are used to demonstrate not only English language proficiency but also ELL students' academic performance. While English-only students are not required to demonstrate their academic use of English, ELL students are required to demonstrate English-language academic reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills to be reclassified as English proficient. If ELL students remain classified as ELL for multiple years, they are labeled as LTEL. …

Environmental Influence On The Smart Self-Sensing 3d-Printed Concrete Column, Laraimie Reid, Khalilullah Taj, Yen-Fang Su

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

This study investigates the influence of environmental factors on the self-sensing performance of 3D-printed cementitious composites for structural health monitoring. Square 3D printed column samples containing control mortar and self-sensing cementitious composite (SSCC) were fabricated and cured, then exposed to controlled drying cycles and temperature variations from room temperature to 60°C. Under cyclic compressive loading, changes in electrical resistance were monitored to evaluate the fractional change in resistivity (FCR) and stress sensitivity. The results demonstrate that both internal moisture variation and elevated temperature significantly affect the piezoresistive sensitivity. Although resistance decreased with an increase in humidity and temperature, a better …

Relearning Language: A Meta-Analysis Of Syntactic Priming In Aphasia, Ally Miller, Willem Van Boxtel

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Background: Despite the importance of grammatical skills for participation
in daily life, treatments for sentence–level abilities in aphasia
are comparatively scarce. The psycholinguistic paradigm of syntactic
priming has recently been advanced as a potential assessment and
treatment for grammatical skills, and existing evidence on priming in
aphasia is highly promising. Nevertheless, a comprehensive analysis of
the strength of priming effects in aphasia, as well as treatment components
which might amplify these effects, has not been reported.
This meta–analysis synthesizes existing findings on syntactic priming
in aphasia, aiming to provide a comprehensive picture of priming
effects and their potential application for …

Evaluation Of Liberty® Herbicide For Zygosity Verification In Transgenic Maize (Zea Mays) Expressing The Bar Gene From Streptomyces Hygroscopicus, Isabel Hau

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Maize (Zea mays) is a major global crop cultivated for food and feed. Most commercial varieties grown in the United States contain herbicide-resistant traits to facilitate weed management. One such herbicide trait is Liberty-Link, which contains the bialaphos resistance (bar) gene from Streptomyces hygroscopicus that confers resistance to glufosinate-ammonium, the active
ingredient in Liberty herbicide. This bar gene is also widely used as a selectable marker in plant transformation. In non-transgenic plants, glufosinate-ammonium inhibits plant glutamine synthetase by acting as a glutamate analog, thereby disrupting amino acid biosynthesis and leading
to plant death. In contrast, transgenic plants expressing the bar …

From Millionaires To Marsh Island: Origin And Development Of Wetland Conservation Efforts In Louisiana, Roan Guidry

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Wetlands are protected, managed, and restored worldwide to provide a range of ecosystem services, including (i) habitat for plants and animals, (ii) carbon storage, (iii) improving downstream water quality, and (iv) reducing flooding by river and coastal waters. When did such conservation begin, and how do early conservation efforts shape recent public policy? This thesis identifies some of the earliest recorded examples of private efforts in Louisiana and analyzes how these early efforts shaped State and Federal Government action in the realm of conservation. The earliest wetland protection efforts in Louisiana began in the 1910s to sustain continental populations of …

Analyzing And Understanding America’S Involvement In The Global War In Terror Through The Oral Histories Of Its Veterans And Other Sources, Bryce Edwards

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

From 2001 to the early 2020s, the United States and its allies have consistently engaged in political, military, counterinsurgency, and nation building operations in nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq. The efforts of this coalition first rallied to combat the threat of global terrorism after September 11th, yet it would then develop in decades-long assignment to rebuild these countries and their institutions with fundamental (and foreign) western values. This thesis intends to examine the conflict by conducting oral histories of its many veterans, to better understand their lived experience. These interviews will be supported by scholarly works from those involved …

C/Ebpα Is Essential For Gonadal But Not Inguinal White Adipose Tissue Formation In Mice, Krista Y. Hu, Yu-Lin Ma, Esme A. Dodge, Olivia A. B. Maguire, Caio V. Matias, Ryan K. Barney, Hector S. Himede, Juliana Gomez Pardo, Miriam Cepeda, Scott M. Gordon, Robert C. Bauer

Physiology Faculty Publications

Objective: The distribution of excess white adipose tissue (WAT) in obesity correlates with risk for comorbidities. Thus, understanding depot-specific WAT developmental mechanisms is translationally relevant. SNPs near the gene CEBPA associate with waist to hip ratio, and while C/EBPα is a recognized regulator of adipogenesis, there is no previously known role for C/EBPα in regulating adipose distribution.

Methods: We crossed Cebpa floxed mice to the AdipoQ-Cre transgenic mouse strain, generating mice with adipocyte-specific knockout of Cebpa (Cebpa_ASKO). Mice were phenotyped on a chow diet and after prolonged high-fat diet (HFD) feeding.

Results: Cebpa_ASKO mice almost entirely lack gonadal …

Novel Methods For Environmental Fluoride Measurement, Cable Warren

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

Fluoride analysis has been an important focus of analytical analysis for many years and will continue to be so going forward. Today, fluorinated compounds, specifically per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), better known as “forever chemicals” have captured the moment and are the subject of vast research and regulation. Under this context, I have researched new methods of fluoride separation and concentration in complex media as well as a novel method of PFAS destruction and total organic fluorine analysis for screening of PFAS in aqueous samples. Through research and work on micro-scale detection methods, an understanding of the state of the art and …

Climate And Seasonal Influences On Indo-Pacific Sea Level: Insights From 30 Years Of Satellite And Tide Gauge Data, Karlina Triana

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

We analyze Indo-Pacific sea-level variability using monthly satellite altimetry (1993–2025) validated against records from 16 tide-gauge stations. Cross-comparisons show strong agreement, especially in the western Pacific, confirming the reliability of altimetry for regional assessments. Seasonal SLA variability is largest in the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea and reflects monsoonal forcing, whereas interannual fluctuations in the eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans are dominated by ENSO and modulated by PDO. Harmonic decomposition isolates annual and semi-annual cycles, and an EOF/PCA framework identifies the leading modes: EOF1 (30.8%) captures basin-scale interannual variability and EOF2 (20.9%) reflects the seasonal cycle. Spectral …

Using Network Models To Understand Biological Signaling Architecture, Russ White, Emily Brown Reeves, Gerald L. Fudge

Faculty Publications

Engineers have developed abstract network models to better understand the recurring problems faced by communication systems. This paper argues that these models can be generalized to describe biological communications systems given that they share many requirements with human-designed systems, including functional requirements and physical constraints. Leveraging collaboration, biologists and engineers can work together to use well-understood communication systems, designed to carry data across a computer network, as a model for analyzing less well-understood biological communication systems in order to make predictions and uncover previously unknown functionalities. To illustrate this approach, we apply the Recursive Internet Network Architecture model (RINA) to …

Catalytic Hydropyrolysis Of Beetle Killed Trees For The Production Of Transportation Biofuels, Oluwanisola Makinde, Fernando L.P. Resende, Michael Asama, Demian F. Gomez

Jasper Department of Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We conducted catalytic hydropyrolysis of beetle-killed trees: Pine, Ash tree, and Redbay in a micro-pyrolyzer (Py/GC–MS) and investigated the performance of heterogeneous catalysts like HZSM-5, NiMo-HZSM- 5, and NiRe-HZSM- 5. We also investigated the effects of temperature, catalyst-to- biomass ratio, and hydrogen pressure on product yield. Our findings reveal that aromatic yields increase with temperature and catalyst-to- biomass ratio but decline at higher hydrogen pressures; additionally, higher catalyst acidity enhances both total hydrocarbon production and selectivity toward C7–C8 aromatics, with each feedstock exhibiting distinct optimal conditions. The type of metal doped on the HZSM-5 zeolite plays an important role in …

The Road To The Anglo-Irish Agreement, Ted Smyth

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

A 'Healing Process'? The 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement, Paul Arthur

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Anglo-Irish Agreement: Competing Objectives, Contested Outcomes And Disputed Legacy, Eamonn O'Kane

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

A 'Formalised' Role In The Affairs Of Northern Ireland: The Fitzgerald-Thatcher Relationship In Northern Ireland, 1979-1990, Stephen Kelley

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Remember, Remember, The 15th Of November!, Lord Reg Empey

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

'Another Munich Accord?': The Anglo-Irish Agreement And The Reframing Of Ulster Loyalism, James W. Mcauley

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Sinn Féin And The Anglo-Irish Agreement, Agnès Maillot

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Reaching The Anglo-Irish Agreement 1: An Outline Of Factors, Graham Spencer

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Reaching The Anglo-Irish Agreement 2: An Interview With Michael Lillis, Graham Spencer

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.