Digital Commons Network^™

The Fiscal Contract And Delivering The Canada Disability Benefit Through The Income Tax System, Jinyan Li

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article argues that the Canada Disability Benefit should be delivered through the income tax system and designed based on the Canada Child Benefit. The income tax system has evolved for over one hundred years to reflect the give-and-take, or fiscal contract, reached by Canadians to raise revenues to fund social spending programs and deliver benefits to low-income Canadians in accordance with some fundamental principles and values. Being part of the income tax system can enhance the fiscal sustainability of and public support for the new program. Because the Canada Disability Benefit is available only to working-age individuals and is …

Ai-Enabled Wearable Cameras For Assisting Dietary Assessment In African Populations, Frank P-W Lo, Jianing Qiu, Modou L Jobarteh, Yingnan Sun, Zeyu Wang, Shuo Jiang, Tom Baranowski, Alex K Anderson, Megan A Mccrory, Edward Sazonov, Wenyan Jia, Mingui Sun, Matilda Steiner-Asiedu, Gary Frost, Benny Lo

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

We have developed a population-level method for dietary assessment using low-cost wearable cameras. Our approach, EgoDiet, employs an egocentric vision-based pipeline to learn portion sizes, addressing the shortcomings of traditional self-reported dietary methods. To evaluate the functionality of this method, field studies were conducted in London (Study A) and Ghana (Study B) among populations of Ghanaian and Kenyan origin. In Study A, EgoDiet's estimations were contrasted with dietitians' assessments, revealing a performance with a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 31.9% for portion size estimation, compared to 40.1% for estimates made by dietitians. We further evaluated our approach in Study …

Bridging The Gap: Examining The Discrepancies In Communication Skills Between University Education And Employer Expectations, Valerie Chan

Honors Theses

Effective communication is a critical skill in the workplace, yet a persistent gap exists between the communication abilities of university graduates and the expectations of employers. This study explores the alignment between the communication skills taught in the Western Essential Studies (WES) general education curriculum at Western Michigan University (WMU) and the communication needs identified by employers. By examining four communication types—oral, written, interpersonal, and digital—this research investigates the similarities and differences in how faculty and employers define and emphasize communication skills.

Findings reveal a misalignment between the skills emphasized in university curricula and those prioritized in the workplace. Faculty …

Natural Medicine Use In Costa Rica, Elizabeth Krol

Honors Theses

This study explores the role of natural medicine in Costa Rican culture, while focusing on its historical, cultural, and clinical significance. With a literature review, ethnobotanical research, and a study abroad experience, this paper highlights the integration of natural, herbal medicine into modern healthcare. Costa Rica’s rich biodiversity, with its varied microclimates and abundant medicinal plants, forms a strong foundation for traditional herbal medicine. Indigenous groups such as the BriBri and Cabécar contributed significantly to this legacy, which has evolved through interactions with European and Afro-Caribbean populations.

Research emphasizes the cultural importance of herbal medicine within the “Pura Vida” lifestyle, …

Understanding Tuberculosis Transmission And Progression: A Prospective Cohort Study Of Index Cases And Close Contacts In Moldova, Rehan R. Syed, Donald G. Cantazaro, Naomi Hillery, Valeriu Crudu, Elena Tudor, Nelly Ciobanu, Alexandru Codreanu, Maryam Kheirandish Borujeni, Antonino Cantazaro, Timothy Rodwell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objectives

This study aims to determine the progression rate, risk factors and timeline for the progression from exposure to active tuberculosis (TB) in a high-risk population. Using a prospective cohort in the Republic of Moldova, we investigated pulmonary TB disease progression among close contacts of patients with TB in a low-burden country with high rates of drug-resistant TB.

Methods

Close contacts of patients with newly diagnosed TB were recruited and monitored to evaluate for progression rates to active TB. Data collected included demographic information, medical and exposure history, and clinical samples. Follow-up clinical evaluations of close contacts were conducted at …

Software Implementations And Analyses Of The Emotional Impact Of Various Binaural Beat Classifications Layered Into Music., Neil Azimi

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This study explores the psychoacoustic effects of binaural beats, which are produced when sinusoidal waves of slightly differing frequencies are played into each ear, leading to brainwave entrainment. Binaural beats are categorized by frequency bands (e.g., Beta: 14–30 Hz for energy, Theta: 4–8 Hz for relaxation), each associated with different psychological effects. This research contributes to the field by empirically analyzing whether binaural beats alter the emotional impact of music. Past studies have investigated the potential benefits of binaural beats in relaxation and energy stimulation. However, their effects, when combined with music, especially regarding a song's perceived emotional quality or …

Holomind: Engineering Mindfulness Through Holographic Display, Hannah Bauer, Jaime Song

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Our research project, HoloMind, explores the potential of developing interactive experiences using a holographic display to engage the audience in relevant education, and wellness outcomes. To accomplish this aim we are using the Dreamoc HD3.2 by Realfiction, which provides a passive playback of preloaded 3D visuals. The first step in our methodology is to get familiar with the Dreamoc HD3.2 hologram, create 3D visuals, and uncover design guidelines and best practices for creating 3D visualizations. To create 3D visualizations, we are using Adobe Substance 3D Stager. Then, we adapt Realfiction’s template in Adobe After Effects to precisely fit the specific …

Unpacking Bias, Accountability, And Ethical Practices In Ai, Manya Chandra, Micol Hebron

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This study is based on understanding how text-to-image generative AI platforms perpetuate biases such as racism and sexism and decoding how this bias is programmed within large language models and datasets. In this study, the results of generative AI are analyzed through the lens of affect and affect theory, as they are applied to investigate the machine learning and computer theory behind generative AI algorithms. The purpose of the study is to explain why generative AI is biased and whether this bias is generated due to current trends or to deficits and biases within the database that it draws information …

Effects Of Simultaneous Smartphone Texting And Auditory Stimulation On Gait, Sebastian Herrera Vargas

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

More often than not, pedestrians around busy college campuses, business parks, and shopping malls are seen walking while using their phones and listening to music or having earphones in. Activities on pedestrians’ phones that captivate them more and require higher cognitive processing demonstrated a higher detriment to their gait kinematics than less cognitively complicated activities (Brennan and Preloff, 2021). This study aims to establish whether or not gait parameters are affected by walking while engaging in cognitively demanding activities such as texting and listening to green noise. Green noise is a deviation from white noise, which amplifies the mid-range frequencies …

Social Media Vs. Our Brains, Angela Liu

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The central research question I will be investigating is how social media affects our brains. We have witnessed a significant impact of social media on our youth. The rise of social media in this generation has also created one of the biggest generational gaps yet. Additionally, social media has an even bigger effect on kids who are exposed to it at very young ages. I will be studying how social media affects one’s moods, thoughts, and behaviors, as well as what social media physically does to one’s brain. For example, studies have shown that social media triggers brain activities that …

Parasocial Relationships In Children And Teens, Bradley J. Bond, Karen E. Dill-Shackleford, Jayson L. Dibble, Tracy R. Gleason, Nancy Jennings, Sara Rosaen, Rebecca Tukachinsky Forster

Communication Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"Young people have easy access to an array of fictional characters and celebrities, many of whom exist across platforms (e.g., protagonists from the graphic novel Heartstopper now appear in live-action on Netflix) and are manifested in toys and other merchandise. Children and adolescents often create powerful, socioemotional connections with fictional characters and celebrities called parasocial relationships (PSRs). Preschoolers clutching Elmo dolls, tweens fantasizing about interactions with TikTok influencers, and queer teens finding affirmation in a gay couple on Schitt’s Creek all hint at possible PSRs. These one-sided, imagined social ties might raise concerns for parents and other stakeholders; however, PSRs …

The Raye Montague Digital Collection, Paola Cavallari

Theses and Dissertations

The Raye Montague Digital Collection consists of 735 items that have been digitized and catalogued to tell the story of Raye Montague, the United States Navy hidden figure. The Collection addresses the need to remedy decades of historical invisibility Raye Montague was subjected to because of gender and racial discrimination despite her fundamental contributions to U.S. history. This thesis details how the Collection inserts Raye Montague within a broader historical context that uncovers the role Black women had as federal employees in the U.S. military during and after World War II. It also explains how, in designing the Collection, I …

General Education Subcommittee Agenda December 05, 2025, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Call to Order
• Approval of Minutes
• Course Approvals/Removals/Syllabi Approvals
• New Business
• Additional Items
• Adjourn: 9:30am

Reconstructing Long-Term, High-Resolution Groundwater Storage Changes In The Songhua River Basin Using Supplemented Grace And Grace-Fo Data, Chuanqi Liu, Zhijie Zhang, Chi Xu, Wanchang Zhang

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) enables large-scale monitoring of terrestrial water storage changes, significantly contributing to hydrology and related fields. However, the coarse resolution of groundwater storage anomaly (GWSA) data limits local-scale research utilizing GRACE and GRACE-FO missions. In this study, we develop a regional downscaling model based on the linear regression relationship between GWSA and environmental variables, reducing the grid resolution of GWSA obtained from GRACE from approximately 25 km to 1 km. First, we estimate the missing values of monthly continuous terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA) for the period from 2003 to 2020 using interpolated multi-channel …

“Arrogance For Cruelty”: What Builds Exclusion Into The Canada Disability Benefit, Thaddeus Hwong

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The vision animating the Canada Disability Benefit exemplifies “arrogance for cruelty” in public policymaking. What could be the start of doing so much is just the end of doing so little—something is done, so nothing more will need to be done. Dangling hopes and then crushing them is cruel. What perpetuates such policymaking cruelty is a manifest complacency, asserting that what is usually done is what should be done, and so it is the best that can be done. Deifying such inertia, which fortifies inadequacies despite what the disability community has to say, is arrogant. Using the limited amount of …

Complex Precipitation Behavior In A Co-Free High Entropy Alloy During Aging, Matthew Luebbe, Fan Zhang, Jonathan D. Poplawsky, Jiaqi Duan, Haiming Wen

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

High entropy alloys (HEAs) demonstrate high strength, thermal stability, and irradiation resistance, making them desirable for applications in nuclear reactors and other harsh environments. Many existing HEAs contain cobalt (Co), which makes them unsuitable for nuclear applications due to the long-term activation of Co. A previously studied Co-free alloy, (Fe_0.3Ni_0.3Mn_0.3Cr_0.1)₈₈Ti₄Al₈, exhibits high strength but compromised ductility due to its network of brittle precipitates upon aging. This work investigates the formation mechanism and evolution of the precipitates, including L1₂ (Ni₃Ti type, ordered face-centered cubic …

Education Policy Committee Agenda December 05, 2024, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes
• Subcommittee Reports
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 4:00pm

A Modeling Framework For Flocculated Cohesive Sediment Transport In The Current Bottom Boundary Layer, Jorge A. Penaloza-Giraldo, Liangyi Yue, Tian Jian Hsu, Bernhard Vowinckel, Andrew Manning, Eckart Meiburgc

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Cohesive sediment transport, where its settling velocity is controlled by the flocculation process, is a crucial component in determining biochemical cycles, fate of pollutants, and morphodynamics in many aquatic ecosystems. In this study, a modeling framework is presented to investigate how flocculation influences cohesive sediment transport in the current bottom boundary layer in dilute conditions, consistent with the calibration range of the flocculation model. From a local analysis of floc dynamics in homogenous turbulence, we identify that the floc size distribution is mainly controlled by floc cohesion and yield strength. The uncertainty in fractal dimension plays a minor role for …

Progerin Can Induce Dna Damage In The Absence Of Global Changes In Replication Or Cell Proliferation, Liza A. Joudeh, P. Logan Schuck, Nina M. Van, Alannah J. Dicintio, Jason A. Stewart, Alan S. Waldman

Faculty Publications

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is a rare genetic condition characterized by features of accelerated aging, and individuals with HGPS seldom live beyond their mid-teens. The syndrome is commonly caused by a point mutation in the LMNA gene which codes for lamin A and its splice variant lamin C, components of the nuclear lamina. The mutation causing HGPS leads to production of a truncated, farnesylated form of lamin A referred to as "progerin." Progerin is also expressed at low levels in healthy individuals and appears to play a role in normal aging. HGPS is associated with an accumulation of genomic DNA …

Winter Solstice Phenomenon At Newgrange: Research Report 2024, Frank Prendergast

Articles

This report, commissioned by the National Monuments Service presents a comprehensive analysis of the high-resolution photographic and video recordings of the solar illumination inside the burial chamber at Newgrange passage tomb, located within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Brú na Bóinne – Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne.

Spectator 2024-12-05, Editors Of The Spectator

The Spectator

No abstract provided.

2024-12-05 Number Of Faculty By Department, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

The number of faculty by department at Morehead State University as calculated on December 5, 2023.

2024-12-05 Faculty Senate Newsletter, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate newsletter from December 5, 2024.

Fixed Point Theorems And Sensitivity Analysis In Solving Nonlinear Matrix Equations: A Study Involving Partially Ordered Sets, Chacha Stephen Chacha

Tanzania Journal of Science

Nonlinear matrix equations of the form , where represents an unknown matrix, and and are given square matrices, are encountered in various fields. Understanding the characteristics and behaviour of these equations is essential for developing efficient computational methods and obtaining reliable solutions. This paper explores the use of partially ordered sets within fixed point schemes to solve the targeted equations. Furthermore, it derives perturbation estimates of the solutions and evaluates them computationally. Finally, the numerical simulations are provided to validate our theoretical claims and affirm the effectiveness of the proposed fixed-point scheme.

Factors Of Police Decision-Making Of Veterans In Crisis, Paul N. Guzman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 9/11, the need for veteran crisis intervention has increased. Police agencies often respond to veterans in crisis by deploying officers who have completed Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, and many of the officers are prior military. However, little research has focused specifically on the factors influencing police officers’ decision-making when responding to veterans in crisis. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the association and predictability between event type, veteran behavior, police officer military experience, police officer CIT, and the disposition of veterans as measured by arrest, referral for mental health services, and the use of force. …

'T-W-O': External Challenges And Coping Strategies Of Chinese Social Work Service Organisations During The Epidemic, Bin Xu, Bowen Mcbeath, Haobo Xi

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

During the peak years of COVID-19, Chinese social work service organisations actively participated in the preventing and controlling of the pandemic. These organisations also faced external challenges that reflected changing public health policies, contractual and fiscal changes, and immense service needs. This paper describes the specific external challenges that a purposive sample of 11 Beijing-based social work service organisations experienced because of the pandemic, as well as the strategies they used to address them. We find that project and fiscal precarity were the greatest external risks faced by social service organisations. In order to mitigate these concerns, the organisations actively …

Student Library News - December 2024, Rit Libraries

RIT Digital Archives

No abstract provided.

Faculty And Staff Library News - December 2024, Rit Libraries

RIT Digital Archives

No abstract provided.

Nasa Microgreen Cultivation In Space Utilizing Pegda Hydrogels, Thomas Alarcon Ali, Zohaib Gabriel Khan, Ariel Marroquin, Samuel Martinez, Fabiha Samiha, Emily Yong

Publications and Research

During long-term space expeditions, it is crucial that astronauts receive the nutrients they need to maintain their overall health. While the current space diet of palatable foods is commendable and constantly evolving, nutritional content and food quality degrades over long durations. Microgreens are excellent candidates for space cultivation because they are nutrient-dense, young plants that are are densely grown and harvested when leaves are just emerging. However, antigravity, microgreen fragility, degradation speed, contamination, and limited water resources are substantial barriers to doing so. This study aims to address these challenges by cultivating microgreens inside a hydrogel, a soilless medium, to …

Valve Train Design And Material Testing, Luis Luna

Publications and Research

In automotive engineering, CAD software like SolidWorks enables engineers to design and simulate mechanical components efficiently, reducing the need for extensive prototyping. This project examines the rocker arm's performance and durability within a valve train system. Components like pushrods, camshafts, and rocker arms control air intake and exhaust timing. Due to its high-impact motion and exposure to elevated temperatures, the rocker arm endures considerable wear. This study uses SolidWorks and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to analyze the rocker arm's stress, deformation, and wear potential during camshaft movement. Material testing and motion analysis results provide insights into improving the durability of …