Digital Commons Network^™

Brendan S. Maher, Brendan S. Maher

Faculty CVs

No abstract provided.

Karon L. Rowden, Karon L. Rowden

Faculty CVs

No abstract provided.

July 2026 Mda At Your Service — Who Can Supervise Dental Assistant Radiography Training In Michigan?, Mda Membership Department Staff

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This Q&A feature provides practical guidance on common professional and licensing questions for Michigan dentists. It clarifies that any licensed dentist can supervise required dental assistant radiography training, highlighting the MDA's online program. The article also offers advice for new dentists looking to connect with colleagues through local societies and the "New Doc Connection" online hub. Additionally, it outlines the mandatory steps for updating a professional license after a legal name change and directs members to valuable MDA resources for navigating dental insurance contracts and third-party payer agreements.

July 2026 Cover Story — 40 Years Of Mda Insurance And Mda Services, Reva Darling

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article celebrates the 40th anniversary of MDA Insurance and MDA Services, the Michigan Dental Association's for-profit subsidiary. It outlines the history of the subsidiary, its evolution from small beginnings to a robust provider of commercial and personal insurance products, and its significant financial impact, returning over $42 million to the MDA since 1994. The piece emphasizes the subsidiary’s "by dentists, for dentists" philosophy, its role in keeping member dues stable through non-dues revenue, and its successful innovation of endorsed programs like Bank of America Practice Solutions and precious metals refining.

July 2026 The Back Page — Fighting Burnout By Building A Better Sense Of Community, Tamar Shrikian, Dmd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Dr. Tamar Shrikian shares a personal commentary on overcoming professional burnout by seeking fulfillment outside the clinical setting. Identifying isolation as a key factor in clinician stress, she discusses her transformative experience joining a community chorus. The article introduces the concept of a "third place"—a social space distinct from home and work—as essential for maintaining a healthy identity beyond being a health care provider. Shrikian encourages her colleagues to actively build social connections, whether through faith communities, hobbies, or organized dentistry, to foster mutual support and overall well-being within the profession.

Investigating Culicoides Diversity, Distribution, And Behavior In Arkansas, Cassandra Steele

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are globally important vectors of pathogens affecting livestock and wildlife. In the United States (US), transmission of bluetongue virus (BTV), epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) results in economic losses and periodic mortality events of wild and domestic ruminants. Culicoides sonorensis is the confirmed vector of BTV and EHDV in the western regions of the US, however this species is uncommon throughout much of the eastern and southeastern US, where hemorrhagic diseases remain endemic. There are likely other putative vector species responsible for pathogen transmission. This research investigated Culicoides diversity, distribution, …

A Word From The Writing Team (July 2026), Pam Walter, Mfa, Laura Deloretta, Phd

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Use Of Artificial Intelligence To Enhance Pediatric Simulation Among Associate Degree Nursing Students, Kaitlyn Price

Theses

Abstract

Background: Simulation has long been used to prepare pre-licensure nursing students for clinical practice. Traditional written pre-simulation assignments have been the assignment of choice for many years. However, artificial intelligence (AI) guided preparatory tools may offer students a more interactive, personalized way to enhance their simulation experience.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to utilize AI technology in pre-simulation preparatory work to enhance learning in second-semester associate degree nursing students. 

Methods: The study consisted of randomized traditional and AI-guided preparatory groups among consenting participants. The sample consisted of 23 participants. Both sets of students completed the same simulation. …

Fostering Inclusion: Supporting Children With Hearing Loss In Social Interactions, Danielle Kaletta, Mary Jan Greer

Summer 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

This project provided an open-access online program for caregivers of children with hearing loss to facilitate social engagement. Qualitative methods were used to conduct a needs assessment and identify areas of concern, barriers, and limited resources that affect participation in social activities. Based on the needs assessment, a 6-module website was created and published. Occupational therapy-based evidence, research, interventions, and best practices were compiled and adapted to target identified areas. Participants reported overall favorable feedback, stating an increase in knowledge, confidence, and participation.

Llu Dentistry 2026 Summer Edition, Loma Linda University School Of Dentistry

Articulator (Dentistry)

In this issue:

4 | Dean's Message
9 | LLUSD Homecoming 2026: A Celebration of Legacy & Future Growth
19 | Celebrating 48 Years A Tribute to Kathleen Moore Rychman
21 | A Natural Calling: Dr. Yawen Peng, Program Director
22 | A Legacy of Excellence R. David Rynearson, DDS'71, MS'87 honored with the O.B. Vaughan Special Recognition Award
25 | CDA Presents Anaheim
32 | Dental Hygiene Pinning Ceremony
36 | Called to Serve Baccalaureate and the Class of 2026
40 | Commencement
45 | President's Award
46 | Prince Award
54 | Dental Hygiene Student Awards
56 | …

Impacts Of Climate Hazards On Employment And Earnings By Hazard Type, Industry, Race, And Ethnicity, Dania V. Francis, Keren M. Horn

Sustainable Solutions Lab

We examine the relationship between climate-related disasters and subsequent county-level aggregate employment and earnings. We combine earnings and employment data from 2000 to 2023 with data on disasters to estimate local projection impulse response functions relating extreme disaster events to cumulative percent changes in employment and earnings. On average, disasters appear to reduce employment growth three to five years post disaster. There are small positive impacts on earnings. These results are largely driven by responses to hurricanes and tropical storms. Key rebuilding industries such as construction see short-term gains in employment that turn to losses in the longer-term that are …

A Program To Address Anxiety And/Or Add/Adhd In Children With Cerebral Palsy To Improve Social Participation, Victoria Shaw, Mary Jan Greer

Summer 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

The purpose of this project was to develop a program for children with cerebral palsy, who experience anxiety and/or ADD/ADHD, that will promote their social participation during play activities. The program lasted for 14 weeks and had two participants, within those 14 weeks, several objectives were accomplished. These objectives include the administration of the needs assessment, implementation of the program modules, pre- and post-interviews with the caregivers and staff, and the finalization of the program. The expected outcome from the program was to determine the effectiveness of the different program modules increasing interactions with peers by decreasing anxiety and improving …

Autonomous Terrain-Mapping Robot For Search And Rescue, Soumil Joshi, Seann Calub

Electrical Engineering

This report documents the design, modular testing, and challenges faced while developing an autonomous terrain-mapping robot intended to navigate to a destination waypoint and deliver a small payload for search-and-rescue applications. The system combines a LiDAR sensor, an IMU sensor, and a Raspberry Pi 3B as the onboard processor, and an ESP32 microcontroller interfacing with motor drivers over a four-wheel chassis. A companion mobile application was developed to enable remote control and monitoring of the robot over a WiFi hotspot connection. A lithium-ion battery pack supplies power to all onboard components, with power budgets verified against component datasheets. Testing progresses …

Assessing Vertebrate Biodiversity In An Agricultural And Urban Impacted River Using Environmental Dna Metabarcoding, Surabhi Nair

AES Theses

Rivers are dynamic freshwater systems that can experience shifts in flood regime that are driven by anthropogenic activity and climate change. These changes may no longer support the native species in the ecosystem and can favor invasive generalist species. The Pajaro River supports a range of urban, agricultural, and natural habitats and is prone to seasonal flooding that can affect habitat conditions and biodiversity. Current vertebrate diversity in the Pajaro River is not well understood, although traditional surveys have documented both rare and invasive species. Environmental DNA, or eDNA, can help address gaps in traditional monitoring by detecting elusive or …

The Allure Of A Slow Life Strategy: How Mating Context And Ecological Harshness Shape Mate Preferences, Lynn K. L. Tan, Nicole Ruiying Chen, Kenneth Tan, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Although mate preferences have been extensively studied across various factors such as physical attractiveness or social status, their connection to life history strategy remains underexplored. Specifically, do individuals prefer mates who display signs of a fast or slow strategy? And what might qualify these preferences? Drawing from life history theory, we suggest that mate preferences are sensitive to cues of prospective mates' life history strategy, and that these preferences are malleable and shaped by ecological conditions. We hypothesize that in general, individuals will favor slow (versus fast) strategists as a mate. This is because modern environments are generally defined by …

Cyberbullying Perpetration: A Systematic Review Of Global Prevalence, Profiles, Antecedents, Consequences, And Interventions, Ysabel A. Guevarra, K. T. A. Sandeeshwara Kasturiratna, Charlotte K. Y. Lee, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The anonymity afforded by cyberspace enables individuals to engage in harmful online behaviours, most notably cyberbullying perpetration, which has become a pressing social and psychological concern worldwide. Despite extensive research on its antecedents, outcomes and interventions, insights into cyberbullying perpetration remain scattered, highlighting the value of a comprehensive synthesis to capture its multifaceted nature. This systematic review synthesised findings from 54 meta-analyses, comprising 314 effect sizes (Sample size: Range = 3273–1,479,614, Mdn = 46,604) across diverse populations worldwide. Results indicate that approximately one in ten individuals engage in peer cyberbullying, with even higher prevalence in partner-directed forms such as cyber …

Spatiotemporal Evolution And Influencing Factors Of The Coupling Coordination Between Agricultural Digitalization And Agricultural New Quality Productive Forces, Yuan Wang, Xiaoyuan Zhao, Chengxue Yang, Min Su

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The mutually reinforcing and coordinated development of Agricultural Digitalization (AD) and Agricultural New Quality Productive Forces (ANQPF) is an important path to achieving the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. Utilizing panel data from 31 provinces spanning 2012 to 2023, this study employs an Improved Coupling Coordination Degree Model (ICCDM), an Obstacle Degree Model (ODM), and a Random Effects Panel Tobit Model to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution patterns and the internal and external determinants of the Coupling Coordination Degree (CCD) between AD and ANQPF. The results indicate that: (1) From 2012 to 2023, both AD and ANQPF exhibited a steady …

Income Tax Over-Withholding And Household Investment Decisions, Xi Novia Chen, Jungbae Kim, Ben Lourie, Chenqi Zhu

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Over three-quarters of U.S. taxpayers over-withhold taxes, leading to tax refunds. This study explores how over-withholding impacts stock investments by comparing individuals' investment patterns from wages and tax refunds. We find that while some portion of tax refunds are promptly invested, the investment rate is lower than that of wages. This suggests that over-withholding, which alters the label and timing of wages into refunds, influences investment behavior. Our cross-sectional analysis indicates that the differential propensity to invest wages versus tax refunds are more pronounced for individuals with automatic investment setups and lower financial sophistication. These findings underscore the importance of …

Beyond Earnings Quality: Evaluating The Quality Of Corporate Disclosure Practices, Patricia M. Dechow, Weili Ge, Wei Ting Loh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We propose a framework to assess the decision-usefulness of heterogeneous disclosure practices that managers use to convey information to market participants. We illustrate an application of our framework to non-GAAP earnings, management earnings guidance, and earnings conference calls. We first identify key quality attributes for each disclosure practice and then develop a list of quality metrics that we apply to a small pilot sample. We focus on metrics that are easily measured in real time and discuss the practical challenges of conducting assessments of disclosure quality at the firm-quarter-disclosure level. Our descriptive analysis provides preliminary insights into whether and how …

Idenscarty: Sewing As A Coping Mechanism Beyond Reductive Aesthetics And Capitalism, Edward Berchie Osei

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The act of sewing, an intergenerational craft often subordinated to aesthetics and capitalism, is being recognized for its benefit to emotional well-being, identity (re)formation, cultural continuity, and communal interconnectedness. In this context, this thesis emerges from my lived experiences and artistic inquiry into how sewing, slow-sewing in particular, can serve as a therapeutic practice, with special consideration for contemporary art pedagogy. Central to the thesis is the concept of IDENSCARTY, which combines themes of identity, scars, and transcultural influence to project the responsive abilities of Therapeutic Sewing Practices (TSP), a term that highlights the workability of slow-sewing practices. Informed by …

Determinan Fungsi Intermediasi Bank Kbmi 4 Di Indonesia, Friestha Sari Putri, Telisa Aulia Falianty

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan Indonesia

This study examines the effects of bank-specific characteristics and macroeconomic variables on the intermediation function of KBMI 4 banks in Indonesia during 2014–2023. The variables include NPL, BOPO, CAR, bank size, ROA, GDP, BI Rate, and pandemic and recovery dummies. Secondary data from four KBMI 4 banks were analyzed using a panel-data Fixed Effect Model. The results show that NPL has a negative effect, while BOPO, CAR, ROA, GDP, and BI Rate have significantly positive effects on LDR. Bank size is insignificant. The pandemic and recovery dummies reduce LDR by 10.43 percent and 10.33 percent, respectively.

Pengaruh Program Indonesia Pintar (Pip) Terhadap Angka Putus Sekolah (Apts) Di Indonesia, Hening Indreswari, Thia Jasmina

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan Indonesia

Program Indonesia Pintar (PIP) is a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) provided by the government to improve access for poor students aged 6–21 years and prevent school dropout. The dropout rate (APTS) at the Senior High School (SMA) level is the highest among levels. Although SMA management was delegated to provincial governments in 2017, examining PIP’s effect at the district/city level remains important because PIP involves central and local governments and schools. This study uses a Fixed Effect method with panel data from 514 districts/cities during 2020–2022. Results show that PIP has no significant effect on APTS at SMA level.

Analisis Environmental Kuznets Curve Dan Foreign Direct Investment Di Sulawesi, Fadel Firmansyah, Meity Ferdiana Paskual, Laendatu Paembonan, Musdayati Musdayati, Muhammad Ichsan

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan Indonesia

This study examines the relationship between economic growth, foreign direct investment (FDI), and environmental quality across the six provinces of Sulawesi within the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework. Using panel data for 2015–2024, the study applies the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (Panel-ARDL) model with the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator. The results confirm a long-run EKC relationship, indicating that environmental quality initially deteriorates and subsequently improves as income increases. Meanwhile, FDI has a negative but statistically insignificant effect, while short-run dynamics remain heterogeneous across provinces due to differences in economic structures, investment characteristics, and environmental management

Infrastruktur, Kelembagaan Tani, Kemandirian Ekonomi Desa: Geografi Dan Paradoks Kepemimpinan Di Indonesia, Tri Wahyu Cahyono

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan Indonesia

This study examines determinants of village economic independence (PADes) in Indonesia, focusing on infrastructure, social capital, and leadership. Using 2024 PODES census data (N=84,240) and clustered logistic regression, results show road infrastructure as the strongest factor (OR: 2.27). A “leadership paradox” emerges, where higher education of village heads negatively correlates with PADes formation. Geographic analysis reveals infrastructure effectiveness depends on topography, with lowland areas gaining the greatest structural advantage. Findings highlight the need for topography-based policy differentiation to strengthen fiscal independence in rural Indonesia.

Litigating The Youth Mental Health Crisis: Mechanisms To Regulate Addictive Social Media Design, Talia Elliott

Washington and Lee Law Review

While social media offers real benefits to users, such as providing access to information and facilitating the free exchange of ideas, excessive social media use is associated with increases in anxiety, depression, and other serious mental-health harms. Social media platforms are designed to maximize profit by capturing user attention, resulting in interfaces that are dangerously addictive and prone to exposing users to harmful content. Currently, social media users alone bear the burden of navigating the dangers of social media. This is untenable. Young users, whose less developed brains leave them more vulnerable to addictive design features, find self-regulation especially challenging. …

Online Ppo-Based Multi-Hop Task Offloading Strategy For Vehicular Edge Computing, Wenzhu Zhang, Yuewei Bian, Fuli Xiong, Siqi Cai

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: To address the problems of frequent communication link interruptions caused by dynamic network topologies and the sharp increase in computational complexity triggered by high-dimensional decision spaces in the vehicular edge computing (VEC) environment, a multi-hop task offloading strategy for VEC based on an online PPO algorithm was proposed. A multi-hop task offloading optimization model simultaneously considering link effective time, transmission rate, and computing resource constraints was constructed; a multi-hop A* path search algorithm integrating link stability and end-to-end delay was designed; an online offloading decision framework based on PPO was proposed, which transformed the 0-1 mixed integer nonlinear programming …

Research On Temporal Action Localization Methods For Cross-Modal Understanding, Jinwei Li, Xiaoyang Liu, Rusheng Ju

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: To address the problems of insufficient localization accuracy and high model complexity in the temporal action localization (TAL) task for video-text cross-modal understanding, an anchor-free action transformer (AFAT) model was proposed. Based on the anchor-free framework, the local self-attention mechanism of Transformer was introduced to enhance the global modeling capability of temporal features. A multi-scale feature pyramid structure was combined to strengthen the representation of actions with different durations, and a lightweight predictor was adopted to reduce computational redundancy. Experimental results show that the average precision of this model on the THUMOS14 dataset is significantly improved compared with the …

The Heart Score Has Less Utility With High Sensitivity Troponin, Austin Harris, Kory Heier, Jeffrey F. Spindel, Weston Mccowan, Emily Slade, Mansi Parekh, Dealla Samadi, Vedant Gupta

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background – Clinical risk scores for acute chest pain evaluation were largely validated using older troponin assays. We sought to analyze the HEART score and clinical decision pathways utilizing high sensitivity troponin. Methods – This was a retrospective study of all adult patients presenting with nontraumatic chest pain to a single center, quaternary-care emergency department over a 6-month time period. Patients were risk-stratified by the HEART score using an institution-specific clinical decision pathway that aligns with current guidelines. Predictive models and optimal cutoff values were constructed via logistic regression for the primary outcome of acute coronary syndrome at presentation or …

Fundamental Uncertainties Invalidate The Precision Of Obsidian Hydration Dating: A Rapa Nui Case Study, Robert Dinapoli, Carl P. Lipo

Anthropology Datasets

Obsidian hydration dating (OHD) measures water absorption into volcanic glass to estimate artifact age. Recent studies using infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (IR-PAS) claim ±30-year precision, comparable to radiocarbon dating. We tested these claims by applying Bayesian hierarchical models to 242 published IR-PAS measurements from Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Standard OHD practice treats burial temperature and humidity as known constants; we instead modeled them as uncertain variables and propagated that uncertainty through the rate equation. Realistic dating uncertainties are ±300 years, ten times larger than the claimed value. The 95% credible interval for any individual date (~600 years) exceeds Rapa Nui's entire …

Integrating Cover Crops To Enhance Abaca (Musa Textilis Nee) Production In Leyte, East-Central Philippines, Janet Moriles Miller, David Clay, S. A. Clay, D. E. Clay, R. Armecin

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Abaca (Musa textilis Nee) is a fiber crop, closely related to banana (Musa sp.). However, it requires 15–18 months from transplanting to first harvest, leaving the soil between plants vulnerable to erosion or weed infestation. Integrating cover crops into abaca plantations may help mitigate these issues. This study aimed to examine the influence of diverse cover crop species on abaca production during its early and late growth phases. Two experiments were conducted to assess the impacts of cover crops on abaca. First, the impact of forage peanut (Arachis pintoi) and koronivia grass (Brachiaria humidicola) …