Digital Commons Network^™

Guns, Guardians, & Guilt: Analyzing Family Liability In Mass Shooting Cases, Alex Robinson

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

University Of Baltimore Law Review, Volume 55, Issue 2, Spring 2026

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Copyright

Missouri Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bravery And Bayonets: The Nigerian Regiment And The Battle Of Bweho Chini, September 1917, Paul Cronin

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

The First World War in East Africa spanned the entirety of the war, from 1914 to 1918, and by the end of the war nearly all of the personnel on both sides were African. Understanding how the war in East Africa was different geographically and militarily from the western front helps to shed light on the unique experience of the men who fought there. My thesis builds on the thesis of Ibiang O. Ewa, that the Nigerian Regiment was crucial to allied victory in the campaign, in his chapter in Africa and the First World War: Remembrance, Memories, and Representations …

Bates College Journal Of Political Studies: Volume Iii, Issue 1, Spring 2026, Bates Initiative For Government Studies

Bates College Journal of Political Studies

No abstract provided.

Code And Consequences: How Fraud Detection Algorithms Criminalize Welfare, Michele E. Gilman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article investigates the growing use of automated fraud detection systems in public benefits programs, focusing on how these technologies have intensified the surveillance and criminalization of low-income individuals. Across the globe, government agencies deploying fraud detection algorithms have wrongfully accused thousands of people of committing fraud, with devastating consequences, including bankruptcy, job loss, and psychological trauma. These algorithmic systems operate as opaque “black boxes,” fueled by historical biases against the poor and largely unaccountable to the individuals they affect. Meanwhile, the private vendors that develop the algorithms reap massive profits from unfulfilled promises of efficiency and cost savings.

The …

The Kaczmarz Algorithm In Hilbert C∗-Modules, Daniel Alpay, Chad Berner, Eric S. Weber

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Kaczmarz algorithm in Hilbert spaces is a classical iterative method for stably recovering vectors from inner product data. In this paper, we extend the algorithm to the setting of Hilbert C^∗-modules and establish analogues of its effectiveness in both finite-dimensional and stationary cases. Consequently, we demonstrate that continuous families of elements in a Hilbert space can be uniformly recovered using the Kaczmarz algorithm. Additionally, we develop a normalized Cauchy transform for continuous families of measures and use it to provide sufficient conditions under which standard frames in Hilbert C(X)-modules can be generated by the Kaczmarz algorithm and …

A Fully Discrete Decoupled Scheme And Applications For Non-Isothermal Two-Phase Flow Model With Different Viscosities And Thermal Diffusivities, Jian Li, Chunhao Chen, Xiaoyong Chen, Rui Li, Xiaoming He

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

To study natural convection problems in two-phase flows, a non-isothermal two-phase flow model incorporating differential viscosities and thermal diffusivities is considered and analyzed via the phase-field method. This modeling framework involves the Multiphysics coupling of the Cahn-Hilliard phase field equations, heat transfer equation, and Navier-Stokes equations, resulting in a strongly nonlinear system. To efficiently solve the sophisticated system, we develop, analyze, and demonstrate a decoupled linear fully discrete scheme, which leverages the invariant energy quadratization strategy for the Cahn-Hilliard phase field system, the artificial compressibility method without artificial pressure boundary condition, an explicit-implicit treatment of nonlinear terms, and the addition …

Ciis Dissertation Abstracts 2024-2025, Dissertation Office

CIIS Dissertation Abstracts

This compilation of 69 dissertation abstracts reflects the exciting research completed by the 2024-2025 graduates from PhD programs in the School of Consciousness and Transformation and the Clinical Psychology Doctorate (PsyD) in the School of Professional Psychology and Health at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).

The original and impactful doctoral research presented here spans psychedelic studies and mental health; embodied approaches to healing and trauma; explorations of social justice, identity, and lived experience; ecological awareness and environmental renewal; spiritual and transpersonal transformation; and the evolving dynamics of digital life, culture, and relationships, and so much more.

Persuasive Strategies To Increase Student Voting: A Communication-Based Framework For Civic Engagement At The Higher Education Institutions, Daniel Sherrick Apambila

eJournal of Public Affairs Features

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The Context For Pupils’ Choice Of Solution Strategies And Representations When Working With Combinatorial Problems, Frode Rønning

The Mathematics Enthusiast

This paper reports on a study based on two classroom sessions in a Norwegian school where pupils in Grade 4 (age 9) worked on two combinatorial problems. Data were collected by video-recording two pairs of pupils collaborating in each session, as well as a whole-class session at the end of the second session. The pupils’ written work during the sessions was also collected as data. The classroom sessions were designed based on principles from the Theory of Didactical Situations. Data were analysed using a dialogical approach and based on theory for multiplicative structures and semiotic representations. The study shows that …

Beyond Graecia Capta: The Roman Imperial Cult In The Greek East And The Prospect Of Hybrid Identities During The Principate, Paul Lambrecht

2026 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents & Media

At least from the days of the Julians, the Roman Empire witnessed the creation of an imperial cult dedicated to the memory and worship of Roman figures believed to have become divine, a practice which can be traced back to the leadership cults of the Hellenistic world. To the extent that the cult was both a foreign and domestic development for Rome, it was therefore a phenomenon that needs to be examined not just within the context of Rome’s cultural core, but within the provinces as well. Some historians have suggested that the Roman imperial cult represented a uniquely unifying …

Bias In The Wires: Epistemic Harms Of Linguistic Homogenization In Ai-Asisted Writing, Sarah Smith

2026 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents & Media

Hundreds of millions of users now rely on AI-generated writing for ideation, drafting, and revision. As models make linguistic decisions about their writing, they create preferences that extend to users, reshaping our capacity to articulate who we are in ways that are just beginning to be understood. By drawing on research in computer science, psychology, ethics, and sociolinguistics, this paper traces how LLMs acquire and transmit linguistic bias. Users internalize AI preferences, subtly homogenizing linguistic decisions in ways that impact communities unevenly. This constitutes a form of algorithmic epistemic injustice, which harms writers through deflated credibility and the loss of …

Stitches Of Faith: Women’S Education And Religion In 18th And 19th Century Needlework Pieces, Haley Strempel

2026 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents & Media

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, one of a girl’s biggest achievements was considered to be knotting the final thread on the back of her sampler piece. When the sampler was complete, her parents would hang the piece in the house for visitors to see, in the hopes that the sampler would signify her status, wealth, education, and skills as a future homemaker. Girls worked tirelessly to create neatly adorned decorative pieces that would make their families proud. In the end, when a sampler was finished, girls were left with a finished product that reflected their lives, education, and values.

Paws And Practice: Overcoming Barriers To Mindfulness, Hazel Norris

2026 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents & Media

With the rise in chronic illnesses, healthcare professionals have sought to improve habits and behaviors to extend longevity and quality of life. However, for many people, unhealthy habits, such as smoking or binge eating, may develop as a way of coping with life stressors, which can make behavior changes harder to implement. Recently, there has been an increase in new research on whether improving mindfulness could be used to combat this problem. If mindfulness does encourage more engagement in health-promoting behaviors while protecting against risky behaviors, mindfulness-based behavior interventions could be very valuable for improving the health of college students …

The Impact Of Legalized Sports Betting On Divorce, Alvaro Muniz-Fernandez, Brad Humphreys, Jane E. Ruseski

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

This paper estimates the causal effect of legalization of sports betting on marital dissolution. We exploit the staggered legalization of sports betting in states following the Murphy v. NCAA (2018) Supreme Court as a source of exogenous variation, using a U.S. state-year panel from 2012 to 2023. Implementing a difference-in-differences design, we find that legalization increases both the flow and stock of divorces: the annual divorce rate and the share of divorced men rise by 0.107 and 0.276 percentage points, respectively. These effects accumulate gradually over the post-treatment period, consistent with a mechanism operating through the slow deterioration of household …

A Design-Based Mixed-Method Study On Mathematical Fluency Interventions Implemented In A Midwestern School District, Shari Fox

Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to implement math fluency interventions with intention and fidelity to increase student math achievement. Recent studies have reported a decline in students' mathematics achievement scores, calling for an urgent redesign of instructional practices. Aligning with strategic organizational change, the scholar-practitioner designed math fluency activities to be implemented during math instructional time, embedding the strategies within the current curriculum, which lacked sufficient resources. The researcher then collected data from student reflections, end-of-unit assessments, and the beginning-of-year math diagnostic to design a specific implementation of math fluency activities that would help students increase their mathematical …

Usa Libraries Newsletter - V. 1, No. 2 (Spring 2026), Usa Libraries

USA Libraries Newsletter

Library News

What’s new at USA Libraries?

USA Libraries Personnel News // Lorene Flanders

Welcome Zach Basler! // Marx Library

Spring Semester at the Marx Library // Kaitlyn Moody

Winter & Spring Semester at the Biomedical Library // Leesha Coleman

Spring Semester at the MCOB Library // Amia Baker

Marx Library Period Product Initiative // Kaitlyn Moody

Biomedical Library Team Tours College of Medicine Construction Site // Gail Kouame

Research Round-Up

Spotlighting library tips, tricks, and tools…

Demystifying the Archives: What to Expect on Your Tour! // Kaitlyn Moody

Graphic Medicine: Ripple Effects Review // Leesha Coleman

Now Showing: South …

Intermediates Or Intermedius? An Examination Of Lotic Sternotherus In Baldwin And Mobile Counties, Al, Peyton A. Wilson

Theses

The Southeastern United States is a biodiversity hotspot, and turtles are no exception to the rule. This is particularly true for the genus Sternotherus. Alabama is the only state home to all six species of Sternotherus, including the recently described Intermediate Musk Turtle (Sternotherus intermedius). It was thought that the Perdido River was the western boundary of Sternotherus intermedius; however, surveys in recent years produced questionable individuals in several small watersheds feeding into the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, bringing the species true range into question, as well as the question of if this species has hybridized with its congener, …

Fish Community Composition Across Marine Habitats Around St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Assessed Using Underwater Video, Maya L. Seesholtz

Theses

Coral reef ecosystems support highly diverse fish assemblages that are strongly influenced by habitat structure and environmental conditions. Understanding how fish communities vary across habitat types is critical for effective monitoring and management. This study evaluated habitat-associated patterns in reef fish assemblages around St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, using stationary underwater video data collected through the Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) Caribbean.

A total of 37 video deployments were analyzed across coral (n=20), macroalgae (n= 9), and sand habitats (n=7), with seagrass (n=1) included for descriptive purposes only. Fish abundance was quantified using the MinCount metric, and taxon …

Targeting Rna Polymerase I In Ewing Sarcoma Treatment, Alexis Bruce

Theses

Ewing sarcoma is a rare and aggressive pediatric bone cancer with poor survival rates in patients, as low as 30% in advanced or recurrent cases. There are limited treatment options, making molecularly targeted therapy vital to explore. Through CRISPR scans of Ewing sarcoma cell lines, ribosome biogenesis was highlighted as a potential target. As RNA polymerase I is a key component of ribosome biogenesis, the cytotoxic ability of two RNA Polymerase I inhibitors, CX-5461 and BMH-21, were used on patient-derived Ewing sarcoma cells. The efficacy of the drugs on two cell lines was determined via measuring cell viability, migration potential, …

Hidden Diversity In A Clonal Endemic: Insights Into Clematis Socialis From A Population Genetics Perspective, Joanna M. Lapoint

Theses

Clematis socialis (Kral) is a rare, federally endangered perennial species restricted to a small number of fragmented populations in Alabama and Georgia. The species exhibits extensive clonality and limited sexual recruitment, characteristics that complicate expectations regarding genetic diversity and population connectivity. Despite its conservation significance, genome-wide assessments of population structure have been lacking. We used genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) to generate a genome-wide SNP dataset for 170 individuals sampled from six natural populations. Population structure and genetic differentiation were evaluated using Bayesian clustering, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), pairwise FST estimates, and network-based visualization. Analyses revealed strong genetic structuring among populations and …

Predictors Of Filipino Life Satisfaction Using The Revised Filipino Satisfaction With Life Scale, Razel Bacuetes Milo, Patricia Calero, Maria Luisa Ramira, Kathleen Soon, Maria Fontimayor, Cynthia D. Connelly

School of Nursing and Health Science: Faculty Scholarship

Background: 

Mental health stigma serves as a significant barrier to seeking help, often leading to maladaptive coping strategies. Given these complexities, it is essential to validate the Satisfaction With Life Scale Revised (SWLS-R) within the Filipino context to assess its psychometric reliability, cultural relevance, and suitability for evaluating well-being and mental health outcomes among Filipinos.

Objective: 

The aims of this study were to evaluate the psychometric properties of the SWLS-R and describe the relationships and significant predictors of life satisfaction among Filipinos living in the United States.

Methods: 

A purposive sample of Filipino adults, fluent in both English and Filipino, …

English Diphthongs For English Learners: The Same, But Different, Kristin Lems

Faculty Publications

In any language, diphthongs need to be reckoned with, but teaching diphthongs to learners of English as a new language requires greater insight and special skills. In this column, we take a look at English diphthongs, why they matter, and how they might be best handled when teaching English language learners.

Association Between Caffeine Consumption And Academic Performance In Gwu Undergraduate Students, Elden Badua, Leslie Davidson

GW Research Showcase 2021-2026

No abstract provided.

Association Between Cardiovascular Fitness And Strength Fitness Status Across Distinct Phenotypes In Exercising Women, Gianna Filippou, Jordyn Walters, Andrea Osorio, Felipe Cabello, Allie Chetta, Clara De Torres Ensenat, Karla Cordero-Ortega, Shery Kamel, Carmen P. Ortega-Santos

GW Research Showcase 2021-2026

No abstract provided.

Implicit Learning: Exploring Safe Failure Zones Within The Teach–Reinforce–Master Framework, Hanyi Zhang

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the use of the Teach–Reinforce–Master framework in video games. Specifically, the research explores whether players prefer to play through safe failure zones rather than unsafe zones in the reinforcement portion of a game-level tutorial. To test this hypothesis, the researcher created two levels for the game Half-Life 2. One level incorporates a series of best practices for safe failure zones, while the second level does not. The researcher explored whether implicit learning during the reinforcement stage in safe failure zones could be strengthened by implementing more optional paths, prohibiting the use of penalties, adding encouraging rewards, …

Best Practices: Enhancing Ludonarrative Harmony Through Environmental Storytelling, Ryan "Ry" Mendenhall

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the concept of ludonarrative and the possibility of enhancing the harmony between gameplay and story that may be achieved through environmental storytelling using an artifact built within The Witcher 3: REDkit.

Exploring The Impact Of Cat Nutrition On Consumer Purchases: An Examination On Feline Microbiome, Health, And Owner Responses, Cassidy Curry

Honors College Theses

The gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome plays a critical role in feline health, influencing conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), kidney disease, and other digestive disorders. Diet is a major factor affecting microbial balance, yet many cat owners lack sufficient knowledge of feline nutrition. This may lead to suboptimal feeding practices that negatively impact microbiome stability. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between an owner’s nutritional knowledge and their pet food purchasing decisions. Specifically, it examined feeding schedule, food type and consistency, supplement use, and veterinary engagement. A 13- question survey was administered to 84 Murray State University Honors College …

Are Missourians Voting For Conservative Candidates And Liberal Policies? A Case For Ballot Measure Ticket Splitting, Kimberly L. Casey, Andrew Strunc

Missouri Policy Journal

Missouri voters have recently been observed engaging in a form of ticket splitting in which support for Republican candidates is accompanied by approval of liberal ballot measures. This study examines that phenomenon using data from the Northwest Policy and Civic Engagement Center’s exit poll of the 2024 general election, conducted in Maryville, Missouri. The data reveal a strong tendency among voters to support candidates from a single party, Democratic or Republican, yet split their votes on ballot measures aligned with opposing ideological positions. We define this behavior as Ballot Measure Ticket Splitting (BMTS): the act of casting a straight-ticket …