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Proceedings Of The 2025 Berry Summer Thesis Institute, University Of Dayton. University Honors Program, Dorian Borbonus, Nicholas J. Canfield, Triet M. Cao, Thomas Crossman, Jeffrey Huettemann, Aung Myat Khaung, Chase Kinder, Elizabeth Krahe, Anh Duc Nguyen, Quynh Anh Nguyen, Anna M. Petre, Kayden G. Rothery, Anna M. Schmitz, Rachel Zeller

Proceedings of the Berry Summer Thesis Institute (2013-Present)

Thanks to a gift from the Berry Family Foundation and the Berry family, the University Honors Program launched the Berry Summer Thesis Institute in 2012. The institute introduces students in the University Honors Program to intensive research, scholarship opportunities and professional development. Each student pursues a 12-week summer thesis research project under the guidance of a UD faculty mentor. This contains the product of the students' research.

In Tensile // In Between, Corinna Di Niro

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

"In Tensile // In Between" operates as both artistic artefact and theoretical critique, demonstrating how creative practice can embody and extend academic discourse. This creative-critical work examines shifting perceptions of course delivery within creative tertiary education, arguing that project-based learning enables the seamless embedding of socio-cultural discourse and theories within practical making processes.

The poem interrogates how educational environments can cultivate critical thinking through what I term "tensile pedagogy"—an approach that maintains productive charge between opposing forces rather than seeking synthesis or resolution. This concept builds upon King's (2017) work on pedagogy as tension, which argues that "tension and incompleteness …

Mechanisms Behind The Cross And Fusion Of Gas Migration And Storage Zones Under The Influence Of The Mining Height Of Fully Mechanized Mining Faces, Zhao Pengxiang, Guo Xu, Wang Chao, Li Shugang, Zhuo Risheng, Chang Zechen, Lei Wen

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective The mining height of coal seams along fully mechanized mining faces significantly influences the formation and evolution of fractures in the overburden, as well as the characteristics of gas migration and storage zones. Investigating the influential patterns under varying mining heights will provide guidance for the arrangement of gas extraction boreholes, thus enhancing gas extraction efficiency. Methods This study investigated mining face 203 in the Tianchi Coal Mine in Heshun County, Shanxi Province. By integrating methods such as physical simulation experiments with similar materials, theoretical analysis, and engineering verification, this study systematically examined the developmental characteristics of fractures in …

Fractures And Their Macro-Mesoscopic Mechanical Evolution Pattern In Coals In The Benxi Formation, Ordos Basin, Zhu Boxu, Yang Xu, Li Gaoren, Li Gao, Feng Jiaxin

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective This study aims to determine the relationship between multi-scale fracture characteristics and the mechanical behavior of deep coals, thereby helping gain further insights into the mechanisms behind the macro-mesoscopic damage and failure of the coals and providing a scientific basis for the stability assessment and mechanical modeling of deep coalbed methane (CBM) reservoirs. To this end, it is necessary to examine the differences in the coals’ mechanical properties under varying scales. Methods This study conducted uniaxial and triaxial mechanical tests, nanoindentation experiments, and CT scanning of the No. 8 coal seam in the Benxi Formation within the Ordos Basin. …

Mechanisms Underlying Responses Of Pore Structures In Continental Oil Shale To Microwave Pyrolysis, Lyu Pengrui, Yuan Shihao, Geng Jishi, Li Delu, Zhang Huiyuan, Ge Zhenlong

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective and Methods Microwave pyrolysis technology holds great potential to achieve clean energy conversion and efficient energy utilization of oil shale resources. This study investigated oil shale in the Triassic Yanchang Formation, Ordos Basin. Through microwave pyrolysis experiments under different power values (600 W, 800 W, and 1000 W) conducted using a microwave equipment monitoring system, this study tested the gas products generated during pyrolysis. Using the nitrogen adsorption method, this study compared and analyzed the pore structure characteristics between the original oil shale and samples after microwave heating under different power values. Additionally, the mechanisms behind damage to oil …

Spatiotemporal Evolution Pattern Of The Inertial Horizontal Displacement Of Mining Overburden And A Surface Prediction Model Considering Inertial Horizontal Displacement, Chen Yuanfei, Wang Lei

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective Substantial measured data indicate that the along-strike horizontal displacement of the surface tends to be nonzero in the central part of the mining-affected zone. This phenomenon deviates from traditional understanding, leading to systematic deviations in the predicted results of the traditional prediction model for horizontal displacement. Methods This study investigated mining face 1414 of the Guqiao Coal Mine in the Huainan mining area, Anhui Province. Using measured data and numerical simulation methods, this study explored the spatiotemporal evolution of the horizontal displacement within the mining overburden and of the surface. Then, it analyzed the sources, patterns, and distribution characteristics …

Deterioration And Instability Mechanisms Of Water-Rich And Weakly Cemented Open-Pit Slopes, Wang Ming, Wu Zhang, Xu Changyou, Zhao Fu, Meng Xiangchun, Shi Bin, Liu Jingyu, Xu Yongchao, Wang Jingwei, Zhao Lichun

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background During the mining of an open-pit mine, denudated layers contain loose Neogene and Quaternary aeolian, alluvial, and diluvial deposits, facilitating water storage and conduction. This is prone to cause slope degradation and instability, severely threatening mining safety. Methods Based on results from field surveys and laboratory experiments, this study systematically analyzed the impacts of groundwater on the weak layer along a slope of an open-pit mine in the Huolinhe Coalfield, Inner Mongolia, focusing on its softening effect on mudstones. By establishing a mechanical model for unconsolidated strata, this study derived an equation for calculating the seepage force in the …

A Design Method For Timeliness Optimization Of The Round-Trip Actuating Mechanisms Of Rescue Vehicle-Mounted Drilling Rigs, Cao Chao, Mao Bingquan, Zhang Zhonghai, Chang Renqi, Zhao Jiyun, Han Jing, Huang Di

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective In the field of mine accident rescue, creating vertical rescue channels through surface drilling operations using a rescue vehicle-mounted drilling rig (RVMDR) proves the most effective. However, the limitation of the vehicle’s load capacity necessitates balancing the driving speeds and stability of the round-trip actuating mechanisms. Furthermore, establishing an optimization design and configuration system of parameters to maximize the operational capacities of these actuating mechanisms plays a key role in ensuring rescue efficiency. Methods By establishing a multiple spatiotemporal planning model for the round-trip actuating mechanisms of the RVMDR, this study determined the value ranges and design processes of …

The Relationship Between Effort Cost Decision Making, Consummatory/Anticipatory Pleasure, And Health Behaviors In Schizotypy, Adriann Lai

Theses and Dissertations

Motivational and hedonic deficits are not well studied in schizotypy as they relate to health behaviors. Nonclinical undergraduate participants (n= 247) completed self-report measures and a behavioral task (EEfRT) that assessed effort cost decision making. Social anhedonia was positively associated with increased effort but simultaneously reduced responsiveness to increasing rewards, indicating inefficient effort allocation. Consummatory pleasure was the more relevant hedonic predictor of effort, rather than anticipatory pleasure. In exploratory analyses, higher positive schizotypy scores were significantly associated with greater consummatory pleasure, while disorganized schizotypy was unrelated to pleasure indices or effort performance. In secondary hypothesis analyses, all schizotypy traits …

Exploring The Effects Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy On Literacy Achievement, Sarah Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the impact of culturally relevant pedagogy and how multicultural mentor texts could support a third grade student who has been identified as a struggling reader over the course of six weeks. This study was guided by these research questions: What happens when a struggling reader receives culturally relevant pedagogy? How does culturally relevant instruction impact engagement in literacy? What specific literacy skills improve based on culturally relevant instruction? The findings indicate that the student who participated in this study demonstrated growth in engagement and higher order comprehension skills.

Implementing A Questioning Strategy In Teaching Reading Texts In Efl Classes: A Qualitative Study, Mohammed A. Alzahrani Dr.

The Qualitative Report

Developed by Beck and McKeown in the 1980s, Questioning the Author (QtA) emphasises active engagement with texts to construct meaning rather than passive information extraction. Despite numerous studies attempting to solve challenges in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, there is a lack of interpretive studies that investigate this issue from the actual field. This exploratory study investigated how EFL teachers' implementation of QtA and their perspectives toward the use of the QtA strategy in teaching reading comprehension in Saudi secondary schools through nine interviews and eighteen classroom observations, analysed thematically. Findings showed that effective QtA use requires …

Medication Safety: A Policy Journey To Reduce Medication Errors, Elia M. Campos, Kathleen Klimpel, Joseph Burkhard

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Abstract

Medication Safety: A Policy Journey to Reduce Medication Errors

Background: Medication errors have long been a significant concern. Unsafe medication practices and errors can pose serious risks of injury and preventable harm within healthcare systems.

These errors can lead to severe consequences and have the potential to result in injury, disability, or even death. The World Health Organization highlights that in the United States, an estimated 1.3 million people experience medication-related harm, with 7,000-9,000 people dying due to a medication error each year (WHO, 2023). On average, one adverse drug effect (ADE) adds more than $2,000 to the cost …

Well Spacing Optimization Technology For Coalbed Methane Horizontal Wells, Wang Yuting, Yang Yanhui, Zhang Cong, Wang Xiuwei, Liu Zhong, Chen Jiale, Dong Qing, Sun Tao, Zhang Wuchang, Li Kexin, Wang Qi

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background Well spacing design directly affects the resource utilization and exploitation benefits of blocks. Rational well spacing design plays a significant role in the commercial exploitation of coalbed methane (CBM) fields. Since the beginning of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, blocks for CBM production in the southern Qinshui Basin have experienced a gradual increase in burial depth, a progressive decline in permeability, and a constant update of primary exploitation technology. Consequently, traditional well spacings fail to meet the requirements for field CBM exploitation any longer. Methods This study investigated the western Qinnan – eastern Mabi block by combining numerical simulations with …

Advances In Research On The Activation And Recovery Of Strategic And Critical Valuable Metals From Coal Fly Ash, Wang Yuhao, Dong Zhongbing

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background Coal fly ash, a bulk solid waste byproduct from coal-fired power generation, has a global annual output exceeding 0.75 billion tons. Its disordered piling poses severe environmental risks, such as the generation of heavy metal leachate and PM_2.5 emissions. However, coal fly ash is rich in aluminum (Al 100‒200 mg/g), gallium (Ga 10‒300 μg/g), lithium (Li 1 300‒3 700 μg/g), and rare earth elements (REEs 200‒800 μg/g), establishing it as a potential alternative resource of strategic metals. Methods By analyzing the current domestic and international technologies for metal recovery from coal fly ash, this study expatiates on the …

Methodology And Integration For Dynamic Safety Assessment And Early Warning Of Drilling Sites For Emergency Rescue After Underground Space Collapse, Xie Zhongzhi, Zhang Guohua, Wei Xingtong, Zhang Ning, Wang Xiaotian, Ni Xiaoyang, Zhou Zhengwen, Wang Xianze

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective IGiven the lack of methods for dynamic safety assessment related to disasters in drilling site environments for emergency rescue after underground space collapse, this study proposed a multisource data-driven methodology for dynamic safety assessment and real-time early warning. Methods By comprehensively considering the disaster-inducing environment and disaster-causing factors at drilling sites for emergency rescue, this study established the safety assessment indices of the environment and their grading system. By integrating multi-source data on surrounding rock deformation, gas concentration, and drilling rig vibration, this study developed a safety assessment method through combination weighting achieved using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) …

The Gift Of Giving: Recognizing Donors And Revealing Donation Amounts, K. Pun Winichakul

Economics: Faculty Publications

Publicly announcing how much individuals donate on behalf of themselves is a common fundraising strategy. For tribute gifts made on behalf of others, however, charities only reveal donor identities to the honoree with few revealing the size of their contributions. This paper examines the fundraising consequences of recognizing donors with and without information about donation amounts when notifying honorees of gifts made on their behalf. I find that revealing contribution amounts in addition to recognizing donors benefits fundraisers. I find that both the likelihood of giving on behalf of others and contribution amounts increase when honorees learn how much donors …

A Study On Webassembly And Its Security, Thomas Crossman

Research from the Berry Summer Thesis Institute, 2025

This project studies WebAssembly, a binary language specification that enables non-native languages, such as C/C++ and Rust, to run efficiently on webpages, supporting complex tasks like gaming or data processing. It functions by translating a non-native language into a WebAssembly binary, which is natively supported by most browsers. Notably, WebAssembly uses a linear memory model, storing all non-code data in a single linear array. Unfortunately, this design compromises some security principles, introducing security risks and complications.

Our overall project goal is to investigate WebAssembly functionality, develop a test program, and address a critical security challenge to enhance the safety of …

Improved Walking Steadiness Following Total Hip Arthroplasty Compared To Total Knee Arthroplasty, Kevin A. Wu, David N. Kugelman, Samuel Rosas, Sharrieff N. Shah, Sean P. Ryan, Samuel S. Wellman, Michael P. Bolognesi, Thorsten M. Seyler

Rothman Institute Papers

BACKGROUND: Total knee (TKA) and hip arthroplasty (THA) effectively treat end-stage osteoarthritis by restoring mobility and reducing pain; however, it is unclear how balance and steadiness compare between TKA and THA patients. This study utilized wearable technology to objectively compare functional recovery between TKA and THA patients.

METHODS: Two Hundred Nine patients underwent TKA (n = 152) or THA (n = 57) and were followed for 1 year. Participants wore Apple Watches with HealthKit to track daily step count, steadiness, standing duration, gait speed, and estimated 6-minute walk test distance. Data were analyzed at baseline, 6 weeks, 6 months, and …

“Even If I’M An International Student, I Have A Voice And I Should Make A Stand”: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into International Students’ Development Of Critical Agency In U.S. Higher Education, Sarang Kim

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

International students’ experiences with race and racism in U.S. higher education have received increasing scholarly attention. However, few empirical studies explore how these students resist and develop critical agency in response to systemic racism. This represents a significant gap, as international students can serve as important transnational allies in racial and social justice movements both in the U.S. and globally. To address this gap, this dissertation employs a phenomenological approach to examine the development of critical agency among 19 international students of color in the U.S. higher education. This study contributes to the broader discourse in Comparative and International …

Echoes In Autoethnography: A Reflexive Exploration Of Higher Education Service-Learning By A Caribbean Practitioner, Shilohna K. Phillanders

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Service-learning is a useful pedagogical tool in higher education which encourages experiential learning; empowering students to become active participants in their own learning progress. While existing literature predominantly focuses on student and community outcomes, there's a notable gap in the literature addressing topics related to the practitioner, including their personal development. This autoethnographical study employs the iterative reflection process supported by the theory of critical pedagogy to reflect on service-learning from a Caribbean viewpoint. Within comparative and international higher education, this study serves to build scholarly discussions, providing diversity in the voices and contexts for researchers interested in understanding varied …

Strategies Used In The Biotechnology Industry To Develop And Continuously Improve Compliant Regulatory Processes To Meet The Food And Drug Administration Quality Federal Regulations, Vicki Mckee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure to comply with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) quality regulations can lead to enforcement actions for the biotechnology (biotech) industry. Noncompliant regulatory strategies have the potential for adverse medical outcomes for patients. As a result, managers in the biotech industry are concerned about ensuring compliance to avoid adverse medical outcomes for patients and sustain business operations. Grounded in Deming’s total quality management concept, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to explore effective quality management strategies that managers in the biotech industry use to develop and continuously improve compliant regulatoryQuality Federal Regulations processes to meet …

Family Ties: Nba Draft Position And Player Performance, Nick Riccardi, Rodney J. Paul

Sport Management - All Scholarship

This study aims to investigate the role, if any, that nepotism plays in the careers of players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Career performance is compared between the 780 players drafted from 2007-2019 with familial relationships considered. Ordinary Least Squares and logistic regression models are specified to estimate the effect of having a relative on the success of an NBA player’s career. We find that siblings of NBA players earn more and reach minimum games played thresholds more often, while sons of NBA players earn more, but generally do not reach games played thresholds more often than similarly-drafted peers.

Digital Rock Modeling And Elastic Simulations Of Fractured-Vuggy Carbonate Reservoirs, Zhu Wei, Zhao Luanxiao, Wang Yirong

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective The Tarim Basin exhibits extensively distributed deep fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs. Therefore, determining the seismic and petrophysical characteristics of carbonate reservoirs with a fracture and vug system will provide significant guidance for the exploration, discovery, drilling, and exploitation of favorable reservoirs in the basin. Variations in the filling state of dissolution fractures and vugs will lead to significantly different elastic and attenuation characteristics of the reservoirs. Methods Based on geological insights into the geometric structural and filling characteristics of the dissolution fracture-vug system in the outcrop sections of carbonate strata in the Tarim Basin, this study proposed a digital rock …

Are Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeons At Risk Of Occupational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss?, Vincent W. Lau, Stephanie A. Kwan, Jack Graham, Gregory K. Deirmengian

Rothman Institute Papers

OBJECTIVES: Orthopaedic surgeons are at risk of occupational, noise-induced hearing loss due to exposure to instruments in the operating room. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether orthopaedic trauma procedures exceed recommended decibel (dB) limits. The secondary objective was to demonstrate which actions during a case create the highest sound levels.

METHODS: Intraoperative recordings were taken during orthopaedic trauma surgeries and classified into open reduction internal fixation (ORIF), intramedullary nailing, closed reduction percutaneous pinning, external fixation, soft tissue procedures, or a combination thereof. Recordings were taken of drilling, screw insertion, suctioning, saw use, and mallet striking. Decibel …

Comparative Data Science Education Policy And Management: United States And Europe, Torbet Mcneil

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This study examines what “good” curricula and administration for undergraduate data science are by surveying and interviewing U.S. and European data science educators and administrators. Many U.S. and European higher education institutions have embraced data science education with a kind of inertial sensibility, i.e., it is inevitable that data science education needs to be offered to students. Information and data affect so many areas of knowledge that higher education administrators feel they must assure students are “ready” for the world they are inheriting. Academic capitalism and isomorphism theories help elucidate social and market forces influencing higher education decision-making. Topics to …

Using Novel Technology And Sensemaking In The Classroom, Reu/Fri Program Physics And Astronomy, Julio Escobedo

Student Works

This project looked into the usefulness of various new and unique technologies in a science classroom setting to allow for more sensemaking to occur among students. This was done through professional developments or training for multiple educators on how to use these devices in the classrooms. We found that each new technology had a unique set of useful capabilities and drawbacks. These findings suggest that implementation of these technologies can increase sensemaking if done properly and with proper training beforehand.

Using Statistical Clustering Of Trajectory Data To Support Analysis Of Subject Movement In A Virtual Environment, Martin Galicia Avila, Douglas Timmer, Alley C. Butler

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Gracia de Luna conducted experiments with an HMD virtual environment in which human subjects were presented with surprise distractions. His collected data for head, dominant hand, and non-dominant hand included 6 DOF human subject trajectories. This paper examines this data from 57 human subject responses to those surprise virtual environment distractions using statistical trajectory clustering algorithms. The data is organized and processed with a Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm and then analyzed using the Density Based Spatial Clustering (DBSCAN) algorithm. The K-means method was used to determine the appropriate number of clusters. Chi Squared goodness of fit was used to …

Acceptability Of A Telehealth Smoking Harm Reduction Intervention Using E-Cigarettes Among Cigarette Smokers With Opioid Use Disorder: A Qualitative Analysis, Omar El-Shahawy, Adetayo Fawole, Brian Kang, Mohsen Abbasi-Kangevari, Mariana Braga, Nada Hamade, Mohamed Doucoure, Jennifer Cantrell, Scott Sherman, Svetlana Shpiegel, Daniel Schatz, Elizabeth R. Stevens

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background:

Electronic cigarettes (EC) may serve as a potential smoking harm reduction tool by addressing both nicotine and behavioral dependence. This qualitative study reports the feasibility and acceptability of using EC and telehealth counseling among individuals in treatment programs for opioid use disorders (OUD) who smoke combustible cigarette, and was conducted as part of a randomized controlled trial. We report findings among participants in the EC arm.

Methods:

Qualitative interviews were conducted from March to May 2021. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and de-identified. An inductive approach guided by the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability was used. We developed and …

The Abc's Of Memoir, Sharon K. Ferrett

Trade & Scholarly Monographs

Writing is a way to make sense and find meaning in your journey. Your story explores how you got to where you are and what it all means. It is a way to heal trauma and conflict and honor your inner life. You write to know yourself. Writing will transform you and inspire others in ways you cannot imagine.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Minutes August 25, 2025, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Call to Order
• Approval of Minutes - April 14, 2025
• University Business
• Faculty Senate Business
• Information
• EPC Report - April 3, 2025
• Report
• Empowering Teaching Excellence
• Center for Instructional Design and Innovation
• Old Business
• New Business
• Adjourn: 4:30 pm