Digital Commons Network^™

Environmental Dna For Endangered Freshwater Mussel Monitoring: A Review On Global Synthesis Of Edna Methods, Challenges, And Innovative Strategies, Mizanur Rahman, Md. Saydur Rahman, Richard J. Kline

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Freshwater mussels (family Unionidae) are among the most endangered aquatic species worldwide, making effective monitoring vital for their conservation. Traditional surveys are laborious, time-consuming, and often miss rare or low-density populations. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a highly sensitive, non-invasive approach for freshwater mussel detection and monitoring; however, uncertainties in ecological interpretation continue to limit its broader application in freshwater biodiversity monitoring. We conducted a systematic review of 49 peer-reviewed studies, identified through an extensive literature search, to assess temporal research trends, methodological advancements, ecological contexts, and regulatory readiness of freshwater mussel eDNA monitoring. Findings show that freshwater mussel eDNA research …

Lessons From A Medically Tailored Meals Program, Rachel Filippone, Evan England, Tyrus Parker, Harshita Sarup, Jess Carson

Carsey Publications

After a pilot program in 2021, the New Hampshire Food Bank launched a full medically tailored meals program in 2023, which is evaluated in this brief.

Implementation Science Intervention Adaptation To Address Maternal And Neonatal Health In Cameroon, Hanne Sybil Harbison, Henna Budhwani, Comfort Enah, Alan Tita, Eric Wallace, Waldemar Carlo, Mary Glory Ngong, Pius M. Tih, Rahel Mbah Kyeng

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: The World Health Organization aims to reduce the global maternal mortality rate (MMR) to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. Mobile health interventions, particularly those adapted from high income settings, are increasingly recognized for their potential usefulness in addressing gaps to quality maternal and neonatal care in low-income countries. However, few studies protocolize the adaptation process, including stakeholder feedback and side-by-side adjustments required to ensure contextualize relevance.

Design: We used the 8 sequential phases of the ADAPT-ITT framework to iteratively transform the medical intervention service via Telephone (MIST) to mobile phone-based solution (mMIST) intervention, incorporating qualitative …

Determinants Of Patient Health Engagement In Post-Surgery Oral Cancer Patients, Tao-Wen Hsiao, Yu-Chi Chen, Shiow-Ching Shun, Hui-Ying Yang

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Introduction: Patients with oral cancer often face persistent physical and psychological challenges after surgery, which may hinder their engagement in care. Identifying the determinants of patient health engagement (PHE) is essential for guiding targeted, supportive care interventions throughout the treatment trajectory. This study aimed to examine key determinants of PHE among post-surgery oral cancer patients.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a medical center in northern Taiwan. Postoperative patients were recruited using purposive sampling. Data were collected from medical records and structured questionnaires, including demographics, disease and treatment characteristics, communication ability, psychological distress, and PHE. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses …

The Role Of Media And The Digital World In The Formation Of Digital Identity And First Impressions, Author Information Removed

JMLE Submissions Open for Review

This study investigates the relationship between media literacy, identity structures, and social perception among Georgian higher education students and explores how Media Literacy affects the Formation of First Impressions through the mediating roles of Social Identity and Digital Identity. The results demonstrate a strong positive correlation between Media Literacy and both Social Identity and Digital Identity. While the direct link between literacy and impression formation was non-significant. The mediation model revealed a psychological mechanism: Media Literacy significantly reduces superficial reliance on digital profiles only by strengthening a conscious and reflective Digital Identity. In the Georgian context, these findings suggest that …

Accessible Media Literacy Education: A Universal Design For Learning Framework For Including Disabled And Deaf Learners, Author Information Removed

JMLE Submissions Open for Review

Media literacy education has built a robust evidence base for interventions that strengthen resilience to misinformation, yet its pedagogies presuppose a nondisabled learner: participants with disabilities are rarely reported, materials are rarely accessible by design, and disability is absent from the field's equity turn. Disabled and deaf learners consequently face a double exclusion, from the media environment by inaccessibility and from media education by protectionist safeguarding. This conceptual article develops the Accessible Media Literacy Education (AMLE) framework through a four-step synthesis of three literatures: media literacy education, research on disabled and deaf people's media practices, and Universal Design for Learning. …

From Exposure To Action: Ai-Generated Media, Student Trust, Content Reliance, And Responsible Digital Engagement In Higher Education, Author Information Removed

JMLE Submissions Open for Review

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed how students encounter, evaluate, and use digital information. However, research has largely examined AI adoption and acceptance rather than how AI-generated media shapes trust, reliance, decision-making, and responsible digital engagement. This study examines AI-generated media engagement as a media and information literacy issue through an extended Uses and Gratifications Theory perspective, recognizing AI interaction as a hybrid process shaped by student motivations and algorithmically influenced exposure. Using responses from 220 undergraduate Business students in Cebu, Philippines, this quantitative study employed correlation and regression analyses to examine relationships among AI-driven media exposure, student engagement, trust …

Integration Of Media Pedagogy In Teacher Education Classrooms, Author Information Removed

JMLE Submissions Open for Review

In an era where classrooms are increasingly influenced by media and socio-cultural dynamics, teacher education must evolve to incorporate critical dimensions like gender sensitization and media literacy. This study explores the role of media pedagogy in developing gender awareness among pre-service teachers in India. The study focuses on conceptualization of media pedagogy, intersectionality and teacher education classrooms and adopts an interdisciplinary approach for media and gender. A module was developed and then implemented with 30 preservice teachers, followed by focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with 10 teacher educators. The research study is guided by Methodology for Interdisciplinary Research (MIR) …

Limited Australian Clinical Guidelines For Pain Assessment In Hospitalized Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment: Implications For Safe And Quality Care, Rosemary Saunders, Kaoru Nosaka, Seng Giap Marcus Ang, Natasya Raja Azlan, Aaron Alejandro, Rohini Sharma Bhardwaj, Olivia Gallagher, Irene Ngune, Amineh Rashidi, Yan Hui Celestine Wee, Nilufeur Mckay

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction – Pain assessment remains challenging in healthcare settings in patients who are unable to self-report their pain. More than 50% of individuals with dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment (CI) experience pain daily. However, pain is frequently overlooked and inadequately assessed by healthcare professionals due to their lack of knowledge and guidelines to inform pain assessment. Pain is also a leading cause of hospital presentation and inappropriate pain assessment can impact on pain management and compromise safe and quality care. Evidence-based guidelines that inform appropriate pain assessment and management are therefore essential. This scoping review aimed to explore …

What Counts As Data? Empirical Legal Research With India’S Ecourts Portal, Lubhyathi Rangarajan, Sakshi Rai, Nikita Bansal

Socio-Legal Review

This Notes from the Field (‘NFF’) studies an attempt to build a nationwide dataset of cases instituted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 using the eCourts portal, an open access state-led digital repository of all judicial records across India. It uses this experimental attempt to create new methodological and epistemological ways of thinking about data when undertaking socio-legal research. The paper argues that the appearance of judiciary-led digital transparency and visibility masks deeper concerns with data integrity. Through a process of manual data extraction across than 3,647 court complexes on the eCourts portal, the study reimagines technical failures and …

Solvent-Dependent Cytotoxicity Of Peperomia Pellucida Leaf Extracts Against Mcf-7 Breast Cancer Cells, Ade Arsianti, Rafael Erlangga Bagas Pratama, Steven Gill, Diyah Kristanty

Indonesian Journal of Medical Chemistry and Bioinformatics

Background: Breast cancer remains a major global health burden. Particularly in Indonesia, limitations of conventional chemotherapy, such as severe side effect, toxicity, and high cost, indicating the necessitate the development of alternative therapeutic agents. Peperomia pellucida, a medicinal plant rich in bioactive phytochemicals, has shown promising anticancer potential; however, its cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells and the influence of solvent polarity remains underexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of P. pellucida leaf extracts which are prepared using different polarity of solvents (ethanol, ethyl acetate, and n-hexane).

Method: Dried leaf powder of P. pellucida was …

From Fields To Flu: Mapping H5n1 Zoonotic Risk In California Rice Fields, Mariati Messinger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 threatens agriculture, wildlife, and public health in California, where flooded rice fields in the Central Valley provide surrogate wetland habitat for migratory waterfowl and may create ecological interfaces for viral spillover into poultry systems. This quantitative ecological study examined whether county-level rice acreage, Lesser Snow Goose activity, and their interaction were associated with poultry HPAI H5N1 outbreak incidence during complete winter seasons available for analysis. Guided by One Health and disease ecology frameworks, secondary data from USDA, eBird, PRISM, and public surveillance sources were analyzed for 36 county-winter observations using negative binomial regression, logistic …

Strategies Used By Silicon Valley Technology Leaders To Advance Latinx Employees Into Leadership Roles To Increase Firm Productivity, Elizabeth A. Garcia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The underrepresentation of Latinx professionals in leadership roles remains a challenge for technology leaders. Leaders who lack effective leadership development strategies for Latinx employees may experience reduced innovation, lower productivity, and decreased organizational competitiveness. Grounded in the resource-based view, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry research project was to identify and explore effective strategies used by Silicon Valley technology leaders to advance Latinx employees into leadership roles to increase firm productivity. Participants were 10 technology leaders with experience implementing strategies to hire, develop, and promote Latinx talent. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, public organizational documents, and industry publications. …

Examining Variations In Non-Conventional Health Care Utilization Among Students At A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Monideepa B. Becerra, Karina E. Corral

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The use of non-conventional health care, such as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and traditional healing practices, is increasing in the United States. Little is known, however, about its prevalence and influencing factors among college students—especially of varied racial/ethnic background. This study examined these patterns among college students using a cross-sectional survey conducted at a Hispanic-serving institution. Participants reported their use of non-conventional care, and demographic and motivational factors were analyzed using descriptive and bivariate analyses. Of the 641 participants, a majority reported CAM use (96%) and visits to a traditional healer (83%), with higher prevalence among Hispanic and female …

How To Upend America In 100 Days: Unilateral Power At The Outset Of Trump’S Second Term, Aaron Childree

Political Science Faculty Publications

President Trump used the unilateral power of the presidency in extraordinary ways during the first 100 days of his second term. This article examines his use of executive action using a dataset of every action issued in the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, along with a similar dataset for his first term and other recent administrations. At the outset of his second term, Trump issued substantially more executive actions than his own first administration and his recent predecessors; however, this also came with historically low legislative productivity. His unilateral policy making is notable for the many revocations of …

"It's Probably Like A Web": Complex Relationships Between Pain And Mental Health Among Bisexual+ Women With Chronic Pain, Aster Harrison, Mansha Mirza

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Bisexual+ women experience higher rates of both mental illness and chronic pain when compared to either straight or lesbian women. Their experiences of the relationship between their mental health and chronic pain remain underexplored. This article presents an intersectional Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of the experiences of six bisexual+ women with chronic pain.

METHODS: Each woman completed two semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analyzed with Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, beginning with in-depth case study analysis of each person's interviews before moving to comparison across cases.

RESULTS: Results indicated a complex web of multidirectional relationships between mental health and chronic pain. These relationships …

Space As Experienced: Rendering Urban Interiority Through Research-By-Drawing, Sarah Javed Shah, Giulia Setti

Interiority

Architectural discourse has long privileged space as formally constituted—defined through geometry, enclosure, and typological classification—while its experiential and relational dimensions remain insufficiently examined. This article addresses that gap by proposing a methodological claim: the sequential and cumulative use of analytical drawing enables the investigation of spatial experience in ways that formal analysis and phenomenological description alone cannot achieve. Positioned as an epistemic framework, the research employs drawing not as representation but as a structured mode of inquiry. Five analytical lenses—liminality, permeability, intermingling, ephemerality, and complex interiority—are operationalised through a sequence of drawings that isolate and reconstruct the relational conditions through …

Villa Verde As A Quasi-Object: The Renegotiation Of Spatial Boundaries And Interiority, Tugba Cestel, Senem Kaymaz

Interiority

An architectural object interacts with its user through its functional and formal qualities. However, when stripped of these attributes, it discloses the potential to transform the phenomenal system it inhabits alongside the subject. Drawing on Martin Heidegger’s hammer analysis and Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network Theory, this study explores the relationship between a user and an architectural object that lacks a predefined form or function. It examines how the subject’s intervention can reconfigure such an object into a quasi-object. This relationship establishes a conceptual bridge that can be read through both phenomenological and relational frameworks. In this domain, where spatial boundaries and …

Meanwhile Interiors, Interiority, And Becoming Exterior, Cathy Smith

Interiority

This paper explores the resonances between stakeholder conceptions of 'meanwhile' or transient urban interiors and the notion of interiority as a mobile construct intertwined with wider social and material forces. The focus is on the positioning of these interiors in relation to broader community and neighbourhood agendas, invoking what Jill Stoner describes as a becoming exterior. Although the so-called 'meanwhile use' of vacant or sub-market-condition buildings is an increasingly common tool for activating and managing underused property assets in global cities, much of the existing discourse focuses on policy and placemaking implications rather than design dimensions. Drawing on interviews with …

Marketing Strategies To Enhance Awareness And Attract International Patients In The Medical Tourism Industry Of Trinidad And Tobago, Natasha Rachel Rochford-Chance

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disseminating inadequate service information can limit a business's market appeal and hinder its growth. Business leaders must include comprehensive service information in their marketing strategies, as inadequate service information can make a business seem unappealing to potential clients, undermine competitive position, reduce market share, and diminish profitability. The purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore the marketing strategies used by medical tourism business leaders in Trinidad and Tobago to attract international patients and increase profitability. The participants were eight medical tourism business leaders with experience in implementing marketing strategies. McCarthy's marketing mix theory of product, price, place, and …

Staff Education To Improve Nurse Competency In Phq-9 And Gad-7 Screening Using A Standardized Behavioral Assessment In An Outpatient Mental Health Setting, Ernest Ogbeide

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Evidence-based practice was the basis for this quality improvement project, which involved developing and implementing a staff education program to enhance nurses' competency in administering, scoring, and interpreting behavioral health screening tools (PHQ-9 and GAD-7) for outpatient mental health services. Variability in competency amongst clinical staff to use these standardized screening tools for evaluating anxiety and depression was identified as a problem, as there was no structured, evidence-based education and competency validation process for clinical staff to use, which has the potential to decrease early identification of anxiety and depression among patients and impact clinical assessment and decision-making. The practice …

Clinical Phenotypes Associated With Nrxn1 Deletions In Five Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Oman, Samira Said Alhousni, Ahmed Idris, Watfa Al-Mamari, Abeer Al-Sayegh

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

NRXN1 (2p16.3) is essential for synaptic function and has been implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the phenotypic features associated with NRXN1 copy number variants remains incompletely characterised, which complicates risk assessment in genetic counselling. This case series describes five children, who were evaluated at the Genetics and Developmental Pediatrics Clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Muscat, Oman, from 2011 to 2023, with rare NRXN1 deletions (57–150 kb). All met DSM-5 criteria for ASD and had speech and language delays with cognitive impairment. Consanguinity was reported in three of the families and two had …

Interrupting Intergenerational Cycles Of Violence Among Women In Mexico Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence: Parenting As A Target For Intervention, Hannah Corinne Gilliam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Positive parenting may be a key intervention target to interrupt the intergenerational transmission of violence. Mothers exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) may be at particularly high risk for maladaptive parenting practices despite evidence that they also leverage unique strengths to effectively parent in the context of adversity. Very few interventions have been identified that enhance positive parenting for women exposed to IPV in Mexico. This dissertation consists of two studies that aimed to fill these gaps in the literature. In study 1, a scoping review was conducted to identify and synthesize information about parenting interventions delivered to IPV exposed …

Investigating Tumor-Stromal Interactions That Drive Breast Cancer Angiogenesis And Metastasis, Alessandra Dimauro

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Metastatic breast cancer remains one of the most difficult cancers to treat, with a five-year survival rate that drops from 99% for localized disease to just 33% once distant metastases are present. This disparity reflects a fundamental gap in our understanding of how breast tumors spread and highlights the urgent need to improve our understanding of breast cancer metastasis to aid in development of novel therapeutics. Emerging evidence establishes that metastasis requires interactions between tumor cells and non-tumor stromal cells within the tumor microenvironment. The first aim of this dissertation investigates the role of Discoidin Domain Receptor 2 (DDR2), a …

Supporting Recovery: Intersections Of Health, Belonging, And Help Seeking After A Campus Mass Casualty Event, Sharon Jalene, Jason A. Ciccotelli, Lauren Gatto, Christian Ison, James Carbajal, Andrew Hooyman

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Mass casualty events (MCE), such as campus shootings, can severely impact the mental health of students, faculty, and staff. This study examined the psychological effects of an MCE at a minority-serving institution and explored how sense of belonging, cardiorespiratory fitness, and treatment preferences influenced recovery. To measure the impact of the MCE on mental health an anonymous survey was administered four to five months post-MCE to university students, faculty and staff. Within the survey, participants were asked to retrospectively report their depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) symptoms as they recalled them two weeks prior to the MCE, and as they …

Relational Knowledge In The Women’S Majlis: Towards A Culturally Grounded Qualitative Methodology In The United Arab Emirates, Gareth Davey, Suaad Al Oraimi

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women-centered qualitative research in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) requires methodological approaches attentive to the places and practices through which Emirati women produce, share, and interpret knowledge. While feminist, decolonial, and participatory methodologies have challenged research approaches centered around men that are adapted for use in the UAE, comparatively little attention has been paid to grounding research in the everyday epistemic practices and social worlds of Emirati women. In this article, we develop a majlis-based relational methodology as a women-centered qualitative approach in the UAE. Our approach is centered on the women’s majlis—an Arabic term meaning a communal gathering place …

Recent Femvertising And The Flying Kick To Patriarchy: A Cross-Cultural Interpretation Of South Asian Media, Saheeh Shafi

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study bridges a critical gap in scholarship on “femvertising”—advertising aimed at women that promotes women’s empowerment—by shifting the focus from the Global North to South Asia’s under-researched media landscape. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-method design, the quantitative phase of the research analyzed 145 femvertising advertisements from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other international campaigns using chi-square tests to examine associations between gender portrayals and three empowerment types: woman-to-woman (solidarity among women), man-to-woman (patriarchal negotiation), and woman-to-self (self-determination). The qualitative phase employed semi-structured interviews with twenty women consumers to explore how they interpret, experience, and respond to these empowerment narratives. Findings …

Career, Self-Worth, And The Need For Self-Care: Understanding Urban Indian Women’S Journeys From Career Break To Re-Entry, Prabha Masilamani, Priya Gupta

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women often take career breaks as a response to major life events such as marriage, childbirth, and migration; nevertheless, the emotional complexities and nuanced decision-making attached to these events are hardly discussed. This study explores the lived experiences of twenty-two urban Indian women from the information technology sector who took career breaks and then returned to work. Using an interpretivist phenomenological approach and reflexive thematic analysis, five themes were identified across the three phases of career transition: before, during, and after the career break. Drawing on feminist frameworks including Kabeer’s (1999) agency within constraints and Kandiyoti’s (1988) patriarchal bargaining, the …

The Unseen Burden: A Rural Indian Woman’S Resistance To Political Marginalization And Mankeeping, Suraj Kumar Verma

Journal of International Women's Studies

This qualitative study examines how “mankeeping”—invisible emotional labor— undermines women’s political autonomy and sense of belonging in rural India, despite the implementation of gender equality policies. Women often perform unrecognized emotional, interpretive, and relational labor to maintain intimate relationships and community cohesion. Drawing on contemporary concepts of intersectionality, epistemic injustice, testimonial injustice, hermeneutical injustice, and the “third shift,” this study systematically employs a reflexive, narrative inquiry approach focused on Varsha, a forty-five-year-old lower-caste woman from Uttar Pradesh, India. The study reveals how her daily care work, such as caregiving, managing household dynamics, and navigating community expectations, affects her access to …

Workplace Cultures And Gender Dynamics In The Uae: Emirati And Expatriate Perspectives, Maxime Jaffré, Tatiana Karabchuk, Asna Kozhikkattil

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study examines the moral regulation and institutional structure of the gendered division of labor in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a rapidly modernizing society characterized by demographic imbalance and state-led economic diversification. Drawing on Durkheim’s theory of moral regulation and Weber’s concept of rationalization, the paper analyzes how women’s empowerment and Emiratization policies reshape workplace cultures across gender and citizenship lines. The analysis is based on original survey data collected between 2019 and 2024 (N=10,100), comparing Emirati citizens and expatriate residents. Descriptive findings reveal overwhelming support for women’s right to work and for gender parity in political representation, indicating …