Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Wood Jam Formation In The South Fork Elk River In Headwaters Forest Reserve, California (Year 2), Blaine Follrath, Nico Hutton, Diego Rodriguez, Torrey Stapp

Environmental Science & Management Senior Capstones

Large woody debris (LWD) contribute to the formation of complex habitat structures by stabilizing channels, creating refugia, and enhancing spawning conditions. A lack of LWD in the South Fork Elk River in Headwaters Forest Reserve has been identified by the BLM as a limiting factor in salmonid resurgence. Salmonids provide vital ecological functions to their watersheds; however, their populations face the pressure of habitat loss. This study expands upon last year’s assessment of wood jam formation on the South Fork Elk River and examines how log jam structures have changed over time since the BLM’s 2022 accelerated recruitment project. This …

Leadership In Times Of Crisis: Motivating Employees Through The Challenges Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hanan Khamis

Dissertations

Purpose: This study explores the critical role of leadership and employee motivation in sustaining organizational effectiveness during times of disruption, focusing specifically on the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It investigates how leadership styles and motivational theories evolve in response to heightened uncertainty, rapid operational changes, and emotional strain. Central to this purpose is understanding how adaptability, empathy, communication, and relational leadership practices help maintain employee engagement and ensure continuity within higher education institutions during crisis conditions.Methodology: A qualitative phenomenological methodology was used to capture the lived experiences of 10 human resource (HR) leaders representing public and private universities …

Deep And Continuous Palliative Sedation Without Artificial Nutrition And Hydration: An International Review, Richard Liu, Thaddeus Pope, April Xiaoyi Xu

Faculty Scholarship

Deep and continuous palliative sedation combined with withholding or withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration (collectively termed “PSs̄ANH”) is a medical process regularly used in end-of-life care as a means of alleviating suffering. But PSs̄ANH is often not governed by a clear legal framework. To shed light on different approaches to regulating PSs̄ANH, this Article conducts a comparative analysis of the PSs̄ANH legality across twelve jurisdictions.

To facilitate understanding of this broad issue, we subdivided PSs̄ANH into three categories:

(1) PSs̄ANH will not hasten death (“Type 1 PSs̄ANH”),
(2) PSs̄ANH might, but is not certain to, hasten death (“Type 2 …

2025 F1rst Look, Nova Southeastern University

First Look

No abstract provided.

2025 Nsu Fact Book, Nova Southeastern University

NSU Fact Book

In 2025, NSU was recognized by the Carnegie Classification system as one of only 21 universities nationwide to hold all three of the following designations: Very High Research Activity (R1), Community Engaged Institution, and Opportunity College & University (OCU). Its R1 classification places NSU among the top tier of U.S. research universities, a milestone that reflects our continued growth and commitment to research that leads to real-world impact.. As an R1 institution, NSU is shining a new light on scientific discovery, medical breakthroughs, and technologies that advance quality of life: from pioneering treatments in neuro-immunology and cancer, to safeguarding coral …

Occupational Therapy's Role In Supporting Sustainable Trauma-Informed Wellness Practices In A Surfing Program For Women, Margaret J. O'Hara

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

Individuals living with trauma-related mental health conditions are often less participatory in meaningful occupations. Additionally, women are two to three times as likely as men to experience a trauma-related mental health condition or event (Olff, 2017). A local surf therapy organization was founded to provide local women who have experienced trauma an empowering community and meaningful activity to heal. The purpose of this quality improvement capstone experience was to enhance the sustainability of the skills taught within clinics through the creation and dissemination of a user-friendly resource platform. The skills specifically addressed are 1) Mindfulness, 2) Growth Mindset, 3) Comfort …

"Discovering The Mysterious Ocean: A New Approach To Igniting Children’S Interest In Marine Sciences", Laura Goretti

Theses & ETDs

This thesis presents the development of a series of interactive musical books designed to ignite children's interest in marine sciences. The project addresses the lack of ocean literacy and school curricula in children’s books by integrating ocean principles and the New College of Florida Marine Biology curriculum with art and hands-on activities. The books target kindergarten and early elementary-aged children as the importance of early exposure to scientific concepts and children's innate scientific inquiry are discussed. Current challenges in science education are examined, highlighting the possible tools that should be utilized to enhance students’ engagement, interest, and excitement towards marine …

I’M All The Fishes In The Sea: Creating An Animal Care Ethic From Spinoza’S Ethics, Denicia Finney

Theses & ETDs

Although Spinoza encourages us to understand Nature, and our place as parts in it, he felt inclined to say that the lower animals have nothing in common with our nature, and so ‘we have every right against them that they have against us’. Is he ultimately justified in making this claim? I believe that Spinoza's ethic, and the end that ensues from it would actually warrant fair consideration of the lower animals. I demonstrate this through the separation of the eternal essence and the particular essence which each individual is composed of. Insofar as humankind acts according to the universal …

Analyzing The Evolution Of Major League Baseball Hitting Strategies (1950–2010): A Machine Learning And Interactive Dashboard Approach, John Mcintosh

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines the evolution of Major League Baseball (MLB) hitting strategies from 1950 to 2010 using statistical analysis and machine learning techniques. The study investigates changes in player performance metrics to determine how hitting styles have evolved, specifically focusing on distinguishing "power hitters" from "contact hitters." Principal Component Analysis “(PCA)”, t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding, and clustering methods, such as K Means Clustering, were applied to historical MLB data from Baseball Reference to reveal underlying trends and shifts in player roles over time. An interactive dashboard was developed utilizing Streamlit to visualize these trends dynamically. This was done by incorporating …

Who We Don’T See: Paternal Kinship In Adoption, Nikhita Razdan

Theses & ETDs

The topic of this research is discovering what defines the connection between adopted people and their biological fathers due to the lack of research regarding that perspective. The research was conducted through repeated in-depth interviews online and in person. The subjects that are addressed here involve the intersection between adoptees' gender and adoptive identity, biases held within the adoptive household, and negative biases towards their countries of origin. These topics assist in understanding the kinship found, or not found, between the participants and their biological fathers. Two frameworks are also presented here, deemed the Adoptive Environment Bias and the Motherland …

Taylor Karnopp, Senior Art Exhibition Portfolio, Taylor Karnopp

Senior Art Portfolios

This is work created for the Senior Art Exhibition Portfolio 2025. This work includes graphic design, package design, ad design, and brand identity.

Navigating Barriers: Challenges And Strategies For Adopting Artificial Intelligence In Qualitative Research In Low-Income African Contexts, Kahabi Isangula

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Introduction:

 AI is transforming qualitative research. It enhances efficiency, accuracy, and depth in studies. Technologies like machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and large language models (LLMs) simplify tasks like transcription, coding, and thematic analysis. However, in low-income African settings, there are barriers to AI adoption. These include ethical concerns, infrastructure limitations, financial constraints, and technical skill gaps. Issues around data privacy and the dehumanization of research also add challenges.

Methods: 

This paper explores the challenges and opportunities of AI in qualitative research in low-income African contexts. It uses a descriptive approach, reviewing literature and personal experiences from rural …

Artificial Intelligence In Radiology, Olivia Sweeney

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Introduction: Artificial intelligence (AI) has increasingly transformed radiologic practice by improving diagnostic accuracy, streamlining workflows, and reducing interpretation errors. As AI integration has expanded across imaging modalities, questions have emerged regarding its effectiveness compared to traditional radiologist-only interpretation.

Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study has been to evaluate the impact of AI-assisted radiology on diagnostic accuracy, efficiency, and error reduction, while also assessing clinician perceptions of AI as a collaborative tool in imaging analysis.

Methodology: This qualitative study has used a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature published between 2015 and 2025, following PRISMA guidelines, combined with an interview …

Teaching On The Edge Of The Snap: Exploring The Constraints And Capacities Of Emotion Regulation, Kate Atwood Heyboer

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice (ISDiP) explored the barriers and supports for teacher emotion regulation at a small, suburban K-8 school district in the Northeast United States. The author utilized a mixed-methods convergent research design to evaluate the impact of an 8-week mindful awareness and educational neuroscience-based PD intervention on teachers’ emotion regulation abilities (ERAs). Teacher participants from grades K-5 attended five PD sessions utilizing curricular content from the MindUP “The Science and Practice of Well-being and Mindful Teaching” online program (The Hawn Foundation, 2025). The researcher merged qualitative data from participant interviews and narrative writing samples with quantitative …

Artificial Intelligence And Illicit Drugs: A World Of Possibilities, Ralph A. Weisheit

Faculty Publications - Criminal Justice Sciences

Large scale drug production and distribution organizations (DTOs) are businesses. As such they face many of the same challenges faced by legal businesses, such as the creation of new drugs, supply chain issues, and identifying new markets. The legal business world is finding creative ways to meet those challenges utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). This discussion uses a horizon scan methodology to suggest how current and anticipated applications of AI in the legal business world might be adapted by large-scale illicit drug trafficking organizations. The focus in this discussion is on its potential application for the largest organizations that control the …

Introduction To The “Mappings” Issue, Asa Mittman, Dan Terkla

Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture

No abstract provided.

What’S Cooking? How To Understand A Miniature Penis In A Pan, Jan Huyghe, Ann Marie Rasmussen

Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture

No abstract provided.

The Advent Of The Astrolabe In St. Gallen And Notker Teutonicus’ Cosmographic Globe (C. 1015), Jost Schmid-Lanter

Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture

No abstract provided.

Pedestrian Safety South Of Brigham Young University Campus, Emma Mayo, Alisha H. Redelfs

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

8,500 crossings happen on 800 North every day. In Provo last year, 57 car crashes involved pedestrians. A pedestrian’s view of the road is obstructed by cars parked on the right hand side of the road causing them to walk in the crosswalk to see if there is a car coming. Sidewalks on connecting streets are uneven and cracked. Multiple blocks on 800 North without a stop sign to slow drivers down. Currently no posted speed limit signs on 800 North. Drivers can’t see pedestrians crossing on 200, 300, 400, or 500 East because of inadequate lighting. Cars obstruct areas …

Transforming Societies Through Peace Education: Lessons From Rwanda For Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Ahmad A. Bacha

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Ending conflict through political settlement or military victory, supplemented by external aid, marks only a fragile beginning. While often necessary, such measures prove fundamentally insufficient to rebuild nations shattered by war, frequently failing to heal the deep invisible wounds, social fragmentation, generational trauma, and eroded trust that impedes presumable peace, potentially risking further societal fracture or conflict relapse. I argue that strategically implemented peace education is not a plus but a foundation for authentic, sustainable transformation. Standing on the shoulders of giants Galtung, Freire, and Danesh, grounded in rigorous qualitative and quantitative analysis of Rwanda’s post-genocide recovery (1994–2024), this study …

Employee Turnover & Retention In Rural Pennsylvania: A Public Vs. Private Sector Study, Dusty J. Zeyn

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Employee turnover presents significant challenges for organizations, such as diminished productivity, loss of critical knowledge, and heightened recruitment costs. Effective retention of talented employees is vital for organizational success, yet many organizations face difficulties in managing turnover. This dissertation explores employee turnover and retention through the framework of Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, which differentiates between motivators that enhance job satisfaction and hygiene factors that prevent dissatisfaction. Utilizing a multiple case study approach, the research examines one public sector organization and one private sector organization in Tioga County, Pennsylvania to analyze how Herzberg’s theory applies in varied organizational contexts and its impact …

Perspectives On Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, And Speech Language Pathology Services Best Suited For Telehealth Delivery: Implications For Us Telehealth Policy, Monica Wright

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Physical, occupational, and speech therapy services have been successfully performed using telehealth as a delivery method since the COVID19 pandemic. But patient access to telehealth therapy services is threatened with the pending expiration of therapy extenders in the Full Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act. This study aimed to assess which therapy interventions are the most effective using telehealth. Methods used were therapist surveys with both Likert scale and open-ended questions and in-depth interviews distributed via national therapy society message boards and patient surveys delivered via their treating therapist. Results of the study showed both therapists and patients believe telehealth …

Personalized Therapy To Meet Individual Children’S Needs And Improve Access: Identifying A “Goldilocks” Group Therapy Length For Children With Post Traumatic Stress (Pts), Rosa L. Boniface

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Objectives. The present study investigated the incidence and correlates of early treatment response among youth participating in a school-based intervention for PTSD symptoms. Methods. 44 elementary school children who participated in the Bounce Back Program (BB) from 2017 to 2019 were included. A Reliable Change Index (RCI) score was calculated for each child on the UCLA-R for PTSD. Youths with a significant RCI score by session 5 of the 10-session protocol were classified as early treatment responders. Pretreatment characteristics were examined in relation to early responder status. Results. PTS means in this sample decreased significantly after 5 …

Changing The Narrative For University Students With A History Of Aces: Campus Assets And Student Well-Being, Hailey Ellingson

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

College students often report high levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which are linked to poor mental and physical health and lower academic success. While some positive experiences in childhood can lessen the risk outcomes associated with ACEs, limited research has explored how this applies to college students. This study examined how assets – specifically, college climate and resources – relate to student well-being and whether these assets buffer the impact of cumulative ACEs, which refers to adverse experiences within the home (e.g., abuse, neglect, and witnessing domestic violence) and community (e.g., bullying and neighborhood violence). Undergraduate students (n …

Antifeminism, American Nationalism & The Potentially Oriental Other: Origins Of The Conservative College Newspaper The Claremont Independent, Vivian J. Fan

2025 Claremont Colleges Library Undergraduate Research Award

This paper examines the origins of the Claremont Independent, the conservative student newspaper of the Claremont Colleges which was founded in 1989. Exploring the relation between antifeminism, nationalism, and orientalism in student-written articles from the first two years of the Independent's existence, this paper provides insight on the nature of American conservative rhetoric.

Military Forensic Archaeology: The Process And Recovery Of U.S. Missing-In-Action (Mia) Service Personnel, William Belcher, Luann Wandsnider, Ella N. Axelrod, Finn Kennison, Alicia Lawson

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The United States (U.S.) Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is the largest skeletal identification laboratory in the world and receives several hundred cases per year for identification related to Missing-in- Action (MIA) U.S. service members. While there are various sources for these accessions, by far the largest source is through unilateral or bilateral (done in cooperation with another governmental entity or nongovernmental organization) as well as public-private partnership excavations. While the DPAA-style military forensic archaeology follows archaeological principles and recording standards, the work is goal-oriented, evidence/trace-driven, and time-constrained— a common occurrence with cultural resource management sites …

Table Of Contents, Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Almighty Influence: Catholicism's Hand In Divergent Abortion Protection Outcomes From The Philippine And Mexican Judicial Systems, Maris Medina

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

Since Spain introduced Catholicism in Mexico and the Philippines by way of violent colonization, the religious institution has fulfilled an enormous role in the two countries' governance. When considering reproductive justice, it is evident that the Mexican and Philippine governments' relationships with Catholicism have shaped the way political and judicial structures grant access to, interpret, and govern the right to abortion. With Catholicism's influence in government, how has one country decriminalized abortion and the other continues to levy criminal prosecution against it?

The 2023 decision from Mexico's Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación decriminalizing abortion nationwide tracks a greater …

2025 Tennessee Higher Education Fact Book, Tennessee Higher Education Commission

Higher Education Fact Book

This document is an overview of data collected by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Document revised and updated in July 2025.

Eastern Michigan University, Spring Commencement, April 27, 2025, Eastern Michigan University

Commencement Programs and Materials

No abstract provided.