Digital Commons Network^™

Leading Schools In The Midst Of Covid-19: Experiences Of Basic School Leaders Of The Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem District Of The Central Region Of Ghana, Corinne Brion Ph. D.

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This qualitative study uses a phenomenological approach to understand the experiences of thirteen Ghanaian head-teachers in suburban and rural areas of the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem district during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings revealed that these leaders faced numerous challenges related to pivoting to remote learning for the first time combined with the lack of access to technology. Other challenges pertained to the absence of infrastructure and resources such as books. Despite these challenges, these Ghanaian head-teachers were able to adapt to the crisis and alter their leadership style to educate the children they served. Currently, there is a limited …

“Being With God”: Prayer Biographies, Mysticism In Old Age, And Compassionate Love Among Older Jesuits, Stephen John Fogle

Gerontology Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

This dissertation explores lived experiences of prayer and aging among older Jesuits from a religion, spirituality, and aging perspective in five chapters. Chapter One opens with a review of prayer in gerontological literature. The chapter recommends attention to prayer in life course perspective, details of prayer in old age as a relationship with divinity, and appreciation of religious and spiritual outcomes of aging. The chapter concludes with an overview of research with older Jesuits of the Upper Midwest. Chapter Two presents prayer biographies of older Jesuits in life course perspective. The chapter discusses how age stages, relationships, historical events, and …

A Review Of The Philosophy Of Flood Risk Communication And Education: New Insights Informed By Critical Complexity, Timothy Lutz

Earth & Space Sciences Faculty Publications

The approach to flooding in the U.S. is strongly influenced by research and practices that place the responsibility for managing risk on scientific and technical experts. But there is a recognition that the public generally needs to be more engaged and responsible. There is currently a disconnect between the objective knowledge of experts and the more subjective ways in which people experience floods and flood risk. To bridge this gap, I start with a review of the philosophy that informs government policies and the societal worldview. While societal leaders have maintained a mechanistic vision of a world that is ultimately …

Global Imaging Of The Magnetoshpere: An In-Depth Analysis Of The Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling, Mayowa Adewuyi

Doctoral Dissertations

Magnetosphere – Ionosphere (MI) coupling plays an important role in Earth’s overall space environment. MI coupling influences ion dynamics in the plasma sheet, the evolution of ring current ions, and field aligned currents during storm time events. The coupling of these two regions makes it important to understand both as a whole, rather than individually. Understanding the importance of the magnetosphere-Ionospheric system and how the coupling affects earth’s space environment is made difficult due to the reliance on localized in-situ measurements and the spacecraft being at the right location at the right time.

The Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers (TWINS), …

12-Year Full Solar Cycle Maps Of Interstellar Neutral Atoms By Ibex-Lo And The Observation Of Elastic Scattering Of Primary Helium By Solar Wind Particles, Hafijul Islam

Doctoral Dissertations

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission is playing a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of the interaction between the very local interstellar medium (VLISM) and the heliosphere. By sampling interstellar neutral (ISN) atoms and energetic neutral atoms (ENA), IBEX has provided over 15 years of continuous data over a range of energy from 15 eV to 6 keV, offering an invaluable opportunity to study these interactions across various phases of solar activity. The IBEX-Lo instrument, which detects lower-energy ISNs, has been particularly useful in exploring the properties of hydrogen and helium in the interstellar medium, as well as their …

The Genomic Basis Of Adaptation In Salt-Marsh-Breeding Sparrows, Jonathan David Clark

Doctoral Dissertations

Salt marshes are an ecotone between terrestrial and marine environments characterized byshort, graminoid vegetation and periodic tidal inundation with saline water. Despite the generally inhospitable conditions salt marshes present for terrestrial vertebrate life—principally, exposure to heat, salinity, and flooding—several terrestrial vertebrate species have adapted to, or are capable of inhabiting salt marshes. Notably, species of passerine birds that have adapted to salt marshes have repeatedly evolved a similar suite of adaptations, which has been named the “saltmarsh syndrome,” including larger bills, darker plumage, and an increased tolerance of salt.

The myriad species of New World sparrows (Passerellidae) that breed in …

A Physics-Based Material Model Incorporating Strain Gradient Plasticity Formulations In A Mean-Field Framework To Predict Spatial Fluctuation Of Material Properties, Zhangxi Feng

Doctoral Dissertations

With the market expansions and increasing number of scientific explorations, the demands for manufacturing metallic parts to satisfy specific requirements continue to increase. A slight improvement in the manufacturing process can result in great cost savings in time and energy. The research and development time to identify these areas of improvements can be greatly reduced using numerical models. One such model is the mean-field elastoplastic self-consistent (EPSC) framework studied extensively and advanced in this dissertation. In the past two decades, many material behavior formulations were implemented in EPSC, and the model has shown versatility and accuracy in predicting a wide …

“Why You Understand The Why”: A Qualitative Characterization Of The Metacognitive Competence Of Introductory Stem Peer Coaches, Jonathan Kustina

Doctoral Dissertations

The processes of metacognition are vital for students’ development of critical thinking skills and productive learning mindsets, yet many students never receive the direct instruction that would allow them to formally develop their metacognition. As instructors are typically not providing this instruction, there may be an alternate source to facilitate the learning of metacognition to students. This research study will investigate the viability of having peer coaches, undergraduate peer educators who help facilitate learning and problem solving in introductory STEM courses, facilitate metacognition to their students. Specifically, this research study aims to understand and characterize the metacognitive competence of the …

Engineer-Friendly Synergetic Methodology For Surrogate Modeling Of Complex Connections By Modal-Based Low-Fidelity Finite Element Model Updating Approach, Milad Mehrkash

Doctoral Dissertations

Finite element models are widely used to simulate the behavior of structures. They can also be utilized for structural condition assessment and health monitoring. However, due to software limitations, simplifying assumptions, and lack of knowledge about the system properties, the predictions of the numerical models may deviate from laboratory or field measurements of the actual structure. This issue may be further exacerbated by the simplifications applied in modeling complex connections, which is a common practice in numerical modeling to save time and effort. While finite element model updating improves the accuracy of numerical models, physics-based surrogate modeling of connections balances …

Artificial Intelligence Driven Magnetic Materials Discovery: From Data Extraction To Property Prediction, Yibo Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents an integrated artificial intelligence framework aimed at accelerating magnetic materials discovery by addressing key challenges in materials science: improving experimental characterization techniques, efficiently extracting structured data from scientific literature, developing comprehensive materials databases, and creating reliable predictive models.

We first develop a UNet-enhanced vector field electron tomography (VFET) approach for three-dimensional magnetic structure reconstruction. This method addresses the missing wedge problem in experimental data collection while maintaining computational efficiency, providing reliable experimental data crucial for materials research.

We introduce GPTArticleExtractor, a novel workflow leveraging large language models to automatically extract key information from scientific literature. Applied to …

Functional Characterization Of Copper Tolerance In The Atypical Microsymbiont Pseudofrankia Inefficax, Megan Paige Garcia

Doctoral Dissertations

Bacterial species in the family Frankiaceae are soil-dwelling microsymbionts that form a mutualistic symbiosis, termed the actinorhizal symbiosis, with over 220 species of woody dicots. In this relationship, frankia fix atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia, a form usable by plants, while the bacteria benefit from the carbon sources exuded by their actinorhizal hosts. Since nitrogen is typically a limiting nutrient for growth in degraded and contaminated soils, actinorhizal plants establish at these sites as pioneer plant species, initiating a path for phytoremediation. Likely due to their association with plant hosts in contaminated soils, most frankia strains have evolved above average tolerances …

Improving Understanding Of Fluvial Reach-Scale Solute Transport And Uptake Using A Particle Tracking Model And Random Forest Machine Learning Model, Jiaying Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

In addition to transporting flowing water, river systems carry dissolved nutrients and pollutants, which can experience chemical reactions, biological uptake, or retention in surface or hyporheic zones. This dissertation enhances our understanding of solute transport and uptake in river reaches through three main components. The first component involves the development of a novel curve-fitting model designed to capture the characteristics of pulse-release breakthrough curves (BTCs) from tracer studies with conservative solutes. The model, which was found to be applicable to a wide range of field studies, enables the rapid comparison of transport parameters among diverse field studies obtained under a …

Deformation-Induced Bonding Of Glassy Polymeric Films And The Diluent Effect, Ajay Vallabh

Doctoral Dissertations

Bonding between two polymer films can be achieved through various heat- or chemical-based methods. Recently, our group has discovered the novel phenomenon of deformation-induced bonding (DIB) for solid-state glassy polymers in time on the scale of a fraction of a second at ambient temperatures substantially below the bulk glass transition temperatures (T_g). DIB is achieved by bulk plastic compression, which triggers the molecular mobility of polymer chains to cause interpenetration across the interface even in a glassy regime.

First, we performed a series of experiments to evaluate solid-state, deformation-induced bonding in organic polymer blends composed of films of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose …

Survey Of Capital Cases In Georgia, Jessica L. Heywood

Mercer Law Review

This Article examines five cases decided during the Survey period: two decisions by the Supreme Court of Georgia and three decisions by federal courts involving Georgia defendants. The Georgia Supreme Court cases are a direct appeal and a habeas appeal. All three federal cases are habeas petitions by Georgia state prisoners. We included federal cases because they involve significant points of law and illustrate the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit’s continued lax oversight of habeas claims, decades after the passage of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) by Congress. The small number of cases …

State And Local Taxation: A Three Year Survey, David Greenberg, Alexus Holton

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys the most critical and comprehensive changes in Georgia law occurring between June 1, 2021, and May 31, 2024. Most notably, this Article discusses state income tax reform, digital products taxation, the Georgia Tax Court constitutional amendment proposal, and other important state and local taxation topics.

Tackling Terry: Georgians’ State Constitutional Protections On Searches, Seizures, And Privacy, Hunter J. Rodgers

Mercer Law Review

Currently found in Paragraph XIII of our state Bill of Rights, Georgia has had a search and seizure provision in its Constitution for over 160 years. For the last sixty, our courts interpreted it in lockstep with the Fourth Amendment. Countless cases treat our state provision as an afterthought, only worth mention as an aside to the Fourth Amendment, or in acknowledgment that the court was not reviewing on state grounds, or both. Even where the Georgia Supreme Court issues opinions enhancing search and seizure protections, or at least arguing for it, it shunts Paragraph XIII into a corner to …

The Endocrine And Body Composition Responses To Accentuated Eccentric Loading Performed In Cluster Sets During A Strength–Endurance Training Block, Kurt W. Mcdowell, Alex Long, Daniel Gahreman, D. Andrew Nelson, Nicholas J. Goode, Ryan P. Lis, Sungwon Chae, Satoshi Mizuguchi, Marten Baur, Kevin F. Breuel, Marco Duca, John P. Wagle, Andy C. Fry, Michael H. Stone

Kinesiology

Featured Application: Research on the endocrine changes from AEL training is limited, especially for long-term effects. This study suggests that combining AEL with CS might offer similar or slightly better results compared to traditional training. However, the practical challenges, such as increased training monotony and strain, may outweigh the minimal benefits. The extra cost, time, and effort required for AEL, especially in large team settings, might not be justified. Additionally, individual differences in optimal loading prescriptions could complicate its use, making traditional methods more efficient. This study investigated the endocrine responses to accentuated eccentric loading (AEL) paired with cluster sets …

Exploring Teachers' Perceptions Of Content/Dual Certification, Special Educators' Roles, And Co-Teaching Partnerships In Inclusion Classes, Patricia Ann Rando

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

To strengthen inclusion practices in schools, a mandate was passed requiring special education teachers working at the middle and high school levels to become content certified. The purpose of this research study was to examine the outcome the content/dual certification mandate had on special education teachers’ roles in co-taught inclusion classes and the school organization. A qualitative research method with a narrative design was used to analyze teachers’ perspectives. Special educators with experience in middle schools' inclusion classes in two counties in New Jersey were interviewed. The research questions elicited their perspective on the changes to their role and the …

Addressing The Public Health Concern Of Maternal Mortality In Houston, Texas, Lucy Couture

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Maternal mortality remains a pressing public health concern in the United States, with disproportionate consequences for marginalized communities. Despite being a developed nation, the U.S. reports one of the highest maternal mortality rates among its peers, with approximately 80% of maternal deaths deemed preventable. Texas reflects this national crisis, particularly affecting Black women, whose maternal mortality rate is significantly higher than that of other racial and ethnic groups. This thesis explores maternal mortality trends in Houston, Texas, analyzing the roles of systemic inequities, social determinants of health, and disparities in access to quality care. Drawing on data from the Texas …

Commonthought (2024), Commonthought Staff

Commonthought

This issue features works created by Lesley University students and covers a broad range of topics. The work itself crosses many disciplines from creative writing to visual arts.

Induced Systemic Resistance Against Nematodes By Plant Growth-Promoting Microbes In Potatoes, Cole Grannan

Master's Theses

Biofertilizers consist of plant growth-promoting microorganisms that establish symbiotic relationships with plant roots and stems. These beneficial microbes play a crucial role in enhancing plant defenses against various threats including insects, nematodes, and microbial pathogens. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of two fungal biofertilizers (an endophytic strain of Beauveria bassiana (BA) and a mixture of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi), specifically their ability to induce systemic resistance against plant- parasitic nematodes (PPNs) in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum cv. Masquerade) under controlled greenhouse conditions. The study utilized soil collected from Colorado State University’s San Luis Valley (SLV) Research …

Social Justice In Dance: The Exploration Of Dance As A Tool For Promoting, Recognizing And Influencing Change, Michelle O'Konis Linnehan

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to prove that dance could be used as a platform for representation and to foster change within the community and beyond. This purpose aligned with the goal, which was to measure the impact of a structured choreographic curriculum on student engagement with social justice topics. The goal of this study was to answer the following research questions:

Q1 Can dance be a tool in promoting social justice?

Q2 How will students in the classroom respond to an integrated social justice theme through dance and production components?

Q3 How will these topics be interpreted to …

Rape Beyond Fantasy: Exploring The Influence Of Booktok's Erotica And Dark Romance Literature On Young Adult Perceptions Of Consent And Boundaries, Teagan Bailey Fortune

Master's Theses

Advances in technology and media, particularly TikTok, have had a significant impact on the younger generation. BookTok, a community that emerged from TikTok, is a platform where users can promote, share, and discuss book recommendations, using “spice level” or chili emojis to indicate the rating of explicit content. While recommendations often focus on erotica and dark romance fiction, concerns arise when such content glamorizes and normalizes rape culture, especially for young adults (YA). The normalization of toxic relationships can potentially influence YA perceptions of consent and boundaries. This study explores how YA perceive rape culture and consent in erotica and …

International Pcos Guideline Clinical Research Priorities Roadmap: A Co-Designed Approach Aligned With End-User Priorities In A Neglected Women's Health Condition, H. J. Teede, M. Gibson, J. Laven, A. Dokras, L. J. Moran, T. Piltonin, M. Costello, A. Mousa, A. E. Joham, C. T. Tay, Wiebke Arlt, Ricardo Azziz, Adam Balen, Lisa Bedson, Lorna Berry, Jacky Boivin, Jacqueline Boyle, Leah Brennan, Wendy Brown, Tania Burgert, Maureen Busby, Carolyn Ee, Rhonda M. Garad, Cheryce Harrison, Roger Hart, Marie Misso, Rachel Morman, Angelica Lindén Hirschberg, Tuong Ho, Kathleen Hoeger, Sonia Jitpiriyaroj, Cailin Jordan, Richard S. Legro, Rong Li

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy with significant reproductive, metabolic, and psychological complications. Consensus on PCOS clinical research priorities across end-users is fundamental and necessitates a robust co-development of a clinical research roadmap to guide international research efforts. Methods: A multistage process included: i) international surveys of women and healthcare providers to identify research priorities and unmet needs; ii) interrogation of systematic reviews conducted for the International PCOS Guideline to identify research gaps; iii) International PCOS Guideline Network consensus generated clinical research roadmap; and iv) international peer review for external validation. Findings: A codesigned survey engaging 1278 …

Supplementary Data For "Crushability Analysis Of Immediate-Release Oral Tablets And Capsules Approved By Fda In 2020-2024, Christina Tzikas, Kamaladdin Saei, Anne Schweighardt, Fang Zhao

Doctoral External Publications

No abstract provided.

Bad Plants, Heather I. Sullivan

Modern Languages and Literatures Faculty Research

“Bad plants” represent the seemingly unexpected and startling forms of plant power overlooked by many modern, industrialized societies that treat vegetal beings as mere resources instead of animate, world-shaping forces. Since science fiction and fairy tales often explore more openly animistic visions of non-human life, such texts provide ample possibilities for reconsideration by critical plant studies of our human-plant relations both cultural and ecological. For example, both Jack McDevitt’s 2001 science fiction novel, Deepsix, and Ludwig Tieck’s 1799 fairy tale, “Faithful Eckart and Tannhäuser”, feature “bad plants” that bring human beings violently back into the plant cycles they assume they …

Counting Catalan: An Experimental Evaluation Of The Mixing Time For The Triangulation Markov Chain, Roy Gotlieb

Master's Theses

Monte Carlo Markov chains (MCMCs) are used in many areas as a way to model a system’s behavior. By running a probabilistic simulation on a system’s state space, we can estimate properties of the system that could be untenable to directly compute. It is of interest to determine how quickly a Markov chain mixes\textemdash that is, settles into its stationary distribution. One such chain is induced by taking a binary search tree and performing a rotation or flip on one of its edges. We know that this chain eventually settles into the uniform distribution, but the time complexity bounds on …

Enhancing Access To Inquiry-Based Art Education In Title I Schools: Addressing Inequities And Promoting Student Driven Learning, Rebecca Stone-Danahy

All Dissertations

This study investigates the enabling conditions that support inquiry-based art education programs in Title I schools, addressing a literature gap regarding effective practices for high school art educators working with economically disadvantaged students. Inquiry-based art education empowers students by fostering creativity and problem-solving skills and encouraging self-expression. These attributes are essential for equipping students with the tools they need for success in college and their future careers. While existing research has underscored the benefits of the arts for marginalized students, the literature lacks guidance on how to support an inquiry-based art education program in a Title I school.

The study …

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Trackable Pathology-Triggered Polymersomes Toward Enzyme Replacement Theranostics For Gm1 Gangliosidosis, Dorian Foster

All Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the development and optimization of pathology-responsive polymersomes for simultaneous enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) in the treatment of GM1 gangliosidosis (GM1). While therapeutic strategies exist for similar, non-neuropathic lysosomal storage disorders, implementation towards GM1 faces significant challenges due to the blood-brain barrier.

Herein, we developed and characterized a range of low molecular weight hyaluronic acid-b-polylactic acid (HA-PLA) polymersomes (PSs) capable of encapsulating therapeutic enzymes in their hydrophilic core. These polymersomes exhibit pathophysiology-triggered responsiveness, degrading in the presence of acidic conditions, which is characteristic of lysosomes, and enzymes such as hexosaminidase A, which …

Low-Cost Vehicle Controller Testing System, Kevin R. Jung

Electrical Engineering

This project aims to create a system to facilitate easier evaluation of PCBs designed for low-voltage vehicle applications with an emphasis on accessibility for student teams in collegiate design series' such as Formula SAE. Student teams or smaller vehicle electronics manufacturers often need to verify designs and validate functionality during both development and manufacturing. An inexpensive, small, and portable, yet capable, system for taking measurements and simulating inputs would allow designers to put their boards into vehicle-representative conditions and environments without needing to connect to actual vehicle hardware. Additionally, while systems exist off-the-shelf that could fulfill the requirements needed by …