Digital Commons Network^™

Intersections Of Religion, Race, And Feminism With A Progressive Politic, Amanda D. Hernandez, Tess Starman Phd

Sociology: Faculty Publications

Public perceptions of feminism often posit religion as antithetical to the movement, despite many Christian women who identify as feminist. Previous scholarship has studied the ways that race and ethnicity have shaped how individuals conceptualize feminism. This study brings religious affiliation into the equation, specifically among Christian women in the United States. Do women who identify as Christian feminists have more “progressive” stances on social issues than Christian women who do not identify as feminist? Through a quantitative analysis of the 2021 Values and Beliefs of the American Public Survey, this study shows the differential moderating effect of two variables: …

Kindness As A Critical Lens: Ethical Considerations In Rhetorical Critique, A Adams, Emily Sauter

National Forensic Journal

In 2016 Brianna Kirkham stepped onto the stage to give a performance titled, “if ‘This Is Not A Rape’ isn’t a rape, then what is it?” based on the performance art of Emma Sulkowicz’s “This Is Not A Rape” video. Of over 100 entrants, Brianna Kirkham was named national champion for her performance in the final round. Kirkham instructs the viewer to “watch kindly” when viewing Sulkowicz’s video. However, this phrase is never defined. Instead, Kirkham interrogates herself and the audience. Are we, as participants within a competitive activity, watching kindly? Did she? By utilizing a performance that clearly alludes …

The Strengths Of Malleability, Annie Ward

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Band-Aids And Bulldozers: Reimagining, Rebuilding, And Taking Responsibility For The Foundational Inaccessibility Of College Speech, Julie Walker

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Early Hands-On Surgical Exposure: Outcomes Of A Student-Led Surgical Externship Program For Preclinical Students, Meryem C. Guler, Elizabeth Spitz, Jennifer E. Geller, Talar Tatarian, Renee Tholey

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

Objective: Early surgical exposure may potentially influence medical students' decision to pursue a surgical career. At our urban, academic medical school, senior medical students developed a Surgical Externship Program (SEP) to provide first-years with hands-on OR experience. This program is a structured 1- to 2-week immersive experience in which first-year students scrubbed into operations, participated in rounds, and engaged with surgical teams under resident and attending supervision. This study evaluates the SEP's impact on surgical interest, OR confidence, and clinical exposure.

Setting: Academic tertiary care hospital.

Participants: First-year medical students.

Design: First-year students participated in a 1- or 2-week SEP …

Silverleaf Nightshade (Solanum Elaeagnifolium) Undergoes Guild-Specific Transcriptomic Reprogramming Against Chewing Versus Piercing Sucking Herbivory, Arunsaikumar Karrem, Matthew Terry, Jagdish Jaba, Rupesh R. Kariyat

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Solanum elaeagnifolium (silverleaf nightshade, SLN) is a globally invasive perennial weed with reproductive plasticity and complex defence systems that significantly impact crop yields by invading fields of staple, commercial and ornamental crops. Despite being a host to multiple insect herbivores, the molecular programming enabling its rapid adaptation to defend against diverse feeding guilds remains poorly resolved. Here, we report a comprehensive de novo transcriptomic assembly and comparative analysis of S. elaeagnifolium challenged by two distinct herbivores: the piercing-sucking generalist cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora and the chewing specialist tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta. Differential gene expression analysis revealed a massive difference …

The Aesthetics Of Violation: Visual Rhetoric And The Ethics Of Spectatorship In Venetian Ovidian Painting, Khira Rudolph

Theses

In this thesis, we will consider how 16th-century Venetian painters used sophisticated visual methods, colorito, glowing atmospheric glazes, serpentine lines and spatial buffering to camouflage the physical violence of Ovidian abduction stories. Most historical art literature in the past has hailed high Renaissance masters Titian and Paolo Veronese as technical bravura, lyrical colorism and visual appeal in the face of social and emotional tragedy in their work on canvas. In comparing Titian’s The Rape of Europa, Paolo Veronese’s The Rape of Europa, Paolo Veronese’s circle Scene from the Metamorphoses of Ovid: The Rape of Proserpine and Rembrandt …

Formed Together: A Value-Based Model Of Mutual Spiritual Formation For Pentecostal Pastors And Churches Under 500, W. T.A. Mcmillan

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock” (Acts 20:28) is both a warning and an invitation. It insists that the pastor's inner life and the congregation's shared life cannot be pulled apart without doing damage to both. This dissertation grows out of that conviction and out of years of pastoral ministry in Pentecostal churches where the pressure to perform often overwhelms the slow work of being formed. It asks a simple but searching question: How do Assemblies of God pastors serving congregations under 500 in attendance understand the connection between their own spiritual health and the spiritual …

Sanctified Rhythms Of Rest: Reclaiming Sabbath And Spiritual Retreat For Pastoral Renewal And Burnout Mitigation In The Georgia Assemblies Of God, Philip Sosebee

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

“Sanctified Rhythms of Rest: Reclaiming Sabbath and Spiritual Retreat for Pastoral Renewal and Burnout Mitigation in the Georgia Assemblies of God” explored how intentional rhythms of Sabbath observance, solitude and silence, and spiritual retreat shaped the lived experiences of credentialed ministers within the Georgia District of the Assemblies of God. Pastoral burnout, emotional exhaustion, and unsustainable ministry expectations continue to affect ministers across denominational contexts, raising questions regarding the role of biblically grounded rhythms of rest in fostering pastoral renewal and sustainability. Using a six-month longitudinal hermeneutic phenomenological design, twenty-nine credentialed ministers participated in the intentional practice of weekly Sabbath …

The Quest For Sacred Truth In A Secular Society What Is Fueling Gen Z’S Return To Faith And Church Attendance In America?, William W. Dornbush

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

This dissertation investigated the Critical Research Question: What are the key external factors influencing Generation Z’s internal quest for spiritual renewal? The study examined biblical, historical, and contemporary revival movements, including the Exodus, Pentecost, the Great Awakenings, the Jesus Movement, Charismatic Renewal, Brownsville, Toronto, and Asbury, to identify recurring patterns linking external pressures to spiritual awakening. Using a qualitative design, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with twelve Generation Z participants who experienced spiritual searching, renewal, or a deepened faith between 2020 and 2025, exploring how contemporary external pressures influence spiritual openness and transformation. The findings revealed six major themes: (1) …

Building Motivation Through A Christian-Based Vocational Sports Academy, Elasha E. Naylor-Cooper

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Project Type: Business Proposal Capstone

Project Overview: CTA Academy - Christian Technology and Athletics Academy - is a proposed private Christian school designed to provide 6-12 grade students with an alternative educational pathway that integrates academic achievement, Christian formation, career preparation, athletics, wellness, and leadership development. The project responds to concerns surrounding student engagement, motivation, academic performance, limited access to affordable private education, and the separation of academic, vocational, spiritual, and athletic development within traditional educational models. CTA Academy proposes a diversified funding model, including scholarship-supported funds, college and business partnerships, donors, sponsors, and fundraisers. This model seeks to make …

The St. Louis Zine Project: A Study And Documentation Of Live Music, Dawnye Appel

Theses

This practice-based project examines how documentary photography and zine-making can document and interpret an independent live-music venue as a site of atmosphere, cultural memory, and community. Focusing on The Sinkhole in St. Louis, Missouri, the inquiry considers what becomes visible when the venue, rather than only the performer, becomes the subject of photographic documentation. Project materials include photographs taken during a single visit on July 11, 2026, observations of the venue, and an interview with owner Matt Stutler, documented through written notes. Scholarship on live-music spaces, cultural memory, photography, and self publishing informs the interpretation of these materials. Analysis occurs …

Exploring The Significance Of Kenya's Indigenous And Emerging Blue Foods For Sustainable Aquaculture Development. A Review, Jonathan Munguti, Mavindu Muthoka, Domitila Kyule, Esther Magondu, Kevin Obiero, Jimmy Mboya, Menaga Meenakshisundaram, Tanga M. Chrysantus, Gerald Kwikiriza, Francis K. Njonge

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Kenya's aquaculture sector is at a pivotal stage, transitioning from a historical reliance on Nile tilapia and African catfish toward a more diversified production portfolio that integrates indigenous and emerging freshwater and marine species. This shift is increasingly recognized as essential to enhance climate resilience, food security, and ecosystem health. This systematic review synthesizes more than two decades (2000 to 31st January, 2026) of peer-reviewed literature to evaluate the biological suitability, culture performance, and socio-ecological roles of underutilized native taxa, including Ningu (Labeo victorianus), Jipe tilapia (Oreochromis jipe), freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium spp.), rabbitfish (Siganus sutor), marine-acclimatized Nile tilapia, mud crab …

9/11 In Cuny Archives: A Research Guide, Lindsey Kratochwill

Publications and Research

9/11 in CUNY Archives is a guide to the archival materials across CUNY campuses and repositories that pertain to the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. This guide is organized by repository and contains descriptions based on finding aids and metadata as well as hyperlinks to digitized materials where available. The collections, curated by the author in consultation with archivists across the CUNY system, include materials created by students – newspapers and yearbooks – as well as correspondence, news clippings, legislative documentation, photographs, oral histories, videos, and artifacts from first responders and memorials.

Women's Experiences Of Menstrual Pain And Perceptions Of Acupuncture: A Qualitative Study, Weiting Liu, Amanda Towell-Barnard, Khui Hung Lee

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: Menstrual pain is a common reproductive health concern that can substantially disrupt physical, emotional, and social well-being, yet it is frequently normalised and insufficiently addressed within healthcare encounters. Acupuncture is increasingly used as a complementary approach for menstrual pain management; however, little qualitative research has explored how women understand, interpret, and navigate this option within their menstrual care.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted using four online focus groups with 14 women aged 19–46 years residing in Australia who self-reported primary dysmenorrhea. Participants were purposively sampled from respondents to a previous cross-sectional survey study who had indicated willingness …

Characterizing And Repairing Obsolete Android Gui Tests Under Ui Evolution, Shiwen Song, Yiheng Xiong, Wenbo Guo, Manqi Sun, Jiaolong Kong, Xiaofei Xie

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Graphical user interface (GUI) tests are widely used in regression testing of mobile applications (apps) tovalidate app behavior from the user’s perspective. However, frequent app evolution, such as UI redesignsand feature updates, often renders existing GUI tests obsolete, even when underlying functionality remainsunchanged. Automatically repairing such tests is critical for maintaining test suites and reducing substantialmanual effort. Despite the practical importance, there is still a lack of a systematic understanding of thecharacteristics of obsolete GUI tests and a publicly available benchmark to support their study. To fill thisgap, we construct a benchmark comprising 736 obsolete GUI tests collected from 36 …

Loss Of An Adolescent Peer By Suicide Through The Lens Of Qualitative Interpretive Description, Kristin S. Burgess

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is an important period of development during which relationships and life experiences influence mental health and well-being. Understanding these experiences is essential to providing individualized, developmentally informed nursing care. This portfolio dissertation examines adolescent connectedness, mental health, and the lasting influence of peer suicide through three manuscripts that collectively contribute to nursing knowledge and future research. Chapter 1 introduces the background, significance, and problem of adolescent peer suicide bereavement, establishes the gap in understanding its long-term developmental impact, and presents the purpose and research questions guiding the dissertation. Chapter 2, Connectedness in Adolescence: A Concept Analysis, clarifies the defining …

Firstdate: Why Looking For Love In Your Domain Makes Sense, Kenneth Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In a commentary, SMU Assistant Professor of Psychology Kenneth Tan said GovTech’s FirstDate could lower the “search costs” of finding a compatible partner, especially for time-starved Singaporeans. Shared professional backgrounds can create common ground through similar norms, pressures and values, fostering a “shared reality”. However, he stressed that this does not guarantee compatibility, which depends more on how couples handle conflict and align on family life

A Prospective Natural History Study Protocol For Clinical Trial Readiness In Synaptic Disorders, Joeylynn Coyne, Ian Mcsalley, Michael C Kaufman, Bintou Bane, Torrey Chisari, Jonathan Toib, Carlyn Glatts, Sarah Tefft, Julie M Orlando, Viveknarayanan Padmanabhan, Alexander K Gonzalez, Alicia Harrison, Charlene Woo, Stephanie A Zbikowski, Rency Dhaduk, Johanna Mercurio, Macie Mccarthy, Jan H Magielski, Zachary Grinspan, Megan Abbott, Juliet Knowles, Hsiao-Tuan Chao, Katherine Xiong, Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, Sepideh Tabarestani, J Michael Graglia, Kathryn Helde, Virginie Mcnamar, Charlene Son Rigby, James Goss, Scott Demarest, Andrea Miele, Benjamin Prosser, Michael J Boland, Samuel R Pierce, Ingo Helbig

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: STXBP1-related disorder (STXBP1-RD) and SYNGAP1-related disorder (SYNGAP1-RD) are two common genetic synaptopathies that are associated with epilepsy, developmental delay, intellectual developmental disorder, and behavioral problems. Both STXBP1-RD and SYNGAP1-RD are potential targets for disease-modifying therapies, but there is limited information in the literature describing the natural history of either disorder, which impedes outcome selection for future clinical trials. The objective of this study is to develop a framework to better define and outline the clinical spectrum and longitudinal trajectories of STXBP1-RD and SYNGAP1-RD natural history, including development, behavior, seizure histories, and electrophysiology.

Methods: Here, we describe a protocol, regulatory …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 43. Alfred Russel Wallace’S Social Environment And Moral Progress., David Stack, Charles H. Smith Editor

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Alfred Russel Wallace’s Social Environment and Moral Progress (1913) was the last book he wrote and one of the most powerful statements of his thought and beliefs. As with his Revolt of Democracy (1913), written before but published after Social Environment and Moral Progress, the work finds Wallace passionate in his advocacy of social and economic reform. Despite his advanced age (Wallace turned 90 in January 1913), the book is deeply engaged with contemporary controversies, including the rise of labor, arguments against eugenics, and debates around the social and political status of women. What distinguishes Wallace’s text is that he …

Acceptability And Implementation Of A Primary Care Health Check For Autistic People: Findings From Evaluation Questionnaires And Interviews, Hannah Merrick, Helen Taylor, Barry Ingham, Tracy Finch, Sarah A. Al-Ashmori, Ruby Herrington, Clare Scarlett, Carole Buckley, Christina Nicolaidis, Dora Raymaker, Multiple Additional Authors

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Autistic people experience higher rates of physical and mental health conditions and face barriers to accessing healthcare. This study evaluated the acceptability and implementation of a co-designed primary care health check for autistic people (18 years+), delivered within a randomised controlled trial in Northern England investigating clinical and costeffectiveness. Following health checks, all autistic people, carers/supporters, and clinicians were invited to complete evaluation questionnaires and a subset invited for an interview. Eighty-one autistic people, 11 carers/supporters, and 18 clinicians returned questionnaires and were descriptively analysed; 44 participants were interviewed. Findings demonstrated that the pre-appointment questionnaire and health check appointment were …

Line Of Sight Lighting Effect In Dark Environment And Its Impact On Interactive Horror Game Experience, Hamzah Asyrani Sulaiman, Fuyen Heng

Malaysian Journal of Computing (MJoC)

Lighting effects in dark environments represent a fundamental psychological mechanism in horror game design, directly shaping player immersion, emotional tension, and the quality of interactive experience. Although Line of Sight (LoS) technology has been widely adopted across many game genres, empirical investigations examining how LoS-based dynamic lighting specifically affects player engagement, usability, and visual aesthetic perception within single-player horror puzzle contexts remain scarce. This paper presents the design, development, and user evaluation of “No One Left”, a three-dimensional top-down horror puzzle game developed using Unreal Engine 4, which systematically employs LoS-based lighting mechanics within a dark environment to restrict player …

Machine Learning-Based Mental Health Risk Prediction And Behavioural Clustering Among Malaysian Undergraduates, Norsyela Muhammad Noor Mathivanan, Debbie Yong Xi Foo, Gerard Soon Lee Chong, Siti Fazilah Shamsudin, Marizkays P. Jamison

Malaysian Journal of Computing (MJoC)

Mental health issues among undergraduate students have become increasingly prevalent, affecting emotional well-being, academic performance, and overall quality of life. The growing number of students experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression highlights the need for effective predictive models to support early risk identification and personalized intervention strategies. This study investigates the performance of several machine learning approaches, including Logistic Regression (LR), Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting, LightGBM, Extra Trees, XGBoost, Support Vector Classifier (SVC), and a stacked ensemble model for predicting mental health risk among Malaysian undergraduate students. The study utilizes a dataset comprising demographic, academic, lifestyle, and psychological assessment attributes …

A Fuzzy Logic Decision Support System For University Student Dropout Assessment, Adam Aiman A Hamid, Harliza Mohd Hanif, Siti Rahimah Batcha, Nur Zafirah Mohd Sidek, Noratika Nordin, Norain Alwi

Malaysian Journal of Computing (MJoC)

Student dropout continues to be an issue in universities, which has a negative impact on the academic performance of students and the reputation of educational institutions. Since the dropout decision is affected by multiple factors like academic performance, financial situation, stress, and self-motivation, the status of these factors can be highly uncertain, subjective, and conventional assessment methods cannot consider this impreciseness. This study designed a fuzzy logic–based decision support system approach to account for the risk of student dropout in a flexible and human-like way. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential risk of a student dropout …

Comparative Machine Learning Prediction Of Carbon Monoxide Levels And Contributing Factors In Shah Alam, Farzana Zubaidi, Norshahida Shaadan, Septia Devi Prihastuti Yasmirullah

Malaysian Journal of Computing (MJoC)

Carbon monoxide (CO) pollution is a major environmental and public health concern because it is colourless and odourless and is produced mainly by incomplete combustion from vehicles, industries, and household sources. Accurate prediction of CO levels and identification of key contributing factors can support early warning and targeted mitigation strategies. This study compared eight machine-learning regression models—Support Vector Regression (SVR), Random Forest Regression (RFR), Decision Tree Regression (DTR), K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN), CatBoost, XGBoost, LightGBM, and Neural Network Regression (NNR)—using daily air-quality data from the Department of Environment Malaysia for 2018–2023. The dataset comprised 42 input features representing air pollutants, meteorological …

Iot-Enabled Smart Durian Harvesting: An Integrated Platform For Real-Time Orchard Monitoring And Sustainable Harvest Management, Norisan Abd Karim, Nur Carmilla Abdullah Muhammad Shafiq, Nur’Aina Daud, Syibrah Naim, Syaheerah Lebai Lutfi

Malaysian Journal of Computing (MJoC)

Durian harvesting requires timely monitoring to ensure that fallen fruits are collected promptly, thereby reducing quality deterioration and potential economic losses. Traditional orchard monitoring relies heavily on manual inspection, making the process time-consuming, labour-intensive, and inefficient, particularly in large orchards. The Internet of Things (IoT) technology has been widely used in smart agriculture to manage orchards, but there are very few existing systems that combine real-time durian fall detection with a mobile application that sends immediate notifications, automatic image capture of fall events, and orchard management functions. This study develops an Integrated IoT-Based Smart Orchard Platform for real-time durian harvest …

Field Assessment Of Power Link Budget Accuracy In A Residential Ftth Gpon Deployment, Arnita, Zulfadli, Tiara Resti Indah Rahmawati, Aswan Muhammad Azizi, Sangkot Wahyu Pulungan

Malaysian Journal of Computing (MJoC)

Fiber to the Home (FTTH) based on Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) is widely used for residential broadband access because of its high bandwidth capacity, scalability, and efficient use of passive optical infrastructure. During FTTH network planning, Power Link Budget (PLB) analysis is commonly applied to estimate cumulative optical losses and received optical power. However, differences may occur between theoretical PLB calculations and actual field measurements due to practical deployment conditions. This study assesses the consistency of PLB predictions using field measurements from a residential FTTH GPON deployment. Measurements were conducted at two Fiber Access Terminal (FAT) points using an …

Teacher And Principal Turnover In Alaska: Statewide Trends From 2013-2024, Dayna Jean Defeo, Noah Burke, Trang C. Tran

CAEPR Reports

Research consistently affirms that good teachers are critical for a child’s academic success, as well as their long-term social and economic outcomes. However, high teacher turnover disrupts instructional continuity and hurts student achievement. In Alaska, maintaining a stable educator workforce has been a challenge for nearly three decades. This report updates the state’s longitudinal retention data to report on trends in teacher turnover from 2013 to 2024. The report finds that, while the majority of Alaska’s educators stay at their main schools from year to year, overall turnover has trended upward since 2013 (with the exception of reduced turnover during …

Shsp Dean's Newsletter, Fall 2026, Brian J. Nickerson

SHSP Dean’s Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Digitizing Land Records For A More Inclusive Future, Md Sharif Hasan Rafi '30

Annual Student Research Poster Session

This project supported the Land Data Digitization for Inclusive Growth Project in Bangladesh by transforming paper-based land records into structured and accessible digital information. The work involved data entry, verification, quality control, standardization, and metadata management using a web-based system. More than 12,500 land records were processed, with 98% passing quality checks. The experience demonstrates how accurate and standardized digital land data can improve transparency, accessibility, government planning, and inclusive land administration while reducing errors and disputes.