Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding Resilience In Children In Out-Of-Home Care: Using Person-Centered Health Services Research, Hyeeun K. Shin

Theses and Dissertations--Health Services Research (HSR)

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which refer to exposure to traumatic life events before age 18, and instability in caregiving experiences contribute to poor physical, mental, behavioral, and developmental health outcomes for both children and adults. Previous research shows that these experiences can have negative effects both in the short term and throughout a person’s life. However, children’s strengths, which are the internal and external assets that support their development, can help protect against the impact of ACEs. Effective parenting, positive social support, and self-regulation skills are essential factors that build resilience, helping individuals adapt to challenges that may affect their …

The Digital In The Library: Finding The Mutually Beneficial Synergy, James M. Donovan

Law Faculty Books and Chapters

With the value of access to digital resources abundantly demonstrated during the COVID-19 lockdown, enthusiasm for the format is reaching new heights. This chapter counsels restraint, rebutting the argument that skepticism concerning the wide adoption of digital materials into the library is due merely to nostalgia by anti-technologists for a now-bygone age. Despite their obvious usefulness in certain situations, patrons have not responded well when libraries propose to discard legacy print collections in favor of transient electronic formats.To explain this rejection, this chapter argues that libraries are built upon principles of collection development and organization of materials in order to …

Mechanical Property Evaluation Of Paper Die Materials In Explosive Forming, Higa Yoshikazu, Kadena Hisashi, Shimojima Ken, Iyama Hirofumi

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

This study investigates the feasibility of using paper materials as substitutes for molds in explosive forming by systematically evaluating their mechanical properties. Tensile tests were conducted on three paper types differing in thickness and internal fiber structure, using a custom-designed gripping tool. Specimens were prepared in multiple orientations to account for anisotropic behavior. Results indicate that coated paper, exhibiting the highest specific tensile strength and energy absorption per unit basis weight, is the most suitable for formability. In contrast, thick paper, characterized by the lowest specific tensile energy absorption, offers the best dimensional accuracy. Anisotropy was observed in matte and …

The Relationship Between Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Symptoms And Reading Abilities And The Moderating Roles Of Parent-Teacher Involvement And Family Emotional Expressiveness, Tatiana Lombana Mims

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The present study focuses on how obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms influence reading abilities and whether parent-teacher relationships and family emotional expressiveness moderate that relationship. This study provides further knowledge on the relationship between mental health struggles and academic performance and possible risk/protective factors. Structural equation modeling through AMOS 31 was used to construct path analysis models to analyze the significance of OCD symptoms on reading abilities with parent-teacher involvement and family emotional expressiveness, both positive and negative, as moderators. The relationship between OCD symptoms and reading abilities indicated a consistent negative association though not statistically significant. Parent-teacher involvement did indicate …

Umbilical Cord Connections: Ban Huay E Kang Women's Ecological Knowledge Transmission And Mobilization, Areerat Worawongwasu, Yuting Zhou, Phyo Su San

Forest and Society

In the Pga K’nyau village of Ban Huay E Kang in the Chiang Mai province of northern Thailand, a newborn's umbilical cord is placed inside a bamboo container and hung from a tree. This is a sacred act of establishing a lifelong connection between each villager and the forest. The practice is known in the Pga K’nyau language as de paw thoo. This tradition has faced significant disruption from state-led conservation policies and the institutionalization of childbirth in state hospitals, which Ban Huay E Kang villagers contest through their revitalization of de paw thoo. Based on collaborative ethnographic research, …

The Efficacy Of Co-Response Teams: A Scoping Review, Kristen N. Burkhart

Social Work Theses

This scoping review explores co-response teams, a coordinated response consisting of a mental health professional (MHP) and a law enforcement official (LEO). It examines the implementation, effectiveness, and outcomes of these interventions, highlighting barriers and facilitators of co-response teams. The review analyzed peer-reviewed studies from the years 2016-2026. Using the Arskey & O’Malley framework, an initial database search yielded 691 studies of which 30 were included in this review.  The review identifies four areas of ideas: legal system diversion and outcomes, frontline stakeholders' roles and friction, specialized co-response teams, and systemic barriers and resource constraints. Significant gaps remain in long-term …

Virtualized And Distributed Neighborhood Data Centers, Benjamin T. Niccum

Computer Science and Engineering Theses

This thesis evaluates whether PCIe-fabric-based resource pooling can support a decentralized neighborhood micro-data-center model under real implementation constraints. The work combines architecture design, prototype deployment, performance benchmarking, and security assessment. Results show strong prototype-scale feasibility with low-latency and high-throughput behavior, while also identifying deployment-blocking security gaps and operational maturity requirements. The thesis contributes an evidence-traceable path from concept validation to deployment-grade roadmap planning.

Systematic Approaches To Characterizing Vulnerabilities And Enhancing Robustness Of Text And Vision-Language Models, Poojitha Thota

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations

The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) across critical domains, including news summarization, privacy-policy analysis, and medical decision support, has raised growing concerns about the security and robustness of these systems against adversarial manipulation. This dissertation investigates adversarial robustness in generative AI by addressing three key research goals: (1) characterizing adversarial vulnerabilities across generative models, (2) developing systematic defenses to improve the robustness of generative models, and (3) designing deployment-time safeguards for securing LLM interactions.

Towards the first goal, we characterize adversarial vulnerabilities across text-based and multimodal systems. In abstractive text summarization, we show that inference-time perturbations can exploit lead bias …

Soil Respiration Drivers And Challenges In A Changing Environment, Olivia Rae Haas

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study aims to understand post agricultural forested soils (sandy loam, silt loam, and loam) and the influences that drive carbon sequestration and soil respiration flux. Duke Farms in Hillsborough NJ, has historically been utilized as an agricultural zone for farming a variety of crops. Currently the area is protected with a focus on environmental conservation and restoration of the land. This includes getting a better understanding of the forested portions of the property. Understanding the quality of forested areas is vital as they have the potential to act as a carbon sink which can mitigate the effects of climate …

Designing An Approach To Developing Students' Symbol Sense For The Derivative In Calculus, Laura E. Weinstein

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Students often struggle to connect the conceptual meaning of the derivative with the symbolic structures of Leibniz (dy/dx) notation. Although symbol sense has been described as the coordination of mathematical concepts, signs, and objects, little is known about how instruction can purposefully support students in developing symbol sense for the derivative. This study addresses this gap by designing and examining a learning approach aimed at helping students construct the relational structures underlying derivative notation. Using design research methodology, the study engaged intact algebra, precalculus and calculus classes in a suburban New Jersey high school across iterative cycles of design, implementation, …

Effect Of Mid-Range Ultraviolet Light On Avian Embryonic Development, Keelie Hughes

Biology Theses

While it is a known fact that specific environmental conditions must be met to ensure proper embryonic development, the impact of changes in this delicate balance is unclear. Ultraviolet (UV) light has a narrow range of effectiveness in mature tissue, where too little can hinder molecular signaling and too much can cause damage to genetic material. This study exposed in ovo chicken embryos in the preliminary stages of development to mid-range UV radiation to examine developing embryo and tissue morphology using anthropometric methods and comparing proliferative cells among embryos exposed to varying doses of UV light. Additionally, quantitative polymerase chain …

The Rise In Height And Curb Weight Of The Top-Selling Vehicles In The United States From 1991 - 2025: Implications For Engineering Design And Vulnerable Road Users, Samuel L. Steinman-Friedman

Civil Engineering Theses

Road fatalities are higher in the United States than in other high-income regions. In 2024, 39,254 people died on roads in the United States compared to 19,940 in the European Union. These two regions have comparable exposure metrics, such as population size, roadway network length, and fatalities per mile traveled. Light trucks dominate the U.S. market, whereas hatchbacks are prevalent in Europe. The trendline of the average height and curb weight of the top-selling vehicles in the United States has increased by 0.24 inches and 23.52 pounds per year since 1991. The average 2025 top-selling U.S. passenger vehicle is 7.5 …

Integrated Thermal, Energy, And Structural Performance Assessment Of A Novel In-Service Shallow Geothermal Bridge Deicing System, Alireza Fakhrabadi

Civil Engineering Dissertations

Understanding the performance of bridge deck deicing systems under winter weather conditions is important for improving transportation safety and reducing long-term deterioration of bridge infrastructure. Bridge decks are more vulnerable to icing than ground-supported pavements because they are exposed to ambient air, wind, and radiation from multiple directions, while they do not receive thermal support from the underlying soil. Conventional deicing methods, especially chloride-based salts, can reduce ice formation in the short term, but repeated application may accelerate reinforcement corrosion, concrete damage, and environmental concerns. Therefore, shallow geothermal energy has been considered as a sustainable alternative for bridge deck deicing …

Extreme Points And Majorization, Andreas Kleiner, Benny Moldovanu, Philipp Strack

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Many seemingly different economic problems share a common mathematical structure: they involve the maximization of a functional over sets of monotonic functions that are either majorized by, or majorize, a given function. This paper presents new, simpler proofs for the main characterization results of the extreme points of sets defined by monotonicity and majorization constraints obtained by Kleiner, Moldovanu, and Strack (2021). It demonstrates how these characterizations can be applied to a broad range of economic applications, including auction and information design, contest design, optimal delegation, optimal stopping, and decision problems under risk. The paper concludes with an overview of …

The Utah English Journal, Volume 54, 2026: Full Issue

The Utah English Journal

No abstract provided.

The Non-Punishment Principle And Restorative Justice, Rachel J. Wechsler

Faculty Publications

The non-punishment principle is a legal norm that has increasingly gained legitimacy over the past quarter-century within international, regional, and domestic law on human trafficking. At its core, this principle opposes the punishment of human trafficking victims for unlawful conduct they engage in as a consequence of their trafficking victimization. Little is known about the presence and operation of the non-punishment principle within U.S. law. This Article fills this gap as the first to comprehensively map and analyze the principle’s instantiation across state and federal law.

From this new map, three key themes emerge. First, the non-punishment principle has a …

Protecting Those Who Protect Us: A Blueprint For Mandatory Mental Wellness Standards For First Responders, Joy Hutchinson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

First responders, including firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), dispatchers/telecommunicators, and corrections officers, serve as the backbone of public safety in the United States. Their work requires rapid decision-making, repeated exposure to traumatic events, and sustained emotional regulation in high-stakes environments (Hoell et al., 2023; Vig et al., 2020). Despite their critical roles, mental health support across these professions remains inconsistent, optional, and largely reactive rather than preventative, with many systems relying on self-referral only after crisis onset (Burke, 2021; Johnston et al., 2025).

Between 2021 and 2025, U.S.-based research has documented alarming levels of burnout, depression, anxiety, …

The Case For Federal Regulation Of Ai’S Environmental Impacts In An Era Of Deregulation, Sam Sinutko

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Design And Fabrication Of A Scaled Automated Dairy Farm Model: A Report, Md Towfiqur Rahman

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Summary

This study investigates how ventilation systems work in dairy barns and builds a scaled model to support education and research. The project is designed to help students from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), K-12 learners, and researchers in animal science, veterinary medicine, and engineering gain visual experience with dairy facility components and processes. Different ventilation methods were studied, leading to the design of a 1/64-scale tunnel-ventilated dairy barn meant for 60 Holstein Friesian cows. Barn dimensions were set based on real Holstein cow measurements to ensure proper cow comfort, while airflow requirements were calculated and scaled down. Miniature fans …

Experiments In Graph Structure And Knowledge Graph Embeddings, Antrea Christou, Cogan Shimizu

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Knowledge graphs (KGs) are an established paradigm for integrating heterogeneous data and representing knowledge. As such, there are many different methodologies for producing KGs, which span notions of expressivity, and are tailored for different use-cases and domains. Now, as neurosymbolic methods rise in prominence, it is important to understand how the development of KGs according to these methodologies impact downstream tasks, such as link prediction using KG embeddings (KGEs). In this article, we examine how various perturbations of graph structures impact downstream tasks. These perturbations are sourced from how various methodologies (or design practices) would impact the model, starting with …

Menstrual Leave In Spain, Lidia De La Iglesia Aza

Dispatches

This dispatch aims to outline a new regulation in Spain regarding menstrual leave as a social security benefit that allows women to take paid leave from work in cases where menstruation-related reasons prevent them from performing their duties. To this end, it looks at menstrual health as a workplace issue in general, before turning to menstrual leave regulation in Spain and its novelties, challenges and remaining controversies.

Ai Co-Inventor: Robot Enabled Patent Prosecution, Henry H. Perritt Jr.

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

De Minimis Confusion, Maximum Risk: Consumer Vulnerability And Trademark Law In Lerner & Rowe V. Brown Engstrand, Gabriella Johnson

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Speculative Journeys Through Young Adult Graphic Novels: How Time Travel Interprets Trauma, Xhorxhina Gjergji

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines the significance of the speculative element of time travel in young adult graphic novels. The graphic novel format and its visual elements facilitate understanding of a fractured identity resulting from trauma. The speculative work of time travel allows consideration of “what-ifs.” This thesis focuses on three graphic novels, Displacement by Kiku Hughes, Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn, and Orange by Ichigo Takano, in order to explore how time travel serves as a metaphor for the processing of trauma. These young adult graphic novels explore how someone’s relationship to time changes in the wake of traumatic events. …

Ai-Driven Risk Forecasting For Strengthening The United States Food Supply Chain Resilience: Case Study: A National Ai-Enabled Food Supply Chain Risk Forecasting Framework And A Data Analytics Approach To Predicting Disruptions, Sarah Onyeche Usoro, Itua Austin Omogiate, Rahab Zhewe Felix, David Azikutenyi Galadima

Student Publications

The United States food supply chain is one of the most complex and interconnected systems in the world, spanning agricultural production, processing, transportation, storage, and retail distribution. While this complexity enables efficiency and scale, it also increases vulnerability to disruptions caused by climate change, labor shortages, geopolitical shocks, transportation failures, cyber threats, and public health crises. Conventional risk management methods, often reactive and siloed, have proven inadequate in predicting and mitigating systemic shocks that have become frequent occurrences in today’s world. This article examines how artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics can transform risk forecasting in U.S. food supply chains …

Oregon, Elizabeth Ford

Thin Blue Advantage: Police Exceptionalism and the Two-Tier System of Public Sector Collective Bargaining

In Oregon has historically seen distinctions between the treatment of police and non-police bargaining units but has recently made statutory changes to address some of those issues.

• Oversight. In 2023, Oregon enacted a change to its public sector collective bargaining statute exempting from bargaining an oversight system enacted by popular vote.
• Statutory Scope. Oregon’s statute provides a broader scope of bargaining for police in other areas such as safety issues
• Oversight and Work Transfer Decisions. Before 2023, Oregon’s Employment Relations Board set a more favorable standard for bargaining oversight and work transfers from police bargaining units.
• Impasse …

College Student Perceptions Of A Pilot Cooking And Nutrition Education Workshop Through The Lens Of The Social Cognitive Theory: A Qualitative Study, Emma Watras, Amelia Sullivan, Emalee Harrington, Mona Therrien-Genes, Kathryn Yerxa, Makenzie Barr-Porter, Jade Mcnamara

Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications

This study qualitatively examined college students' perceptions of a pilot cooking and nutrition workshop, College Cooking Connection (CCC), through the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) framework. Undergraduate students who attended at least one CCC workshop (N = 29) were invited to a 30 min virtual focus group. A trained moderator guided the discussion to gather perceptions of the program. Themes were identified using thematic analysis with a directive and deductive approach based on SCT. Focus groups revealed eight major themes across the SCT. Cognitive themes included: (1) improved nutrition literacy, (2) understanding the nutrition-mental health connection, and (3) increased awareness of …

Family Law Agreement And The New Gender Bargains, June Carbone, Brian H. Bix

Articles

The great family law divide is said to be marriage, as marriage has emerged as a marker correlated with race and socioeconomic status. This article argues that the real family law divide, inside and outside of marriage, is agreement. Family law, and the family court system that implements it, produce agreement when legal rules, societal norms, and family court procedures operate together to encourage shared understandings expressed through statuses such as marriage or parenthood, and legally enforceable agreements. In an increasingly unequal society, the family understandings of the college-educated middle class have moved apart from those much less privileged in …

Commission Quorums, Nicholas Bednar, Todd Phillips

Articles

Multimember commissions are a central feature of the modern administrative state. Yet a growing number have lost their legal authority to function—not through statutory repeal or defunding, but because they lack a quorum. In many cases, these quorum losses stem from the President’s assertion of a broad removal power, which causes vacancies in the commission’s membership. Quorum losses lead to agency inaction, prevent the executive branch from ensuring faithful execution of the laws, and threaten the constitutional rights of individuals who appear before adjudicatory commissions.

This Article presents an empirical study of quorum rules in multimember commissions. It traces how …

Personalized 3d-Printed Tablets For Diabetes And Related Complications: Design, Optimization, And Evaluation, Thirupathi Reddy Anekalla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to explore potential use of pneumatic-based thermoplastic 3D bioprinter to create personalized tablets in a single-step process. In investigates the development of a single pill containing two model drugs: Metformin HCl (a highly soluble drug) for extended-release and Atorvastatin Calcium Trihydrate (a low-solubility drug) for immediate release with enhanced solubility. To achieve this, Eudragit RSPO as extended-release polymer and Polyethylene Oxide (PEO N10) as immediate release polymer was used, and the tablets were fabricated using Direct Powder Extrusion (DPE) Technology with pneumatic-based thermoplastic print heads. Key processing parameters, such as nozzle printing speed, infill density, printhead temperature, …