Digital Commons Network^™

Religious Festivals In The Age Of ‘Lockdown’ And ‘Social Distancing’: A Comparative Study Of Easter, Eid, Passover, Rama Navami, And Vaisakhi., Irfan Raja, Rev. Ruth Dowson, Abdul Basit Shaikh, Ivan Cohen, Nasser N. Alotaibi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religious practices can conjure distinctive ideas and images for different groups of people, especially religious festivals, which are signs of congregations, celebrations, and contentment, usually to mark the completion of religious obligations. All major religions celebrate notable festivals to mark important events and religious obligations that bring together followers of that faith. The year 2020 will be remembered as unique in the history of all faiths. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, governments across the world announced compulsory measures such as ‘social distancing’ and ‘lockdown’ to avoid the spread of Coronavirus. Thus, all major religions either cancelled or reduced …

Analysis Of Pilgrimage To The Evangelical Lutheran Church In Zimbabwe (Elcz) Mission Centres, Rabson Hove

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is usually a sacred journey undertaken by religious adherents to holy places associated with their own traditions. As religions grow, religious pilgrimage also expands as the members of the religious traditions continue to influence each other. These holy religious centres influence religious enrichment, enhancement, strength and growth. Members get in touch with their origins and the history of the expansion of their religion as they encounter their holy sites or centres. In the case of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ), their important holy sites are missionary centres which are commonly located in rural Zimbabwe. The majority …

Exploring How Religious Tourism Influences The Motivation Of Young Thai Tourists In Bangkok., Arisara Seyanont

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religious tourism in Thailand encompasses a wide range of tourism related to religion, including traditional festivals and various religious activities. Today, temples or religious places in Thailand have become tourist attractions that people pay attention to, including groups of teenagers. Young Thai tourists show interest and travel to temples to ask for blessings, seek more amulets, and participate in Dharma practices. Within this context, this study aims to explore the components of religious tourism that influence the motivation of young Thai tourists in Bangkok. The components of religious tourism consist of 5 dimensions: 1) architectural design, painting, and sculpture; 2) …

Defamiliarizing Pilgrimage Literature: Humour In Al-Māzinī’S Journey To The Hijāz, Boutheina Khaldi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Pilgrimages to Holy Places in Mecca and Medina have spawned a rich repertoire of travel literature by Nahḍa luminaries at the beginning of the twentieth century, however, few studies have been written about their travel accounts. This paucity of research might be ascribed to the view that accounts of pilgrimage tend to be highly formulaic and instructive rather than literary. By examining the ʿUmra (lesser pilgrimage) travelogue of the prominent Egyptian intellectual, literary critic, Romantic poet, novelist and journalist, Ibrāhīm ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Māzinī (d. 1949) entitled Riḥlat al-Ḥijāz (1930), this paper argues that pilgrimage travelogues can in fact defy the …

Imposter Phenomenon In A New Library Position, Karlene T. Clark

Librarian Posters and Presentations

This past year, Karlene moved into a reference position and went through a period of self doubt. This presentation will provide resources for others going through transitions at work, including academic resources and ways to calm and reassure yourself.

Draft Final 2025 Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) Butte Koa Playground Soil Remedial Action Work Plan (Rawp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Open Distance Learning’S Transformative Potential To Bridge Educational Disparities While Fostering Inclusive Growth, Khalid Ghoulam

Higher Learning Research Communications

In recent years—during and after COVID-19—the demand for flexible and accessible education surged across the continent, prompting numerous institutions to adopt and expand their Open Distance Learning (ODL) initiatives. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of ODL programs in African universities while exploring the state of ODLs and examining institutional strategies, technological advancements, and ODL’s impact on student accessibility and success. Using case study analyses, which contain data from African universities from various regions, this paper highlights current ODL insights and future directions. This paper also discusses ODL best practices and implementation challenges, and delves into the socioeconomic and cultural …

Digging Deeper With Deep Ram Networks, Andrew J. Wagner

Dissertations and Theses

While Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have driven major breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, their internal complexity often makes their behavior hard to explain, resulting in the well-known “black box” dilemma. This thesis addresses the challenge of interpretability in DNNs and deep reinforcement learning (DRL) through two main contributions.

In Part I, we revisit and extend the use of Deep RAM Networks (DRNs) within the Arcade Learning Environment (ALE), showing that, with modern architectures and careful hyperparameter tuning, RAM-based agents can achieve performance competitive with established pixel-based baselines on Atari 2600 games, while offering additional advantages for research and analysis. We also …

Post-Rt Head And Neck Dce-Mri: Association Between Mandibular Dose And Ve, Brandon Reber, Renjie He, Moamen R Abdelaal, Abdallah S R Mohamed, Samuel L Mulder, Laia Humbert Vidan, Clifton D Fuller, Stephen Y Lai, Kristy K Brock

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) is a functional imaging modality that can quantify tissue permeability and blood flow. Due to vasculature changes resulting from radiation therapy (RT), DCE-MRI quantitative parameters should be significantly different in regions receiving a high radiation dose compared to regions receiving a low radiation dose. This study sought to determine whether a significant difference exists in post-head-and-neck-cancer (HNC)-RT DCE-MRI quantitative parameters (Ktrans and ve) between regions of the mandible receiving a high radiation dose and regions of the mandible receiving a low radiation dose.

Methods: DCE-MRI was acquired from HNC subjects post-RT. The DCE-MRI …

Replacement Reply Brief For Plaintiff-Appellant Mona Salcida Murillo, Madeline H. Meth

Faculty Scholarship

Defendants’ response brief contains a laundry list of all the ways they think Mona Murillo fell short in trying to vindicate her rights to be free from sex discrimination and retaliation while incarcerated at Salinas Valley State Prison. They devote page after page to cataloging the regulations that govern her claims, describing the intricacies of the three-tiered grievance system, and recounting her repeated efforts to navigate that morass. And from all of that, they draw the conclusion that Murillo’s lawsuit should be thrown out of court.

In the process, Defendants take the exhaustion requirement to an extreme that even the …

Rogue Wave Patterns Associated With Adler–Moser Polynomials In The Nonlocal Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation, Tingyou Wang, Zhenyun Qin, Gui Mu, Fuzhuang Zheng, Zhijun Qiao

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this paper, novel rogue wave patterns in the nonlocal nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLS) are investigated by means of asymptotic analysis, including heart-pentagon, oval-triangle, and fan-triangle. It is demonstrated that when multiple free parameters get considerably large, rogue wave patterns can approximately be predicted by the root structures of Adler–Moser polynomials. These polynomials, which extend the Yablonskii–Vorob’ev polynomial hierarchy, exhibit richer geometric shapes in their root distributions. The (x,t)-plane is partitioned into three regions and through a combination of asymptotic results in different regions, unreported rogue wave patterns can be probed. Predicted solutions are compared with true rogue waves in …

All-Optical Voltage Interrogation For Probing Synaptic Plasticity In Vivo, Jacques Carolan, Michelle A Land, Xiaoyu Lu, Maxime Beau, Dimitar Kostadinov, François St-Pierre, Beverley A Clark, Michael Häusser

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Measuring synaptic efficacy and defining the rules for induction of synaptic plasticity at identified connections in the mammalian brain is essential for understanding how synapses contribute to learning and memory. This requires new approaches to selectively evoke presynaptic activity and measure postsynaptic responses with high spatiotemporal resolution and high sensitivity over long periods in vivo. Here we develop an all-optical approach to probe synaptic plasticity at identified cerebellar synapses in awake, behaving mice. We developed and applied JEDI-2Psub, a genetically encoded voltage indicator with increased sensitivity around resting membrane potentials, to record subthreshold and suprathreshold activity in Purkinje cell (PC) …

Preventive Settlement As A Preventive Means To Safeguarding Troubled Businesses From Bankruptcy: An Analysis Of The Uae Law, Prof. Mohammad Al Armman

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Papers | بحوث هيئة التدريس المحكمة

his study explores the legal framework surrounding the preventive settlement method and its potential to mitigate bankruptcy risks for troubled commercial enterprises. It enables debtors in financial distress to petition the competent court for protection, helping them avoid default and bankruptcy proceedings. The research employs qualitative and analytical approaches, focusing on the UAE Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy Law No. 51 of 2023 (FRBL) and relevant case law. The findings indicate that preventive settlement procedures facilitate creditors in recovering their dues, which has a positive impact on the national economy. Consequently, the study recommends incorporating Article 57 FRBL, a requirement that …

Peña-Rodriguez V. Colorado And The Racial Animus Exception To The No-Impeachment Rule: Extending And Exception To Suspect Classes That Experience Pervasive Bias In The Jury System, Taariq Lewis

Florida Law Review

During an inquiry into the validity of a verdict, Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b) prohibits jurors from testifying about statements made or incidents that occurred during jury deliberations, including jurors' subjective mental processes used in reaching the verdict. This rule is often called the "no-impeachment" rule. The no-impeachment rule promotes the finality of verdicts, facilitates free and vibrant discussion by jurors without fear their verdict will be questioned, and ensures that jurors are not harassed by litigants seeking to challenge their verdict. However, in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado, the Court held that a defendant's …

An Economic Approach To Reglious Exemptions, Stephanie H. Barclay

Florida Law Review

Externalities caused by religious exemptions have been getting the spotlight again in light of a case the U. S. Supreme Court will hear this term: Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. Some argue that religious individuals should be required to internalize the costs they impose on third parties and thus should be denied the right to practice that harmful behavior. These new progressive theories about harm trade on rhetoric and normative intuitions regarding externalities and costs. But curiously, these theories also largely ignore an influential theoretical movement that has studied externalities and costs for the last fifty years: law and …

Differentiating Exclusionary Tendencies, John Infranca

Florida Law Review

Despite an academic consensus that easing land use regulations to increase the supply of housing can help lower housing prices, local opposition to new development remains prevalent. Onerous zoning regulations and resistance to new housing persist not only in wealthy suburbs, but also in lower income urban neighborhoods. In addition to making housing more expensive, such policies increase residential segregation, exacerbate urban sprawl, and have detrimental environmental effects. If increasing supply tends to reduce costs, what explains this opposition, particularly during a period of rising housing costs?

One factor is concern about the localized costs of greater density and its …

"Cold Words, Heartless And Miserable": Tolkien's Approach To Supernatural Horror, Dylan L. Henderson

Journal of Tolkien Research

For the most part, scholars of supernatural horror do not consider J. R. R. Tolkien a contributor to that genre, a conclusion supported by many Tolkien specialists. And yet, horror plays a major role in many of Tolkien’s works, specifically The Lord of the Rings. Indeed, “Fog on the Barrow-downs” is basically a tale of supernatural horror that Tolkien has incorporated into his epic. This article examines that chapter in that context, comparing it to a similar short story by E. F. Benson, and this approach not only highlights the links between Tolkien and contemporaneous supernatural horror—the shares themes …

Tax Trends, E. S. Linett

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Tax Clinic, Thomas S. Oehring

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 Resilience In Indigenous Communities: A Community Capitals Approach, Kristin A. Drexler, Michelle Watts, Casey Skvorc, Bridget Kimsey

Journal of Indigenous Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on rural American Indian/Alaska Native communities. During our multi-year study, in-depth interview data was collected in Indigenous communities from over 160 Tribal leaders and members in Alaska, New Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. In interviews, participants shared their lived experience during the pandemic, both negative impacts and factors of resilience. This article focuses on the methodology and theoretical framework of Community Capitals Framework (CCF). Using CCF, interview data was coded and analyzed using a modified CCF model. Our study aims to better understand how Indigenous communities and leaders drew on human and socio-cultural …

Tax Trends, E. S. Linett

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Spotlight, Robert F. Manning

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Review Of Mingas+Solidarity, Joshua Lockyer

Communal Societies

No abstract provided.

Review Of Unveiled: A Story Of Surviving Gloriavale, William J. Metcalf

Communal Societies

No abstract provided.

Review Of America’S Utopian Moment: Essays On The Fourierist Movement And Its Context, Amy Hart

Communal Societies

No abstract provided.

Tax Trends, E. S. Linett

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Nurses' Familiarity With Emergency Preparedness In Four Private Hospitals In Western Indonesia, Marisa Junianti Manik, Ade Lisatria Telaumbanua, Ribka Meinar Harja Gea, Trisno Berkat Damai Telaumbanua

General Submissions: Clinical Settings Materials

Nurses play a vital role in disaster management by helping to reduce the long-term health effects of disasters. Preparedness involves a series of activities to anticipate and lessen losses. Studies from 2014 to 2019 showed that 45.8% to 78.5% of hospital nurses in various Asian countries had less than ideal preparedness for disasters and lacked awareness. The study aimed to describe nurses’ familiarity with emergency preparedness in four private hospitals in western Indonesia in April 2021. It used a quantitative descriptive approach with the translated Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire, comprising eight indicators. The sample included nurses from four private hospitals …

The Path Toward Spiritual Activism: Queer Latinx/A/O College Student (Muxerista) Activism As Sites Of Resistance, Hope, Joy, And Futurity, Roberto C. Orozco, J. Audra Williams

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This study examined collaborators’ engagement in activism as sites of resistance, hope, joy, and futurity. We answer the following research question: In what ways do Muxeristas (Revilla, 2012), or queer Latinx/a/o college student activists, envision and act on kinship and liberation in their activism? We conceptualize our response to this question through Anzaldúa’s (2002, 2015) concept of spiritual activism. Our data analysis articulates three main components of a spiritual activism practice for Muxeristas (Revilla, 2012), which include: 1) engaging in forms of resistance through a queer and feminist world-making, 2) centering joy and love with and for each other as …

Spiritual Grounding In Sacred Soil: The Picuris/Peñasco Valley As A Model For Catholic Unity Across Cultures, Gabriel Antonio Gonzales

Master of Theological Studies Honors Theses

This thesis examines the Picuris/Peñasco Valley of Northern New Mexico as a unique case study for understanding Catholic unity amidst cultural plurality and historical tension. The study investigates how the confluence of Picuris Pueblo (Tiwa) Indigenous spirituality and Hispano/Spanish Colonial Catholic traditions has forged a profoundly localized and resilient faith community. Drawing upon historical analysis of colonial resistance, cultural anthropology, and theological reflection, this work argues that the concept of sacred land (sacred soil) functions as the central unifying principle. It reveals how the shared commitment to the land facilitated a process of religious and cultural syncretism, creating a form …

The Indiana Statesman, October 2, 2025, Indiana State University

Student Newspaper

20th annual Bat Festival; Student Market coming to the fountain