Digital Commons Network^™

Cc Magazine Spring 2026, Connecticut College

Alumni News/Connecticut College Magazine

No abstract provided.

Cc Magazine Spring 2026, Connecticut College

Alumni News/Connecticut College Magazine

No abstract provided.

Nh Ece Data Collection Efforts Running Inventory, Jess Carson, Evan England, Tyrus Parker

New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium

Updated April 2026!

The NH ECE Research Consortium maintains an inventory of current and complete NH ECE-relevant data collection efforts. Included are surveys, interviews, focus groups, needs assessments, and other ways people in the field collect information. The inventory strengthens public access for data users, improves awareness and coordination among researchers, and minimizes duplication.

Law Over Water: Piracy And The Yemen Civil War, Case Western Reserve University School Of Law

Yemen Accountability Project (YAP)

"The Yemen Accountability Project (YAP) is proud to announce the publication of its seventh white paper, Piracy and the Yemen Civil War. Piracy is a crime of such gravity that it has been recognized as jus cogens—a peremptory norm of customary international law subject to universal jurisdiction, with states holding both the right and the obligation to prosecute pirates wherever they are found. Despite this universal prohibition, YAP has documented instances of piracy and associated violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed by parties to the Yemen Civil War, including hostage taking, torture, arbitrary detention, and the potential …

Using Exit Polls To Enhance Undergraduate Student Research Understanding, Corey Lang, Sarah Leclair, Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Working Papers

We examine the effect of participating in a survey of constituents on student attitudes toward research and civic engagement and student confidence in several “soft skills”. Each student was trained in human subjects research and survey procedures and spent between four and six hours conducting an in-person survey at a location appropriate for the survey's target. We explore the effects of student outcomes through analyzing qualitative post survey experience reflection papers in one class, and a comparison of pre and post poll responses to an assessment in another. The results suggest that participation in the activity was correlated with an …

Improving Student Behavior Through Physical Activity Breaks, Raymond Duve

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Students struggle to remain on-task throughout long periods of time in class. This results in off-task behaviors and a lack of focus. As a result, this keeps students from maximizing their achievement. Research has shown that classroom activity breaks can help reduce off-task behaviors and improve on-task behaviors for students. This inquiry-based research study aims to find out if classroom activity breaks can improve on-task behaviors, classroom enjoyment for the students, and student behavior. The study used a quantitative approach via a student survey, a tally chart, and behavior log. The findings showed that students had fewer off-task behaviors and …

Teaching Behavioral Expectations Explicitly And Its Effect On Classroom Behavior In Elementary Classrooms, Jasmine Leigh Spann

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This inquiry-based capstone project examined the impact of explicitly teaching behavioral expectations on student behavior and overall classroom functioning in an elementary classroom. The study was conducted in a third-grade classroom with 17 participating students over a six-week period. The identified problem was the loss of instructional time due to frequent minor disruptions, inconsistent transitions, and unclear behavioral expectations. The intervention focused on proactively teaching, modeling, practicing, and consistently reinforcing classroom expectations. Data was collected using quantitative behavior tracking logs, including the frequency of minor disruptions, major incidents, teacher redirections, and instructional time lost. Findings indicated a consistent decrease in …

Playing The Hermès Game: Quota Bags, Antitrust Law, And The Limits Of Consumer Protection In Luxury Markets, Madeleine Chou

William & Mary Business Law Review

Luxury fashion retail has become a behemoth of an industry. Through acquisitions and strong brand recognition, some brands have developed significant market power in the luxury retail space. Chief among these brands is Hermès, a luxury leather retail boutique known for its highly sought after quota bags, like the Birkin and the Kelly. Quota bags are handbags that can generally only be bought by customers who have developed a substantial purchase history and relationship with the brand. Through this sales model, Hermès has created what plaintiffs have alleged to be an antitrust tying scheme, in which the purchase of one …

Influencing Player Tension Using Spatial Composition: Revisiting And Extending The Yuan–Wang Framework, Jiafan Lu

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates how spatial composition in video game levels influences player tension and proposes a normalized quantitative formula based on existing spatial tension frameworks. The researcher independently created a single-player level and related quest in the video game Starfield. The quest, “Remnant of Tiangong” requires players to navigate a starstation containing a variety of spaces in a specific sequence. The researcher measured player tension through survey and biometric data and created a resulting tension curve. The researcher then compared the predicted tension curve to the resulting tension curve. The results show that the proposed formula accurately predicted players' …

Best Practices: Encouraging Player Use Of Verticality In Level Design, Hangtao Lin

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how design strategies influence player engagement with vertical spaces in combat-focused level design. The researcher applied strategies such as enemy density, cover placement, supply placement, and ranged enemy pressure to encourage players to move upward during combat. To examine this, the researcher created a custom single-player level in Dying Light using the developer tools to test multiple vertical routes and compare player behaviour across different spatial conditions. The researcher recorded player navigation patterns and spatial choices to evaluate how these strategies guided vertical engagement. The results indicate that all four strategies successfully encouraged vertical engagement, with cover …

To Work Or Not To Work? Lessons From Older Adults In Maine, Kimberly Snow, Mary Lou Ciolfi, Sarah Currie, Catherine Taylor

All Cutler Institute Publications

Work in later life is currently widely discussed for myriad reasons including that  many older adults want or need to work well past typical retirement age; employers  want and need the expertise, experience, and reliability of older workers; social and  health benefits often accompany later life work; anti-ageism awareness is  heightening the visibility and value of older workers; and economists and  demographers cite the importance of a dependable workforce that includes older  adults. The topic of later life work intersects with several other disciplines in social  science, business, health, technology, communications, and data collection - among  others - presenting opportunities …

Csbs Kudos, Spring 2026, University Of Northern Iowa. College Of Social And Behavioral Sciences.

CSBS Kudos

Contents:

--- Faculty Accolades
--- Retirements - Ken Atkinson, Gregory Bruess, Todd Evans, Mark Grey, James Hall, Wallace Hettle, Mary Losch
--- Promotions - Disa Cornish, Tyler O'Brien, Jayme Renfro, Eran Hanke, Kyle Endres
--- In Memoriam - Mary Louise Franken, John Johnson, Susan Welch, Charlotte C. Wells
--- $1.22 million grant to UNI’s Center for Civic Education
--- University of Northern Iowa receives $2.4 million grant to launch Humanities Hub
--- UNI announces restructuring to strengthen humanities and public service education
--- UNI launches online non-thesis Master of Arts in Geography
--- UNI teacher education program continues to boast …

Trialoguing About Engaging With Communication And Language In Relation To Mathematics And Its Education, David Pimm, Jenni Ingram, Núria Planas

The Mathematics Enthusiast

This is our introduction to the series of eight articles in the first part of the double special issue on the challenges of ‘Engaging with communication and language in relation to mathematics and its education’. In the current article, we think together about ‘communication’ and ‘language’ in relation to mathematics and its education, by turning to reflections and examples from our decades of work as researchers and teacher educators, and in response to the articles in this first part. Following the preamble, most reflections are presented in the form of a fresh trialogue, through which we share some perspectives and …

Equals In The Wild: How Mathematical Equality Is Talked About In Lessons, Robert Ward-Penny, Jenni Ingram, Kirstin Erath, Elizabeth Kimber, Núria Planas

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Equality is a nuanced concept in mathematics, and the equals sign is used and interpreted in different ways. During professional development in language-responsive teaching, a group of teachers discussed the use of ‘equals’ in algebra lessons. This article considers how three of these teachers went on to invoke equality in their classroom interactions when teaching other topics. The cases observed suggest constructive resonances between conceptions of ‘equals’ and geometric relationships, and include examples of teachers balancing precision with fluency. We argue that attention to language in one mathematical topic may extend helpfully to other topics, but this is not automatic.

Genre-Based Socialization Practices In Teaching And Learning Of Geometric Proof In Language Diverse Classrooms, Rabih El Mouhayar, Richard Barwell

The Mathematics Enthusiast

The present study reports on analysis of how two teachers in Lebanon, and their students navigated the learning and teaching of geometric proof in English, in a context in which Lebanese Arabic is the language of home and wider society. One of the teachers taught in a public school, the other in a private school. The study focuses on language socialization practices in the two grade-seven classrooms, in relation to the specific genre of geometric proof. The focus is not directly on proving as a cognitive process; rather, the study explores the interactional process of interpreting and constructing geometric proofs …

Bridging Theory And Practice: A Criminal Justice Course Collection, Penny Geyer

Open Educational Resources

Dr. Penny Geyer compiled a full reading list, course calendar, set of weekly discussion questions, in-class experiential exercises, a death penalty case-study module, and a final paper assignment into a single, organized course packet that can be easily accessed, revised and remixed by other instructors teaching theory-to-practice criminal justice courses.

The Role Of Institutes Of Higher Learning In Deepening Social Impact, Steve Loh, Janna Wong

Asian Management Insights

Institutes of higher learning do more than generate knowledge. At their best, they connect partners, evidence, policy and capability to make social impact more credible, cumulative and durable. 

Effects Of Ndbi With Just-In-Time Programming Of Vsds On Communication Of Children With Asd, Jenna M. Rogers

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a prominent neurological and developmental disability that often requires communication support, such as Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Visual Scene Displays (VSDs) are an AAC support that directly immerses in the user’s life, using images from real environments the user has or may experience. Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI) is an evidence-based approach to early intervention that targets social communication during naturalistic routines, including those who rely on AAC support to communicate. Despite recent research indicating that combining NDBI and AAC is a promising approach (Pope et al., 2024), no studies to date have examined …

Language And Polarization: A Psycholinguistic Analysis Of Political Communication During Trump's Second Term, Andrew Vera

IPHS 300: AI for Humanity

This project uses psycholinguistics—the systematic measurement of psychological orientation through language —to examine political communication from when Trump took office in his second presidency to the start of the Iran war—January 20, 2025 through February 28, 2026. I asked whether elite political language during this period reflects what Robert Putnam calls bonding social capital (inter -group reinforcement) or bridging social capital (cross-group connection), a dichotomy relevant to theory of democratic depolarization. To answer that, I scraped 16,707 documents —7,409 of Trump's Truth Social posts and 9,298 White House, State Department, and Department of Defense press releases —an d scored each …

Confident And Wrong : How Llm Miscalibration Mirrors The Dunning-Kruger Effect Across Ambiguity Levels, Maggie Grespin

IPHS 300: AI for Humanity

Psychology gave us the Dunning-Kruger effect, the observed pattern that a person is often overconfident when they fall in the lowest quartile of that skill’s proficiency. This research is interested in seeing if large language models (LLMs) suffer the same miscalibration of metacognitive skills. Using thirty deliberately ambiguous college-level math question prompts, this research assesses Claude Sonnet 4.6’s ability to interpret each question, provide an answer, and rate its own confidence without asking for clarification. Results show that while confidence appropriately drops at the moderate tier, it rebounds on the hardest questions (0.840) even as accuracy falls to 0.450. This …

Whose Vietnam War? How Llms Answer Contested History In Three Languages, Melissa Vu

IPHS 300: AI for Humanity

As a Vietnamese international student studying in the US, I grew up learning one version of the Vietnam War -or, as we call it in Vietnamese, the American War -in Vietnamese history classes, only to encounter different perspectives in American college classrooms. Taking Chinese language courses and spending a semester abroad in China sharpened this further as the same historical events looked different again through Chinese sources. These experiences made me aware of how language shapes the way information and historical knowledge get presented and understood. Since LLMs are trained on data reflecting many cultures and languages, I wanted to …

Know Thyself: A Conversation That Reveals How You Think: Adaptive Ai Assessment Across Eight Psychometrically Grounded Metrics, Adam Leider

IPHS 300: AI for Humanity

AI's ability to assess human cognitive and psychological patterns through natural conversation is an underexplored area with significant potential, particularly for college students navigating a demanding and overwhelming transitional period. This project involved selecting eight psychometrically grounded metrics, designing an adaptive question bank and detailed system prompt to govern the assessment conversation, building a second AI model to review and correct results before they are shown, and deploying the full application as a publicly accessible web tool. The result is a conversational assessment that delivers a personalized psychological profile, including strengths, areas for growth, metric interactions, and actionable suggestions in …

Physical And Behavioral Health Diagnoses And Comorbidities Associated With Transition From Military Health System To Veterans Health Care Among Post-­ 9/11 Veterans, Nikki R. Wooten, Megan E. Amaun, Madeline Meyers, Prince Nii Ossah Addo, Jeffery Bowers, Felicia R. Carey, Rudolph P. Rull, Edward J. Boyko, Nathaniel Bell, Ana Defede-Lopéz, Mary Jo V. Pugh

Faculty and Staff Publications

Objective

To identify factors associated with transitioning from Military Health System (MHS) to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care in post-9/11 veterans.

Study Setting and Design

Retrospective cohort study from the Long-Term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium Phenotype Study.

Data Sources and Analytic Sample

Population-level data were analyzed from MHS and VHA electronic health data (FY2000-2020). Participants received ≥ 3 years of MHS care and separated from the military before October 1, 2016. The primary outcome was transition from MHS to VHA care after military separation. Covariates included demographic, military, and deployment characteristics at military separation; physical, mental, and substance …

“He Should Be Primaried, And I Will Lead The Charge Against Him”: An Autopsy On The Decline Of Grassroots Organizing And Rhetoric In A Monetized Democracy, Chiara H. Baez

Research and Creativity Symposium

Protest movements in the US have been steadily declining, unable to keep up with changing rhetoric and societal expectations regarding First Amendment free speech. Seemingly overnight, protests have lost the ability to directly input the people’s voice into policymaking. Grassroots protest movements are being priced out of the political participation that was once accessible to them by Political Action Committees (PACs), and politicians are favoring pollsters’ skewed data over the public opinion expressed in organized protest. This has created a systemic barrier, halting the voice of the American people. Grassroots protest movements have not disappeared from the American political landscape; …

Dipl 6253 Wb Civil Conflict And Development, Omer Gokcekus Ph.D.

Diplomacy Syllabi

This course addresses one of the central challenges in post-conflict recovery, how to rebuild a viable economy that is able to meet the basic needs of the state and society. This course examines the economic consequences of civil wars and how states and international organizations have responded to the challenges of rebuilding post-conflict societies in light of weak national political institutions and economies with limited options. Students will appraise the possible tradeoffs that exist in forming governments that can protect property rights, reconstituting viable economies, and promoting peace across national territories. In evaluating the role of international actors (through foreign …

Dipl 3850/Core 3850 Church, State, And Politics In Latin America, Benjamin Goldfrank Phd

Diplomacy Syllabi

This course has two central objectives: to provide students with an understanding of the evolving role of religion in Latin American politics, with a primary emphasis on the role of Catholicism and the Catholic Church from the period of the Second Vatican Council until the present; and to provide students an opportunity to reflect on the normative questions of how religious beliefs and religious institutions should affect politics and of how different political systems and state policies should affect the practice of religion. Major themes, examined through both Catholic and non-Catholic perspectives, include the institutional relationship between the Catholic Church …

Dipl 3460 Intelligence Studies, Brendan J. Balestrieri Ph.D.

Diplomacy Syllabi

This course examines the history, institutions, people, and processes of intelligence as a critical element of national and international security. Using case studies, it will also look at some of the key intelligence missions, such as strategic warning, counterterrorism, counter proliferation, and counterinsurgency. This course will also look at the reorganization of the intelligence community after 9/11 and how rivalry among leading powers is influencing changes to intelligence. Lectures are important and will include a discussion period in each session as well as extensive use of case studies.

Issue 4 - Arete Newsletter - 2025, Liberty University

Arete Newsletter

Spring 2026

From Prediction To Prevention: How The Va Uses Analytics To Reduce Chronic Disease And Mental Health Risk, Leelakrishna Angadala

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Predictive analytics has become an essential component of preventive care strategies within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which serves a medically and psychosocially complex population at elevated risk for chronic disease and mental health conditions. This research examines how the VHA has leveraged predictive analytics to improve early identification, prevention, and targeted intervention for chronic illnesses and mental health disorders. Specifically, it explores established initiatives such as the Care Assessment Needs (CAN) score for identifying veterans at high risk of hospitalization or mortality, the Reach Out, Stay Strong, Essentials for Veterans (REACH VET) program for suicide risk prediction and prevention, …

Targeting The Metabolic-Neurodegenerative Axis: In Silico Repurposing Of Fda-Approved Pleiotropic Metabolic Modulators For Alzheimer's Tau Protein, Maanya Chitrapu, Juhi Vora

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Extensive research has established a link between insulin deficiency and insulin resistance and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) type-neurodegeneration, coining it "Type 3 Diabetes". While research typically focuses on glucose regulation, the comparative structural efficacy of broader metabolic agents against neuropathology remains distinctively underexplored. This study addresses this gap by performing a novel in silico comparison of three drug classes (Glucose, Lipid, and Cardio-Metabolic regulators) to identify superior scaffolds for obstructing the pathological Tau protein, which plays a major role in causing AD through its hyperphosphorylation. The Tau paired helical filament (PDB ID: 5O3L) was retrieved from the RCSB Protein Data Bank. …