Digital Commons Network^™

A Case Of Monocular Diplopia In The Setting Of High-Grade Urothelial Bladder Carcinoma Treated With Pembrolizumab, Leanne Dumeny, Joana Nuraj, Roshni Bisoondial, Nicole Moscoso, Arvinder Singh, Lorena Bonilla Md

Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

Case Presentation: We present the case of a 70-year-old male with a history of highgrade urothelial carcinoma who had been treated with multiple cycles of immune checkpoint treatment, pembrolizumab, presenting to the emergency department with worsening bone pain, abdominal discomfort, and hematuria.

Clinical Course: He reported blurry vision and monocular diplopia in the right eye for the past month. Physical examination revealed an inability to fully track with the right eye along with fatigue-induced diplopia, raising concerns for metastatic or immunotherapy-related ocular involvement. Imaging primarily revealed metastatic disease in the right orbital apex involving the rectus muscles, intraconal fat, and …

From Crisis To Commitment: How Covid-19 Reshaped Motivation In Small Business Organizational Culture, Boone G. Depenbrock

Honors Theses

This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped employee motivation and organizational culture in small businesses and explores the role of job characteristics in that process. Using an online survey administered to small business employees and owners, respondents reported their experiences before, during, and after the pandemic across validated measures of motivation, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, goal internalization, turnover intentions, and core job design factors. After data cleaning, 21 responses were analyzed. Results showed statistically significant increases in organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and goal internalization after COVID-19, along with a decrease in turnover intentions. Internal work motivation showed a small, …

Beyond Baseball: A Case Study On The Multipurpose Venue Management Practices Of Giants Enterprises, Collette Grace Madden

Experience Industry Management

The success of sports organizations no longer relies on team performance and game attendance. Giants Enterprises utilizes many guest engagement and destination development strategies to expand the brand reach of the San Francisco Giants. The purpose of this study was to examine how Giants Enterprises has positioned Oracle Park and Mission Rock as premier event destinations beyond baseball, with a focus on best practices in event diversification, experience design, and placemaking. A case study was conducted on Giants Enterprises to analyze what event diversification, experience design, and placemaking tactics were utilized as well as their effectiveness. The results of this …

The Impact Of Multiple Measure Placement In Determining College Readiness On Student Perceived Readiness, Steven A. Szeszko Ii

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to propose a qualitative grounded theory study that explores the impact of multiple measures placement on determining college readiness as perceived by students, specifically within a community college located in South Central Texas. During the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities found themselves needing an alternative method to the traditional college placement testing to determine student readiness for college courses. This change impacted not only the higher education sector but also students. Therefore, this study will collect data from approximately 20 students, through the use of open-ended electronic student questionnaires and interviews, filtered for patterns …

Translational Research On Color Vision: From Mechanisms To Performance Enhancement In Diverse Settings, Jewearly Lundby

Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the mechanisms and applications for optimizing color vision performance across diverse contexts. In a world where color cues augment critical decisions to optimize performance and safety in transportation (e.g., aviation, railway), military, law enforcement, medical diagnostics, and myriad occupational tasks, deficiencies in color perception pose significant challenges. By uniting four interrelated studies, this work explored intrinsic retinal processes, assistive technologies for deficiencies, and novel pathways that challenge conventional understandings of vision. The research bridged fundamental vision science with applications in occupational settings, low vision rehabilitation, and clinical diagnostics, ultimately aiming to optimize color performance.

The first study …

The Importance Of Leader-Member Exchange And Psychological Contracts In Highly Qualified Researchers, Robin L. Ingerick Dba

Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the significance of the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) and psychological contracts in United States-based research organizations. When the organization-manager-employee relationship deteriorates, psychological contract breaches can occur, negatively affecting employee outcomes and the organization's financial success and stability. Existing knowledge highlights several factors that influence relationships, including reciprocated treatment, work behaviors and reactions, trust, professional respect, affect, mutual interaction, work autonomy, communication, job satisfaction, and fulfillment. The study sought to determine to what extent is there a predictive relationship between LMX and psychological contracts (employee obligations, employer obligations, fulfillment, and contract transitions) of highly qualified United States-based …

Terre Haute Residential Design, Kimberly Smith

2025 Fall Reports (Terre Haute)

After meeting with Maitri Desai and Caleb Williams, the project scope was finalized and included a one- or one-and-a-half story home with two to three-bedrooms; the design of the house was to reflect typical architecture styles within the neighborhood surrounding the 19th and Beech streets. The design was to reflect a modest home within the price range of $125,000 and 1400 square feet. Students conducted a site visit to the proposed area to assess the development site; during this visit additional information was gathered by the students such as site analysis and walkability of the neighborhood. Further research was conducted …

Interpretive Education Stations: Keeping Terre Haute Informed, Sara E. Watson

2025 Fall Reports (Terre Haute)

Public communication of scientific findings is an important, but often neglected, part of creating solutions to environmental issues facing our communities. To address this gap, students from the ENVI 110: Introduction to Environmental Sciences class worked in small groups to design education stations to be placed around the city of Terre Haute to inform the public about topics in environmental sciences with relevance to local residents. Themes identified by ENVI 110 students for development into interpretive installations include, but are not limited to, food waste, identification of native and invasive plant and animal species, wastewater treatment, conventional and organic farming …

Identifying Climate-Appropriate Tree Species, Christy Pearison

2025 Fall Reports (Terre Haute)

The Tree Species Sustainability Symposium project was developed through a partnership between BUS 100-004 students at Indiana State University and the City of Terre Haute as part of the Sustainable Cities Program. The city’s goal for this project was to strengthen public awareness of climate-appropriate tree species, promote biodiversity, and encourage community participation in preserving Terre Haute’s award-winning urban tree canopy. Students collaborated with city and university sustainability leaders to research native tree species best suited for Terre Haute’s environment, focusing on Sycamore, Red Maple, and Eastern Redbud trees. These species were selected for their ecological benefits, resilience to climate …

Building Community Resilience For Disasters In The Wabash Valley, Nathan Myers

2025 Fall Reports (Terre Haute)

As part of the 2025 Indiana State University Sustainable Cities Initiative, we worked on two interconnected research projects: conducting a community needs assessment (as requested by Catholic Charities) and developing a climate-related disaster plan for the City of Terre Haute, Indiana. To complete this work, a student research team examined current statistical information for the Wabash Valley region (including Vigo, Clay, Parke, Vermillion, and Sullivan counties), as well as conducting and analyzing interviews, focus groups, and survey data to determine strengths, challenges, opportunities, and threats related to community resilience in the area. This same information, in conjunction with information from …

Reimagining Terre Haute's Parks: Smart Parks For A Connected Community, Natasha Rascon

2025 Fall Reports (Terre Haute)

Through collaborations with the City of Terre Haute, the following community issue was identified: Resiliency Education (RE-1) Smart parks - Sign designs, Web page design, a community survey to determine park attendance, ideas for ways to track park attendance, recommendations for improvements in high-risk parks, Finding and/or helping with grant applications. To address the identified community issue, students enrolled in Comm495 Senior Capstone partnered with the City of Terre Haute to provide possible solutions. The students in this class conducted research to identify areas of opportunity relevant to the city of Terre Haute to produce their suggestions. The students formed …

The Leaf Composition & Sustainability Initiative, Christy Pearison

2025 Fall Reports (Terre Haute)

The LEAF Composition & Sustainability Initiative was developed by students in BUS 100-005 in collaboration with the City of Terre Haute and Indiana State University’s Office of Sustainability. The primary goal of this project was to raise awareness of leaf and organic waste management, encourage composting, and strengthen community engagement around sustainable practices. Students explored the environmental impact of leaf waste and food waste, discovering that while the United States produces approximately 66 million tons of food waste annually, only a small percentage is composted. Locally, Terre Haute sends thousands of tons of yard waste to landfills each month—material that …

Building The Housing Justice Pipeline: Law Schools’ Role In The Right To Counsel Movement, Housing Justice Leadership Institute

Reports

No abstract provided.

December 1 Elections, Census & Redistricting Update, Jeffrey M. Wice

Elections, Census & Redistricting Updates

No abstract provided.

Israeli Hasbara And The Nba’S Palestine Exception: The Impossibility Of Capitalist “Social Justice”, Chen Chen, Anthony J. Weems, Roc Rochon, Daniel Sailofsky

Sport Management Collection

Sport is a notable site for the Israeli state in its hasbara (public diplomacy, or “explaining”) effort that seeks to normalize the conditions of ethnic cleansing, illegal settlement, and apartheid practices in historic and occupied Palestine. Against the backdrop of the genocide in Gaza and the lack of international sport sanctions against Israeli teams, this paper maps several hasbara activities/attempts featuring the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the last decade. This is a worthwhile case, not least because of the NBA’s self-branding as a socially “progressive” league composed of a primarily Black/African American athletic workforce. Two major observations are made: …

Beyond The Price Tag: Unveiling The Hidden Impacts Of Tariffs On Businesses And Consumer Behavior, Jacob D. Haas

Honors Theses

In an era marked by global trade disruptions and rising protectionist policies, firms must navigate the complex interaction between tariffs, supply chain strategy, pricing decisions, and marketing communication. This thesis investigates how three multinational corporations Walmart, Nike, and Apple responded strategically to shifting tariff environments and trade restrictions between 2018 and 2025. Drawing on primary data from corporate 10-K filings and secondary analyses from recent economic and management literature, the study examines how each firm’s decisions regarding sourcing diversification, cost management, and consumer engagement contributed to long-term resilience.

Findings reveal that companies integrating supply chain adaptability with coherent pricing and …

Ticking Away: A Study On How Multiple Sclerosis Patients In The Us And Australia Navigate Their Day, Ella M. Stahl

Honors Theses

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that damages the nervous system. Individuals diagnosed with MS experience a wide variety of symptoms, the most common being fatigue and numbness in the hands and feet. This disease affects close to three million people worldwide. Current research shows that individuals with chronic conditions spend more time managing their medical issues, therefore impacting their quality of life. This study compares time use of Multiple Sclerosis patients in the US and Australia. The central investigative question is: what are the differences and similarities in time use of those diagnosed with MS in the United …

A Closer Look At Your Closet: An Analysis Of Consumer Desires, Fast Fashion’S Negative Harms, And Sustainable Solutions For Change, Sarah Hallman

Honors Theses

This thesis serves as an in-depth analysis of the fast fashion industry as it relates to consumers and seeks to identify and promote changes to enhance sustainability with a focus on reusing and repurposing secondhand clothing. The fast fashion industry is unique in its business model, means of production, and harm associated with it. It thrives on the exploitation of consumer desires that silently influence what and how consumers purchase clothing. Through an analysis of consumer desires and the harms associated with the industry through a literary discussion of scholarly articles previously written on these topics, solutions for both businesses …

Look For Opportunities To Increase Continuity Of Care In Medical Education, Hannah Ward Md

Faculty Development Tips

No abstract provided.

A Randomized Study To Examine The Ability Of A Caffeine-Based Energy Drink To Impact Energy Expenditure, Fat Oxidation, And Cognitive Performance, Joesi Krieger, Alex Schrautemeier, Anthony M. Hagele, Connor Gaige, Olivia Mennemeyer, Sydney Tolbert, Joshua Iannotti, Chad Kerksick, Chris Noonan, Petey Mumford

Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: This study evaluated the effects of acute and 28-day supplementation with a caffeine-based energy drink on energy expenditure, fat oxidation, and cognitive performance.

Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 33 males and 27 females (27 ± 8 years, 26.7 ± 2.2 m/kg2) consumed a caffeinated energy drink (200 mg; CAF) or placebo (PLA) for 28 days. Indirect calorimetry assessed energy expenditure and fat oxidation at 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min after ingestion on day 1 and 28. Cognition assessments (Dynavision reaction, Serial Sevens, Trail Making Test A (TMT-A) and B (TMT-B)) were performed at 0, …

Differences In Total Daily Energy Expenditure Across Field Sports: A Narrative Review, Brenen Skalitzky, Jennifer Fields, Margaret T. Jones, Chad Kerksick, Andrew Jagim

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Differences in total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) across sports, sex, and skill level support the need for sport- and athlete-specific energy intake recommendations. The purpose of the current review was to examine TDEE and related markers of energy expenditure across field-based team sports. A secondary aim was to evaluate physical activity levels (PAL), calculated as TDEE divided by resting metabolic rate (RMR), and their utility in estimating energy needs within team sports.

Methods: The review was limited to studies that included the field-based team sports of rugby or soccer and reported energy expenditure data using doubly labeled water …

U.S. Military Veterans And Socioeconomic Opportunities: A Financial Lens On National Public Service, Corri Zoli, Linda Euto, Rosalinda Maury

The Lender Center for Social Justice

This brief offers policy-relevant insights into how military service is an important lever for socioeconomic opportunity and social mobility in the United States. Drawing on the social science literature and recent data from federal sources, this brief focuses on the many financial advantages that result from service, whether due to standardized military pay rates, military networks, or military and veterans’ benefits, from the GI Bill to housing allowances. Such financial advantages from service may also reduce socioeconomic disparities and create economic opportunities for military service members, from building intergenerational wealth to becoming homeowners, including for underrepresented minority service members.

Combining Pirfenidone With Mycophenolate Mofetil For Systemic Sclerosis-Related Interstitial Lung Disease (Scleroderma Lung Study Iii): An Investigator-Initiated, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2 Trial, Dinesh Khanna, Cathie Spino, Donald P Tashkin, Elana J Bernstein, Jonathan Goldin, Eric C Kleerup, Airi Harui, Grace Ibrahim, Grace Hyun J Kim, Suiyuan Huang, Richard Mclain, Yi-Hsuan Tu, Vivek Nagaraja, Richard M Silver, Virginia D Steen, S Samuel Weigt, Joyce S Lee, Aryeh Fischer, Mary Beth Scholand, Jessica K Gordon, Paul F Dellaripa, Ivan O Rosas, Gary M Hunninghake, Marcin A Trojanowski, Robert W Simms, Jane E Dematte, Vivien M Hsu, Robyn T Domsic, Ganesh Raghu, Maureen D Mayes, Ryan D Boente, Michael D Roth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) can stabilize or improve lung function in systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). We hypothesized that combining MMF with pirfenidone (PFD) would produce a significantly more rapid and/or greater improvement in lung function.

Methods: A randomized (1:1), double-blind, placebo (PLA)-controlled phase 2 trial was conducted in SSc-ILD in which patients received PFD or PLA (801 mg three times daily) along with MMF (1,500 mg twice daily) for 18 months. The primary outcome was change in percent predicted forced vital capacity (FVC-%). Linear mixed-effects models assessed treatment differences in a modified intention-to-treat population.

Results: Only fifty-one of …

A Model For Training Management System Implementation In Higher Education, David J. Rowe

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an era where innovation and adaptability are critical to institutional success, the practical training and development of employees in higher education organizations have become essential. This study examined stakeholders’ perceptions of cloud-based Training Management System (TMS) implementation within California Higher Education systems, including both the California Community College (CCC) and the California State University (CSU). Although a TMS offers substantial benefits for administering training programs, large systems face challenges due to uneven adoption across campuses, leading to inefficiencies, regulatory non-compliance, and hindered workforce development. This research identified and evaluated technology, organizational, and environmental critical success factors influencing TMS implementation …

Synergistic Effect Of Acacia (Cassia Siamea) Leaves Extract In Green Synthesis Of Ag/Tio2 Nanostructures For Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Joseph Adebanji, Gabriel Alamu, Khadijat Babalola, Ayodele Abiodun, Oludele Adegboyega, Hakeem Oyeshola, Oluwaseun Adedokun, Yekinni Sanusi

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

The green-synthesized silver-titanium dioxide (Ag/TiO2) nanocomposite was successfully produced in this study by the synergistic effects of the Cassia siamea leaf extract. In the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, the absorbance improved when the nanoparticle was incorporated into TiO2. The energy gap of the composite reduced as the absorbance increased. Numerous functional groups in the formation of NP were detected by FTIR, and their possible role in NP formation was suggested. The synthesized nanoparticles and nanocomposites were found to be crystalline with X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) studies. The average crystallite size of the nanoparticle was 3.95 nm compared to nanocomposite …

Comprehensive Drought Analysis: Machine Learning-Based Meterological Drought Forecasting And Pca-Driven Agricultural Drought Monitoring., Bishal Poudel

Theses

Drought is a long-term natural disaster that affects many aspects of human life from health, water supply to ecosystems and agriculture. Drought’s occurrence and intensity has increased in recent years because of global warming, which urges for proper and accurate monitoring and forecasting of drought. For better understanding of droughts, this study uses two approaches. In first part, the study uses the historical temperature and precipitation data from period of 1960 to 2021 as input features for three different machine learning models – Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest (RF). The research focuses on calculating …

Multiple Bursts Of Speciation In Madagascar’S Endangered Lemurs, Kathryn M. Everson, Luca Pozzi, Meredith A. Barrett, Mary E. Blair, Mariah E. Donohue, Peter M. Kappeler, Andrew C. Kitchener, Alan R. Lemmon, Emily Moriarty Lemmon, Carlos J. Pavón-Vázquez, Ute Radespiel, Blanchard Randrianambinina, Rodin M. Rasoloarison, Solofonirina Rasoloharijaona, Christian Roos, Jordi Salmona, Anne D. Yoder, Rosana Zenil-Ferguson, Dietmar Zinner, David W. Weisrock

Biology Faculty Publications

Lemurs are often cited as an example of adaptive radiation, as more than 100 extant species have evolved and filled ecological niches on Madagascar. However, recent work suggests that lemurs lack a hallmark of other adaptive radiations: explosive speciation rates that decline over time. Thus, characterizing the tempo and mode of evolution in lemurs can reveal alternative ways that hyperdiverse clades arise over time, which might differ from traditional models. We explore lemur evolution using a phylogenomic dataset with broad taxonomic sampling that includes the lorisiforms of Asia and continental Africa. Our analyses reveal multiple bursts of diversification (without subsequent …

Machine Learning-Based Detection Of Covert Data Exfiltration Via Electromagnetic Side-Channel Emissions From Computer Memory In Air-Gapped Systems, Oladapo Akintoye Ajike

All Theses

Air-gapped computer systems are physically isolated from unsecured networks. Though isolated, they remain vulnerable to covert data exfiltration via electromagnetic side channels and other covert-channel attacks. This research presents a comprehensive approach to detecting electromagnetic data exfiltration by establishing a controlled laboratory environment using low-cost, readily available hardware components. The study shows a proof-of-concept covert data transmission system that exploits electromagnetic emissions from computer memory access patterns through software-controlled Random Access Memory (RAM) operations.

The research methodology involved developing a C++ transmitter program that modulates CPU and memory-intensive operations to generate detectable electromagnetic signals at 100 MHz frequency, and implementing …

Carbon Sequestration And Greenhouse Gas Emission Dynamics Of Forage Sorghum Cultivars In Southern Texas, Kusalika Madushani Kularathna

All Theses

Carbon sequestration is one of the major strategies for removing atmospheric carbon dioxide and fixing it in the soil and plants. The research study focused on the carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas dynamics of three different forage sorghum cultivars: Sugar Graze Ultra (annual), PSH20TX01 (perennial seeded), and PSH09TX15 (perennial rhizomes), in Southern Texas, where each cultivar had nine plots. The field study was conducted over two growing seasons, in 2024 and 2025, at the Prairie View A&M University research farm. Three different fertilizer rates, recommended, half-recommended, and zero fertilizer rates, were applied. Soil greenhouse gas emissions were measured using a …

Integrating Semi-Supervised Learning And Ensemble Deep Learning For Low-Resource Deep Knowledge Tracing, Uchechukwu Melody Okechukwu

All Theses

As learning platforms scale, two obstacles prevent Deep Knowledge Tracing (DKT) from thriving in practice: the scarcity of labeled interactions and the opacity of predictions. We introduced a semi-supervised, ensemble DKT pipeline that trains diverse architectures, including Knowledge Proficiency Tracing (KPT), Exercise-Correlated KPT (EKPT), and Dynamic Key-Value Memory Networks (DKVMN) on a mixture of limited labeled and abundant unlabeled learner interactions, then aggregates predictions via majority voting to stabilize learning and reduce variance. Evaluated on benchmark datasets such as ASSISTments, the combined approach yields consistent gains in AUC, accuracy, and precision over strong supervised baselines while revealing influential interactions, surfacing …