Digital Commons Network^™

The Residual Impact Of Slavery On How Enslaved Black Females Defined And Made Meaning Of Sexual Violence: A Content Analysis, Suzanne R. Bates

Dissertations

Thompson-Miller & Picca (2016) and Feimster (2023) argued that enslaved African American women, and even free African Americans after the Civil War were victims of non-consensual sexual activity and rape. The NISVS report revealed that before the age of 18 years old, 35.5% of African American women experienced contact sexual violence, 29.5% experienced non-contact unwanted sexual encounters, and 20.7% experienced rape (Basile et al., 2022). Researchers of slave scholarship have made the case for the importance of including discourse on slavery and enslaved Black females’ experiences when discussing present day sexual violence among Black women in the US today (Balfour, …

The American Politics Of Firearms - The Case Between Illinois And Missouri, Michael J. Thompson

Dissertations

The issue of gun control is a hot topic in the field of American politics. It is a huge issue in the field of political science and in American public policy. In 2023, there were 18,874 firearm deaths in the United States, excluding suicides. The highest was in 2021 with the firearm related deaths at 21,068. One side argues that firearms can cause serious harm and death while the other side argues they can also reduce the rates of gun violence. There are different opinions on how to resolve the issue of mass shootings across the country. According to prior …

Exploring The Dynamics Of Online Engagement: A Social Exchange Theory Approach To The Baking Industry’S Use Of Social Media, Abagail Sweeney

Theses - ALL

This study investigates how organizations in the baking industry use social media to engage with consumers. Social Exchange Theory was applied to understand the dynamics in online interactions. A content analysis of the social media accounts for Insomnia Cookies, Lady M and Cake Bar was done for the months of January 2024 through March 2024. The platforms analyzed were Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok and YouTube. Engagement was measured through likes, comments, shares and sentiment analysis. Post type was also observed to see what the users engaged with the most. The findings revealed that the number of active platforms did not …

Multiaxial Expansion Of 4d-Printed Shape Memory Polymer Scaffolds Via Programming Via Printing (Pvp), Verona Hendricks

Theses - ALL

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) offer unique opportunities for engineering responsive medical devices that can adapt to changing anatomical environments. However, most SMP-based systems are limited to uniaxial deformation which restricts their ability to conform to complex geometries found in soft tissue applications. Moreover, 3D approaches to print and program SMPs have demonstrated printed parts that can contract, but printed parts that can expand after printing has not been demonstrated to date. This work presents the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a 4D-printed SMP scaffold capable of controlled expansion along all three orthogonal axes (x, y, and z). Utilizing a method …

Roles Of Sex And Education Level With Alcohol Use Milestone Attainment And Progression, Elisabeth P. Cabot

Theses - ALL

Emerging adults report the highest rates of alcohol use, with drinking patterns varying by sex and education level. Few studies have explored how these factors relate to the attainment and progression of alcohol use milestones. The current study addresses this gap by examining the associations between sex, education level and alcohol use milestone progression and attainment in emerging adults. Secondary data analyses were conducted using National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III) data (N = 36,309, Mage = 45.63 [SD = 17.53], female = 56%, 53% White, 21% Black, 19% Hispanic and 2% Multiracial). Ordinal regressions indicated males …

Supervised Dimensionality Reduction Techniques For Undersampled Applications, Joshua Kortje

Theses - ALL

Supervised dimensionality reduction (SDR) is a critical field in machine learning. The ability to compress data with high dimensionality can lead to better data visualization, pattern recognition, and classification performance. In order to develop SDR algorithms with the widest possible applicability, it is imperative to formulate approaches based on simple, generalizable models. The general Gaussian assumption provides a model that allows for closed-form expressions of information-theoretical criteria which can lead to analytical SDR solutions. Since Gaussian populations are completely defined by their first and second moments, solutions for this model can also lead to simple projection schemes with interpretable results …

Vanuatu And The International Court Of Justice: A Food Studies Approach To Climate Governance And Power, Amy Katherine Bentley

Theses - ALL

Vanuatu is a leader among small island developing states (SIDS) working to influence global climate change governance, using international diplomacy as its best defense against the climate crisis. In 2023, Vanuatu spearheaded a successful campaign for the United Nations General Assembly to request an advisory opinion (AO) from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) clarifying nations’ legal obligations related to climate change. This study uses a food studies approach to explore Vanuatu’s success in its climate governance campaign, focusing on the relationships between food sovereignty, climate justice, and power. To investigate this subject, I used an interdisciplinary literature review and …

Capturing Processes Of Influence In Students' Social Interactions: Examining A Two-Part Strategy To Detect Patterns Of Reinforcement In Continuous Real-Time Observations In The Classroom, James Lamar Delaney Iii

Dissertations and Theses

Students' active engagement in learning activities is presumed to be influenced by their interactions with social partners in the classroom setting, like teachers and peers. For instance, statements of support or affirmation from teachers or peer group members are assumed to encourage positive behaviors for struggling students, while statements of disapproval are assumed to discourage and undermine active classroom behaviors. Extant research examining these processes typically tries to demonstrate significant interaction patterns or show influence over time by way of indirect behavioral measures, such as survey-based assessments. It is an open question whether these processes of influence can be directly …

2015-08-04 Executive Council Minutes, Susie Salazar

Executive Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

2015-08-31 Executive Council Minutes, Susie Salazar

Executive Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Genetic Diversity And Population Structure Of Serbian And Selected European Bread Wheat Cultivars Through Ipbs-Retrotransposon Markers, Rada Šućur, Amjad Ali, Parnaz Mortazavi, Muhammad Tanveer Altaf, Muhammed Tatar, Muhammad Azhar Nadeem, Bojan Jocković, Velimir Mladenov, Sotirios Fragkostefanakis, Yong Suk Chung, Faheem Shehzad Baloch

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Bread wheat is a globally vital crop, sustaining millions and contributing to food security. The present study investigated the molecular characterization of 60 bread wheat accessions, using 12 interprimer binding site (iPBS) retrotransposon markers, which yielded a total of 260 distinct bands. Out of the 260 bands, 42 were monomorphic while the remaining 218 (83.84%) were polymorphic, with polymorphism information content values ranging from 0.38 to 0.45. Genetic diversity indices, including Shannon’s information index (I = 0.01–0.53), effective number of alleles (Ne = 1.00–1.63), gene diversity (He = 0.0037–0.36), and marker index (MI = 0.31– 0.51), revealed moderate variability across …

Detection Of Bacterial Genomic Dna Fragments Using The Mxene Crispr-Cas9 Field-Effect Transistor, Jiaoli Li, Ali Taheri, Weijia Liu, Ying Zhuo, Pengfei Ma, Chenglin Wu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based field-effect transistor (FET) sensors provide a promising platform for highly specific and amplification-free nucleic acid detection. However, their direct application in identifying target sequences within intact genomic DNA remains underexplored. We developed a CRISPR-Cas9 FET sensor for detecting DNA sequences by immobilizing Cas9 onto a graphene-MXene sensing interface via (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) functionalization. The sensor targeted Stx1, a 440 bp laboratory-amplified fragment associated with Shiga toxin production in pathogenic E. coli. Gel electrophoresis confirmed the precise cleavage of Stx1, while the nontarget sequence Stx2 remained undetected. FET measurements further validated the sensor's specificity, showing …

Impact Of Retrieval Augmented Generation And Large Language Model Complexity On Undergraduate Exams Created And Taken By Ai Agents, Erick S. Tyndall, Colleen Gayheart, Alexandre Some, Joseph Genz, Torrey J. Wagner, Brent T. Langhals

Faculty Publications

The capabilities of large language models (LLMs) have advanced to the point where entire textbooks can be queried using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), enabling AI to integrate external, up-to-date information into its responses. This study evaluates the ability of two OpenAI models, GPT-3.5 Turbo and GPT-4 Turbo, to create and answer exam questions based on an undergraduate textbook. 14 exams were created with four true-false, four multiple-choice, and two short-answer questions derived from an open-source Pacific Studies textbook. Model performance was evaluated with and without access to the source material using text-similarity metrics such as ROUGE-1, cosine similarity, and word embeddings. …

Oncogenic Effects Of Ecm Remodeling In Obesity And Breast Cancer, Mackenzie L. Hawes, Marcus A. Moody, Caroline R. Mccauley, Abigail G. Huddleston, Maansi Solanky, Dara H. Khosravi, Ayushi R. Patel, Ronald M. Lynch, Suresh K. Alahari, Bruce A. Bunnell, Jorge A. Belgodere, Van T. Hoang, Matthew E. Burow, Elizabeth C. Martin

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Extracellular matrix (ECM) components are key regulators in breast cancer progression, as ECM remodeling is essential for breast cancer cells to invade into surrounding tissue. This process is characterized by the alignment of fibrillar collagens, breakdown of basement membrane components, and increased interstitial collagen stiffness. In patients with obesity, pre-existing ECM changes, including excessive collagen deposition and heightened matrix stiffness, mimic alterations detected in breast cancer. Given that obesity is a predictor of poor prognosis and resistance to treatment in breast cancer, it is crucial to understand how ECM conditioned by obesity affects disease outcomes. In this review, we highlight …

Identifying Latent Workforce Capacities For Extreme Heat Resilience: An Artificial Intelligence Assisted Approach, Jieshu Wang, Patricia Solís

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Extreme heat events, intensified by climate change, pose critical challenges to public health, infrastructure, and workforce resilience. Despite the urgency of these challenges, there is no systematic framework to identify workforce adaptive capacities that can help build regional heat resilience. This study introduces a novel large language model assisted approach, using task-level data from the O*NET dataset, to identify workforce capacities that enhance heat resilience. By defining heat-solution tasks as activities mitigating heat impacts, protecting public health, or improving infrastructure, we classify heat-solution occupations and dual-impact occupations, which are both vulnerable to heat and critical to heat resilience. A case …

Effects Of Storage Temperatures On Quality And Phytochemical Properties Of The Hawthorn (Crataegus Azarolus L.) During Storage And Shelf Life, Ahmet Erhan Özdemi̇r, Oğuzhan Çalişkan, Safder Bayazit, Kazi̇m Gündüz, Nurdan Tuna Güneş, Zafer Karaşahi̇n, Derya Kiliç, Ramazan Bestami̇ Karahan

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

This study aimed to investigate the effects of storage temperature on the quality and phytochemical characteristics in Sultan hawthorn cultivar during cold storage and shelf life. Fruits were stored at 0 ± 0.5 °C and 4 ± 0.5 °C and 90 ± 5% relative humidity (RH) for 6 months in cold storage and were analyzed every month. In addition, hawthorn fruits were kept at 20 ± 0.5 °C and 75 ± 5% RH for 7 days, and their shelf life was investigated at monthly intervals. Weight loss, appearance, the incidence of physiological disorders and fungal decay, fruit skin color, firmness, …

2016-08-16 Executive Council Minutes, Susie Salazar

Executive Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

2018-02-13 Leadership Council Minutes, Susie Salazar

Executive Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

2017-02-21 Leadership Council Minutes, Susie Salazar

Executive Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

2017-09-05 Executive Council Minutes, Susie Salazar

Executive Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

How To Study 30-Day Readmissions: A Framework For Risk Stratification And Methodological Rigor, Mckenna Gervais, Kayley Anderson, Jana Wardian, Jayme Dowdall

Medical Student Research Showcase

Background: The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) catalyzed a shift toward value-based care. This introduced reimbursement penalties tied to hospital performance metrics, such as the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) which deducts reimbursement for institutions with excessive 30-day readmission rates. Although more than 25% of hospital readmissions are considered potentially avoidable, the methods of evaluation are often inconsistent, and overlook medically complex patients and those who experience recurrent readmissions.

Objective: To identify methodologies used in current 30-day readmission studies and to propose improved methodological framework for population inclusion, demographic considerations, and statistical analysis to allow for proper risk stratification.

Methods: …

State Of Connecticut Cannabis Testing, University Of Mississippi – National Center For Cannabis Research And Education, Yasha Kahn, Mcr Labs

Connecticut

No abstract provided.

State Of Nevada Cannabis Testing, University Of Mississippi – National Center For Cannabis Research And Education, Yasha Kahn, Mcr Labs

Nevada

No abstract provided.

State Of New Jersey Cannabis Testing, University Of Mississippi – National Center For Cannabis Research And Education, Yasha Kahn, Mcr Labs

New Jersey

No abstract provided.

State Of California Cannabis Reporting, University Of Mississippi – National Center For Cannabis Research And Education

California

No abstract provided.

State Of Hawaii Cannabis Testing, University Of Mississippi – National Center For Cannabis Research And Education, Yasha Kahn, Mcr Labs

Hawaii

No abstract provided.

State Of New York Cannabis Testing, University Of Mississippi – National Center For Cannabis Research And Education, Yasha Kahn, Mcr Labs

New York

No abstract provided.

In Re: Congoleum Corporation, Et Al.

2025 Decisions

USDC for the District of New Jersey

William Webb, Jr. V. Attorney General Delaware

2025 Decisions

USDC for the District of Delaware

Jenn-Ching Luo V. Owen J Roberts School District

2025 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania