Digital Commons Network^™

The Importance Of Collaboration Between Teachers And Mental Health Professionals To Support Trauma-Impacted Students, Kimberly Lemonds

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Students impacted by trauma face emotional and behavioral challenges that affect their learning and social development. Collaboration between early childhood educators and mental health professionals is critical to providing effective support, yet this partnership often remains informal and inconsistent. This inquiry-based mixed-methods study explored how such collaboration functions in an early childhood center serving preschool and kindergarten students. Data from surveys and interviews with educators and mental health staff revealed barriers including limited time, unclear roles, and insufficient training. Despite these challenges, participants emphasized the benefits of structured communication, joint professional development, and school-community partnerships. The study highlights the need …

Sel Integration Into The Kindergarten Curriculum, Brooke Kingsley

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This inquiry-based research project investigates the effectiveness and efficiency of integrating social emotional learning (SEL) into the kindergarten curriculum. With a growing number of young learners entering school lacking foundational emotional regulation and social skills, the study examines how explicit SEL instruction can be embedded meaningfully into daily academic routines. The researcher used qualitative methods, including teacher surveys, reflective journaling, literature review, and analysis of classroom behavior artifacts from a rural Iowa school district. Six kindergarten teachers participated in the survey, providing insight into current SEL integration strategies, perceived effectiveness, and common barriers. Results showed that while all teachers integrate …

Project-Based Learning Vs Traditional Teaching Methods, James Kingsley

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This study explored how teachers compare Project-Based Learning (PBL) with traditional teaching methods in elementary classrooms. Many schools today still rely heavily on lectures, worksheets, and test-based instruction, which can leave students feeling disconnected and unmotivated. This research began with the problem that students often lose interest in learning when it feels disconnected from the real world. The purpose of this study was to better understand teacher's perspectives on PBL and whether they believe it increases student engagement, learning, and life skills. Using a mixed-methods survey with both multiple choice and open-ended questions, the study gathered responses from elementary educators …

Front Cover And Inner Cover

City University of New York Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Call To Care: An Investigation Of Rhetorical Inquiry In First-Year Composition Educators, Madison Brooke Naimo

Theses and Dissertations

Throughout colleges and universities across the country, First-Year Composition is known to be a general education course requirement that commonly works to set students up for academic success throughout their postsecondary educational journey and pursuits. This general education course works to focus on developing composition-based skill sets that help students in various academic areas and disciplines of study throughout their undergraduate degree completion (Kinnevay, 1971; The Council of Writing Program Administrators, 2014). While much scholarship in First-Year Composition has focused on student growth and development, there have been minimal practical considerations and examinations of a large stakeholder in this education …

China-Taliban Security Ties: A Reimagining Of South Asia's Security Discourse, Amit Kumar Mr., Veena Ramachandran

Journal of Strategic Security

This article examines how China constructs a distinct security discourse on terrorism through its engagement with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Moving beyond traditional materialist interpretations of security, the study draws on critical security studies to explore how China uses language, representation, and institutional practices to frame terrorism and project itself as a regional stabilizer. The Taliban’s return to power in 2021 has prompted China to expand its strategic presence in South Asia, particularly through economic diplomacy, intelligence cooperation, and regional multilateral and minilateral forums. Through qualitative discourse analysis of Chinese official statements, white papers, SCO documents, and state media narratives, …

Gender Differences In The Associations Between Developmental Disabilities And Anxiety And Depression Symptoms Among U.S. Children: Insights From The 2021 National Health Interview Survey, Gloria Wang, Muyiwa Ategbole, Xingguang Luo, Kesheng Wang, Chun Xu

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Limited research has explored the associations between developmental disabilities and symptoms of anxiety and depression among U.S. children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: This study investigates the associations between developmental disabilities and symptoms of anxiety and depression among U.S. children and examines whether these associations differ by gender.

Methods: The analysis included 6092 children aged 5-17 from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Key risk factors for anxiety and depression symptoms included attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), learning disability (LD), and developmental delay (DD). Weighted multivariable logistic regression (MLR) was conducted to evaluate …

Chronic Illness Education 2025: Dealing Anxiety In Teenage, Aida Mouzoon, Emily Crisan, Emma Saito, Feeda Elahresh, Hussan Ali, Jackson Bennett, Noah Rollison, Shihabaldean Shalabi

Patient Education Projects

No abstract provided.

Chronic Illness Education 2025: Hypertension And The Case Of Mrs.Dash, Brandon Brown, Charlotte Turner, Connor Mcginnis, Jacob Airas, Maria Awad, Pranav Nair, Shruthi Sunilkumar, Yusra Sannah

Patient Education Projects

No abstract provided.

Chronic Illness Education 2025: Prevention And Management, Alyusuf Elnaggar, Brenna Hairston, Carly Ghanem, Fatima Bhatti, James Wairagu, Lucy Yu, Najeeb Baig, Ryan Murphy

Patient Education Projects

No abstract provided.

Chronic Illness Education 2025: Risk Factors And Prevention Of Cardiovascular Disease, Christopher Matti, Clayton Kramm, Ghala Alhasan, Hadi Elmenini, Julia Miller, Maxine Kugelmas, Moshood Osinusi, Nievalinda Strong

Patient Education Projects

No abstract provided.

Friends Of The Hilton M. Briggs Library, Summer 2025, Hilton M. Briggs Library

Friends of the Hilton M. Briggs Library Newsletters

Volume 10, Issue 3
Features:
Ben Reifel films opening to the public, thanks to Mary Chilton DAR grant
Dean of the Library
Briggs Library Helps SDSU Faculty Save Big on Publishing Fees
Kott retires from Briggs Library
Two Student Assistant Excellence Awards presented in spring semester

Property Values: Accounting For Racial Valorization And Stigmatization In Development, Audrey G. Mcfarlane

Articles

No abstract provided.

Evolving Ontology And The Case Against Predictive Algorithms In The U.S. Justice System, Eryn Reyes Leong

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

In the United States today, predictive algorithms, a particular form of artificial intelligence (AI), permeate all segments of society, including the criminal justice system. With the help of AI, judges are able to “plug” defendants into algorithms and generate outputs that produce a deterministic and homogenous view of defendants. Proponents of predictive algorithms cite accuracy, neutrality, fairness, and efficiency, but what is missing from their calculus is the human person, the central figure who shapes and is shaped by algorithms. Using the story of defendant Darnell Gates as a case study, this article seeks to contribute to the development of …

The Discontinuous Petrov–Galerkin Method, Leszek Demkowicz, Jay Gopalakrishnan

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The discontinuous Petrov–Galerkin (DPG) method is a Petrov–Galerkin finite element method with test functions designed for obtaining stability. These test functions are computable locally, element by element, and are motivated by optimal test functions which attain the supremum in an inf-sup condition. A profound consequence of the use of nearly optimal test functions is that the DPG method can inherit the stability of the (undiscretized) variational formulation, be it coercive or not. This paper combines a presentation of the fundamentals of the DPG ideas with a review of the ongoing research on theory and applications of the DPG methodology. The …

A Risk Score To Predict Recurrent High Intensity Inpatient Resource Utilization For Children With Medical Complexity., Charles Maloy, Jessica L. Bettenhausen, Y Raymond Chan, Leah Jones, Kathryn Kyler, Laura Plencner, Jessica Markham, Jacqueline Walker, Smit Shah, Sian Best, Jonathan Ermer, Shelby Chesbro, Maria Newmaster M.D., Henry T. Puls

Posters

Background Children with medical complexity (CMC) use a greater amount of inpatient resources and stand to benefit from unique care models and coordination. However, hospital resources can be limited, and a better understanding of which CMC are high resource users could improve hospital and staff planning. Objective: To develop a risk score predictive of recurrent high intensity inpatient utilization among CMC. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of children < 18 years old with ≥3 complex chronic conditions (CCC) discharged from one of 48 children’s hospitals in the Pediatric Health Information System during 2021 and 2022. To reflect CMC typically cared for by a general medical service, children with cardiac procedures, dialysis, oncology, or transplant CCCs, and index hospitalization mortality were excluded. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine factors present on the index hospitalization associated with ≥5 hospitalizations or ≥3 hospitalizations with one lasting ≥25 days within any 365-day period (high inpatient utilization) in 2021-2023. We developed risk scoring system using model coefficients and defined the optimal risk score cutoff to maximize sensitivity and specificity. We then applied the risk score cutoff to children discharged to determine (a) ratio of predicted:actual CMC with recurrent high resource use and (b) the total predicted daily volume on 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile days for each hospital. Results: Of 44,432 included children , 9,596 (21.6%) had high inpatient utilization (Table). Children under 1 year of age had the highest odds of high inpatient utilization (OR 2.26 [95% CI: 2.16, 2.37]) and all CCC and technology groups (except metabolic) met statistical significance (Figure 1). The optimal risk score cutoff was 29 and predicted 17,411 (39.2%) CMC as high inpatient resource utilizers; the predicted:actual ratio of CMC with high inpatient utilization was 1.81. The mean daily census of the 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles across hospitals was 28 CMC with recurrent high utilization (± 17), 34 (±18), and 39 (±19; Figure2). Conclusions: It is feasible to develop a risk score predictive of recurrent high inpatient utilization among CMC. There is substantial variability in volume of CMC with high utilization between pediatric hospitals. The risk score cutoff values can be modified to suit different applications and institution-specific objectives. These applications could include a dedicated service line or staffing. Alternatively, this could identify patients who would benefit from more formal handoff from inpatient to outpatient providers.

Foreword: Children And Constitutions In The Anthropocene Era, Catherine Smith

Washington and Lee Law Review

In Spring 2025, the Washington and Lee Law Review held its Lara D. Gass Symposium, Children and Constitutions in the Anthropocene Era. It consisted of a keynote address by Julia Olson, Co-Executive Director and Chief Legal Counsel of Our Children’s Trust, and three panels: “Children, Climate Change, and State Constitutions”; “The U.S. Constitutions and the Meaning of ‘We the [Young] People’”; and “Youth-Powered Litigation and Global Constitutionalism.” The heavily attended Symposium was a tour-de-force in the field of children’s rights.

As climate chaos mounts, young people around the world are pressing courts to reconceptualize the meaning of liberty, equality, and …

The Back Page: Commentary: Going Non-Par: My Perspective, And 10 Lessons I’Ve Learned, Robert Antolak Dds

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Dr. Robert Antolak shares his experience and ten lessons from transitioning his dental practice to a non-participating (non-par) status with insurance in January 2025, driven by declining reimbursements and the need to prioritize patient care. He highlights the unfairness of lower PPO reimbursements for newer dentists. Key lessons include securing a trusted coach, early patient communication, building a financial safety net, ensuring full team buy-in, committing with faith, tightening billing systems, frequent patient reminders, advocating for patients, creating an in-office payment plan (not percentage discounts), and clearly articulating the "why". Though revenue initially dropped, he anticipates full recovery, aiming to …

The Effect Of An Interdisciplinary Project On Students’ Understandings Of Mathematical Interdisciplinarity: A Qualitative Action Research Study, Jaime Krause

Theses and Dissertations

The siloed nature of education has likely caused some high school students to not recognize the interdisciplinary nature of mathematics, leading them to misunderstand its relationship to other subject areas. A misunderstanding of mathematical interdisciplinarity can cause issues when these students approach interdisciplinary problems later in life. The purpose of this study was to observe, investigate, and analyze the ways in which students understand mathematical interdisciplinarity following a collaborative and interdisciplinary project. I implemented a descriptive qualitative action research approach to determine how a collaborative interdisciplinary project on NASA technology in a high school mathematics course affects students’ understandings of …

Childhood Obesity Body Mass Index And Gut Microbiome: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Pilot Feasibility Study, Marilyn Frenn, Nita Salzman, Vy Lam, Mary Holtz, Andrea Moosreiner, Mauricio Garnier-Villarreal, Maharaj Singh

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background:

Prebiotic fiber has been examined as a way to foster gut bacteria less associated with obesity. Tests of prebiotic fiber in reducing obesity have occurred mainly in animals, adults, and Caucasians when the highest obesity rates are in African American and Latinx youth. Response to prebiotic fiber is determined by the pre-existing intestinal microbiota. The type of microbiota varies based on diet and physical activity (PA), so it is important to examine acceptability and response to prebiotic fiber in those most at risk for obesity.

Methods:

This cluster randomized controlled feasibility trial included an online program designed to improve …

The State Of The Science Of Natural Family Planning: A Report From Nfp Scientists’ Meeting Held In Orlando, Fl, September 4, 2024, Michael D. Manhart, Richard J. Fehring

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

A one-day meeting was held as a pre-conference to the Catholic Medical Association Annual Educational event in 2024. A panel of eighteen physicians, scientists, and researchers involved in NFP work was convened to review the available evidence in four topical areas: (i) evidence for effectiveness of NFP methods to postpone and achieve pregnancy, (ii) evidence for effectiveness in the postpartum and perimenopause transition periods, (iii) evaluate the current state of technology in NFP (specifically app and quantitative hormone monitoring), and (iv) evidence examining the impact of NFP on marital relations. In each topical area, the panel worked to reach a …

Using Meta-Analysis: What Exercise Helps Kids With Excess Weight The Most?, Marilyn Frenn

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Crosssections, Summer 2025, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Physics.

CrossSections

Contents:

A Message from the Department Head, Dr. Paul Shand --- 1
Department Happenings --- 3
Faculty Profile - Takeshi Yasuda --- 7
Student Profile - Brandon Schmidt --- 8
Student Research --- 9
Student Focus --- 10
Physics Education --- 13
Alumni Profile - Roger Burkhart --- 14
Alumni News - Sterling Hartman --- 16
New Physics --- 17

Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos: Hip-Hop And The Carceral State In The East San Francisco Bay Area, William Maclane Hull

Theses and Dissertations

“Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos: Hip-Hop and the Carceral State in the East San Francisco Bay Area” explores the histories of urban redevelopment and deindustrialization, racialized poverty, police and the carceral system, and hip-hop culture in Oakland and other parts of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area. It explores East Bay politics and urban development in the 1900s, which resulted in the flight of industries and wealthy white residents to the suburbs and the erosion of public services. Black community organizations and funk music alike articulated the damages done by these processes in the 1960s. Subsequently, politicians and …

Editing Japan: Pornography Commentary As Postcolonial Revenge In China's Digital Sphere, Yichi Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how Chinese male audiences reconstruct postcolonial masculinity through the consumption and reinterpretation of Japanese pornography. By analyzing commentary videos produced by "Team Strawberry," I argue that this phenomenon constitutes a symbolic revenge against Japan's historical dominance. Through degrading Japanese female performers and mocking Japanese culture and male actors, Chinese viewers invert colonial hierarchies, transforming sexual consumption into a nationalist project. However, this mimicry of colonial violence ultimately reinforces patriarchal structures rather than subverting them, while also framing nationalism through sexual conquest that mimics collective historical trauma. The re-editing and mocking of Japanese pornography by Chinese content creators …

Causal Neuro-Symbolic Artificial Intelligence: Synergy Between Neuro-Symbolic And Causal Artificial Intelligence, Utkarshani Jaimini

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding and reasoning about cause and effect is innate to human cognition. In everyday life, humans continuously engage in causal reasoning and hypothetical retrospection to make decisions, plan actions, and interpret events. This cognitive ability allows us to ask questions such as: “What caused this situation?”, “What will happen if I take this action?”, or “What would have happened had I chosen differently?” This intuitive capacity to form mental models of the world, infer causal relationships, and reason about alternative scenarios, particularly counterfactuals, is central to our intelligence and adaptability. In contrast, current machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) …

Investigating The Ecology Of The Homeless Court: The Promise Of Quasi-Experimental And Statistical Learning Methods, Dylan Wong

Theses and Dissertations

Interactions with the legal system are a crucial factor in maintaining homelessness. Difficulties in addressing legal issues are barriers to accessing services and finding employment and housing. Across the United States, the homeless court is an emerging legal program that has been developed to break this cycle, but they appear to face numerous capacity and coordination problems. Few empirical and systematic investigations have been conducted on homeless court programs. Further, previous studies of homeless courts focus their process and outcome measures on the priorities of the legal system. An investigation into the ecology, or environmental context, of homeless persons would …

Increasing Professional School Counseling Advocacy Skills For The Practicing Secondary School Counselor, Beverly Denise Mccullough

Theses and Dissertations

This problem of practice addresses increasing Professional School Counselor (PSC) advocacy skills for the practicing secondary school counselor. Improvement science is the framework used to help solve this problem. The PSC improvement team consisted of a team of seven licensed professional school counselors, all with career experience in the secondary school setting. The team began their work with the goal of understanding the current system by participating in an initial empathy interview. Immediately after the empathy interview was concluded, each committee member completed an initial assessment of the School Counselor Self Advocacy Questionnaire (SCSAQ) to be used as an initial …

Structure-Activity Relationships Of Isothiourea And Silicon Phthalocyanine Catalysts, Christian J. Harrison

Theses and Dissertations

Efficient organic synthesis often relies on improving catalyst designs and investigating reaction mechanisms to accomplish feats such as high stereoselectivity, low catalyst loadings, and performing sustainable chemistry. Within the field of organocatalysis, intermolecular interactions between a catalyst and a substrate are a large contributing factor to the control of a reaction, including rate and selectivity. Investigating mechanisms can provide information on the type of intermolecular interactions occurring in the reaction, aiding future reaction and catalyst development. This dissertation will explore two recent projects and how probing intermolecular interactions through simple modifications provides information useful for new catalyst designs and properties. …

Medico-Legal Study Of Sudden Death Among People Younger Than 40 Years In Baghdad, Kauthar Maree, Saad Kareem

Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

Background: Sudden death is a significant global public health concern affecting individuals under 40. Understanding sudden death dynamics is crucial for addressing health and legal implications. Exploring epidemiology, causes, and risk factors is essential for implementing preventive measures, healthcare policies, and forensic practices.Objective: To identify the causes of sudden death among individuals under 40 in Baghdad. To assess the impact of lifestyle and family history contributions and examine the patterns of age, sex, and gender in sudden death cases within this particular demographic group.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 69 medico-legal cases involving individuals under the age of 40 …