Digital Commons Network^™

A Profile Of The Philippines' Largest 1,000 Firms And The Manufacturing Sector, Jesus Felipe, Nanditha Mathew, Jacobe Joaquin M. Sevilla

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

No abstract provided.

Arthroscopy And The Future Of Surgery: Personal And Public Health Benefits, Preston T. Koski

Honors Thesis

Arthroscopy focuses on operating on the body using probes and working through keyhole incisions on the skin. This rapidly evolving field has seen many innovations in its technology, aided by advances in optical and surgical capabilities. Moreover, it presents many advantages over traditional surgery that directly impact the patient. Shorter recovery time and lessened scarring, reduced postoperative pain and opioid dependence, and less risk of infection are key benefits over open surgery. These benefits can also be applied to areas of public health. Minimizing the burden on hospital resources, reducing the environmental impact of surgery, and improving cost-effectiveness in healthcare …

The Effects Of Being The Oldest Daughter And A Caretaker, Sahira Gonzalez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In many households, oldest daughters are a pivotal person as they have many responsibilities. One of the main responsibilities is caretaking their younger siblings. These young women are responsible for child rearing, nurturing, educating and guiding their younger siblings, essentially becoming a parental figure. While this is an issue in many households, it is not thoroughly discussed within the research field. The purpose of this study is to examine how oldest daughters are affected by becoming a caretaker for their younger siblings and how it results in these young girls having a negative impact in their well-being that results in …

Psychological Interventions For Addressing Suicidal Behaviours Among Lgbtq+ Adolescents Who Experienced Cyberbullying: A Systematic Review, Catherine Galvan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and cyberbullying is often a major reason behind it. Understanding how these two are connected is important for finding ways to help. This chapter will look at how cyberbullying leads to suicide, who is most at risk, and what can be done to prevent it. Objective: The main objective of this research is to synthesize the evidence on the effectiveness of intervention programs for reducing suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescents, especially LGBTQ+ adolescents, who have experienced cyberbullying. Method: In this systematic review, we plan to extract information …

Framework For Enhanced Intergenerational Connectivity (Eic): A Professional Program Development Report, Amanda Michelle Reigle

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This program development report documents the implementation and facilitation of the Sages and Seekers pilot program at California State University, San Bernardino (Palm Desert Campus) from 2022 to 2025. Grounded in communication theory, intergroup contact principles, and instructional design, the report outlines a structured intergenerational intervention aimed at enhancing empathy, connection, and understanding between older and younger adults. Drawing from facilitator observations and program implementation experiences, this work led to the creation of the Framework for Enhanced Intergenerational Connectivity (EIC), a five-point planning model emphasizing leadership, facilitation, administrative support, participant continuity, and structured program design.

The EIC framework is accompanied …

Student Perceptions Of Ai In University Studies, John Robert Fisher, Louis K. Falk, Margaret Mittelman

Communication Faculty Publications

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education is transforming students’ learning experiences, decision-making, and academic efficiency. This study explores student perceptions of AI’s benefits, challenges, and its role across academic disciplines. Findings indicate that while students recognize AI as a valuable educational tool, they also express concerns regarding privacy, reliance, and the need for improved AI training. Statistically significant differences were observed in AI’s impact on learning efficiency, decision-making, and academic engagement, supporting the hypothesis that AI enhances education but presents notable challenges. The study also highlights the necessity for balanced AI integration, ensuring that AI complements rather …

Teaching Critically In Contentious Times Black Consciousness, Historical Knowledge, And Educational Policy, Lagarrett J. King, Daniella Cook Sumpter

Faculty Publications

Editors’ Introduction to Special Section of Critical Education: Teaching Critically in Contentious Times

Sonochemically Synthesized Zno Nanowires (Nws)-Based Sensor For Non-Invasive Glucose Detection In Sweat, G. M. Mehedi Hossain, Ahmed Hasnain Jalal, Hasina Huq, Nazmul Islam, Karen Lozano, Nezih Pala, Fahmida Alam

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Glucose is a crucial metabolic marker, providing critical insights into energy regulation and insulin sensitivity, making its monitoring essential for managing diabetes and overall metabolic health. In this context, flexible biosensors have gained considerable attention for their potential to enable real-time and non-invasive glucose monitoring. One promising advancement in this domain is using Zinc-Oxide (ZnO) nanostructures through sonochemical synthesis. ZnO has a wide bandgap of ∼3.37 eV and a large binding energy of 60 meV. This research focuses on ZnO-Nanowires' growth for the first time on a flexible polymer substrate. The average length and diameter of the nanowires are 2.5µm …

Improving Research Software Engineering In Mathematics, Abram Miller

Honors Theses

Research Software Engineering is critical to modern mathematical research, enabling the creation, maintenance, and dissemination of computational tools that bridge theory and practice. However, the field faces systemic challenges, including insufficient funding, lack of institutional recognition, and gaps in training and infrastructure. This thesis investigates these challenges through two approaches: (1) a comparative survey study focused on mathematicians and (2) hands-on contributions to an open-source research software project.

The Improving Research Software Engineering in Mathematics survey, conducted from September 2024 to January 2025, adapts the survey framework developed by Carver et al. in A survey of the state of the …

Reconfigurable Python Autopilot Software For Rc Aircraft, Kate Doiron

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Power And Consent: The Role Of Gender, Race, And Sexual Orientation In Assessments Of Victimhood In High School Student-Teacher Relationships, India Campbell

Honors Theses

Sexual abuse, in all of its many forms, has been a controversial topic for centuries. This project looks at a specific subset of sexual abuse: high school student-teacher assaults. Victims of sexual abuse often face barriers to justice. This project addresses several demographic barriers. Research has shown that people of color and members of the queer community are typically reluctant to report due to police and societal perceptions of these groups. Teenagers face additional challenges, such as not know how their peers, parents, school, or community will react. Additionally, their abuser is an authority figure, meaning that these victims could …

Role Of Evolutionarily Conserved G4 Structures In Enhancer-Promotor Interactions, Shahem Alqudah

Honors Theses

Gene regulation is governed by complex networks of interactions between enhancers and promoters, regions of the genome that are typically distant from one another yet functionally linked through chromatin looping. Recent research has revealed the significant role of Gquadruplexes (G4s) in facilitating these interactions. This thesis explores the role of long Gquadruplex regions (LG4s) in enhancer–promoter communication, proposing that these regions mediate physical interactions between enhancers and their target promoters through direct G4:G4 interactions. Using a chromatin conformation capture (EQuIP-seq), electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA), and luciferase reporter assays, the study demonstrates that LG4s may drive gene expression by promoting …

Linear Polydicyclopentadiene Copolymers: Synthesis And Thermal Properties, Connor Lewis

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

E-Learning In Developing Countries: Unveiling Faculty Digital Realities, Dauran Mcneil

Dissertations

Faculty in developing regions like the Caribbean play a crucial role in shaping education systems and the broader academic landscape. In this era of technology and e-learning, faculty encounter unique experiences, perceptions, and challenges that influence their roles, effectiveness, and the learning environment. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the perceptions, experiences, and challenges of e-learning among higher education faculty in developing countries, particularly in the English-speaking Caribbean region. A qualitative phenomenological approach was used to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of 11 faculty members from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Jamacia, St. Lucia, and the Bahamas. These …

The Problem Of The Whiteness Of Wealth, Elizabeth Tharakan

Dissertations

In 2021, households with a White householder made up 65.3% of all U.S. households and held 80.0% of all wealth. Those with a Black householder made up 13.6% of all U.S. households but held only 4.7% of all wealth. And their median wealth ($24,520) was about one-tenth the median wealth of households with a White householder ($250,400). This disparity in Black wealth and White wealth is almost an order of magnitude. I seek to understand why the racial wealth gap exists and what people of any race can learn from a nuanced understanding of the interplay among culture, education, and …

Reliability Of Longitudinal Sleep Monitoring In Amyloid-Negative And Amyloid-Positive Older Adults., Taylor Pedersen

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Sleep disturbances are associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology and cognitive symptoms, but longitudinal studies exploring sleep, AD biomarkers, and cognition are limited. Understanding changes in sleep among older adults with and without AD pathology is crucial for appropriately designing longitudinal studies of aging and AD. To assess this, sleep was longitudinally assessed (over ~3.5 years) in amyloid-negative and amyloid-positive older adults using self-reported logs, questionnaires, and at-home monitoring with a single-channel electroencephalography (EEG) device. Amyloid imaging and cognitive assessments were also performed. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients, and power analysis determined sample sizes for longitudinal observational …

Top-Down Control And Bottom-Up Salience Guide Attention During Visual Search, Christopher Ahn

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

We search the visual world using different strategies, some of them relying on bottom-up salience, others on top-down expectations. However, little is known about how we arbitrate between them. Here, we report a study investigating whether people are sensitive to environmental regularities that incentivize different strategies with differential effort requirements. To test this, we used a visual search task in which people need to search a target in a field of items, each of which is printed in one of two colors. This task allows us to parametrically manipulate bottom-up salience by varying the number of items with the less …

Predicting Which Genes Will Respond To Transcription Factor Perturbation, Eric L. Jia

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

A fundamental issue in mapping regulatory networks between transcription factors and their target genes is the poor overlap between the set of genes bound by a given transcription factor (TF), and the set of genes that are differentially expressed after knocking out or overexpressing the same TF. We began with the hypothesis that to predict whether a gene will respond to perturbation of a TF, it is important to not only consider whether that TF is bound at the gene’s promoter, but also whether other TFs bind at the same promoter.

In this work, we propose a novel modeling procedure …

Reducing Measurement Error In Three-Point Bend Test Using Linear Gradient Correction Model, Juan J. Becerra-Garcia

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Endovascular devices like catheters feature non-uniform flexural rigidity (EI) profiles (flexi- ble tip, stiff shaft) crucial for navigation and pushability. Standard three-point bend analysis (assuming uniform stiffness) yields inaccurate apparent rigidity (B0) for these graded devices, especially in transition zones. This inaccuracy hinders device comparison, clinical selection, and predictive modeling. This thesis develops and validates a correction model for three-point bend tests aimed at improving local flexural rigidity accuracy for devices with varying stiffness, particularly those exhibiting transition zones similar to logistic profiles. The model assumes a linear gradient in rigidity (B(x) = Bm(1 + 2mx/L)) across the test span …

Compartmental Disaggregation: Bridging Simulation And Sampling Methods For Synthetic Population Data Generation, Dylan Mack

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

As agent-based models (ABMs) grow increasingly widespread in public health, their associated challenges have become all the more significant. Lauded for their ability to capture population heterogeneity, nonlinear dynamics, and emergent behaviors, disease ABMs are also computationally expensive and often require detailed inputs that describe each agent at the individual-level, known as synthetic population data. Current approaches for synthetic population data generation generally fall into one of two categories: sampling or simulation. These methods are both feasible only under restricted conditions and suffer from challenges surrounding data availability and computing power. This thesis proposes compartmental disaggregation, an intermediate method for …

A Dutch Approach To Charleston’S Water Management, Noor Hooijmaijers

All Theses

Coastal cities across the world face increasing threats from climate change impacts such as flooding, drought, and sea level rise. The East Coast of the United States, including Charleston, South Carolina is among the most vulnerable cities due to its low elevation and exposure to extreme weather events. The Netherlands, with a big part of its country below sea level, have become accustomed generating solutions to mitigate climate change impacts.

This thesis examines how elements of Dutch water management, which is known for its multi-layered, proactive, and integrated governance system, can be adapted to improve Charleston’s resilience against climate change …

Deliverance, Beth Odum Walker

All Theses

My work explores quilting as a vessel for storytelling, honoring the tradition of women’s craft while examining the intersection of personal and generational history. By repurposing fabric imbued with past lives and memories, I construct pieces that embody both the resilience and fragility of the individuals in my family, capturing their struggles, aspirations, and constraints. Through abstraction, material manipulation, and narrative layering, my quilts function as both historical records and contemporary reflections, bridging the past and present through the tactile language of textile art. In describing a quilt as an object, I am including all material, patterning, orientation, scale, and …

Advancement Of Wrongful Conviction Prevention Strategies In Forensic Science, Isabella Pinto

Honors Projects

The National Registry of Exonerations (NRE) has identified 1,051 of its logged cases to involve forensic evidence in some way, nearly one-third of the total 3,600 exonerations in its database. Analysis of the NRE and Innocence Project databases revealed the most common factors in forensic-related wrongful convictions: expert testimony, flawed methodologies (most of which are no longer in use), and statistical misinterpretations of results. The majority of scholars agree that oversight in forensic casework must be improved in order to meaningfully resolve issues. Creation of commissions in each state would address all of the identified errors, though not a catch-all …

Can Bringing Older And Younger People Together Renew Religious Communities?, Eddie Gonzalez, Stefanie Weiss, Eunice Lin Nichols, Cal Halvorsen

Brown School Faculty Publications

In fall 2024, CoGenerate, in collaboration with Dr. Cal Halvorsen of Washington University in St. Louis, worked with YouGov to conduct a national survey of 1,500 adults (ages 18 and older) in the U.S. about their religious / spiritual communities, their interaction with older and younger people, and their views on building connections across different age groups. The survey was nationally representative by gender, age, race, education and political affiliation. Our findings reveal considerable age segregation in people’s lives and a strong appetite for intergenerational connection and collaboration – or “cogeneration” – to counter it. They also identify challenges and …

Automated Identification Of Clinically Meaningful Biomechanical Phenotypes In Cerebral Palsy Through Multicenter Gait Data, Adam Graf, Joseph Krzak, Karen M. Kruger, Jon Davids, Ryan Smith, Brandon Steinlein, Anita Bagley

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Cerebral palsy is the most prevalent motor disability in childhood, encompassing various movement disorders that affect walking. Researchers have described gait patterns in cerebral palsy, but these are often subjective and based on clinician experience. This study introduces an automated approach to objectively identify clinically meaningful biomechanical phenotypes in cerebral palsy and test it on multicenter gait data. Utilizing instrumented gait analysis, this research aims to improve treatment strategies for gait dysfunction. This study addresses whether classification algorithms can objectively identify clinically meaningful gait patterns and if severe gait deviations are more frequent in advanced forms of cerebral palsy. …

Identification Of New Germplasm Sources And Traits For Breeding Heat-Tolerant Soybean Varieties, Shelby Hammond

All Theses

The heat-tolerant soybean breeding is constrained by limited genetic diversity for heat tolerance, lack of efficient selection criteria, and incomplete knowledge of heat tolerance mechanisms. The objectives of this study were to characterize the heat tolerance of a soybean recombinant inbred line (RIL) population based on traits defining leaf function, pollen viability and yield, and identify genotypes and traits that can be included in breeding programs for heat tolerance. Field trials were conducted at Pendleton, SC in 2022 and 2023 to test the heat stress responses of 192 RILs [derived from DS 25-1 (heat tolerant) x DT97-4290 (heat-susceptible)], parental lines, …

Implementation Of The American College Of Cardiology And American Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Guidelines For Statin Therapy In Reducing Cardiovascular Risk Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, Edward Eloy Iruegas

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The incidence of type 2 diabetes has significantly increased over the past decade, making it a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (Banach et al., 2022). Individuals with type 2 diabetes are four times more likely to develop atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, accounting for up to a 75% mortality rate. Despite this, the risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease remains underestimated and undertreated in this population (Banach et al., 2022). The purpose of this project was to enhance adherence to the American College of Cardiology 2019 and the American Diabetes Association 2023 clinical practice guidelines regarding statin therapy for patients with type …

Not Right Now: Factors Affecting Interruption Decisions In A Healthcare Paradigm, Matthew G. Pacailler

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Interruptions are common in the workplace, but when they happen during high-stakes critical tasks, they can have serious consequences. In the field of healthcare, interruptions can lead to serious adverse events or medication errors. Research on interruption management strategies addresses the potentially harmful outcomes of interruptions but often fails to account for the initial decision to accept or reject the interrupting task. Two experiments were performed to examine the decision-making outcomes for interruptions.

In experiment I, the participants monitored two EKG displays while simultaneously entering medication information into a patient chart. The decision to accept or reject an interruption was …

Relationship Between Local Fiscal Effort And High School Graduation Rate, Zachary Michael Haney

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Education is an investment in human capital, but the cost to provide this public service is significant. Understanding the return on this investment is essential for informed and effective financial decision-making. While previous school finance studies have examined the relationship between funding and various indicators of student achievement and student attainment, most have focused on spending practices rather than the level of investment itself. Although the literature affirms the need for educational resources, further research is required to determine which types of investment most positively affect student outcomes. Therefore, funding must be analyzed prior to budgetary allocation to evaluate its …

Investigating The Ability To Perceive Nonverbal Behaviors In Different Interaction Formats, Amanda J. Ashdown

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The rapid rise in interactive video-based communication has raised important questions about how it affects the perception of nonverbal behavior and impression formation. Guided by the Parallel Process Model (PPM), Multiple Resource Theory (MRT), and Working Memory (WM) models, this study investigated the ability of individuals to observe and assess another person’s nonverbal behaviors and form accurate impressions during conversations in live, face-to-face interactions compared to virtual formats. The study employed a 2 (interaction format: live vs. virtual; within-subjects) × 2 (observation type: active vs. passive; between-subjects) × 2 (genuineness: genuine vs. nongenuine behavior; between-subjects) mixed design. Participants either actively …