Digital Commons Network^™

Effective Strategies For Hiring Military Veterans To Improve Organizations' Performance, Danielle Murlann Delint

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some hiring managers in Texas lack effective strategies to recruit military veterans, resulting in missed opportunities to enhance organizational performance and, in some cases, the hiring of less-qualified workers. Business leaders and hiring managers care about solving this problem because accessing the highly skilled veteran workforce can improve productivity, reduce training costs, and strengthen overall organizational outcomes. Built upon the theoretical foundation of person-organization fit theory, this qualitative multiple case study was conducted to identify and explore effective strategies hiring managers of medium-sized Texas organizations use to hire military veterans to improve organizational performance. The participants were seven hiring managers …

Is Aid Good For The Poor In Sub-Saharan Africa?, Elisha Mavodyo

Business Review

We contribute to the aid-poverty literature in Sub-Saharan Africa in two fundamental respects. First, we sidestep the controversial aid-growth-poverty relationship by analysing the direct impacts of aid on poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Second, in line with previous studies, we first analysed the impact of aid on poverty headcount, poverty gap, and poverty gap squared. We complemented this analysis with an analysis of the direct impact of aid on the incomes of the poor, followed by an analysis of aid on inequality. Such an approach allowed us to draw nuanced conclusions about how effective foreign aid is in alleviating not just …

Determinants For Green Procurement Practices In Public Procurement Management In Tanzania, Yohana Arsen Rutaba

Business Review

This study was carried out conducted to ascertain the determinants for green procurement practices in public procurement management in Tanzania. The research study employed mixed-methods approach and used descriptive analysis. Multiple linear regression analysis was employed to establish the relationship between the variables. The study used a sample size of 200 participants obtained using Cochran formula of unknown population. The sample size composed of public procurement officers and practitioners from different government agencies and organization in Mainland Tanzania. From descriotive analysis it shows that the level of implementation of green procurement practices is still very low in public procurement. The …

From Doing Business To B-Ready: World Bank’S New Rankings Represent A Rebrand, Not A Revamp, Fernanda G. Nicola, Dhaisy Paredes Guzman

Popular Media

In 2021, the World Bank shut down one of its flagship projects: the Doing Business index, a global ranking system that measured how easy it was to start and run a business in 190 countries. It followed an independent investigation that found World Bank officials had manipulated the rankings to favor powerful countries, including China and Saudi Arabia. The scandal raised serious concerns about the use of global benchmarks to shape development policy. Now, the Bank is trying again. In October 2024, it launched its newest flagship report, Business Ready. The 2025 spring meeting of the World Bank and its …

Resource Toolkit Development For Mental Health Awareness In School-Aged Children, Jessica L. Newton

Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Innovations in OT Symposium: Transforming Possibilities into Practice

Introduction: Mental health challenges are on the rise, and school-aged children often lack mental health services and education at an early age, which can lead to mental illness. Therefore, it is important to increase awareness of mental health challenges in school-aged children by educating individuals to reduce the stigma. Providing school and community-based resources to improve overall health and well-being is essential to combat the rise in mental illness in our communities.

Methods: A quality improvement (QI) design for product development and education was aimed at addressing this rising problem. The needs assessment results, current literature, evidence-based practices, and conceptual …

Pick Your Precedent: Bostock, Dobbs, And The Uncertain Reach Of Intermediate Scrutiny In United States V. Skrmetti, Molly Pines

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

The Supreme Court will yet again wade into highly politically charged waters this term when it decides United States v. Skrmetti, a case about gender-affirming healthcare for minors. More specifically, Skrmetti will decide whether SB1, a 2023 Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming care for individuals below age 18, violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The Tennessee Plaintiffs and the Biden administration, which intervened on their behalf, have argued that SB1 unconstitutionally discriminates on the basis of sex and transgender status. In response, Tennessee has argued that SB1 only uses age and medical purpose—not sex or transgender status—to delineate …

Autonomic Recovery Following Post-Exercise Cold Water Immersion, Katherine Gurley

Health Sciences Student Scholarship

Katherine Gurley ’25, Biology and Health Policy Management major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Brett Romano Ely, Health Sciences

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session Wednesday April 23, 2025, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

Acceptance of the Agenda

Remarks by the Chair of the Board

Remarks by the President

Action Items

• Appointment of Western Michigan University’s Tenth President
• Remarks by Shared Governance Leaders
• Remarks by the President Elect

Student Research Symposium Schedule 2025, Texas A&M University-San Antonio

Student Research Symposium 2025 (Archived)

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (Pcos) On Pregnancy From A Nursing Perspective, Haylee F. Schultz

Honors Capstones

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome on pregnancy from a nursing standpoint. Nearly 5-10% of women in the United States are affected by polycystic ovarian syndrome during the reproductive years. This research aims to investigate how this condition impacts fertility and pregnancy risks. This initial research was completed through a review of existing literature accessed through databases such as CINNAHL and PubMed. Once all data is collected, the goal is to seek nursing interventions to lessen the effects of polycystic ovarian syndrome and increase positive pregnancy outcomes. This research is critical as …

061 - Leaf Litter Compost Soil Amendments In Created Wetlands May Drive Soil Microbial Succession Toward An Alternative Community Structure., Michelle Apodaca, Solangel Almonte

GREAT Day Posters

The loss of wetlands due to human activity has led to increased efforts in their creation and restoration. This study evaluates a created freshwater wetland and a natural forested wetland at the Mill Seat Wetland Restoration Area in Riga, New York. Since 2019, these wetlands have been subjected to experimental conditions involving leaf litter compost as a soil amendment. Previous research suggests that compost amendments enhance plant diversity, floristic quality, and nutrient availability while supporting key biogeochemical processes. However, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing indicates that the microbial community structure in amended wetlands may be diverging from that of reference wetlands. …

Dna And Bioinformatics Tools For Estimating Biodiversity In The Narragansett Bay, Emma Barry

Biology Student Scholarship

Emma Barry ’25, Environmental Biology major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Markert, Biology

Sustainable Brand Trust In Mobile Banking: A Case Study Of Bsi Mobile User Reviews On Google Play, Novian Tiandini, Haqqi Hidayatullah

JURNAL KOMUNIKASI INDONESIA

In contemporary times, communication is important in resolving problems or crises in various field. One of them in digital transactions. The digital transactions are a frequently performed activity, including the use of mobile banking (m-banking), which has become an essential application due to the high volume of transactions utilizing it. Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) mobile is one of Indonesia's mobile banking services that experienced disruptions for several days in May 2023. Even BSI issued an official statement regarding the issue through their social media. This has the potential to affect users' trust in their brand, while a brand's strength is …

Through The Looking Glass : Diversity Through The Eyes Of A Dress Form, Amara Copeland

LSU Master's Theses

This article aims to look into educational institutions and how they address diversity using curatorial displays. Does fashion and costume curation add to the seclusion of luxury? Looking into this correlation, this study aims to answer these next couple of questions. How does museum curation add to fashion social norms? Is it a subconscious or conscious decision when deciding on a mannequin or dress form? How do museum and fashion curations add to the exclusion of minorities in the world of luxury? What is costume luxury, and who do we say can obtain it?

This research aims to understand the …

Functional And Comparative Genomics Of The C.Sojina- Soybean Interaction, Alejandra Maria Vargas Oyuela

LSU Master's Theses

Frogeye leaf spot (FLS), caused by Cercospora sojina, is a significant foliar disease of soybean (Glycine max) and is responsible for substantial yield losses worldwide. While management strategies rely on host resistance and fungicide applications, the emergence of new virulent races and fungicide-resistant isolates necessitates a deeper understanding of C. sojina host interactions and genomic variability. Here, we employed comparative and functional genomic approaches to decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying the C. sojina-soybean interaction. A dual RNA sequencing approach was used to identify transcriptomic changes in G. max cultivars Blackhawk (susceptible) and Davis (resistant) across multiple …

103 - Targeting G-Quadruplex Dna Using Groove Binding Compounds As An Anticancer Study, Anasophia Lee, Gadeer Al-Abdely

GREAT Day Posters

This research project investigates the effectiveness of groove binding compounds in binding to G-quadruplex DNA. Previous work by researchers within the field have shown that G-quadruplex (G4) DNA is a viable anticancer therapeutic target. Compounds that stabilize G4 have shown promising antitumor effects in preclinical cancer models. This project seeks to study drug-G4 interactions using fluorescence displacement assays and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Thioflavin-T (ThT) fluorescence displacement data have shown significant displacement of ThT bound to G4 DNA with certain groove binders, indicating G4 binding and stabilization. Circular dichroism spectroscopy displays the differential absorption of circular polarized light in the …

124 - Movie Preferences And Emotional Desensitization, Riley Bowersox, Ashley Ilarraza, Peyton Cartwright

GREAT Day Posters

The purpose of this study was to assess the association between the enjoyment of different movie genres (i.e., thriller, horror, sports-themed, and romantic-comedy) and emotional desensitization to violent and gory stimuli. Ninety-three participants rated how much they liked the aforementioned movie genres. Next, they watched two video clips from two different horror movies (e.g., Saw X, Talk To Me, Final Destination 2, Final Destination 5, and Evil Dead Rise) for a total of seven minutes. Afterwards, participants reported their current positive and negative mood states. Results indicated that only participants who liked horror showed a reduction of fear and an …

153 - The Role Of Black Seed Oil (Thymoquinone) On Repetitive Behavior And Neuroinflammation In Spinning Mice, Ashley Biondi

GREAT Day Posters

Repetitive behavior is characterized as repetitive actions with no purpose, which is a common feature in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). What we are trying to see is if environmental interventions can reduce repetitive behaviors in mice. In prior studies in mice, a ketogenic diet (KD) successfully decreased repetitive behaviors. One hypothesis is the reduced spinning is due to the KD being an anti-inflammatory. Neuroinflammation, which refers to inflammation in the central nervous system, may offer a link between diet and ASD, and other disorders. In a convergent approach, this study uses another known anti-inflammatory, Thymoquinone (TQ), to try and reduce …

162 - Examining The Involvement Of P27 And P57 In Clobetasol Induced Quiescence In The Vulvar Cancer Cell Line, Umscv-4., Claudia Marsello

GREAT Day Posters

Quiescence is a reversible cellular state where a cell exits the cell cycle and ceases replication in response to stress. Cells can re-enter the cycle once the stress is alleviated. Emerging evidence suggests that cells in a quiescent state may contribute to the long-term dormancy of cancer cells. Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC) is a rare form of female genital cancer, and while its treatment and diagnosis remain poorly understood, ultrapotent topical corticosteroids like clobetasol are commonly used to treat vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS), a skin condition that can precede vulvar cancer development. Our studies show that a subpopulation of …

179 - Chromosome Assembly Factor 1b In Zebrafish Retinal Development, Stephen Welsch, Dan Coffee, Zachary Gilly, Thadar Noe, Olivia Gibeault

GREAT Day Posters

Zebrafish possess the ability to regenerate body parts such as the heart, fins, pancreas, brain, spinal cord, kidneys, and retina. When zebrafish retinal damage occurs, Müller glia divide and create neuronal precursor cells, which go on to become replacement retinal neurons. This allows zebrafish to recover from retinal damage. However, mutant zebrafish cannot fully develop and regenerate retinal cells. In particular, the good effort (gef) mutant allele of the chaf1b gene is characterized by a period of normal development, followed by cell death in highly proliferative developing tissues, including the retina, brain, and pectoral fins. The gef mutant retinal cells …

181 - Investigating The Role Of Flexible Loop Mutations In Malate Dehydrogenase: Structural And Kinetic Impacts On Enzyme Catalysis, Jay Glass, Andrew Mcfadden, Harshdeep Singh

GREAT Day Posters

Malate dehydrogenase (MDH) plays an essential role in metabolism by catalyzing the reversible conversion of malate to oxaloacetate in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. This reaction, which also generates NADH, is critical to metabolic homeostasis across species. Although the general structure and function of MDH are well-characterized, the contribution of its conserved “flexible loop” region to substrate binding and catalysis remains insufficiently understood. In this project, we investigated how point mutations within this loop affect enzymatic activity in Citrullus lanatus (watermelon) glycosomal MDH (wgMDH), a model system with a well-characterized expression protocol and sequence. We introduced four site-directed mutations—R130A, R130E, R124K, …

198 - Genetic Variation And Endosymbiont Incidence In The Introduced Ant-Mimicking Spider, Myrmarachne Formicaria, Milo Miller, Brooke Sikora, Brenna Dunn

GREAT Day Posters

We examined the genetic and endosymbiotic diversity of the ant-mimicking jumping spider Myrmarachne formicaria, a spider native to Eurasia whose presence in North America has expanded over the past several decades. Non-native populations often exhibit reduced genetic diversity, so patterns in genetic diversity may help demystify their number of and source of introduction events. Prior sequence analysis of several mitochondrial genes revealed little genetic variation within M. formicaria across most European and North American populations. One of this study’s aims was to sequence two nuclear genes, 28S rRNA and Histone H3, to expand the number of genetic loci available for …

204 - Examining The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation Ability And Cannabis Use Frequency, Nicolette Faller

GREAT Day Posters

Emotion regulation is known to play a role in substance use behavior (Weiss, et. al., 2022), but the relationships with cannabis are not yet widely studied. This analysis examines how emotion regulation (ER) ability, measured by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) 18 (DERS-18; Victor & Klonsky, 2016) is related to cannabis use frequency, measured by the Drug and Alcohol Frequency Questionnaire - Cannabis Use (DFAQ-CU) (DFAQ-CU; Cutler & Spradlin 2017). The hypothesis stated lower ER ability is a predictor of higher cannabis use frequency. 153 participants completed an online questionnaire including these measures, and the data were analyzed …

228 - Investigating Metabolic And Hormonal Modulation In Female Apoe4 Mice: Insights For Sex-Specific Alzheimer’S Research, Annabelle Laibe, Allison Bechard

GREAT Day Posters

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) disproportionately affects females, with estrogen loss after menopause contributing to cognitive decline and metabolic dysregulation. The APOE4 genotype is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset AD and may interact with hormone fluctuations to exacerbate neurodegeneration in females. I am starting a project to test the role of estrogen in AD-related behaviors using APOE4 knock-in mice, which carry the high-risk AD allele. This female-focused study uses a mouse model to explore ovarian hormones in the context of AD risk. To begin, I assessed baseline estrous cycles in thirteen 8-month-old female APOE4 knock-in mice using a vaginal lavage …

254 - “Ship Fever”: Contextualizing Epidemic Typhus In Mid-19th Century New York, Audrey Ryan

GREAT Day Posters

Epidemic typhus is a disease caused by the bacteria R. prowazekii, and spread through the vector of human body lice. Historically, typhus outbreaks have been associated with “social maladies”: poverty, war, natural disasters, and other factors that bring about the overcrowded and unhygienic living conditions where typhus spreads most easily. In a study I conducted last year, I learned that between 1847 and 1850, 17.5% of the 169 adult deaths in the Monroe County Poorhouse were attributed to typhus (also called “ship fever”). In a sample of 205 people buried in Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester's general population) during the same …

Existence Of Maximal And Minimal Weak Solutions And Dinite Difference Approximations For Elliptic Systems With Nonlinear Boundary Conditions, S. Bandyopadhyay, T. Lewis, Nsoki Mavinga

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Works

We establish the existence of maximal and minimal weak solutions between ordered pairs of weak sub- and super-solutions for a coupled system of elliptic equations with quasimonotone nonlinearities on the boundary. We also formulate a finite difference method to approximate the solutions and establish the existence of maximal and minimal approximations between ordered pairs of discrete sub- and super-solutions. Monotone iterations are formulated for constructing the maximal and minimal solutions when the nonlinearity is monotone. Numerical simulations are used to explore existence, nonexistence, uniqueness and non-uniqueness properties of positive solutions. When the nonlinearities do not satisfy the monotonicity condition, we …

Characterization Of A Drosophila Crc 3-Hit Model Using Genetic Approaches, Sydney E. Anderson

Honors Theses

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, resulting in the deaths of over 50,000 people every year (American Cancer Society, 2023). The similarities shared between mammal and Drosophila melanogaster anatomy within the intestinal tract make Drosophila a great model for studying colorectal cancer. This study will investigate tumor characteristics of a Drosophila CRC model generated by modulating three genes within the key Hippo pathway to create a 3-hit model: p53, RasV12, and APC. The gene combination in the 3-hit model closely emulates how CRC presents in humans and is therefore important to …

Estimating Disease Transmissions With Assortative Mixing By Vaccination Status, Jacob D. Biesecker-Mast

Honors Theses

Many mathematical models of infectious disease assume the population is well-mixed, meaning every pair of individuals is equally likely to contact each other, potentially spreading the disease. In reality, populations are rarely well-mixed, and an important way in which they are not is assortative mixing, that is, when pairs of individuals who are similar are more likely to contact one another than pairs of individuals who are different. Failing to account for assortative mixing by vaccine status leads to biased estimates of important quantities that characterize disease transmission, including reproduction numbers. We expand on this by developing a model that …

Efficient Light-Induced Reactive Oxygen Species Production From A Cationic Mitochondrial-Targeting Bodipy Dye, Cynthia Bukirwa

Honors Theses

BODIPY dyes have demonstrated their effectiveness as photosensitizers due to their diverse reactivity and high selectivity. These dyes are highly versatile and can be modified to absorb light across the visible and infrared spectrum. This study introduces a red light-activated BODIPY dye capable of subcellular localization within the mitochondria, yielding high quantum yields of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The potential of this dye to serve as a photodynamic therapy (PDT) agent highlights its promise as an organelle- targeted phototherapeutic. The synthetic route for this dye, along with its characterization and evaluation through 1H NMR, electronic absorption spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy, …

Original Sin Or The Lack Thereof Rousseau’S Philosophical Anthropology, Jane V. Carney

Honors Theses

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s philosophical anthropology finds its roots in deeply theological territory. At the heart of his philosophy is the belief that man is essentially good but becomes corrupted by the influences of society. His strong belief in the innate goodness of humanity therefore led him to question Christian doctrines that appear to contradict that natural goodness. This then led him to object to the doctrine of original sin. Rousseau’s interpretation of original sin, and his subsequent rejection of it, shaped his broader political and philosophical thought, and is thus a vital piece of understanding Rousseau’s broader normative theory. Because he …