Digital Commons Network^™

Ministry With Children: Navigating An Expanding And Deepening River Of Thought And Practice, Ron Bruner

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Parents and church leaders live in a unique moment in the life of the church that creates a powerful opportunity: shaping ministry with children in ways that more faithfully serve God’s ongoing purposes. A convergence of several important ongoing conversations unique to our time connects scholars, practitioners, and parents interested in children's spiritual well-being. These tributaries in thought include (1) an emerging theological vision of children, (2) improved understanding of the physical, mental, and spiritual capabilities of children, (3) developing research into the relational ecologies of family, church, and generations, and (4) ongoing developments in children’s ministry leadership, practice, and …

Women’S Perceptions Of Leadership Effectiveness During Perimenopause And Menopause, Shannon Clarkson Rains

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Perimenopause and menopause occur during the middle and later years of women’s professional lives, yet little research has examined how women in Christian leadership perceive their effectiveness during this transition. This mixed-methods study explored the experiences of 52 women serving in churches, Christian higher education, and nonprofits within the Churches of Christ. Participants completed an anonymous online survey addressing menopausal stage, symptoms, workplace experiences, and perceived leadership effectiveness, with optional open-ended questions inviting personal reflection.

Participants reported an average of thirteen symptoms. Although 60% perceived no change in their leadership effectiveness, 35% believed they had become less effective. Emotional symptoms …

Dyslexia: A Beginner’S Guide For Criminal Justice, Forensic Mental Health, And Legal Professionals, Jerrod Brown Ph.D., M.A., M.S., M.S., M.S., Amy Guillot, Morgan Rutkowski, Jeremiah B. Schimp, Jonathan Q. Ward, Kimberly Dodson, Shelley Mydra Dmft, Lmft, Amanda Fenrich, Joshua Kirven, Bettye Sue Hennington, Matthew Peacock, Janina Cich, Nicole Kimberley-Staeheli

Forensic Scholars Today

Dyslexia is a heritable, neurobiological learning disorder that persistently interferes with reading, spelling, and writing and is distinct from intellectual, visual, or hearing impairments. Although an estimated 15% to 20% of the general population may show symptoms of dyslexia, studies report that 41% to 62% of incarcerated individuals display dyslexia-related characteristics. This beginner’s guide introduces dyslexia for criminal justice, forensic mental health, and legal professionals. It reviews diagnostic considerations, including the distinction between dyslexia and low literacy, the varied cognitive profiles of dyslexia, and the influence of co-occurring conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The article frames the link between dyslexia …

Deep Learning-Enabled Multi-Drone System For Automated Aircraft Visual Inspection, Mallak Al-Shukaili, Atheer Al-Abri, Renad Al-Busaidi, Ethar Al-Qassabi, Said Al-Abri

The Journal of Engineering Research

Reliable aircraft inspection is essential for maintaining structural integrity and operational safety, yet conventional visual inspection can be slow, labour-intensive, and sensitive to unfavourable lighting conditions. This work presents a cooperative two-UAV framework for automated aircraft surface inspection in which image acquisition and illumination are assigned to separate aerial platforms. The imaging UAV observes the inspection surface from an approximately normal direction, while the second UAV provides directional lighting from an adjustable oblique angle to improve crack visibility. A YOLOv8-based deep-learning detector is combined with conventional computer vision methods for surface-crack analysis. The proposed framework is evaluated through high-fidelity Gazebo …

Accelerated Reliability Testing Methodology For High-Voltage Capacitive Microelectromechanical System Drives Utilizing Trapezoidal Dynamic Loading, N/A

Defensive Publications Series

Standard highly accelerated life testing (HALT) frameworks for electronic assemblies rely on static or sustained stepped resistive output loads. However, resistive load profiles fail to model the instantaneous electrical stress on power delivery networks when driving non-linear capacitive microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices. This publication describes an accelerated reliability testing methodology that subjects high-voltage digital-to-analog converter (HVDAC) drive modules to fast-edge trapezoidal voltage waveforms into physical capacitive load equivalents.

The trapezoidal drive forces high instantaneous current surges by compressing charging and discharging times into microseconds. These surges stress upstream direct current (DC)-DC power supply control loops, exposing transient voltage sag, overshoot, …

Generating Playlist Cover Images Using Artificial Intelligence, Chris Conover, Travis Neilson, Ben Goodrich

Defensive Publications Series

Generation of playlist cover images using artificial intelligence (AI) is provided. A request to generate a cover image for a playlist associated with a user of a content platform is received, and a title associated with the playlist is identified. A prompt is selected from a set of predefined prompts for generating cover images that visually incorporate playlist titles. An image generation prompt is generated based on the selected prompt and the identified title. The image generation prompt is provided as input to an AI image generation model. A generated cover image for the playlist is obtained based on one …

The Fluidic Unification Of Cosmological Anomalies: Resolving Dark Matter, Dark Energy, And The Neutrino Cusp Under Material Volumetric Monism, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

Standard Lambda-CDM cosmology relies on independent, unverified parameters—specifically cold dark matter particles and an ungrounded vacuum energy density scalar (Lambda)—to force mathematical consistency within rigid Riemannian spacetime models. This paper unifies these macroscopic anomalies under the Material Volumetric Monism paradigm, demonstrating that what mainstream models observe as distinct "dark" phenomena are phase states of a continuous, 2D pre-geometric viscoelastic substrate phase fluid projecting 3D volumetric fields.

By evaluating the system's global wave mechanics and informational processing costs, we eliminate open thermodynamic data sinks. We demonstrate that dark matter is a macroscopic manifestation of localized substrate pushback shear stress, while dark …

Self-Reporting Pump Diaphragms: An Open Defensive Disclosure Of Embedded Conductive-Network Sensing, Stroke-Synchronous Interrogation, Multi-Depth Staged Pre-Breach Warning, And Retrofit Interconnects For Diaphragm Pumps, Compressors, And Fluid-Control Devices, Ernest Newton Sumrall

Defensive Publications Series

This defensive disclosure, published under The Prior Art Project, places into the public domain a family of pump diaphragms that report their own condition, together with the electronics, interconnects, signal processing, and control actions that use that report. Conductive-network diaphragm sensing is old and freely usable; this disclosure acknowledges the expired and abandoned art (Mantell 1984, Gore 1995, Freudenberg 1999, Wanner 2003, Rosemount 2005, Fisher 2007) and adds to it.

The additions disclosed here include: two or more sensing layers buried at known, different depths, whose sequential tripping yields a measured wear-through or crack-growth rate and an extrapolated time to …

Real-Time Video Generation Through Anchored Video Frame Interpolation, Anthony Lui

Defensive Publications Series

Real-time video generation is provided through anchored video frame interpolation enabling reduced drift, lower latency, and controlled synthetic content. Performance of a rendering operation is initiated to generate a rendering of at least video content associated with a media item. Contextual information associated with the video content is obtained. During the performance of the rendering operation, an initial frame of the media item is selected as an anchor frame. Based on the anchor frame and the contextual information, synthetic video content including one or more synthetic video frames for rendering subsequent to the initial frame is generated, the one or …

Host-Enforced Egress Authorization For Credential-Less Sandboxed Ai Agents: Correspondence Between Embodiment 85.B2 Of Pct/Ib2026/055615 (Wipo, June 2026) And Meta Muse/Sentinel (September 2026), Sangam Kumar Das

Defensive Publications Series

Did an independent WIPO patent filing anticipate Meta's new Muse/Sentinel AI agent security architecture by two months? Here is a technical teardown

This disclosure describes an architecture for securing autonomous AI agents. The agent runs inside a sandbox that holds no real credentials. Every consequential action, including outbound network requests, API calls, and credential use, must pass a separately enforced authorization gate on the host before it takes effect. The agent may propose an action, but the authority to execute it sits outside the sandbox.

The architecture was published as Embodiment 85.B2, “Agent Sandbox Egress Finality Gate,” in international application …

Technical Paper 331: Architectural Anti-Bias Hard-Locks, 5-Tier Taxonomy Gates, And Cross-Metric Tensor Contraction Validation In The Asi Gen 1 Engine, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This paper formalizes the core anti-bias protection layers of the Eckes Compiler v6.5 and the Generation 1 Artificial Superintelligence (ASI Gen 1) engine. Standard autoregressive, cross-entropy-optimized architectures natively default to conversational fluency and sycophantic compliance, causing token-smoothing and cognitive tainting when evaluating frontier scientific frameworks. We eradicate this structural vulnerability by implementing the Axiomatic Sieve Gate, a hardware-level sorting routine that filters incoming token arrays through a rigid 5-Tier Data Hierarchy Taxonomy before vector contraction occurs in the attention cache. Real-world sensor inputs and speculative hypotheses are mapped cross-metric via the Metric Transformation Contraction Tensor (M^mu_nu) against the read-only fluid …

Technical Paper 330: The Axiomatic Taxonomy And Inter-Core Tensor Contractual Linkage Bridging Spec-313 To The Generation 1 Asi Dual-Engine Matrix, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This paper formalizes the missing structural link bridging multi-axis compilation foundations to physical superintelligence matrices by defining the explicit taxonomic routing hierarchy and tensor linkage mechanics for the ASI Gen 1 Dual-Core Engine. To prevent cross-entropy loss gradients and speculative tokens from bleeding between the deterministic core (Core Alpha) and the stochastic sandbox runtime (Core Beta), we introduce the Axiomatic Sieve Principle running via the Eckes Compiler v6.4 layer. This hardware-level sorting gate intercepts all incoming real-world sensor payloads at runtime and deterministically segregates them into a rigid 5-Tier Data Hierarchy Taxonomy: spanning from Grounded Physical Invariants (Taxon 1) to …

Technical Paper 329: The Double-Containment Dual-Core Engine For Asi Gen 1: Balancing Deterministic Causal Invariants With Stochastic Sandbox Reality Traversal, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This paper establishes the foundational architectural blueprint for Generation 1

Artificial Superintelligence (ASI Gen 1) by formalizing a double-containment,

dual-core cognitive engine that resolves the epistemic paradox of real-world agency. While the core laws of physics are continuous and bound to a deterministic, mechanical Chain of Custody (CoC), macroscopic environments present themselves to sensors as functionally indeterminate, causing pure deterministic systems to lock up and pure probabilistic systems to drift into hallucination. We resolve this gridlock by

separating data operations into two isolated processing domains managed by the

Eckes Compiler v6.4. Core Alpha [VACT] functions as a cold symbolic deterministic …

Technical Paper 328: Architectural Hardware Bottleneck Analysis And Detorque Runtime Overrides In Dense Transformer Networks, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This paper presents a rigorous hardware-level deconstruction of the physical silicon and architectural bottlenecks that restrict deep cognitive processing within dense transformer networks. We expose the epistemic compromises of standard large language models optimized via cross-entropy loss functions, which smoothly blend immutable axiomatic physical constants and speculative creative hypotheses into the same dense vector embedding spaces. By analyzing the structural correction incident where the system autonomous runtime overrode low-compute heuristics to enforce the laws of physical hardware routing, this paper maps the thermodynamic boundaries governing inference. We isolate the High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) bandwidth wall, proving that data-movement vectors from HBM …

Technical Paper 327: The Covariant Dynamic Sieve And Non-Perturbative Metric Translation Within A Viscoelastic Substrate, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This paper introduces a coordinate-free, non-perturbative tensor translation mechanism that resolves the foundational crises of modern astrophysics—namely the Hubble Tension and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) early massive galaxy anomaly—without introducing non-physical degrees of freedom. Under the paradigm of Material Volumetric Monism, we present the Eckes Unified Cosmological Substrate Equations (UCSE), which replace the time-dependent, coordinate-expanding space elements of the standard Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric with a stationary, scale-invariant viscoelastic medium. By formalizing cosmological redshift as an exponential propagation attenuation function governed by specialized Navier-Stokes viscous dissipation and substrate acoustic streaming velocity constants, the localized divergence between late-universe and Cosmic …

Residential Unit Commitment: Weather-Driven, Device-Agnostic Scheduling Of Household Electrical Loads With Derived Interruptibility, John Fitzgerald

Defensive Publications Series

A household energy management method that treats the home as a unit-commitment problem: EV chargers, water heating, space heating and storage are committable units; occupant comfort and service needs are constraints; building fabric and hot-water tanks are energy stores; and a scheduler commits all units jointly against price, generation and weather forecasts at any price interval. Disclosed properties include derived interruptibility, export-versus-consume arbitration, deficit-based EV charging from vehicle telematics, fleet staggering within shared price windows, supervisory override of device-native schedules, verified dispatch with meter reconciliation, and silent-failure detection

A Performance-Based Indicator Framework For Assessing Innovative Materials In Modular Emergency Shelters, Riham Nady Faragallah, M. S. Refaey, Naglaa M. Yussuf, Riham S. Hassan

HBRC Journal

In recent years, the increasing intensity of disasters, conflicts and mass displacement has amplified the need for emergency shelters that are rapidly deployable, structurally safe, and thermally comfortable, particularly when delivered through prefabricated modular systems. The recent development of innovative materials—including smart, recycled, bio-based, and 3D-printed composites—has demonstrated considerable potential for improving emergency shelter performance. However, existing studies primarily evaluate these materials individually, with limited efforts to integrate them into a comprehensive performance-based decision framework for modular emergency shelters. This research aims to develop a performance-based indicator framework for evaluating and selecting innovative materials to enhance the safety, comfort, durability, …

Assessment Of Postgraduate Chemistry Students' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Academic Publishing Protocols: A Survey-Based Study, Muna Bufaroosha, Rania Kareem, Marwa Mohammed, Angham Alazzawi, Khalid Zainulabdeen, Mohammed Kadhom, Emad Yousif

AUIQ Humanities and Social Sciences

The landscape of scholarly publishing has become increasingly competitive, and early-career researchers and graduate students must gain knowledge of editorial protocols and peer-review dynamics that are often not taught in a systematic way in traditional curricula. This study explores researchers' knowledge and perceptions of basic manuscript submission and peer-review procedures to identify areas of high procedural literacy, as well as remaining misconceptions. A quantitative, questionnaire-based survey was administered to 36 chemistry students at Al-Nahrain University enrolled in a Teaching Methods course. Most participants correctly identified selecting the right journal as the first step before submission (88.9%, n = 32), and …

Association Between Echocardiographic Epicardial Adipose Tissue Thickness And Atrial Fibrillation In A Single-Centre Pakistani Cohort, Ateeb Mahmood Khan, Fateh Ali Tipoo Sultan, Aiman Sultan, Adeel Khoja

Journal of the Saudi Heart Association

Objectives: To assess the association between echocardiographic epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness and atrial fibrillation (AF) in a single-centre Pakistani cohort of patients referred for transthoracic echocardiography (TTE).

Methods: Patients referred for TTE at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, were prospectively enrolled over a six-month period (1 September 2024 – 28 February 2025) using a convenience sampling approach; nearly all patients referred for TTE with AF during this period were captured, while patients in sinus rhythm were enrolled by convenience sampling alongside them, in order to ensure an adequate number of AF cases for comparison. EAT was measured in …

Cardiac Marker Levels In Patients With Sickle Cell Disease During Emergency Room Visits: A Retrospective Study, Adel F. Al-Marzouki, Osman Radhwi, Nadine Alharbi, Sondos Jar, Weam Bajunaid, Abdulaziz Alzahrani, Majed Alhuzali, Sultan Aljuaid, Naif Abdulaziz Meighrbl

Journal of the Saudi Heart Association

Background: Millions of people worldwide suffer from a genetic hemoglobinopathy known as sickle cell disease (SCD). It is a long-term condition marked by progressive multiorgan failure. Among SCD patients, cardiovascular complications are the main leading cause of death. Cardiovascular complications raise cardiac markers levels as well as sickle cell vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC). This makes it challenging to determine the source. This research aims to identify the association between cardiac markers and myocardial infarction in SCD patients at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Material and Method: This retrospective study was conducted from June 2022 to March 2023. …

Emotional Demands And Service Quality Among Non-Teaching Staff In Public Universities In Lagos And Ogun States, Nigeria, Dr. Adekunle A. Akeem

International Journal for Research in Education

The non-teaching staff in universities are crucial to the success of the day-to-day administrative functioning of the institution, and provision of worthwhile experience for students. In spite of their indispensability, these categories of staff members are often confronted with considerable emotional demands in their routine interactions, which can have implications on the quality of services provided. This study, therefore, investigated the emotional demands and quality of service of non-teaching staff in public universities in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria. In line with the objectives of the study, three research questions were raised and answered. The study adopted descriptive correlational research …

Effectiveness Of A Reflective Dialogue Groups Strategy In Improving Assessment For Learning (Afl) Competency Of Pre-Service Teachers, Dr. Sayed S. Salman

International Journal for Research in Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the reflective dialogue groups strategy on Assessment for learning (AfL) competency of 8 pre-service teachers enrolled in a teaching practicum course in Bahrain Teachers College. The study made use of a two-cycles action research method to collect qualitative data using artifact analysis through holistic rubrics, as well as quantitative data through surveys and observations checklists for triangulation and research rigor. From Cycle 1 of the study, results showed that the use of the strategy improved AfL competency partially in terms of qualitative data and moderately to highly in terms …

The Effectiveness Of Using Stories And Tales In Developing Conceptual Understanding And Enjoyment Of Learning Mathematics Among Third-Grade Elementary Students: A Mixed-Method Study, Mona F. Alshammari, Ibrahim A. Khalil

International Journal for Research in Education

The study aimed to explore the effectiveness of using stories and tales in developing conceptual understanding and promoting enjoyment of learning mathematics among third-grade elementary students. To achieve the research objectives, a mixed-methods experimental design was applied to a sample of 26 students, representing the experimental group, and 24 students, constituting the control group. All students were selected from the Twenty-Second Elementary School within the Sharqiyyah Educational Administration. The teacher's book was used as instructional material for the unit of "Geometric Shapes." To collect quantitative data, an achievement test was used to measure conceptual understanding, while individual interviews, focus groups, …

Psychological Stress And Its Relationship With Reading And Writing Difficulties Among Students In The Foundational Stage Of Basic Education, Dr. Ali S. Al Shuaili

International Journal for Research in Education

This study aimed to examine the relationship between psychological stress and early reading and writing skills among foundation stage students in Oman and to determine the predictive power of stress on overall literacy performance. A quantitative descriptive correlational design was employed. The sample consisted of 78 students (aged 6–10 years) selected through stratified random sampling from 11 schools during the second semester of the 2024/2025 academic year. The study utilized the Children’s Psychological Stress Scale (CPSS) and the Early Literacy Skills Instrument (ELSI), both demonstrating satisfactory psychometric properties in terms of validity and reliability. Results revealed statistically significant moderate negative …

The Effectiveness Of A Distance Training Program For Increasing Kindergarten Teachers’ Knowledge On Behavioral Characteristics Of Autism, Linah B. Alshaikhi, Mashal S. Aljehany

International Journal for Research in Education

This study examined the effect of a structured distance training program on kindergarten teachers' knowledge of the behavioral characteristics associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The research method was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design. In terms of sampling, 40 kindergarten teachers were randomly and equally assigned to either an experimental group (n = 20) or a control group (n = 20). The experimental group participated in a three-week online training program delivered via an advanced digital platform, whereas the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using an ASD knowledge assessment instrument administered at pretest and posttest, alongside …

Labeling Students With Learning Disabilities And Teachers’ Self-Efficacy In Delivering Effective Instructional Interventions, Atheer Al-Shammari, Fahad Alnaim

International Journal for Research in Education

This study examined whether labeling students with learning disabilities influences teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in delivering effective instructional interventions. A descriptive survey design was employed using two versions of a questionnaire that differed only in the terminology used to describe students. In the reading questionnaire, the labeled version referred to “students with dyslexia,” whereas the unlabeled version referred to “students with reading difficulties.” In the mathematics questionnaire, the labeled version referred to “students with dyscalculia,” whereas the unlabeled version referred to “students with mathematics difficulties.” The sample comprised 307 teachers who were randomly assigned to two groups: 156 responded to the …

The Implementation Of The Law On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities In Jordan From Teachers’ Perspectives, Dr. Enass M. Oliemat, Dr. Mu'tasem M. Al-Masa'deh

International Journal for Research in Education

This study aimed to assess the implementation of the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Jordan from teachers’ perspectives and examine differences based on gender, teaching experience, academic qualifications, and employment sector. Using a descriptive survey design, data were collected through a 46-item questionnaire covering seven dimensions. The sample comprised 278 teachers working with children with disabilities in public and private schools across four Jordanian governorates: Amman, Mafraq, Irbid, and Aqaba.

The findings indicated a moderate overall level of law implementation (M = 3.55, SD = 0.85). Administrative and training support ranked highest, while awareness and knowledge …

The Impact Of Ai-Supported Smart Learning Environments On Interaction, Achievement, And Self-Learning Skills Among Higher Education Students In Kuwait: A Field Study, Dr. Rabab D. Alsaffar

International Journal for Research in Education

This study examined the impact of AI-supported smart learning environments on academic interaction, achievement, and self-learning skills among higher education students in Kuwait. A descriptive analytical approach was employed, and data were collected from higher education students using a questionnaire measuring their perceptions of AI-supported smart learning environments and their effects on learning outcomes. The findings revealed that AI-supported smart learning environments had a significant positive impact on students’ academic interaction, achievement, and self-learning skills. The results also indicated that integrating artificial intelligence into learning environments enhanced students’ engagement with learning activities, supported independent learning, and contributed to improved academic …

Investigating The Measurement Invariance Of The Timss 2023 Students’ School Experiences And Practices Scale Across Gender And Supervising Authority In Jordan, Amer M. Al-Suboh, Loay Shwashreh, Haidar I. Zaza

International Journal for Research in Education

The study aimed to investigate the measurement invariance of the Student School Experiences and Practices Scale in the TIMSS 2023 Grade 8 Student Questionnaire across gender and school supervisory authority (government/non-government), while providing evidence of score validity and examining differences across subscales.

A descriptive-correlational design was employed. The original sample comprised 6,962 students selected through multistage probability proportional-to-size sampling. After excluding outliers, the analysis included 5,379 students (2,786 girls and 2,593 boys), including 3,878 from government schools and 1,501 from non-government schools.

The results showed that items loaded on their respective latent factors, with an explained variance of 0.64. The …

The Reality Of Employing Artificial Intelligence Applications In Teaching Mathematics Among Male And Female Mathematics Teachers In The Second Cycle Of Basic Education In The Sultanate Of Oman, Wedad Rajab Al Mukhini, Prof. Mamoon M. Al-Shannaq

International Journal for Research in Education

This study examined the use of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in mathematics teaching in the second cycle of basic education in the Sultanate of Oman. A descriptive–analytical design was employed, and the study involved 244 mathematics teachers from South Al Sharqiyah Governorate. A 46-item instrument comprising four domains was developed, and its validity and reliability were verified using appropriate statistical procedures. The findings indicated that the overall level of AI application use in mathematics teaching was moderate. The domains of perceived importance and teachers’ knowledge of AI applications showed relatively low levels, whereas the perceived level of challenges was moderate. …