Digital Commons Network^™

Comparative Analysis Of Hydration Status And Microbial Quality Of Tap Water Between Urban And Rural Settings In The Ashanti Region Of Ghana, Marina A. Tandoh, Priscilla Owusu, Claire-Rush N.A. Nkrumah, Veronica Tawiah Annaful, Chris Y. Asare, Samuel Selormi Attu

Food Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Maintaining proper hydration is crucial for human health, physiological functions, and cognitive performance. This study sought to determine the hydration status and the microbial safety of tap water in an urban setting (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Campus) and a rural community (Adjamesu) in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The water safety perception and hydration status of 171 study participants aged 10-61 years were assessed. Six taps were randomly selected at each site in triplicates, resulting in 36 water samples. The microbial quality of the water was assessed by testing for heterotrophic bacteria, coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella. …

Using Guided Notes To Provide Scaffolded Design As A Tool For Cognitive Efficiency And Conceptual Clarity, Ryan Schuffert

Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository

These supplemental learning materials streamline the learning process through a design that facilitates scaffolded learning by organizing focus on mastering macro-level concepts as a prerequisite to individualized details in content-dense courses.

Guided notes lead the learner on a path of discovering the depth of content while the layout encourages the development of discernment among multiple pathologies that share disease/disorder categorization.

This tool has helped students master the skill of chunked learning and has allowed them to implement this strategy, using these worksheets as a template, into multiple disciplines outside of pathophysiology.

Math Escape Room: A Virtual/Blended Problem‑Solving Adventure, Youssef Ibrahim

Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository

A narrative‑driven digital escape room turns secondary‑level mathematics review into a collaborative quest: students unlock successive “rooms” by solving algebraic, geometric, and data‑analysis challenges in Google Forms and Genially. Timers, conditional branching, and embedded hints sustain flow, while instructor analytics reveal misconceptions in real time.

Sexual Education, Sexual Self-Concept, And Behavior Of Adolescents: A Retrospective Study, Rachel Albanese

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Adolescence is a period within the lifespan of a human where sexuality is a key component of development; therefore, it is appropriate that adolescents are provided sexual education during this time. There continues to be a debate regarding sexual education; while some studies consider specific ways to provide sexual education, they do not compare the effect of differing sexual education (i.e., how and who provided sexual education) or lack of sexual education on risky sexual behavior and sexual selfconcept during adolescence. This study retrospectively examined the impact of sexual education on risky sexual behavior and sexual self-concept. It also explored …

Exploring The Relationship Among Postpartum Depression, Cognitive Distortions, And Relationship Satisfaction, Kylie A. Hastings

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Postpartum depression is the most prevalent psychological disorder experienced following childbirth, impairs daily functioning, negatively impacts child growth and development, and is linked to maladaptive parent-child interactions. Previous research also suggests a link among distorted thinking, depression symptoms, and interpersonal tension. The current study explores the interplay among postpartum depression symptoms, cognitive distortions, and relationship satisfaction among postpartum individuals. Researchers examined how specific thinking errors, including catastrophizing, mindreading, and labeling, are associated with depression symptoms and relational experiences in the postpartum period. Using a quantitative survey design, data were collected from 90 participants using validated instruments: the …

Fixing Mfw: Fairness And Vision In Controller Self-Dealing, Zohar Goshen, Assaf Hamdani, Dorothy S. Lund

Faculty Scholarship

The legal regime governing controlling shareholders relies on the ability of Delaware courts to police conflicted transactions under the stringent "entire fairness" standard of review. This review involves both implicit valuation – evaluating the transaction process, and explicit valuation – assessing the fairness of the transaction's financial terms. This Article reveals a critical flaw in this regime: courts cannot reliably engage in valuation when the transaction involves an entrepreneur's idiosyncratic vision for the company. As a result, there is a gaping hole in Delaware's framework for policing the fairness of controller transactions.

Delaware courts have developed guardrails to avoid judicial …

Power Training Impact On Running Ability After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Case Study, Sandra M. Tremblay Pt, Ms, Cws, Mscs

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Responding To Children’S Voices: The New Frontier In Education Policy Reform, Amelia Ruscoe

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

More than thirty years on from the United Nations Convention of the Child honouring a child’s right to be heard (Article 12) has unlocked a new frontier in ethical research. In education, children have demonstrated competence to contribute with insight to recent policy development in Australia. This paper provides further evidence of the critical role children stand to play in education reform. A post-structural perspective is adopted and underpinned with Foucauldian theory of discursive power in the context of school-based affordances. Visual and dialogic qualitative methods are used to compare the impact of powerful discourses upon children’s affordances in the …

Managing The Impact Of Workplace Trauma For Australian First Responders: Harmonizing Policy And Practice, Aglae Hernandez Grande, Fleur Sharafizad, Ben Farr-Wharton, Yvonne Brunetto, Matthew Richman

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Police, fire, ambulance, and emergency services workers face an increased exposure to traumatic events while at work, negatively affecting their mental health, and with broader financial, legal, and moral implications for the public sector organizations that employ them. To better support these workers, and to mitigate the potential financial burden resulting from workers’ compensation claims, many first responder organizations are implementing wellbeing initiatives. This article examines the efficacy of an initiative for a sample of 530 frontline and administrative first responders, working in one state jurisdiction in Australia. The results indicate that wellbeing programmes moderate the impact of trauma on …

Dialogic Drawing: A Pedagogical Tool To Promote And Monitor Learner Engagement, Amelia Ruscoe, Leanne Lavina

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This project presented a unique opportunity to apply an evidence‑based method, Dialogic Drawing, to the longstanding challenge of understanding and monitoring the learner engagement of young children as they begin their school journey. Early childhood is a critical period in which children are not only adjusting to the routines and expectations of school but are also forming their identities as learners. Yet monitoring engagement during this phase is complex. Young children’s developing language and literacy skills prompt educators to think holistically about how children might come to understand and share in their thoughts and feelings about school and learning. While …

Can The Ability To Infer Relevance Account For Dimensional Psychoticism? An Exploration Of A Representative Community Sample, Adam Schwarz, Frank D. Baughman, Evan Dauer, Ruby Koyllor Alarcon Gleeson, Jennifer Haywood, Bo Huei Huang, Karen H. Heslop, Barbara A. Mullan, Susan L. Rossell, Nicolas H. Hart, Darren Haywood

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: Psychoticism is a common feature of psychological disorders. Deficits in perceptual inference have been associated with the development of psychotic symptoms. Traditional testing of perceptual inference has had low ecological validity, limiting the ability to infer functional relationships. The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between the capacity to infer relevance in dynamic environments and dimensional psychoticism, as well as to investigate the association between inferring relevance and dimensional psychoticism. Method: Four hundred participants, representative of the general population of the USA, completed an online questionnaire consisting of the Brief Symptom Inventory, as well as demographic …

Sunset Provisions In The Local Tax Code: Perspectives Of City Leaders In Arkansas Cities Of The First Class, Sara R. Deuster

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

Unlike their federal and state counterparts, local governments do not have someone to pass the buck to when it comes to carrying out public programs and have a limited means to generate their own source revenue to sustain non-enterprise government services. Taxation is the primary means local governments rely on to generate such revenue. With the responsibility to provide services, maintain infrastructure, and accommodate growth, municipalities must capitalize on the taxing authority allowed by their respective state. The purpose of this study was to seek understanding on how city leaders in Arkansas cities of the first class view the use …

Environmental Risk Factors For Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza In Pennsylvania’S Commercial Poultry Industry, Andrew Turner

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

This study examines environmental risk factors associated with outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in Pennsylvania’s commercial poultry industry. Using a case-control design, the analysis evaluates 2,285 geocoded commercial poultry farms through spatial and biostatistical methods aligned with STROBE-Vet reporting guidelines. A broad set of 641 GIS-derived candidate variables, including farm characteristics, bird types, disease incidence, wild bird observations, anthropogenic features, socio-economic indicators, and ecoclimatic conditions, were screened for associations with HPAI infection. The logistic regression model identified the density of infected farms within short distances and the local concentration of duck farms as the strongest …

Mentoring In Support Of The Professional Development And Advancement Of Women As Executives In The Public Sector: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, Holly M. Cirko

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

This study examined the lived experiences of women in municipal management to understand how mentoring influences their career development, leadership pathways, and perceptions of gendered dynamics in the workplace. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach, the research examined how participants made meaning of mentoring relationships, the support they received, and the organizational factors that influenced their access to developmental opportunities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women serving in executive roles across local government. Several major themes emerged: (1) mentoring as a critical resource for navigating gendered workplace challenges, (2) the role of informal and organic relationships in fostering confidence …

Quality Over Quantity: Doula Perspectives On Equity, Access, And Quality Of Care In Black Maternal Health Outcomes, Terry-Ann E. Lynch

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

Black maternal mortality in the United States is a public health crisis. There are a plethora of reasons as to why maternal and fetal deaths disproportionately impact Black women. From a public health perspective, health disparities are an area of concern in marginalized communities, with Black maternal mortality being a risk factor. “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2021, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black (subsequently, Black) women was 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.6 times the rate for non-Hispanic White (subsequently, White) women (26.6)” Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2021” …

The Impact Of Age-Friendly Policy On New York State: How Executive Order-190 And Executive Order-23 Shape Community Development For All Ages, Trista Bercarich

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

The demographic shift toward an aging population has created an urgent need for policies that promote inclusive, livable communities for all ages. This quantitative study examined New York State’s implementation of Age-Friendly policy through Executive Order 190 (2018) and Executive Order 23 (2022), which collectively advance the integration of health, accessibility and community participation across state and local systems. Guided by environmental gerontology and psychology, aging in place and successful aging frameworks, this research utilized an adapted version of the AARP Livable Communities Survey to assess residents’ perceptions of livability with the eight AARP domains. The cross-sectional online survey (n …

Gods Guns: Why Firearms And Firearm Culture Remain Sacred To Rural Americans, Thomas Westrick

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

With ample evidence demonstrating a link between low levels of gun regulation and high levels of firearm fatalities, it seems intuitive that Americans would want to increase the level of firearm regulation to bring down the level of violence. However, the target population, white males living in rural areas of the State of Indiana and practicing the Christian Evangelical Protestant tradition, display high levels of resistance to new firearm regulation. This study sought to explore that resistance through the lens of the rural gun culture with an interpretivist qualitative design using reflexive thematic analysis to answer the research question: How …

An Exploratory Study Of Ukrainian Refugee Resettlement Patterns And Education Resource Needs In Poland, Marta Gintowt

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine that started in late February 2022 triggered a refugee crisis that reverberated throughout Europe. During the onset of the invasion, an estimated five million Ukrainian refugees, mostly women, children, and the elderly, fled to countries in Europe and beyond. Countries were not prepared for the magnitude of the initial influx of refugees, who are a vulnerable population who require specific immediate and long-term supports. As three years have passed since the start of the war, the needs of refugees have evolved, and resources providing educational support to refugee children have taken on increased importance. …

Rewriting The Future: Building Self-Advocates Through Disability Justice, Kayla C. Armstrong

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

This thesis investigates contemporary educational systems and transition practices that shape the experiences of individuals, with a range of disabilities, as they move towards adulthood. The central argument contends that despite decades of progress in disability rights, current transition systems often operate with rigid, compliance-driven practices that ignore student voice, limits autonomy and fails to develop meaningful self-advocacy skills. These practices bring a risk of restricting the capacity of students to participate fully in decisions that shape their futures. Drawing on historical research via a disability justice lens and with a focus on transition policy, this study illustrates how outdated …

A Hopeful Or Hopeless Future? Perspectives On The Challenges And Opportunities In Catholic Education, Christine Robinson, Linda Cranley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The research presented in this paper offers a significant contribution to existing discourse that explores the challenges and opportunities within Catholic education. In an increasingly secularised world, Catholic education continues its mission to form and inform young people in the faith. The Church acknowledges that the Catholic school enacts the mission of the Church in society and does so despite a detraditionalised cultural context. The Global Researchers Advancing Catholic Education, known as G.R.A.C.E, was formed to act as a global network of Catholic educators to respond to the ‘signs of the times’ in an innovative and integrated way. This paper …

An Updated Social Media Users’ Crisis Response Framework, Violetta Wilk, Francesca Stocco, Saiyidi Mat Roni, Ferry Jie

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: This exploratory study aims to investigate social media users’ reactions via user-generated content (UGC) to crisis-affected supply chains, through the lens of Situational Crisis Communication Theory, to: (1) ascertain whether the Social Media Users' Crisis Response (SMUCR) Framework is applicable to a prolonged, multi-brand, global crisis and (2) whether there is any evidence of online brand advocacy (OBA) and online brand detraction (OBD). Design/methodology/approach: Natural language processing (NLP) with Leximancer, enabled thematic and sentiment analyses of 295,024 X (Twitter) posts extracted over a three-year period. Findings: This study found that there were nine stages in social media users’ response …

Rhetorics Or Business As Usual? A Systematic Review Of The Realities Of Australian Aid Localisation Efforts In The Pacific Region, Mark Opoku Amankwa, Clement Amponsah, Kwadwo Adusei-Asante, Vicki Frances Banham, Portia Nana Ama Brempong

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

While Australia increasingly references aid localisation in its programming, implementation remains donor-driven and structurally resistant to local agency. Comprehensive reviews capturing these realities remain scarce. This study synthesises insights from 150 articles obtained from the Web of Science Database to address this gap. Findings reveal persistent donor-driven, hierarchical approaches that marginalise local voices and hinder locally led development. Skill deficits, inadequate information sharing, and underutilisation of local knowledge further undermine effectiveness. Political agendas, market-led narratives, and funding systems prioritising external contractors exacerbate dependency and power imbalances. Antithetically, meaningful local leadership and culturally tailored programs have aligned aid initiatives with community …

Treatment Refusal By Cancer Patients: A Qualitative Study Of Oncology Health Professionals’ Views And Experiences In Australia, Moira O’Connor, Ashleigh Pantaleo, Tracey Williams, Mary Theophilus, Jordan Joseph, Nicolas H. Hart, Darren Haywood

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In some cases, against medical advice, a person with cancer decides not to undergo any conventional, evidence-based cancer treatments including chemotherapy, radiotherapy hormone therapy and others. Estimates for treatment refusal range from 2.6% to 14.55%. Refusing evidence-based conventional cancer treatments is linked to rapid deterioration, poor prognosis and a higher risk of premature death. This study aimed to explore oncology health professionals’ experiences and views on why patients refuse standard cancer treatments. We employed an in-depth qualitative research design, adopting a social constructionist framework. Fourteen health professionals in Western Australia (WA) with experience working in oncology were interviewed. Four themes …

If, And How, To Group By ‘Ability’– Considerations About Class Group Formation, Olivia Johnston, Suzanne Macqueen, Wei Zhang, Nerida Spina, Rebecca Spooner-Lane

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Many schools choose to organise students into classes according to their perceived “ability”, despite evidence that the practice is not beneficial for students, overall. Class grouping by “ability” can exacerbate existing social inequalities by segregating students according to pre-existing educational advantage, which has unjustifiable consequences from a social justice perspective. There is little understanding of how decisions about class groupings are made, but such understanding is a crucial basis for exploring the persistent prevalence of this inequitable and exclusionary practice in Australian schools. This study characterises within-school processes used to decide how to group students into classes. Surveys were completed …

Data-Driven Insights For Optimizing Ev Charging Infrastructure: A Case Study On Efficiency And Utilization, Kazi Zehad Mostofa, Md Fokrul Islam, Mohammad Aminul Islam, Mohammad Khairul Basher, Tarek Abedin, Boon Kar Yap, Mohammad Nur-E-Alam

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The increasing global adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has led to a growing demand for a cost-effective and reliable charging infrastructure. This study presents a novel data-driven approach to assessing EV station performance by analyzing power consumption efficiency, station utilization rates, no-power session occurrences, and CO2 reduction metrics. A dataset of 17,500 charging sessions from 305 stations across a regional network was analyzed to identify operational inefficiencies and opportunities for infrastructure optimization. Results indicate a strong correlation between station utilization and energy efficiency, highlighting the importance of strategic station placement. The findings also emphasize the impact of no-power sessions on …

Enhancing Phygital Customer Experience Through Generative Ai: A Social Listening Method For Strategic Retail Decision-Making, Zahra Dahish, Shah J. Miah, Ameet Pandit, Sanjit K. Roy

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) to transform vast amounts of textual content for strategic insights have been a rapidly growing trend for business researchers. Although various studies have identified applications of GAI in business operations, aspects related to strategic support are yet to be fully developed in the relevant literature. This paper introduces a new GAI-enabled social listening solution that integrates advanced text analytics techniques: (a) Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)–a specialized form of Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) adept at capturing long-term dependencies through its memory function over time, and (b) Google BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers). Our …

Natural Hydrogen Soil Gas Emissions Near Harvey, Perth Basin: A Comparative Study Of Survey Methods, Krista Davies, Peter W. Haines, Charmaine Thomas, Leon Normore

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Quantifying natural hydrogen soil gas emissions and their controlling factors is critical for assessing hydrogen storage viability and improving exploration strategies. This study provides the first detailed comparison of hydrogen emissions near the DMP Harvey-2 well in the Perth Basin and compares the effectiveness of repeated point surveys and autonomous monitoring in capturing emission variability. Hydrogen concentrations ranged from 0 to >1000 ppm in point surveys, with transient pulses up to 598 ppm detected through continuous monitoring, indicating episodic release. Repeated point surveys successfully captured the overall range of emissions but failed to resolve dynamic processes, such as abrupt flux …

The Effects Of Physical Exercise On Emotion Dysregulation In Postsecondary Students With And Without Adhd, Elizabeth Bodalski

Theses and Dissertations

Emotion dysregulation is a common issue among college students with ADHD, and emotion dysregulation in adults with ADHD is associated with many negative outcomes including higher levels of psychological distress and social impairment, poorer functioning at school and work, greater symptoms of anxiety and depression, and lower quality of life. Past work suggests that physical exercise can be useful in treating core ADHD symptoms for children and adolescents with ADHD, but less is known about its effects for young adults with ADHD. Exercise has been shown to be effective in targeting emotion dysregulation among the general adult population. Some work …

Emotions And Cognition, Krystal D. Becks

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Cognitive functioning is linked to emotional processes, with this relationship shaped by various biological (e.g., age, sex, diseases, and genetics), psychological (e.g., emotional well-being, coping strategies, mental health), and sociological (e.g., income and education) factors. Understanding these interactions is critical for advancing research on cognitive-emotional health across diverse populations. Purpose: To examine the relationship between positive and negative emotions and cognitive functioning among healthy adults. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Aging Brain Cohort (ABC) study (n=434). The independent variables were subsets from the NIH toolbox emotional battery. The dependent variables were from the NIH …

Intimate Partner Violence Victims' Experiences With Civil Legal Interventions, Jessica Brooke Pomerantz

Theses and Dissertations

The court system has become a central part of the societal response to intimate partner violence (IPV) and is a frequently used as a source of help for victims (Cattaneo et al., 2013). Despite the importance of a justice system response to IPV, it is not always accessible or helpful to victims. Past research has demonstrated barriers to IPV victims seeking legal intervention including mistrust of the court system generally, extensive and confusing legal processes and procedures, and failure of the courts to assess more invisible forms of abuse (Calton et al., 2017; Cerulli et al., 2015; Cuomo & Dolci, …