Digital Commons Network^™

Vector-Borne Viral Diseases In Horses, Sunutcha Suntrarachun

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Vector-borne viral diseases are major threats to equine health worldwide. These infections are transmitted by arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes, biting midges, and horseflies, resulting in clinical manifestations ranging from mild febrile illness to severe neurological, respiratory, circulatory, or hematologic disorders with high mortality rates. Major equine vector-borne viral diseases include African horse sickness (AHS), equine infectious anemia (EIA), equine encephalomyelitis (Eastern: EEE, Western: WEE, and Venezuelan: VEE), West Nile virus (WNV), and Japanese encephalitis (JE). Each disease is caused by a distinct viral pathogen and transmitted by specific vectors that influence their epidemiology and geographic distribution. Transmission occurs through …

Reference Values For Intraocular Pressure In Collared Scops Owls (Otus Lettia) Measured Using Rebound Tonometry, Yun-Shan Chiu, Chau-Hwa Chie, Pin-Huan Yu, Chung-Tien Lin

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

In this study, we aimed to establish species-specific reference values for intraocular pressure (IOP) in clinically healthy collared scops owls (Otus lettia) using rebound tonometry. Twelve free-living owls were included, and twentyfour eyes were examined. All owls were physically restrained in an upright position without sedation. Intraocular pressure was measured in both eyes using rebound tonometry (TONOVET; iCare Finland Oy, Vantaa, Finland) in d mode. No significant difference in IOP was observed between the right and left eyes. The mean IOP values were 10.42 ± 1.24 mmHg (median, 11 mmHg; range, 8–12 mmHg) in the right eye and 10.75 ± …

A Storm-Ai Primer With An Operationally Representative Example, Shiu-Kai Chin, Matthew Clark, Garrett Katz, Jae C. Oh, William Young

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

A STORM-AI Primer with an Operationally Representative Example presents the Systems-Theoretic Technical and Operational Risk Management with Artificial Intelligence (STORM-AI) methodology, a transdisciplinary framework for establishing the trustworthiness of mission systems that may incorporate AI components. The core value proposition of STORM-AI is mission assurance—ensuring that mission systems behave with the predictability and proportionality required by senior leadership and demanded by international humanitarian law. STORM-AI achieves this by faithfully preserving commander's intent from high-level mission descriptions down to hardware-level behavioral specifications through a structured sequence of four formally grounded models: a Mission Model, a Protection (Loss Control) Model, a Security …

From Compliance To Regulation: Comparing Sensory And Behavioral Approaches For Elementary Students With Emotional Behavioral Disorders (Ebd), Morgan M. Lassila

Graduate Teacher Education

Traditional elementary classroom management often relied on top-down behavioral compliance models, which frequently proved insufficient when a student with an Emotional Behavioral Disorder (EBD) experienced physiological dysregulation. This systematic research synthesis examined literature from the past 15 years to evaluate how proactive, bottom-up, sensory-based interventions (SBIs) compared with traditional behavioral supports in reducing emotional dysregulation among public school elementary students (K-5). The findings indicated that the most effective methodology required a dual-approach framework. Integrating conventional behavioral tools, such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS), with proactive sensory strategies effectively targeted the neurological roots of behavior. Furthermore, the literature demonstrated …

Split Alliance And Relationship Satisfaction In Couples Therapy: Examining Split Alliance As A Process Variable, Kyla Yetter

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined how different patterns of alliance development impact couples' relationship satisfaction, with a particular emphasis on split alliances. The retrospective sample of 1149 couples was taken from the IRB approved Marriage and Family Therapy Practice Research Network. Alliance was measured at each session with the Intersession Alliance Measure- Couples version (IAM-C). The outcome variable, relationship satisfaction, was measured before the first and last sessions of therapy with the Couple Relationship Scale (CRS). Split alliance was operationalized using standard deviation differences in partners' alliance scores, and couples were divided into three groups: 1) Never had a split alliance, …

Enhancing Emotional Support For Advanced Placement Students, Laine Mckay Nesbitt

Theses and Dissertations

Although they may struggle with their emotional well-being, academically accelerated students are underrepresented in the research literature. Teachers are in a position to influence students' emotional well-being. Minimal qualitative research with student voices has been conducted. This study highlights the perspectives of students who have participated in an academically accelerated program. Students were interviewed about what their teachers do to help or hinder their emotional well-being and what they wish that teachers could do to support their emotional well-being. A total of 14 high school students were interviewed using the critical incident technique (CIT). The participants emphasized the importance of …

Maternal Perspectives On Support Needs: Insights From The Fonofale Model, Sara Lani Ditto

Theses and Dissertations

This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) explored the lived experiences of parents raising children with disabilities in American Samoa. Five participants across two focus groups shared their perspectives on navigating educational, healthcare, and community systems while supporting their children with disabilities. Using the fonofale model as a cultural framework, the study incorporated culturally responsive methodology including card sort activities to facilitate dialogue on potentially sensitive topics. Analysis followed the Nizza et al. (2021) IPA approach, progressing from exploratory notes to experiential statements, clustered themes, and finally overarching themes. Findings revealed four major themes: systemic burden on parents, structural and service gaps, …

Respect And Aggression In Intimate Relationships: A Grounded Theory Of Relational Responsiveness, Aaron T. Fife

Theses and Dissertations

The negative effects of aggression in intimate relationships have been well documented through research and clinical literature (Lawrence & Bradbury, 2001; Shortt et al., 2006). Conversely, the positive effects of respectful behavior are well-known (Gottman, 1994; Dew & Wilcox, 2013). This important dimension of relationships is crucial to understanding what makes up healthy and unhealthy relationships. However, little is known about how couples understand the varying types of respect and aggression within intimate relationships, nor how they are lived and experienced relationally. The purpose of this study is to explore the dyadic processes behind respect and aggression as well as …

Toward Passwordless Document Encryption, Isaac Henry Teuscher

Theses and Dissertations

Document files with sensitive information are used across nearly every industry. In recent years, cyberattacks targeting cloud-based file transfer applications have resulted in millions of sensitive documents being exposed. Although document encryption methods exist, they are often limited in usability, security, or deployability. Password-based encryption, the most widely available option, remains vulnerable to brute-force attacks, unauthorized sharing, and human error. We address these gaps in three phases. First, we present a structured comparative framework adapted from the usability-deployability-security model to evaluate nine document encryption methods across 15 design properties, identifying the benefits and limitations of current approaches. Second, we design …

A Lesson In Class: How Parents' Class Identity Changes Relate To Children's Exposure To Social Classes -- A Latent Profile Analysis, L. Caroline Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Class inequality in the United States has reached levels not seen since the late 1920s. This inequality has been linked to numerous harmful societal outcomes and may be particularly detrimental for children, who often experience limited intergroup contact with individuals from different social class backgrounds. Drawing on Social Identity Theory and the significant role parents play in shaping children's social environments, this study examined how White and Black parents' changes in perceived social class from childhood to adulthood relate to the ways they prioritize exposing their children to different social class environments (N = 702, U.S. sample). Latent Profile Analysis …

Likes, Lies, And Body Esteem: The Moderating Effects Of Age, Concealment, And Gender Between Social Media And Body Esteem For Utah Adolescents, Talise Hirschi

Theses and Dissertations

Social media use has become common among adolescents and contains many messages about one's body such as the thin and muscular ideal. Many parents are learning how to help their adolescent learn how to use social media, and some adolescents may conceal their social media use for various reasons. 588 adolescents (ages 11-18; 77% White; 55% female) from Utah filled out surveys about their social media use and body esteem each school year. In a two-wave cross lag panel model, specific aspects of social media use such as time spent on social media, problematic media use (PMU), and social media …

I Will Defend My Self, Emily Ward Hawkins

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines caregiving and motherhood as forms of load-bearing infrastructure. Cultural narratives often portray motherhood through sentimental images of joy, tenderness, and devotion, obscuring the structural labor that sustains family life. This project examines maternal labor as a largely unseen system of support that organizes family life while often remaining backgrounded. Caregiving reorganizes time, space, ambition, embodiment, and future orientation within maternal life. Through sculptural works using architectural materials and construction systems, such as oriented strand board, blueprint racks, metal armatures, and graph paper, the project visualizes caregiving as a structural condition. These materials reference the language of architecture …

Practical Implementation Of Ethnomathematics To Increase The Engagement, Math Self-Efficacy, And Hawaiian Cultural Identity Of HawaiʻI Algebra 2 Students, Kamalani George Mamatuki Kaluhiokalani

Theses and Dissertations

The underrepresentation of Hawaiian cultural practices in mathematics education has contributed to a disconnect between students' cultural identities and their academic experiences, resulting in diminished engagement among Native Hawaiian learners. This design-based research examines the integration of ethnomathematics into high school mathematics curricula, with a focus on Hawaiian cultural practices as frameworks for teaching mathematical concepts. Participants include approximately 100 students in Hawaiʻi from a public school and a private school, as well as two mathematics teachers with varying degrees of experience in culturally responsive pedagogy and ethnomathematics. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study collects data through classroom observations, teacher …

This One's For The Girls: Co-Creating A Social Confidence Group Intervention For Autistic Adolescent Girls, Kendra Noelle Zitzman

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have been completed regarding social confidence-building interventions for individuals with autism. However few studies have studied autistic females' experience with social confidence and targeted interventions for their unique needs. The purpose of this study was to co-create a social confidence curriculum with adolescent and young adult autistic females based on their experiences, perceived strengths and weaknesses, and goals. We analyzed first-person experiences and perceptions about social confidence-building interventions and supports. We used pre- and post-group interviews of the adolescent autistic participants (n =11) and college-aged mentors (n = 4), pre- and post-group measures with the Social Responsiveness Scale, …

Influence Of Timed Repeated Readings On Grade 2 French Immersion Students' Reading Fluency And Comprehension, Kathryn Rosie Baldwin

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of Timed Repeated Reading (TRR) on reading fluency, comprehension, and reading attitudes among second grade students in a French Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program in Utah. Forty-one students from two pre-existing classroom groups participated over 11 weeks, with one class receiving TRR and the other serving as a control. Fluency was measured in correct words per minute (CWPM), comprehension through cloze tests, and attitudes using a seven-item affective survey with a four-point visual scale. A mixed between-within subjects ANOVA analysed pre- and post-test data across four intervals. Results showed significant fluency gains over time for …

Beyond The Bell Curve: Understanding Native American Academic Placements, Sarah-Margaret Clark

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined biases regarding the referrals that teachers make regarding student placement recommendations for Native American students. Special education teachers (n = 97) from around the United States completed a digital card sort task involving 24 fictitious student record cards. The student record cards contained subtle information about the ethnicity of the student, as indicated through the use of racial identification (Native American, Asian, or White) on the student records and the use of student names that may be associated with these three categories. Academic information was equal among each of these three groups. Each group contained identical male …

Calibration And Validation Of An Ogden Material Model For Thermoplastic Polyurethane In 3d-Printed Tensegrity Structures, Caleb C. Swain

Theses and Dissertations

This work is motivated by ongoing efforts within the Smart Materials, Adaptronics, and Shock Laboratory (SMASH Lab) at Brigham Young University (BYU) to develop variable-stiffness, external fixators using 3D-printed tensegrity structures. In the process of designing and evaluating these systems, the need arose to accurately model the nonlinear mechanical behavior of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), the primary material used in prototype fabrication. This thesis investigates how accurately a calibrated Ogden material model can predict the nonlinear mechanical response of TPU in 3D-printed tensegrity structures. Experimental data were used to calibrate the parameters of the hyperelastic constitutive model through nonlinear optimization. An …

Pengaruh Intervensi Sigo Terhadap Perbaikan Postur Kerja Dan Penurunan Keluhan Musculoskeletal Disorders Pada Pekerja Sewing Di Cv X Sukoharjo, Sumardiyono Sumardiyono, Tiara Damar Pratiwi, Warda Yussy Rha

National Journal of Occupational Health and Safety

Sewing workers in the garment industry are at high risk of developing non-ergonomic working postures that may lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), due to prolonged static postures and the use of chairs that are not compatible with workers’ anthropometry. Preliminary surveys indicated complaints of pain in the back, neck, and waist (90%), shoulders and forearms (85%), and upper arms (80%). An ergonomic intervention that can be implemented is the use of ergonomic chairs. This study aims to analyze the effect of using SIGO (Seat Improvement for Garment Operators) as an ergonomic intervention on improving working posture and reducing MSD complaints …

Urban Indian Parents' Occupational Perceptions Of Play And Governance Of Children's Excessive Screen Time Preferences And Behaviours In This Digital Era, Joanna Priyadarshini Udaykumar, Tony Sam George

International Journal of Playwork Practice

Abstract

Children’s innate urge to engage in joyous, self-directed, meaningful, iterative activities embodies their unique play experiences and facilitates their holistic development. However, the exponential growth of digital technology in an urbanized world has transformed their social landscape by offering them a plethora of novel play opportunities that ‘pushes children away from the outdoors and pulls them indoors’. Moreover, the radical transition from nature-based recreation to media-centric activity insinuates the surge of a global pandemic characterized by low physical activity, sleep deprivation and sedentary, lifestyle diseases. This emerging trend reflects children’s predilection for videophilia over biophilia due to the dominance …

An Access-Control Logic In Hol (Trindemossen 2), Shiu-Kai Chin

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

This manual documents the embedding of an access-control logic (ACL) — as presented in the textbook Access Control, Security, and Trust: A Logical Approach (Chin and Older, 2011) — within the Cambridge Higher-Order Logic theorem prover HOL-4. The logic is a multi-agent modal logic with Kripke semantics. Its purpose is to reason about authentication, authorization, integrity, security, and trust. The inference rules of the ACL are proved to be sound. The inference rules are a command-and-control (C2) calculus. The value of the ACL is its support for rigorous, verified, and trustworthy policies for complete mediation, i.e., where all actions are …

From The Edge To The Grounds Of “Sentientism”, David Degrazia

Animal Sentience

Birch’s book is a remarkable exploration of the nature of sentience, its moral salience, evidence for its presence, and how to arrive at humane policies regarding our treatment of human beings, animals, brain organoids, and AI systems of uncertain sentience. Although Birch endorses the view that sentience is of fundamental moral importance, he endeavors to remain neutral among reasonable moral views and work out how to navigate through uncertainty—both ethical and epistemological—to arrive at defensible policies. While making common cause with Birch’s project, my own recent book advances a developed case in favor of the “sentientism” Birch endorses.

Passion For Accurate Journalism Fuels Support, Bill Dabney

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – A lifelong belief in the power of accurate journalism, along with a personal connection to the profession, led Missy Pace Callero to support a new initiative shaping the future of news produced from the University of Mississippi.

Quality Improvement Project: The Impact Of A Safety Coach Program In A Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Royanne Lickliter

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Patient safety remains a critical concern in healthcare, with hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) contributing to preventable harm, mortality, and increased costs, particularly in high-acuity settings such as Pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). A recent safety culture survey at a tertiary pediatric hospital identified gaps in proactive safety behaviors, communication, and psychological safety. The primary problem identified was inconsistent engagement in proactive safety practices and limited frontline empowerment to identify and mitigate risks in real time. The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to evaluate the impact of implementing a structured Safety Coach Program in the PICU on HAC rates, …

Institutional Influences And The Governance And Administration Of The Programa Produtor De Água Payment For Ecosystem Services Program In Brazil, Thomas G. Safford

Faculty Publications

Payment-for-Ecosystem-Services (PES) has been promoted as an innovative approach to environmental governance capable of simultaneously advancing conservation and sustainable development objectives. While studies commonly assess the ecological and economic performance of PES schemes, less attention has been given to their organizational and administrative effectiveness. This study examines these governance dimensions of one of Latin America’s most prominent PES initiatives—the Water Producer Program (WPP) in Brazil. Drawing on a meta-synthesis of 125 publications, the analysis investigates how regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive institutional forces shaped WPP implementation. Guided by neo-institutional theory and institutional bricolage, findings show that WPP governance operated through hybrid …

Exploring Generative Artificial Intelligence Perceptions And Information Retrieval Behaviors Among Students: An Investigation Of Google Search And Chatgpt Queries, Annie Kiele Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Generative AI tools are rapidly reshaping how undergraduate students seek and engage with academic information, yet empirical understanding of what drives adoption and how students behave when using these tools relative to traditional search engines remains limited. This study examined undergraduate students’ information-retrieval behaviors and perceptions when using ChatGPT compared to Google Search, using the technology acceptance model (TAM; Davis, 1989) extended to include trust (Gefen et al., 2003) as the guiding framework. An embedded mixed-methods design was employed, in which Likert-scale perception ratings provided a structured quantitative signal and thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews, structured information-retrieval tasks, and concurrent …

Unlocking Potential: Teachers' Perspectives On 504 Accommodations For Students With Adhd, Haley Stubbs

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined high school teachers' perspectives on the development, implementation, and effectiveness of Section 504 accommodations for students with ADHD. Five secondary teachers from a public high school participated in a focus group, and data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Findings indicate that teachers report limited understanding of the 504 process, minimal involvement in eligibility decisions, and little training on how to implement accommodations. Teachers describe accommodations as vague and difficult to apply consistently within the constraints of secondary classrooms, often relying on universal classroom practices and student self-advocacy to meet student needs. Teachers also question whether accommodations …

Overview, David L. Groves

Visions in Leisure and Business

No abstract provided.

Introduction, David L. Groves

Visions in Leisure and Business

No abstract provided.

Evolution And Assessment Of Employee/Workplace Services, David L. Groves

Visions in Leisure and Business

No abstract provided.

Ps, David L. Groves

Visions in Leisure and Business

No abstract provided.