Digital Commons Network^™

The Idea Book Club And Tigers Advance: Bringing Faculty And Staff Together To Discuss Equity In Higher Education, Renna Redd

Presentations

The IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness) Book Club was established during the Fall 2019 semester by former Director of Diversity Education Moryah Jackson and Interlibrary Loan Librarian Renna Redd as a continuing education initiative for employees to create a shared syntax and expand collective awareness of the complexities within higher education in South Carolina and the United States through reading and discussing a common text. One of the goals of the initiative was to provide free copies of the selected book to participants so that they could participate without financial commitment, not increase screen time unnecessarily, and share the …

The Influence Of Strings In Gospel And Contemporary Christian Music: The Role Of The Instrument And The Producer, Kelsei Peppars

Composition/Recording Projects

This paper will examine the use of strings (with an emphasis on the violin) in early Gospel music, contemporary Gospel music, and Contemporary Christian Music. The purpose of this research is to analyze the role of the violin and strings in these genres of music, while also analyzing the technical and melodic aspects of the instrument and music that are present within these specific genres, both historically and presently. Furthermore, the technical aspects and processes of production (writing and arranging, booking, creating, contracting, producing, and performing) will be explored and discussed. This project will Display and describe the use of …

From Migration Externalization To Coercive Engineered Migration: Effects Of The European Union's Migration Policies On The Human Rights Of Migrants, Annette Quinn

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

The growing concern over migration to the European Union (EU) through the Mediterranean, particularly since 2015, has led the EU to develop strategies that externalize migration control to third countries, shifting the responsibility for migrants. While externalization policies help the EU reduce migration, putting the care for migrants in the hands of third countries that often are not equipped to help them can lead to human rights abuses and poor conditions for migrants. The EU has adopted these policies in order to avoid their responsibilities to migrants, who gain many rights once entering EU territory; however, these policies actually put …

Strategies To Increase Job Satisfaction In Remote Finance Urban Healthcare Workers, Kenna Johnson

Leadership Education Capstones

As the world changed with COVID-19, as did the future following it for workers in all fields. Working remotely has become a routine for many employees. Technology has allowed organizations to expand where employees work. Healthcare workers who were not on the front lines are now working remotely, including workers in finance. The research design was a qualitative study. The data obtained from this research focused on major themes of urban healthcare finance remote workers' challenges and what strategies can be implemented to increase job satisfaction overall. The crucial data points of challenges faced included the lack of communication between …

Decisions Athletic Directors Face When Allocating Funds In An Athletic Department, Joseph Mueller

Leadership Education Capstones

The purpose of this study is to understand the decision-making process athletic directors use when allocating funds within an athletic department. The research is intended to identify the decision-making process athletic directors use when dealing with finances in their department. Athletic directors have a large role in an athletic department and are the driving force for their institution’s athletics, especially regarding the finances related to athletics. Using a qualitative research method using interviews, surveys, and document review, themes of budgeting plans, fundraising, and benchmark analysis emerged.

(Un)Hidden Whiteness: A Critical Policy Analysis On Race-Related Education Policies, Kerry Foraker Green

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Over the last three years (2020-2023), many state legislatures responded to grassroots campaigns for social justice by enrolling legislation that explicitly and implicitly bans Critical Race Theory (CRT) and controls race-related instruction and training. This study examines race-related educational policies enacted by Iowa, Texas, and Florida legislation as leading examples of these efforts. The research question guiding this study was how educational school policies related to CRT in Texas, Florida, and Iowa are framed in state documents. The legislative frame includes the process and language that is utilized in crafting these bills to reveal the policies origins and goals. Three …

Sherry Colb’S Insight

Connecticut Law Review

No abstract provided.

Moving To Digitized Health Care: Why Hipaa Coverage Needs To Be Expanded

Connecticut Law Review

The rapid development of personal technology over the past few years has thrust health care online. Most people have used some form of health tracking apps, nutrition apps, or exercise and fitness apps. The expansion of telehealth services and apps during the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift toward online health care. Digitized health care, whether accessed through a mobile app, a web site, or a telehealth service, provides a convenient and efficient means for people to access health care services. But this new access comes with a hidden cost: a risk of unauthorized use of private health information. This Comment …

The Lived Experiences Of Deaf People In Carceral Settings, Grace Lester

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

There is a paucity of research that explores the deaf experience within carceral settings, and a lack of large, rigorously designed studies that provide conclusive evidence of this phenomenon. Similarly, policy development regarding the abolition of, or reformations to, the corrections system in the United States rarely addresses the needs of deaf people within this system. A lack of understanding of the experiences of deaf individuals creates a barrier to the assurance that justice is provided equitably through effective, accessible services and facilities which carceral structures may be inherently unequipped to provide. Through semi-structured interviews, this preliminary study inquired formerly …

A New And Improved Doctrine Of Double Effect: Not Just For Trolleys

Connecticut Law Review

In its standard formulation, the doctrine of double effect (DDE) permits an action that causes foreseeable and harmful, even dire, collateral consequences, so long as the actor merely foresees but does not intend them and the harms are proportional to the benefit. Yet DDE’s critics question the moral distinction between intending a bad outcome, on one hand, and merely knowing that the actions will result in the bad outcome but acting in exactly the same way, on the other. After all, except in a few narrow circumstances, criminal law in the United States treats intent and knowledge as equally culpable …

Dystopian Trademark Revelations

Connecticut Law Review

Uncovering dystopian technologies is challenging. Nondisclosure agreements, procurement policies, trade secrets, and strategic obfuscation collude to shield the development and deployment of these technologies from public scrutiny until it is too late to combat them with law or policy. But occasionally, exposing dystopian technologies is simple. Corporations choose technology trademarks inspired by dystopian philosophies and novels or similar elements of real life—all warnings that their potential uses are dystopian as well. That pronouncement is not necessarily trumpeted on social media or corporate websites, however. It is revealed in a more surprising place: trademark registrations at the U.S. Patent and Trademark …

The Connecticut Clean Slate Law

Connecticut Law Review

By erasing or sealing criminal records, Clean Slate policies propose a second-chance opportunity of employment, housing, and education to thousands of Americans. In targeting the archaic and inaccessible processes of expunging and sealing records, Clean Slate ambitiously pursues economic and public safety policy goals. In 2021, Connecticut joined the states devoted to ascribing to these goals when it enacted a Clean Slate law that aids thousands of Connecticut residents who face major disadvantages as a result of misdemeanor or low-level felony records stemming from years-old convictions.

Supporters of Connecticut’s Clean Slate law theorize that without the barriers imposed by criminal …

Patent Office Power And Discretionary Denials

Connecticut Law Review

One of the most divisive and debated issues in patent law in recent years has been the Patent Office’s practice of denying petitions for inter partes review (IPR)—the Patent Office proceeding to review and cancel wrongfully issued patents—on discretionary procedural grounds, such as duplicative Patent Office proceedings or the existence of advanced parallel litigation. On the surface, the discretionary denial practice seems like an odd candidate to provoke such fierce opposition. Discretionary denials have affected a small percentage of IPR petitions without making any changes to the features that have made IPRs so effective at invalidating “bad” patents. As a …

An Economic And Regulatory Analysis Of Breast Cancer Drugs Approved By The Us Food And Drug Administration, Abdullah Althomali

Pharmaceutical Sciences (MS) Theses

Introduction

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. The pharmacological options for breast cancer include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, which are used for the prevention or treatment of breast cancer. This study assessed trends in FDA approvals and prices at the market entry of new drugs indicated for breast cancer in the period 1980-2022. The study also evaluated the factors associated with the price of the new breast cancer drugs at market entry.

Material and Methods

Regulatory data were collected from the FDA website, and …

Investigation Of Degradation Of Solar Photovoltaics: A Review Of Aging Factors, Impacts, And Future Directions Toward Sustainable Energy Management, Eklas Hossain

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The degradation of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules is caused by a number of factors that have an impact on their effectiveness, performance, and lifetime. One of the reasons contributing to the decline in solar PV performance is the aging issue. This study comprehensively examines the effects and difficulties associated with aging and degradation in solar PV applications. In light of this, this article examines and analyzes many aging factors, including temperature, humidity, dust, discoloration, cracks, and delamination. Additionally, the effects of aging factors on solar PV performance, including the lifetime, efficiency, material degradation, overheating, and mismatching, are critically investigated. Furthermore, …

The Utah Statesman, May 1, 2023, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Exploring The Relationship Between Dreissenids And The Deep Chlorophyll Layer In The Laurentian Great Lakes, Lara E. Hargrave

Great Lakes Center Masters Theses

In the Laurentian Great Lakes, two invasive bivalves Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis have induced a number of changes, including increased water transparency, alterations in nutrient cycling, decreased chlorophyll concentrations, and changes in phytoplankton community composition and structure. These changes are likely to have implications for the deep chlorophyll layer (DCL), a feature characterized by phototrophic organisms reaching abundance at light levels far below ideal for photosynthesis. Though the impacts of D. polymorpha and D. r. bugensis in the Great Lakes have been studied for at least the last three decades, little is known about how these ecosystem engineers …

The Study Of A Generalized Fitness Education Program's Effect On Personality Traits, Garrett Schliep

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This longitudinal study was to measure the influence of a generalized fitness education program on the percentile of individuals’ personality traits in college aged individuals. The personality traits are those determined in the Five Factor Model of Personality. The Five Factor Model of Personality is a beneficial tool used in exercise psychology that refers to a broad domain of personality traits often referred to as the “Big Five”. The findings reject the hypothesis that a fitness education program would shift an individual’s personality a statistically significant amount.

Optimizing Wedding Venue Selection Process Using Integer Programming, Luis Rodriguez

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Choosing the right wedding venue can be extremely difficult for the unsuspecting engaged couple. There is a myriad of variables that must be taken into account prior to the illustrious wedding date; these variables include the option for a reception, the location, and food requirements, to name a few. Consequently, the typical couple seems to spend multiple months researching and visiting many wedding spaces. However, even though months go into planning, it still is not a guarantee that all variables are accounted for. Furthermore, without a wedding planner, these couples may second-guess their chosen site due to seemingly arduous issues …

Fault Influence On Castle Mesa Fracture Node Pattern, Kaitlin Steinauer

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Fracture nodes are useful in determining the connectivity of a fracture pattern which is important when considering hydrogeological and mechanical behavior of a rock. Four node types are used to describe the pattern, including isolated (I), perpendicular abutting (T), low-angle abutting (Y), and cross-cutting (X). Faults can affect a fracture pattern by creating a highly fractured zone in their vicinity. I investigate the Moab Tongue Member of the Entrada Formation at Castle Mesa in Moab, Utah to determine a) how the percentage of different node types changes with distance from the fault, b) any difference in node type proportions between …

Difficulties Faced By Non-Native English Speakers In Healthcare Settings, Abigail Mitchell

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Language barriers in healthcare settings can cause many difficulties for both the patient and others involved. These issues, such as problems in communication and decreased comfort levels, can worsen patients’ understanding and impair their experiences in healthcare settings. This area requires attention and further research, as it has been found that these challenges in communication increase the issue of patient safety. They also cause a reduction in patients’ satisfaction with the treatment (Al Shamsi et al., 2020). In this study, a survey was distributed throughout the Omaha area to better understand the prevalence and severity of issues regarding difficulties …

Gaze During Turning In Older Adults, Kalina Mavrov

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

To navigate complex environments, our gaze needs to attenuate to locomotor tasks, such as walking and turning. Shifting gaze (i.e., rotation of the eyes and head), is important when moving through different environments. The aim of this study was to compare gaze anticipation during clinical tests and complex real-world locomotion. I hypothesized that older adults would shift their gaze in a new heading direction in anticipation of turns. I further predicted increased gaze anticipation in tasks that have a high demand for spatial orientation. Participants were asked to complete clinical tasks consisting of a 2-minute walk, figure-8, and 360-turning in …

Comparing Speech Sound Production Skills Across Two-Year Olds With Varying Language Proficiency Using Phonetic Inventory And Word-Shape Complexity, Makayla Eberly

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Purpose. Young children, who by the time they are two years of age, have 50 or fewer words in their expressive lexicon and produce few to no two-words phrases are often identified as demonstrating “late language emergence” (LLE). The nature of the relationship between speech sound (phonological) production development and LLE continues to be an important area of inquiry in the field of speech-language pathology with clinical intervention implications. The present study aimed to further distinguish and confirm associations between phonological productions and language proficiency status at two years of age.

Method. Participants (n = 20) were divided into two …

Masthead, Cleveland State Journal Of Law And Health

Journal of Law and Health

No abstract provided.

Death By Detox: Substance Withdrawal, A Possible Death Row For Individuals In Custody, Dorothea R. Carleton

Journal of Law and Health

Suffering through substance withdrawal is a major problem for the majority of individuals in custody, yet there are no guidelines or standards to ensure their safety. Instead, individuals in custody are having their Constitutional rights violated and many die at the hands of the justice system. When their families seek accountability for the lack of adequate care provided by correctional facilities and employees, families are faced with a lack of consistency from one circuit to the next for knowing as to the correct standard to have a successful claim. Strain v. Regalado was a chance for the Supreme Court to …

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell Mitochondrial Dysfunction In Acute Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis, Annette Bellar, Nicole Welch, Jaividhya Dasarathy, Amy Attaway, Ryan Musich, Avinash Kumar, Jinendiran Sekar, Saurabh Mishra, Yana I. Sandlers, Et. Al

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Background: Patients with acute alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) have immune dysfunction. Mitochondrial function is critical for immune cell responses and regulates senescence. Clinical translational studies using complementary bioinformatics-experimental validation of mitochondrial responses were performed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with AH, healthy controls (HC), and heavy drinkers without evidence of liver disease (HD).
Methods: Feature extraction for differentially expressed genes (DEG) in mitochondrial components and telomere regulatory pathways from single-cell RNAseq (scRNAseq) and integrated 'pseudobulk' transcriptomics from PBMC from AH and HC (n = 4 each) were performed. After optimising isolation and processing protocols for functional studies in …

Feasibility Study: Application Of Steel Sheet-Piles For The Abutment Of Water-Crossing Bridges In Nebraska, Seunghee Kim, Jongwan Eun, Chung R. Song, Chungwook Sim, Hung Phi Van, Basil Abualshar, Ramin Ziaei Tabari

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The overall goal of this study is to investigate the anticipated performance of steel sheet-pile bridge abutments to encourage its wider application to not only new construction but also repair and replacement of existing water-crossing bridges in Nebraska. For this purpose, this study first reviewed several bridge cases with axially loaded sheet pile abutments, as well as previous in-depth studies related to the bearing capacity of sheet piles. Then, this study conducted the large-scale direct shear tests to better understand the interaction between sheet pile and soil. As a result, about four-fifths of the internal friction angle of fill sand …

Convergence: Eos News And Updates, May 2023, Unh Institute For The Study Of Earth, Oceans And Space

Convergence: EOS News and Updates

No abstract provided.

Ask The Better Question: Using Bigfoot To Introduce Constructive Approaches To Authority, Kate Wimer

Faculty Publications - George Fox University Library

Librarians know that authority is constructed and contextual, but getting our students there can feel as elusive as Sasquatch himself. Our Bigfoot-themed classroom activity pursues a strengths-based approach, challenging increasing incredulity for new information and checklist research mentalities among our undergraduates. It asks students to ignore the good source/bad source dichotomy in favor of the question, "What can I learn from this source?". This session will explain how we started with the BEAM rhetorical framework, showcase our materials and method, and discuss our love of Bigfoot as an accessible topic for students learning to challenge their existing mindsets.

Participants will: …

Toward A Deeper Integration Of Low-Fidelity Sketches Into Mobile Application Development, Soumik Mohian

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Mobile application development often starts with creating low-fidelity sketches of user interfaces. Integrating these sketches into the software development process can reduce repetition, narrow the gap between user perception and final implementation, and improve app resilience. In this study, we introduce the DoodleUINet dataset, which comprises over 10K sketches of UI elements. Our Doodle2App tool converts low-fidelity sketches into a single-page, compilable Android app. At the same time, our PSDoodle provides an interactive, partial sketch-based search engine with a top-10 screen retrieval accuracy comparable to the state-of-the-art SWIRE line of work but with a 50% reduction in the average required …