Digital Commons Network^™

Can Music-Based Interventions Improve The Prelinguistic Skills Of Young Children On The Autism Spectrum? A Systematic Review, Blythe Serrano

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Many children on the autism spectrum have difficulty developing prelinguistic skills

such as joint attention, purposeful vocalization, and gesture, which are strongly

related to later expressive and receptive language development. This systematic

review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of music-based interventions in

supporting the development of these foundational prelinguistic skills in young

children on the autism spectrum. Five databases were searched, yielding a total of

332 results. Five articles ultimately met criteria for inclusion. Results of these studies

were mixed, with studies in which the intervention was delivered by a professional

rather than a caregiver yielding more positive results. Additional …

Experiences Of Friendships And Artificial Intelligence, Victoria L. Hober, Chloe Nelson

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between friendship and the use of AI companions. Participants (N=136) completed an online survey that included questions from four questionnaires: Perceptions of Companion AI Impacts (PCI), which was developed for the purpose of this study, Lubben Social Network Scale -Revised (Lubben, 1988), Self Disclosure Scale (Augustine & Essel, 2024), and Openness to Use AI Companion, which was also created for the use of this study. Through these tests, the researchers aimed to measure the perceived risks and benefits associated with AI companion use, as well as social belongingness, willingness to …

Using Geoscience To Empower A Community And Provide Access To Potable Groundwater, Hendratta Ali Dr

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Access to potable water remains challenging around the world and remains one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Barriers to clean water access are exacerbated by the lack of technical expertise, limited funding for education and training, and the absence of reliable infrastructure that provides access to clean water. The Geoscientists Without Borders program, supported FHSU with funding to test, explore and provide access to clean potable groundwater to a rural community in Cameroon. We conducted water quality analyses, identified, mapped and located deep aquifers in fractured metamorphic rocks. Water quality analyses showed acidic pH and elevated amounts …

Mandibular Ecomorphology Of Tylosaurus (Reptilia: Mosasauridae), Andrew I. Price, Amanda Peng

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

The large mosasaur Tylosaurus is known to have been a predator of large marine animals. Performing beam theory analysis, a computational technique that uses linear dimensions of a structure to calculate its resistance to bending, on the mandibles of six Tylosaurus specimens from the Smoky Hill Chalk of Kansas indicates dorsoventral and mediolateral bending strength both increase posteriorly along the mandible. Comparisons with Varanus komodoensis indicate relatively greater mediolateral bending strength mid-dentary in Tylosaurus, suggesting that resisting torsional forces of struggling prey was more important at this landmark in Tylosaurus and that more of its jaw length was used …

The Efficacy Of Informal Mindfulness Practices Towards Enhancing Psychological Well-Being And Life Satisfaction Among College Students, Carol Patrick, Tianhui Xie

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

US college students face psychological challenges from academic pressure and social demands. Informal mindfulness practices may help reduce stress and improve mental well-being. Previous studies have looked at informal contemplative practices in daily life. However, none have studied skincare as a mindfulness practice. This study investigates whether incorporating informal mindfulness into skincare routines can enhance well-being, life satisfaction, and mindfulness in US college students.

Over a 14-day experimental period, approximately 150 participants were assigned to one of the three groups: a mindful skincare group, a descriptive skincare group, or a no-intervention group. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the PERMA …

Physical Therapy Patient Exercise Adherence Intervention, Carter D. Booe, Dean Clark, Ernesto Duenez, Aiden Haworth, Nathan Jaeger, Gabe Tross, Emery Wolfe

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Non-adherence to prescribed home exercise programs significantly undermines the efficacy of physical therapy (PT), with research indicating only approximately 35% of patients fully adhere to regimens. This issue contributes to suboptimal recovery and places a staggering financial burden on the healthcare system, estimated at $100 billion to $300 billion annually. The Physical Therapy Home Exercise Adherence Trial (PT-HEAT) evaluates the effectiveness of a 14-week behavioral education intervention designed to improve patient adherence outside the clinical setting.

Utilizing the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) model, this protocol involves PT staff administering a motivational-volitional screener, followed by trained student aides delivering targeted …

Creative Engagement For Community Through The Life-Span, D. Nicole English, Pelgy Vaz

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Creative Engagement for Community Through the Life-Span

Creative Engagement includes crafts, cultural practices, expressive arts, and activities that bring people together. Having access to such activities enables people to develop healthy habits, social interactions, and build community that can sustain one throughout the lifespan. On-going research indicates that Creative Engagement Activities, and the Communities of Practice that build around them, benefit people throughout the life-span, but become particularly important to older adults, by building resilience and social connections, in the face of inevitable life losses.

https://youtu.be/r3JS5YP-MnM

Interview No. 1817, Adriana Peña

Combined Interviews

Mrs. Peña reflects on her upbringing in Segundo Barrio and how her experiences shaped her later work as an educator and community member. This interview documents lived experiences, educational memories, and neighborhood transformation through personal storytelling.

Continuous Light And Pinealectomy: Two Models Of Melatonin Deficiency Revealing Distinct Interactions With Vitamin D Deficiency On Blood Parameters, Rebaz Sedeeq Shekh, Ismail Mustafa Maulood

Polytechnic Journal

Modern lifestyles reduce sunlight exposure and increase artificial light at night, potentially promoting vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and melatonin (MEL) suppression. The two hormones regulate immunity, erythropoiesis, and platelet (PLT) indices, but their combined hematological effects are not well characterized. We investigated the independent and combined effects of VDD and MEL deficiency on leukocyte profiles, erythrocyte indices, and PLT parameters in albino rats using two 12-week models (n = 8/group): continuous light (CL)-induced MEL suppression (Control, CL, VDD, and CL + VDD) and pinealectomy (Px)-induced MEL deficiency (Sham. Px, VDD, Px + VDD). Complete blood counts (CBCs) and inflammation-related ratios …

Protecting The Pour: A Proposal For Wine Industry Reform In The Lone Star State, Hanna Judycki

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

This Comment examines the current challenges facing the Texas wine industry and proposes comprehensive regulatory reforms to address these obstacles. While Texas has emerged as a notable wine-producing state with a rich history dating back to Spanish missionaries, the industry faces numerous hurdles that hinder its growth and competitiveness. These obstacles include inadequate quality controls, extreme weather vulnerabilities, restrictive licensing requirements, limited financial incentives, and insufficient grape production to meet growing demand. Drawing lessons from established wine regions, particularly California and France, this Comment proposes a multifaceted solution that includes implementing a wine quality certification program, strengthening regional branding protections, …

Do You Think You Own That Game You Just Bought? Think Again: The Degradation Of Ownership Rights In The Digital Age, Evan Schoop

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

The digital age has redefined ownership, particularly within the video game industry, where End User License Agreements (“EULAs”) and licensing models have eroded traditional consumer rights. This Comment examines how U.S. courts’ broad enforcement of clickwrap and shrinkwrap agreements, combined with evolving monetization models and unilateral contract modification practices, has shifted bargaining power decisively toward game publishers. Using Activision Blizzard’s 2024 EULA as a case study, the Comment illustrates how licensing terms can restrict access, limit legal recourse, and undermine reasonable consumer expectations despite substantial upfront purchases. The Comment then situates these practices within existing consumer protection frameworks and evaluates …

The Battle For Land And Energy: Rethinking Data Centers As Essential Public Infrastructure, Ava Dinunzio

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Data centers, integral to the digital economy and services like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and online communication, have become essential infrastructure. Yet the rapid demand presents challenges, including land scarcity, environmental impacts, and monopolistic control by Big Tech. This Comment argues for classifying data centers as public utilities, using legal precedents and state statutes to demonstrate their role as essential services with natural monopoly traits. Selective public utility regulation would ensure equitable access, sustainable practices, and fair resource use, including tailored eminent domain powers to support development. By addressing these challenges through public utility regulation, this framework balances public needs …

Deconstructing The Black Box: An Explainability Analysis Of Deep Learning Architectures In Cytopathology, Chase A. Garrett

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Deep learning shows strong potential in medical-image analysis, yet adoption in cyptopathology

remains limited. Cytopathology could benefit from deep learning applications by improving

diagnostic efficiency and accuracy. However deep learning comes with a notorious “black box”

that keeps the models from being transparent and trustworthy for widespread clinical adoption.

We conducted a comprehensive and comparative analysis of several deep learning architectures

for multi-class classification of acute leukemia types, ALL, AML, and normal healthy cells from

peripheral blood smear images. The models in this research include a Vision Transformer (ViT)

and a diverse selection of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models. The …

Separatism In Early Mexico, 1821-1846, Raul Ayala

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

This project considers factors that contributed to Mexico’s territorial losses prior to the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. While Manifest Destiny indeed resulted in the largest loss of territory for Mexico, my research considers secessionism in considering alternative trajectories to Mexico’s territorial integrity in this time period. It becomes clear that multiple factors come into play other than American Manifest Destiny that spelled the inevitable separation of such states from the young Mexican Republic, including Yucatan, the Republic of the Rio Grande, Texas, and California. Previous works of scholarship, notably David Weber’s The Mexican Frontier, have been consulted in this …

Children With Imprisoned Parents: Challenges And The Impact On Society, Alonzo Ortiz

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Nearly half (47%) of incarcerated people in the United States are parents, impacting 2.7 million children at any given time. Prior to their incarceration, about 52% of these children resided with their mother, while 40% lived with their fathers. The rate of incarcerated mothers of multiple children has continued to rise over the past couple of decades. The impact of incarceration produces secondary consequences, including negative impacts on the incarcerated person’s child(ren). In fact, having an incarcerated parent is one of the known Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and ACEs are directly related to later negative life outcomes (e.g., worsened health …

Physical Therapy Patient Exercise Behavior Pre-Program Results, Emery Wolfe, Dakota Metzler, Michael Garvert, Caiden Hoffman, Maurice Ochoa, Evie Thompson, Mataya Clark, Aidan Haworth, Noah Morenz, Madison Powell, Josh Sohm, Alanna Hallacy

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

This project aims to address a major problem in the physical therapy industry: the “home adherence gap” which is the routine failure to follow through with prescribed exercise at home. Research shows that only about 35% of patients routinely follow through with exercises prescribed for them to do on their own. By focusing on behavior modification and education rather than just physical instruction, this intervention aims to improve long-term recovery, and reduce need for procedures like injections and surgeries. The focus of this study was to measure the ability of the clinic staff to implement a behavior modification program. Once …

Digital Touchpoints: Investigating Contact Page Accessibility And Visual Authenticity Within Medical Tourism Health Websites, Alicia Mason, Elizabeth Spencer, Kristen Livingston, Treyton Meyers, Sakshi Bhati, Himika Akram

Faculty Submissions

This study examines two critical digital touchpoints on medical tourism provider (MTP) websites: (1) the accessibility of contact pages which often function as entry points for inquiries, scheduling, and pre-travel coordination, and (2) the authenticity of visual imagery used to shape expectations about care environments, personnel, and technological capacity. A sample of 105 MTPs across all six World Health Organization regions were analyzed using quantitative web accessibility testing and qualitative visual analysis. Results indicate pervasive accessibility errors on contact-page touchpoints and extensive reliance on inauthentic imagery to depict patients, providers, and medical technologies. Together, these practices may distort user expectations …

Unlocking Minds Behind Bars: Inmates’ Perceptions Of Educational Services In Southeast Nigerian Prisons, Ijeoma B. Uche Dr, Okala A. Uche Dr, Agatha U. Nzewuji Dr

Journal of Prison Education Research

This study explores inmates’ perceptions of educational services in Southeast Nigerian prisons, focusing on their role in rehabilitation and reintegration. Using a qualitative design grounded in the capability approach and interpretive phenomenological analysis, data were gathered through in-depth interviews with 15 convicted inmates across three correctional facilities in Southeast Nigeria. Interviews were conducted in English and Nigerian Pidgin, and analyzed using NVivo 12. Findings revealed three major themes: the relevance and accessibility of educational programs, benefits such as improved self-worth, skill acquisition, and hope for reintegration, and key barriers like limited access, inadequate resources, and institutional apathy. Although the capability …

The Impact Of Trade Tariffs On U.S. Soybean Exports: A Time Series Analysis Using Sarima Modeling, Haolun Liu

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

This study shows how the 2025 trade tariffs affected U.S. soybean export volumes tariff. A Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model was used to forecast exports under a no-tariff scenario by using monthly U.S. soybean export data (January 2000 to July 2025). Then Forecasted values were compared with actual 2025 export volumes. The Result shows a large and sudden export decline in 2025 that are much greater than normal seasonal patterns, suggesting a strong tariff-related disruption to U.S. soybean trade.

Senior Recital: Mitcheff, Voice; April 12, 2026, Isabella Mitcheff, Chesia Goulart

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and fiftieth program of the 2025-2026.

April 12, 2026

Sunday Afternoon

1:30 p.m.

Evaluating United Nations Peacekeeping In Africa: Successes, Failures, And The Challenges Of Contemporary Conflict, Gabrielle Josselyn

Honors Theses

This thesis evaluated the effectiveness of United Nations peacekeeping missions in promoting stability, civilian protection, and post-conflict recovery in Africa. It asked: To what extent have UN peacekeeping operations in Africa been effective, and what structural and strategic factors explain their successes or failures? To answer this question, the study conducted comparative case analyses of Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC/MONUSCO), and Ethiopia–Eritrea (UNMEE), with a focus on mission mandates, troop composition, resource allocation, and cooperation with host states. Using qualitative content analysis and policy evaluation, the findings demonstrate that missions with robust mandates, adequate resources, and …

The Eleventh Circuit And The Current State Of The Anti-Modification Provision, Lexton Garrett

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

This Note examines the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Lee v. U.S. Bank National Association, where the court held that the “anti-modification” provision applies to mixed-use properties that are used for both commercial and residential purposes. The Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Lee created a federal circuit split, as both the First and Third Circuits held that the anti-modification provision does not apply to mixed-use properties. As detailed in this Note, the Eleventh Circuit came to the incorrect conclusion in this case because it incorrectly interpreted the text of the anti-modification provision. However, the Eleventh Circuit’s incorrect decision is not the …

2025-2026 Woodwind Department Recital, Betania Canas, Mia Cotton, Ay Kawasaki, Aj Meyer, Daniel Cruz, Amanda Rearden, Karen Trujillo, Rishi Gurnani, Chase Hogan, Juanita Jaimes, Noah Suarez, Nicholas Weathers, Jacob Lomboy, Derek Lund, Ethan Thompson, Ziling Wang

Studio Recitals

No abstract provided.

Weaponizing Consumer Protection Laws, Uriel De La Rosa

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

State attorneys general (“AGs”) wield significant authority under consumer protection laws intended to safeguard the public from unfair and deceptive business practices. However, this authority is increasingly being used to target nonprofit organizations, interfering with their ability to control and utilize their property and resources effectively. By issuing vague and overly broad administrative subpoenas, AGs are overstepping their mandate, using their powers for politically motivated or retaliatory purposes that jeopardize nonprofits’ assets, donor funds, and operational resources. This Note examines recent cases, such as the Texas AG’s investigation of Annunciation House and the Washington AG’s scrutiny of the Second Amendment …

Patents, Pills, And Pricing: Breaking Through The Thicket Of Pharma Protection, John B. Devaney

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Patent thickets are becoming more pertinent in the United States every day. They unnecessarily extend a pharmaceutical company’s monopoly over a drug, prevent generics and biosimilars from entering the market, force Americans to pay high prices for medications, and bring fear to the lives of those who need special drugs to survive. Yet despite all these prevalent issues, few Americans even know what a patent thicket is. And for those who do, their attempts to bring them to an end have been utterly futile. This Comment discusses the mechanisms that comprise patent thickets and highlights the specific issues that each …

You Shall Not Pass: Historical Origins And Modern Solutions To Public-Private Land-Use Conflict, Alexander Dye

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

As increasing populations and competing interests have exacerbated the historic conflict between public and private interests in land, cooperation, as well as a potential shift in public policy, may need to be considered. But for these shifts to occur, any predicate that private property rights should be somehow stronger or more easily enforced than that of the public to access land owned by a state or the federal government should be challenged. This Comment will analyze the historical events that led to a significant shift in land ownership and use conflicts in the American West. The historical element will focus …

Alabama’S Ruling In Lepage: A Need To Classify Extrauterine Embryos As Property And Incentivize Stem Cell Research Through Regulatory Federal Legislation, Reagan Moser

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

The tensions between scientific advancement and moral applications of legislation are at the political forefront of the polarizing nature of the United States. As the Supreme Court of the United States proceeds to forego stare decisis in different fields of the law, states have been delegated more power to implement restrictive laws. Notably, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Dobbs that laws regulating abortion are under the purview of state legislation. Subsequently, the Alabama Supreme Court held in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine P.C. that frozen extrauterine embryos be given the constitutional guarantees of children—removing their …

2025-2026 Lindenwood University Honors Convocation, Lindenwood University

Honors Convocation Programs

2025-2026 Lindenwood University Honors Convocation.

Ole Miss Law Rises To The Top With National Championships, Marisa C. Atkinson

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi continues to gain momentum in national championships. But instead of stadiums and arenas, Ole Miss students are winning this spring in courtrooms and negotiation rooms.

Spring Choral Concert, Department Of Music, University Of Richmond

Music Department Concert Programs

No abstract provided.