Digital Commons Network^™

Farmers’ Perspectives Toward Organizing A Cotton Producers’ Union In Şanlıurfa, Türkiye, Ismail Efe, Mehmet Cançelik, Mehmet Reşit Sevinç

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

This study examines the attitudes of cotton producers in Şanlıurfa toward establishing a producers’ union to address structural challenges in Türkiye’s leading cotton production region. Şanlıurfa contributes approximately 40% of Türkiye’s cotton output, yet lacks organizational frameworks for its nearly 20,000 producers who face significant risks including price volatility, high input costs, and limited market access. The research utilized primary data collected through face-to-face surveys with 165 cotton producers selected via convenience sampling. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), independent samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA. The findings revealed a significant paradox: while …

Strong Classrooms: Geodata Go-Along Training: A Challenge Grant Workshop (Report No. 13), R. Mckenna, L. Cheek, A. Cano, R. Zarger, L. Longworth, E. Barrientos, C. Baron, M. Trotz

Strong Coasts Collection

The Strong Coasts Strong Classrooms workshop training was a five-day, classroom- and field-based event designed to equip Belizean Natural Resources students with skills in interdisciplinary methodologies for field data collection. The workshop took place on the Placencia Peninsula, with classroom sessions hosted at the Seine Bight Multipurpose Center and fieldwork conducted in the villages of Riversdale, Seine Bight, and Placencia.

In total, there were 22 participants, including 16 students—6 from the University of Belize (UB), 9 from Independence Junior College (IJC), and 1 from Georgetown Technical High School. 3 teachers participated in the training (two from UB and one from …

Artificial Intelligence In Literacy Education, Megan V. Gierka, Timothy N. Odegard

Science of Reading

Artificial intelligence tools are entering K–12 literacy classrooms at an unprecedented rate, yet most have not undergone independent validation. This brief examines how educators can evaluate AI tools through the lens of cognitive science and instructional design. Drawing on the Expanded Instructional Hierarchy (Odegard & Gierka, 2025), we present a framework that links learning phases to the memory systems and cognitive processes that underlie literacy development.

How Teachers Can Apply Learning Theories To The Five Pillars Of The Science Of Reading, Jennifer Renn

Science of Reading

This brief provides an introduction to six learning theories and guidance on how they can be used to teach the pillars of the science of reading (SOR). Because SOR is rooted in a broad range of interdisciplinary research and covers several key competencies, classroom teachers may be overwhelmed and uncertain of how to best meet students’ needs. There is also a tendency to use instructional strategies and techniques that include student repetition and recognition of information. While these approaches can help students learn to read and write, teachers should consider using a range of learning theories to better align instruction …

Ngss Information, Alison Warren

NGSS Information

No abstract provided.

Dna Barcoding And Metabarcoding Reveal Labeling Accuracy And Species Substitution In Squid And Surimi From Los Angeles Markets, Demian A. Willette, Margarita L. Joaquin

Biology Faculty Works

Accurate species identification of seafood remains a persistent challenge in local and global marketplaces. This is particularly true for processed products that obscure diagnostic features. Here, we conduct a dual-molecular investigation into frozen squid and imitation crab products sold at American, Asian, and Hispanic grocery stores in Los Angeles, California, to assess label integrity under current U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) guidance. Forty-eight squid samples from 13 retailers underwent DNA barcoding and yielded high percentage matches to 10 species across six genera. Despite broad labeling as ‘squid’, all samples matched FDA Acceptable Market Names with a 0 % mislabeling …

Situation Mouse All Floxed Up: Exploring Phenotypic Abnormalities In Bdnf Floxed Mice, Marissa A. Burkman

All NMU Master's Theses

Animal research is a contentious topic in both the scientific and general communities.  It is essential that our animal models accurately and predictably depict intended phenotypes, necessitating careful colony monitoring and maintenance.  Volunteer animal staff in the Ottem Laboratory became concerned when mice with LoxP sites flanking the BDNF gene depicted anxiety-like behaviors such as aggression, difficulty handling, and increased agitation.  Though many studies have noted behavioral and phenotypic abnormalities related to large gene inserts, few have noted abnormalities with small gene inserts such as the 34 bp LoxP site.  Brandt (2018) performed a three-stage behavioral protocol on these mice …

Time-Dependent Amplification Of Growth Rates In A Plankton-Oxygen Model, Rapha Coutin

Master's Theses

Near-bottom hypoxia occurs when dissolved oxygen levels drop to a level that is harmful to marine biology, creating biological dead zones along the ocean floor. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the percentage of coastal, near-bottom, hypoxic water, with the average in 2021 nearly double that of the average from 2009 to 2018 and about twenty-eight times the average from 1950 to 1980. Recent literature has linked this increase in oceanic hypoxia to the increase in upwelling-favorable winds caused by climate change. Upwelling brings low-oxygen, nutrient-rich water up to the surface, leading to plankton blooms and mass consumption …

Light & Faith: March 2026, Taylor University

Light & Faith

No abstract provided.

Toxic Immortality: Rethinking Decline And Plastics With Lucretius, Jessica Croteau

Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship

Much of contemporary environmental thought operates within paradigms of conservation, sustainability, and resilience—frameworks that assume the goal of ecological politics must be to prevent loss, preserve stability, and mitigate decline. However, these frameworks inadequately address cases where persistence and abundance, rather than disappearance, are the source of harm. By contrast, this article argues that an ecological ethic oriented toward decline, unbecoming, and decomposition reveals an alternative set of political and material stakes: not the conservation of things but their proper dissolution. Drawing from the materialist philosophy of Lucretius, the article critiques the prevailing assumption that endurance is inherently beneficial, highlighting …

Recommendations For Developing A Regulatory Sandbox And A Comprehensive Legal Framework For Fintech In Vietnam - Part Ii, Sue M. Altmeyer, Phan Dang Hai

Akron Law Faculty Publications

Fintech, a product of the 4.0 revolution, has experienced rapid growth in Vietnam, attracting significant attention from investors and government agencies. In encouraging innovation, the authors write, the need for a practical legal framework to regulate fintech activities has become a critical issue. The authors believe that this new legal framework should include a regulatory sandbox, which would allow fintech startups to test their products in a controlled environment, helping to mitigate risks, foster creativity, and enhance regulatory oversight. This two-part article discusses challenges in creating and implementing a regulatory sandbox and provides recommendations for overcoming these hurdles. The first …

Is Field Size An Indicator Of Farm Size In Smallholder-Dominated Croplands?, Sitian Xiong, Protensia Hadunka, Brian P. Mulenga, Kathy Baylis, Philippe Rufin, Lyndon Estes

Geography

Farm size is a key characteristic of agricultural systems, closely linked to farming and land management practices. However, data on farm size are often difficult to obtain, especially in smallholder-dominated regions, and where available, they are rarely spatially explicit. This study examines the use of field size as a proxy for farm size, aiming to identify field size thresholds that can distinguish farms of different sizes. Using household-level data from Zambia’s Crop Forecast Survey, we applied both continuous and categorical methods to quantify the field-to-farm size relationship. Non-parametric Theil–Sen regression revealed a generally linear relationship between log-transformed field and farm …

A Survey On Heterogeneous Computing Using Smartnics And Emerging Data Processing Units, Nathan Tibbetts, Sifat Ibtisum, Satish Puri

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The emergence of new, off-path smart network cards (SmartNICs), known generally as Data Processing Units (DPU), has opened a wide range of research opportunities. Of particular interest is the use of these and related devices in tandem with their host's CPU, creating a heterogeneous computing system with new properties and strengths to be explored, capable of accelerating a wide variety of workloads. This survey begins by providing the motivation and relevant background information for this new field, including its origins, a few current hardware offerings, major programming languages and frameworks for using them, and associated challenges. We then review and …

Identifying And Mitigating Api Misuse In Large Language Models, Terry Yue Zhuo, Junda He, Jiamou Sun, Zhenchang Xing, David Lo, John Grundy, Xiaoning Du

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

API misuse in code generated by large language models (LLMs) presents a serious and growing challenge in software development. While LLMs demonstrate impressive code generation capabilities, their interactions with complex library APIs are often error-prone, potentially leading to software failures and vulnerabilities. In this paper, we conduct a large-scale study of API misuse patterns in LLM-generated code, analyzing both method selection and parameter usage across Python and Java, using three representative LLMs (StarCoder-7B, Qwen2.5-Coder-7B, and GitHub Copilot). Based on extensive manual annotation of 3,209 method-level and 3,492 parameter-level misuses, we identify and categorize four recurring misuse types by building on …

Intramolecular Nonbonding Interactions And Geared Phenyl Twisting In Para-Disubstituted 1,4-Diphenylazines: Electron Correlation Effects On Molecular Conformations And Enantiomerization, Kaidi Yang, Harmeet Bhoday, Rainer Glaser

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The results are reported of potential energy surface (PES) analyses of six symmetrical azines Y_p − Ph − RC=N − N=CR − Ph − Y_p, namely, the benzaldehyde azines 1H, 2H, and 8H with R = H and the acetophenone azines 1M, 2M, and 8M with R = Me. The Y substituents Cl (1), Br (2), and Me (8) were studied because sets of polymorphs I (C2-symmetry, azine twist τ ≈ 135 ± 10°, disrotatory phenyl twists ϕi ≠ 0°) and II (Ci-symmetry, τ = 180°, conrotatory ϕi ≠ 0°) were crystallized for these three azines. The …

Deep Learning Approaches For Anti-Money Laundering On Mobile Transactions: Review, Framework, And Directions, Jiani Fan, Lwin Khin Shar, Ruichen Zhang, Ziyao Liu, Wenzhuo Yang, Dusit Niyato, Kwok-Yan Lam

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Money laundering is a financial crime that obscures the origin of illicit funds, necessitating the development and enforcement of anti-money laundering (AML) policies by governments and organizations. The proliferation of mobile payment platforms and smart IoT devices has significantly complicated AML investigations. As payment networks become more interconnected, there is an increasing need for efficient real-time detection to process large volumes of transaction data on heterogeneous payment systems by different operators such as digital currencies, cryptocurrencies, and account-based payments. Most of these mobile payment networks are supported by connected devices, many of which are considered loT devices in the FinTech …

Invert Your Prompt: Editing-Aware Diffusion Inversion, Yangyang Xu, Wenqi Shao, Yong Du, Haiming Zhu, Yang Zhou, Jiayuan Xie, Ping Luo, Shengfeng He

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Recent advancements in text-guided diffusion models have enabled powerful image manipulation capabilities. However, balancing reconstruction fidelity and editability for real images remains a significant challenge. In this work, we introduce Editing Inversion (EditInv), a novel framework that inverts and edits real images for specific editing tasks by optimizing specific prompt embeddings within the extended  space. By leveraging distinct embeddings across different U-Net layers and time steps, EditInv seamlessly integrates inversion and editing through reciprocal optimization, ensuring both high fidelity and precise editability. This hierarchical editing mechanism classifies tasks into structure, appearance, and global edits, optimizing only those embeddings that are …

Cylindformer: Image-To-Point Cloud Registration With Cylindrical Transformer, Jingtao Wang, Hao Tang, Yanpeng Sun, Shengfeng He, Zechao Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Accurate correspondence extraction between distinctive pixel-wise and point-wise features is critical for image-to-point cloud (I2P) registration. Recent efforts leveraging Transformers for I2P feature representation have demonstrated potential, primarily by first capturing intra-modality global contextual dependencies via self-attention, and then learning cross-modality correlations via cross-attention. The strength of vanilla Transformers lies in modeling cross-modality global feature correlations. However, such mechanisms often struggle with the structural disparity between dense image pixels and sparse 3D points, hindering the establishment of fine-grained correspondences. Moreover, global attention may introduce ambiguity, as interactions with many inconsistent regions of intra-modality may degrade feature distinctiveness. To address these …

Exploring Neural Network Structure Code Reuse In The Open-Source Community For Improving Maintenance, Xiaoning Ren, Yuekun Wang, Chongyang Liu, Yueming Wu, Qiang Hu, Lijun Zhang, Yinxing Xue

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Neural networks (NNs) have rapidly advanced, demonstrating exceptional performance across various fields, leading to a surge in open-source NN projects. The complexity and rapid growth of these projects pose significant challenges for maintenance within the open-source community. Given that NN architecture code is the core asset of NN projects, understanding its reuse in the open-source community is essential for effective maintenance, such as reducing redundancy and identifying potential intellectual property violations. While prior studies have examined code reuse in open-source projects, they have two key limitations: They do not specifically address NN structure code, and they rely on manually selected …

Compositions Of Variant Experts For Integrating Short-Term And Long-Term Preferences, Dinh Hieu Do, Hady Wirawan Lauw

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In the online digital realm, recommendation systems are ubiquitous and play a crucial role in enhancing user experience. These systems leverage user preferences to provide personalized recommendations, thereby helping users navigate through the paradox of choice. This work focuses on personalized sequential recommendation, where the system considers not only a user’s immediate, evolving session context, but also their cumulative historical behavior to provide highly relevant and timely recommendations. Through an empirical study conducted on diverse real-world datasets, we have observed and quantified the existence and impact of both short-term (immediate and transient) and long-term (enduring and stable) preferences on users’ …

A Novel Privacy-Preserving User Information Queries Scheme With Functional Policy, Yuhang Lei, Rui Shi, Yang Yang, Chunjie Cao, Huamin Feng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Privacy-preserving information queries enable a requester to obtain only the value f(x) computed over sensitive data x, while preventing disclosure of the underlying records. Existing approaches typically reveal full data, incur high on-chain overhead, or lack fair and verifiable delivery of function outputs. We propose a general-purpose, blockchain-compatible framework that ensures the requester learns only f(x) with no extra leakage and that the provider receives fair payment. The design integrates Adaptor Signatures (AS) for fair exchange and Inner-Product Functional Encryption (IPFE) for fine-grained function extraction. The framework is domain-agnostic and applicable to privacy-sensitive applications such as medical insurance and financial …

Madwoman Makings: The Modern Girl As An Object Of Fear And Fascination In Unno Jūza’S "Mrs. Hirumi's Refrigeration Bag", Eliza Joy Mortimer

University Honors Theses

This thesis argues that Unno Jūza's 1937 short story "Mrs. Hirumi's Refrigeration Bag" uses the sensational tropes of deviant detective fiction to both stage and interrogate interwar Japanese anxieties around gender, science, and modernity. Focusing on the figure of Mrs. Hirumi—a scientifically empowered and sexually assertive female plastic surgeon who dismembers and cryogenically preserves her husband—the author reads her as a radical iteration of the Japanese Modern Girl character. By drawing on scholarship on deviant detective fiction, imperial modernity, and Kazue Harada's concept of (re)productivity, this thesis demonstrates how the short story both reproduces misogynistic criminological discourse and unsettles heteronormative …

Business Capstone Review: An Analysis Of A Local School Foundation, Emily Carlile

University Honors Theses

This capstone review thesis analyzes a school foundation in the Portland Metro Area. The capstone project was designed to conduct research to support the local school foundation, specifically the 18-35 demographic, and to increase overall funding. The project required navigating a compressed ten week timeline and coordinating a large, eleven member team to meet our client’s complex expectations. Beyond our hurdles with research, we managed multiple clients' expectations during the presentation, which were not part of the original consulting process. To maintain the project workload, we communicated with the client through a weekly email, four presentations, and a final recommendation …

Effect Of Dental Treatments On Reduction Of Preterm Birth: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Camille Thomas, Shakil Ahmed, Vincenzo Berghella, Romina Brignardello-Petersen, Mohamed El-Rabbany, Catherine Devion, Stefania Ronzoni

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: Periodontal disease is associated with increased risk of preterm birth. Effective management during pregnancy may reduce preterm birth, though clinical trial evidence has been inconsistent. This study aimed to assess whether treating dental disease during pregnancy reduces preterm birth.

DATA SOURCES: A systematic search was performed of EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and trial registries up to December 2023 and re-run in January 2025.

STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) enrolling pregnant persons with any dental disease randomized to receive dental treatment vs no treatment were included. No language restriction was applied.

STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS: Data …

Implementation And Outcomes Of The Men Of Strength (Most) Club, Marni Kan, Ashley N. Lowe, Jason Williams, Cheryl Roberts, Katherine Suellentrop, Nichole M. Scaglione

Journal of Youth Development

Evidence is lacking for positive youth development programs for boys that use gender transformative approaches and promote peer leadership to prevent sexual violence and teen dating violence. This study aimed to address gaps in violence prevention research and youth development practice by evaluating implementation and outcomes of the Men of Strength (MOST) Club. Sixteen high schools were randomized to MOST Club or a control condition and 60 boys from nine of the schools completed baseline and follow-up surveys. Trained program facilitators completed logs after each session. Although the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with both program implementation and data collection, MOST Clubs …

Creating Inclusive Educational Environments For Students With And Without Disabilities: Examining Dual Credential Pathways In California, Nat Hansuvadha, Andrew Wall, Meghan Cosier, Kaylie Holke, Audri Sandoval Gomez, Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, Linda Blanton

Thompson Policy Institute on Disability Policy Reports

"In this report, we examined system-level alignment in educator preparation policy, with a particular focus on California’s efforts to prepare teachers to support inclusive PK–12 environments. Central to this analysis was the state’s 'Common Trunk' approach to teacher credentialing. Adopted in 2016 by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), the Common Trunk establishes a unified set of teaching performance expectations (TPEs) that apply across multiple subject, single subject, and education specialist credential pathways. This policy reflects a deliberate shift toward a shared professional foundation for all teachers that emphasizes competencies related to supporting diverse learners, fosters inclusive and culturally …

Modernizing Pesticide Residue Monitoring In Philippine Mangoes: Integrating Nanosensor Technology For Safer, Competitive And Export-Ready Agriculture, Mary Gillian G. Santos, Anthony Gerard G. Santos, Michael Angelo B. Santillan, Danielle Angela Torres, Gil Nonato C. Santos, Normie S. Lacubtan

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

This research project focuses on developing a smart metal oxide nanosensor capable of rapidly detecting pesticide residues, specifically cypermethrin, on post-harvest mangoes. Using a physical vapor deposition technique, the project team synthesized highly sensitive nanomaterials measuring 50–100 nanometers and integrated them into an electronic sensing platform. These nanosensors were tested on mangoes treated with varying pesticide concentrations, producing clear and measurable changes in voltage readings that corresponded to residue levels.

The results demonstrate the nanosensor’s potential as a fast, low-cost, and field-deployable pre-screening tool that complements existing laboratory-based MRL testing. By enabling real-time detection at farms, consolidation points, and packing …

Contested Citizenship And The Body In The Body Politic: Reflections On Michele Goodwin’S Presidential Address In The Shadow Of Skrmetti, Maya Manian

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This commentary is part of a series of responses to Michele Goodwin's 2025 LSA presidential address.

Keynote: Going Forward After Grants Pass, Joseph W. Mead

William & Mary Law Review

In this keynote, I explain the decision—and the stakes—of City of Grants Pass v. Johnson. In Grants Pass, the Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause posed no barrier to cities making it a crime for their homeless residents to sleep outdoors with as little as a blanket, even when those residents have no other option. Grants Pass, Oregon undertook an aggressive campaign to drive unhoused residents out of the city through punitive ordinances that criminalized unavoidable human conduct, such as sleeping with a blanket. The plaintiffs challenged the narrowest version of these …

Grants Pass And The Innocence Limit, Gregory Cui, Emily Clark

William & Mary Law Review

This Article examines City of Grants Pass v. Johnson as an important development in the Supreme Court’s doctrine concerning the Constitution’s “innocence limit.” This limit is a fundamental boundary on the state’s power to punish; it provides that criminal punishment may only apply to that which is morally culpable or blameworthy and thus may not apply to wholly innocent conduct. This principle was famously expressed in Robinson v. California, but this Article identifies a broader network of cases in which the Court has consistently effectuated the innocence limit and intervened against prosecutions of the innocent. This Article observes that …