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Explaining the Work of Digital Collections to your Colleagues
No full textSession 21 at the MARAC Spring 2025 Conference - “Crossroads and Bridges in Archival Practice.”Digitization of archival and special collections materials can be a niche area of work within the library and archives field. You may find yourself doing education and outreach within your own organization about the nature of exactly what you do every day. This panel presentation explores how to best share the story of your work with your colleagues and advocate for the unique role digitization plays in the library and archives. Speakers from different types of repositories and at different stages in their careers share a wide range of perspectives around the crossroads encountered and bridges they built doing the work of cultural heritage digitization
Antietam Creek Watershed Report Card
No full textThis report card, produced with Antietam-Conococheague Watershed Alliance as part of the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative, assesses the condition of the Antietam Creek and watershed using volunteer monitoring data.https://ian.umces.edu/site/assets/files/32695/antietam-creek-watershed-report-card.pd
Charles County Coastal Adaptation Report Card
No full textFollowing the first-ever Maryland Coastal Adaptation Report Card in 2021, IAN collaborated with the Charles County Resilience Authority to develop a county-level assessment of coastal adaptation. Following in-person and virtual stakeholder engagement workshops, a suite of eighteen resilience indicators and nine vulnerability indicators were identified and assessed. Dividing adaptation indicators into two categories highlights areas that are doing particularly well or require extra attention. The Charles County Coastal Adaptation Report Card gives a snapshot of current adaptation status in Charles County, Maryland and establishes a framework for measuring future progress.https://ian.umces.edu/site/assets/files/32733/charles-county-climate-adaptation-report-card.pd
AI-POWERED DIGITAL TWIN MODELING USING LARGE HIGHWAY INFRASTRUCTURE DATASETS
No full textThis dissertation explores the application of an AI-powered digital twin framework to address challenges in civil infrastructure management, which focuses on three applications: slope stability risk monitoring, moving train-induced ground vibration analysis, and pavement strength evaluation. By Leveraging machine learning (ML) and finite element modeling (FEM), the study develops innovative tools for geotechnical and structural condition monitoring and response analysis. Key contributions include the use of neural networks for subsurface property prediction, LiDAR-based landslide risk assessment, earth surface feature detection by instance segmentation and dynamic FEM simulations for structural behavior under environmental and operational loads.In this study, machine learning models were trained on extensive historical highway datasets to predict geotechnical properties, including grain size distribution, SPT-N values, and ground water depth, and achieved acceptable accuracy scores. Feature importance was interpreted through SHAP analysis. The predictions from these ML models were then integrated into FEM as material and geometry voxel input for time-dependent slope stability, train-induced ground vibration response, and pavement falling weight deflectometer (FWD) response analysis.
The proposed digital twins enabled the real-time monitoring and analysis of infrastructure conditions which could enhance the decision-making processes, by providing useful insights in risk mitigation and maintenance planning. The research highlights the potential for AI-embedded digital twins to optimize infrastructure management, offering scalable and cost-effective solutions for assessing and maintaining critical assets. Future studies are proposed to expand dataset diversity, integrate real-time input from sensors, and refine hybrid ML-FEM methodologies, which could further improve the resilience and adaptivity of infrastructure systems in the future
Lae'l Hughes-Watkins
No full textLae'l Hughes-Watkins is the Associate Director for Engagement, Inclusion, and Reparative Archiving for the University of Maryland in College Park. From 2013-2018, she served as the University Archivist at Kent State University. She is the Founder and Director of Project STAND, the first-of-its-kind collaborative effort among archival repositories within academic institutions across the country to create an online portal featuring analog and digital collections that document student activism that primarily focuses on historically marginalized communities.https://soundcloud.com/1856projectpod/lael-hughes-watkin
Disentangling morphosyntax from morphophonology: a re-evaluation of morphological priming
No full textThe notion of morpheme as the smallest unit of form with a meaning has been widely abandoned by theoretical morphologists due to its empirical inadequacy (Matthews 1972, Anderson 1992, Aronoff 1993, Hall and Marantz 1993, Aronoff and Sims 2023). Instead, contemporary approaches to morphology argue for the distinction between morphosyntactic features (e.g., plural) and their phonological realisation (e.g., /-z/ in regular plurals, /-ən/ as in oxen, /-ə/ as in bacteria or ∅ in fish). However, theories of morphological processing in comprehension and production still widely adopt the notion of morpheme. In this dissertation, I build on the received wisdom in current morphological theorising to address the question of distinguishing morphosyntax and morphonology experimentally. In a series of auditory, continuous lexical decision priming experiments in Hebrew and Italian, I provide evidence that morphosyntactic features can be primed independently of (morpho)phonological similarity
PROCESS AND TECHNO-ECONOMIC MODELING FOR WASTE-TO-ENERGY PROCESSES TO IDENTIFY EFFECTIVE FACILITY SCALING
No full textThis dissertation presents a techno-economic analysis (TEA) of waste-to-energy (WTE) biofuel production using hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). The study focuses on facility scaling, feedstock dynamics, unpiling strategies, and cost modeling to evaluate how process conditions and supply constraints influence the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of biocrude. Unlike traditional studies that assume static conditions, this research considers the dynamic nature of feedstock availability, storage, and biomass properties over time.Feedstock availability fluctuates seasonally and geographically, influencing both biomass properties and overall process performance. Unlike conventional studies that assume a constant or simplified feedstock supply, this work models how fluctuations in waste wood availability impact storage pile size and inventory dynamics. To better understand the role of inventory management, this study evaluates different unpiling methods, including first-in, first-out (FIFO), last-in, first-out (LIFO), and homogeneous (HG) mixing. Each method determines how long biomass remains in storage before processing, leading to differences in drying, degradation, and conversion efficiency.
Facility scaling presents a further challenge, as HTL remains a relatively new technology with limited data on scale-based economics. While previous studies often rely on single scaling factors or focus on specific cost components in isolation, this dissertation evaluates interconnected factors such as equipment scaling, site-specific resource costs, and feedstock procurement strategies. By exploring a range of facility sizes and economic conditions, this research assesses how these factors impact MFSP and overall feasibility.
Additionally, this work also examines the role of contracts in securing a stable feedstock supply. Agreements with municipalities or private suppliers that dictate wood procurement affect both operations and cost. The economic trade-offs of different contract structures are analyzed, focusing on how contract duration, seasonal variations, and supply guarantees influence viability. While contracts are often treated as secondary to facility design, this study incorporates them as a key modeling component.
By integrating fluctuating feedstock availability, inventory dynamics, facility scaling, and contractual agreements, this dissertation provides a comprehensive framework for assessing the economic feasibility of WTE biofuel production. The findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of biofuel economics and offer insights to inform future research, industrial applications, and renewable energy development
Experiences of Disabled Trans People in Maryland
No full textThe Maryland Trans Survey is a community-based research project conducted by Trans Maryland and the Queer/Trans Collective for Research on Equity and Wellness examining experiences of trans people in the State of Maryland in areas such as health and healthcare, employment and economic well-being, and legal and policy experiences. To date, this is the largest survey of trans people in the State, with 750 trans people representing all 23 counties in Maryland and Baltimore City.
Data was collected from June to December 2023 through in-person and online community outreach. The project was approved by Towson University’s Institutional Review Board (Protocol #1897) and used Transgender Research Informed Consent (TRICON) Disclosures to provide trans community members with additional transparency on the project, recognizing long histories of harmful practices in trans research from scientific institutions.
This brief contains information from the survey related to experiences of disabled trans people, to help advocates, policymakers, and community-serving entities better understand and support the current needs of trans people in Maryland.University System of Maryland - Wilson H. Elkins Professorship (2021-2023); Washington University in St. Louis - Audre Lorde Distinguished Professorship (2023-present)https://transmaryland.org
(Not so) Silent Survivors: A Qualitative Intersectionality Study on Asian American Women Survivors of Sexual Violence
No full textSexual violence against women is a pervasive public health concern that significantly impacts women’s physical and psychological well-being. Despite the well-documented harmfulness of sexual violence, there is a dearth of research examining sexual violence against Asian American women. This study sought to amplify the voices of Asian American women survivors and expose the impact of interlocking systems of oppression (e.g., sexism, racism, gendered racism) on their experiences with sexual violence, wellbeing, and resilience. Using constructivist grounded theory guided by an intersectionality framework, nineteen Asian American women survivors were interviewed. Analyses identified two sets of themes. The first set illustrated how interlocking systems of oppression shape Asian American women’s experiences with sexual violence, including Dehumanization and Devaluation, Sexualization and Objectification, Burden and Pressure, Inner Conflict and Spent Energy, and Stigma and Blame. The second set reflected how survivors navigate oppression post-violence through themes of Sequelae, Making Sense of Sexual Violence, Disclosing, Reporting, and Help-Seeking, Coping and Healing, Strengths, Growth, and Empowerment. A socioecological model informed by an intersectionality framework was developed, situating Asian American women survivors’ experiences across socioecological levels and systems of oppression. This research extends the literature on this understudied population, highlights survivors’ resilience in the face of violence and oppression, and underscores the importance of honoring their stories as means to challenging systems of harm and providing culturally sensitive care. Implications for research, clinical practice, and interventions are discussed with participants’ recommendations integrated
CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS AS A MODERATOR OF NEGATIVE AFFECT AND BRAIN CONNECTIVITY ACROSS THE ADULT LIFESPAN
No full textTwo immense public health challenges today are mental health and aging – and these issues also overlap. Mental health is important to address in older adults because this population is unlikely to seek formal mental health services, and mental health issues can worsen other health problems during aging. Research consistently supports that exercise improves mental health and brain function in older adults, but there is scarce research on brain mechanisms by which exercise could improve mental health in older adults. We addressed this knowledge gap with 3 studies. In study 1, we assessed differences in older adults’ emotional processing during picture viewing after acute exercise versus a session of seated rest. In study 2, we compared resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) outcomes in major cognition and affect-related networks in older adults (within- and between-network connectivity and network segregation) after acute exercise versus rest. In study 3, we tested associations between cardiorespiratory fitness, negative affect, and large-scale network FC (within-network connectivity, between-network connectivity, between-network segregation) of networks spanning the entire brain across the healthy adult lifespan (ages 36-100). We had affective data in studies 1 and 3. After exercise relative to rest in study 1, we found increased positive affect and various regional changes in pleasant and unpleasant emotional activation that may support better mood. After exercise relative to rest in study 2, we found increased network segregation via decreased between-network connectivity between internal and external state-focused networks, suggesting another mechanism of post-exercise mood improvement. Finally, in study 3, we found that fitness had a negative relationship with poor affective disposition (negative affect and anger hostility), as well as various rsFC associations that did not mediate that negative relationship; greater cardiorespiratory fitness and greater anger hostility were each related to greater connectivity within and between multiple networks, and the interaction of fitness and poor affective disposition (negative affect or anger hostility) was associated with greater rsFC within and between multiple networks and lower segregation of a few networks. These studies’ results suggest that benefits of exercise for mental health in older adults may involve multiple mechanisms of different scales and encourage further research