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Healing Minds on Campus: Addressing Trauma and Loss in College Mental Health
Full text linkThe prevalence of mental health challenges among college students has surged in recent years, with nearly 60% reporting overwhelming anxiety and 40% experiencing depressive symptoms (American College Health Association, 2021). Despite the availability of campus mental health services, little is known about their effectiveness for students facing intersecting challenges such as common college stress, secondary trauma, and grief. This study examines how college students experience death, dying, and grieving, focusing on the impact of mental health support systems on their holistic well-being.
This research investigates the relationship between cultural, religious, and socioeconomic factors and how they influence students’ coping mechanisms during grief. It also evaluates the accessibility and effectiveness of available mental health resources, including Temple University’s Tuttleman Counseling Center, the Wellness Resource Center, and the Resilience Center, comparing them to similar programs at other institutions.
The study seeks to answer key questions: How do diverse cultural and religious backgrounds impact the grieving process? What resources are available to support students during grief, and are they effectively utilized? By examining gaps in institutional support and the intersections of cultural, social, and institutional factors within the university setting, this research aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how college campuses can better address the mental health needs of grieving students. Findings from this study will help inform improvements in campus support systems to ensure they meet the diverse needs of students from various backgrounds.
Additionally, key terms such as culturally relevant services, secondary trauma, and grief interventions will be defined early in the study. Statistical data on mental health prevalence, student demographic composition, and the effectiveness of different types of interventions will be incorporated to establish context and reinforce the significance of this researchTemple University. College of Public HealthSocial Wor
At the Other End of the Bus Ride: How Majority-White Suburbanites Understood Voluntary Busing in Massachusetts
No full textBy defining racial imbalance in terms of « non-white population », the first legislation in the United States to address the issue sealed its fate as a minority problem, letting suburban majority-white schools off the hook. According to the 1965 Massachusetts Racial Imbalance Act, whites attending all-white schools constituted cases of « racial isolation », which were non-ideal situations for preparing students for a multicultural world, but not as harmful as cases of Black and Brown segregation. However, the creation of the Council for Metropolitan Educational Opportunity (METCO), today’s main by-product of the law, still tried in 1966 to kill two birds with one stone through the use of voluntary busing. By organizing the daily transportation of Black students from Boston to vacant seats in the surrounding majority-white suburban schools, the avowed goals of the program have always been twofold: to provide a quality education for the urban students and to spur a more diverse learning experience for suburban children. While the success of the program has often been judged by the numerous positive evaluations of the former, the latter has yet to be properly evaluated. This paper constitutes a first step in this direction by analyzing perceptions of voluntary busing drawn from 20 semi-directed oral interviews conducted with former suburban students in a school system that participated in the METCO program. From the unanimous voiced belief in the mutual benefits of racial integration to the subtler but still very common understanding of voluntary busing as a charity case, the interviews highlight both the racial ambivalences of suburban liberalism and the fundamental importance of interracial friendships.A paper presented at the 30th James A. Barnes Graduate History Conference, which took place March 14-15, 2025 in Philadelphia, PA
The US Intervention, Pinochet’s Neoliberalism and the Fall of ISI in Latin America: The Domino Effect of the Failure of Collective Actions
No full textImport Substitution Industrialization (ISI) is a well-known development path historically deployed by developing countries during the era of Cold War, which promoted the economic development of those countries and undermined the global inequality. This article explores a novel perspective of the fall of ISI especially in Latin America, namely analyzing the connections between the US intervention, the neoliberalism of Pinochet, the fall of ISI and finding that the US wielded an indirect way, namely supporting the coup d’état of Gen. Pinochet in 1973 through CIA and the spillover of neoliberalism in Chile by the Chilean military junta, to contribute to the fall of ISI, the economic dissent of Latin America, via the strike to Andean Group and restored its economic hegemony over the western hemisphere and Latin America, maintaining the global inequality. This paper may fill the gap in the previous and current literatures about ISI and related research field but there are still shortcomings needed to be furtherly discussed.A paper presented at the 30th James A. Barnes Graduate History Conference, which took place March 14-15, 2025 in Philadelphia, PA
IMPROVING PERFORMANCE OF INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEMS FOR SOFTWARE-DEFINED NETWORKS
No full textThe proliferation of Software-Defined Networks (SDNs) has revolutionized network management by decoupling the control and data planes, thereby introducing unparalleled flexibility and programmability. However, this architectural shift also exposes SDNs to a wide range of security threats, making them highly susceptible to sophisticated and dynamic cyberattacks. Traditional Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs), often designed for static and monolithic network architectures, struggle to adapt to the dynamic nature and unique requirements of SDNs. This dissertation presents a comprehensive study on enhancing IDS performance in SDNs by integrating advanced machine learning, deep learning, and innovative transformer-based models.
The research begins by addressing the inherent challenges of SDN-based IDSs, including the need for scalable solutions capable of processing high volumes of network traffic, resource efficiency in managing IDS infrastructure, adaptability to evolving and zero-day attacks, and the complexities of multi-stage attack detection. To tackle these challenges, this dissertation makes the following significant contributions:
-Traffic-Aware Load Balancing and IDS Chaining: A novel framework is introduced for clustering traffic flows based on their characteristics and dynamically chaining IDSs to optimize resource utilization. This method reduces computational overhead while maintaining high detection accuracy, enabling SDNs to manage traffic bursts efficiently.
-Machine Learning and Continual Learning Approaches: The study incorporates few-shot and lifelong learning methodologies to mitigate catastrophic forgetting and enhance the adaptability of IDSs to zero-day attacks. By leveraging advanced anomaly detection techniques, the framework provides robust protection against previously unseen attack vectors.
-Deep Reinforcement Learning for Adaptive Security: A Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL)-based framework is proposed, capable of learning optimal defense strategies in real-time. This approach effectively balances the trade-off between detection accuracy and computational efficiency, ensuring the system's resilience under dynamic network conditions.
-Transformer-Based Intrusion Detection Framework: A pioneering multi-modal Transformer-based IDS (TransIDS) is developed, combining log message analysis with packet-level data from PCAP files. The framework employs attention mechanisms to capture temporal and contextual dependencies, enabling the accurate detection of complex, multi-stage attack scenarios.
-Cross-Domain Multi-Stage Attack Detection: The dissertation further introduces CrossAlert, a novel alert-based system that leverages semantic embeddings and prototypical networks to detect multi-stage attacks across different operational domains. By addressing domain shift challenges, CrossAlert ensures high performance and adaptability in diverse environments.
The effectiveness of the proposed solutions is validated through extensive experiments on benchmark datasets, demonstrating superior performance compared to state-of-the-art approaches. Notably, the frameworks achieve higher detection rates, reduced false positives, and improved scalability, making them well-suited for deployment in large-scale, real-world SDN environments.
This work represents a significant advancement in the field of cybersecurity for SDNs, bridging the gap between traditional intrusion detection methods and the demands of modern, dynamic networks. By combining theoretical insights with practical implementations, this dissertation lays a robust foundation for the development of intelligent, resource-efficient, and adaptable IDSs, paving the way for more secure and resilient SDN architectures.Computer and Information Scienc
A PERFORMANCE GUIDE AND ANALYSIS OF CARLOS ESCALANTE MACAYA'S DESASOSIEGO FOR SOLO BASSOON, STRINGS, AND PERCUSSION (2017)
No full textThis research project aims to promote one of the few solo works written for bassoon and orchestra by a Costa Rican composer. Carlos Escalante Macaya (b. 1968) wrote Desasosiego in 2017 for Fernando Zúñiga Chanto and the University of Costa Rica Symphony Orchestra. Zúñiga Chanto has performed the work several times with different orchestras in Costa Rica, but it has not yet premiered internationally. This monograph offers a detailed analysis of the work and a performance guide with the objective of motivating bassoonists from around the world to learn and program the work. The analysis studies the work's musical form, harmonic structure, melodic and rhythmic development, and programmatic qualities. This is the first-ever analysis of this important composition. Carlos Escalante Macaya is one of the most prolific living composers in Costa Rica, especially in music for film, theater, and dance, but with important works in the symphonic, choral, chamber, and solo genres as well. He studied in Costa Rica, Spain, and South Africa, and this monograph explores his compositional career and the most important works that shaped his musical language and imagination, such as his Sinfonía Centenario (1997). Escalante Macaya won Costa Rica’s highest music honor in 2022: the Premio Nacional de Música “Carlos Enrique Vargas” (National Music Award). He is also a long-time composition professor at the University of Costa Rica and a history professor at the National Music Institute of Costa Rica, where he was my teacher during my undergraduate studies. Understanding his background and musical career offers valuable information about the ideas and musical language behind his work Desasosiego.
The analysis of Escalante Macaya’s work is based on materials provided by the composer for this project, including a virtual interview (January 2025), scores, images, and language describing programmatic elements used in Desasosiego. Other additional materials are Zúñiga Chanto’s three different recordings of the work, another monograph written at Temple University by Dr. Ana Catalina Ramírez Castrillo on Escalante Macaya’s Latin-Grammy nominated Clarinet Concerto, and the book Música académica costarricense: Del presente al pasado cercano (2012). The latter is the only book with information about Carlos Escalante Macaya and includes a biography, catalog of works, and analysis of his musical language. As a Costa Rican bassoonist, I wrote this extended analysis from both a theoretical and practical standpoint, offering a performance guide to help future bassoonists looking to learn and perform the work.
As an introduction and complementary research, this monograph reviews the brief history of the bassoon as a solo instrument in Costa Rica and the potential reasons for that brevity. I examine these reasons with help from leading Costa Rican bassoonists, offering possible strategies to promote the academic use of the bassoon as a solo instrument in the country. Costa Rica has a rich history of renowned bassoonists and orchestral composers, but only a few original works for solo bassoon and orchestra. Ideally, this research seeks to not only promote Escalante Macaya’s Desasosiego but also advocate for more frequent use of the bassoon in the Costa Rican compositional scene, with new collaborations between performers and Costa Rican composers to expand the existing solo repertoire for solo bassoon and large ensemble.Music Performanc
Peripheral Inflammation and Activity within Corticostriatal Reward Circuitry: Interactive Roles in Components of Anhedonia during Adolescence
No full textDepression is a significant global health burden, affecting millions of people worldwide and contributing to a high level of disability. Despite the availability of treatments, a substantial proportion of individuals experience insufficient treatment response. Anhedonia often is observed in treatment-resistant depression and severe presentations of depression, suggesting that mechanisms underlying anhedonia may be important treatment targets. However, anhedonia is among the most challenging psychiatric symptoms to treat, and the mechanisms underlying this symptom are unclear. This work aimed to deepen our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying anhedonia, with a specific focus on peripheral inflammation, corticostriatal reward circuitry, and their interaction, in adolescence. Adolescence is a developmental period marked by significant maturation in both reward-related brain function and immune system activity, rendering it a sensitive window for environmental input and the emergence of depression and anhedonia.
This study suggested that there were nuanced associations of inflammatory proteins and reward-related brain function, independently and interactively, with anhedonia in adolescents. Specifically, distinct components of anhedonia (i.e., diminished anticipatory and consummatory pleasure, temporal discounting of reward value, and reward sensitivity) were differentially associated with the interplay between inflammation and reward-related corticostriatal activity. The results also indicated that the interaction between higher levels of inflammatory proteins and distinct reward-related corticostriatal activity were associated with higher levels of anhedonia in the absence of a depression diagnosis. Thus, inflammation-reward pathways could be a mechanism underlying anhedonia across various psychiatric disorders characterized by reward deficits.
Given that current treatments do not effectively target reward-related corticostriatal and inflammatory pathways, this work has potential clinical implications, with a call for a re-evaluation of how anhedonia should be conceptualized and measured across research and clinical settings. Specifically, it is important to parse anhedonia rather than assuming it is a unitary construct, and to standardize the definitions and measurements of anhedonia. Ultimately, the work presented here contributes to a growing body of literature suggesting that inflammation-reward pathways represent promising new targets for the treatment of anhedonia in both depression and other psychiatric disorders.Psycholog
Formulaic Language and Interactional Practices: Their Impact on Interactional Competence During Group Discussions
No full textA staple activity in language classes is the small group discussion, in which three or more students share their thoughts, solve a problem, or do any number of activities. However, small group work is no panacea, and second language research studies have noted that small group interactions in the classroom often do not resemble conversations outside of the classroom. For example, talk might proceed in a fixed clockwise order, with long periods of silence between speaking turns, and little uptake of other speakers’ ideas. It is to be expected that interactions between English language learners will not be perfect because they all lack proficiency to varying degrees; however, having students talk simply for the sake of talking can inadvertently reinforce non-conventional patterns of interaction. The main focus of this study is interactional competence, or the ability of speakers to manage interactions using linguistic and non-linguistic resources.
This mixed methods study is an investigation of the authenticity of formulaic language in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) textbooks and examines how instruction in interactional practice influences the use of formulaic language and the development of interactional competence. Formulaic language is composed of ready-to-use chunks of language which are often used during speaking. Interactional practices are verbal and nonverbal practices that speakers deploy during interaction. A total of 76 participants from a private university in western Japan took part in this study, which was conducted over the course of 11 weeks. The aims of this study were: (a) to examine the functions that formulaic language in EAP textbooks perform, (b) to investigate whether EAP textbook formulaic language can be considered authentic, (c) to investigate the relationship between individual interactional practices and ratings of interactional competence, and (d) to measure the effectiveness of instruction for interactional competence. Data in this study consisted of text from EAP textbooks, counts and measures of interactional practices, human ratings of interactional competence, and discussion transcripts.
To determine the functions that formulaic language in EAP textbooks performed, I compiled their audio and video scripts into a corpus of EAP textbook language. Then, I compared that formulaic language to the formulaic language in a corpus of spoken academic English. To investigate whether EAP textbook formulaic language was authentic, I searched for formulaic sequences, or individual formulaic language expressions, in the same corpus of spoken academic English. Subsequently, the formulaic sequences which exceeded a frequency threshold were considered authentic. From those authentic formulaic sequences I selected 10 target formulaic sequences and taught them as well as five interactional practices to the participants for the treatment. To investigate the relationship between individual interactional practices and ratings of interactional competence, I transcribed the discussions and counted instances of formulaic sequence use and interactional practices. Then, I performed a hierarchical multiple regression to assess the relationship between formulaic language use, interactional practices, and ratings of interactional competence. Lastly, to measure the effectiveness of instruction, 10 raters assessed the discussions, and I compared the participant ratings on the pretest and posttest using a repeated-measures MANCOVA.
The first finding of the study was that EAP textbook formulaic language performs different functions from formulaic language in a corpus of academic spoken English. The second finding was that most formulaic sequences in EAP textbooks cannot be considered authentic because a majority of the formulaic sequences did not appear with sufficient frequency in the same corpus. The third finding was that three interactional practices significantly correlated with ratings of interactional competence: total number of speaking turns, total speaking time, and English backchannels. The fourth finding is that the treatment was not statistically significant for improving the interactional competence of the participants.
Based on the findings, research and pedagogical implications were posed. For EAP textbooks, L2 researchers have long recommended that textbook publishers incorporate findings from research. An ever-increasing number of publishers are using corpus linguistics, however, results from this study suggest that textbook publishers do not treat formulaic language in EAP textbooks consistently or overlook them entirely. For interactional competence, the results indicated that raters based their assessments primarily on frequency-based measures. This may be because several interactional practices did not occur often enough to be stable categories for evaluation. Similarly, the relationship between formulaic language use and interactional competence ratings could not be assessed because the participants largely did not use the expressions. The qualitative data showed recurring trends among different participant groups and highlighted the many factors that affect interactions in small group discussions. In summary, this study shows the challenges for operationalization, instruction, and assessment of interactional competence. The findings also suggest that it is necessary to teach and evaluate interactional competence in a variety of contexts and with stricter control of variables despite potential tradeoffs in validity.Applied Linguistic
BIOCOMPATIBILITY AND BIOACTIVITY OF A NOVEL PIEZOELECTRIC HYDROGEL AS A PULP CAPPING MATERIAL
No full textPreserving dental pulp vitality is a primary goal in restorative dentistry. Vital pulp therapy (VPT) using bioactive materials has shown promise in promoting pulp healing and dentin regeneration. Piezoelectric biomaterials, which generate electrical charges under mechanical stress, represent a novel class of regenerative tools. This study investigates the biocompatibility and odontogenic potential of PiezoGEL, a composite hydrogel consisting of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) and barium titanate (BTO), designed to generate endogenous electrical stimulation in response to mechanical forces within the oral cavity.
Materials and Methods: PiezoGEL was prepared by incorporating 1% BTO nanoparticles into a 10% GelMA hydrogel matrix, photo-crosslinked using 0.5% LAP under UV light. Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) were cultured on hydrogel discs and subjected to either static or cyclic mechanical loading conditions. Cell viability was evaluated using the AlamarBlue assay at Days 5 and 10. Mineralization was assessed using Alizarin Red S (ARS) staining. Odontogenic differentiation was quantified via RT-qPCR, targeting gene markers including ALP (alkaline phosphatase), COL1A1 (collagen 1 alpha 1), DSPP (dentin sialophosphoprotein), and DMP1 (dentin matrix acidic phosphoprotein 1). Biodentine XP served as the clinical control.
Results: PiezoGEL demonstrated excellent cytocompatibility, with significantly higher cell viability under cyclic loading conditions compared to static and control groups (p < 0.05). ARS staining showed increased calcium deposition in PiezoGEL groups, particularly under mechanical stimulation. Gene expression analysis revealed significant upregulation of early (ALP, COL1A1) and late (DSPP, DMP1) odontogenic markers in PiezoGEL-treated groups, with cyclic loading further enhancing the effect. Biodentine also induced differentiation, though to a lesser extent than PiezoGEL under cyclic loading.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that PiezoGEL promotes hDPSC viability, mineralization, and odontogenic differentiation, likely due to piezoelectric stimulation. The integration of BTO nanoparticles into a GelMA hydrogel matrix presents a promising strategy for regenerative endodontics. PiezoGEL could serve as an effective alternative to traditional pulp capping materials by combining mechanical stability, biocompatibility, and limited regenerative pro. Further in vivo studies are recommended to confirm its clinical utility in VPT.Oral Biolog
IDENTIFYING KEY DETERMINANTS OF SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS IN JAMAICA FROM AN ANALYSIS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION INSPECTORATE FINDINGS
No full textThis study investigates the determinants of school effectiveness in Jamaica by analyzing National Education Inspectorate (NEI) reports. Of 846 inspection reports reviewed, all informed Research Question 1, which is concerned with identifying key determinants of school effectiveness in Jamaica; 266 reports from 133 schools with both Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 inspections addressed Research Question 2, which is concerned with the impact of the NEI inspections on school effectiveness. Additionally, recommendations from 765 of these reports were analyzed for Research Question 3 to identify patterns or themes aligned with school effectiveness. Regression analyses, non-parametric tests, and thematic reviews show that instructional quality, measured by teaching for student learning, is the strongest predictor of academic outcomes, boosting attainment across primary and secondary schools. Students’ personal and social development and attendance rates also emerged as critical, underscoring the need for holistic education. NEI inspections positively influenced effectiveness, especially at the secondary level, where re-inspected schools saw a 21.8% improvement in effectiveness ratings. Contextual factors, including ownership, regional location, teacher-pupil ratios, and gender composition, further shaped effectiveness, with church-owned and single-gender schools outperforming their counterparts. Thematic analyses identified seven key determinants: leadership, teaching quality, curriculum relevance, assessment, resource management, accountability, and community engagement. The findings underscore the need for targeted policy interventions, such as enhanced teacher training and equitable funding, to address disparities and improve educational outcomes, at least in Jamaica.Educational Leadershi
Predicting Sentence Repetition Performance in 4-7 Year Old Spanish-English Bilinguals with and without Developmental Language Disorder
No full textThis study investigates the factors that predict sentence repetition (SR) performance. It is important because SR is a diagnostic tool for identifying developmental language disorder (DLD) in young bilingual (Spanish-English-speaking) children. Using quantitative data from a longitudinal study with 186 children aged 4-7, we examine the predictors of SR performance, including phonological memory, vocabulary knowledge, and language exposure. A qualitative analysis then compares SR performance between children with and without DLD to identify reliable early markers of language impairment. The analysis revealed significant differences between typically developing (TD) bilingual children and those with DLD across both kindergarten and first grade. Children with DLD consistently scored lower in English and Spanish SR tasks compared to their TD peers, with mean differences ranging from 15 to 21 points. For TD children, expressive vocabulary emerged as the strongest predictor of English SR performance, while phonological memory played a more prominent role in Spanish SR tasks. However, for children with DLD, while expressive vocabulary also correlated with SR performance, phonological memory did not significantly contribute. Error analysis revealed divergent results, with memory errors appearing more prominent than vocabulary errors. Despite the impact of phonological memory on error patterns, expressive vocabulary was identified as the strongest predictor of SR performance. The findings aim to improve early identification and intervention strategies for young Spanish-English bilinguals.Communication Science