Recent Submissions

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Fiscal 2024 CEO Pay Ratios
(2025-06-27) Siciliano, Mark
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Stratigraphy and Sedimentology of the Tombigbee Sand Member, Eutaw Formation (Cretaceous-campanian stage), of Northeastern Mississippi
(University of Alabama Libraries, 1984) Soens, David Dale
The Tombigbee Sand Member of the Eutaw Formation in northeastern Mississippi, can be divided into four lithofacies and six biofacies that define an inner nerit:k to middle neritic marine transgressive sequence. The lithofacies range from medium~~ to fine-grained sands deposited above wave base, to silts and clays deposited in lower energy environments. The biofacies a.re defined by assemblages of benthic micro-faunal morphotypes,, The morphotypes exhibit a substrate preference and are associated with certain lithofacies. The lithofacies and biofacies are locally correlatable~ However, the updip variability of the :i.nner neritic environment prohibits regional correlative use of the lithofacies and biofacies. The potential use of the lithofacies and biofacies as a correlative tool for the Tombigbee increases downdip as the more stable middle neritic marine environments are encountered.
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Insights from an Industry Advisory Board about Online Education for Practitioners
(Iowa State University Digital Press, 2014) Sanders, Eulanda A.; Zhang, Pollyanna; McKinney, Ellen C.; Lee, Young-A; Bennett, Sarah
Higher education institutions are increasingly using media and Internet for teaching and learning. The 2011 Survey of Online Learning reported that the number of students taking at least one online class was 6.7 million (Allen & Seaman, 2013). Sixty-five percent of higher education organizations perceive online education as a necessary part of their long-term development strategy (Babson Survey Research Group). Moreover, online education not only applies to college students, but also expands to continuing education of industry employees. Increasing technical skill requirements in apparel companies cause employees to need continued training, to keep up with the ever-changing work environment.
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Healthcare in Alabama’s Black Belt: Impacts of Potential Medicaid Cuts
(2025) Till, Garrett A.; Katsinas, Stephen G.; Bray, Nathaniel J.; Vlacovsky, Henry N.; Keeney, Noel E.; Ogunniran, Moses O.; Peterson, Joscelyn K. J.
The evidence from expansion states demonstrates that Medicaid expansion is not only beneficial for public health but also economically advantageous. For the Black Belt, where healthcare disparities are most acute, expansion could be transformative, increasing access to care, creating jobs, preventing hospital closures, and injecting much-needed resources into struggling rural economies. As Alabama continues to navigate healthcare policy decisions, the impact on its most vulnerable communities must be a primary consideration. The health of the Black Belt reflects the health of Alabama as a whole, and investments in equitable healthcare access today will yield dividends in improved health outcomes, economic vitality, and quality of life for generations to come.
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Influence of Transition Metal Type and Sputter Deposition Conditions on the Hardness of Transition Metal Carbide Thin Films
(Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2025-07-01) Blacksher, Corinne Haas; Stubbers, Alyssa; Weinberger, Chris R. ; Thompson, Gregory B.
Transition metal carbides (TMCs) are known for their ultrahigh melting temperatures and high hardness making them ideal for coating applications in extreme environments. The present work investigates the role of atomic mass and chamber pressure on the resulting film hardness for a series of Zr, Nb, and Ta TMCs that are synthesized via reactive gas sputter deposition. For all TMCs, for deposition pressures between approximately 7 – 13 mTorr, the hardness varied between 5 – 15 GPa, which is lower than their bulk values as measured from consolidated powder billets. However, at 4 mTorr, ZrC and NbC hardness rose to approximately 20 and 27 GPa, respectively, which is closer to and at their bulk values and TaC rose to a hardness near 47 GPa, which is greater than its bulk value and is within the superhard regime. These collective effects are explained through the changes in crystallite sizes, film texture, and film densification that occur because of atomic peening effects between the different transition metal atomic masses and sputtering pressures that alter the arrival energy during deposition.