Maryland Shared Open Access Repository
MD-SOAR is a shared digital repository platform for twelve colleges and universities in Maryland. It is currently funded by the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) Library Consortium (usmai.org) and other participating partner institutions. MD-SOAR is jointly governed by all participating libraries, who have agreed to share policies and practices that are necessary and appropriate for the shared platform. Within this broad framework, each library provides customized repository services and collections that meet local institutional needs. Please follow the links below to learn more about each library's repository services and collections.
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Recent Submissions
Impact of the Introduced Rainbow Darter, Etheostoma caeruleum on the Microhabitat Use of Native Darters
(2025-05-13) Kaplan, Austin; Dr. Eric Kindahl; Hood College Biology; Hood College Departmental Honors
The Rainbow darter, Etheostoma caeruleum is an introduced species that has spread rapidly in the Potomac River drainage. However, the reason for this rapid spread and the impact of E. caeruleum on other species of both native and nonnative darters has not been determined. This study examines how the abundance E. caeruleum affects the microhabitat use of E. blennioides, E. flabellare, and E. olmstedi within the Monocacy River drainage. Snorkeling was used as a method to observe and measure the microhabitat use of darters across eight locations. Sites where E. caeruleum were present had significantly low population levels of E. olmstedi. E. flabellare experienced a habitat shift towards habitats with larger substrates, increased depths, and slower bottom velocities with an increasing proportion of E. caeruleum. The microhabitat use of E. blennioides remained consistent across all sites, regardless of the relative abundance of E. caeruleum. This study suggests E. caeruleum are outcompeting native species, specifically E. flabellare, for their preferred habitat.
Places of Pride: Recognizing Gayborhoods as Traditional Cultural Places
(2025-05) Bonin, Matthew; MA in Historic Preservation
In recent years, there has been a trend in historic preservation to identify and preserve
the heritage of underrepresented communities including those under the LGBTQ+ umbrella.
The focus of these efforts has centered around preserving the history of these communities
through landmarking of individual buildings, creating public art installations, establishing
grassroots memory projects, and activities such as walking tours. While valuable, these efforts
fail to capture the living cultural heritage of the various LGBTQ+ communities. Using the historic
preservation concept of Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs) established by Thomas F. King
and Patrica L. Parker in the National Register Bulletin 38 and research into sense of place theory
discussed by Edward Relph in A Pragmatic Sense of Place, this thesis argues that culturally
significant LGBTQ+ places should be regarded as TCPs. Additionally, this treatise explores the
concepts of secular ritual and civil religion making the argument that culturally significant
LGBTQ+ places serve the same purpose and function as did ethnic enclaves for America’s
immigrant and minority communities. These communities are already recognized as TCPs
within current preservation practice. Through case studies of San Francisco’s Castro District,
Washington, DC’s Dupont Circle, and the Massachusetts community of Provincetown the
treatise demonstrates how culturally significant LGBTQ+ places meet the criteria to be regarded
as TCPs. Potential challenges to the successful listing of LGBTQ+ TCPs in the National Register
are explored with recommendations to overcome some of the barriers presented. This thesis
demonstrates that there needs to be a paradigm change within the preservation field; now is
time that the places to which the various LGBTQ+ communities ascribe cultural value are
recognized for what they are: TCPs.
White Dwarfs as Dark Matter Collectors: A Study of Elemental Capture Rates
(2025-05-13) Schaber, Remi; Steven Clark; Ann Stewart; Hood College Mathematics; Hood College Departmental Honors
This paper investigates the capture of dark matter in white dwarfs, focusing on the interaction between dark matter particles and the ions within the white dwarf’s dense core. The study models the dark matter capture rate using an optically-thin approximation, where each dark matter particle undergoes a single scattering event before either being captured or escaping the white dwarf’s gravitational influence. Key assumptions in the model include a zero core temperature for the white dwarf, a uniform core composition, and the exclusion of multi-scattering events. The paper examines the equations governing the interaction between dark matter and ions within the white dwarf’s core. The results of the calculations indicate that an increase in the mass of the white dwarf, as well as a higher concentration of heavier elements in its core, enhances the dark matter capture rate. The work also highlights potential future refinements, aiming to provide an introduction to the ongoing research to model dark matter interactions in stellar remnants as a potential detection method.
The Hidden Crisis in Baltimore's Public Safety Pension System: The Impact of Declining Active Membership on Baltimore's Public Safety Pension System and the City Budget
(2025-05) Baskerville, Amy E.; Edlins, Mariglynn; Holley, Robert Q.; University of Baltimore. College of Public Affairs; University of Baltimore. Doctor of Public Administration
This study examines the critical and often overlooked issue of declining active membership in the Baltimore City Fire and Police Employees’ Retirement System (BCFPERS, F&P) and its far-reaching implications for the system's long-term sustainability and the city budget. Guided by the central research question: How does declining active membership impact the long-term sustainability of BCFPERS and the resulting budgetary implications for city government?—the research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
By analyzing demographic shifts, financial data, and stakeholder perspectives, this study identifies structural vulnerabilities threatening the system’s financial stability. To increase public understanding and accessibility, the project includes an audio component: Silent Alarm: Public Safety Pensions, a podcast series featuring candid discussions with BCFPERS leadership, investment consultants, and actuaries on pension challenges and actionable solutions.
A companion website provides access to podcast episodes along with visual data tools (charts and graphs) that illustrate funding ratios, membership trends, and budgetary impacts. These resources simplify complex financial concepts, summarize findings, and foster transparency. Ultimately, this study provides targeted recommendations to strengthen the long-term sustainability of BCFPERS and contributes to the broader discourse on public sector pensions, fiscal responsibility, and urban fiscal resilience.
Advocacy for Equity: How Two Transnational Feminist Activists Utilize Parrhesiastic Resistance to Champion for Climate Action and Access to Education
(2025-05-12) Rhea, Jaida; Lana Oweidat; Walker Smith; Germán Mora; Professional and Creative Writing; Bachelor's Degree
Parrhesia is the rhetorical act of speaking truth to power even when doing so is risky to the speaker, and has been integral to Western thought and practice ever since it arose alongside democracy and rhetoric and ancient Athens in the fourth century BCE. When a parrhesiastes speaks, it is often because some truth value is being violated and the outrage at this violation causes her to speak out. The sense of injustice and the choice to speak out regardless of the risk may be experienced as a privately made decision, but generally reflects a commonly accepted value that is not being enacted, acknowledged or manifested sufficiently. However, because parrhesia is often required for marginalized or silenced people to speak out at all, there is a need to understand how this works so we can both acknowledge the great risks certain speakers take in speaking and show how to enact these moments of resistance to power when that may be the only rhetorical means possible. This paper analyzes the rhetorical agency of two activists as parrhesiastes to encourage climate action and equal access to education across the globe. Specifically, I use a rhetorical situation analysis to analyze two speeches given by Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai to the United Nations when they were both sixteen years old. This paper attempts to tie in transnational feminist theory and social movement studies to study Thunberg's and Yousafzai's sources of persuasion, their use of parrhesia to enhance their message, and their place as activists working across transnational boundaries.