VTechWorks
VTechWorks provides global access to Virginia Tech scholarship, including journal articles, books, theses, dissertations, conference papers, slide presentations, technical reports, working papers, administrative documents, videos, images, and more by faculty, students, and staff. Faculty can deposit items to VTechWorks from Elements, including journal articles covered by the University open access policy. Email vtechworks@vt.edu for help.
Open Access Policy
Virginia Tech's open access policy enables researchers to deposit the accepted version of scholarly articles with no embargo.
Theses and Dissertations
Virginia Tech was first in the world to require ETDs in 1997, and continues to add scans of older theses and dissertations.
Open Textbooks
More than 50 freely available and openly licensed textbooks are among our most downloaded items.
Communities in VTechWorks
Select a community to browse its collections.
Recent Submissions
Impact of maternal obesity and mode of delivery on the newborn skin and oral microbiomes
Seifert, Allison; Ingram, Kelly; Eko, Embelle Ngalame; Nunziato, Jaclyn; Ahrens, Monica; Howell, Brittany R. (Microbiology Society, 2025-04-10)
Introduction. Previous studies have shown vast differences in the skin and oral microbiomes of newborns based on delivery method [Caesarean section (C-section) vs vaginal]. Exposure to or absence of certain bacteria during delivery can impact the neonate’s future susceptibility to infections, allergies or autoimmunity by altering immune functions. Few studies have focused on the impact of maternal obesity on the variations of newborn skin and oral microbiomes. Obese pregnant women typically have a higher vaginal microbiome diversity, and their pregnancies are at higher risk for adverse outcomes and complications. Hypothesis. We hypothesized that the skin and oral microbiomes of newborns born to obese mothers would include more diverse, potentially pathogenic bacteria and that the skin and oral microbiome in C-section delivered newborns would be less diverse than vaginally delivered newborns. Aim. We aim to begin to establish maternal obesity and mode of delivery as factors contributing to increased risk for negative newborn outcomes through impacts on newborn bacterial dysbiosis. Methodology. A skin swab was collected immediately following delivery of 39 newborns from 13 healthy weight body mass index (BMI 18.50–24.99), 11 overweight (BMI 25.0–29.99) and 15 obese (BMI ≥30.00) pregnant participants. An oral swab was collected immediately following delivery for 38 of these newborns from 13 healthy weight, 10 overweight and 15 obese pregnant participants. Bacterial genera were identified via 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Results. The newborn skin microbiome was comprised of typical skin bacteria (i.e. Corynebacterium). Newborns of obese participants had a higher relative abundance of Peptoniphilus in their skin microbiome compared to newborns of healthy weight participants (P=0.007). Neonates born via C-section had a higher relative abundance of Ureaplasma in their oral microbiome compared to neonates delivered vaginally (P=0.046). Conclusion. We identified differences in the newborn skin and oral microbiomes based on pre-pregnancy BMI and method of delivery. These differences could be linked to an increased risk of allergies, autoimmune disease and infections. Future longitudinal studies will be crucial in determining the long-term impact of these specific genera on newborn outcomes. Understanding these connections could lead to targeted interventions that reduce the risk of adverse outcomes and improve overall health trajectory.
"To resist, first we must see": unlearning caste privilege among university students
Zare, Bonnie; Pathania, Gaurav J. (Springer, 2025-07-23)
This study explores attitudes expressed by students at several higher education institutions in India, focusing specifically on perceptions of caste dynamics. Through focus groups and follow-up interviews, we sought to understand whether upper-caste students were open to relating caste background and possessing a degree of privilege. It became clear that these students are not routinely invited to share their thoughts about caste in an informal or provisional manner. Our data allow us to compare the perceptions of an in-group’s sense of caste in India with the sense of race or defense of colorblindness observed among white students in the USA. Many students consider reservations or affirmative action policies as impediments to meritocracy, echoing wider societal aversions to confronting caste-based inequities. Their education did not provide them with substantial reasons for reservation policy beyond the obvious rural–urban educational and infrastructural divide, along with varying conditions of economic deprivation. We found many students believe caste in contemporary times is centered more on family reputation than on religion. They reflected on the potential of intercaste marriage as a means of intervening in caste hierarchy. The findings call for a transformative approach to diversity and inclusion, recognizing the intricate intersections of caste, privilege, and social justice within higher education. They underscore the need for dialogue on caste contexts within Indian academia to create a more equitable environment for social and academic success.
AI as a Third Party: Introducing Language, Authorship, and Code in Foundation Design Education
Hernandez, Jessica; Garcia Carrasco, Edgar (2025-09-27)
In early architecture education, students often struggle to express ideas clearly. Years of standardized K-12 learning emphasize surface-level responses over critical inquiry, leaving many students unprepared to formulate and communicate conceptual thinking. A significant hurdle experienced by students is the difficulty in using language to translate ideas into diagrams. This challenge becomes an opportunity when paired with generative AI, which can act as an impartial third party, requiring clarity, precision, and iteration to produce a desired result. Rather than treating AI as a shortcut, we framed it as a tool to help students think, process, and revise their ideas critically.
In Fall 2024, foundation studio introduced ChatGPT into a series of design exercises grounded in basic design principles. Students began by identifying a conceptual prompt through the pairing of a design element and a design principle, for example, line and symmetry simplified into the single word “balance.” These basic concepts became the foundation for the process of translation. Students wrote step-by-step instructions for the reproduction of their chosen concept. Those instructions were then handed off to a classmate, who used ChatGPT to generate Python code for Rhino. This began a cycle of testing, troubleshooting, and iteration, moving back and forth between the AI and Rhino, between code and diagram.
This distance, created through the layering of authorship and digital translation, allowed iteration to grow spontaneously. Students who had never written code before learned to analyze outputs, revise logic, and reflect on the gaps between intention and result. The diagrams they produced served as the first generation of a series of 2D digital explorations. These were then used as the conceptual basis for their final semester projects: the fabrication of an architectural object and the design of a sacred landscape. Weekly pin-ups and peer critiques helped ground these outcomes in conversation, feedback, and revision.
What emerged from this process was a new way of introducing both computation and authorship in early design education. By handing off authorship to others, both human and machine, students learned what parts of their process needed to stay constant and what could evolve. More importantly, they began to understand that architectural design is never a solitary act. It is iterative, distributed, and deeply social. Generative tools, when introduced critically and creatively, can expand a student’s capacity to imagine, collaborate, and think beyond the limitations of their previous experience.
Saying NO! to Rape: Narratives of Trauma, Healing and Resistance in 19th- and 21st-century France
Johnson, Sharon P. (2025-07)
I am the first scholar to analyze a new corpus of 115 broad sheets and pamphlets on rape from the 19th c. Not well known, they were called canards sanglants, sensationalized news stories not published in any daily or weekly paper. Community trauma recurs as a theme because mostly girls in small towns were murdered and sexually violated. Two accounts will be analyzed. Following Judith Herman’s lead, I suggest a novel premise: Perhaps canards sanglants performed an important healing function by memorializing in print the shock and mourning of a community. The fact rapes were not silenced and justice was served, I contend, is how the news source said NO! to rape. In the 21st c., Gisèle Pélicot and Vanessa Springora shape their own traumatic narratives of rape and atteinte sexuelle sur mineur. Both cases involve consent. Can their activism and resistance to silence bring healing? Also discussed are France’s mixed reception to each case and the judicial and social ramifications of both.
Consumers' Knowledge and Willingness-to-Pay for Wet-Aged and Dry-Aged Beef
Ortez, Mario A. (Purdue University Press, 2025-12-12)