How One University's Digital Repository is Breaking Down Barriers to Knowledge
Imagine a world where groundbreaking research on tropical cyclones, innovative teaching methods, and studies on threatened coral species are available to anyone with an internet connection—not just to those affiliated with wealthy institutions.
This is the reality being built by The Aquila Digital Community, the University of Southern Mississippi's open-access institutional repository. Named after the constellation "Aquila" (Latin for eagle, a nod to the university's mascot), this digital library collects, preserves, and freely disseminates the intellectual output of the university community 3 . In an age of paywalled scientific journals and subscription-based databases, Aquila stands as a beacon of accessibility, ensuring that vital knowledge reaches a global audience and fuels further discovery.
Accessible worldwide
Free access to all
Multiple content types
At its core, an institutional repository (IR) is a type of digital library that captures and showcases the intellectual life of an institution. Think of it as a university's dynamic, living memory—a permanent record of its contributions to the world of ideas.
The "open access" model at the heart of Aquila is what sets it apart. Unlike traditional academic publishing, where readers or their libraries must pay high subscription fees, open access makes scholarly work freely available to all. This philosophy is crucial for spreading scholarship from the University of Southern Mississippi to a wider audience, including educators in developing nations, independent researchers, and curious members of the public who would otherwise hit a paywall 3 .
The breadth of research within Aquila reflects the vast scope of modern academic inquiry. A quick tour through its recently posted content reveals a collection of work dedicated to solving pressing global issues 2 .
Numerous studies explore the intersection of technology and learning. For instance, one 2025 dissertation investigates the use of the TOEFL Learning English application to enhance university students' listening comprehension, a key skill for non-native speakers 2 . Another project, "5E-Flipped E-Learning," proposes a new interactive framework for teaching speaking skills to English language learners, demonstrating how digital tools can create more dynamic classrooms 2 .
Aquila also serves as a vital platform for environmental science. One notable study examines whether 3D-printed polylactide structures affect the demography of the threatened coral Acropora cervicornis, research that could inform future coral reef restoration efforts 2 . Another tracks how early-season tropical cyclones impact birds breeding on barrier islands, providing critical data for understanding the ecological consequences of intense weather events 2 .
Research in Aquila covers studies from multiple continents, demonstrating its global impact:
To truly appreciate the value of a repository like Aquila, it helps to examine a specific research project in detail. A perfect example is the 2025 dissertation by Michael K. Gray, titled "Investigating the Use and Acceptance of Information and Communication Technologies by University Faculty in Liberia and Its Implications to Sub-Saharan Africa" 4 .
This descriptive, quantitative study sought to understand the factors that influence whether university professors in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) adopt technology in their work. The researcher surveyed 336 university faculty in Liberia using a detailed questionnaire 4 .
The study was grounded in three established theoretical frameworks:
Focuses on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use.
Includes factors like social influence and facilitating conditions.
Emphasizes the role of training and professional support.
The data collected was then analyzed using Pearson correlation to identify statistically significant relationships between these factors and the level of ICT adoption 4 .
The study found a statistically significant positive relationship between the components of TAM, UTAUT, and HCD and the level of ICT adoption among faculty 4 . In simpler terms, when professors believed the technology was useful, easy to use, supported by their institution, and backed by proper training, they were far more likely to integrate it into their teaching and research.
This finding is powerful. It moves the conversation beyond simply providing technology and underscores the need for a supportive environment and ongoing professional development. The study concludes that for digital transformation in education to be sustainable, technological adoption must be paired with strategic human capital investments 4 . This research provides a valuable evidence-based roadmap for educational administrators and policymakers across the developing world.
| Factor Category | Specific Variable | Correlation with ICT Adoption |
|---|---|---|
| Technology Acceptance (TAM) | Perceived Usefulness | Strong Positive |
| Perceived Ease of Use | Strong Positive | |
| Institutional Support (UTAUT) | Performance Expectancy | Strong Positive |
| Facilitating Conditions | Strong Positive | |
| Human Capital (HCD) | Training & Skills Development | Strong Positive |
| Tool / Reagent | Primary Function | Field of Application |
|---|---|---|
| Structured Questionnaire | Collects standardized quantitative and qualitative data from a large population. | Social Sciences, Education |
| Statistical Software (e.g., R, SPSS) | Analyzes survey data to identify correlations, significance, and trends. | Data Science, Psychology, Business |
| Ultrasound Guidance System | Allows for precise, real-time visualization during clinical procedures like nerve blocks. | Medicine and Health Sciences 2 |
| 3D-Printed Polylactide Structures | Serves as an artificial substrate to study coral growth and demography without harming live reefs. | Marine Biology, Ecology 2 |
| Digital Plankton Recorder | A non-invasive microscope towed behind a ship to map and identify plankton populations in real-time. | Oceanography, Biology 9 |
| Metric | Value / Example | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Content Diversity | Education, Medicine, Environmental Science, Arts | Showcases interdisciplinary research and a wide range of intellectual inquiry. |
| Global Relevance | Studies in Liberia, Peru, Tanzania, Gulf of Mexico | Highlights research with both local and international implications. |
| Citation Count (Example) | 2+ citations for a vascular plant inventory 6 | Demonstrates that research deposited in Aquila is used and built upon by other scholars. |
The Aquila Digital Community is more than just a digital archive; it is an active commitment to the idea that knowledge should be a shared resource, not a commodity.
By preserving the scholarship of the University of Southern Mississippi and making it freely available, Aquila ensures that a student in Mississippi, a policymaker in Liberia, or a researcher in Indonesia can access the information they need to learn, innovate, and solve problems. It represents a critical step toward a more equitable and collaborative global research ecosystem, where the only barrier to entry is curiosity itself.
For faculty and students, contributing to Aquila is a way to amplify the impact of their work beyond the walls of academia 3 . For the global community, it is an invitation to engage with the cutting edge of discovery, free of charge. As Aquila continues to grow, it will undoubtedly remain a vital resource for anyone who believes in the power of open inquiry and the unlimited potential of shared knowledge.
Aquila demonstrates how academic institutions can contribute to a more open and equitable global knowledge ecosystem.