Digital Commons Network^™

A Second Temple Period Burial Cave From The Mount Of Olives, Jerusalem, Rafeh Abu Raya, Boaz Zissu

'Atiqot

No abstract provided.

A Middle Bronze Age Iib–Late Bronze Age I Burial Cave At ‘En Nashab, In The Bet She’An Valley, Zvi Gal, Nehemya Zori

'Atiqot

No abstract provided.

A Tumulus At Mazor-El‘Ad (Site 96), Irina Zilberbod, Amir Golani, David Amit

'Atiqot

No abstract provided.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 100, No. 3, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Magazine edition of the College Heights Herald for the period February 17 - April 20, 2025.

• Wilborn, Price. You Matter & You Are Not Alone
• Smith, Kane. Peggy Crowe Reflects on Counseling Center in Face of Staff Shortages
• Stafford, Hallie. Help with Horses – New Beginnings Therapeutic Horse Riding
• Hawkins, Kaylee. How a WKU Professor Helps Improve Student Mental Health – Jay Gabbard, National Alliance on Mental Illness Recovery Support Group
• McMahon, Jake. More Than a Coach – Brent Chumbley, Track & Field
• Simpson, Libby. WKU’s American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Brings Mental Health Into the Light
• Hardesty, Emma. Trans …

2025 Academic Conference Program

Holy Cross Undergraduate Academic Conference

No abstract provided.

Deaf-Centric Expression Of Biblical Language And Themes, Grace M. Tang

Senior Honors Theses

Christianity contains complicated language and concepts that many individuals can struggle to express in American Sign Language (ASL) in ways that resonate with the Deaf community. Accessibility for the Deaf extends far beyond the translation of words into signs, requiring recontextualization to fit a Deaf lens and adaptation of communication methods to match the oral tradition and Deaf culture. This qualitative study evaluates how the hearing-centered language and themes of the Bible can be effectively portrayed to Deaf audiences through comprehensive interviews with three Deaf Christian pastors and three hearing Christian interpreters. This research found that Deaf churches allow for …

Human Passion In The City And The Jungle: Translating Horacio Quiroga’S “Dieta De Amor,” “El Simún,” And “Polea Loca”, Washington C. Pearce

Theses and Dissertations

Horacio Quiroga, Uruguayan-Argentine writer who is often considered analogous to Edgar Allan Poe, is notable for his contributions to the development of South American Modernismo and his status as a precursor to the Latin American "Boom" period. My project presents a translation of three previously untranslated short stories: "Dieta de Amor," "El Simún," and "Polea Loca." As a preface to these translations I articulate my translation theory and give examples of that theory in practice. I draw upon Jorge Luis Borges, Lawrence Venuti, and Friedrich Schleiermacher as translation scholars who have influenced my work.

Ecclesiological Support For Veterans Suffering From Moral Injury: A Phenomenological Study, Douglas Guy Wood

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

For many military service members, the cost of their service is through the psychological, physiological, emotional, sociological, and spiritual scars from the trauma of conflict. This trauma is most associated with the diagnoses of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Moral Injury (MI). Existing literature primarily focuses on a humanistic underlying philosophy to symptoms and patient care or uses a non-specific definition/categorization of religion/spirituality (e.g., Ames et al., 2019; Hill et al., 2000; Sharma et al., 2017). Studies have addressed psychological, physiological, emotional, and sociological healing (e.g., Åkerblom et al., 2020; Drescher et al., 2011; Gray et al., 2012; Nash & …

The Convergence Point Project: Assessing A Cultural Apologetics Curriculum For Today’S Believer, David L. Eadie Sr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research project designed, developed, and implemented a comprehensive program focused on communicating the gospel through the lens of Cultural Apologetics. This initiative’s core objective was to equip participants with the vital knowledge and practical skills necessary for effectively engaging with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds while articulating the gospel message in a meaningful way. A total of twenty-one volunteers participated in the project. They were provided a pre-questionnaire before starting, which assessed their initial understanding of Cultural Apologetics and their confidence in engaging across cultural divides. Upon finishing the program, the same individuals completed a post-questionnaire to evaluate …

Implementation Of Discipleship Tools For Parents Of Neurodivergent Children At Crosspointe Christian Church, Nathaniel J. King

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a rapidly growing number of individuals in the United States being given neurodivergent diagnoses. With this rapid rise, the church must carefully consider how to spiritually disciple these individuals. This action research project sought to refine existing spiritual development tools at Crosspointe Christian Church in Grosse Pointe Woods, MI, to integrate families with special needs intentionally. Eight parents of neurodivergent children at the church participated in assessments, action steps, surveys, interviews, and a group discussion. Through this process, additional discipleship tools were tested and found to be moderately helpful in aiding parents in the spiritual growth of their …

Responding To Leadership Change: A Qualitative Multi-Case Study Of Female Pastors And Their Congregations, Sharon Britz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to explore the lived experiences of female senior pastors and their congregants who have embraced leadership change from male to female. Although many denominations openly accept and ordain female pastors, and the number of women in pastoral leadership roles has risen, many women in ministry still face obstacles. Guided by the theory of change, in conjunction with liberation theology, this study addressed a gap in research related to the experience of female pastors in ministerial leadership, as minimal similar studies exist, and no other studies within the Congregational Christian Church were found. …

Contributors

Exile

No abstract provided.

Exile Vol. Lxxii

Exile

No abstract provided.

We Are Our Brains: Disembodied Brain Films In 1950s Cold War America, David P. Pierson

Faculty, Staff, and Alumni Books

Personified Body Parts in Cinema, Literature, and Visual Culture investigates the power of personifying body parts in cinema, television, visual culture, literature, erotica, folklore, and mystique.

Culturally, socially, and poetically exposing hidden aspects and subtleties of human existentialism, this book vigorously questions and problematizes numerous artistic, aesthetic, technological, naïve, and macabre manipulations of body parts for various purposes. A diverse team of authors explore how scribing human traits to limbs, eyes, brains, genitalia, hearts, and other inner organs is grotesque and aesthetic, repealing and appealing, intimidating and intimate, rude and enjoyable, material and spiritual, surprising and mundane. Personified organs are …

Mimetic Theory & Middle-Earth: Untangling Desire In Tolkien’S Legendarium By Matthew J. Distefano, Curtis Gruenler

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Matthew Distefano’s friendly volume extends considerably the conversation about resonances between two twentieth-century literary giants, J. R. R. Tolkien and René Girard. Distefano not only clarifies essential aspects of Tolkien’s work by reading it through the lens of Girard’s mimetic theory but also, through his particular interest in how Hobbits provide models of positive mimetic desire, highlights, extends, and one might even say enacts aspects of Girard’s theory that are easily overlooked.

The Middle-(Un)Man Of Desire: A Girardian Reading Of Perelandra, Clinton Manley

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

The French polymath René Girard presents a compelling argument that all desire is mimetic. According to Girard, we don’t actually know what we want; instead, we imitate the desires of others. These models of desire act as mediators, indicating what objects or ways of being are worth pursuing. For Girard, desire exists in this middle place between a subject, a model, and an object. He famously argues that all great literature leverages an awareness of mimetic dynamics; the greater the work, the more mimetically perspicacious the author.

Given Girard’s theory, we would expect the greatest fantasy authors to erect their …

An Aspirational Cultus? Tolkien Fandom At The Borders Of Belief, Tom Emanuel

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

This paper draws upon fan studies, sociology of religion, and J.R.R. Tolkien’s theory of sub-creation to theorize the religious implications of Enyalië (Quenya: remembrance), the emotionally charged graveside memorial which closes the U.K. Tolkien Society’s annual gathering in Oxford. Employing a framework of religion as sacred worldbuilding, the author argues that Enyalië is best understood as the “secondary liturgy” of the “secondary faith community” that is Tolkien fandom. The paper concludes that Tolkien’s fiction, his community of devoted fans, and the lineaments of religious ritual have combined, in Enyalië, to produce a fan practice which troubles the boundaries …

Centralized Urban Planning And Economic Segregation: Wealth Inequality At Tell Asmar And Khafaja, Mesopotamia, Yoko Nishimura

East Asian Studies Faculty Publications

This article explores a possible correlation between centralised planning and economic homogenisation within residential neighbourhoods in ancient cities. Pre-planned and constructed urban living quarters may have contributed to the concentration of residents with similar levels of material wealth. Distinct groups of people may be identified among different districts, neighbourhoods or specific sections within a neighbourhood at the intra-site level. Several examples from different parts of the world are given to show this correlation. Also, a case study to test this correlation is drawn from the third millennium B.C. cities of Tell Asmar and Khafajah in central Mesopotamia. Excavations at these …

Themes Of Moral Injury In The Field Of Asl Interpreting, Samantha Michaelson

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

This research project explores connections between a moral injury framework and the recognition and mitigation of ethical stress and trauma experienced by ASL-English interpreters. I have employed strategies such as thick description, textual analysis, and a narrative synthesis of existing literature on moral injury and ethical stress in interpreting to arrive at my findings. The study explains Demand Control Schema (DCS) and the Code of Professional Conduct (CPC) as valuable tools for interpreters to discuss and address ethical stresses that arise in their work. Additionally, I examine the concept of role space and its relevance to the experience of ethical/moral …

Translation And Migration, Utopia And Dystopia: Representations Of The Labor Of Cultural Mediation In Fictional Eastern Europe And The Real Us-Mexico Border, James L. Richie Iv

Vernacular: New Connections in Language, Literature, & Culture

With the publication of Moira Inghilleri’s book, Translation and Migration (2017), the linguistic act of translation and the social phenomenon of migration have been linked in the world of interdisciplinary studies, yet this linkage may obscure the relevance of works in which only one phenomenon (translation or migration) is presented. A case study in which a work exploring migration can be contrasted with a work exploring the function of translation may reveal in one another the social forces that condition both practices. In Lucas Pope’s independently created video game Papers Please (2014), the player embodies a border patrol agent in …

Actualizing Black Spatial Histories Through A Speculative Youth Archiving Project, Kaleb Germinaro, Alvin Logan, Jr.

Occasional Paper Series

For today’s youth, learning about one's history and culture is not always a given in the classroom. Many schools are learning spaces void of any cultural or spatial connection, particularly for Black students. This paper details an action-based summer archeology program hosted by the Burke Museum and Seattle Public Schools Liberatory Education Program that explored Black spatial histories through speculative youth archiving. Through key relationships with community organizations, students underwent a three-week program designed to allow students to develop their relationship with Black spatial histories and envision their role in creating and setting history in real-time. Using student interviews, the …

The Social Life Of Plants: Botanical Representations In Moche Art, Breanna Fae Reiss

Art & Art History ETDs

The Moche were semi-autonomous communities who thrived in the ten fertile riverine valleys of Peru’s northern coast between the late fourth and ninth centuries CE. Phase IV (c. 590–700 CE) Southern Moche ceramics feature intricate fine line visual narrative scenes with many multivalent symbols and motifs. This dissertation intends to understand why plants begin to play a more significant role in the Moche iconographic corpus in this period. I explore the interests of elites, the ecological web interweaving image and environment, and species identification. The local flora was affected on one hand by naturally occurring changes in weather and environment …

Harnessing Faith For Relational Harmony: A Black Christian Couple’S Journey Through Relational Spiritual Knowing, Kevin L. Jones, Victoria L. Jones

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

This scholarship centers on the experiences of Black married Christian couples, exploring how spirituality profoundly enriches and transforms their relationships. Building on Martin Buber's philosophy of the “I-Thou” relationship, which emphasizes genuine spiritual engagement, the research highlights how this Black married couple draw on their faith to navigate marital challenges. For Black married Christian couples, spirituality often forms the foundation of their relationships, guiding them through life’s complexities. This work seeks to move beyond traditional teachings, embracing a more expansive view of spirituality that honors the rich, multifaceted nature of Black Christian marriages. Through the Relational Spiritual Knowing framework, this …

Faith In The Therapy Room: A Qualitative Study Of Canadian Immigrant Clients' Untold Stories, Sandra Dixon, Juliane Bell

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

Immigration to Canada brings cultural diversity, but also stressors and challenges that impact mental well-being. Spirituality recognizes the profound significance of relational knowing, manifesting in external appreciation for meaningful experiences with others that provide purpose. Despite the importance of faith in many immigrants' lives, mental health professionals often overlook spiritual and religious convictions. This descriptive qualitative study addressed this gap by conducting semi-structured interviews with 10 immigrant clients of faith in a diverse Canadian province. Purposive and snowball sampling were used for participant recruitment. NVivo 12 software facilitated efficient data management and analysis, and Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase framework …

Sharp Knives, Dark Hearts: Class, Colonialism, And Rebellion On Anthony Bourdain's Bookshelf, Carl Cactus Warmuth

American Studies ETDs

Though often characterized as a celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain achieved stardom from his lively writing rather than skills in the kitchen. As such, the sociopolitical importance of his life and work is greatly illuminated by his compulsive literary references. Through George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, Émile Zola’s The Belly of Paris, Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and the personas of William S. Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson, the tensions central to Bourdain’s legacy are unveiled. This thesis offers a portrait of Bourdain as a complicated figure of …

Between The Land And The Sea: Belizean Voices In Environmental Governance, Kris-An K. Hinds

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coastal communities around the world are at the epicenter of dynamic socio-environmental transformations driven by the impacts of climate change, shifting human–more-than-human environmental relationships, and the decisions made in response to these challenges. As environmental concerns intensify, the governance decisions made to address these impacts will determine the severity of the impacts and the future of affected coastal areas. In regions such as the Caribbean, Central America, and Latin America, environmental governance is complicated by uneven power dynamics, historical legacies of racialized environmental spaces, and the ongoing challenge of balancing national economic growth with environmental preservation. These transformations are not …

After The Economic Downfall At The Coastal Frontier: A Portrait Of Women Persisting Amidst Sea Abrasion In Northern Bekasi, Muhammad R. A. Ghifari, Gilang Mahadika

Antropologi Indonesia

This article explores the socio-environmental transformations in Muara Gembong, a coastal frontier in northern Bekasi, Indonesia, that once thrived as a hub for shrimp and milkfish farming but is now grappling with environmental degradation and economic decline. By drawing on feminist political ecology (FPE), the study examines how women in the region have adapted to the deteriorating environment, driven by coastal erosion, mangrove loss, and the collapse of fish pond businesses. While men traditionally dominated the local economy as aquaculturists, women have assumed critical roles in sustaining household livelihoods through creative economic activities, such as weaving wlingi laut (Cyperus malaccensis) …

Sobre El Arcoíris: The Queering Of Mariachi, Tyician Charles Knight

Music ETDs

Mariachi is an internationally renowned artform and tradition whose history spans over decades and several continents. However, there are many aspects still embedded in mariachi culture that remain problematic; machismo (toxic masculinity), alcoholism, and homophobia to name a few. While there has been an increase of mariachi scholars who have critically examined these issues, mariachi culture itself has yet to address the challenges brought forth by its history of gender discrimination and homophobia and embrace practical changes that would enable the creation of a more equitable environment and further develop this living tradition. This thesis analyzes the trajectory of queering …

Bryant University Research And Engagement Day Program

Bryant REDay (Research and Engagement Day)

No abstract provided.

Photo Essay: Japan’S Demographic Changes And Opportunities: A Tale Of Two Cities, Ryoko Yamamoto

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Japan is in the midst of a population implosion. Schools struggle to fill classrooms, and vacant houses are a common sight in smaller towns. While the demographic shift makes it difficult to sustain traditional ways of life, it also brings opportunities for new possibilities. This essay highlights the challenges and opportunities of demographic change through the stories of two communities: Tsushima City in Aichi Prefecture and Ikuno Ward in Osaka City. In Tsushima, residents have embraced a more inclusive approach to their autumn festival, inviting women and non-residents to perform roles previously reserved for male residents. In Ikuno, a closed …