Digital Commons Network^™

Echoes Of Medieval Timekeeping In Middle-Earth And Valinor, Kristine Larsen

Journal of Tolkien Research

Throughout his six-plus decades of work spent tinkering with his invented world and its mythology, Tolkien experimented with numerous calendars and timekeeping schemes, some relying upon direct pre-telescopic observations of the heavens and others mathematical calculations. This paper investigates medieval resonances and echoes in a sample of his various schemes, demonstrating how Tolkien’s use of medievalist timekeeping is consistent with, and greatly adds to, his creation of a self-consistent invented world

Illuminating Sanja Matsuri: Lived Religion And Festival Practice In Asakusa, Caleb R. Merckle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Sanja Matsuri, a major Shintō and Buddhist festival in Asakusa, Tokyo, through the lenses of lived religion, participant observation, autoethnography, and anthropology. Departing from institution-centered approaches, it foregrounds the experiential dimensions of festival participation, showing how physical devotion, collective movement, and festive intensity function as expressions of spiritual meaning. Ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2023 and 2025 included participant observation, informal interviews with local and foreign participants, and Reflexive Discourse Analysis of fieldnotes and bilingual transcripts. Analysis reveals a dynamic interplay between formal sacralization strategies — such as mitama-ire rituals and structured processions — and spontaneous, informal participant …

Forest Offering, Theresa Appleyard

Calliope

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Calliope

No abstract provided.

Signal And Substance: Why Methodological Sophistication Fails To Guarantee Inference, Aamir Rashid, Rizwana Rasheed

Publications and Research

Despite increasing analytical sophistication, empirical research in organization studies continues to suffer from fragile inference, uneven theoretical accumulation, and contested credibility. This paper seeks to explain why these problems persist by shifting attention from authors’ methodological choices to the evaluative dynamics of peer review. Adopting a conceptual and theory-analytic approach, the paper theorizes peer review as an inferential gatekeeping system. Drawing on research design, theory evaluation, and philosophy-of-science literatures, this study develops an analytical framework to examine how evaluative routines shape what constitutes empirical rigor during the review process. The analysis identifies five recurring reviewer blind spots: inferential scope inflation, …

Pedro Ximénez Abrill Y Tirado: Another And Deeper Look, Richard Savino

Soundboard Scholar

Born in Arequipa, Peru, Pedro Ximénez Abrill y Tirado was a virtuoso cellist and guitarist who composed over forty symphonies, forty masses, dozens of chamber pieces with interesting instrumentations, and over three hundred solo pieces for the guitar. He moved to Lima for a period and later became Maestro di Capilla at the Sucre Cathedral in Bolivia. At the time Sucre was one of the wealthiest cities in South America, if not the wealthiest.

Abrill's renown was such that he was published in Paris by Richault and was written about in Hugh Bonelli's published travel diary (London, 1854). His music …

Insurgent Politics In The Lone Star State: Remembering The Anti-War Movement In Austin, Texas, 1967–1973, By Martin Murray, Manuel Grajales

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

Frontera Freeways: Highway Building And Displacement In El Paso, Texas, By Miguel Juárez, Alana De Hinojosa

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

The Names Of Four Scouts: Slavery, Settler Colonialism, And The Limits Of Incorporation At The Texas Capitol Complex Since 1983, Mark Mallory

Journal of Texas History

This essay takes the commemorated names of four Seminole Negro Indian Scout Medal of Honor recipients to examine public memory at the Texas Capitol Complex since 1983. Using archival documents, newspapers, exhibits, and monuments, it traces how the Texas State Preservation Board responded to criticism through limited incorporations of Black, Tejano, and women’s histories while preserving narratives that disavow slavery and settler colonialism. It argues that these incorporations reinforce a framework centered on Texas “pioneers,” obscuring Native histories and misrepresenting the complex intersections of Blackness and Indigeneity embodied by Black Seminole history.

“Anything Can Have Life”: An Interview With Everett Quinton About Charles Ludlam’S Ridiculous Puppetry, Jungmin Song, John Bell, Everett Quinton

Ballard Institute Publications

This Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry conversation, via Zoom, with

Everett Quinton, Dr. John Bell, and Dr. Jungmin Song was recorded March 21,

2021, and edited by Tom Tuke and John Bell. Everett Quinton (1952-2023) was an

actor, director, and—after the death of his partner Charles Ludlam (1943-1987)—

the leader of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, the landmark ensemble which

helped define queer theater in the late 20th century. While mostly known for his

acting, playwriting, and directing, Charles Ludlam was also an active puppeteer

and ventriloquist. Many of his puppets are now part of the Ballard Institute and

Museum …

Shanghai In The 1930s, The German Civil Code And The Tragic Story Of A Brilliant Legal Mind, Lutz-Christian Wolff

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Post, Anna Unser

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Picture Perfect, Brenden Kimpe

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Judaism And Catholicism: Possibilities Of An Inter-Spiritual Dialogue, David Neuhaus

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article examines the possibilities of an inter-spiritual dialogue between Catholics and Jews. Describing the transformation of the Catholic attitude to Jews andJudaism in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, moving from a teaching of contempt to one of respect, it analyses the far-reaching reformulations of Catholic theology that promote an interreligious dialogue. After centuries of traumatic history, Jewish reactions have been hesitant. However, the past decades have led to a burgeoning relationship that can indeed flower into a mutual inter-spiritual dialogue that deepens the faith of both Catholics and Jews.

Jainism And Catholicism – Dialoguing Spiritually, Bryan Lobo

Journal of Global Catholicism

The inter-spiritual dialogue between Jainism and Catholicism lends itself towards discovering similarities and dissimilarities between the two spiritualities. Recognizing this discovery, this paper, without claiming to be exhaustive as regards the spiritual themes, discusses the chosen themes to facilitate greater reflection and potential to re-discover elements that can help the growth of understanding and practicing the preferred spirituality.

Islam And Catholicism: Theology And Practice Of Inter-Spiritual Dialogue, Felix Koerner

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article explores foundations, preconditions, aims, persons, groups, practices, methods, texts, and criteria of Muslim–Christian inter-spiritual dialogue. In-ter-spiritual dialogue thrives within the network of other dialogical forms: dialogue of life and collaboration, of theological and practical understanding. This article argues that the spiritual dimension of dialogical encounter may itself constitute a critical site of moral reflection, enabling participants to perceive injustice more clearly and to respond to it more responsibly. Nevertheless, the integrity of in-ter-spiritual dialogue depends upon the cultivation of trust, candor, and a shared orientation toward mutual enrichment and spiritual purification. Where dialogue is subordinated to extrinsic strategic …

The Dialogue Of Spiritual Experience In Buddhist-Christian Encounter, S Mark Heim

Journal of Global Catholicism

Can one learn more about one’s own religion through the practices of another? My positive answer to this question is illustrated in this paper by reflection on aspects of the Buddhist practice of emptiness, in specific connection with Christian under-standing of our lives as creatures. The Buddhist meditative practices I have in mind have several things in common. They are introspective (activated in one person’s inner consciousness) and premised on the Buddhist understanding of emptiness (specifically “no self ” teachings). Buddhist introspective practice takes at least three broad forms. One of these is a meditative analytical awareness of the contents …

Female Athletes With Differences Of Sex Development (Dsd): A Christian Perspective On Fairness And Compassion, Angela M. Robles

Movement and Being: The Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies

One of the most significant controversies in elite women’s sport relates to the participation of female athletes with differences of sex development (DSD), as demonstrated by recent Olympic debates surrounding athletes like Imane Khelif and Caster Semenya. Today, a complex challenge continues to evolve at the intersection of DSD and competitive sports, and it requires careful consideration. The central argument of this paper is that DSD athletes are worthy of compassionate treatment grounded in their inherent dignity, and is founded on the understanding of what it means for humans to be created in the image of God (imago Dei). The …

Unwilling Consent Or Ravishment? Sexual Violence In Late Seventeenth-Century London, Susan Hernandez

Florida Atlantic Undergraduate Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Common Cybersecurity Attack Types And Zeek-Based Detection Strategies In Iot Networks, Christofer Piedra, Alain Edwards

Florida Atlantic Undergraduate Research Journal

As cybersecurity threats increase in scale and complexity, the ability to distinguish hostile traffic from benign network activity is essential. This research examines five prevalent cyberattack categories that impact IoT environments and outlines detection strategies utilizing the open-source Intrusion Detection System (IDS) Zeek. This study provides practical detection methods designed for scalable, real-time environments by classifying five commonly encountered attacks, namely: Reconnaissance, Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), Brute Force, Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) and Spoofing, and Botnet and Malware Behavior. For each attack, we analyze the prevalence, operational impact, and associated indicators. We also present Zeekbased pseudocode …

History Of The College Of The Holy Cross Naval Rotc Unit, O'Callahan Society, College Of The Holy Cross

85th Anniversary of NROTC at Holy Cross

The Holy Cross Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Unit reached its 85th anniversary in July 2026 and, to commemorate this event, the Holy Cross O’Callahan Society has updated the history of the Unit that was prepared for the Unit’s 75th anniversary and now revised twice. The O’Callahan Society grew out of the vision of Reverend John E. Brooks, S. J., President of the College of the Holy Cross 1970-94, who invited several graduates of the NROTC Unit to meet in the early 1990s and discuss how NROTC alumni could support the NROTC Unit. From these discussions, the O’Callahan Committee …

The Bridwell Quarterly, Issues 32 & 33, Spring-Summer 2026, Michelle S. Ried, Anthony Elia

Bridwell Library Publications

No abstract provided.

Beyond Affection Meters: A Framework For Relationship Repair Mechanics And Meaningful Play, Christopher B. Del Gesso

Theses

This thesis develops and tests a repair-centered framework for relationship mechanics in narrative games, positioned as an alternative to the affection-meter model that reduces relationships to a single accumulating score. Drawing on eudaimonic media research, relational repair theory, and interpretive-attribution research, the framework argues that meaningful relationship play depends on tracking multiple, potentially divergent relational dimensions; distinguishing repair attempts from repair outcomes; modeling interpretation of player actions rather than fixed action-to-effect mappings; and treating stable, non-restorative endings as legitimate outcomes rather than failure states. A comparative survey of five commercial games, Fallout 4, Tell Me Why, Life is Strange Remastered, …

Lab Escape, Peter Brauninger

Theses

The core subject of this paper focuses on several key traits of effective horror games. Using a paper and prototype level, the project conducts a thorough examination of horror in the medium to better understand how to develop effective games in this genre. Looking at examples from different media, the objective of this research is to identify key components of effective horror games. Going through the research, we can identify three key traits that are critical to the genre. Within horror games, accuracy of these elements is even more essential. Having the player be constantly tense, and enjoying the game …

Ethical Visual Truth: An Analysis On Vietnam War Photojournalism, Anna Lauryn Carmichael

Theses

This thesis examines the ethical dimensions of Vietnam War photojournalism through close analysis of four iconic photographs: Nick Ut's The Terror of War (Napalm Girl) , Eddie Adams's Saigon Execution , Catherine Leroy's Vietnam, February 1967 , and Gilles Caron's Untitled (Who's the Enemy Here?) . Rather than treating these images as transparent documentation, this thesis argues that Vietnam War photojournalism functioned as a contested medium of narrative construction, one whose most celebrated images achieved iconic status by conforming to Western visual conventions and institutional demands, rather than by capturing some unmediated truth. Drawing on the interconnected frameworks of visual …

Ethos: A Computational Framework For Material Culture Research, Chelsea L. Grafe

Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Museum catalog records make large collections searchable, but they do not always preserve the reasoning behind the claims they contain. A record may present a quilt's identity as settled while leaving the reasoning behind that claim invisible, making it difficult for later researchers to check, question, or reuse. This project asks whether museum catalog data can be analyzed in a way that keeps each analytical claim connected to the evidence that supports it. To test this question, the project applies a material-first computational framework named Ethos. Ethos formalizes an object-centered inquiry sequence in which material dependencies establish where analysis begins …

Trattato Dell’Alcibra Amuchabile (Anonimo): A Guided Translation, Gary Towsley, Olympia Nicodemi

Geneseo Authors

The Trattato dell’Alcibra Amuchabile is a pre-modern algebra text from c. 1365. It is written in a Tuscan dialect of Italian and is situated in the abbacus school tradition, schools that taught the mathematics needed for a mercantile society. Like all the algebra written in Italy at the time, it was inherited from al-Khwarizmi and, like his, written with no symbols—no x’s, y’s, plus signs, etc. It was what is sometimes called “rhetorical algebra.”  There is very little source  material available in English from this important era in the history of algebra. This book helps fill that gap. …

Machine (Un/Re) Learning, Jordan Shadley

MFA in Dance Theses

This thesis document is an exploration of the interaction between live performance art and digital content creation such as Generative A.I. In this work, I draw from several courses I completed during my time in Saint Mary’s College of California MFA in Dance and Creative Practice program, including Dance and Social Justice, Phenomenology, Somatic Movement Seminar and Dance and Performance Studies. Each offers a throughline of my scholarly explorations and embodied research into the spheres of adapting and challenging how concert dance spaces respond to digital information and creation. I utilized live movement collaboration and distorted videography through Generative A.I. …

Kinesthesis: A Choreographic Study Of The Somatic Effect Of Fascial Intervention, Mira Larsen

MFA in Dance Theses

This master’s thesis was a choreographic study that experimented with the somatic effects of fascial intervention practices, culminating in a final performance in June of 2026 at the LeFevre Theatre at Saint Mary’s College of California. Each chapter of this document investigates the topic of fascial awareness supported through somatic practice and its effect on creating impactful emotional and physical connections in ballet choreography and pedagogy. This document offers the conceptual framework for the choreographic process of the thesis project, titled Kinesthesis. Through the lenses of phenomenology, somatics, social justice, and performance studies, the research goal involved the utilization of …

Da Mosang Tarsier Series: Developing Digital Bullying Prevention Materials For Filipino Parents Of Grade School Students, Rudy M. Danganan Jr., Ann Christine V. Braga, Maria Kristina S. Alfonso, Romelito Manuel D.S. Clorina, Ma. Regina Hechanova

Children and Families

Bullying remains a significant public health and educational concern worldwide and is particularly prevalent in Philippine public schools, with Grade 7 students identified as a vulnerable group. Although the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 (Republic Act No. 10627) mandates school-based policies and procedures, persistent implementation gaps underscore the need to strengthen home–school partnerships and equip parents with practical, culturally grounded response strategies. This paper describes the development of the Da Mosang Tarsier Series, a set of digital psychoeducational comic strips designed for Filipino parents of Grade 7 students. Guided by a user-centered design (UCD) framework, the project began with a Generative …