Digital Commons Network^™

Atomos Komiks - Making Learning Fun With Science Entertainment, Jerome Aizpuro Suplemento Ii, Julius Noah Hernandez Sempio

DLSU Arts Congress Conference Proceedings

With portable digital devices imposing themselves on the already precarious attention span of the Filipino youth, and with raising concerns about degrading literacy of schoolchildren, it is imperative to find creative and entertaining means to inspire the young studentry to engage in dedicated educational materials. This paper explains the methods being used by a small group of artists, scientists and writers to create content for “science entertainment” in comics format. By combining principles of conceptual compression, knowledge indexing and low-elaboration persuasion techniques to develop knowledge “anchors”, the team aims to generate participatory engagement among readers and stimulate their cognitive innovation. …

Ai And The Music Industry: Its Current Status And A Speculative Projection Of Its Evolutionary Trajectory, Rhett D. Morris, Clayton Rosati, Stefan Fritsch

Honors Projects

Music serves as one of society's biggest cultural outlets, allowing millions to share in what used to be a uniquely human form of expression. The commodification of music has built a huge industry full of companies and platforms that have used technology and property laws to shape music's relationship with the public. This study aims to look into the future to see how AI and its implementation could affect the structure of the music industry. To look into the future, this piece establishes two of the most pressing kinds of AI technology for the music industry and looks to contextualize …

Why Minds Need Bodies: Organismic Unity And Limits Of Artificial Consciousness, Renée Snow

Comparative Philosophy

This paper argues that functional organization alone is not sufficient for phenomenal consciousness or the existence of a unified subject of experience. While many contemporary accounts of artificial consciousness assume that replicating the causal or computational structure of the brain would be sufficient for subjective experience, this paper identifies a deeper constraint: consciousness depends on organismic unity. The argument proceeds through a triangulation of conceptual, empirical, and metaphysical considerations. First, Zuboff’s thought experiment shows that functional organization can be preserved while the unity of the subject dissolves, suggesting that causal pattern replication alone cannot secure subjectivity. Second, findings from neuroscience …

The Limits Of Universal Logic: A Cross-Cultural Archaeology Of Logical Critique, Murat Kelikli

Comparative Philosophy

This study examines critiques of logic articulated across diverse historical and cultural traditions within a comparative framework. The critiques developed in Islamic, Buddhist, Chinese, Indian, Zen, and modern Western philosophy do not, in the main, reject logic or reasoning as such; rather, they target the conceptualization of logic as a universal, context-independent, and singular normative standard. The analysis shows that objections raised at ontological, epistemic, linguistic, methodological, and political levels converge on a set of shared concerns rooted in the structural features of logic itself, most notably categorical determinacy, universalist assumptions, and claims of context-independence. At the same time, these …

The Modal Catuṣkoṭi: Formalizing Emptiness In Classical Modal Logic, Chance Chapman

Comparative Philosophy

Nāgārjuna’s arguments in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā rely extensively on modus tollens, yet this inference is invalid in the paraconsistent frameworks typically used to formalize the catuṣkoṭi. We develop a modal extension of Belnap-Dunn semantics to address this, expressed as: ¬□(v(P) = t) ∧ ¬□(v(P) = f) ∧ ¬□(v(P) = b) ∧ ¬□(v(P) = n). This formula applies self-reflexively, resolves longstanding interpretive debates regarding verses within Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and Vigrahavyāvartanī such as his “no thesis” defense, and bridges interpretive gaps between traditionally designated Eastern and Western logical traditions, providing a Western analytical translation of Indian dialectic into symbolic modal logic that …

Mono Gold: An Informal Account Of The Geology, Production, And History Of Mono County Gold And Silver Mining Districts, D. D. Trent

Eastern Sierra History Journal

Mono Gold explores the mining production, technology, and history of the Eastern Sierra, with a special focus on Mono County. Author Dee Trent, a geologist, spent decades visiting, researching, and photographing each of the mining operations discussed in this book-length monograph.

Painting A Scene: 3d Painterly Rendering From Curves To Rebelle, William M. Luttrell

All Theses

Stylized 3D rendering has seen much development and success over the past few years. From Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to The Bad Guys, many studios have developed tools to incorporate stylistic elements from graphic novels, comic books, watercolor paintings, and more into their productions. This stylization process incorporates the pacing, visual style, and themes from the source medium into the animated work, allowing a much greater freedom of expression for artists and directors.

Inspired by these films as well as the needs of the short film Kate Shelley and the Bridge of Darkness currently in production, This paper presents …

Book Review: Radioactive Dixie: A Nuclear History Of The American South, Will Jones

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Measuring Administrative Hiring Confidence Of Music Teachers In The Context Of Shallow Hiring Pools, Aaron M. Strum

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and measure the confidence of K-12 administrators in hiring music faculty. This study also aimed to analyze administrators’ perspectives and confidence in key stages of the hiring process, including defining job expectations, posting, advertising, interviewing, and selecting highly specialized music teachers in K-12 settings. Confidence of K-12 administrators can be gauged through their understanding of how well an applicant aligns with the specific needs of the school’s program. Three research questions guided this investigation: (1a) How confident are K-12 administrators in their understanding of music teaching pedagogy when interviewing music teacher candidates …

Confronting Founding Injustices: Reconstructive Constitutional Adjudication And Constitutional Legitimacy In Postcolonial States, Mutasim Abuzeid

International Studies (MA) Theses

Why do some postcolonial constitutions achieve higher constitutional legitimacy than others? Across the Global South, constitutions have proliferated while legitimacy remains uneven and contested. Existing scholarship explains variation in constitutional legitimacy in postcolonial states through three dominant paradigms. Institutionalist theories equate legitimacy with procedural design and endurance, presuming that stable institutions generate compliance and, over time, diffuse support. Transformative constitutionalism locates legitimacy in social justice, emphasizing judicial doctrines such as proportionality and reasonableness to advance equality and material inclusion. Transitional justice approaches, by contrast, locate moral repair largely outside constitutional law—through truth commissions, reparations, and memory projects—often leaving the constitutional …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 42: How Accurate Are The Transcriptions Presented At The Alfred Russel Wallace Page Website?, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

A look is taken at the level of accuracy displayed by the transcriptions of Wallace writings offered at the Alfred Russel Wallace Page website, as determined by a ChatGPT analysis.

Indigenous Community Research Opportunities, Sharon Hausam, Aaron M. Canter

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

Opportunities For Leadership In Indigenous And Tribally Engaged Research At The University Of New Mexico, Sharon Hausam

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

History In The Social Studies Classroom: Developing Historical Literacy And Skills Through Inquiry Lessons, Nancy J. Thatcher

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This Plan B project has created a series of inquiry-based lesson plans and activities for World History classrooms that emphasize historical literacy and disciplinary thinking. Rather than producing a traditional research thesis, this project emphasizes applied historical scholarship by translating historical and professional methodology into three classroom ready instructional lesson plans that are aligned with the Utah Core Standards for Social Studies. The project reflects the History MA’s emphasis on disciplinary rigor while addressing the practical needs of public history and education with pedagogical best practices. This project responds to ongoing challenges in World History education, including constrained instructional time, …

Transnational Indigenous Environmental Justice: A Distant Comparative Study Of Nepali And U.S. Environmental Policies And Counter-Archives In Technical Communication, Shankar Paudel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how institutional communication, state bureaucracy, and Indigenous sovereignty intersect within Rhetoric and Writing Studies (RWS) and Technical and Professional Communication (TPC). Current TPC research increasingly focuses on social justice; however, the field still lacks ethical frameworks to deal with the complicated dynamics of transnational Indigenous Environmental Justice Communication (IEJC). This study addresses this gap by examining how two distinct Indigenous communities - the Tharus of Chitwan, Nepal, and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tigua Indians of El Paso, Texas - communicatively navigate, contest, and resist state environmental policies.

Grounded in decolonial Distant Comparativism, Mestiza Consciousness, Rhetoric of …

Examining Transcultural Approaches In Art Education: Transversality, Identity Formation, And Intercultural Understanding, Alexandra Grace Parsons

Master's Theses

Art education is often treated as marginal within formal schooling, valued as enrichment rather than recognized as a vital contributor to students' intellectual, cultural, and emotional development. Funding and policy decisions made by state and local bodies produce significant regional disparities in access to art education across the United States. This thesis examines how transcultural approaches to art education can respond to increasingly diverse, post-migrant school communities. Using a comparative qualitative case study design, the study analyzes program structures, partnership models, and pedagogical practices at Birmingham Arts School in the United Kingdom alongside schools within Fulton County and Atlanta Public …

What Makes A Cozy Game Cozy? Looking Through The Lens Of Feminism And 4e Cognition, Mary Catherine M. Wilcox

All Theses

Why do some games feel cozy, and others miss the mark, even if they are tricked out in bright colors and festooned with bows? This thesis examines the emerging genre of “cozy games” to better understand why some titles successfully evoke comfort and relaxation while others fail, despite relying on conventionally cute aesthetics or farming-sim mechanics. Although cozy games have grown rapidly in popularity over the past decade, the genre remains under-studied and is often dismissed as frivolous, reflecting the broader historical devaluation of media associated with women. Accordingly, this study argues that understanding cozy games requires examining women’s relationship …

From The Band Hall To The Classroom: A Qualitative Study On Curriculum Design In Successful Texas Bands To Support Student Success, Amy R. Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Texas band programs have captured national attention for student achievement. This qualitative study examined curricular elements shared among perennially successful Texas band programs to explore whether these practices could inform curriculum development in other academic settings to support student success in indicators such as student academic achievement, behavior, and attendance. The data collection phase consisted of semi-structured interviews with fine arts administrators, campus administrators, and band directors associated with school districts of multiple perennially successful band programs. Through thematic analysis, collaboration and observation emerged as themes that influenced curriculum development among the participants; a focus on student experience, written curriculum, …

Opening The Lantern: The Leiden Declaration, Mark Huber

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The Leiden Declaration on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics provides insight into how mathematicians view their discipline. However, when positioning mathematics against AI, the declaration falls short in recognizing recent advances. This column introduces the reader who might be unfamiliar with these new methods through the formal language Lean and discusses how these new abilities might change the way journals operate.

Wanted: A Book Reviews Editor For The Journal Of Humanistic Mathematics, Mark Huber, Gizem Karaali

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

To help us procure regular book review submissions and ensure that we can indeed include a solid book review in each upcoming issue, we would like to have an enthusiastic book worm join our small editorial team. In other words, we are looking for a book reviews editor.

We will review all applications that have been submitted by October 15, 2026. We hope to have our new book reviews editor start their term by January 2027.

Visualizing Irrationality: Digit Mosaics In Okabe–Ito, Raven Quilestino-Olario

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Five visual mosaics translate 10,000-digit segments of well-known mathematical constants into color. For each constant, the digits are placed in a 100×100 grid read left to right and top to bottom, including the digit before the decimal point, and each digit (0–9) is mapped to a color in the Okabe–Ito palette. A matching bar chart shows the digit counts within the same window, allowing quick comparison of how evenly digits appear. The series includes π, e, √2, φ, and the Euler–Mascheroni constant γ. Together, the mosaics and counts turn numerical randomness into visual harmony while keeping the work readable for …

The Pi-Royal Tire, Erik Talvila

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this humorous story, the half-wit proprietor of a tire manufacturing company thinks knowing pi to more digits will allow the production of rounder tires. An applied mathematician is recruited to fulfill a ridiculous industrial research agenda.

In Praise Of Smaller Models, Pedro Poitevin

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Count, Robin Young

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

It's the thought that counts? No, it's this canzone that counts! This poem explores the philosophy of counting through five stanzas from shoreline pebbles to Godel's incompleteness theorems. Counting becomes our guide through Zeno's paradoxes, irrational numbers, Cantor's infinities, and quantum measurement problems. The poem counts, recounts, and discovers that some things simply cannot be counted.

Group Theory For Poets, Holley Friedlander

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This poem instructs the reader on how to put a group structure on an arbitrarily chosen set. Through accentual, rhyming verse, it playfully discusses the beauty and utility of groups as a mathematical concept via examples and applications. This work is inspired by the Patricia Toht book, Pick a Pine Tree.

My Journey To Mathematics, Thao Thuan Vu Ho

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

A Lament For Linear Algebra, Jasmine A. Elmrabti

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

What assumptions underlie our axiomatic definitions? A meditation on the nature of linear algebra and its metaphysical implications during use, this poem is a reflection on the markedness of discrete entities upon which we rely to utilize the axioms of linear algebra.

Mathematics As Creative Structure: A Review Of Marcus Du Sautoy’S Blueprints, Sangeetha Balakrishnan, Latha R

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Marcus du Sautoy’s Blueprints: How Mathematics Shapes Creativity (2025) makes a provocative claim that creativity emerges not in opposition to constraint, but through it. Working through nine mathematical “blueprints” — symmetry, randomness, the Fibonacci sequence, among others — du Sautoy traces recurring structural patterns across artistic practice, natural phenomena, and mathematical thought. The argument is ambitious and persuasive. In this review we consider what the book adds to longstanding conversations about the relationship between scientific and humanistic ways of knowing, and reflect on what it means to reframe mathematics as an imaginative and exploratory enterprise rather than a purely technical …

The Logic Of Leaves: Mathematical Poems And Graphs, Ksawery Tomczak

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This collection explores the intersection of mathematics and poetry through six original works that blend formal rigor with lyrical expression. Each poem draws from a distinct mathematical concept—proof, set theory, combinatorics, graph theory, and cardinality—reframing it through metaphoric and aesthetic lenses. From the lyrical contemplation of infinite sets to the emotive longing of a graph in love, the verses reveal the emotional resonance and philosophical depth embedded in mathematical thought. The collection culminates in a visual piece rendered in \LaTeX and TikZ, illustrating all integer partitions of the number five as a branching tree, accompanied by a poem that sings …

An Essay On Teaching And Learning Mathematics: Through The Lens Of Artificial Intelligence, Music, And Sports, James Diederich

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This essay is aimed at a wide audience: anyone who has engaged in learning or teaching math. It provides a unique perspective drawn from a mathematician’s interests in working with K-12 teachers, familiarity with artificial intelligence (AI), and amateur pursuits of learning to play an instrument and of learning a difficult sport. While I delve into these topics, no special background is needed in the slightest. In particular, I draw lessons from some failures in AI that reflect on why the conventional procedural approach to teaching and learning math fails many students. I also provide insight into how we learn …