Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Resilience And Positive Psychology – Mental Health Clinicians’ Perspectives On Schizophrenia Within The Criminal Justice System, Shaquanna Ferguson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Kafr Kama: The Marble Finds, Anastasia Shapiro

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The study of 127 marble fragments from the excavation of the Umayyad building at Kafr Kama revealed that most of the samples are made of Proconnesian marble and originally belonged to panels that likely decorated a church demolished by the earthquake of 749 CE. The collapse of the building caused the breakage of the panels, which then became spolia. They were marked and reshaped into small geometric forms, such as octagons or trapezoids measuring up to 20–30 cm. Given that no completed items were found, the studied assemblage probably represents the workplace of a stonemason active in Umayyad-period Kafr Kama.

Taking Off The Mask: Development Of A Role Method For Late-Diagnosed Neurodivergent Women, Maria Moutzalias

Expressive Therapies Theses

Neurodivergent women are frequently underdiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or late diagnosed due to gender differences and the prevalence of masking. Masking is the unintentional or intentional suppression of neurodiverse traits to present more neurotypical. Consequences of long-term masking can include increased risk of anxiety, depression, and burnout. This study explores the potential of drama therapy as a modality to support unmasking and increasing self-esteem in neurodivergent adult women. Drawing on existing literature on neurodiversity, masking, and drama therapy, a two staged role-based intervention was developed and implemented within a six weeklong psychotherapy group for five late diagnosed neurodivergent women. All participants were …

Playing The Part Online: A Role-Based Telehealth Intervention Supporting Trauma Integration In Adults, Mary Schwabenland

Expressive Therapies Theses

This study explores a telehealth-adapted, role-based drama therapy intervention designed to support trauma integration in adults. Grounded in trauma theory, experiential approaches, and drama therapy frameworks, the intervention utilized interoceptive awareness, metaphor, and role embodiment to explore emotional material in dramatic reality, with aesthetic distance serving as an adjustable mechanism of activation and containment. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted on clinical session notes from five adult clients. Five themes emerged from the analysis, including: aesthetic distance and modes of engagement; aesthetic quality and symbolic coherence; role narrative as integration pathway; intervention as catalyst within ongoing process; and therapist positioning …

Co-Active Therapeutic Filmmaking: A Methodology Pilot Project, Blair Webber

Expressive Therapies Theses

This pilot project examined the intersection of drama therapy and filmmaking. Drawing on the Co-Active Therapeutic Theater model from drama therapy and digital storytelling and participatory video methods from social work research, this methodology designed and delivered a co-created filmmaking intervention at a residential treatment center for adult men with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder. Four participants made a seven-minute-long short fictional film based on their definition of active recovery and a theme of recovery they wished to share with an audience. It was screened at the treatment center for staff and their fellow residents. Data collection was …

'Here's What Bali Can Do For You': Social Media's Impact On Travel Writing, Carlisle Avalon Jarnigan

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis examines how social media has initiated a shift in the genre of travel writing from educational cultural observation to a form of engagement-driven, monetized travel content creation. Historically, the genre has functioned as a descriptive genre dedicated to educating readers who would never get to see the destinations they read about modern travel writing and content creation use emotional persuasion to market travel experience as a product, redefining the genre. Using methods like geotagging, user-generated content (UGC), and emotionally charged storytelling approaches, travel creators no longer just describe locations but instead promise readers that if they visit, they …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Reddit Posts Made By Formerly Incarcerated Women, Madison R. Diaz

Graduate Student Thesis

Women with felony convictions who serve prison sentences encounter significant barriers during reentry, making it difficult to achieve stability. These barriers are shaped by stigma, background check policies, and limited access to supportive resources, often leading to feelings of hopelessness and isolation. The current study analyzes Reddit posts made by self-identified women in the r/Felons subreddit to understand how they describe these barriers and how they use online spaces for support. A qualitative content analysis was used to identify common themes related to employment, education, housing, and stigma. Many posts reflect frustration, discouragement, and anger toward the criminal justice system …

Information Access And Correspondence Education For Incarcerated People, Evan J. Pasco

Library Research Scholars Program Spring 2026

Having quality access to education is an important factor in improving outcomes for incarcerated individuals, which includes higher employment rates and reduced recidivism. Unfortunately, incarcerated learners face many barriers when attempting to participate in these educational programs, such as high cost, censorship, and institutional restrictions. Despite the importance of continuing education, limited centralized information remains available on it or the obstacles that affect participation.

This project focuses on the broader information landscape for incarcerated learners, particularly examining correspondence education programs in the United States. This research includes an analysis of common barriers in accessing education, a review of scholarly literature …

Interparental Relationship Quality Reduces Parental Stress And Subsequent Family Dysfunction Across Pregnancy And Early Childhood, Rachel Clara-Beth Beck

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

In this multiple paper dissertation, I found that a higher quality interparental relationship, characterized by more emotional intimacy, support, responsiveness and better conflict management skills, plays a key role in reducing stress and its subsequent impact on family dynamics. Aims and hypotheses were tested using longitudinal data collected from mixed-sex couples during the pregnancy-postpartum transition and into early childhood. In study #1, higher quality interparental support during pregnancy was associated with lower postpartum stress which, in turn, predicted fewer parent–infant bonding impairments. In study #2, a mutually responsive orientation in the couple relationship during pregnancy interacted with intrapersonal regulatory resources …

“Overworked, Undernourished, And Weak In The Eyes”: The Portrayal Of Librarians In Comics, Alessandro Camarra

Staff publications

Librarians and library workers have frequently appeared as characters within the medium of comics, perhaps more so than people realize. While the discussion usually begins and ends with Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, the number of examples that can actually be found is astoundingly vast.

Whether they are fictional beings wholly created by the artists, or based on real-life individuals, librarians represent a standard archetype within popular culture that creators often reference in order to convey a specific image to their audience. Usually, but not always, this involves an emphasis on negative stereotypes associated with the profession: demanding silence from patrons, outdated modes …

Substantive Biases? Analyzing Ideological Bias In Substantive Due Process Claims On The Roberts Court, Nicholas J. Ginsberg

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines whether judicial ideology has a stronger influence on Supreme Court decision making in substantive due process claims when compared to other areas of law through the Roberts Court. Previous scholarship has noted that ideology is a factor in judicial decision making, however, there is little scholarship on if specific areas of law makes ideology play a larger factor in decision making. Utilizing justice-level voting records from the Roberts Court and Segal-Cover scores to measure judicial ideology, a logistic regression model is utilized to analyze the relationship between ideology and voting behavior in substantive due process cases and …

Estimator And Reflector Variables In Eyewitness Recall, Sakshi Mundra

Student Theses

Eyewitnesses are frequently asked to describe culprits following a crime, but how accurate and complete are such descriptions? This study examined eyewitness description completeness and accuracy by investigating estimator variables (Race and Gender), reflector variables (Confidence and Response Time), and elicitation methods (Free Recall and Prompted Recall). Participants viewed one mock-crime video featuring a culprit who varied in race (White or Black) and gender (Female or Male), then provided free recall descriptions followed by prompted descriptions of facial features. Prompted recall improved completeness beyond free recall, though with a minor reduction in accuracy. Descriptions were more complete for same-race and …

The Relationship Between Evidence-Based Coaching And The Decision-Making And Cultural Responsiveness Of Child Welfare Professionals, Kenisha Coon-Santiago

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Government Policies On The Stock Market, Samruddhi Somani, Dr. Holger Kern

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

What is the most effective government policy to boost stock returns and, subsequently, to foster economic growth, especially during an economic crisis? This paper examines the effects of various government actions on stock market performance during the global financial crisis of 2007. As expected from rational investors, nearly all of the variation in index levels is explained by the variation in index futures levels, which reflect market expectations. Index and future levels were collected for June 2007-December 2009 using Bloomberg, which tracks data for various financial instruments. The financial crisis timeline furnished by the New York Federal Reserve Board on …

A Review Of Video Game Effects And Uses, David Corso

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Video games are versatile in their form and function. Whether they’re training doctors or offsetting Alzheimer’s disease, video games can exercise both mental and physical features, train specific skills for a number of jobs, educate players about events and phenomenon in our world, research and understand natural human processes, and they can be designed for a number of other purposes. Multiple studies have demonstrated the effects of video games on physiological and cognitive levels—positive, negative, and everything in between. This paper identifies various physical and psychological effects that video games produce, and it suggests ways in which video games can …

Where's The Love: Portrayals Of African American Romantic Relationships In Media, Christopher Johnson

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

In today’s world, the media is a pervasive and influential force that has a great impact on an individual’s thoughts, beliefs, and actions. Given this power, it can ingrain images in a person’s mind, that when not properly monitored, can cultivate “realities” that are nonexistent or slightly distorted. This study looks to understand heterosexual romantic relationship behavior in the African American sitcom “The Game” and the potential effects it could have on viewers. Employing a content analysis, interpersonal expressions were measured between characters in this television show that reinforce positive or negative relationship behavior. It was found that there were …

Payrolling In The Deep, Kyle Rosenfeld

Business and Economics Honors Papers

This study examines how Major League Baseball teams can build their rosters to spend their payroll more efficiently. Using a manually constructed dataset, consisting of thirty teams over the past five years, this paper studies different payroll allocation strategies, such as the percentage of a team’s payroll to homegrown players or free agents, to improve the efficiency of how an MLB club is spending. Through running regression models, results have shown there is a statistically significant positive relationship between how efficient MLB teams spend their payrolls to the percentage of a team’s payroll designated to homegrown players. Additionally, there is …

Analyzing Preparedness For Compliance With The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (Cbam) Across Member States Of The European Union, Vincent Pfattner

Politics Honors Papers

The European Union’s implementation of the CBAM is a climate change-driven initiative aimed at preventing carbon leakages. This thesis aims to investigate the underlying reasons for the variation in preparedness to comply with CBAM. Exposure to CBAM-covered Extra-EU imports serves as a proxy for preparedness, a measure of the economic constraints EU countries face. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, including Regression Analysis, Bayesian model averaging, and comparative case studies of EU countries. The results show a strong association between preparedness levels and institutional factors, particularly regulatory capacity. In contrast, political, financial, and geographical factors exhibit limited influence on a …

The Impact Of Monetary Policy Announcements On Trading Reactions To Earnings Reports, Sean A. Maxfield

Economics Honors Projects

This paper examines trading reactions to quarterly earnings reports and the impact of recent monetary policy announcements by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). It argues that the market, as a product of rational and irrational investor behavior, interprets firms’ financial performance within a broader macroeconomic context, affirming the causal channels found in similar studies. This study differs from prior research by looking at the recent, not simultaneous, monetary policy announcement for each earnings announcement in order to understand if the two types of information remain complementary. By conducting an event study model, this study confirms that the interaction of …

The Brain And Becoming: Integrating Play And Performance-Based Learning In The Community College Classroom, Hannah M. Green

English

Instruction in the community college classroom is in need of a shift, according to neuroscientific, pedagogical, and demographic data. Primarily, students in today’s community college classrooms are instructed in the form of lectures (Nilson 106), but research has shown that game-based learning would be the way to enhance learning experiences for these adult learners. Game-based learning specifically takes form in student learning through games, interactive reading activities such as performance pedagogy, discussions, and small group work. While research shows that play-based learning at the community college level is neurologically beneficial for students, there is a gap in implementing play-based learning …

Ticking Time Bomb: The Economic Ramifications Of Mlb's Pitch Clock, Katie Ciuffreda

Business and Economics Honors Papers

In recent years, Major League Baseball has been challenged with declining engagement and attendance, particularly with younger audiences, with the long duration of games most commonly cited as the reason for disinterest. In response to this, MLB implemented a pitch clock that worked its way through the minor league system until it was introduced to the majors for the 2023 season. The goal for the clock was to reduce game times by increasing pace of play. While early evidence shows that the clock has been successful in that regard, its impact on player performance remains to be explored. This study …

The Impatience Of Winning: An Analysis Of Time Discounting, Predictive Modeling, And The Nba Draft, Alec R. Plante

Business and Economics Honors Papers

This paper examines whether NBA draft decisions can be better explained by incorporating non-geometric time discounting into a model of general manager decision making. Using a dataset of 285 NBA draft prospects over a 12-year period, the impact of college statistics on Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) is determined, and these impact values are then used to create a “predicted” VORP for the first 4 seasons of each player’s career: a projection of what a general manager might think of a prospect’s future value given their college statistics. Following this, geometric and hyperbolic time discounting models are applied to estimate …

Mitigating "Weird": How Undergraduate Teaching Assistants Navigate Role Conflict With Ease Through Repertoires Of Action, Emery Teague

Sociology Honors Projects

Research in role theory has generated insufficient knowledge about how role conflict and role strain intersect, leaving questions of how actors navigate and manage these phenomena in real time. Drawing inspiration from cultural sociology and contentious politics, I theorize that individuals use repertoires of action to mitigate role challenges. Empirically, I investigate how undergraduate teaching assistants manage conflicting and contradictory social roles at a small liberal arts college, given their extensive contact with students outside of the classroom. Analysis of over 15 interviews and ethnographic shadowing of key participants of this population demonstrates the multifaceted, yet recurring, ways that teaching …

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Jung’S Active Imagination: A Review And Hypothesis, Charles R. Fox

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Active imagination is a key technique of Jungian analysis. Despite its centrality, and its potential importance beyond Jungian psychology to the area of systems neuroscience, psychology, and consciousness studies, there are no known neurological mechanisms underlying this psychological phenomenon. There is a history of using the types of mental imagery used in active imagination to explore consciousness. The development and use of active imagination is briefly reviewed, and a case is developed that the neurology underlying active imagination would be fruitfully explored by considering it a special case of mystical experience. Active imagination primarily uses the right hemisphere processing of …

The Intersection Of Religion & Politics In The United States: Analyses At The Federal And State Level, Cristina Melissa Pimenta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This project examines the intersection of religion and politics in the United States, particularly concerning Christian Nationalism. Existing scholarship has linked the religio-political ideology to several culturally relevant issues, including xenophobia and nativism, racism, homophobia and transphobia, and anti-vaccine rhetoric. My dissertation continues this research by exploring the impact of Christian Nationalism on reproductive rights and, in turn, on gender equality. I assert that as the saliency of Christian Nationalism in the United States has increased, gender equality has decreased. I also argue that the higher the saliency of Christian Nationalism in an individual state, the lower the gender equality …

A Comparison Of Simple And Differentially Signaled Vr Exchange-Production Schedules, David Duong

Thesis Projects

Token systems typically rely on the conditioned reinforcement effects of tokens to increase responding; however, there may be additional effects and properties as well. This study aims to compare rates of responding between simple VR exchange-production schedules, differentially signaled VR exchange-production schedules, and a control condition to evaluate the operant and respondent effects that token correlated stimuli have on responding. The rates of acquisition of flashcards terms with two college students were tracked. Results indicate that the schedule of reinforcement in place had little impact on the acquisition of flashcard terms, with similar rates of responding across all three conditions. …

The Role Of Viewing Traditionally Gendered Media In Childhood On Influencing Adult Ideas Of Gender Roles And Relationship Ideology, Haille Mark

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Research suggests that the media children watch in their childhood has implications for their socialization, including identity formation, and understanding of gender roles. This study examines the role of children’s films on traditional gender roles and relationship expectations in adulthood. In the current study, female college students were surveyed to assess how the films they watched affected their “MRS” Degree seeking ideology, benevolent sexism, and traditional gender roles. Movies were coded using a scheme, which assesses themes of sexualization, objectification, agency and gender roles. A general linear model (GLM) was used to assess the association. The researcher hypothesizes a relationship …

A Case Study Of Faculty Perspectives On Teaching Across Borders, Lucy Matthews, Diane R. Edmondson, Tammy Bahmanziari

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This study explores the differences between faculty who have and have not led study abroad programs at a southeastern U.S. public university. Using survey responses from 133 faculty members, the research examines professional and motivational variables that influence participation. Findings reveal that those who have led study abroad programs tend to be satisfied with their experiences, report higher perceptions of student cultural competency gains, and are more likely to recommend such programs to peers. Additionally, experiential learning emerged as a central theme, with faculty highlighting the pedagogical value of immersive global education. Barriers to participation were also investigated. The study …

Five Strategic Categories Ai Is Transforming Marketing, Ryan Matthews

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a revolutionary technology that provides tools and methodologies to expand marketings impact. AI enables companies to better understand customer needs, preferences, and behaviors to personalize an approach to different market verticals and segments. AI has become a significant factor influencing how businesses interact and retain the attention of customers. Customers increasingly have an appetite for a highly personalized interaction. AI-driven data approaches and innovative technologies are increasing personalization and efficiency. AI is a revolutionary tool that enables marketing to grow beyond traditional limitations. Understanding the correct tool is vital for marketing executives, whether they are obtaining …

Parenting Practices And Support Towards Learning On Kindergarteners’ Behavioral And Social-Emotional Outcomes, Natalie J. Cassady

Honors Capstones

The relationship between parents and children have been found to be predictive of children’s socialization. Children’s behavior and social interactions are significant factors that shape their school experiences, which may be influenced by parents’ involvement and support towards their child’s education. This investigation studies the influence of parenting practices and parental support for learning on children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, inattention, and social competence. This study uses data from 181 kindergarten students, in which caregivers and teachers completed various questionnaires regarding aspects of specific parenting behavior, types of parental involvement, and children’s social skills and behavior. Using multiple linear regression …