Digital Commons Network^™

The Effectiveness Of Utilizing An Arts-Integrated Approach With Students With Ieps In Grades K–5 Self-Contained Classrooms And Why An Arts-Integrated Approach Is Not Widely Implemented In The United States, Alexandra Leff

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines arts integration as an approach for K–5 students with IEPs. Drawing on research from Western and non-Western and data from two programs, it shows gains in academic achievement and social-emotional learning. Despite cultural and systemic barriers, findings support expanding arts integration through teacher training and policy reform.

Effects Of Punitive Immigration Enforcement On The Health Of Latinos With Lower Educational Attainment, Andrea Sofia Mendoza

Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes the effects of the Secure Communities (SC) immigration enforcement program on self reported health and healthcare-seeking behaviors of citizen and non-citizen Latinos with lower educational attainment. SC allowed local jails to use FBI and DHS data to determine whether arrested individuals were eligible for deportation. SC was rolled out across counties from late 2008 through 2013. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) and implementation records from Alsan and Yang (2024), staggered difference-in- difference regression estimates show that SC implementation increased the likelihood of a reported heart attack and heart disease across the sample. …

The Supply-Side Effects Of Air Pollution On Local Non-Polluting Industries, Erin Hyman

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the relationship between PM2.5 and the production of goods and services across industries using a county–industry panel (1999–2013). Fixed effects regressions show higher activity in manufacturing but relative declines in non-polluting sectors, suggesting pollution reflects production intensity and a reallocation toward polluting industries.

The Effect Of Inbound Tourism On Consumer Prices In Japan, Serenity E. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

This paper uses monthly prefectural data to estimate the effect of inbound tourism on Japan’s consumer prices. Results indicate that a 10% increase in foreign overnight stays is associated with a 0.01% increase in capital city prices. The paper discusses localized dual pricing as a response to these price pressures.

The Effect Of Prenatal Substance Use Policies On Women's Well-Being, Zukruf Alam

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the effects of punitive and priority treatment policies relating to the use of illicit substances during pregnancy on women's health and health-related behavior. Punitive interventions criminalize substance use during pregnancy, which can even lead to termination of parental rights. In contrast, priority treatment policies support pregnant women and grant them priority access to substance use disorder treatment programs. I use staggered difference-in-differences methods and data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 2004 to 2018 to estimate the impact of prenatal substance use policies on women's mental health, physical health, self-reported poor health, and cigarette …

Private Equity, State Enforcement, And Arbitration Outcomes Under The No Surprises Act: Evidence From Air Ambulance Disputes, Peter Readman

Theses and Dissertations

The No Surprises Act (NSA) removed patients from responsibility for out-of-network surprise medical bills. In its place, the NSA established an independent dispute resolution (IDR) process through which providers and insurers submit competing payment offers to an arbitrator, who selects one offer in full. Using the universe of federal air ambulance IDR disputes from Q1 2023 through Q2 2025 (57,368 dispute line items), I examine whether provider ownership structure and enforcement jurisdiction jointly predict arbitration outcomes. The two outcomes, whether the provider offer prevails, and how large that prevailing offer is relative to the benchmark payment rate, the Qualifying Payment …

Congestion Pricing And Traffic Safety: Evidence From New York City, Mirella Charros

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the impact of congestion pricing on motor vehicle collisions in New York City. Using a spatial difference-in-differences approach, the study finds evidence of increased collisions near the congestion boundary, suggesting potential spillover effects and changes in traffic patterns following policy implementation.

Some Equivalence Statements Are Metaphors, Malik A. Terry

Theses and Dissertations

Metaphors work best when topic and vehicle come from different domains. Glucksberg (2011) observed that same-domain statements ( "Cats are dogs") lack metaphorical interpretations, and Experiments 1 and 2 confirmed this. Prasada (in press) proposed that minority framing ( "Some cats are dogs") enables such metaphors. Experiment 3 confirmed this.

Sonic Rupture And Embodied Politics:
Reconfiguring The Aesthetic Regime In The Syrian Uprising, Lynn Shabani

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that the Syrian uprising of 2011 emerged as a sonic and embodied rupture within an authoritarian aesthetic regime that had long governed public sensibility. Through chants, song, and coordinated movement, political agency took form as collective, affective practice, transforming vernacular repertoires into infrastructures of mobilization, audibility, and resistance.

Air Pollution And Self-Reported Health Outcomes In The United States, Alina Dervisevic

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between short-term PM2.5 exposure and self-reported health outcomes among U.S. adults using BRFSS data from 2000 to 2012 linked to county-level pollution and weather data. Results show that PM2.5 exposure is associated with worse mental health and gender specific behavioral responses.

From Guyana To Queens: The Formation Of The Indo-Guyanese Ethnoburb In New York City, 1970-1990, Lianne R. Persaud

Theses and Dissertations

Expanding on Li’s concept of ethnoburbs, this study examines Indo-Guyanese settlement in Little Guyana, Queens (1970–1990). I propose the Vertical Enclave Model, which suggests that multi-family homeownership and internal rental markets facilitated the residential permanence of working-class individuals. The IPUMS Census microdata corroborates this community’s reliance on metropolitan integration, thereby refuting traditional self-sufficient ethnic enclave theories.

Neuroprotective Effects Of Prophylactic Brivaracetam On Memory And Anxiety Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Sofia Dumic

Theses and Dissertations

Prophylactic brivaracetam (BRV) was evaluated in a rat TBI model for effects on behavior and serum tau. BRV reduced anxiety-like behavior with optimal dose-dependent effects at 2.1mg/kg, but did not affect working memory. Serum tau was detectable early post-injury, supporting its use as a biomarker.

Same-Sex Marriage In Taiwan: Soft Sovereignty, Threat Management, And The Politics Of Recognition In Asia, Olga Shalaeva

University Honors Program Senior Projects

Why did Taiwan as a contested state with no seat in the United Nations (UN), shaped by Confucian conservatism and the world’s longest period of martial law become the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, while other Asian democracies with stronger institutional track records have not? This paper argues that democratic maturity alone cannot answer this question. What explains Taiwan’s 2019 marriage equality achievement is the strategic management of threat, operating simultaneously at the geopolitical and psychological levels, and the utilization of “soft sovereignty” as the “weapon of the weak.”

The paper introduces “soft sovereignty” as an in-progress …

Faith Leaders’ Guide To Adolescent Protection, Population Council, Zambia Interfaith Networking Group (Zingo), Faith Mother Bodies

Adolescents and Young People

No abstract provided.

Practicing Conflict Transformation Skills Through Role-Playing Games For Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Higher Education, Alexandra Schreiber, Kjell H. Hugaas, Sarah L. Bowman

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Poverty On Student Achievement And Behavior, Dwayne Lucas

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Poverty can have a devastating impact on the academic achievement of students and their potential for positive adult outcomes. One of the most impactful aspects in the fight against the impact of poverty is student engagement. There must be attention paid to how engagement impacts a student’s potential for success as well as what strategies can be employed to improve engagement. It was the goal of this study to determine how relationships and engagement impacted student outcomes and educational experience. This study attempted to determine what strategies educators utilize to increase student engagement. Using observations and semi-structured interviews, the researcher …

Prism: Priming Relationships In Syntax And Mathematics, Michelle J. Zhu

Honors Scholar Theses

The implementation of sheltered education programs has become increasingly prevalent in schools as new research in second language acquisition emerges. Yet despite this growing attention to ESL instructional practice, far less is known about the cognitive processes that underlie how bilingual students engage with academic content. This study investigates cross-domain structural priming between mathematical and linguistic processing in monolingual and bilingual individuals, focusing on how bilingual experience influences syntactic attachment preferences. Prior research suggests that mathematical and linguistic structures share underlying cognitive representations, and that exposure to structures in one domain can influence processing in another. Additionally, bilingualism has been …

Negative Core Beliefs And Cognitive Fusion As Predictors Of Depressive Symptom Severity And Course, Caila Flaemig

Honors Scholar Theses

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders among young adults, and its prevalence has continued to increase in recent years. Cognitive vulnerabilities are believed to play a significant role in the onset and maintenance of depressive symptoms. Thus, the present study examined the relationship between negative automatic thoughts and cognitive fusion as predictors of depressive symptom severity and course among psychologically vulnerable young adults. The study also explored how these constructs relate to the expression of negative core beliefs in participants’ open-ended written responses and whether these relationships differed by gender. Participants included 320 …

Internalizing Diasporic Peoples: How Do We Keep Native Hawaiians Connected?, Kallie P. Kaaihue-Paopao

Whittier Scholars Program

In the attempt to better understand the grounds for the generation culture disconnect of identity in Native Hawaiians, I study the diaspora of my people. Diaspora is the dispersion of people from their native lands. I find interest in this aspect of my people because the most common studies blame our dispersion on socioeconomic status and as a Native Hawaiian that wishes to do more for her people, I want to express that while it plays a part that there is a disconnection between the social actions and reactions of Hawaiʻi’s people. Common questions that I find unanswered are, why …

The "Evil Forest" As Threshold: A Computational Eco-Feminist Study Of The Forest In Nigerian Fantasy, Cynthia O. Mbagwu

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examines the representation of the “evil forest” in Nnedi Okorafor’s Zahrah the Windseeker and Ukamaka Olisakwe’s Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name, arguing that the forest functions as a liminal threshold that catalyses female transformation. Combining close reading with computational tools like TF-IDF keyword extraction in Ruby and sentiment analysis using VADER, the project investigates how pre-colonial and colonial connotations of the “evil forest” are re-imagined in contemporary Nigerian fantasy fiction. By segmenting each narrative into pre-liminal, liminal, and post-liminal phases, the study tracks shifts in sentiment toward the forest and correlates them with thematic developments …

Killing The Hot Vampire: Gender, Camp, And The Stakes Of Desire In Nineteenth-Century Vampire Fiction, Ella G. Kehr

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis examines the representation and destruction of the Hot Vampire in nineteenth-century vampire fiction, focusing on Dracula (1897), Carmilla (1872), and The Blood of the Vampire (1897). It argues that these texts construct the female vampire as a figure of excessive sexuality, independence, and deviance which causes both societal (patriarchal) and narrative disruption. In the male-authored texts, the construction of the Hot Vampire is exaggerated beyond the neat bounds of gothic excess and monster theory. The destruction of these vampires also follows this unbound extravagance. The Hot Vampire’s death becomes the ritualized restoration of patriarchal order, which is often …

Kroc Ipj Border Fellows Report 2024 — English, Rebeca Cázares Adame

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

The Kroc Border Fellows Program brings together change agents from academia, civil society, the public sector, and the private sector to build a more inclusive and peaceful Mexico-U.S. border region through action-oriented research and meaningful community partnerships.

The non-residential fellowship spans 10 months and provides financial and technical support for Fellow-designed and -implemented projects. This model reflects a core belief that those closest to border communities' challenges are best positioned to develop effective solutions — and that lasting change must be built on existing community assets and strengths.

Throughout the fellowship, cohort members meet regularly to foster collaboration, mutual learning, …

Examining The Relationships Among Child Care Providers’ Knowledge Of Child Development, Burnout, Organizational Climate, And Expulsion Risk: A Brief Report, Juan Wang, Cheri Shapiro Ph.D., Tristan Collier, Jessica Sharp

Publications

Expulsion poses a significant barrier to high-quality and inclusive early care and education (ECE), leading to both immediate and long-term negative con-sequences for children and their families. This descriptive, exploratory study examined whether ECE providers’ knowledge of child development, burnout, and organizational climate was associated with their attitudes and perceptions related to expulsion risk. A total of 309 ECE providers in one state in the South-eastern region of the United States taking part in a program evaluation completed an online survey prior to program implementation. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to assess associations among providers’ knowledge of child development, …

Oer Content And Assessment Map, Oerfsj

OERFSJ Templates & Resources

Year 2 spring deliverable for OERFSJ faculty requires the application of backwards design to map out the content and assessment of the course and OER.

Federalism, Fragmentation, And The Limits Of Universal Welfare In The United States: A Comparative Analysis Of Germany And Sweden, Jacqueline Arena

Political Science

This paper examines why the United States welfare state struggles to achieve universal social protection, focusing on the role of federalism, political ideology, and public opinion. It argues that the U.S. welfare state is structurally fragmented due to the division of authority between federal and state governments, which produces uneven, inconsistent, and often inadequate access to social benefits. This fragmentation is rooted in historical developments, including New Deal era political compromises, racialized policy exclusions, and resistance from organized interest groups, which embedded decentralization and inequality into the system’s foundation. Using Gøsta Esping-Andersen’s welfare regime typology and T.H. Marshall’s concept of …

Albany City As A Case Study In Language Mapping, Storm Pupina

Linguistics

This thesis uses Albany, NY, as a case study in urban language mapping, following the example of many other language mapping projects, most notably the NYC Language Mapping Project. Albany's languages and linguistic features were analyzed to better understand the area's linguistic ecology and ongoing heritage-language maintenance efforts. Various types of American Census data were compared to reach the conclusions. Despite not being a major city, Albany is bustling with both new and old language communities. Similar efforts with more varied data-gathering tactics would greatly benefit other American urban landscapes.

Supply Constraints And Domestic Migration As Drivers Of U.S. Housing Price Appreciation, Vasu Patel

Economics

When the Federal Reserve raised rates from near zero to 525 basis points between 2022 and 2023, standard theory predicted a broad correction in U.S. housing market. In most metropolitan areas, that correction did not arrive. This paper examines why housing price appreciation persisted across cities with fundamentally different structural characteristics, and which factors best explain the cross-city variation in appreciation rates observed across the nation. Using a panel of 83 Metropolitan Statistical Areas across four symmetric 24-month periods from December 2017 through December 2025, each aligned with a distinct Federal Reserve rate period, the study estimates OLS models with …

A Meta-Analysis On Joinder Effects: Do They All Have The Same Magnitude?, Amelia M. Tisk

Student Theses

The present meta-analysis examined whether different forms of joinder and procedural consolidation produce varying levels of prejudice in adjudicative decision-making. Although joinder procedures improve judicial efficiency, psychological research has suggested that combining charges, defendants, or plaintiffs within a single proceeding may increase conviction likelihood, liability judgments, and broader perceptions of wrongdoing. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted across 22 independent study effects examining charge joinder, defendant consolidation, plaintiff consolidation, multiple-complainant procedures, and related aggregation paradigms. Effect sizes were converted to Pearson’s r whenever possible. Overall, procedural aggregation produced a moderate effect on adjudicative outcomes, r = .27, 95% CI [.22, .32]. …

The Impact Of Career And Technical Education Teacher Certification Preparation Programs On Student Industry-Based Certification Examinations, Kaneesha Chameka Celestin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are designed to prepare students for high-wage, high-demand industry jobs. However, there is limited research on Career and Technical Education teacher preparation programs (traditional, alternative, and industry-based) and the impact on student outcomes on industry-based examinations, such as ACT WorkKeys. This quantitative study analyzed Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher preparation programs (traditional, alternative, and industry-based) and 12th -grade students’ outcomes on the 2023-2024 ACT WorkKeys examination and whether relationships exist between the two. Additionally, the research examined each Career and Technical Education teacher certification preparation program individually to determine the differences among traditional, …

Ai In Wonderland, Bodj Oliver Alngohuro

Honors Scholar Theses

Studies in sound symbolism have revealed a baseline preference for people to associate certain sounds with certain concepts. The Bouba/Kiki effect, for instance, reveals a preference for individuals to associate “Bouba” with a round shape and “Kiki” with a sharp shape (Köhler 1929). Other studies have revealed other associations with certain sounds and names with concepts, such as “Mil” referring to something small and “Mal” referring to something big (Sidhu and Pexman, 2017). This study looks at LLMs and how they compare to humans concerning intuitions for certain names based on sound symbolism.