Digital Commons Network^™

The Social And Cultural Challenges Experienced By Children With Send Through Quasi-Inclusion Practices In Two Mainstream Primary Schools In Postcolonial Guyana, Lidon Lashley, Clevelon Gordon

IALS Journal

This ethnographic study investigates the sociocultural experiences of 36 children with SEND and two non-SEND peers in two rural mainstream primary schools in Guyana. Through interviews, observations, and situational analysis, the study explores how ableism, colonial legacies, prejudice, poverty, linguistic barriers, and inadequate educational support shape the experiences of children with SEND. Findings reveal persistent stigmatization, discrimination, marginalization, exclusion, and "fated failure" discourses that negatively affect learning, participation, agency, and wellbeing. The study concludes that teachers require greater support, training, and specialist resources to foster genuine inclusion within Guyana's mainstream schools.

Research Journal 2026: People And Places, José A. Rivera Ph.D

Faculty Publications

José Rivera narrates his life history from adolescence into college years, university teaching, research career, publications, and ends with post-retirement service as a giving back to community. For most of his term as an academic, his research focus was on community-based organizations that he terms “peoples’ institutions”: acequia associations and mutual help societies. For data, he conducted field work in New Mexico and the American Southwest as well as internationally, primarily in Mexico, Peru, Spain and the Philippines. While at these locations, he interviewed people, collected maps, researched archives, and took photographs as ethnographic evidence of people and places. His …

Derivation Of An Updated Brief Multivariable Prediction Model To Detect Panic-Related Anxiety In Emergency Department Patients With Cardiopulmonary Complaints, Sharon C. Sung, Felicia J. L. Ang, Arul Earnest, Leslie E. C. Lim, Shreshtha Jolly, Gilaine Rui Ng, A. John Rush, Marcus E. H. Ong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Background Patients with panic related-anxiety (i.e., panic attacks or panic disorder) frequently present to emergency departments (EDs) with cardiopulmonary complaints but are often undiagnosed, which can lead to recurrent visits and prolonged distress. This study aimed to derive a new symptom-based multivariable diagnostic prediction model to detect panic-related anxiety in ED patients with cardiopulmonary symptoms.Methods We conducted a single-blind prospective derivation study over 15 months in the ED of a major tertiary hospital in Singapore. Patients presenting with symptoms of palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, or difficulty breathing were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID) to diagnose …

Introduction To Phonology Ling 323, Ibrahim Abu Elrob

Open Educational Resources

The sound system of languages and underlying representation of the sound structure and lexicon. Analysis of data from different languages; investigation of the differences and similarities in the sound systems of different languages. Exploration of language universals.

Development Of The Active Participle Denoting Ongoing Aspect In Heritage Speakers Of Levantine Arabic In The Us, Reem Kanjawi-Faraj

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study investigated the acquisition, development, and productivity of اسم الفاعل “ism il-fA؟el”, Active Participle (AP) when denoting ongoing aspect in the comprehension and production of heritage speakers (HSs) of Levantine Arabic (LA^[1]).  Ongoing aspect is mainly realized in Arabic by an inflected imperfective verb preceded by a progressive particle (PROG.V) and in certain cases b AP. Our study is comprised of four sub-studies: a Syrian Levantine Arabic (SLA) adult corpus analysis (production of PROG.V and AP/ CACeC template); a cross-sectional LA child heritage comprehension and production experiment (PROG.V and AP/ CACeC template) ; a longitudinal study of …

Typeface: Machine-Viewing Gentrification On Storefront Imagery In Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Alexander Mcquilkin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Gentrification—broadly, the replacement of a less powerful group by a more powerful one in an urban context—is oft-discussed in the popular press, but its definition is much-debated in the urban planning literature. Furthermore, academic treatments of displacement understandably focus on measurable yet fairly abstract indicators like changes in rent or income, whereas neighborhood change is often registered by residents on the ground using visual, but difficult-to-quantify markers like retail turnover. This project uses image recognition technology on a set of storefront photos to index the visual streetscape of a neighborhood, as well as to track changes to that portrait over …

A Critical Lens On Emotions And Learning: Shame, Loneliness, And Alienation In Community College, Mike Rifino

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores how community college students make sense of and navigate their emotions related to learning. Community colleges are two-year public higher education institutions that primarily serve working-class and students of color, enrolling almost half of all current undergraduates in the United States, yet their experiences are rarely addressed by researchers. Drawing on critical theories (e.g., feminist politics of emotions, Black feminist/queer women of color theorizing), emotions in this study are conceptualized as socio-politically situated, shaped by institutions and ideologies distributed through power across intersecting social identities. Although emotion research in higher education has grown substantially in the past …

Precarious Status, Essential Work: Migrant Labor, Social Reproduction, And The Politics Of Regularization In Covid Quebec, Jessie Lauren Stein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines how migrant justice struggles in Quebec during and immediately after the COVID‑19 pandemic challenged and reshaped the cultural politics of membership in a neoliberal welfare state under strain. The research is centered on an ethnography of the Status for All campaign, a coalition effort spearheaded in Montreal to secure permanent immigration status for all people with precarious status in Canada. I situate pandemic‑era regularization efforts within overlapping crises of border governance, social reproduction, and federal–provincial relations. I argue that Quebec’s growing reliance on migrants with precarious status to sustain essential public social reproductive functions in care work, …

Finding Luis: A Creative Nonfiction Account Of Law & Society, Jason M. Leggett

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This essay explores the contradictions in legal theory and human experience through creative nonfiction. Its main purpose is to argue that a truly just society requires acknowledging the profound influence of individual narratives on the law. This is supported by blending personal narratives, critical analysis, and philosophical inquiry to reveal the gap between codified law and lived realities for marginalized individuals. This unique Legal Poetics methodology employs a series of six vignettes, such as the author's and Luis's shared experiences with traumatic brain injury and the denial of justice, as data. By integrating autoethnography, law as narrative, and performativity theories, …

Mind The Gap: Morphological Defectivity And Suffixal Competition In Polish, Szymon E. Zuberek

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study investigates morphological defectivity and suffixal competition in the genitive singular of Polish masculine inanimate nouns. Drawing on survey-based grammaticality judgments from native speakers, it examines how respondents select between the suffixes -a and -u or reject both as unacceptable, thereby signaling defectivity. Mixed-effects logistic regressions revealed that defectivity was rare overall but patterned systematically by age, education, and region, with additional baseline variability across lexical items. Suffix choice showed a strong preference for -a, modulated by age, education, and region, with additional baseline variability across lexical items. These findings inform our understanding of paradigm structure, sociolinguistic variation, and …

Voices In Transit: Intersectionality, Silence, And Political Engagement In Ride-Sharing, Soran Tarkhani

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Abstract This study examines Uber as a digitally governed “third space” for political discourse. Based on 4,716 ride observations from Louisville–Southern Indiana—3,676 collected in 2023–2024 and 1,040 in 2025—it uses a mixed-methods design combining multinomial logistic regression and qualitative observation. Political conversations are defined as discussions of parties, elections, policies, or major social issues. Results show that White and male passengers were most likely to initiate such talk, while African American and female riders often remained silent, consistent with Noelle-Neumann’s spiral of silence. African American women faced the strongest intersectional constraints. Women and LGBTQ passengers leaned liberal, while men displayed …

Sumthin: A Context-Dependent African American Vernacular English Word For Variables, Mark Apedo

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

If mathematics is a language, then African American Vernacular English (AAVE) could hold the key to a fascinating understanding of the evolution of algebra from human speech in North America. The use of the pronoun something (sumthin) to depict an unknown amount of money that varies implies that algebra developed as a logical necessity in human communication. Exploring this phenomenon and leveraging it to demonstrate the concept of algebra could enhance the comprehension of the subject among speakers of AAVE.

Russia’S Soft Power In Nahdlatul Ulama’S Art Exhibition Russia-Indonesia: Within The Framework Of Art, Nurul Rahmawati, Ahmad Fahrurodji

International Review of Humanities Studies

This study analyzes the construction of Russian cultural diplomacy in news media coverage of art exhibitions. Russia-Indonesia: Within the Framework of Art. The research uses the method Critical Discourse Analysis with Norman Fairclough's model and concept soft power Joseph Nye and the skeleton Taxonomy of Soft Power from Ohnesorge to map actor relations in cultural diplomacy practices. The results show that Russia utilizes art, religious symbols, and collaboration with Nusantara Utama Gallery and the involvement of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) artists as an instrument of soft power to build appeal and legitimacy among the Indonesian Muslim public through cross-media discourse …

Assessing School Readiness For Social And Emotional Learning: A Study Of School Leadership Perceptions And Attitudes, Nahla Elharati

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the integration of social and emotional learning (SEL) in a number of British schools across Egypt, focusing on how school leaders defined and perceived its importance in student development. Through in-depth interviews with twelve school leaders, this study found that school leaders’ definitions of SEL emphasized self- awareness, self-regulation, and relationship-building, alongside a strong focus on the real-life applicability of SEL both within school settings and in students’ future lives. School leaders also expressed positive attitudes toward the benefits of SEL, particularly its role in enhancing academic performance, promoting student well-being, improving peer relationships, and reducing bullying, …

Domestic Violence Againts Women In Thailand: Galtung-Based Analysis Of Violence In Thai Drama “Tie Me (K)Not”, Akhdiat Dimas Abimanyu, Rahadjeng Pulungsari

International Review of Humanities Studies

This study examines the portrayal of domestic violence against women in the Thai drama Tie Me (K)not (2022) using Johan Galtung’s theory of violence, which categorizes violence into direct, structural, and cultural forms. Through qualitative content analysis, the research identifies how the drama depicts these forms of violence, reflecting broader societal issues in Thailand. The findings reveal explicit instances of direct violence, such as physical and psychological abuse, systemic structural violence through institutional failures in justice and support systems, and cultural violence rooted in patriarchal traditions that justify gender inequality. The drama not only highlights these oppressive dynamics but also …

Social Media And Public Opinion In Times Of Conflict: How Arab Social Media Impacted International Perspectives On The Gaza War, Mariam Rizk

Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study examines how Arab social media content creators impacted the international public perception of the 2023 Gaza war through English-language content. The research is conducted through semi-structured interviews with 19 participants: 4 Arab social media content creators and 15 English-speaking university students (13 American citizens and 2 international students studying in American universities). Through these semi-structured qualitative interviews, the research investigates the agenda-setting capabilities of social media during conflicts and identifies effective cross-cultural communication strategies. The study employed purposive sampling with snowball technique, targeting content creators with established social media presence (37,000-426,000 Instagram followers) and university students who …

Student Mentees’ Perceptions Of Research Proposal Mentorship Using The Critical Incident Technique, Hendrik Jacob Maruanaya, Corneles Rubenaser Apalem, Karolis Anaktototy

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative study explored how undergraduate student mentees in an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) context perceive effective research proposal mentorship. Conducted within the English Education Study Program at Pattimura University, Indonesia, the study employed the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) to capture student reflections on specific mentoring experiences. Seven undergraduate students who had completed their research proposals participated in in-depth interviews, sharing both effective and ineffective mentoring incidents. Thematic analysis reveals three key characteristics of effective mentorship: (a) supportive mentorship that fosters emotional safety and sustained motivation; (b) effective guidance, characterized by dialogic, actionable feedback and modeling of research practices; and (c) mentor …

An Impact Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of Utilizing Informal Health Communication Interventions To Spread Health Recommendations And Change Public Perception, Lina Mohamed Ezzat Ahmed Abdel Mawgoud

Theses and Dissertations

Brain health is an increasingly urgent but critically under-addressed public health priority in Egypt and the wider MENA region. Despite its centrality to aging, productivity, and overall quality of life, public understanding of brain health remains limited, and stigma continues to shape responses to dementia and cognitive decline. This study evaluates the effectiveness of informal, culturally adapted health communication as a tool to shift perception, increase awareness, and promote behavior change among non-medically trained adults in Egypt.

Grounded in global evidence on cognitive reserve, neuroplasticity, and the life-course approach to brain health, the intervention translated expert-informed brain health recommendations into …

A Community-Based Participatory Research Approach To Evaluating Perceptions Of Bilingualism Among Latino Parents Of Autistic Children, Ana C. Ramirez, Philip Gerard Gasquoine, Amy A. Weimer, Gabriel González Núñez, Juan R. Maldonado-Coronado, Sarah Surrain, Ana M. Gonzalez-Barrero, Cecilia Montiel-Nava

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Bilingualism has multiple benefits, however, non-native English speakers in the United States often lose their minority language. Nevertheless, language attrition is preventable, as parental perceptions of bilingualism (PoB) contribute to a child’s active use of each language and influence proficiency. At present, there is a significant gap in understanding how different cultures and belief systems might influence the language development of autistic children from bilingual Latino families. Furthermore, research on PoB among parents of autistic children has mainly been qualitative in nature. The purpose of this study was to (a) employ a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to develop a …

Students' Perceptions Of English Pop Culture, Andrew Ruffing

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate AUC students’ perceptions of English pop culture. Literature has shown that pop culture can be a beneficial engaging resource for students in the classroom. It provides students with comprehensible input for the language. However, there are concerns that students are disproportionately exposed to American pop culture while learning English. The purpose of this study is to investigate what nation students typically associate with English pop culture as well as if they use it to connect with those around them or the world outside their culture, as well as investigating their perceptions …

Harmonization And Ambiguity In Regulations For Physicians With Family Medicine Competence Post-Law No. 17 Of 2023, Danar Wahyu Giwang Katon, Dumilah Ayuningtyas, Purnawan Junadi, Wahyu Sulistiadi, Roberth J. Pattiselanno, Fitria Fitria, Ika Fitri Alfiani

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Strengthening primary care services in Indonesia requires that community health centers, namely Pusat Kesehatan Masyarakat (Puskesmas), involve medical personnel with family medicine competence. However, the fulfillment of physicians with this competence, especially Primary Care Family Medicine Specialists or Spesialis Kedokteran Keluarga Layanan Primer (Sp.KKLP), still face significant obstacles. This qualitative research uses the integrated Easton's System Model and Buse's Policy Framework to analyze the dynamics of this policy. The findings reveal a gap between the strong legal foundation and weak implementation mechanisms on the ground. First, there is ambiguity in terminology and lack of harmonization among regulations, especially concerning the …

Explain. Write. Edit. Summarise: An Exploratory Study On Agency Negotiations In Student-Chatbot Conversations, Árni Már Einarsson Mr, Ekaterina Pashevich

Human-Machine Communication

LLM-based chatbots such as ChatGPT have given technologies that traditionally operated on the back end a user-friendly, conversational interface. Their rapid adoption among students has prompted universities worldwide to issue guidelines and re-examine existing practices. Supplementing prior research based on discourse analysis and self-reported measures (e.g., surveys and interviews), we propose an approach for analyzing naturally occurring student–chatbot interactions, rooted in conversation analysis of chats (n = 503) donated by eight current Danish university students. The analysis identifies conversational patterns across three main types of activities and examines how agency is negotiated across the structural dimensions of signification, domination, and …

Two Years To Madness: A 30-Month Journal Of Human–Machine Communication And Second-Hand Reality, Andrew Prahl

Human-Machine Communication

Drawing on a 30-month analytic-autoethnography of the first author’s journal as an earlyaccess OpenAI user, this study examines how sustained communication with generative AI affects everyday lived experience and identity. Inductive content analysis of 166 entries by independent coders is followed by theory-driven coding with the extended-mind and sensemaking frameworks. Three interlocking themes emerge. Enabled and Degraded captures the tension between new capabilities and efficiency versus creeping skill atrophy. Scary New World charts rising anxiety as productivity gains erode competitive and relational distinctiveness. The findings also show a growing, pervasive doubt about the human authorship of texts, images, and other …

The Material Condition: A Practice Theory-Oriented Infrastructural Turn To The Ethics Of Human-Ai Communication, Anne Mollen, Sigrid Kannengießer

Human-Machine Communication

This paper calls for an infrastructural turn in human–AI communication, centered on the materiality of generative AI. We argue that a nuanced understanding of ethical implications of generative AI necessitates examining the socio-technical infrastructures that constitute these systems. These infrastructures encompass not only technological artifacts but also human actors (developers, users, data subjects, etc.) and their practices as well as social contexts in designing, developing, implementing, and maintaining AI. Therefore, we propose to adopt a practice theory approach, to analyze how ethical concerns materialize within these infrastructures. This perspective reveals how infrastructures are contested spaces in global production chains, highlighting …

The Killing Fields Of South Africa: Eco-Wars, Species Apartheid, And Total Liberation, Steve Best

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Fast Capitalism Editorial Team

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Adaptation Processes In Cross - Cultural Communication Within Chinese - Indonesian Workplace Settings: An Analysis Of The Tiktok Series "Day 1 Kerja Sama Orang China. ", Shi Jie, Amelia Burhan

International Review of Humanities Studies

In the background ofChina's deepening economic engagement with Indonesia under the Belt and Road Initiative, increasing numbers of Chinese workers have entered Indonesian industrial zones, creating a workplace environment characterized by intensive cross-cultural interaction. While previous studies on cross-cultural adaptation have primarily emphasized macro-level cultural barriers and language difficulties, this research shifts attention to the micro-level communicative practices through which cultural adaptation is negotiated in everyday collaboration. Drawing on Howard Giles' Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT), this study conducts a qualitative analysis of TikTok videos depicting workplace interactions between Chinese and Indonesian workers particularly those labeled "Day 1 kerja sama orang …

Right-Wing French Media Coverage Of The Rassemblement National’S 2027 Presidential Candidates, Amelinda Sundari, Myrna Laksman-Huntley

International Review of Humanities Studies

The 2027 French presidential election has become a contest over political legitimacy, and the media play a key role in shaping candidates’ images. Within the right-wing camp, Rassemblement National (RN) presents two potential figures, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella. Le Pen faces legal threats that could prevent her candidacy, while Bardella is projected as a successor to represent RN in the contest. Drawing on framing theory Pan & Kosicki (1993) and Critical Discourse Analysis Fairclough (1995), this qualitative study investigates right-wing French media preferences between these two candidates. The analysis examines three articles each from Le Figaro and Le …

Sahel Region In French Postcolonial Discourse: Macron's Production Of Space And Security Rhetoric, Azzahrah F. A Putri, Abellia Anggi Wardani Dr.

International Review of Humanities Studies

Between the Sahara Desert and the Sudanese Savannah, the Sahel region has become a contested geopolitical space. This study analyses how France is reconstructing its hegemony following its military withdrawal through the rhetoric of Emmanuel Macron (2021 and 2025). Using Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1995) and the theory of spatial production (Lefebvre, 1974), this study examines how the discourses of “partnership” and “security” are employed to maintain French influence. Qualitative methods were applied to Macron's speeches, French media, and statements by former presidents of Sahel countries. The results show that France is redefining the Sahel as a ‘crisis zone’ requiring …

The Mediating Role Of Trust: How Cultural Factors Shape Consumer Acceptance Of Chinese Electric Vehicles In Jakarta, Indonesia, Suci Kuswardani, Ike Iswary Lawanda

International Review of Humanities Studies

This study examines the mediating role of consumer trust in the relationship between cultural factors and the purchase intention of Chinese Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Jakarta, Indonesia. While global EV adoption is often analyzed through techno-economic lenses, this research addresses a critical gap by investigating the under-explored socio-cultural dimensions that shape consumer behavior in emerging markets. Framed by an integrated theoretical approach combining Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and Reception Theory, the study explores how local cultural values such as collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and social status filter the acceptance of Chinese EV technology. A qualitative case study …