Digital Commons Network^™

Justice And Peace Shall Kiss: A Comparative Analysis Of Law From Ancient Israel To Modern America, Evan Nix

Honors Theses

Modern legal scholarship frequently attributes American criminal jurisprudence to Roman structures, Enlightenment rationality, and English common law, which obscures the American system’s roots in Hebraic natural-law value frameworks. The present thesis asks: “To what extent does the American criminal justice system embody core values of ancient Hebrew law, and how does such a framework compare to purely secular models regarding societal stability and equity?” A comparative analysis draws on biblical texts of the Torah, Hebrew wisdom literature, and American constitutional and statutory provisions, tracing a genealogy from covenantal laws of ancient Israel to modern American constitutionalism. Findings indicate preservation of …

A Comparative Analysis Of Alternative Pathways To A Law License In The United States, Katherine Willis

Honors Theses

In recent years, there has been an ongoing discussion of how bar exams may be disproportionately unfair to certain demographic groups as a standard pathway to admission to law practice. Some states have had longstanding alternate pathways to the legal profession that sidestep the bar exam and/or law school, including California, Virginia, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire. In the years following 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, other states have joined these jurisdictions in offering alternative pathways to practice that would replace the law school and/or bar exam requirements for aspiring lawyers. This thesis aims to bridge a gap in the literature …

Tough Love Or Just Tough?: The Effect Of Juvenile Military Bootcamps On Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors, Paris Labadie

Honors Theses

Externalizing behaviors, which are mental health problems manifested as outward behavior, have negative impacts on the environment and relationships (Liu, 2004). They include traits such as impulsivity, aggression, and substance use. Externalizing behaviors are more common in justice-involved youth compared to those who were not involved. Interventions for justice-involved youth, such as military boot camps, offer an alternative to incarceration and provide rehabilitation opportunities and routine. Theoretical research suggests military boot camps are problematic, citing the ineffectiveness of “scared straight” tactics. To date, there are few studies examining changes because of completing boot camps. There are also no studies examining …

Deportation And Death: Examining The Second Trump Administration’S Immigration Policy Through The Lens Of Just War Theory, Finley W. Snyder

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

From day one of the second Trump administration, the White House has treated illegal immigration as an invasion, both rhetorically and, to a lesser extent, legally. The administration has not shied away from the use of force in this campaign, leading to the notable killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti along with countless acts of violence across the nation. This essay seeks to evaluate the ethics of the second Trump administration's immigration policy from within this "war" framing through the lens of just war theory. While there has been considerable attention to just war theory in the context of …

Pacifism And Negligence In Our Modern Era Ignoring Crises For “It Being Political”, Georgi Feigley

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

Navigating End-Of-Life Decisions: Cultural Considerations For Latine Patients, Michelle Carbajal Hernandez

Honors Capstones

Healthcare professionals face many challenges when communicating terminal illness prognoses for individuals. This responsibility to address a terminal prognosis is further complicated when communicating with Latine patients who may face multiple barriers within the healthcare system and whose cultural preferences influence end-of-life care planning (Carrion, 2010). For example, Latines are less likely to enroll in end-of-life (EOL) care services (e.g., hospice) (Barragan-Carrillo et al., 2022). As well as engage in end-of-life care planning than White Non-Latines (Shen et al., 2016). To understand this hesitancy towards EOL care options, this literature review aims to explore how terminally ill Latine and …

Start With What They Know: Using Motivational Interviewing To Create A Cooking Class, A Culinary Intervention For Teens (Autistic And Non-Autistic), Gwendolyn S. Tedder

LEND Trainee Presentations

Autistic teens are at greater risk for having heart disease and diabetes as adults. Food particularity, sensory issues, fixed mindset, and anxiety over trying new things can slow down their interest in preparing food for themselves. Nurturing basic cooking skills and gently encouraging trying new foods would provide more nutritional options to teens as they move into adulthood. A cooking class preceded by Motivational Interviewing (MI) developed further interest in preparing food afterward in teens, both autistic and non-autistic, and in trying new foods for autistic teens with food concerns.

Voting Intentions During The Later Stage Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Roles Of Risk Perception And Performance Evaluations In South Korea, Soo Yun Kim, Gyeongmin Kim, Seongoh Park, Cheonsoo Kim, Deok Hyun Jang, Dong-Hee Joe, Won Mo Jang

Communication Faculty Publications

In this study, we examine voting intentions during the later stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to risk perceptions and performance evaluations. Although prior research has documented rally-around-the-flag effects during the early phase of the pandemic, less is known about how vote choice is structured once acute crisis conditions have waned. This study draws on a nationally representative survey conducted in South Korea around the March 2022 presidential election. The analysis examines associations between affective and cognitive risk perceptions, evaluations of the government’s COVID-19 countermeasures, overall government approval, economic evaluations and expectations, and voting intention. The results show that …

Retail Behaviours And Preferences Of Older Adults In Suburban Malls, Le Ha Linh Phan, Kenneth Choo, Emi Loh, Wensi Lim

ROSA Research Briefs

Singapore’s population is ageing rapidly, with projections indicating that one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above by 2030 (Iparraguirre, 2019). This demographic shift presents significant opportunities for the Silver economy, which refers to economic activities, products, and services designed to meet the needs of older adults. As the market for products that enhance seniors’ quality of life expands (Wong, 2007), the Silver retail sector, comprising businesses that provide age-friendly goods and services, has become an increasingly important component of this landscape (Colurcio et al., 2022).

The Missed Mark, Grace Hill

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The Missed Mark

This project is a collective literary analysis of the current research conducted on the efficacy of current political campaigns. This collection of works aims to identify methodologies that increase message salience among American constituents and promote civic engagement.

Based on the collected data on citizens' perceptions of trust and relatability regarding candidates' platforms and personas, recommendations for more effectively appealing to these values become clearer and more precise. Collected data suggest members of the community feel ostracized by the impersonal copy-and-paste model often adopted by modern political campaigns. (S. Erdem Aytaç, Susan C. Stokes. 2019) Instead of …

How To Spot Fake News, Sarah Seddon

Staff

A helpful zine with questions and tips to ask yourself when trying to figure out what may be true and what may be a lie (or misinformation).

Introduction To Lmu Libraries, Olivia Coyne

Staff

Created as a promotional tool to help students, faculty, and other staff understand what Lincoln Memorial University libraries have to offer, along with liaisons on Harrogate campus.

An Austrian Approach To Accounting Regulation: How Policy Intervention Distorts The Market For Assurance Services, Kyan Howe

Student Scholarship

This thesis applies the causal-realist method of the Austrian School of Economics to the market for assurance services in the United States. The central argument is that post-crisis accounting regulation has systematically distorted the incentive structures of independent public accounting firms in ways regulators do not predict and cannot fully control. Financial crises, properly understood through Austrian Business Cycle Theory, originate in monetary distortions rather than market failure. Post-crisis regulatory responses nonetheless target the profession rather than the underlying distortion, introducing rules that alter the institutional constraints within which auditors exercise professional judgment.

The thesis develops a judgment-based equation of …

Retreat, Renew, Reflect: Exploring Digital Marketing Strategies For Faith-Based Retreat Centers, Rebecca A. Mickler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today’s fast-paced world, retreat centers offer a vital opportunity for rest, reflection, and spiritual renewal. Despite growing societal awareness of mental health and wellness, many religiously affiliated retreat centers face stagnant participation, aging leadership, and operational challenges that threaten their long-term sustainability. This qualitative-dominant mixed methods study uses bright spots analysis to examine how Villa Maria Education and Spirituality Center (VMESC), a Catholic retreat center, can strengthen its digital marketing strategies to attract new audiences while maintaining mission alignment.

Bright spots analysis examines positive outliers, organizations that achieve notable success despite operating within similar constraints, to identify practices that …

Rural Transformations And Identity In Northern New Mexico, Eva Gemrich

Geography ETDs

In the U.S. West, research points to a significant transformation of rural places, including rural blight, a decline in extractive industries, and changing migration patterns. In Northern New Mexico, these rural transformations are occurring alongside a long and continuing history of tensions and conflicts relating to land, water, and property regimes, which are intertwined with notions of identity, culture, and power. Using participant observation and semi-structured interviews, this thesis explores how rural transformations, particularly shifting land ownership, have influenced identities and cultural values along the Upper Rio Chama in Northern New Mexico. I find that comparatively wealthy in-migrants are purchasing …

Delenda Est Norfolk: The Tidewater Revolts!, Kiera Dillman, Alise Dunham, Kristen Gary, Olivia M. Haris, Nelliel A. Herrera, Logan Holzgrefe, R. J. Lynch, Adam M. Manis, David Mogan, Luke Pickard, Shayla M. Shaw, Landon Swain, Kenny Wilcox, Bailey M. Wimberly, Tracy L. Barnett

Student Projects

Introduction to the Exhibit:

Today—exactly 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence—many Americans trace the origins of the nation’s revolutionary sentiment to Boston, Massachusetts or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We remember the violence of March 1770, when red-coated British soldiers fired into a crowded Boston street, massacring innocent colonists and igniting outrage. We recall the patriotic defiance of the Sons of Liberty, who boarded three East India Company ships and dumped chests of imported British tea into the Boston Harbor in December 1773. We can still hear, too, the reverberations of the “shot heard ’round the world,” when British …

The Necessity Of U.S. Aid: The Russian-Ukrainian War, Lelin Spriggs

The Dialogue

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the conflict has emerged as a defining foreign-policy challenge of the twenty-first century. In the United States, the war dominates political discourse and continues to shape debates on national security and the appropriate scope of American global leadership. Although President Trump vowed during his campaign to end the war upon entering office, hostilities intensified following his inauguration, prompting renewed policy debates regarding the future and extent of U.S. military and economic support for Kyiv.

This paper argues that the United States must continue providing sustained military and economic …

Digital Strategy Exposed In The Global South: A Comparative Analysis Of China And Uganda, Christian Pierre

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Indigenous Yet Suspect: The Securitization Of Saudi Arabia’S Shi'a Minority, Farah Balut

The Dialogue

This paper examines the marginalization of Saudi Arabia’s Shi’a minority through the lens of securitization theory. It argues that discrimination against Shi’a citizens is not periodic but embedded within the kingdom’s nation-building project, where Wahhabi orthodoxy has been fused with political loyalty. From early incorporation of the Eastern Province to the upheavals of 1979 and the reform era of Vision 2030, Shi’a identity has been framed as a potential internal threat. By tracing institutional practices, geopolitical anxieties, and lived experiences, the paper demonstrates how securitization structures conditional citizenship while highlighting Shi’a resilience within an evolving Saudi state.

The Ipkf In Sri Lanka: The Case For Multilateral Peacekeeping In South Asia, Mehr Hameed

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

A Cycle Of Dependency: Resource Wealth And Institutional Weakness In Nigeria, Zaheen Chowdhury

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

From Ruins To Rival: How The Japanese Economic Miracle Forged A Global Power, Elizabeth Rips

The Dialogue

The Japanese Economic Miracle (1950-1975) represents one of the most sustained periods of rapid economic growth in modern history. This paper examines the extent to which political policies contributed to Japan’s transformation into a leading global industrial power during the postwar era. While some historians emphasize the decisive role of U.S. occupation reforms and American economic support, this paper argues that Japan’s rise resulted from the interaction of multiple factors. Focusing on political institutions such as the Yoshida Doctrine, the dissolution of zaibatsu’s, and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), the paper analyzes how state-led industrial policy fostered …

Three Paths To Justice: Comparing Feminist Strategies Against Gender-Based Violence In East Asia, Ashley Chon

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Women And Right-Wing Movements: Why Women Join, Ryland L. Adzich

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Tessa M. Peterson

The Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Rare Earth Rivalries And The Return Of Mercantilism, Lachlan Polefka

The Dialogue

This paper examines and compares the approaches of the United States and China towards rare earth minerals as strategic resources in an increasingly competitive geopolitical environment. Rare earth minerals are essential inputs in many advanced electronics, defense systems, and clean energy technologies, which has caused control over them to be viewed as a matter of national security concern. While both countries hold rare earth minerals as a strategically significant resource, they differ in their approach to acquiring them. China relies on centralized state control, including state-owned enterprises, export restrictions, and industrial subsidies, to consolidate control over the industry. The United …

A Historical Application Of Offshore Balancing: A Comparative Analysis Of The Napoleonic War And The South China Sea Strategy, Kati Quigg

The Dialogue

Through a historical analysis of Britain’s offshore balancing during the Napoleonic War, how does China’s economic and geographical expansionism threaten US interests and reinforce America’s Grand Strategy through offshore balancing? By employing Mearsheimer’s offshore balancing as a response by insular great powers to rising continental hegemony, I will explore how Britain’s Napoleonic Grand Strategy—non-continental intervention, reliance on subsidizing alliances, and maritime dominance—both informs and complicates the American Grand Strategy in the South China Sea. China’s Nine-Dashed Line of 1948, a map published by the People’s Republic of China, serves as the basis for its modern territorial claims—directly infringing upon the …

Pastoral Listening Skills Training In The Black Baptist Church: Equipping Clergy To Better Support Congregants, Regina Pair Allen

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

This study engages a historical survey of qualitative studies of perspectives of Black pastors regarding pastoral care, examining various avenues for training in pastoral listening and the role of ministers as theological clinicians in supporting church ministries and community needs. The findings highlight the ongoing need for professional development among pastors as primary educators and theological clinicians. The study underscores the importance of equipping Black Baptist pastors to address the clinical pastoral needs of African American congregants. The significance to this field of study is providing Black Baptist clergy with practical skills and tools, grounded in theological principles, to better …

Physical And Behavioral Health Diagnoses And Comorbidities Associated With Transition From Military Health System To Veterans Health Care Among Post-9/11 Veterans, Nikki R. Wooten, Megan E. Amaun, Madeleine Myers, Price N.O. Addo, Jeffrey Bowers, Felicia R. Carey, Rudolph P. Rull, Edward J. Boyko, Nathaniel Bell Ph.D., Ana Defede-Lopéz, Mary Jo V. Pugh

Publications

Objective

To identify factors associated with transitioning from Military Health System (MHS) to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care in post-9/11 veterans.

Study Setting and Design

Retrospective cohort study from the Long-Term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium Phenotype Study.

Data Sources and Analytic Sample

Population-level data were analyzed from MHS and VHA electronic health data (FY2000-2020). Participants received ≥ 3 years of MHS care and separated from the military before October 1, 2016. The primary outcome was transition from MHS to VHA care after military separation. Covariates included demographic, military, and deployment characteristics at military separation; physical, mental, and substance …