Digital Commons Network^™

A New Security Framework For Nato’S Eastern Flank, Matthew J. Kukla, Anna Batta

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues for a NATO-EU–led security strategy to achieve long-term deterrence in Ukraine after the end of the Russia-Ukraine War. Unlike existing analyses, this article straddles the strategic level of deterrence, outlining an operational road map. Its historical example of the Iraq War shows that long-term security requires the development of plans before a conflict ends, long-term commitments, and multilateral—not unilateral—security efforts. The proposed solution provides strategic planners and policymakers with a low-risk, high-reward approach that leverages burden sharing through a multinational framework.

Turning Tactical Victories Into Strategic Success: Counterinsurgency In The Irish Civil War, 1922–23, Gareth Prendergast, John A. Nagl

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The fundamentals the Irish National Army used in the Irish Civil War (1922–23) are a model for the successful application of a classic counterinsurgency which, if understood earlier, could have made a difference in the United States’ most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Irish Civil War has not been examined in-depth through the lens of modern counterinsurgency doctrine. This article draws on military history and recent counterinsurgency doctrines to provide US policymakers and military practitioners practical guidance for how counterinsurgent forces can foster trust and use appropriate tactics that lead to strategic success.

Landscapes Of Home And Maps Of The Heart: Using Art To Understand The Meaning Of Home For First And Second Generation Immigrants In Worcester Massachusetts, Sophie Sundaram

Fenwick Scholar Program

Landscapes of Home and Maps of the Heart: Using Art to Understand the Meaning of Home for First and Second Generation Immigrants in Worcester Massachusetts explores how individuals with histories of migration understand and experience “home,” and how those understandings can be translated into visual form through portraiture. Developed through conversations with Worcester community members, the project combines studio practice with methodological approaches drawn from sociological and anthropological fieldwork, including participant interviews, relational research practices, and community-based engagement.

Grounded in Worcester, a city shaped by multiple waves of migration and cultural diversity, the project investigates how senses of home are …

The Impact Of Trump Administration Immigration Policies On Connecticut Educators And Families, Elena C. Bielesz

Honors Scholar Theses

Anti-immigrant rhetoric, policies, and practices, which have grown increasingly prevalent due to the current national political climate, have adverse effects on the mental health of immigrant families and the teachers that support them in Connecticut. This study seeks to represent the opinions of Connecticut K-12 MLL (Multilingual Learners) Education Teachers and Administrators whose daily lives are impacted by the anti-immigrant and anti-refugee policies and procedures. The study employed a human subjects-based approach supported by a review of related literature. MLL Educators from around the state of Connecticut were interviewed. These interviews found that while immigration-based trauma and stressors are common …

The Effectiveness Of After Care Substance Abuse Treatment Programs From The Perspective Of Released Female Offenders, Sarah Kay Blankenship

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Understanding Perceived Agency: An Analysis Of Sex Workers’ Lived Experiences, Alyssa King

Undergraduate Research Journal

This study explores the perceived agency of female sex workers through narrative analysis of publicly available YouTube interviews from the Soft White Underbelly series. Using a qualitative design grounded in Modified Grounded Theory, the research employed open, axial, and selective coding to identify key dimensions of agency, including bodily autonomy, workplace control, financial decision-making and coping mechanisms. Findings reveal that sex workers’ agency exists on a spectrum, shaped by intersecting structural constraints such as criminalization, stigma, poverty, and violence. While some interviewees describe empowerment through control over clients and earnings, others report diminished autonomy due to coercion, financial dependency, and …

Strategies For Improving Preventive Health Outcomes In Long-Term Care Case Management At Molina Healthcare Of Wisconsin, William W. Feilbach Jr.

M.S. in Human Services Administration

This research evaluates strategies to improve preventive health outcomes in long-term care case management at Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin, with a specific focus on improving participation in annual wellness visits.  Increasing health care costs and gaps in preventive care engagement among Medicare and Medicaid populations underscore the need for effective interventions. A systematic literature review of recent peer-reviewed and governmental sources was conducted to examine the relationship between preventive care, health outcomes, and cost containment. Findings show that greater engagement in preventive services, including annual wellness visits and screenings, supports early detection, reduces high-cost service utilization, and improves overall health …

Resilience In Recreation: Stories Of A Changing Climate, Casey L. Auberle

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

As the impacts of climate change become increasingly prevalent, the outdoor activities that bond us to our local communities and environments are under threat. In Missoula, MT, drought, rising temperatures, and wildfire smoke change what it means to fish, ski, run, and recreate in our town. In a series of Q&A style podcasts, environmental philosophy graduate student Casey Auberle creates a platform to share stories of a changing climate through the lens of local recreators and climate activists. Capturing these voices invites us to consider our relationship with nature on both an individual and communal scale, to find unity in …

Hi Friend! Msw Portfolio Of Community Building And Advocacy, River Gerard Segar

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This MSW Portfolio emphasizes the importance of being rooted in community and demonstrates how to engage in community building in a way that helps center marginalized voices. This portfolio also highlights advocacy in the United States for transgender people and asserts the need for increased cultural competency in clinical practice with people in non-monogamous and/or kink relational structures.

Making Sense Of Hospitalization: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Covid-19 Patients’ Psychological Experiences In Indonesia, Mira Wahyu Kusumawati, Heni Dwi Windarwati, Setyawati Soeharto

The Qualitative Report

While previous research has probed into the experiences of COVID-19 patients during isolation in hospitals, little is known about their psychological experiences and the meaning of such experiences. To address the gap,this study was designed to explore the psychological experiences of patients who were confirmed positive for COVID-19 while undergoing isolation in hospitals. Using a phenomenological approach, we recruited 19 COVID-19 survivors who were confirmed positive for COVID-19 in the first six months of the pandemic entering Indonesia, located in Madiun Regency, East Java Province, Indonesia. We conducted face-to-face semi-structured interviews with health protocols and analysed the data using the …

Exploring The Stress Coping Strategies Of Indonesian Elementary School Teachers: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Anak Agung Gede Agung, I Ketut Gading, Basilius Redan Werang, Ni Luh Putu Agetania

The Qualitative Report

Teachers play a pivotal role in delivering quality education and shaping students’ future lives. The growing demands and responsibilities on teachers can lead to physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion, which threatens their well-being—a condition commonly referred to as work stress. Our study aimed to explore the strategies used by elementary school teachers in Bali Province to cope with work-related stress. This study adopts a qualitative research approach with elementary schools in Bali Province, Indonesia, serving as the research setting. A phenomenological research design was employed, involving 25 purposively selected teachers as participants. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed …

Judicial Confirmation Politics: Senatorial Framing And The Public's Response, Edward W. Hunter Jr.

Honors Theses

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled affirmative action in higher education unconstitutional, intensifying debates over the role of identity in selection processes. This study extends that discussion beyond college admissions to the federal judicial confirmation process. It uses a content analysis of Senate Judiciary Committee hearing transcripts to examine how U.S. senators frame the identities of judicial nominees, and a nationally representative survey to assess how senators’ identity framing shapes public opinion. I find that both Democratic and Republican senators engage in identity framing to signal alignment with their respective constituencies. Public responses to this rhetoric are substantially filtered through …

Expanding Regenerative Agriculture Practices In East Texas, Treasure Hance

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Regenerative agriculture has increasingly been referenced since 2015 for its ability to provide healthy food with less environmental and social impacts. Its basic premise/ideology is to follow a process whereby soil, biotic, and human communities are not just maintained but prepared to return to a better state. Soil health is a primary concern. Actions include no-till planting, composting to create more organic soil, less use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, along with better employment, animal care, and ecological outcomes/practices. Regenerative versions of other professions, such as regenerative medicine (e.g. gene/stem cell therapy) and regenerative architecture (design for surplus energy, restored …

Analyzing Sun Bucks Program Experience Among Southwestern Pennsylvania Families With Just Harvest, Olivia Mae Gifford

Public Health Capstone Projects

1. Objectives: This project primarily seeks to identify the common barriers preventing vulnerable families from accessing the SUN Bucks Program. The SUN Bucks program is an optional program through the United States Department of Agriculture that works in conjunction with the state of Pennsylvania in order to provide school-aged children families with supplemental funds to supply greater nutrition during the summer months. This research supports the work of a local non-profit, Just Harvest, in order to better inform their advocacy and outreach efforts as they fight against food insecurity in Western Pennsylvania.
2. Methods: All data was collected electronically via a …

The African American Pulpit And The Reconstruction Of Narrative Ground In The Black Community, Nathaniel Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how the African American pulpit serves as a living wellspring for rebuilding stories, memory, and identity, a task made urgent by centuries of erasure, from the trauma of the Middle Passage to the ongoing reverberations of that violence. My central claim is that African American preaching, when viewed through the insight-rich frameworks of Gadamer, Burke, and Frankl, becomes not just a form of speech, but a lifeline. It helps reclaim "narrative ground": the deep roots of meaning, belonging, and shared purpose that nourish a wounded people and allow genuine flourishing.

The journey unfolds across six movements. Chapter …

From Farewell To Fáilte: The Voices Of Iowa’S Irish Daughters, Katie Hermanson

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Irish women’s immigration to Iowa brought rich culture and lasting impacts, despite their contributions being silenced by history. Women left Ireland for economic opportunity and education abroad to support their impoverished families. Millions emigrated between 1830 and 1915, spreading across the world. The Irish women who came to the United States encountered discrimination and cultural stereotyping as they worked in domestic service, developed religious orders, taught school, owned businesses and raised families. Women bore the burden of supporting their families in Ireland by sending remittances home and communicating between countries. Their cultural identity as exiles dwelled in guilt for leaving …

Identifying The Cultural Significance Behind Local Study Sites Used By Marine Scientists, Mackenzie Anonick

Honors Theses

This project brings awareness to the cultural significance of places that scientists (specifically marine scientists associated with CCU) study and do field work at. It is important to be respectful of places you work in and understand what environment and land you are working with. It is also important to know your privilege when working in areas of less privilege. For example, CCU students travel to Bucksport on field trips, and the majority of them are not aware of the fact that Bucksport is a largely Black and lower income town that has extreme flooding issues that impact the residents …

Gendered Politics Of Pictures: How Images In A Pakistani English Textbook Homogenize Female Identities, Liaquat Ali Channa

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative multimodal analytical study draws upon Kress and van Leeuwen’s ideas about pictures and problematizes textbooks of English that supposedly teach only English in Pakistan. It aims to understand the identities of an adult female as shown in the images of an English textbook. It uses Foucault’s theories of discourse and discursive formation, and a Vygotskian sociocultural view of the development of consciousness. By following Braun and Clarke (2006, 2019), all the pictures of the My English Book 4 are first analyzed thematically. Later, O’Toole’s (1994) method of analyzing pictures is employed for a detailed examination of a representative …

Values-Based Clinical Ethics: A New Model Of Health And Ethics Consultation For Patients Suffering In Extremis, Adam Trainer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation argues that contemporary clinical ethics is inadequately equipped to support patients suffering in extremis because it relies on an insufficiently discriminating account of health and a constrained model of moral reasoning. Drawing on Bernard Lonergan, it reconceives health as an emergent, multi-layered, heuristic notion shaped by biological, psychological, social, and existential goods. On that basis, it critiques principlism’s global applicability thesis and the undergirding claim that its principles form part of the common morality, arguing that this justificatory structure is philosophically insufficient and practically limited for clinical ethics in cases marked by profound suffering, moral plurality, and normative …

The Cost Of Compassion: Mixed Methods Insights Into Healthcare Chaplains’ Experiences Of Workplace Violence, Dana Fachner

Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare workers’ exposure to workplace violence has been well documented, with research emphasizing both its frequency and severity among clinical staff like physicians and nurses. Still, one group remains markedly overlooked: healthcare chaplains. Despite their frequent presence in high-stress, unpredictable, and emotionally charged situations, chaplains have never before been included in research regarding healthcare workers’ exposure to workplace violence. Healthcare chaplains provide spiritual and emotional care to patients, families, and staff by offering support that is culturally sensitive and appropriate to patients’ religious traditions. Chaplains collaborate with medical teams to deliver holistic care and are involved in a wide range …

Hospitalidad Sin Barreras: A Place-Based Approach To Resource Accessibility For Immigrant Communities In North Mississippi, Jackelyn Facio

Honors Theses

This project examines barriers to resource access for Spanish-speaking immigrant communities in Lafayette County, Mississippi. Using a place-based community engagement approach, the project incorporates mixed methods to produce a resource guide for Spanish- speaking immigrants in Lafayette County. Findings showed that access is shaped not only by available services, but also by interconnected barriers such as language, fragmented information systems, and concerns related to trust and safety. These barriers discourage individuals from interacting with formal institutions, resulting in a reliance on informal information networks. In response to the data collected from area residents, the project sought to centralize community input …

Unequal Paths: Experiences Navigating The U.S. Naturalization Process And The Role Of Education, Cecilia Rayburn

Honors Theses

This study examines how educational attainment shapes immigrants’ experiences with the U.S. naturalization process, with a focus on how education influences confidence, access to resources, and the ability to manage bureaucratic demands. While the legal requirements for naturalization are standardized, the ability to navigate them varies widely across individuals. Applicants’ experiences reveal that the U.S. naturalization process is often more complex and unequal than it may appear. This research was conducted through five semi-structured interviews with naturalized citizens of varying levels of higher education. These interviews explored participants’ experiences with the application process, including their preparedness, access to support systems, …

Joy Beyond Circumstance: Crafting A Picture Book That Challenges Western Perceptions Of Joy, Sarah L. Stockett

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the creation of a children’s picture book as a method of challenging Western perceptions of happiness, particularly the assumption that material abundance determines joy. Drawing from two service-based experiences with Zoe Ministries in Kitale, Kenya, the project centers on The Glad Rag, a picture book in which a single piece of fabric travels through many hands and becomes many useful items. Through this narrative, the book invites young readers to consider resourcefulness, gratitude, and joy that transcends circumstance.

The project uses a mixed-methods research approach. Primary data were gathered through participant observation and informal conversations on …

Esports Cosmopolitan Canopy, Reice Hicks

Honors Theses

This thesis concerns the area of sociology. Specifically, it is a sociological study of a community on Ole Miss’s campus and how they form what is known within the sociology field as a “cosmopolitan canopy,” a term coined by Elijah Anderson. Using this term, I proceed to prove not only how the Ole Miss Esports club falls under this jurisdiction, but the effects of esports on the youth as a whole, both positive and negative. All of my data was extracted via literature review, online research, note-taking, visual observation, and one-on-one interviews with people involved with the club. The entire …

Change Of Accessibility In The Izu Islands Before And After Tourism Development In The Pre-World War Ⅱ Period, Kantaro Takahashi

International Journal of Islands Research

This study compares accessibility on the Izu Islands, an inhabited archipelago. part of Tokyo Prefecture, from around the 1910s to the 1930s, during the early years of tourism development. Most islands in the archipelago started attracting tourists during the economically prosperous 1960s and 1970s; uniquely, Izu Oshima, the largest island, had been a tourist destination since before World War II. Tourism research on this region and period has predominantly employed a descriptive approach; quantitative studies have been rare owing to the dearth of data. Addressing this gap, this study conducts a network analysis of data acquired from the books of …

Framing And Diffusion Of The 4b Movement: Why We Are Seeing A Resurgence, Kendall M. Goodwin

Culture, Society, and Praxis

In this study I examine how framing and diffusion has played a role in the resurgence of the 4B Movement over social media. First, I reviewed literature on sociological concepts and theories such as social movement framing and diffusion as well as Almeida’s social movement model. From there, I made a coding chart where I utilized the literature review to know what to code for. Then, I began collecting data. From November 2024 to January 2025, I collected and coded 656 TikTok videos. I then analyzed each of these videos, finding that social movement framing coupled with specific environmental factors …

Merely Bystanders: Understanding And Overcoming The "Appalling Silence Of The Good People”, Catherine A. Sanderson

Heroism Science

This article reviews classic and contemporary research on the psychological processes that contribute to silence and inaction in the face of problematic behavior. In ambiguous situations, people look to others for cues, but mutual hesitation can result in collective inaction. In group contexts, diffusion of responsibility reduces people’s sense of obligation to intervene, decreasing the likelihood that help is offered. Additionally, fears of social and professional costs—such as rejection, ostracism, or reputational harm—discourage speaking up, reflecting a broader human sensitivity to social pain. The article concludes by outlining evidence-based strategies for overcoming bystander inaction, including skills-based training, opportunities for practice, …

Becoming Mandan: The Collaborative Life History Of Robert O’Brien, Douglas D. Meigs

Sociology and Anthropology Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

This thesis examines how separation from—and later discovery of—an Indigenous family and culture shapes ethnic identity formation. Grounded in Charles Horton Cooley’s theory of the looking-glass self, it uses collaborative life history methodology to analyze the process of Indigenous identity formation experienced by Robert O’Brien, a Native American orphan who discovered his Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) heritage as an adult. Drawing on two decades of reflexive research, unstructured interviews, participant observation, and archival documents, the case study shows how O’Brien’s sense of identity developed in response to shifting and often contradictory social mirrors.

Exploring Child Trafficking Survivors' Experiences: Support, Revictimization, And Justice Institutions, Max Lubin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Team Formation Strategies With Algorithms, Ethan E. Lopez, Andy Vo

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Effective teamwork is essential for collaborative learning, yet forming compatible student groups remains a persistent challenge. This study explores how algorithmic team-building methods influence students’ social and academic compatibility overtime. To support this investigation, we designed a visual survey system called “The Disco Ball." Evaluating work ethics, lifestyles, behaviors, and communication styles, students were initially assigned to project teams using one of three conditions: (1) random assignment (control), (2) a “most matches” condition maximizing similarity between students, and (3) a “diverse communication styles” condition designed to balance differing interaction preferences. After an initial collaboration period, students were given the opportunity …