Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Prayer On Anxiety In Black Males: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Robin Houston Stitt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Prayer is a primary indicator that Christians use to infuse meaning into their lives and navigate life's difficulties. Acquiring the capacity to cope with anxious feelings through spiritual disciplines, practices, and rituals can assist in anxiety relief. The literature indicates that the church has always served as a refuge when life-altering events occur. According to I Corinthians 12:13, the church is one body of believers, unified for a common purpose. Anxiety is defined as a state of distress caused by a perceived social threat. The purpose of this study in Pastoral Care and Counseling was to ascertain why studies have …

Providing Biblical Knowledge To Women Ages 25–70 To Place Women In Ministry And Leadership Positions In The Church, Evelyn Diane Scott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to provide biblical knowledge to equip women to assume scriptural roles in church ministry and leadership. The project was conducted at The Word Ministry Church in rural Dallas County, Alabama. The writer reviewed women’s challenges and issues in the Christian community dominated by patriarchal theories. This project provides an overview of the study group and the training criteria for preparing women for ministry and leadership. The goal was to educate women not serving in leadership or ministry positions to obtain biblical knowledge to give them the confidence and support to accept their gift of …

Retention Of Predominantly Nontraditional Students: A Phenomenological Study Of Distance Education Classes In A Local Community College, Corina Langford

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the impact of inclusion in retention for nontraditional students taking global learning classes (distance education) at XYZ Community College in the southeastern United States. It seeks to answer the central research question: How can social inclusion be used to retain nontraditional students at a local community college when taking online classes? The theory guiding this study was the social systems theory, which is concerned with inclusion and exclusion in social systems through communication. Social systems theory was utilized to understand how minority students are included or excluded at XYZ Community …

The Impact Of Disability Support Services On The Success Of Student Veterans: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology, Chante Kimberly Burnell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenology was to explore the lived experiences of student veterans using disability support services at postsecondary institutions. Disability support services for student veterans was generally defined as any resource or service providing accessibility and support to aid academic success. Therefore, the central research question focused on the experiences of student veterans when utilizing disability support services. The conceptual framework used to guide this study was Vacchi’s (2017) Model of Student Veteran Support, as it establishes veteran-friendly propositions and suggests cornerstones needed to support the successful degree completion of student veterans. Data triangulation was used to …

An Exploratory Case Study Of Student Grit With Educational Technology In Learning Environments, Crystal Rees

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to understand the expectations Generation Alpha (Gen Alpha), those born between 2010 and 2024, has on educational technology (edtech) in learning environments and how those students rate their grit with 12 participants in third through ninth grade. The theory guiding this study was grit theory by Angela Duckworth regarding grit. This qualitative study was conducted with 12 student participants in their learning environment using a qualitative questionnaire, student interview, and student observation during their dedicated homework time. Memoing was used during observations and interviews to record common phrases between participants when describing …

Educators’ Perceptions Of Exclusionary Discipline For Students With Disabilities In A Manifestation Determination Review: A Case Study, Jenell R. Huska

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to understand K-12 educators’ knowledge of the characteristics of students with disabilities and how their ability to implement evidence-based practices shaped their perceptions of their role in making decisions regarding exclusionary discipline in a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR). The central research question included: How do K-12 educators’ perceptions regarding organizational support affect the decisions they make concerning exclusionary discipline for students with disabilities in a Manifestation Determination Review? Eisenberger et al.’s (1986) Organizational Support Theory (OST) guided this study. OST relates to educators’ perceptions regarding how their organization supports them in making decisions regarding …

Identifying The Impact Of Specific Parenting Routines On Self-Reported Parenting Satisfaction, Chris Kretschman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parents face many challenges when raising a child, and how a parent handles these situations and their outcomes influence that parent’s perception of their success. This current research determined that there were not specific routines a parent engages in when interacting one-on-one with their child each day which positively correlate with reported parental satisfaction (Ha1). However, there are specific routines that a parent engages in when a family participates in activities together as a family unit that have a positive correlation with reported parental satisfaction (Ha2). A quantitative descriptive, variable-centered correlation design was utilized to understand the linear relationship between …

303 Creative And The Question Of Governmental Authority To Dictate Commercial Transactions, Rena M. Lindevaldsen

Liberty University Law Review

In June 2023, the nation awaited a decision from the United States Supreme Court in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. At its core, the case presented the question of whether free speech rights outweighed a state’s interest in prohibiting discrimination through its public accommodation laws. If the Supreme Court had ruled against 303 Creative and compelled its owner, Lorie Smith, to design a website for same-sex weddings despite Ms. Smith’s sincerely-held religious beliefs that such marriages are not biblical, free speech rights in America would have been at the mercy of what the majority deemed acceptable speech.

Although the …

Hicks, Hillbillies, And Rednecks: Addressing Stereotypes Of The Appalachian Region, Emma Campbell

Senior Honors Theses

The Appalachian region of the U.S. has been widely stereotyped as a poverty-stricken place filled with “backwards” people and practices (Wood & Hendricks, 2009, p. 1). News and entertainment media in the United States have done little to improve or diminish these stereotypes as times have changed and have often perpetuated them. This thesis examines recent portrayals of Appalachia in media to identify shortcomings and misrepresentations and review methods for diminishing stereotypes that have been successful. From this review, elements of different approaches are evaluated and combined to develop a proposed social media campaign oriented toward changing public perception of …

How Dna Reveals God’S Design, Alan L. Gillen

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Codes are big in today’s world: QR codes, barcodes, computer codes, cell phone codes, and more. Specific information is needed to identify, diagnose, and inform. DNA is the code for life: microbes, plants, parasites, animals, and man. DNA Day is April 25 because it was this day in history (April 25, 1953) when James Watson and Francis Crick described DNA as the double helix and the code for life. Although we consider DNA the genetic blueprint for life, it has only been known for 80 years. On February 1, 1944, Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty wrote a revolutionary …

Preserving Faith Amidst Disruption: The Impact Of Obama And Biden’S Woke Foreign Policy On Christian Values In Africa And Its Effect On American Democracy Promotion, Christophe Mwungura

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

In May 2023, Uganda enacted a law criminalizing homosexuality. The Ugandan parliament and President Yoweri Museveni defended the enactment of this law, arguing that homosexuality directly violates Ugandan cultural norms and Biblical doctrines. In response to this legislative action, the United States immediately condemned the law and threatened to withdraw the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), along with other forms of assistance and investments. Despite this, many Ugandans, supported by their leaders, publicly expressed their willingness to accept the aid suspension rather than repeal the law. This article will examine the promotion of LGBTQ rights in Africa, …

China: A Settler Colonial Empire?, Kaleb Horne

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

China’s rapid expansion is a growing concern to many in the West, yet the history and pattern of its meteoric rise is deeply misunderstood. Surprisingly, its rise may be similar to that of many Western states. This paper will examine a constellation of China’s territorial and cultural expansions. Furthermore, it will examine ongoing and future expansions of the Chinese empire. It will examine Chinese actions in Tibet, the Yunnan Province, the Guizhou Province, Taiwan, the Belt and Road Initiative, and examine China’s ongoing treatment of Uyghur Muslims. These subjects will also be qualitatively compared to settler colonial theories, as described …

The Federal Reserve And The People's Bank Of China: Taiwan, John Davis

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Throughout time and history, civilizations have risen and fallen. Empires have cultivated massive amounts of land, only to be torn down by internal conflict. Nations have amassed armies to go to war, only for the tactics of war to switch. The extended history of international relations must be summed up into a single word: deception. Because of this, nations seek to grow their militaries, economies, and cultures in ways that rival others. The competition that the United States (US) will encounter over the next decade is through asymmetrical competition with China. However, the United States has historically been economically linked …

An Analysis Of The Abortion Fight's History, Facts, And Strategies In A Post-Roe V. Wade World, Jeremy Kang

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Despite the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision reversing Roe v. Wade - thereby giving states the freedom to regulate abortion as they saw fit - no significant decline in abortion numbers followed, raising the question: what is the right way to fight abortion?

One factor to be considered: how does the Constitution permit the different levels of government to tackle this topic? For half a century the Roe decision allowed the federal government to trump a state’s right to choose the level of abortion restrictions it deemed fit. Now the decision has been returned to the states. But which decision was …

Confronting Cosmetic Carcinogens: A Proposal Regarding The Dangers Of Talcum Powder, Rachael Howell

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The Federal Government needs to stop the import, export, mining, and distribution of talcum powder in the United States. This is an issue that affects all Americans, especially active-duty military members.

Since 2013, there have been over 38,000 lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, which allege that their talcum-based baby powder caused cancer. The plaintiffs in the very first talc case in the U.S. have died. All four of the plaintiffs from a 2019 suit have died. Yet, the 2019 case has been reversed and remanded. The FDA has redacted the names of scientist(s) that conduct “safety tests” on talc samples. …

Roger Altman’S 2008 Public Policy Analysis: At Fault Without The Blame, Isaac Deak

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Roger Altman published “Globalism in Retreat” in 2009, in which he offers analysis of the 2008 financial crisis, blaming free-markets and globalism as causes of the calamity, only to praise China’s “state-capitalism”, which he believes allowed the Chinese to emerge ahead of the globalists in recovery. This article, despite its age, provides a timeless example of a dangerous tendency in public policy. It demonstrates how policymakers can implement deleterious policies which result in inevitable crisis, and then, they subsequently escape blame by explaining away the crisis with bad analysis and even worse policy suggestions for the future. Policy suggestions, in …

Georgia And Russia: A Tenuous Relationship, Ani Rostomyan

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

In 1801, the Tsar of Russia signed a decree in order to incorporate Georgia into the Russian empire. The decree was very unpopular among the Georgians and caused much unrest. After 1905, Joseph Stalin, a Georgian, became a revolutionary in the country and eventually lead the Soviet Union. In 1922, the Soviet Union forced Georgia to be a part of a Socialist Republic with its surrounding countries, upending the local population and disrupting historic boundary lines. Despite many religious and cultural similarities, Russia’s rule was deemed erratic and domineering. Unfortunately, being ruled under Communism caused the country to become extremely …

The European Case For Kosovo, Serbia, And North Macedonia: A Western Balkan Focus, Logan Michael Kase

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

European integration of Western Balkan territories currently faces high-tension ethnic and religious antagonism between Serbia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. The Balkans have been dealing with a cauldron of simmering ethnic internal battles that have lingered for decades. Years of Serbian and Kosovo contention severely setback the accession timeline, therefore, affecting further the integration of its neighbor North Macedonia. The European Union demands all disputes and corruption measures settled, per regulation standards set by the enlargement package from the commission. Key regional players’ sphere of influence becomes an interesting variable during policy discussions leaving a path to full European integration reliant …

Break Their Lineage, Break Their Roots: Investigating The Chinese Government’S Relationship With The Uyghur Population To Determine The Potential For Terrorism And Genocide, Anya Veinberg

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

History is wrought with war, crime, and persecution. After nearly every conflict, world leaders vow to never let something similar happen again. Yet, history seems to repeat itself, and so do its conflicts. The Holocaust claimed the lives of millions of Jews and seemed to set a precedent of a modern threshold of evil. How many people would argue that an event strikingly similar to the Holocaust is happening right now in China?

The Chinese government is currently committing acts of violence and faith and race-based discrimination against the Uyghur population.

This work analyzes the interaction between the Chinese government …

Criminal Justice: Racial Equity In United States Of America, Glenn Bass

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with a spiritual sense of awakening as it pertains to a revelation of the human spirit. A revival, or improvement in the condition of any individual or social infrastructure will re-establish citizenship and further restore virtue within the United States of America. Researchers have articulated that our criminal justice system is broken through police retention/recruitment, lack of resources, ineffective prosecution and public defenders, sentencing disparities, and lack of understanding of the socioeconomic status of the criminal or violent offender. These issues are subtopics underneath the umbrella of racial equity. The …

The Moral Evils Of Open Borders, Carl D. Rehberg

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Since January 2021, the U.S. federal government, through the executive branch, started supporting de facto open borders with its stated and unstated policies by illegally and systematically ignoring and not enforcing numerous laws, rules, and regulations regarding the border and immigration enforcement writ large. In the last three years, the open borders have gotten worse, and now many describe the open borders crisis as an invasion. By all appearances, these open borders were intentionally planned, funded, and executed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations (UN) through our government. Ironically, the Christian community (including Evangelicals) has been divided on …

The Driving Impact Of Artificial Intelligence On Global Expansion, Aleksandra Drozd

Senior Honors Theses

The invention and continual growth of artificial intelligence (AI) on the global stage have significantly shaped the world’s economies, governments, societies and their cultures. The new industrial revolution and the subsequent race of the world’s leading powers have led to increased international joint efforts and exchange of information, simultaneously reducing barriers to trade and communication. Meanwhile, emerging technologies deploying AI have led to changes in human behavior and culture and challenged the traditional nation-state model. Although several implications of the proliferation of AI remain unknown, its widening application may be tied with accelerating globalization, referred to interchangeably as global expansion. …

The Interaction Of Strategy And Design In Comprehensive Branding, Tiana Miller

Senior Honors Theses

Branding directs how consumers view businesses. Focusing on strategy and design equally aids in making a brand comprehensive, cohesive, and effective. Different aspects of brand strategy determine how to effectively build the backbone of the brand. Understanding design elements and the creative process are important in developing the visual identity of the brand. The findings were combined to create comprehensive personal branding for Tiana Joy Creative. This creative application included an archetypal brand strategy with deliverables including a logo and brand elements.

Transgenderism And Pronouns: Assessing The Communication Practices Of Christian College Students, Danielle Malanowski

Senior Honors Theses

The issue of transgenderism has been part of prominent public and academic discussions in recent years, and ought to be addressed by communication scholars. One area of communication research that is missing from the current body of literature is the use of preferred pronoun usage among religious groups, particularly Christians. This study offers insight into this issue through a qualitative survey of the perspectives of Generation Z college students attending a Christian university. This survey was then analyzed via thematic coding through the lens of Communication Accommodation Theory. Results indicate these students have varying approaches to communicating with and about …

Can Volunteer Fire Companies Improve Recruiting?, David T. Button

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The accelerating inability of volunteer fire departments to attract new recruits presents the public sector with both above and below-the-line costs. Finding replacements for members aging out is the single greatest challenge that volunteer departments face. If this problem persists, the cost of replacing volunteers with paid staff would have a significant and negative impact on the tax base. Pay and benefits for professional staff (as well as capital costs associated with this conversion) would cause property taxes to escalate significantly in communities where volunteers have historically managed emergencies. Much research has been conducted in an attempt to determine how …

Covid-19: The Federal Government, Federalism, South Dakota, And American Indians, Jordan Janson

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This essay assesses the roles of the federal government and its relationship with Tribal Regions and states alike. Additionally, how COVID-19 affected states and localities and how different Presidential Administrations handled and responded to the pandemic while being compared with the state of South Dakota. Assessing whether or not the federal government overstepped reveals the preparedness of states. Certain states handled COVID-19-related issues better than others, and this essay addresses how Tribal Regions in states provided Governors with extreme complexities. Finally, this essay delves into the rights and responsibilities of the federal government and the state pertaining to American Indian …

The Social Contract And Feminism, Grace A. Albertson

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This paper seeks to prove the value placed on women in society, and disprove the claim that the social contract is inherently patriarchal. Radical feminists claim that society as a whole is irreparably flawed and operates patriarchally. Therefore, they call for a systematic shift and condemn the current fabric of our society and nation. The social contract, an idea centered around the philosophical works of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes served as the primary way that the founders of the United States justified the formation of American democracy and had immense influence on American political thought. However, feminists seek to …

Influences Of Social Media, Samuel Whatley Ii

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The Internet is a double-edged sword because it provides easy access to information of both good and bad intentions. Censorship justifications under whoever deems something misinformation, provide little oversight on being a neutral public forum. For instance, the influence of elections by not covering a story and censoring opposing views does not promote the notion of being a neutral public forum. Artificial intelligence being applied to many technological applications have fueled the censorship machine. In some instances, artificial intelligence can generate stories to media sites (i.e., ChatGPT) with no verification of the details. From science fiction to science reality, taking …

Ethical Considerations In Implementing Ai Technologies In Higher Education, Marcia Bennett

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Over the last few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a dominant topic of conversation in the media and business world. Higher education institutions are learning to embrace the role of AI, specifically in online learning environments. As higher education institutions rely heavily on technology, leaders cannot avoid addressing concerns presented by AI. More specifically, online higher education institutions must consider the benefits and challenges presented to educators and learners. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of artificial intelligence in online higher education institutions and explore solutions for agile and adaptive policies to navigate the evolving …

Mediterranean Security: Italian, United States, Nato, And North African National Interests From A Geopolitical Perspective, Mary Prentice, Umberto Bosna, Kueth Yul

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This paper discusses important international issues related to the region of the Mediterranean Sea particularly focusing on Italy and North African security issues. Security and stability issues were researched. This region is interconnected through important geo-economic issues such as the gas pipelines that supply Italy with methane gas pass through the seabed of the Mediterranean Sea, connecting North Africa with Italy and the whole of Europe. In particular there are the gas pipelines that from Libya and Tunisia, across the Mediterranean Sea, arrive in Italy, supplying the entire nation with methane gas at a good price. Italy has promoted the …