Digital Commons Network^™

Integrating Design Thinking In A Stem Methods Course, Demetrice Smith-Mutegi

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Design thinking, a problem-solving approach, has been offered as a strategy to address the challenges of growing and complex teaching expectations. In this narrative, I describe an adapted model of design thinking that was implemented in a secondary STEM methods course for teacher candidates in a graduate program. A description of the key activities, including the fundamental role of empathizing, is shared. Design thinking, when implemented by teachers and teacher candidates, allows the teacher to design and improve a lesson or unit based on student feedback and engagement. This is especially important in today's rapidly evolving educational landscape, where educators …

Girls Stem Institute: Impacting Black Girls' Self-Efficacy And Interest In Stem Careers, Crystal Morton, Demetrice Smith-Mutegi, Danka Maric, Vidushi Adlakha, Robin Jackson

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Nationally and globally, STEM serves as a gatekeeper to the labor market and higher education opportunities. Many Black girls find themselves locked out of the gate. Historically and contemporarily, Black girls are seldom viewed as capable or worthy of educational investment and face unique and ongoing challenges in K-12 STEM learning spaces due to their gender and racial identities. Research suggests that informal STEM learning spaces can serve as a counter to Black girls’ experiences in K-12 schools and help enhance Black girls’ self-efficacy and STEM career interests. This study explores the impact of a four-week informal STEM program, employing …

"When I Think Of The Public Library, I Think Of White": Black Families Counter-Narratives Of Library Irrelevance And Community Repair, Amber Matthews

STEMPS Faculty Publications

While public libraries espouse equitable access, few studies examine Black community disengagement. Drawing on Critical Race Theory and the theme "Information in Repair," this paper analyzes semi-structured interviews with seven Black parents of youth aged 13-24 in London, Ontario. Findings reveal that their lack of library engagement stems not from access barriers but from libraries functioning as racialized spaces irrelevant to Black lived experiences in Canada. Where libraries fall short, Black-led organizations perform continuous, invisible reparative labour through culturally responsive programming and trusted information networks. Meaningful repair requires confronting institutional whiteness, redistributing resources to Black-led organizations, and sustaining authentic relationship-building …

Stages Of Being Foreign As Portrayed In Daughter Of Keltoum And Lost Birds, Fran Hassencahl

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

In this paper, I use the intercultural communication model, The Stages of Being Foreign, developed by anthropologist Oberg (1960) and modified by Gullahorn & Gullahorn (1963), Lewis & Jungman (1986), and Ward, Bochner, and Furnham (2001) to explain the experience of culture shock. This model describes the stages that individuals experience when they leave, either voluntarily or involuntarily, their home country/culture and must adapt to a new culture. These stages as described by Oberg are a preliminary stage (a spectator stage), an increasing participation stage, the pit of the culture shock stage, the adaptation stage, and for some migrants a …

Crux: Exploring Imperialism And Resistance Through Role-Playing Games, Devon Gronka

Institute for the Humanities Master's Papers, Projects, and Capstones

This is a game about power. The game is a Role-Playing Game, or RPG. As with nearly all RPGs, the game presents the players with choices about how their characters will interact with each other and with the world around them, and these interactions are woven together to more or less form a plot. However, oftentimes in life there are no good choices available, and there is no win state outside of what we might determine for ourselves.

The game is a social experiment. While playing a game, a player takes in information in a very different manner than when …

Margalefidinium Polykrikoides Group Iii Va, Usa Strain Growth And Sac-Like Pellicle Cyst Dynamics, Eduardo Pérez Vega

OES Theses and Dissertations

Margalefidinium polykrikoides is a harmful cosmopolitan dinoflagellate that blooms in coastal waters. The effect of temperature and salinity on the growth of M. polykrikoides VA strain was examined using microscopy and growth models. M. polykrikoides Group III VA strain grew better at warmer temperatures and lower salinities than M. polykrikoides Group III NY strain, Group I Korea strain, and Japan strain (unknown group). Modelers need to use the temperature and salinity growth responses from M. polykrikoides Group III VA strain to better simulate and predict M. polykrikoides blooms in the Chesapeake Bay.

Dinoflagellates produce cysts as a strategy to withstand …

Reading The Romance Reader: Booktok, Algorithmic Subjugation, And The Fight For Cultural Legitimacy, Emily Maranto Hill

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

This thesis examines the transformation of romance reader identity through the lens of BookTok, investigating how digital platforms grant cultural legitimacy while simultaneously subjugating community practices to algorithmic control. Romance readers historically developed emotional labor practices, counter-public formation strategies, and fan-driven meaning-making to resist decades of cultural marginalization. Through analysis of TikTok's platform attributes, user behaviors, and the viral Tillie Cole controversy, this study traces how BookTok converts these resistant practices into behavioral data optimized for engagement rather than authentic discourse. The research employs theoretical frameworks including Janice Radway's ethnographic analysis, Shoshana Zuboff's surveillance capitalism, Nick Srnicek's platform capitalism, and …

Chasing The Dream And Buying The Promise In A Conceptual Framework For Consumer Decision-Making, Casey H. Prentice

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

The American dream is a concept that is echoed across our society, and while the data show Americans do not overwhelmingly believe in the dream, marketers continue to pair it and the issue of economic prosperity in their agendas. Through a novel framework that overlaps a deeply studied mass communication theory with a decision-making framework used in marketing, this paper demonstrates a new lens to understand how marketers identify strategies and tactics, build agendas, and make sales by touting the American dream. As separate entities, decision-making models and agenda setting theory are powerful, but together can create an environment that …

Exploring Bonding Through Outdoor Recreation In Foster Care Utilizing Attachment Theory, Casandra L. Barnes

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

As of 2024, there are over 328,000 children in foster care in the United States (AFCARS, 2024), many of whom experience disrupted attachments and trauma that hinder their ability to form healthy relationships. Drawing from attachment theory, this study explores how outdoor recreational activities can facilitate bonding between foster parents and their foster children. Using a mixed method approach this explorative research project consisted of two phases: a pilot study at the Virginia zoo involving foster families participating in a cooperative outdoor activity and completing post event surveys, and semi-structured interviews with foster parents to examine lived experiences of bonding …

The Presentation Of Self In Everyday Digital Life: A Study Of Self- Disclosure And Work Environments, Mackenzie Michelle Skiff

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

The digital age impacts individuals’ lives in many ways. One impact is how and where work is completed across many careers. The work-from-home strategy enables individuals to complete work that is not within a shared space, such as an office. With the absence of this shared space, communication practices within workplaces could be changing. Specifically, self-disclosure while working from home may differ from self-disclosure within the office or hybrid (both in office and remote) work environments. This thesis investigates whether there are differences in self-disclosure practices across three different types of contemporary work environments and offers a digital update to …

2025 Conference Program, Gpis Department, Old Dominion University

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

Schedule for ODU's 2025 Graduate Research Conference: Stormy Weather: Pressing Issues in International Politics

Language Barriers In Accessing Healthcare Services For Refugees In The United States, Sadaf Khuram

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

Accessing healthcare is a pivotal aspect of refugees' integration into their host countries and significantly impacts their long-term health outcomes. The literature emphasizes the critical role of language proficiency in overcoming communication barriers within healthcare settings. This thesis, however, challenges the assumption that addressing language barriers alone is universally sufficient. It argues that the importance of language solutions is context-dependent, varying with the design of healthcare systems and the diverse needs and backgrounds of refugees. In some cases, focusing primarily on language barriers can divert resources from other critical areas, particularly when healthcare facilities have limited capacities or when services …

Peace Engagement And Non-Negotiable Commitment Through An In-Depth Lens [Pencil Theory]: A Film Perspective On Un’S Conflict Resolution, Edward Moses Sam Selvaraj

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The research addresses the effectiveness of the United Nations concerning conflict resolution and peacekeeping, seen from the perspective of film culture. Applying the "PENCIL Theory" (Peace Engagement through an in-depth lens), the UN study along with its structural dynamics would be considered herein: a pencil comprising the Security Council as its lead, world as the eraser, and filmmakers as the ferrule that is representative of that significant link between public awareness and policy impact, and the UN General Assembly and Secretariat as its body in support of the decision-making processes. It brings to the fore the critical impacts on the …

“We Are Trans, But We’Re Not Transitional”: Exploring Safety, Place, And Space In The Lives Of Transgender Individuals In Southeastern Virginia, Susana Avalos

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

In general, little research exists on trans people’s spatial experiences despite space being highly relevant to their experiences of violence and perceptions of safety. To date, two criminological studies have examined LGBTQ people’s fear of crime in relation to public or private places and spaces. This is in stark contrast to the sizable place and space literature on cisgender men and women. These topics from the perspectives of trans people are underexplored primarily because most criminological research has historically upheld binarized understandings of gender. Safety should not be privileged or limited to certain groups, individuals, or spaces. Instead, safety should …

Power Asymmetry Dynamics: Assessing Interdependence In France-Cameroon Relations Through Economic And Security Cooperation (2000–2024), Chick Edmond

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

This paper examines the dynamics of power asymmetry in the interdependent relationship between Cameroon and France from 2000 – 2024 with a focus on security and economic cooperation. The main research question asks: To what extent has power asymmetry reinforced or mitigated the interdependent relationship between Cameroon and France within the realm of economic and security cooperation? Based on the hypothesis that increased interdependence between these two states during this period has strengthened existing power disparity. The paper examines how such dynamics have restrained Cameroon’s autonomy and its capacity to pursue policy goals.

The theoretical framework combines dependency theory, postcolonial …

Gatekeeping Girlhood: Tiktok As An Agent Of Gender And Racial Socialization, Kennedy Elyza Davis

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

This thesis uses qualitative methods to study and analyze how TikTok users and the platform’s algorithm work together to redefine girlhood. By examining individual posts and the origins of the trends that they belong to, I will show why some users reject this new definition, as others have embraced it, and what this means for the future of girlhood. This research will complicate the question of what it means to be a girl on the Internet and the challenges that accompany this experience. Ultimately, I expand on the study of gender roles and the impact of social media as an …

It Ends With Us: How Social Media Algorithms Shape Recommendations In Online Reading Communities, Alana Nicole Whitley

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

My thesis explores social media algorithms and their influence on recommendations of authors for people who engage with reading communities online. During a three-week research period, I examined algorithmic behaviors in online book communities using an alias. Findings revealed that BookTube, BookTok, and Bookstagram facilitate book discovery but offer weak algorithmic recommendations and suggestions. While social media algorithms excel at providing opportunities for creators and authors, they fail to promote trending and diverse books. These insights indicate that algorithms shape literary consumption by limiting readers’ choices. This research contributes to discussions of online reading communities and the role of algorithmic …

Communication During Perimmigration: A Life-Line Interview Method Study, Giada Roberta Rossi

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

This thesis examines the communication challenges faced by migrants and their impact on acculturation using a new approach. The study analyzed autobiographical memories of immigrants’ communication to explore both positive and negative experiences over time. The study extends previous intercultural communication research by using the Life-Line Interview Method (LIM) (Assink & Schroots, 2010) to collect autobiographical narratives from twelve participants about their communication journeys. The findings reveal consistencies with past intercultural communication research insofar as uncertainty and identity problems were pervasive, but also positively extends past research arguing that supportive environments, characterized by culturally responsive educators and peer networks, play …

Teaching Art Beyond The Hierarchy: How “Big Ideas” Combat Cultural Appropriation, Carlie Pearson

Institute for the Humanities Master's Papers, Projects, and Capstones

[First paragraph] As an art educator who has worked with children aged 5-18 in the public-school setting, I find myself constantly assessing and reevaluating my practices. When I was in high school and falling in love with the world of visual art, I had a teacher who introduced me to the beautiful and sacred art of mandala making. We learned about how Buddhist Monks create massive works with colorful sand, and I was shocked to hear that the pieces are traditionally swept away upon completion. When I started my first full time teaching position seven years ago at a high …

The Post-Millennial French Colonial Empire, Chase Plante

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

The French Colonial Empire of the Age of Imperialism was born in the apocalyptic fires of a millennial movement: the French Revolution of 1789. Millennial movements aspire to rapidly, often violently, achieve utopia by transforming their contexts. Revolutionary France went to war to liberate the world from tyranny and so began both French nationalism and the resurged French colonial empire. The crusade failed, but nationalism and imperial expansion remained. The French genuinely believed that, in their imperial and colonial expansion and domination, they were bringing the world closer to utopia. Assimilation, linguistic and cultural, was a key part of this. …

Beyond The Institution Of Motherhood: Shifting The Paradigm, Gabrielle Wilson

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

This paper explores declining birth rates as a global act of resistance and reclamation by women and birthing individuals against hyper-masculinized institutions, using South Korea's 4B movement as a case study. The 4B movement, which rejects marriage, childbirth, romance, and heterosexual relationships, represents a paradigm shift challenging entrenched gender norms, state control, and systemic inequities. It exemplifies a global phenomenon as similar movements gain traction in the U.S., Japan, and beyond, amidst rising conservatism and declining fertility rates. Framing this analysis with intersectionality, Feminist IR theory, and Kuhn’s paradigm shift model, the paper argues that this resistance signifies a transformative …

A Canvas Decolonized: An Exploration Of Haiti’S Colonial History Through Haitian Artists Philemon Obin, Jean Appolon, Sheilby Mecena, Flex Morisseau–Leroy, And Claes Gabriel, Dominique Dempsey

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

A Canvas Decolonized examines the complex realities faced by Haiti through the lens of its vibrant artistic heritage, highlighting the role of art in interpreting, preserving, and challenging narratives about the nation's history and identity. By exploring the works of Haitian muralists, photographers, painters, and poets including Jean Appolon, Flex Morisseau Leroy, Claes Gabriel, and Edwidge Danticat this study illuminates how these artists engage with themes of colonization, immigration, generational trauma, and cultural displacement. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Frantz Fanon and Benedict Anderson, the paper argues that Haitian art provides a powerful medium to analyze and contextualize the …

Research In Indigenous Historiographies: Oral History As Evidence For Federal Recognition Of Indian Tribes, Colette Haworth

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

Significant to the field of cultural studies is the identification of cultural artifacts, which enable scholars to analyze the complexities of societies, comprehend cultural dynamics, and investigate the ways in which individuals and communities construct meaning and identity in cultural contexts. Oral history, an intangible cultural artifact, has been an important cultural identifier, particularly for marginalized individuals and communities. The development of critical oral history (COH) methodology has alleviated some of the criticism toward oral history as a valid methodology. In fact, some scholars contend that COH has moved beyond the realm of academic research to “provide a policy relevant …

Zombie-Auras: Genai And Hybrid Text Production, Joshua Nieubuurt

English Faculty Publications

This paper explores the iterative evolutions of textual production and their impact on the “aura” of texts, as conceptualized by Walter Benjamin. The study identifies three key phases of textual production: the natural, the mechanized, and the digitized, each progressively displacing the “cult value” of texts. This cult value is lost through increased ease of creation, reproduction, dissemination, and dislocation of creators and audiences in time and space. The advent of Generative AI (GenAI) marks the latest evolution, transforming the “aura” into a memetic “zombie” form—familiar yet opaque, evoking both the sublime and fear. By examining Benjamin’s notion of “aura” …

From The Editors, Meredith Mccarroll, Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth, Zada Komara

Art Faculty Publications

Anyone involved in academic publishing understands—to some extent—the time needed to solicit, compile, and edit a range of voices to create something worthwhile that holds together. To do so in collaboration as editors adds a layer of complexity. Here, we see that complexity pays off as Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth and Zada Komara invite multiple perspectives on material culture in Appalachian society into conversation in this special issue of the Journal of Appalachian Studies. It is an honor to be a small part of this work, carried out by the co-editors, whose introduction follows. I invite you, as you read, to contextualize …

Introduction: Beyond Hollow Materialism, Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth, Zada Komara

Art Faculty Publications

This introduction to the special issue, “Transformative Approaches to Materiality in Appalachian Studies,” provides theoretical background and examples that demonstrate applications of new material culture and materiality theory to key Appalachian studies themes. It offers new directions for the study of material entanglement in social relationships by reviewing the history of material culture studies in the Appalachian context, fundamental theoretical propositions emerging from the “material turn” in social theory, and examples drawn from ethnographic and archaeological research into the patterns of use of material culture in the timber country of West Virginia and coalfields of eastern Kentucky. Finally, this introduction …

The Legend Of Taylor Heinicke: An Autoethnography Of Unexpected, Passionate Fandom, Brendan O'Hallarn

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Passionate fandom is not a novel phenomenon in the field of sport. The fervor of fans builds stadiums and has allowed the sport industry to grow exponentially in the past few decades. Scholars have examined the passionate fan through many theoretical lenses, but comparatively little scholarship has looked at sport fandom fervor from inside. An autoethnographic examination of my unexpected journey as a fan of journeyman National Football League (NFL) quarterback Taylor Heinicke demonstrates how fandom can stir passions and create rituals in sport followers. A multimedia diary of Heinicke's unexpected ascension to starting quarterback of the Washington Commanders provides …

Exploring Physics Teacher Identity: Pathways Toward Equitable Instruction Among Teachers, Clausell Mathis, Jomo Mutegi, Turhan Carroll, Maya Patel, Andrea Wooley

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Physics teacher identity encompasses teachers' beliefs and views toward being a physics teacher. Physics teacher identity is influenced by teachers' perspectives on physics teaching and learning. Previous studies on teacher identity in general suggest that the construct is complex and malleable. Studies further suggest that it influences instructional methods, student engagement, and classroom environment. However, within physics education, there has yet to be an examination of how physics teacher identity influences "equitable" teaching approaches. This qualitative study sought to identify various dimensions of physics teacher identity and its implications for physics education research. We interviewed secondary and postsecondary physics teachers …

What Does It Mean To "Humanize" Online Teaching?, Dana L. Rognlie, Kathryn E. Frazier, Elizabeth A. Siler

Philosophy Faculty Publications

[Introduction] "Humanizing" the online classroom is widely acknowledged as a feminist goal (e.g., Pacansky-Brock et al., 2020). Yet the project of humanizing has a complex history in the academy and beyond, with elements of this history often misaligned or directly opposed to what might be considered "feminist" goals. Feminist philosophers have long critiqued the neutral-human-as-masculine default (Beauvoir, 2010; Irigaray, 1993; Lloyd, 1993), and decolonial and antiracist scholars have highlighted the racist legacy of projects that aim to qualify humanity (Cameron, 2021) and of programs designed to humanize the Other (Berenstain, 2020, Foucault, 1979; See Malone & Malone, 2015, on the …

Collaborative Online Interactive Laboratory On Software Defined Radio Fundamentals, Otilia Popescu, Dimitrie C. Popescu, Emanuel Puschita

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Teaching of fundamentals of communication systems varies widely across programs in US and abroad, mainly due to the type of undergraduate engineering programs and the depth of the communications field within the curricula. The variety is spread across electrical engineering and electrical engineering technology programs, and programs with focus on telecommunications or which only offer core or elective courses in communications. Adding to the variety, some programs include hands-on laboratory courses, others include simulation-based laboratories most of the time using Matlab, while others may only include lecture courses with no labs. The accessibility of the new software defined radio (SDR) …