Digital Commons Network^™

Tate Speech: Radicalizing Rhetoric And Multi-Level Marketing Recruitment Strategies In The Manosphere, Carey J. Priebe

Theses and Dissertations

My study aims to uncover the discursive elements behind the gendered recruitment strategies that influencers in the manosphere use to pipeline men and boys into their multi-level marketing (MLM) companies. In the manosphere, male supremacy is presented as desirable and subversive, and MLMs take advantage of emotional and economic instability. My study examines the Twitter (X) account of the popular manosphere influencer Andrew Tate as I trace his rhetoric along a three-pronged gendered recruitment framework, a framework originally developed around women selling essential oils online and funneling their followers into radical alt-right politics. What are the similarities and differences in …

Functional Analysis Of Ligand Binding Domain 2 Of Outer Surface Protein C Of Borreliella Burgdorferi, Gavin Z. Chambers

Theses and Dissertations

Lyme disease, caused by the spirochete Borreliella burgdorferi, is the most common vector-borne infection in North America. A critical determinant of early mammalian infection is outer surface protein C (OspC), a highly variable lipoprotein that is indispensable for spirochete survival but whose precise function remains unresolved. OspC has been proposed to mediate diverse roles, including complement evasion, adhesion, tissue dissemination, and antiphagocytic activity, supporting the view that it is a multifunctional virulence factor. Structural studies have identified two putative ligand-binding domains (LBD1 and LBD2), with LBD2 forming a solvent-exposed crown at the membrane-distal end of the OspC dimer.

To …

Virginia Commonwealth University Professional Bulletin (2025), Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Professional programs bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2025-2026. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses.

Virginia Commonwealth University Courses (2025), Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of courses for the 2025-2026 year.

Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate Bulletin (2025), Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of courses for the 2025-2026 year.

Virginia Commonwealth University Undergraduate Bulletin (2025), Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Undergraduate bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2025-2026. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for undergraduate programs

Assessing Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Abuse Liability Among People Who Smoke Cigarettes: Impact Of Device Characteristics, Nicotine Flux, And Flavor, Elizabeth Oluwapelumi Ogunleye

Theses and Dissertations

This clinical laboratory study utilizes subjective and behavioral economic measures to assess the abuse liability of own-brand cigarettes and six currently authorized ENDS products, examining how device characteristics, nicotine flux, and liquid flavor influence outcomes among adults who smoke cigarettes. Using a Latin-square-ordered, within-subject design, adults who smoke cigarettes (N = 30; N = 20 preferred menthol cigarettes) attended four clinical sessions: one to evaluate their own-brand cigarette and three to assess six NJOY ENDS products: 2.4% nicotine pods (~58 µg/s; tobacco and menthol flavor), 6% nicotine disposable products (~61-65 µg/s; tobacco and menthol flavor), and 5% nicotine pods (~118-123 …

Examining Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives On The Acceptability Of Pain-Mitigation As A Tool To Manage Needle Fear, Sarah C M Morton

Theses and Dissertations

Needle fear affects up to 63% of the global adult population and is associated with significant fear-based medical care avoidance (e.g., blood donation refusal, vaccine hesitancy, insulin injection adherence). Current behavioral treatments have low acceptance in this population, and often fail to address the experience of pain associated with needle procedures. Despite the existence of evidence-based pain-mitigation for needle procedures, these interventions are not commonly used in clinical settings. The current study used qualitative methods to examine patient and provider perceptions of: 1) current methods of needle fear management, and 2) the acceptability of pain-mitigation as an effective tool to …

Lived Experiences Of School Counselors’ Facilitation Of Small Group Counseling In Public High Schools, Joshua D. Hurley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of school counselors’ facilitation of small group counseling in public high schools. Prior research has shown that high school counselors utilize small group counseling at a lower rate than their elementary school counterparts. Researchers have identified two primary barriers that school counselors face in the implementation of small group counseling in schools to include time and internal fear and anxiety. This study investigated the lived experiences of 11 school counselors in their facilitation of small group counseling in the public high school setting. Through data analysis, three …

“You’Re Only As Good As Your Resources”: Exploring Virginia Police Chiefs’ And Sheriffs’ Decisions As Public Administrators To Engage In Community Collaborations With Domestic And Sexual Violence Agencies, Christine E. Wengloski

Theses and Dissertations

The collaborations between domestic and sexual violence victim-serving agencies (DSVAs) and law enforcement agencies help connect victims of crime to needed services. To maximize the benefits of these victim-serving initiatives in Virginia, it is imperative that victim-serving agencies understand the perceptions and factors that influence the decision-making of law enforcement administrators. In this study, I first present a theoretical framework of Herbert Simon’s Decision-Making Theory as a guide to understanding police chiefs and sheriffs as public administrators. A review of the literature demonstrates gaps in existing scholarship around chiefs’ and sheriffs’ decision-making about domestic and sexual violence victim-serving initiatives. Next, …

Acute Effects Of Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Liquid Nicotine Form And Sweetener Among People Who Use Inhaled Tobacco Products, Mary A. Carrico

Theses and Dissertations

Research on tobacco product standards to limit the abuse liability of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) has primarily focused on nicotine concentration and flavor. Other liquid characteristics, such as protonated nicotine ratio and sweetener additives, are less understood but may serve as regulatory targets. This clinical laboratory study examined the effects of ENDS protonated nicotine ratio and sweetener presence on nicotine delivery, use behavior, and subjective effects.

Thirteen participants completed four sessions that varied by protonated nicotine ratio (0:100 vs. 40:60 freebase to monoprotonated nicotine) and sweetener status (sweetened with 3 mg/mL ethyl maltol vs. unsweetened). Each session included a …

Just Give Me A Reason: Developing A Scale To Explore The Drive For Seeking Provocation, Sydney R. Kavanaugh

Theses and Dissertations

Provocation seeking (PS) is defined as the deliberate choice an individual makes to enter into a situation wherein other people are likely to provoke (e.g., threaten, insult) them towards some type of dispute. Rooted in the broader framework of situation selection, which describes how individuals choose environments that align with their goals and emotional states, PS specifically captures the tendency to seek out contexts likely for conflict. The present studies represent an initial step in investigating the novel concept of PS by identifying commonly endorsed PS behaviors and developing a measure to assess them. Given the lack of existing research …

Show Them, Teach Them, Let Them: Empowering Undergraduate Voices Through Student-Centered Theatre, Abigail G. Norris

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the urgent need for theatrical works that resonate with undergraduate students, arguing that student-centered playwriting and production can foster deeper engagement with theatre, reflect contemporary issues, and empower the next generation of theatre-makers. Grounded in a hybrid methodology of creative practice and qualitative research, the study proposes a comprehensive, student-driven model for university theatre programs. Drawing from the author's experiences at both the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and Virginia Commonwealth University, the thesis examines institutional season selection processes, inclusive pedagogical strategies in playwriting, and the development of new works through student festivals. Central to the …

Improving Telehealth Education And Training: A Needs Assessment Of Healthcare Providers And Trainees, Conor Duffy

Theses and Dissertations

Telehealth utilization has increased dramatically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are many positive impacts of this shift to telehealth, including increasing access to care and reducing patient burden. However, healthcare providers report several consistent challenges that limit their ability to deliver telehealth, such as effective communication, technological difficulties, and difficulty performing physical examinations. To address these concerns, it is necessary to integrate telehealth education and training into healthcare professional training programs and healthcare systems. While many institutions have implemented telehealth education and training since the start of the pandemic, there is little consistency in the content, duration, …

Housing Quality For Whom? Housing Quality As A Form Of Housing Insecurity And Housing Inequality For Black Women Renters, Jenee Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Housing quality is an often overlooked but critical aspect of housing insecurity that often impacts one’s well-being physically, mentally, and socially. As a compromise for affordable housing, some individuals reside in substandard conditions, often lacking essential safety measures and amenities needed for a comfortable and secure living environment. Consistent with broader patterns of housing disparities, Black women renters are disproportionately affected by housing insecurity and more likely to live in substandard housing. Although previous literature has explored the impact of poor-quality housing and its characteristics, there is a gap in understanding how Black women renters uniquely perceive and experience housing …

Maternal Postpartum Depression And Affect Incongruence: Exploring Early Developmental Pathways To Emotion Dysregulation, Laura E. Boylan

Theses and Dissertations

Emotion dysregulation, or responses to emotions that do not meet the needs of the situational demands or social standards, has been noted as an early risk factor for later psychopathology. Maternal postpartum depression (PPD) has been shown to increase children’s risk of developing maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategies. One potential mechanism linking PPD to these outcomes is affect incongruence, or a mismatch between biological and emotional responses to stress. While such incongruence may be adaptive in older individuals who consciously mask their internal stress (e.g., suppressing biological arousal while appearing calms), it may be maladaptive in infants and young children …

Building A Culture Of Preparedness: Using Community Emergency Response Teams To Promote Preparedness Behavior, Joseph Faulk

Theses and Dissertations

Communities throughout the nation use the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program to supplement the disaster response after hazard events as well as help build a culture of preparedness. Currently, practitioners and academics have limited knowledge about how CERTs promote enhanced preparedness postures. To address that knowledge gap, 20 CERT program managers were interviewed in this study to improve the general understanding of how CERTs contribute to developing a preparedness culture. The results identify program activities, objectives, and measures. In addition, this study introduces the Preparedness Behavior Change Model and collects feedback on its usefulness, which suggests it has a …

Mutual Realm, Tyna Ontko

Theses and Dissertations

mutual realm is a container for my many meandering thoughts on speculative futures, present-day-truth-telling, and the everyday construction of histories. Informed by systems of belief and power that humans have created to grapple with the unknown, the writing illustrates how storytelling builds worlds, assigning value to things by inscribing them with desire. In parts fact and fantasy, sculpture is considered as a form of sorting, making known the ways in which my experience of living between publics whose methods for demarcating boundaries, communally agreed upon superstitions, and algorithms for assigning meaning have marked my unconscious and affect my daily trajectories. …

Into Thick Air: Adapting Cultural Practices Into Solutions For Modern Wicked Problems, Syed Muhammad Erzum Naqvi

Theses and Dissertations

Into Thick Air argues that cultural practices can inspire solutions

to challenging modern problems. This project employs the Basant

festival as a case study to critically reimagine kite flying as a

collective practice with the potential to contribute to the reduction

of air pollution in Lahore, a city consistently ranked among those

with the poorest air quality globally. By building kites from fabric

treated with nanoparticle coatings, Into Thick Air transforms a

traditional community activity into an accessible, citizen-driven

method for removing pollutants from the air. The treated kites

empower Lahoris to take charge of their environment while

encouraging collective …

Civic Conservation Workshop: A User Manual For Creating A Makerspace Dedicated To Historic Preservation, Building Repair, And Civic Engagement, Madeleine Bean

Theses and Dissertations

Research Abstract:

Democracy depends on citizens’ participation at all levels, from local to national; moreover, engagement in one’s community is directly correlated with greater reported feelings of happiness and trust (Cox et al., 2021). This research examines how makerspaces can act as civic hubs that promote inclusive community interaction, facilitate the exchange of cultural and skills-based knowledge, encourage civic discourse, and serve as sites for political engagement through the provision of tools and resources that focus on historic home repair/preservation and craft-based trades. Specifically, this study proposes the development and design of a preservation-focused makerspace in Jackson Ward, a historically …

A Qualitative Exploration Of The Employment Experiences And Coping Strategies Among Transgender Women In Medellín, Colombia., Paola Marcela Roldan

Theses and Dissertations

Transgender individuals face disproportionate employment discrimination, with unemployment rates five times higher than the general population. Despite growing awareness of workplace diversity, transgender women continue to experience systemic barriers to economic security and professional fulfillment. This dissertation examines the employment experiences and coping strategies of transgender women in Medellín, Colombia, a city characterized by both progressive policies and persistent challenges. Using an exploratory-descriptive qualitative design, this study employed reflexive thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 18 transgender women. Two theoretical frameworks—Puwar's "Bodies Out of Place" and Minority Stress Theory—guided the analysis of how transgender women navigate predominantly cisgender employment environments. …

Hauntings Of Transnational Art Learning And Teaching: A Duo-Ethnography Of Two Asian Art Educators’ Transformative Experiences, Hayon Park, Sohee Koo

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

Reflecting on lived experiences as art learners in South Korea and professional practices in the United States as art educators, the authors draw from Derrida’s (1994) “hauntology” and present how their transnational experiences continue to conjure up and affect the everyday lives of Asian women junior faculty today in the US through duoethnographic approaches. Posing the question “how might personal lived experiences of an educator foster art pedagogy and research?” and interviewing each other on aesthetics, education, and identity, this article seeks to: 1) inform others about how Korean art educators navigate matters of transnational education experience and colonization and …

Fuel To The Fire: Experimenting With Care Ethics In Museum Education, Jenna S. Green

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

This article suggests museum theory and practice needs to shift its ideological foundation from storage, preservation, restoration, exhibition making, and learning, to one of radical care. Responding to the questions posed by the Journal of Social Theory in Art Education and drawing focus around the theme of (re)activating theory to envision an alternative educational model, I engage with Dana Carlisle Kletchka’s (2023) introduction of care ethics to art museum education. I suggest that care ethics, as a growing theory in museums, is interdisciplinary and should include contemplative scholarship and practices to embody its guiding tenants. I then take up Kletchka’s …

From Objects To Relationships: Reviving Connectivity Through Collaborative Artmaking, Carolina Blatt-Gross

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

A shortage of pro-social opportunities during the pandemic brought to the fore a longer, deeper trend toward disconnection. With the broader emphasis on individualized academic achievement compounding pandemic-induced social disenfranchisement, schools and communities are struggling to revive a sense of connectivity and belonging. The arts, on the other hand, have long been associated with social outcomes, historically generating group cohesion and inherently offering participants a sense of unity and synchronicity through collaborative artmaking. Applied to educational settings, pinpointing the concrete aspects of art education that beget social capital and connectedness is a more difficult task. This investigation examines the potential …

Amendment: Literary And Art Journal (2025)

Amendment, 2004-

Amendment is a VCU student-produced progressive literature and art journal that provides a platform for students to promote equality, tolerance, and social progression through artistic expression.

Pwatem: An Anthology Of Literature And Art (2025)

Pwatem (Poictesme), 2006-

Pwatem is an anthology of literature and art from undergraduate students at Virginia Commonwealth University. Pwatem publishes poetry, prose and art of all kinds from talented undergraduate students of all majors.

River City Fashion (2025)

River City Fashion, 2024-

From the VCU Student Media Center: "The online-only, student-run fashion and style website reports local events but also details style trends while uncovering local design talent."

Bioremediation In The Chesapeake Bay: Anthropogenic Ocean Acidification Mitigation In An Interactive Multi-Trophic Ecosystem, Cree Taylor

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Zostera marina is a species of marine macrophyte that has been largely prioritized in past submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) restoration initiatives within the Chesapeake Bay because of its 1) previous abundance, 2) demonstrated carbon burial abilities, and 3) observed ability for meadows of Z. marina to ameliorate low pH conditions. Due to the temperature variability and poor water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, Z. Marina beds have experienced several die-off events with limited capacity for regrowth. Ruppia maritima, an opportunistic species with tolerance to temperature shifts within the bay, may have the potential to maintain SAV coverage in areas …

Dynamic Expression Of Transposable Elements Contributes To Molecular And Behavioral Adaptations To Cocaine, Gabriella M. Silva

Theses and Dissertations

The comorbidity of substance use disorder (SUDs) — specifically cocaine use disorder (CUD)— with anxiety and social deficit disorders complicates effective long-term treatment. More research is needed to understand the brain-region and cell type-specific mechanisms underlying these disorders to better address treatment gaps. This dissertation investigates the role of the transcription factor of interest ZFP189, a Krüppel-associated box (KRAB) zinc finger protein (ZFP), in governing pro-social behavior and the development of CUD across interconnected brain regions. We show that ZFP189 directly regulates transposable elements (TEs), repetitive DNA sequences capable of mobilizing and reinserting into the genome, which leads to subsequent …

Physiological Responses And Plant Trait Interactions With Coastal Dune And Swale Development, Emily C. Riffe

Theses and Dissertations

Vegetation is crucial to coastal ecosystems experiencing climate change and storm-induced disturbance. Plant species interact with the physical environment and are considered “ecosystem engineers.” Sand dunes and barrier islands are at the forefront of climate change impacts as they are barriers that protect landward habitat and communities. Nature based solutions are utilized to protect infrastructure on developed coastlines. Understanding how dominant plant species interact with and alter the physical environment enhances our understanding of the mechanisms of change and consequences to the system. The goal of this research was to quantify physiological and functional trait differences in dominant species found …