Digital Commons Network^™

Alerted And Anxious? The Effects Of Mobile Crime Alerts On Perceptions Of Personal And Public Safety, Amanda C. Benjamin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mobile crime alert platforms promise to enhance personal and public safety by delivering frequent notifications about nearby dangers—claims that, until now, have not been experimentally tested. For-profit applications like Citizen deliver real-time, geo-targeted push notifications about nearby crime incidents to over 9 million users, often operating outside the bounds of institutional oversight. Although marketed as tools to enhance awareness and protection, these platforms may simultaneously empower users through information while also potentially amplifying anxiety, heightening threat perceptions, and eroding trust in community. Despite their increasing prominence and integration into public safety communications, the psychological and behavioral impacts of mobile crime …

The Interaction Of Multilingualism And Depressed Mood On Cognitive Set-Shifting, Annalise Caviasco

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Although findings are mixed, many researchers believe there are cognitive benefits to multilingualism, a phenomenon dubbed the “bilingual advantage”. Of these apparent benefits, cognitive flexibility, or the ability to shift thinking styles based on the context or specific demands of a certain situation, is thought to be highly relevant. Current literature suggests that one aspect of multilingualism, the practice of “code-switching” between languages throughout their daily lives, is related to increased general cognitive flexibility compared to monolinguals. Another branch of research on cognitive flexibility investigating the role of affect in cognition demonstrates that clinical depression as well as transient negative …

The Sonic Hedgehog Effector Smoothened Modulates Cholinergic Interneuron Activity, Physiology, And Striatum-Dependent Behaviors, Santiago Uribe-Cano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The striatum is a central node in action selection and associative learning, integrating cortical, thalamic, and neuromodulatory input. Among its principal modulators, dopamine (DA) and acetylcholine (ACh) are known for their temporally coordinated yet mechanistically distinct influences on striatal output. However, the upstream signals that regulate their dynamic interplay, particularly within cholinergic interneurons (CINs)—the primary source of striatal ACh—remain incompletely characterized. This dissertation investigates the role of Smoothened (Smo), a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) effector of Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling, in modulating ACh signaling dynamics in the striatum.

Building on evidence that midbrain DA neurons co-release Shh and that CINs …

Teaching And Technology: "You Can't Just Do The Same Thing Online", Sakina Laksimi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines how faculty at the City University of New York navigated the abrupt transition to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing how pedagogy is shaped by technological, institutional, and social conditions. Drawing on twenty-two interviews with twelve faculty across eight disciplines, I use a grounded theory approach to analyze how instructors adapted courses, reimagined assessment, and sustained connection with students amid crisis. Three overlapping pedagogical orientations emerged: improvisational, relational, and design-based teaching. These approaches highlight how faculty balanced responsiveness, care, and intentional course design in environments mediated by digital platforms and marked by inequity. The study situates …

The Effect Of Tbi On Working Memory And Anxiety In Rats, Mariola Sobolewska

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a significant public health concern, often leading to cognitive and emotional impairments. This study examined the effects of TBI on working memory and anxiety-like behavior in young male Sprague-Dawley rats using the Radial Arm Maze (RAM) and Elevated Plus Maze (EPM), which are behavioral assessments. The RAM tests spatial working memory by evaluating the animal’s ability to remember and efficiently navigate multiple arms to retrieve rewards. The EPM assesses anxiety-like behavior based on the animal’s preference for open versus closed arms. The study utilized young male Sprague-Dawley rats, a well-established rodent model known for its …

The Architecture Of Exclusion: Disability, Race, And The History Of New York City’S 600 Schools, Francine Almash

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation investigates the largely erased history of New York City’s 600 schools—segregated public schools created to house students labeled as emotionally disturbed or socially maladjusted. These institutions, operating throughout the mid-20th century, disproportionately served Black and Puerto Rican youth, many of whom were placed in these schools under vague behavioral criteria and with little to no pathway for return to general education settings.

Combining archival research, longitudinal policy analysis, historical media review, and critical race and disability studies frameworks—including DisCrit (Disability Critical Race Theory)—this project situates the 600 schools at the intersection of institutional racism and ableism. It argues …

Double Exposure: Motherhood And Filmmaking, Eddy Berzak

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project explores the intersection of motherhood and filmmaking through a reflexive documentary that examines how women directors have historically navigated the tensions between creative careers and raising children. Drawing on feminist film theory and autoethnographic methods, the fourteen-minute video essay analyzes three pioneering autobiographical documentaries from the 1970s—Joyce at 34 (1973), Nana, Mom and Me (1974), and Women Are Naturally Creative: Agnès Varda (1977)—alongside original footage documenting my own experience as a mother with deferred filmmaking aspirations. The project employs reflexive documentary techniques to weave together film analysis and personal narrative, investigating the central question: why didn't I …

Socioeconomic Stasis And Racial Immobility In The United States: How Does American Political Polarization Contribute To African American Poverty?, Carmel Agnant

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

African Americans in the United States presently exist in a poverty-stasis, a perpetual social and economic underclass positioning despite a constantly evolving American economy, society, and bodies of legislations due to political polarization. This follows a lengthy history of racial immobility (preventing a racial group from economic mobility) and stagnation since America’s era of sectional polarization over slavery. African Americans lack access to build wealth and have always struggled with societal exclusion. Legislation created and enacted that would support them politically, legally, socially, and/or economically are consistently met with legislative gridlock or countervailing measures to reverse and nullify advancements in …

Inhibition Of Return And Attentional Blink: Aspects Of A Singular Attentional Process?, Kathleen Rowe

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Inhibition of Return (IOR) and Attentional Blink (AB) are two distinctly defined phenomena that display some intriguingly similar properties. They both describe suppression effects following a visual stimulus that has captured attention, both may be preceded by an enhancement, and both share partially overlapping effect time windows which can be manipulated by task difficulty. The current study attempted to measure the two phenomena simultaneously to test our hypothesis that behavioral indices of AB and IOR will display significant spatial and temporal overlap, suggesting the two phenomena may reflect, at least in part, different aspects of a singular attentional process. To …

Mechanisms Of Sleep Regulation In Drosophila Melanogaster, Anfal A. Abuhilal

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sleep is a fundamental biological need, and sufficient sleep is required for physical and mental well-being. Sleep is regulated by two biological mechanisms: sleep-wake homeostasis and circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms are near 24-h rhythms in behavior and physiology that are generated by endogenous mechanisms. In mammals, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the central circadian pacemaker, which is known to receive a significant amount of serotonergic input that likely modulates sleep rhythms. In addition to circadian modulation, sleep is subject to homeostatic regulation. Several neuromodulators have been proposed as mediators of sleep homeostasis. Serotonin has been implicated in sleep drive and …

Prerogative In Common: On The Emancipatory Potential Of Radical Mutuality Amid Sovereign Decisionism, Matthew Builes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In times of crisis, liberal democracies resort to authoritarian measures that undermine core democratic values. Dominant thought in the study of emergency-era law and politics appeal to a dichotomy of normal and exceptional times, to critique or justify the turn to sovereign decisionism. While this strategy seems clear-cut, the persistence of exceptional spaces and the crises that supposedly generate them challenge existing frameworks by blurring the line between norm and exception. This project explores the prospect of radical mutual aid, as a transformative response to the enduring crisis of modernity.

Unveiling The Precision Of Physiological Signals In Prediction Error During Fear Learning: Insights From Associative Strength And Generalized Uncertainty, Haja H. Jallo-Jamboria

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Prediction error (PE) is the discrepancy between expected and actual outcomes. It is a central mechanism in associative learning particularly within fear-conditioning paradigms. Identifying physiological markers of PE in aversive contexts has important implications for refining learning models and enhancing clinical interventions for anxiety-related disorders. This study examined skin conductance response (SCR) as a potential physiological index of PE by analyzing both anticipatory and omission-related responses across multiple learning phases. Participants completed a Pavlovian fear-conditioning paradigm in which two conditioned stimuli (CS+) signaled threat at different reinforcement probabilities: CS+100 (certain threat) and CS+50 (uncertain threat), alongside a non-reinforced safety cue …

Wavelength And Luminance Interaction On Spatio-Temporal Contrast Sensitivity Function, Taylan S. Ergun

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Contrast sensitivity (CS) measures the ability to discriminate objects from their backgrounds under varying conditions(Campbell & Robson, 1968). Contrast sensitivity is important for navigating the real world and operating under different light conditions. The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) reflects how the visual system performs under different conditions. This measure is crucial in assessing the health of the visual system (Chen & Gardner, 2021). CSF contributes to a deeper understanding of how the visual system processes and integrates properties of light to create visual sensation and perception. Human contrast sensitivity depends on the viewing conditions such as field size, luminance, color, …

Improving The Assessment Of Functional Ability In Older Adults, Aneela Rahman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Deficits in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) are a hallmark of dementia, and the unprecedented aging of the population strongly motivates early identification of older adults at-risk for functional decline. In 2015, the White House Conference on Aging emphasized the need to improve detection of diminished capacity across important areas of functioning. To date, there is very limited research on early IADL changes in cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals and those with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), who may be in early preclinical dementia stages. Additionally, little is known about how changes in functional brain networks …

The Role Of Parent Psychiatric Symptoms In The Intergenerational Continuity Of Child Neglect: A Prospective Examination, Cody D. Stitzel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Parental history of childhood neglect is a risk factor for offspring neglect. When a parent and their offspring both experience neglect in childhood, the phenomenon is referred to as the intergenerational continuity of child neglect. Understanding how child neglect is continued from one generation to the next is essential for creating effective interventions and prevention strategies that may help break the cycle. Since links between childhood neglect and heightened risk for various psychiatric symptoms have consistently been identified in research, as well as links between various psychiatric symptoms and heightened risk for child neglect, it may be that parents’ psychiatric …

Liberated Learning Spaces: A Visual Playlist, Tarilyn R. Little

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Liberation can be defined as “the act of setting free” or “being free from limits on thoughts and behavior.” Both an action and a state of being, liberation has long been centered as a key function of education, particularly for those who live in historically and systemically marginalized identities. Despite the long-standing existence of liberation-focused pedagogies and activism aimed at transforming schools and students’ lived experiences, educational institutions in the United States have struggled to live out these ideals, often sustaining and replicating systems and practices of oppression. Drawing on historical and contemporary conversations in education and psychology, Liberated Learning …

Behavioral Biomarkers Of Vulnerability In The Aba Model, Nora Ozer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder with the highest mortality rate among mental health conditions, yet effective biological treatments remain limited. The activity-based anorexia (ABA) paradigm, which combines food restriction with wheel access to model the hyperactivity and self-starvation cycle characteristic of AN, shows considerable individual variability in vulnerability. Understanding what predisposes certain individuals to develop the full ABA phenotype while others remain resilient could inform early intervention strategies for human AN. This study employed continuous behavioral monitoring technology to identify early predictors of vulnerability to activity-based anorexia in mice, with the goal of discovering behavioral biomarkers that …

Interspecies Responsivity In Early Modern Drama And Animal Performances, Taylor C. Culbert

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation proposes an expansive, interspecies definition of performance that uses behavior rather than cognition as the decisive feature and illustrates how such a definition can reshape our approach to theatre and performance history. Using the concept of responsivity, which refers to the embodied and affective ways that humans and non-human animals acknowledge and react to one another, I trace human–animal interactions across a variety of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century performance genres, from the aristocratic stag hunt and entertainments involving trained animals to the plays of Molière and Shakespeare. Drawing on my experience training animals, I offer a new perspective on …

The Crisis Of Safety, Well-Being, And Belonging Facing Lgbtq Children: Mad/Crip Of Color Critique Towards A Curriculum Of Radical Care, Jameson Goetz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this thesis, I turn toward the study of educational experience, defined broadly to include lived experiences both within and outside of formal schooling institutions. I approach curriculum as an ongoing project of self-understanding in which one becomes mobilized for engaged pedagogical action alongside others in the pursuit social justice. I am guided by the following question, foundational to the field of curriculum studies: for those of us who work alongside LGBTQ children, what knowledge is of most worth? Critically reflecting on ways of working alongside LGBTQ children in the pursuit of social justice, I formulate a mad/crip of color …

Moralists Or Moral Hypocrites? Leveraging Moral Psychology And Social Identity Theory To Increase Support For Reparations Amongst White Americans, Andre Oliver

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The economic gains America made from the enslavement of Africans have long been considered its original sin; indeed, most people living today would agree that such an enterprise was morally depraved. Yet, due to moral opposition, many White Americans reject reparative policies (i.e., reparations) that are developed to remedy the damages done to African Americans by slavery and the subsequent continued discrimination. The present research attempts to address two broad hypotheses across four empirical research studies. The first hypothesis tests whether White Americans' rejection of reparative policies related to slavery and Black discrimination is inherently a moral objection to taboo …

Disability Theatre Communities: Engaging Artists And Audiences In Contemporary International Performance, Joseph Paul Hill

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“Disability Theatre Communities” examines how communities are constructed in, through, and around contemporary international disability theatre performances. It explores ideas of community formation and intersection across three case studies to elucidate the various ways in which disability theatre artists, productions, companies, and organizations attract, engage, and educate variable artist and audience communities. The project analyzes Rome, Italy’s Teatro Patologico and its Integrated Theatre of Emotion, a theatrical training program for neurodivergent performers; Wales-based writer, theatre-maker, and dramaturg Kaite O’Reilly, whose international collaborations center d/Deaf and disabled performers and foreground audience accessibility; and the biennial BIT (Blind in Theatre) International Festival …

Non-Linear Heart Rate Variability: Investigating Cardiac Complexity Of Psychopathic Traits, Khaya A. Roach

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Psychopathy is a complex personality disorder characterized by distinct emotional and interpersonal deficits, and affects approximately 25% of the prison population and 4.5% of nonincarcerated populations. The manifestation of psychopathy can be understood through two distinct variants, each demonstrating unique etiological pathways and clinical presentations. Primary psychopathy is characterized by core interpersonal and affective deficits, including shallow emotions and manipulativeness, while demonstrating reduced autonomic responsivity and lower anxiety levels. Secondary psychopathy presents with higher levels of impulsivity, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation, showing stronger associations with various psychopathologies. Treatment outcomes also vary between the variants, with primary psychopaths typically showing poor …

The Salience Of Function Words In Implicit Statistical Linguistic Learning: An Erp Investigation, Daniel M. Schwartz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research has indicated that children and adults can implicitly learn language patterns; however, questions still remain regarding the role and nature of implicit learning, particularly of sequential patterns. Implicit statistical learning is a type of unconscious learning of sequential patterns, which may be especially relevant to phrase structure learning. Prior studies have highlighted the differential processing of function words (FWs), such as determiners, relative to content and nonsense words and have also pointed to particular neural response patterns (specifically, Anterior Negativity, or AN) to early syntactic violations. To date, there is relatively little work directly investigating the role of FWs …

Scripted For Surveillance: Parole Revocation Hearings And The Performance Of Procedure In New York, Kelsey G. Greeff

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines parole revocation hearings in New York as complex performances that extend carceral control beyond prison walls. Drawing on a composite vignette from the Bronx parole court, it analyzes the interplay between procedural reform, constitutional due process, and neoliberal governance. Using a dramaturgical framework informed by Michel Foucault’s discourse analysis and Judith Butler’s theory of performativity, the study identifies four interrelated processes: the judge as director, who orchestrates hearings according to institutional priorities; normalization, where repetition embeds structural inequality as routine; type-marking, the classification of parolees into predefined roles through accumulated records and cues; and the extension of …

Collaborative Memory And Metamemory: The Impact Of Normative And Informational Motivations On Conformity, Karen Rodriguez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Collaborative memory studies have typically explored the cognitive mechanisms that underlie differences between collaborative and individual memory performance. Despite the social nature of collaboration, few studies have examined the impact of social motivations on collaborative memory. When retrieving information with groups, people may not only be motivated by a desire to be accurate (i.e., informational motivations), but may also be guided by social norms (i.e., normative motivations), such as prioritizing agreeability or alignment with group members (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004). Similarly, retrieving information with others may also prompt individuals to reflect more on their own memory processes. However, few studies …

Medication Adherence Among Partnered, Sexual Minority Men Living With Hiv: What’S Love, Interdependence And Comorbidities Got To Do With It?, Kendell M. Doyle

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sexual minority men (SMM) report higher incidence and prevalence rates of HIV infection relative to their heterosexual counterparts. The burden of HIV infection has garnered research attention focused on HIV risk reduction and HIV disease management (such as medication adherence). More recently, attention has been paid to the association of comorbid chronic health conditions and ART adherence among people living with HIV (PLWH) more broadly. Yet, limited attention has been paid to the association of comorbidities among SMM living with HIV specifically, despite the high rates of HIV among this population and various other risk factors that put SMM at …

Characterization Of The Attentional Profile In Women And Girls With A Fragile X Premutation Allele, Shira Russell-Giller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The fragile X premutation (PM), characterized by 55 to 200 CGG repeats in the FMR1 gene, is associated with diverse clinical outcomes, including cognitive and neuropsychiatric changes. Despite most individuals with a PM presenting without overt clinical symptoms, adults face increased risks for conditions associated with a PM, including higher rates of attention and executive difficulties. This dissertation investigates the developmental trajectory of attention and executive functioning changes in females with a PM using a series of prospective studies employing the Attention Network Test (ANT). Study 1 re-analyzed prior data on sustained attention in women with a PM, revealing significant …

Creative Coding Communities: Exploring The Relationship Between Scratch Use And Child Well-Being, Nikita Khalid

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This international study assessed the relationship between the use of Scratch, the world's largest coding community for children, and child well-being. Specifically, the study focused on the presence of well-being indicators in the RITEC-8 framework (RITEC, 2024) including creativity, relationships, competence, and autonomy within Scratch users’ behaviors. The participants (N = 17,315) included children aged between 8 and 16 who used Scratch in 2023 and came from 29 countries. The study examined trends in Scratchers’ behaviors including project creation, sharing, studio curation, and socialization based on their country of origin, gender and age. The data were used to construct user …

The "Self" In Crisis: A Study Of Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals, Golnaz Salehkarimi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this thesis, I focus on The Cancer Journals and explore how Audre Lorde articulates the chaos followed by breast cancer in her life: what is the nature of the crises? What aspects of her life are largely affected by it? How it unsettles her understanding of time and place, how her daily life, work, relationships, and future plans get affected, and how her self-image and her agency and subjectivity are threatened. Relying on theories of women’s autobiographies, women’s writings, and illness narratives, I explore Lorde’s ways of writing about her body and emotions to regain her sense of self …

When Avatars Go To School: The Effect Of Virtual Reality On Learning And Error Correction, Lauren Barack

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The pandemic in 2020 led to an increasing dependency on technology particularly in learning environments. National educational assessments in the proceeding years have indicated steep, measurable learning loss. While a fully virtual learning environment is not the norm today, we chose to investigate how virtual reality (VR) environments influence learning in college students.

Our primary research goal was to look at how students learn and remember information gathered in virtual spaces. In particular, we examined whether sensory inputs in the VR environment, including spatial audio and haptic feedback, such as vibrations felt in a handheld controller, would help to better …