Digital Commons Network^™

A Christian's Formative Years And Their Worship Music Preferences, Cara L. Coffey Hall

Masters Theses

This study examines how Christians’ formative faith experiences influence lifelong worship music preferences. While discussions of worship music often emphasize generational differences or stylistic preferences, this study investigates whether formative spiritual experiences provide a more meaningful explanation for long-term worship preferences. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between formative faith experiences, age of conversion, and lifelong worship music among adult members and attendees at Northwest Hills Global Methodist Church. A convergent mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data was collected through an anonymous survey completed by 102 qualified participants and qualitative data was gathered through interviews with …

Visualizing Equity: A Design Framework For Global Mental Health Communication For Generation Z, Jose Pena

Masters Theses

There is a lot of information about mental health available today. However, for Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, the information proves both challenging to find and difficult to understand. The World Health Organization and other global groups publish a lot of information about mental health inequality, treatment gaps, and workforce shortages. However, this information is usually presented in dense, technical formats that are not meant for young people who are not experts. Many digital mental health tools, on the other hand, don’t give young people the emotional connection, cultural relevance, and visual clarity they need to deal …

Changing The Way You Think: Renewing The Mind, Janine Robinson Anderson

Masters Theses

Change Your Way of Thinking: Renewing the Mind is a creative nonfiction thesis exploring how patterns of thought shape faith, identity, emotional responses, relationships, and daily living. Grounded in Romans 12:2, the creative manuscript combines biblical reflection, personal experience, psychological insight, and practical reader guidance to examine renewal through four movements: recognizing destructive thoughts, examining them in light of truth, replacing false beliefs with biblical truth, and practicing renewed responses. The Artist Statement explains the project’s purpose, genre, audience, structure, and biblical and psychological framework. The Critical Paper examines authenticity as the primary craft element in Christian nonfiction, considering how …

Progress, Poetry, And Peace: Romantic Ideals And The Present Day, Kristen Dawn Morgan Hess

Masters Theses

In the busy, technologized, and mechanized life that most people live today, it can be difficult to find true rest, comfort, and peace because the very technology and machinery that is marketed as providing these 21st-century amenities often fall short in their delivery. Taking a look backward at the Romantic era ideals presented in the poetry of William Wordsworth can offer people today the chance to gradually improve their mental, physical, and emotional health by slowing down, minimalizing, and moderating their lifestyles. This thesis talks about the historical background of three of Wordsworth’s poems— “Lines Written in Early Spring,” “The …

The Dream Itself Was Home”: Imaginary Homelands As A Model For Analyzing Contemporary African Return Narratives, Renee King

Masters Theses

Although contemporary African return narratives featuring female protagonists explore a wide range of themes, they consistently portray women who struggle to situate themselves within an increasingly globalized world. In these narratives, the homeland initially functions as a stabilizing anchor that emboldens the protagonist to pursue education or employment abroad, yet works such as Doreen Baingana’s Tropical Fish and Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah reveal that the homeland the protagonists once treated as immutable ultimately exposes itself as a dream. This destabilization unsettles the notion of an unshakeable cultural identity and demonstrates how migration reshapes both the self and the meaning of home. …

Locker Room To The Classroom, Bert Wicks

Masters Theses

This thesis sought to explore the feasibility of using graduated collegiate athletes to supplement teaching populations to mitigate the teaching shortage in America. The researcher interviewed five professionals in education and five current college athletes to assist in answering two research questions. What are the perceptions of school administrators regarding the employment of former collegiate athletes as public-school teachers, in comparison to educators with formal academic training in education, and what are the attitudes of current and former collegiate athletes on the prospects of pursuing careers in public school teaching relative to employment opportunities aligned with their academic major were …

Lightweight End-To-End Cryptographic Framework With Semantic Qos For Ar-Based Telesurgery, Pavan Kumar Satram

Masters Theses

This thesis presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a lightweight end-to-end cryptographic framework integrated with a semantic quality-of-service classification system for augmented reality based telesurgery. Telesurgery can deliver expert surgical care to underserved populations, but adoption has been limited by unresolved cybersecurity, network performance, and resilience challenges. The core tension is that strong encryption adds latency that may exceed the clinical safety threshold, while unencrypted systems remain vulnerable to attacks that could endanger patients during live procedures.

The framework addresses this tension through a dual-edge security middlebox that performs per-flow encryption using semantically selected ciphers: AES-128-GCM for latency-critical haptic …

Escherichia Coli Concentrations In Sand And Water At Tributary-Influenced Lake Michigan Beaches, Josie Elaine Kuhlman

Masters Theses

Contamination of public recreational water and sand is a human health concern, creating a management challenge for public health officials. Past research has shown that Escherichia coli can persist in sediment and can be washed into recreational water. Currently, beach monitoring practices only utilize E. coli concentrations in water samples to determine beach safety and do not consider potential exposure to sediment/sand concentrations. In this study, I investigated the relationship between E. coli concentrations in water and sand samples, which will aid public health officials in making more informed decisions about beach closures. I utilized culture-based measurements of E. coli …

The Truths Beneath The Story: Internal Conflict, Catharsis, And Psychological Allegory As The Catalyst For Transformation In Screenwriting, Heather Bixler

Masters Theses

The Tour is a psychological coming-of-age screenplay that constructs meaning through the interaction of the main character's internal contradictions, resulting in an emotionally and structurally driven transformation. The screenplay is an original feature-length screenplay that follows Claudia, a 17-year-old girl who finds herself in the Unknown World. There she meets The Heartmaker and discovers her heart is missing. She journeys to Pineville, a town that mirrors her life back home, where her late father is still alive, and the townspeople reflect hidden truths of those she loves. The Tour is a coming-of-age psychological drama with allegorical dimensions. The script explores …

Murder Of A Creative: Mfa Thesis, Himani Sanjeevkumar Mehta

Masters Theses

In the creative industry, the phrase “fast-paced environment” is often treated as an essential ingredient for productivity and success. The contemporary design landscape operates within an output-driven system that prioritizes speed, visibility, and measurable worth, contributing to the growing commercialization of creativity. Within this framework, the creative process is often diminished or overlooked where it no longer serves efficiency, reducing creativity to a consumable outcome rather than a reflective and sustaining practice. As a result, creative professionals and students increasingly experience creative anxiety, burnout, and paralysis, alongside imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and self-doubt. These conditions are rarely examined as systemic outcomes …

Shattered Glass: Finding Anna In The Brokenness, Tracy A. Scoville

Masters Theses

This thesis began years ago when I started a novel about a woman that suffered with a mental illness. The story grew into part of a novel. Within the artist’s statement, I present a view of mental illness that I filter through my own experiences. I examine Anna’s struggles with how she thinks, acts and processes stress through a lens of bipolar II disorder. The critical paper examines the importance of dialogue and the need for it to fit the individual characters. The story of Anna, with the use of good dialogue, comes to life in the creative manuscript Shattered …

Constructing Authority: Narrative Craft And The Making Of Meaning In Creative Nonfiction, Lindsay Erin Hickman

Masters Theses

What is this world without stories? Without truth and the sharing of knowledge for those that come after us? As a Christian, I see the Bible as the most influential narrative in my life and imagination. The Bible is filled with facts, lists and information we can verify, but that does not make it any less creative. How can one read the Bible and not see God’s creativity not only in creation, but in every word? Psalms 139: 13-15 states, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I …

Post-Machine | You Vs. The Algorithm: A Creative Act Of Rebellion, Matthew Schultz

Masters Theses

Algorithms have become intertwined with everyday life, infiltrating both personal and social environments. They have transformed from influenceable tools useful for customizing information to machines of influence that are now dictating standards. These machines have begun morphing individuals idea of the self. This has become an epidemic of lost identity and fragmented self in order to conform to algorithmic acceptance. Emerging professionals in creative fields in the last decade have become particularly susceptible to this influence. If not addressed, young creatives will soon lose any autonomy of self and have a homogenized identity that matches the demands of the algorithm …

Celtic Catharsis: A Look Into The Emotional Appeal Of Irish Music In The United States, Coralyn M. Kutzner

Masters Theses

This research study investigates the emotional connection and interest in Irish music within the Irish musician community in America. The background for this study includes an in-depth look at the history of Irish and Irish music culture in America, as well as a brief overview of the connection between music and emotions. The study itself was conducted in various locations where there was live Irish music playing. Through the use of personal interviews and an emotional evaluation scale, participants were asked to recount their first encounters with Irish music and the emotional connection they feel because of and while playing …

Creating Trust: Strengthening Visual Communication Systems For Small Nonprofits, Jennifer R. Wenz

Masters Theses

This study explores how small nonprofits often fail shortly after they are created because of weak design practices and limited access to professional design tools and skills. Large organizations and nonprofits survive because they invest in strong branding, clear messaging, and long-term design strategy. Small nonprofits rely on volunteers with little to no design training which leaves them with inconsistent branding, unclear visual communication, and materials that fail to build the trust they need to survive. This project will examine the gap through research in the nonprofit areas of communication, visual psychology, accessible design systems, and case studies of successful …

Knowledge To Freedom: Implications Of Race, Gender, Socioeconomic Status, And Spiritual Health On Adolescent Well-Being Under Westernization, Doralis Maria Allen

Masters Theses

The aim of the current study was to extend the understanding of the well-being of adolescents and to further information on the psychological relationships between wellbeing, spiritual health, intersectionality, and Westernization. A total of 315 students from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette were recruited via SONA to participate in a study entailing of a five-part online survey through Qualtrics, and 301 respondents in total were measured. The survey measured five aspects of each participant’s health through the perspective of their adolescent selves; well-being, spiritual health, subjective socioeconomic status, and their perception of their race/ethnicity and gender. Well-being is a …

A Simulation-Based Lean Six Sigma Framework For Process Optimization In Textile Manufacturing Toward Industry 4.0, Md Shafiqul Islam Chowdhury

Masters Theses

This study focuses on integrating simulation modeling with Lean Six Sigma (LSS) within the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) framework for process optimization in textile manufacturing industry. Although traditional LSS framework such as Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and Root Cause Analysis are effective in identifying waste, they mainly rely on static and historical data which make their capability limited for real analysis or predictive decision making. As a result, many textile manufacturing processes still face challenges such as production delays, excessive work-in-process (WIP), high cycle time, and inefficient resource utilization. To address this issue, this research proposes a simulation-based …

Severity Of Deficit In Skeletal Muscle Lipid Metabolism Invokes Unique Adaptive Responses In Dietary Lipid Intake And Absorption, Victoria Datta

Masters Theses

Skeletal muscle plays a central role in whole-body lipid metabolism through mitochondrial and peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation (FAO). When skeletal muscle lipid metabolism is impaired, whole-body adaptations occur to maintain metabolic homeostasis. We hypothesized that limiting skeletal muscle lipid metabolism through mitochondria and/or peroxisomes would trigger adaptive responses to reduce dietary lipid intake and/or absorption with the most robust changes coinciding with deficit severity. Mice were generated with skeletal muscle-specific deletion of 1) carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1b (Cpt1bM-/-) to limit mitochondrial FAO, 2) peroxin 5 (Pex5M-/-) to impair peroxisomal FAO, and 3) both Cpt1b and Pex5 (DKO). Results were compared to …

Hyperdimensional Computing For Edge And Mobile Devices, Colin Eddy Dupuis

Masters Theses

This thesis presents a set of four Hyperdimensional Computing (HDC) frameworks and their Android application implementations to evaluate efficiency and feasibility on resource-constrained devices. These proposed methods target a range of application domains, including wearable health monitoring, mobile malware detection, and activity recognition utilizing both computer vision and multiple sensor streams as input. The proposed frameworks utilize HDC’s simple, lightweight arithmetic operations to convert raw data into high-dimensional representations for use in both binary and multi-class classification schemes. Each method utilizes unique encoding techniques tailored for each use case, demonstrating the flexible nature and specialization HDC offers as an emerging …

Beyond Social Disconnection: The Unique Relationship Between Existential Loneliness And Depression, Lauren Beatrice Edwards

Masters Theses

Depression and loneliness are among the most pressing mental health concerns in the United States, yet their relationship remains incompletely understood. Research has extensively examined social-emotional, or general, loneliness. However, existential loneliness (EL), the felt sense of being fundamentally alone in one's existence, has remained on the theoretical periphery. This study examined EL as a meaningfully distinct dimension of loneliness and explored its unique relationship with depressive symptoms in a sample of 301 U.S. adults recruited via Prolific. A joint exploratory factor analysis confirmed that EL and general loneliness are empirically separable dimensions of loneliness. Regression analyses revealed that EL …

Micro-Hyperspectral Imaging Of Phytoplankton Enables Deconvolution Of Mixed Communities For Spaceborne Hyperspectral Remote Sensing, Chisom Okwuchi Emeghiebo

Masters Theses

Characterizing phytoplankton diversity is critical for large-scale biodiversity monitoring and harmful algal bloom (HAB) detection. Here, we present a micro hyperspectral imaging method to characterize reflectance signatures, for the first time across major phytoplankton groups. Spectral variability among taxa in laboratory cultures is interpreted using algal pigment and absorption analyses, demonstrating that pigment composition and absorption govern reflectance features. Chlorophytes and cryptophytes exhibit distinct spectral signatures and are readily distinguishable, whereas diatoms and dinoflagellates show greater spectral similarity, with differentiation relying on subtle reflectance features associated with chlorophyll c₁c₂ near ~463 nm and within 620–650 nm. We further applied this …

Geological Carbon Storage In Deep, Low Permeable Shale Reservoirs: Insights From The Haynesville Formation, Louisiana, Himakshi Goswami

Masters Theses

As global initiatives to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions intensify, depleted unconventional shale gas formations have emerged as critical candidates for large-scale geological carbon storage (GCS). This study investigates the feasibility, dynamic trapping mechanisms, and operational optimization of CO₂ sequestration in deep, low-permeability shale reservoirs, using the Upper Jurassic Haynesville Shale in northwest Louisiana as a comprehensive case study. Compositional reservoir simulation (CMG GEM 2021.10) was performed using the SPE Haynesville dataset, with CO₂ injected at a rate of 10,000 ft³/day across single and multiple depth intervals spanning 11,290–11,314 feet. Results demonstrate that multi-depth injection significantly improves residual trapping, reduces buoyancy-driven …

A Study On The Perception Of Fear Of Crime Among Ul Lafayette Students, Md Rakibul Hasan

Masters Theses

Research has constantly found that campus crime rates are relatively low compared to those in the surrounding areas. Many students still experience a meaningful level of fear of crime that significantly influences their daily routines and impacts their lives. This study examines the perceived fear of crime among students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette) and how it varies across demographic groups. The study used a quantitative, cross-sectional design with a non-probability convenience sampling technique. Data were collected from 512 currently enrolled UL Lafayette students during the spring 2026 semester using a Qualtrics online survey. The survey …

Evaluating The Impact Of Invasive Carp On Atchafalaya River Zooplankton Community Structure, Bryce Lavergne

Masters Theses

Invasive carp (Hypopthalmichthys spp.) is a generalist filter feeder that has established itself across the Mississippi Watershed of the United States and caused harm to native fish species through depletion of a shared resource, causing a decline in zooplankton density and body size. This study analyzes the impact of larval invasive carp on zooplankton community structure between drought and non-drought years and an environmental gradient in the Atchafalaya River Basin. Larval carp and zooplankton density and size were sampled using net tows and correlated with environmental parameters measured in 2023 and 2024. Results showed that zooplankton density and size were …

The Effect Of Perceived Support On Black College Students' Sense Of Belonging, Jamillia Domani Mckinley

Masters Theses

Black college students oftentimes navigate higher education environments while managing academic demands alongside racialized stressor that can weaken their sense of belonging. Existing literature and research examined peer relationships, faculty support, and institutional support separately; however, little to no studies considered how these forms of support operate together in shaping belonging. The current study addressed that gap by examining whether perceived peer support, teacher support, and institutional support predict Black students’ sense of belonging in college and university settings. Through the lens of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, belonging was viewed as a foundational need for confidence, connection, growth, and self …

Linking Greenhouse Gas Fluxes And Plant Responses To Saltwater Intrusion Events Using Remote Sensing, Madeline Jean Moore

Masters Theses

As sea level rise and coastal subsidence increase coastal Louisiana's vulnerability to saltwater intrusion (SWI) events, accurate and rapid monitoring of vegetation responses to these events is becoming increasingly important. In this study, we utilized unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral imagery to assess short-term vegetation responses to simulated SWI events in the Visser’s Experimental Wetland Complex in Saint Martinville, Louisiana. Vegetation patches of two common freshwater wetland species, Panicum hemitomon (Maidencane) and Typha domingensis (Southern Cattail), were exposed to 5 ppt salinity for 6-, 10-, and 17-day durations. Multispectral imagery of both species was collected before and after each SWI …

From Fear To Action: The Role Of Media In Scam, Goodness Okhumode

Masters Theses

Scams have existed for a long time and are still prevalent today, with little indication of decline. Understanding how media exposure influences scam perceptions and motivates protective behavior among young adults has become pertinent in communication research. Drawing on Cultivation Theory and Protection Motivation Theory, this thesis examines how self-reported exposure to scam-related media content influences threat perceptions, efficacy beliefs and the adoption of preventive safety measures among young adult social media users. A quantitative online survey was used to collect data from undergraduate students of the CMCN 100 Spring 2026 class at a U.S. university. Seven hypotheses and two …

Tinder Troubles: Testing The Motivation-Based Model Of Online Disinhibition In A Mobile Dating App Context, Zachary Schleter

Masters Theses

As individuals turn to dating apps to find romance, friendships, sex, and more, understanding the factors that shape user behavior on these platforms has become increasingly important. Guided by Wen and Miura’s (2023) motivation-based Model of Online Disinhibition, this study examined how individual factors and motives for using Tinder predict online disinhibition and subsequent disinhibited behaviors. Specifically, using an English translation of Wen & Miura’s Multi-dimensional Measure of Online Disinhibition (2024), the study tested whether gender and five Tinder use motives—sexual experience, entertainment, romance, socializing, and distraction—predicted levels of online disinhibition on Tinder and whether online disinhibition, in turn, predicted …

The Relationship Between Self-Stigma, Psychological Inflexibility, And Help-Seeking Attitudes Across Three Different Groups: A Cross-Cultural Study, Mst Tajlima Tamanna

Masters Theses

Self-stigma of mental illness is one of the most important factors that influence people’s help-seeking attitudes. A higher level of self-stigma is associated with less favorable attitudes toward help-seeking. Additionally, psychological inflexibility may also contribute to this process by increasing people’s tendency to internalize the negative stereotypes associated with mental illness, which contributes to higher self-stigma. The present study examined the relationships between self-stigma of mental illness, psychological inflexibility, and help-seeking attitudes across three groups: Bangladeshi students living in Bangladesh (Group 1), Bangladeshi students living in the United States (Group 2), and United States college students (Group 3). A total …

Disparities In The Identification Of Vulnerable Communities Due To Design Storm Methods: A Case Study In The Vermilion River Watershed, South Louisiana, Usa, Claire Orgeron

Masters Theses

Accurately identifying socially vulnerable populations at-risk of flooding is critical for equitable disaster mitigation and planning. This study investigates how the selection of design storm method, which is fundamental to developing flood risk maps used for this identification, influences which socially vulnerable populations are recognized as being at elevated flood risk. The most widely used design storm approach relies on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlas 14 point-based rainfall frequency estimates. These estimates are typically applied spatially using areal reduction factors, thereby disregarding rainfall spatial variability in real storms. Stochastic Storm Transposition (SST), an alternative design storm approach that …