Digital Commons Network^™

Update The Console: Educating The Next Generation About The Benefits/Problems Of Video Games, Nicholas A. Del Rio

Masters Theses

Video games have changed since the late 90s and early 2000s. Technology has advanced, graphics have gotten more detailed, stories and narratives have become more intricate, and gameplay has become more involved. Gaming nowadays is much more accessible, popular, well-known, and widespread compared to back then. It is important to not only know about the roots of video games, but also how it has changed over the years. With many new advancements comes many new benefits and problems. This research covers how video games affect the new generation of gamers, especially children, compared to the older generation of gamers, along …

Musical Flow: An Analysis On Optimizing Yoga Sequences For Work-Related Musculoskeletal Symptoms In Choral Teachers, Vanessa Adams

Masters Theses

This qualitative study identified work-related musculoskeletal symptoms that middle and high school choral teachers experienced and identified yoga asanas that may mitigate the physical imbalances that lead to those musculoskeletal symptoms. Previous studies have focused on musculoskeletal symptoms in instrumentalists, conductors, and vocalists. However, a choral teacher’s work includes all those jobs and requires unique tools curated for their work demands. Self-care can be more easily facilitated when tools that fit the specific needs of choral teachers are available. Proper self-care may lead to reduced musculoskeletal symptoms and improved holistic health. Yoga asanas, which target the most reported areas of …

You're With Me While I Wait, Emily Williams

Masters Theses

The provided thesis is a compilation of an artistic statement, critical paper, and chapters of a novel which I have crafted during my MFA program. In essence, this thesis reflects all I have learned in my academic endeavors to this point and how those endeavors have encouraged my creativity.

For the artist statement, I share the creative process behind my manuscript, including the “why” of glorifying God with my writing that has fed the chapters for my novel. My critical paper highlights the craft element of medical theme weaved throughout the story. I examine the inclusion of medicine in literary …

Mindful Design For Adolescent Minds: Moving Away From Digital Hook Models To Mindful Innovation Models, Donald R. Hendriksen

Masters Theses

In the domain of digital technology, an ethical issue surfaces from the design of user interfaces and applications tailored for adolescent users. Techniques frequently incorporated into these targeted systems, such as continuous scrolling, rewards for uninterrupted use, and game-like features, are increasingly linked to addictive inclinations in adolescents. Central to this issue is the stimulation these apps provide for the dopamine system. Adolescents, being in a vital phase of psychological growth, are especially vulnerable to the dangerous consequences of such designs. These effects are extensive and include a perceptible drop in academic achievement, a weakening of relational skills, and an …

Co2 Capture Utilizing Novel Deep Eutectic Solvents: Modeling, Process Simulation, And Cost Analysis, Nazneen Aspi Kolah

Masters Theses

One of the most pressing global issues that humans face is climate change caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide (CO2). Conventional solvents utilized for CO₂ capture, such as amines, are widely used in industrial applications due to their high CO2 absorption capacity. However, deep eutectic solvents (DES) have attracted a lot of academic attention recently due to their biodegradability and low energy for regeneration.

This research serves as a foundational proof-of-concept for using DESs in industrial gas separation processes. Five DES are evaluated for CO2 removal from flue gases. Aspen Plus is utilized to simulate the performance …

The War Within: Mexican Drug Cartels And The Impact Of The Drug Trade On Society And Governance, Haris Mohammad

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the origins, activities, and societal impacts of Mexican drug cartels, while assessing the effectiveness of governmental and international responses to their development and influence. This thesis examines the evolution of the cartels, starting with their collaboration with traffickers in Colombia and concluding with their supremacy in the global drug trade. The investigation elucidates the social and political factors that have facilitated their growth. These factors include pervasive corruption, economic disparities, and inadequate governance, all of which have fostered an environment conducive to the emergence of cartels.

This thesis examines the detrimental effects of cartel involvement on Mexican …

Assessment Of Pedestrian Safety At Roundabout Slip Lanes: A Study On Design Configurations And Surrogate Safety Measures, Norran Kakama Novat

Masters Theses

The implementation of slip lanes at roundabouts has been widely adopted to improve traffic flow and reduce vehicle conflicts. However, the presence of slip lanes introduces significant risks for pedestrians, influencing vehicle speeds, merging behaviors, and increasing the potential for pedestrian-vehicle conflicts. This study investigates pedestrian safety at roundabouts with various slip lane designs, focusing on their impact on vehicle speeds, pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, and yielding behavior. Also, the study evaluates commonly used surrogate safety measures by employing extreme value models to assess their efficiency.

The study addresses two primary objectives: (1) analyzing the effects of different slip lane configurations on …

A Novel Interpretation Of Average Run Length For Assessing The Performance Of Control Charts, Gonçalo Sousa

Masters Theses

The Average Run Length (ARL) is a performance measure of Control Charts widely used within Statistical Process Control. In this study we propose a new approach for the computation of the ARL that is based on a novel interpretation of out-of-control signals produced by a Control Chart. Specifically, out-of-control signals used to calculate traditional ARLs may correspond to Type I errors and may not reflect a Control Chart’s true performance. To compensate for this issue, for Shewhart and EWMA charts, constraints are applied to the calculation of ARLs so that only out-of-control signals that occur when the corresponding statistic is …

Machine Learning And Evaluation Of Diabetes Risk Using 2022 Brfss Data, Addie Weaver

Masters Theses

This research analyzes Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 2022 with three machine learning models, Neural Network, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine, to determine and compare the models’ accuracy rate of diabetes prediction. Principal Component Analysis was employed to determine principal factors of diabetes risk. Results show that the Neural Network is most accurate at 90.09 percent at predicting diabetes. Factors increasing diabetes risk include alcohol consumption, smoking, and self-perceived mental and physical health.

Understanding The Performance And Perception Of Odawa Warfare, 1615–1700, Eric P. Morningstar

Masters Theses

This research employs the ethnohistorical method to explore how the Odawa people perceived and carried out warfare from 1615 to 1700. While historians have examined the Odawa, these Native peoples have frequently not been the central focus in the secondary literature. Many primary sources also offer a vague answer as to how the Odawa conceived and carried out warfare. This study aims to clarify historiographical inconsistencies by quantitatively analyzing a database, constructed by the author, of specific primary references to known hostilities between the Odawa, other Native groups, and Europeans. The analysis includes specific variables germane to hostilities such as …

Two Roads To Cornwall: The Cornwall, The Cornwall & Lebanon, And Gilded Age Rail Competition, Shane A. Keenan

Masters Theses

Historians have devoted much attention to the overbuilding and excessive competition among railroads in the 1880s. However, they have mostly focused on larger railroads like the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad (Reading). Smaller railroads like the Cornwall Railroad and the Cornwall & Lebanon Railroad are less well known but play an important part in that larger story. Both railroads ran between Lebanon, Pennsylvania and Cornwall, Pennsylvania. Their primary purpose was to ship iron ore from the mines in Cornwall. Few outside of Lebanon County or Lancaster County, Pennsylvania know about these two railroads, yet they are a …

Moral Injury In Military Corrections, Jeremy Ryder Meyers

Masters Theses

Over the past thirty years moral injury has been a topic of concern regarding the behavioral and spiritual health of military members. Part of that work has given a voice to Vietnam veterans and the events they faced while in combat. Some of these events were acts of betrayal at the hands of another military member or their own. This act led to an injury to their moral code. Military chaplains may have morally injured soldiers in need of pastoral care as they serve. This includes soldiers working the military prisons like the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth. …

The Need For Accurate [And Respectful] Depictions Of Mental Illness In Fiction, Jacequlyn L. Mills

Masters Theses

This thesis seeks to address the ongoing misrepresentation of mental illness in popular media, specifically within film, television, and literature. The power of the media is instrumental in public perception, and the ongoing negative misinformation and inaccuracy of mental illness those who are affected by it in media is instrumental in spreading harmful stereotypes and stigma. This affects not only the way that the general public views mental illness but also the way those with mental illness view themselves as well as their desire to seek help. I use these forms of media to showcase both the negative and positive …

Effects Of Microplastic Biofilms On An Anthropogenically Impacted Suburban Lake, Paris M. Velasquez

Masters Theses

Plastics have been observed in every location on the planet, and their prevalence in the environment is due in part to their strong resistance to degradation. Inland lakes are susceptible to plastic pollution by highway runoff, which contains plastic fragments of brake pads, car tires, litter, and road paint. These plastics eventually enter freshwater environments and degrade into microplastics (

"Where The Heart Is Really Attached": Partner Compatibility In The Works Of Jane Austen, Mary Amick

Masters Theses

This thesis discusses the works of Jane Austen and how the author depicts marriages throughout her novels. It examines the values that Austen recommends to attain a happy marriage and argues that these values were shaped by Austen’s Christian heritage. Austen encourages people to marry but cautions them to choose their partner wisely. She makes it clear that an unwise choice would lead to future strife in the relationship. Austen claims that the traits necessary for a healthy and happy marriage relationship are a partner that encourages intellectual stimulation, a partner that is compatible both morally and temperamentally, and a …

The Importance Of Community Rehabilitation: Evaluating Effectiveness Of Tennessee Interventions, Sarah Grace Knight

Masters Theses

Rehabilitation for offenders has been a topic of discussion for decades. While the system expresses that rehabilitation is the best method of practice, statistics show that these individuals still struggle to reenter society successfully. This study addresses environmental factors and barriers that can make the reentry process difficult and increase chances of recidivism. Additionally, this article takes a look at the state of Tennessee in particular, considering its high crime and recidivism rates. While many states have programs in place, it is apparent that the government needs to focus on creating more stable financial budgets for both community and prison …

Settling Dust, Unsettling Ground, Olivia Newroz

Masters Theses

Understanding dust as a material system that blurs the line between ground and atmosphere, I developed a dust machine as a tool for making dust legible at the human scale. While the blurriness of ground is visualized at both particle and planetary scales, at the human scale, it becomes less evident. Drawing from Lisa’s Moffitt’s discussion of “environmental models”–that is, models that don’t merely simulate phenomena, in this case dust, but rather produce the underlying force itself––I produced visualizations of how dust, as both a grounded and atmospheric element, intertwines ground and weather across scales, through a cyclical process of …

Millennials And Fasting: A Healthy Alternative, Christopher M. Hunt

Masters Theses

Millennials are facing more chronic health problems than any previous generation. They are experiencing a higher rate of disease for all the top conditions that affected their predecessors at the same age range. Most of these issues stem from an overconsumption culture that drastically increased during the millennial generation and is only projected to worsen. These habits start from a young age when the youth are taught to finish eating everything on their plate, even if they are not hungry, and consume at least three meals a day, which is seen as a mandatory requirement for a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, …

Embracing Positivity: Using The Power Of Positivity To Enhance Design Classroom Critiques To Encourage Students To Feel Empowered As Artists, Angela M. Keeler Reeves

Masters Theses

While ample research and ways to handle an artistic critique exist, there is not enough that is created in conjunction with visuals to help and empower our art faculty. As a graphic design instructor at a regional university, I struggle every day to make sure that my students end not only becoming better designers, but also understanding that critique is about making them better and not meant to tear them down. My graphic design professors varied in technique when it came to the critique process and caused quite a bit of emotional distress on a young growing design student. I …

Subtext In A Screenplay: More Than Meets The Ear, Emma J. Smith

Masters Theses

The creative manuscript for this thesis is a screenplay titled Air Tax. It is a dystopian story set in a western society where the ruling power has created two classes of people. Where one class is part of the elite, the other must watch their activity level as they are taxed on the air they breathe. A rebel group works to overthrow the rulers with the hope of equality and ultimate good for all. The question becomes whether the ideal will last if all guidance is human based. One way to reveal the need of guidance beyond human understanding for …

Wellness Awakening: Gen Z As The Catalyst For A Well-Being Revolution, Juliet Milillo

Masters Theses

This research project delves into the realm of holistic wellness management with a specific focus on engaging Generation Z (Gen Z). Holistic wellness encompasses a comprehensive approach to health and well-being considering physical, emotional, spiritual, social, occupational, and intellectual aspects. Members of Gen Z who are currently in college or recently graduated are the ideal candidates for holistic wellness management education as they are at the prime age to begin establishing long-term habits and lifestyles. Individuals in this age group are settling into their occupations, housing conditions, relationships, exercise patterns, nutritional habits, etc. The study employed a mixed-methods approach. It …

The Six Ps: A Faith Journey, Deborah Keizer

Masters Theses

The Six Ps is an epistolary memoir about a faith journey to find my twin flame and purpose. The journey began when I discovered my higher self in a guided meditation. After that incident, I received my first prophetic dream message. God also gave me the directive to write, using the Ps (plots) from Joseph of Genesis: Prophetic dreams, Pit, Potiphar’s wife, Prison, Palace – No Pharaoh, Purpose. After the first Prophetic dream I was guided to return to my homeland, and so I jumped into the Pit which I also call the Abyss – (to confront the false beliefs …

An Online Beginner Piano Course: A Fully Asynchronous And Online Curriculum For Beginner Piano Instruction, Jonathan David Holowaty

Masters Theses

The purpose of this applied curriculum is to provide piano instruction through an online and asynchronous method. Online and asynchronous methods of learning have been increasing in higher education and, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, have been used in the primary and secondary levels. This trend shows no signs of stopping. Much research has been done in online methods of learning in higher education; however, not nearly as much has been done with lower age groups. More research and experimentation is needed in the application of these methods at the primary and secondary levels. Considering this, the course conceived of …

Orichas Roots Of Latin American Music: Syncretism, Music, And Its Possibilities For Missionaries, Erika Dianne Ray

Masters Theses

The African diaspora as a result of the Caribbean slave trade had long reaching consequences, specifically for the Ikwere people. Due to the Catholic Church's support and, at times, encouragement of syncretism, a new religion was formed. Lucumi tradition is based on the musical rhythms specific to the Orichas from Nigeria, referred to as Igboland, the term employed by the citizens. The Ikwere are one people group of many affected by the slave trade and had their religious practices transformed as a result. The Ikwere are focused upon due to their prominence as the majority of slaves from Igboland were …

How Music Genres Affect Test Anxiety Among Third-Grade Elementary Students, Amy Summersett Ardovino

Masters Theses

This descriptive case study investigates the effects of classical, rap, electronic, and jazz genres of music played during a test administered to third-grade elementary students. Many studies focus on three main genres, such as classical, rock, and popular music, and not new, emerging popular music genres. With learning performance being a primary concern in education, it is beneficial to ascertain if different music genres affect anxiety in third-grade elementary students. Third-grade students serve as the population for this study; the sample involves 123 third-grade students from Chelsea Park Elementary School. This study implemented the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAI-CH) …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of The Lethality Assessment Program In Managing Domestic Violence Rates, Madison P. Jordan

Masters Theses

The Lethality Assessment Program was implemented into law enforcement procedures to help manage domestic violence. This eleven-item questionnaire evaluates the risk of lethality of the victim by asking questions about the relationship. Therefore, depending on risk law enforcement can connect the victim with resources. Domestic violence has had rising recognition across the world creating laws to protect victims. However, there is a need for research on domestic violences and the procedures put into place. The Lethality Assessment Program is one of the many diverse ways used to protect victims. The State of Virginia’s law enforcement is required to use it …

The Difference(S) Between Autistic Individuals And Neurotypical Individuals When Learning To Identify Pitch, Kayla Faith Bostic

Masters Theses

This study aimed to compare and determine possible differences between autistic and neurotypical individuals in learning to identify pitch. This study investigates whether autistic individuals are more accurate at pitch-matching than neurotypical individuals. This study employs a quantitative approach and a variation of the pitch-matching test. The population for this study consisted of males and females from West Virginia, with 20 autistic and neurotypical participants aged 18 years and older. The study included 50% of participants with autism and 50% of neurotypical participants. In each group, there were an even number of males and females, neurotypical and neuroatypical, and a …

The Phenomenological Effects Of Fidel Castro’S Communist Revolution On The Christian Church In Cuba, Daniel Orama

Masters Theses

The claims that religious freedom in Cuba can coexist alongside the Communist, Marxist, Socialist regime without hindrance contradicts the Word of God and eyewitness testimonies of those who serve in the Cuban Christian church. Church pastors in Cuba often suffer imprisonment as long as twenty years before being allowed to return to their homes and communities. This study regains the views of countless pastors and those serving in churches throughout Cuba, whose opinions concerning Christians who put themselves in harm’s way against the communist authorities are expurgated. Using the qualitative research paradigm, this study utilizes qualitative artistic and creative research …

Embodied Apologetics As Pragmatic Evidence For Christianity, Peter F. Grett

Masters Theses

Embodied apologetics as pragmatic evidence for Christianity: how the lived experiences, visible practices and demonstrated values of believers serve as a compelling defense of the faith in a post-Christian society.

Discovering The Value Of Decision-Making Through Meaningful Experiences During High School Marching Band, William V. Reese

Masters Theses

This paper reviews the decision-making skills that can be acquired during a young musician’s life while participating in the marching band. Marching band can have a major effect on a person’s life, and many things can be connected to the life practices of a civilized adult. Characteristics of good judgment can be exercised when participating in a marching band. There are a lot of decisional practices that can be displayed in the growth of a scholarly musician and their journey to becoming a responsible adult. The purpose of school is to prepare the youth for adulthood choices and marching band …