Digital Commons Network^™

Access Restored: The Role Of Music And Worship In Christian Reconciliation, Daniel Raymond Gray

Masters Theses

This project explores the meaning of reconciliation to the Father through the sacrifice of Christ. At its fundamental level, the gospel contains the most radical example of reconciliation, where the offended is the party to reestablish contact. Vertical reconciliation is to be the precursor to horizontal reconciliation. The problem is that the body of Christ is far too divided. This division takes on a number of forms within the church, none of which is biblical. As the capstone project of an M.A. in Music and Worship degree, the purpose of the study is twofold. The first is to examine how …

Covid-19'S Impact On Higher Education Communication, Abigail L. Sanders

Masters Theses

The following study was intended to contribute qualitative research on the impact that the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) global outbreak has had on higher education communication. A qualitative study was conducted using questionnaires given to professors and students at a private university in the United States. Through this study, three primary research questions were answered. First, among university students, what was the academic impact of COVID-19? Specifically, how did the transition into virtual learning affect student academics during the spring 2020 academic semester? Second, did university students experience professors with poor digital literacy, and did this illiteracy impact professor-student rapport? Third, …

A Pilot Study For The Effectiveness Of A Forgiveness Discussion Program Among College-Age Couples, Mary Jo Oliver

Masters Theses

A forgiveness discussion guide- a self-guided intervention for affective, behavioral, and cognitive forgiveness- is a tool with preliminary evidence showing its robust effects on prosocial orientation. Here, using an 8-week forgiveness discussion intervention for college-age couples at a Christian university, this study demonstrates statistically insignificant yet meaningful attenuations in levels of forgiveness and compassionate love. Eight heterosexual couples from the Liberty University undergraduate population consented to be randomly placed in a no-contact control group or experimental group. Before random assignment, the couples completed a pretest measurement consisting of demographic questions, The Enright Forgiveness Inventory, Compassionate Love for Humanity Scale, The …

Adapting To Change: Transitional Experiences Of Vertical Transfer Students, Anna K. Goldberg

Masters Theses

Vertical transfer students, defined as those who transfer after graduating from a community college to a four-year university, are on the increase in the United States. While there are numerous studies on the logistical parts of transferring, there are fewer that have examined the adjustments and transitions that vertical transfer students face. This qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews with vertical transfer students at a rural, mid-sized, Midwestern institution to understand these students' experiences. Another important area examined was how student affairs professionals can best assist vertical transfer students. Thematic material was analyzed through the lens of Schlossberg's (2011) transition theory. …

Korean War Coverage In High School History Textbooks, Zarek Nolen

Masters Theses

This content analysis investigated coverage of the Korean War in recent high school U.S. history textbooks. Open coding techniques applied to six textbooks yielded data for the following categories: background of the war, the outbreak of the war, the sequence of the war, the conclusion of the war, the devastation of war, the effects of the war, U.N. and U.S. politics, the Chinese intervention, General Douglas MacArthur, and African Americans in the military. Data from these categories were compared and scrutinized against historians’ knowledge using axial coding techniques. This study's findings support past research on Korean War coverage in high …

Student-Centered Learning Spaces During A Pandemic, Rebeccah J. Maley

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the experience second year, live on students study habits in outside academic spaces during a pandemic from 2020-2021 academic year. Through gathered testimonies of residents it was found students value their communities, appreciate localized spaces for collaboration, and acknowledged various influences that can enhance or inhibit their ability to study. Additionally, they shared the impact COVID-19 had on their personal lives, academics, and how they interacted with others. It was found that holistic measures are needed for students to be successful in outside academic spaces. This study brought attention to these measures …

Imaginary Things, Heather Gardewine

Masters Theses

Imaginary Things is a coming-of-age memoir about growing apart from one’s family and struggling with identity and independence. This story draws from predecessors in the family dysfunction subgenre of memoir, such as Educated by Tara Westover, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. The narrator tries to find her own identity in the things she loves while navigating familial opposition and rejection. “Imaginary things” such as films, plays, and video games become markers of identity and guide the reader through the story and towards growth, resolution, and sense of self.

Branding Small Businesses In Small Communities, Lacey Jenkins

Masters Theses

Branding has grown into a vital part of communicating a brand to its audience members. Unfortunately, large portions of branding tactics are geared towards large corporations in large communities. Small and mid-sized businesses require different tactics in order to create a brand that effectively communicates its purpose and values to its consumers. Because of this, this thesis is looking at the branding tactics of a small business in Charleston, Illinois. This business, Phoenix Elite, showed weaknesses in multiple areas of its branding package. Using a literature review, the goal is to create a better understanding of what branding is, as …

Student Athletes’ Perception Of Hazing, Faith Bradbury

Masters Theses

Over the years hazing has been seen as a rite of passage or a tradition among college athletes and almost an expectation for the athletes (Stuart, 2013). There is a lack of information surrounding athlete’s perceptions on hazing and how this affects their confidence in addressing hazing situations. Most studies focus on what hazing is and the effects it has on students on a college campus. This qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews to explore the athlete’s perceptions surrounding hazing at a rural mid-sized university in the Midwest. The research showed that the athletes had a disconnect with the information they …

“Yes, My Career Would End”: How The Existence Of Illicit Digital Media May Inhibit Women From Participating In Politics, Esther Afrakoma Appiah Dwaah

Masters Theses

The challenges faced by women in their quest to be equal participants with men in politics is not hidden. This study set out to examine how women may be restrained from rising to the highest offices in politics amidst fear of their existing nude contents that exist digitally. The body and sexuality of women have countlessly been employed as a tool to keep them out of political participation. Relying on data gathered through interviews with twenty four respondents, the study confirmed that women who have their illicit digital media in existence are less likely to take lead roles in politics …

Genetic Relatedness Can Alter The Strength Of Plant-Soil Feedbacks, Kelly M. Clark

Masters Theses

Intraspecific variation may play a key role in understanding the relationships between plants and their interactions with soil microbial communities. The effects that soil-microbes have on individuals can venerate variation across individuals in their responsiveness. I explored how relatedness alters plant-soil feedbacks in established Solidago altissima clones grown in a common garden. Seedlings of known parentage were inoculated with soils from the maternal, paternal, or unrelated clones and compared to autoclaved control inocula. I found that the soil inocula generated from S. altissima had an overall negative effect of seedling biomass. Furthermore, seedlings inoculated with maternal or paternal soils experienced …

Is The Customer Always Right? An Exploration Into The Expectations Of Student Affairs Professionals, Brittany Floyd

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to gain perspective of how student affairs professionals are managing the changing dynamic of the student. The researcher sought to explore how student affairs professionals cope with the expectation that the “customer is always right” while encouraging students’ development. It was found that student affairs professionals share a common goal to assist and serve students, but administration, parents, and students have clear expectations as to how they do so. It was found that the customer service mantra “the customer is always right” does exist on a college campus, and it comes with a cost. …

The Impact Of The Therapeutic Relationship On Transgender Clients’ Perceptions Of Their Therapist, Aaron Brockie

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between therapist practices, the therapeutic relationship and their impact on how transgender clients feel about their therapist. Previous research on therapist practices and the therapeutic relationship has looked into how these variables influence lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients’ feelings about their therapist, but as of yet, the dynamic has not been analyzed for transgender clients. Given the disproportionate prevalence for severe mental health issues in the transgender community, it is urgent that barriers to adequate and meaningful therapy outcomes be identified and addressed. Seventy eight participants were recruited from social …

How Do I Do This? How Universities Support Students Experiencing Grief, Jackie Hirn

Masters Theses

Grief prompts college students to ask, “how do I do this?” in many ways. This phenomenological study examined the ways in which student affairs professionals supported grieving students from four universities across the United States. It was found that grieving college students faced many challenges and barriers, including academic, emotional, financial and legal, and cultural issues. Grief is an individualized process that manifests differently in each student. To ensure student success, it was found that resource referral was vital for students, and that connections between departments were imperative to make those referrals happen. This study notes that the COVID-19 pandemic …

Synthesis, Characterization And Photophysical Properties Of Ytterbium Complexes Of Functionalized Porphyrins And Porpholactone, Beibei Liu

Masters Theses

The unique structure and superior properties of lanthanide porphyrins enable them to be used in a broad variety of applications, especially in medical diagnosis fields. This research focuses on modifying the porphyrin ligands in various places, resulting in broader absorption in the red region and strong emission in the near-infrared region for these ytterbium(III) porphyrin complexes. The design, synthesis and characterization for DMPH₂-BDP, DMPH₂-COOH, TPLH₂ ligands and YbDMP-BDP, YbDMP-COOH complexes are described. The photophysical properties of these ligands and complexes including their absorbance, fluorescence and quantum yields are also presented. Both the synthesized ligands and …

Listening To Their Voices: A Narrative On Campus Climate For Trans* Students, Cloe Bourdages

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact that campus climate has on trans* student academic and personal success. This qualitative study was explored through individual interviews by four participants. Participants discussed practices which enabled and inhibited their success; which lead to the finding of four themes: identity and validation, academic climate, climate outside of the classroom, and resources and services. Overall, a positive correlation in trans* student success was found when institutions use inclusive practices within their work. Lastly, the study provided implications for higher education recommended by both the participants and the researcher.

Preparing For Life After College: The Career Skills Learned By Resident Assistant Alumni, Kala Cousineau

Masters Theses

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), there is a high value placed on college graduates who acquire skills that can be utilized to attain their professional goals (2015). On college campuses, the resident assistant (RA) role is one of the many opportunities the residence life department has that can help develop students and their career readiness (Peck, 2017). There is a lack of research looking at what transferable skills students in the resident assistant position acquire and then use in their careers post-graduation. This qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews to explore what skills former RAs learned …

Debt, Death, And Deregulation: Neoliberalism, Human Rights, And American-Argentine Relations, 1976-1983, Billy Davis

Masters Theses

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina was governed by a military government that oversaw both a brutal campaign against communism and a process of neoliberalization. During this period, the United States provided substantial economic support to Argentina through its approval of loans that enabled Argentina’s economic transformation. Early on, the United States was largely apathetic and complacent in regard to Argentina’s Dirty War. During the administration of Jimmy Carter, the United States attempted to confront the Argentine military government about its human rights abuses. However, a substantial contingent within the Carter administration pushed back against this initiative and worked to protect …

Examining The Relationship Between Social Anxiety And Social Media Engagement, Emilee A. Kruchten

Masters Theses

The relationship between social anxiety and social media has been studied looking at social networking sites as a whole, or looking at problematic use of social networking sites. However, to the authors knowledge, no research study has been conducted comparing different social media sites. This study intended to look specifically at the relationship between social anxiety and Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat in college students. Furthermore, this study assessed fear of negative evaluation, fear of positive evaluation, fear of missing out, and social comparison as potential meditators of this relationship. It was hypothesized that there would be a relationship between social …

Relationships Between Parent-Child Interactions And Sexual Attitudes, Behaviors And Online Activity In Young Adulthood, Emily Donar

Masters Theses

The current study examined correlations between parent-child relationships and its relationship with the sexual attitudes and behaviors of young adults. Participants were asked to report on their perception of communication and quality relations with their parents. The findings indicate there was a relationship between the perception of high-quality parent-child relationships, likelihood of having extensive sexual experience, tendency to hold specific sexual attitudes and the frequency of online sexual behaviors. Explanations regarding the discrepancy between previous findings and the current study were discussed, including the sexual fluency of those with conservative attitudes. The consideration of gaps in literature incorporating online sexual …

Xylan-Derived Carbon Nutrient Acquisition By Caulobacter Crescentus, Rhoda Ekuama Inkoom

Masters Theses

Bacterial decomposition of xylan and uptake of xylan-derived carbon compounds require a combination of enzymes, proteins, and complex molecular mechanisms. Bacteria have evolved molecular mechanisms for its utilization depending on its environment and source of xylan. Caulobacter crescentus, a Gram-negative bacterium which lives in an aquatic oligotrophic environment, exhibits asymmetric division which is an adaptive feature for its nutrient poor habitat. Although aromatic hydrocarbon and cellulose-derived mono-, di- and oligosaccharide utilization has been reported in literature, its xylan-derived carbon compound utilization is yet to be characterized. In this study, C. crescentus utilizes xylan-derived monomers arabinose, xylose and acetate as …

Faith Down The Rabbit Hole: A Critical Rhetorical Interrogation Of Q-Anon And Parasitic Christianity, Nate Carlson

Masters Theses

Over the course of the last six years, the conspiracy theory community known as Q-Anon has risen to prominence across the internet, coming to encapsulate a significant portion of the United States’ conservative and protestant populations. This study applies the act of Critical Rhetoric as proposed by McKerrow (1989) to the Q-Anon “drops”; message board posts wherein Q, the enigmatic leader of Q-Anon, preached conspiratorial ideology and misinformation to his followers. A pattern of Christian theology being usurped and retooled by Q as a method of faith-based political radicalization emerged throughout the texts, and this phenomenon was named “Parasitic Christianity.” …

Christian Worship In Nagaland, Jane Elizabeth Laremore

Masters Theses

Christianity has historically suppressed Naga traditional music and culture, and yet Christian music plays an important role in the construction of Naga identity. A brief history and overview of Christian music in Nagaland including, hymn singing, contemporary Christian music, and revival songs demonstrates how the unique social, cultural and political context of Nagaland has created a generational divide in worship style preferences and the birth of the revival song genre. Snapshots of the life and work of Naga composers further illustrate these themes and provide insight into the incorporation of Naga folk music in Christian worship. While advocates make strong …

Agent-Based Model Of Broadband Adoption In Unserved And Underserved Areas, Ankit Agarwal

Masters Theses

"In the last two decades, demand for broadband internet has far outpaced its availability. The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 2020 Broadband Deployment report suggests that at least 22 million Americans living in rural areas lack access to broadband internet. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting normal life, there is an overwhelming need to enable unserved and underserved communities to adapt to the “new normal”. To address this challenge, federal and state agencies are funding internet service providers (ISPs) to deploy infrastructure in rural communities. However, policymakers and ISPs need open-source tools to predict take-rates of broadband service and formulate effective strategies …

Investigation Of Post-Acid Stimulation Impacts On Well Performance Using Fracture Modeling And Reservoir Simulation In A Jurassic Carbonate Reservoir, Muaath Alansari

Masters Theses

"Well stimulation (well fracturing) became an essential tool in the Oil and Gas industry to unlock the potential of unconventional reservoirs all over the world and especially in the Middle East. In Kuwait, well stimulation is obligatory when dealing with deep Jurassic carbonate reservoirs. Thus, the well fracture designing process plays a very critical role in determining the success of the stimulation job and the improvement of the recovery.

Several wells stimulated with 20% HCL have shown wide variations in both short and long term well production performance. The research aims to investigate and identify the possible reasons causing these …

Mechanical Activation And Cation Site Disorder Of Spinel-Based Ceramics, Cole A. Corlett

Masters Theses

"This research focuses on the processing and the effects that has on the cation disorder of magnesium-aluminate spinel based (MgAl₂O₄) ceramics. The first goal of this project was to determine the effects of high-energy milling, i.e., mechanical activation, on cation disorder (inversion) within the spinel structure. First, 1:1 molar ratios of MgO:Al₂O₃ ceramics were processed using two green processing methods, ball milling (XD) and SPEX milling (mechanical activation, MA) followed by a subsequent annealing treatment in air to form a single spinel phase in each powder sample. Neutron diffraction analysis was employed to …

Computer Gamification: Addressing Symptoms Of Inattentive Adhd In Children, Shavonne Victoria Halterman

Masters Theses

“Computer gamification has the potential to help meet the educational needs of children with Inattentive Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The elements of computer gamification are mapped to distinct kinds of interventions for Inattentive ADHD and show certain types of computer gamified learning are better than others for those who experience Inattentive ADHD”--Abstract, page iii.

A Compact Wavelength Meter Using A Multimode Fiber, Ogbole Collins Inalegwu

Masters Theses

“Wavelength meters are very important for precision measurements of both pulses and continuous-wave optical sources. Conventional wavelength meters employ gratings, prisms, interferometers, and other wavelength-sensitive materials in their design. Here, we report a simple and compact wavelength meter based on a section of multimode fiber and a camera. The concept is to correlate the multimodal interference pattern (i.e., speckle pattern) at the end-face of a multimode fiber with the wavelength of the input lightsource. Through a series of experiments, specklegrams from the end face of a multimode fiber as captured by a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera were recorded; the images …

Values Of Trust In Ai In Autonomous Driving Vehicles, Ru Lian

Masters Theses

“Automation with artificial intelligence technology is an emerging field and is widely used in various industries. With the increasing autonomy, learning, and adaptability of intelligent machines such as self-driving cars, it is difficult to regard them as simple tools in human hands. At the same time, a series of problems and challenges such as predictability, interpretability, and causality arise. Trust in self-driving technology will impact the adoption and utilization of autonomous driving technology. A qualitative research methodology, Value-Focused Thinking, is used to identify the values of trust in autonomous driving vehicles and analyze the relationship between these values”--Abstract, page iii.

Immortality Through Mind Uploading And Resurrection, Adam M. Leis

Masters Theses

Technology in the last century has flourished exponentially. Previous fantasies are becoming cutting-edge discoveries like global communications, encyclopedic knowledge at the average person’s fingertips, and even medical advances used to improve and extend one’s quality of life and life expectancy. As technology pushes the boundaries of what is possible, ambitious visionaries look to solve the arguably greatest problem known to humanity: death. Transhumanists aiming to use technology to overcome this great human limitation, mortality, present the newest proposed solutions to life’s oldest challenge. One of these solutions, mind uploading, is perhaps the most ambitious, but it is not without its …