Digital Commons Network^™

Within The Ruin: A Modern Brewery Rebirth, Karim Asarzadeh

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis project focuses on the revitalization of the historic ruins of the James River Steam Brewery in Richmond, Virginia. The project transforms the forgotten industrial structure into a modern brewery with a second-floor restaurant addition and community gathering spaces while preserving the historic masonry ruins. It showcases a holistic design approach that considers all aspects of the building, including its connection to the urban context and landscape, as well as its architecture, interiors, and furniture. The project demonstrates how a holistic design approach can create stronger spatial connections and more cohesive environments. In particular, it offers a strategy for …

The Effects Of Overwash On Barrier Island Evolution And Building A Barrier Island Measure Of Resistance, Beth Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Barrier islands are critical for coastal communities, as they serve as a natural buffer against storm surge, waves, and the effects of rising sea levels, protecting life and property. These islands continuously evolve due to both normal and severe environmental conditions; global warming makes it increasingly difficult to predict the evolution of these islands due to increases in storm frequency and intensity. We present a cellular model of barrier island evolution consisting of biotic and abiotic processes including the effects of vegetation, wind, ocean currents, and gravity. The model is used to predict the future evolution of barrier islands off …

In-Between Echoes, Jiayi Liang

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I explore memory, diaspora, labor, and intergenerational trauma through constructed photography and experimental film. Informed by Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of the Third Space, I examine how identity is shaped through displacement, cultural negotiation, and inherited memory. Drawing from my relationship with my grandmother and my experience as a Chinese woman living in diaspora, I consider labor as both survival and care, tracing how domestic gestures and emotional structures continue across generations. Through collage, reconstruction, and animation, I rework fragments of family archives, colonial landscape imagery, and personal photographs to address grief, racialized perception, belonging, and the …

All Other Ground Is Sinking Sand, Kevin Hopkins

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis project, All Other Ground Is Sinking Sand, is a body of work that frames soft sculpture as "prophetic charm" and collaborative performance as the ceremony that charges them. In this essay, I will explore the conceptual chronology of the charms, their connection to the notion of décalage, and their potential to compel witnesses toward the immediate liberation of queer, Black individuals.

With my research centered on the necessity of shifting cultural responses to enduring racial trauma, I focus my work on deconstructing Black hypermasculine archetypes shaped by white supremacy and unpacking the tension between individual autonomy and social …

Between The Veins: Materializing Memory In The Age Of Digital Storage, Alice Mohammed Aslem

Theses and Dissertations

What happens to a childhood stored behind a password? This thesis began with a simple moment of scrolling through my son’s photographs on my phone. As the images multiplied, they began to lose clarity, turning into an overwhelming digital archive. This made me ask: What kind of memories am I preserving for him?

Having grown up between analog and digital worlds, Between the Veins explores how I navigate memory through material objects and digital archives. Using weaving, images are transferred onto screw pine and palm leaves. In this process, digital files of his childhood are translated into organic fibers of …

"It's The People, Not The Place:" Queering Shared Space In Richmond, Virginia, Kathleen Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The intersection of queerness and planning is an understudied subject area that has implications for equity and access. Queer communities face real barriers to equitable access of resources that stem from a long history of legal, cultural, and economic marginalization. Experiences of shared spaces for queer groups and organizations is important to understand, as outward expressions of queerness are not always welcome in shared spaces, depending on sociopolitical context. Richmond, Virginia has a rich queer history both filled with challenges as well as examples of queer success and joy that makes it a prime case study selection.

This thesis utilizes …

The Mundo I Imagine, Angeliky Castrellon

Theses and Dissertations

My work investigates the human experience of belonging and how the force of displacement alters the perception of one's present and enables dissociation. After leaving my home and starting a new life overseas, coming back never felt the same; I couldn’t find peace and comfort anywhere. This made me create an imaginary world called “Mundo.” Shelters for the souls of the displaced, looking for comfort. As I became a graduate student in the Craft/Materials Studies department, my perspective widened, and my work itself answered a question for me: I want to be comfortable everywhere; how can my home be everywhere …

Framing Belonging And Exclusion: A Dialogic Narrative Analysis Of English- And Spanish-Language Immigration Coverage During The Trump 2024 Presidential Election, Evangeline T. Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

I investigated how English- and Spanish-language news outlets narratively constructed Latinx immigrants during the Trump 2024 presidential campaign, a period marked by heightened anti-immigrant rhetoric and political volatility. While past scholarships examined immigration framing through tone, sentiment, or frequency analysis, limited attention has been given to the deeper narrative structures that shape public meaning-making. This study addresses this gap by applying Dialogic Narrative Analysis (DNA) and Critical Thematic Analysis (CTA) to a bilingual dataset of 120 newspaper articles from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, El Diario, and La Opinión published between November 2024 and February 2025.

Findings reveal …

High-Resolution Mapping Of Soil Moisture Variation Using Uas Thermal And Multispectral Imagery, Jackline Amma Timah

Theses and Dissertations

In agricultural landscapes, soil moisture regulates hydrologic partitioning, nutrient transport and water quality, land-atmosphere energy exchange that shapes local climate, and ecosystem resilience. However, traditional monitoring approaches, such as in-situ sensors and satellite imagery, often lack the spatial resolution required to capture fine-scale soil moisture variability. This study evaluated whether unmanned aerial system (UAS)-derived thermal, multispectral, and terrain variables can capture fine-scale spatial variability in volumetric water content (VWC) within an SRB in central Illinois.

High-resolution imagery was collected and paired with 50 field-measured VWC observations. Land surface temperature (LST), vegetation indices (NDVI and NDRE), spectral bands, and slope were …

“America Is For Americans Only”: Journalistic Professionalism, Populism, And Latino Ethnic Media In The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, Maria Villarroel

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how journalistic professionalism shaped news coverage of Latino-related issues during the 2024 U.S. presidential election across mainstream and Latino ethnic media outlets. In a polarized political environment, immigration and the “Latino vote” were not only central campaign issues but also sites of radicalized rhetoric that frequently targeted Latino communities and journalists. In this context, journalists were tasked with reporting on highly contentious, hostile narratives while adhering to professional norms. This study argues that these norms influenced how journalists selected, framed, and contextualized political rhetoric, and how media coverage further elevated immigration and Latino communities as key electoral …

Kuleana Mākua: Native Hawaiian Parents' Exercise Of Agency In K-12 School Selection, Joseph Piikeha Kahaka`Ulamaikalaniki`Eki`E Hao

Theses and Dissertations

In this qualitative study the author investigates how Native Hawaiian parents on Hawai`i Island navigate educational choices for their children amidst a history of centralized, Western-dominated schooling and systemic cultural suppression. Grounded in Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), the research explores parent perceptions of different K–12 school types and the complex factors that drive their selection. Through semi-structured interviews and a card sort activity with sixteen Native Hawaiian parents (n = 16), the study confirms that parental choice is fundamentally an act of indigenous self-determination defined by Kuleana Mākua (parental responsibility, authority, and privilege). The findings reveal that parents’ choices …

Enhancing Fuel Performance Of Molten Salt Reactors Through Improved Thermophysical Property Data, High-Fidelity Simulation, And Advanced Control Strategies, Jackson Seth Ivory

Theses and Dissertations

The deployment of molten salt reactors (MSRs) as next-generation nuclear technology requires accurate thermophysical property data, validated system models, and advanced control strategies to ensure safe and economically competitive operation. This dissertation, Enhancing Fuel Performance of Molten Salt Reactors Through Improved Thermophysical Property Data, High-Fidelity Simulation, and Advanced Control Strategies, integrates experimental measurements, thermal hydraulic simulation, and model predictive control (MPC) to enhance understanding of MSR fuel behavior under steady state and transient conditions. New density and heat capacity measurements of UF4-FLiNaK molten salts were obtained using Archimedean and differential scanning calorimetry methods, respectively, to address critical gaps for fueled …

Maritime Trade And Imperial Ambitions: Yemeni Politics And Trade In The Indian Ocean World (626/1228-858/1454), Beck Sjostedt

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the role of Yemen, particularly under the Rasūlid dynasty (626/1228-858/1454) in the medieval Indian Ocean trade. I argue that the Rasūlids attempted to create an “imperial maritime space” wherein Yemen would be the imperial core, and the western Indian Ocean and Red Sea the subjugated peripheries. While the Rasūlids managed to organize state power towards their imperial project via diplomacy, military and naval expansion, and a robust and efficient bureaucracy, they never fully realized their goal of creating a thalassocratic empire in the western Indian Ocean. Nonetheless, medieval Yemen played a significant role in the political, social, …

Barriers To Higher Education In Mississippi Prisons: A Systematic Literature Review And Policy Analysis, Ashley Elizabeth Weathers

Theses and Dissertations

Higher education in prison reduces recidivism and improves reentry outcomes, yet Mississippi’s prison education programs remain underdeveloped due to financial constraints, policy challenges, and systemic barriers. While national research on prison education is expanding, Mississippi-specific policy evaluations remain limited. This capstone employs a desk-based research methodology, integrating a systematic literature review and policy analysis to examine these challenges. The study synthesizes recent research on the impact of prison education, funding limitations, and policy frameworks, addressing a critical gap in state-specific policy evaluation. The policy analysis evaluates Mississippi’s correctional education policies and funding mechanisms, using Southwest Mississippi Community College’s (SMCC) Prison …

Evaluating Avian And Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities In Wetland Reserve Easements In The Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Kara Michelle Hall

Theses and Dissertations

During the 19th and 20th centuries, nearly 80% of historic bottomland hardwood forests (BLHFs) in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) was converted to cropland. Efforts to enhance and restore wetlands on marginal farmland have occurred since the early 1990s through the Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) and other programs, yet few studies have evaluated ecological impacts of WREs. I conducted avian and aquatic macroinvertebrate surveys across WREs, croplands, and historic minimally disturbed wetlands to index abundance, richness, and diversity. I found WREs had less overall avian abundance, richness, and diversity than reference wetlands, whereas WREs exceeded crop sites in total richness …

A Case Study On Redesigning Classroom Activities And Assessments For Generation Z Students, Sushma Shrinivasan

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the dynamic interplay between pedagogical strategies, learner diversity, and emerging educational technologies through three interconnected studies. Study 1 compares Traditional instruction, Problem-Based Learning (PBL), and Simulation-Based Learning (SBL), revealing that while PBL and SBL enhance student performance—particularly PBL—their impact on perceived learning varies. Notably, SBL reduced perceived learning despite strong outcomes, underscoring the affective and metacognitive complexities of active learning. Study 2 examines the role of demographic factors such as gender, ethnicity, employment, and first-generation status, finding no significant main effects but identifying a key two-way and three-way interactions, suggesting that instructional effectiveness is influenced by the …

Power Resilience In Utah's Water Sector: A Survey Of Stakeholder Practices, Preferences And Potential, Tyler Christopher Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Drinking water and wastewater services are vulnerable to disruptions because they rely heavily on the electric grid. As a result, power outages can lead to water outages, creating cascading failures that compromise sanitation, firefighting, healthcare, and daily routines. Although an important topic, there are little to no studies of water and wastewater power resilience at a geographic or state level. In this study we investigate the extent of existing backup power and renewable energy integration as well as the motivations and barriers around their power resilience. We collect our data through semi-structured interviews with staff at 19 urban and rural …

Mitochondrial Insoluble Aggregates In Aging And Alzheimer’S Disease Models: Cross-Species Proteomic Integration, Identification Of Conserved Candidates, And Pharmacological Disruption Of Eef-2 Interactions, Sonu Pahal

Theses and Dissertations

Protein aggregation within mitochondria emerges early in both aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and contributes to progressive loss of proteostasis. Insoluble mitochondrial aggregate fractions from Caenorhabditis elegans revealed extensive enrichment of metabolic and translational proteins that also appear in human Alzheimer hippocampal aggregates. Comparative analysis across age and genotype identified a conserved subset of aggregation-prone proteins, several of which cluster around elongation factor 2 (eEF-2), a regulator of ribosomal translocation and energy coupling. Cross-species integration defined a network in which eEF-2 links chaperones, metabolic enzymes, and RNA-binding proteins that co-aggregate in both human Alzheimer material and nematode models. Functional tests …

Finding Black Joy: Understanding How Black Students Are Seen, Affirmed, And Nourished In Expanded Learning Opportunities., Jamila Mosley

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how Black students experience Black joy within expanded learning opportunity (ELO) programs and how those programs are structured to nurture that joy. It is guided by the central research question: How do Black students describe the ways in which an expanded learning opportunity program fosters their joy through experiences of being seen, affirmed, and nourished? Using an instrumental case study design at two secondary schools, the study draws on semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and observations of students participating in robotics, debate, Sister Circle, cheer, basketball, and creative writing. Data were analyzed through multiple cycles of coding, first …

Identity Formation Through The Lived Experiences Of Immigrant Muslim High School Students, Badera Muhanna

Theses and Dissertations

The growing number of Muslim students enrolled in U.S. public schools necessitates a more comprehensive understanding of their unique experiences within their educational environments. This phenomenological qualitative study investigated Muslim students' perceptions of their lived experiences in a high school in the Northern Great Plains of the United States. Six Muslim students in their junior and senior years were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. Through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, this study aimed to deepen understanding of how Muslim students develop their sense of identity and the factors that contribute to this development. The findings revealed that …

Toward An Anthropological Ecocriticism, Grant Mcmillan

Theses and Dissertations

Environmental storytelling has increasingly reckoned with concepts and assumptions about (N/a)ture inherited from the Western intellectual tradition. The late 2010s and early 2020s in particular have seen an explosion of fiction that interrogates the limits of these past ideas. Relatedly, ecocriticism of this period has entered a self-reflexive mode that has sought to deal with its own limitations while offering insights that may prove generative for a more general audience of environmentally minded readers. This project adds to ongoing ecocritical discourse by tracing a series of implicit affinities between the broad traditions of anthropology and environmental fiction through their shared …

Dynamic Techno-Economic Analysis Of Advanced Configuration Of Chemical Absorption Carbon Capture Technology Integration With Natural Gas Combined Cycle, Akinwale Akinwunmi Akinmoladun

Theses and Dissertations

CO2 emissions from the power sector continue to increase annually owing to global economic growth and the electrification of end-use energy consumption. Natural gas power plants are recognized for their flexibility in ensuring grid stability. The rise in the share of renewable energy sources in the grid has led to part-load operation and reduced capacity factors for fossil fuel power plants. The importance of carbon capture technology (CCT) in reducing CO2 emissions is generally recognized. This study investigates the integration of post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) technology in the power sector as a means of addressing three closely related challenges: first, …

Decolonizing The Whitexican: Reclaiming Identity Through Nahuatl And Mesoamerican Motifs, Laia Ivanna Vite Cano

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the intersection of art, linguistics, and ideography through the lens of personal and cultural heritage rooted in the Huasteca region of Central Mexico. Drawing inspiration from familial connections to the pueblos of Huazalingo and Huejutla in Hidalgo, Mexico, the research examines the cultural complexities of bicultural and binational experiences. It is grounded in the theoretical framework of Nepantla, a concept introduced by Gloria Anzaldúa to describe the unseen space of the border life as one of existing between worlds, identities, and cultures. Included and essential to this work is the Coyolxauhqui Imperative, which informs the process of …

Interpretable Alignment Of Textual Weather Reports With Local Sensor Time Series For Extreme Weather Event Visualization, Juan Luis Garza

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an automated and interpretable pipeline that links natural-language weather narratives with local meteorological sensor time series. Using large language models, NOAA-style event reports are transformed into structured records capturing event type, timing, descriptive context, and uncertainty. Each extracted event is aligned with harmonized temperature, precipitation, and wind measurements from nearby weather stations, enabling systematic comparisons between narrative evidence and observed atmospheric conditions.

Across roughly fifty stations and more than two thousand events, the analyses show that discrepancies between narrative descriptions and sensor behavior arise primarily from spatial separation rather than from temporal offsets, sensor preprocessing artifacts, or …

Seasonal Performance Of Mrms Qpe In Urban Hydrologic Modeling Using Epa-Swmm, Randall Kirk Bagwell

Theses and Dissertations

Accurate rainfall estimation is essential for effective hydrologic modeling, particularly in urban environments where infrastructure must withstand extreme precipitation. This study evaluates the EPA Storm Water Management Model (EPA-SWMM) using MRMS RadarOnly Quantitative Precipitation Estimation (QPE) 1-hour Accumulation as the primary rainfall input for a watershed in Little Rock, Arkansas. The region was selected due to its urban character and the limited availability of radar-based hydrologic studies in Arkansas. 21 storms were analyzed from 2022-2025: 10 in Winter, 7 in Spring, and 4 in Summer. Storms were selected due to their effect on flow. The model was calibrated using February …

Community Approaches To Digitally Documenting And Sharing Conjunto Music In The South Texas Borderlands, René Antonio Ballesteros

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the rich tradition of conjunto music within the South Texas borderlands, examining how integrating community engagement and digital humanities methodologies can effectively enhance the documentation, conservation, and presentation of this place-based expressive culture. Recognizing existing archival gaps, the research employed community-engaged programming to gather and preserve valuable cultural data. A key methodology outcome involved creating digital maps utilizing place-based data related to conjunto music sites and activities, subsequently integrating these maps into an ArcGIS Online story map for public online access. The findings demonstrate the significant potential of community collaboration and digital humanities tools in amplifying cultural …

Addressing Climate Vulnerability And Policy Gaps Of Heat Waves In Upper Egypt: The Case Study Of Al-A’Qaab Village In Aswan, Eman Abdullah

Theses and Dissertations

Heatwaves are currently one of the most dangerous climate hazards globally. Egypt is experiencing an increase in the intensity and frequency of heatwaves, which affects health, economy, infrastructure, and the ecological system. Upper Egypt is one of the most vulnerable regions in Egypt to rising temperatures, particularly in Aswan Governorate. The risks of heat waves are increasing vulnerability among vulnerable groups, such as women and low-income individuals. However, there is a clear gap in protection policies against heat waves, along with a lack of studies examining the effects of heat waves on individuals in Aswan. Accordingly, this thesis aims to …

The Effectiveness Of Public-Private Partnerships In Addressing Residential Urban Development Challenges In Greater Cairo, Sara Nagy Abdelmessih

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the effectiveness of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in tackling the residential urban development challenges facing Cairo today. In the past two decades, PPPs have emerged as a dominant mode of housing production, positioned as collaborative ventures between state agencies and private developers. They have become integral to the expansion of Greater Cairo, producing vast new urban extensions under the promise of mobilizing private capital, technical expertise, and delivery capacity. Yet, questions remain about whether these arrangements genuinely address Egypt’s most urgent housing needs, or whether they reproduce market-driven logics that leave large segments of the population excluded. The …

The Role Of Language Ideologies In Saudi Elementary English Education: Efl Teacher’S Perspectives And Experiences, Ghanem Saad S Alghuwainem

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how Saudi elementary English teachers understand and enact language ideologies in a period of rapid educational change and national reform. Using a comparative case study of five teachers in Al-Ahsa, the study triangulates semi-structured interviews, classroom audio recordings, and teaching materials to compare stated beliefs with observable practice. The analysis is guided by the theories of English hegemony and language and gender ideology, which together illuminate how global linguistic hierarchies are localized through teachers’ beliefs and practices. Findings reveal that teachers occupy an ideologically complex position as they balance the national push for English proficiency under Vision …

Staying Alive: Negotiating Life With The Contamination Of Kitchener Drain., Zein Hassib

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how rural communities in Kafr El Sheikh governorate, Egypt, negotiate everyday life with the contamination of Kitchener Drain, the largest agricultural drain in the central Nile Delta. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in three villages at the tail-end end of the drain, the study explores how water contamination shapes social and ecological, social life for farmers living in the catchment of the drain. The thesis situates the farmer’s present experience within the broader history of colonial and modernist national irrigation reforms and developments highlighting how systemic neglect and uneven governance reproduce conditions of vulnerability. At the same time, …