Digital Commons Network^™

Climate Anxiety And Nurses’ Awareness, Motivation, And Behaviors In Addressing Climate-Related Health Risks, Sarah Kaplan

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Climate anxiety, the emotional distress associated with awareness of climate change and its consequences, is an emerging mental health concern that may influence how nurses perceive and respond to climate-related health risks. Climate change is largely driven by emissions of greenhouse gases which radiate and absorb heat. Human-caused climate change is leading to higher average global temperatures and increasing risk to health through poor air quality, changes in vector borne diseases, extreme weather events, and exacerbation and development of physical and mental illnesses. This study contributes to nursing science by examining climate anxiety and climate related health practices among …

A Chorus Of Voices: Student And Teacher Shared Dialogical Experiences And Insights, Jennifer Anne Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

Dialogue is inherently tied to learning, but as a secondary English Language Arts (ELA) classroom teacher it can be difficult to facilitate classroom dialogue that provides authentic learning opportunities for every student. I wanted to learn more about the student experience, so I implemented an action research study to increase my understanding of how students learn through dialogue. My research question was: How does collaborative languaging, to facilitate student-teacher interaction, lead to improved classroom mediation, authentic learning, dialogue, and development? I conducted transformative action research in my classroom, focusing on students enrolled in my general English 10 classes. In an …

Repetition As Ritual Structure: Sound, Movement, And Electrodermal Activity In A Hmong Shaman Ceremony, Maile Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationship between repetitive sound, physiological arousal, and embodied participation in a Hmong shamanic ritual. Drawing on scholarship about music, trance, absorption, repetition, and Hmong ritual journeying and communication, I consider how sonic layers such as chant, rattle and gong help structure ritual time and sustain the shaman's altered state. The project uses electrodermal activity (EDA) data from wearable sensors, video and audio recordings, and my own event coding of sonic and physical activity during a selected 30-minute section of a recorded Hmong shaman ceremony. By aligning EDA data with a timeline of chanting, rattling, gong playing, …

Open Neighbourhood Edge Degree And Metric Descriptors Qspr And Multi Criteria Analysis Of Chemicals And Antiviral Drugs, Gayathri A Ms

Theses and Dissertations

Chemical Graph theory offers powerful computational methods for evaluating chemical structures, significantly impacting cheminformatics and drug analysis. It provides a robust mathematical framework to represent, model, and analyse molecular systems through topological indices and graph invariants. These indices serve as effective numerical descriptors, encapsulating significant structural information that enhances the prediction of physicochemical and biological properties. This thesis utilizes mathematical modeling, algorithmic computation, and decision making process to derive extensive insights to drug discovery and molecular analysis.

The thesis introduces a new class of topological indices ONE1, ONE2, ONE3, ONE4, ONE5,ONE6 and ONE7 based on open-neighbourhood-edge-degree and it evaluates the …

Integrating Multimodal Composition Practices In A Fifth-Grade Classroom To Enhance Student Engagement And Comprehension, Erin Beal

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the impact of integrating multimodal composition practices on fifth-grade students' writing development. Specifically, it examined how multimodal opportunities influenced student engagement, content area understanding, and overall attitudes toward the writing process. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study utilized pre- and post-surveys to assess changes in students' self-awareness and dispositions toward writing. Over the course of the research study, data was gathered through anecdotal teacher notes, direct observations, and student work samples. Working both independently and collaboratively, students synthesized content material to create and present original multimodal projects.

¿Cómo Se Hace Translanguaging En Kindergarten?, Diana Marie Franco

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the use of translanguaging among kindergarteners and examined how students’ use of their full linguistic repertoire served as a pedagogical practice in a two-way dual-language, Spanish-world classroom. The findings indicated that translanguaging functioned as an academic and linguistic resource, supporting student engagement and participation in classroom learning. Students used their complete linguistic repertoires to clarify meaning, negotiate understanding, develop vocabulary, make cross-linguistic connections through cognates, and demonstrate emerging metalinguistic awareness. These findings contribute to the growing body of research supporting translanguaging as a pedagogical approach in dual language classrooms, especially in early childhood education. The …

Do I Belong Here?: A Narrative Inquiry Into Ableism, Accommodation, And Professional Identity Among Medical Students With Mobiilty Disabilities, Nicole J. Albano Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Nicole J. Robinson DO I BELONG HERE?: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO ABLEISM, ACCOMMODATION, AND PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS WITH MOBILITY DISABILITIES 2025-2026 Ane Turner Johnson, Ph.D. Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Despite federal and institutional disability policy designed to protect equitable access to education, medical students with mobility disabilities encounter systemic barriers shaped by ableism, inconsistent accommodation practices, cultural bias, and exclusionary learning environments. This qualitative study sought to describe the lived experiences of undergraduate medical students with mobility disabilities within U.S. MD and DO programs. A qualitative narrative inquiry using Kim’s (2016) two-phase life story interview …

Spiritual Minimalism: Analytical Studies Of Selected Piano Works By Pärt, Górecki, And Tavener, Boran Zhao

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines selected solo piano works by Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki, and John Tavener to explore how theological influences are reflected through their distinctive compositional languages. Current studies show that scholars primarily concentrate on their choral and orchestral repertoire, while their piano works have not received enough attention. This study argues that their solo piano works carry the same of theological influence found in their choral and orchestral compositions.

Through historical, analytical, and theological approaches, the dissertation explores how their compositional techniques convey spiritual meanings in selected solo piano pieces. Pärt’s Für Alina and Variations for the Healing of …

Life Without Privacy: The Fragmented Line Between The Private And Public Lives Of Enslaved Women In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Justine Casey Costa

Theses and Dissertations

Enslaved women provided the foundation for life and freedom for most children living in 19^th century Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Despite patrão (master) mistreatment and abuse, enslaved women in Rio de Janeiro kept the bustling port city alive and growing. Enslaved women both produced labor and reproduced labor. The exploitation of enslaved women took place by patrões visibly in the streets, and abolitionists exploited their stories through the spread of printed material to garner support for their cause. This thesis examines the fragmented boundary between the public and private lives of enslaved women in 19^th century Rio. Utilizing …

Exploring The Impacts Of Design Choice On Stem Identity And Content Knowledge In A Community College Introductory Biology Classroom, Amanda Mayes

Theses and Dissertations

There is a growing need to address the projected shortage of STEM professionals, with estimates anticipating a gap of 1.1 million jobs by 2031. This workforce demand is further complicated by persistent attrition in higher education, with only about 40% of students completing their STEM degree. Addressing both workforce demands and student attrition requires higher education institutions to meet students where they are and adopt innovative instructional practices that foster persistence in STEM classrooms. This study conducted a convergent mixed method, quasi-experimental design to investigate the impact of an I-STEAM design-based approach on content knowledge and STEM identity in an …

Eeg P300 Ai Classification And Accessibility Keyboard Control Using Openbci’S Ultracortex Mark Iv For Reactive Brain-Computer Interaction, Grant King

Theses and Dissertations

Brain-computer interfaces provide people who cannot feasibly control a keyboard and mouse with an alternative method to type, to move a cursor, or to generally issue commands and make selections. A non-invasive recording modality for brain-computer interfaces is electroencephalography, or EEG. The OpenBCI Ultracortex Mark IV is an EEG headset enabling relatively low-cost EEG acquisition using wet or dry electrodes. P300 is an event-related potential involving a deflection in an EEG channel's voltage typically 300 milliseconds after the onset of an "oddball" stimulus. A person's P300 response can be used to control a selector application. This study investigates classification of …

How Esl/Efl Textbooks Are Created: A Description Of The Publishing Processes For Elt Coursebooks, Timothy P. Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the current ELT textbook publishing processes and evaluate a descriptive model of the publishing processes. While criticisms of ELT textbooks abound (Akbari, 2008; Bell & Gower, 2011; Jordan & Gray, 2019; Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2008; Long, 2016; etc.), little previous research has focused on describing the ELT textbook publishing. This is despite most criticisms appearing to focus on aspects of ELT textbooks that come about during the publishing processes. The work of Littlejohn (1992), McGrath (2013), and Yildiz and Harwood (2023) are exceptions to this. To provide additional descriptive information on the …

Receiving Isaac Again: Joy And Return To The Finite In Fear And Trembling, Jeffrey M. Matheson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that joy is a constitutive but underexamined feature of faith in Søren Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling. While the text is often interpreted through sacrifice, silence, dread, paradox, and the teleological suspension of the ethical, these categories do not exhaust Johannes de Silentio’s account of Abraham. By foregrounding Abraham’s joy, this thesis shows that faith is not merely the willingness to surrender the finite, but the capacity to receive the finite again after it has been given up. Isaac is not only Abraham’s beloved son, but the child of promise, the visible form of God’s covenant, and the …

An Analysis Of Heat Spread Through Smoldering Pine Needles, Timothy Keith

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to calculate the average speed of flame spread through smoldering pine needles. We present two different models for doing this: the first is a very large system of ODEs meant to represent the spread of flame through individual needles, the second is a macroscopic model based on the porous medium PDE. Simulations are run for each of these models and compared to each other as well as to existing models and experimental results.

Split Alliance And Relationship Satisfaction In Couples Therapy: Examining Split Alliance As A Process Variable, Kyla Yetter

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined how different patterns of alliance development impact couples' relationship satisfaction, with a particular emphasis on split alliances. The retrospective sample of 1149 couples was taken from the IRB approved Marriage and Family Therapy Practice Research Network. Alliance was measured at each session with the Intersession Alliance Measure- Couples version (IAM-C). The outcome variable, relationship satisfaction, was measured before the first and last sessions of therapy with the Couple Relationship Scale (CRS). Split alliance was operationalized using standard deviation differences in partners' alliance scores, and couples were divided into three groups: 1) Never had a split alliance, …

Likes, Lies, And Body Esteem: The Moderating Effects Of Age, Concealment, And Gender Between Social Media And Body Esteem For Utah Adolescents, Talise Hirschi

Theses and Dissertations

Social media use has become common among adolescents and contains many messages about one's body such as the thin and muscular ideal. Many parents are learning how to help their adolescent learn how to use social media, and some adolescents may conceal their social media use for various reasons. 588 adolescents (ages 11-18; 77% White; 55% female) from Utah filled out surveys about their social media use and body esteem each school year. In a two-wave cross lag panel model, specific aspects of social media use such as time spent on social media, problematic media use (PMU), and social media …

This One's For The Girls: Co-Creating A Social Confidence Group Intervention For Autistic Adolescent Girls, Kendra Noelle Zitzman

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have been completed regarding social confidence-building interventions for individuals with autism. However few studies have studied autistic females' experience with social confidence and targeted interventions for their unique needs. The purpose of this study was to co-create a social confidence curriculum with adolescent and young adult autistic females based on their experiences, perceived strengths and weaknesses, and goals. We analyzed first-person experiences and perceptions about social confidence-building interventions and supports. We used pre- and post-group interviews of the adolescent autistic participants (n =11) and college-aged mentors (n = 4), pre- and post-group measures with the Social Responsiveness Scale, …

Beyond The Bell Curve: Understanding Native American Academic Placements, Sarah-Margaret Clark

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined biases regarding the referrals that teachers make regarding student placement recommendations for Native American students. Special education teachers (n = 97) from around the United States completed a digital card sort task involving 24 fictitious student record cards. The student record cards contained subtle information about the ethnicity of the student, as indicated through the use of racial identification (Native American, Asian, or White) on the student records and the use of student names that may be associated with these three categories. Academic information was equal among each of these three groups. Each group contained identical male …

Calibration And Validation Of An Ogden Material Model For Thermoplastic Polyurethane In 3d-Printed Tensegrity Structures, Caleb C. Swain

Theses and Dissertations

This work is motivated by ongoing efforts within the Smart Materials, Adaptronics, and Shock Laboratory (SMASH Lab) at Brigham Young University (BYU) to develop variable-stiffness, external fixators using 3D-printed tensegrity structures. In the process of designing and evaluating these systems, the need arose to accurately model the nonlinear mechanical behavior of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), the primary material used in prototype fabrication. This thesis investigates how accurately a calibrated Ogden material model can predict the nonlinear mechanical response of TPU in 3D-printed tensegrity structures. Experimental data were used to calibrate the parameters of the hyperelastic constitutive model through nonlinear optimization. An …

Engineering 3d Optical Interconnects And Low-Power Radio Frequency Gaze Tracking, Blake P. Crosby

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents two independent research works in optical in- terconnects and radio-frequency (RF)-based gaze tracking. The first work demonstrates a silicon optical waveguide fabricated from four through-silicon vias (TSVs) produced using two-photon-absorption- assisted photo-electrochemical etching. Unlike conventional TSV fabrica- tion methods, this approach enables highly localized, non-line-of-sight etching in silicon using a focused femtosecond laser. Four approximately 5 μm diameter TSVs were etched through a 200 μm silicon wafer in a 7 μm by 7 μm pattern, leaving a central silicon region that functions as a waveguide. The fabricated structure achieved an aspect ratio of approxi- mately 40:1 with …

Hierarchical Parcel Swapping: A Novel Model In Turbulence, Masoomeh Behrang

Theses and Dissertations

Turbulent mixing plays a central role in a wide range of engineering and natural systems, particularly in reactive flows where turbulence--chemistry interactions strongly influence reaction rates, flame structure, and emissions. Accurately modeling these interactions remains a major challenge due to the multiscale and stochastic nature of turbulence, as well as the nonlinear coupling between transport and chemical kinetics. This dissertation develops and evaluates the Hierarchical Parcel Swapping (HiPS) model, a fully stochastic framework designed to represent turbulence-driven transport and scalar mixing without relying on traditional gradient-based closures. HiPS is investigated both as a standalone turbulence model and as a subgrid …

The Efficacy Of Open Educational Resources On Achievement Outcomes In Higher Education Institutions, Charles Trevor Alder

Theses and Dissertations

Achievement gaps remain a concern in higher education, reflected in differences in academic performance, retention, and persistence. These gaps often affect students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and underserved populations. Open educational resources (OER) have been suggested to reduce financial barriers and support student success. This study examined whether student-level and institutional-level factors predict academic performance in a business management course using OER. Average quiz scores were collected from students across 12 higher education institutions and analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Colleges were included in the analysis to determine whether outcomes differed based on the proportion of minority and Pell-eligible students. …

“Courage, Sisters. Your Living Is The Stuff Of Freedom”: Women In The Camden 28, 1971-1973, Abbigail Madeline Ealer

Theses and Dissertations

This historical study investigated the role and experiences of the ten women in the Camden 28, which was a group of Catholic Leftists who raided the draft board in Camden, NJ in 1971 to protest the Vietnam War. In utilizing a myriad of sources from archival collections through scarcely seen personal ephemera to correspondence with individuals connected to this case, this thesis demonstrated the importance of these women to the planning and execution of the raid as well as their significance to the outcome of the trial in 1973. It also showed the need for targeted scholarship on them. Furthermore, …

Filling The Knowledge Gap: The National Automobile Theft Bureau And The Rise Of Private Intelligence, 1912–1941, William Murray

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the Automobile Protective and Information Bureau (APIB) and its successor, the National Automobile Theft Bureau (NATB), situating these institutions within the development of corporate intelligence in the United States. The rapid expansion of automobile ownership produced a form of crime defined by technological advancement and jurisdictional fragmentation that existing law enforcement could not effectively address. In response, automobile insurance companies created the APIB as a centralized clearinghouse for theft intelligence. By standardizing reporting, maintaining national records, and distributing investigative information, the Bureau developed an early private intelligence infrastructure that supported law enforcement. The limitations of local enforcement …

Philosophia From Dialectic To Dying Before Death: Traces Of Plato’S Spirit In The Encounters Between The Falāsifa, Mutakallimūn, And Sūfiyya, Fadhil Yunus Alsagoff

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis offers a fresh approach to the question “What is philosophy?” by reconsidering Plato’s vision of philosophiaand seeking its traces in the encounters between the Falāsifa, the Mutakallimūn, and the Sūfiyya of the classical Muslim world. I argue that Plato’s true legacy lies in a vision of philosophia as dialectical inquiry that ultimately leads – due to the inextricable limitations of propositional language – to aporia and what he called “practicing for dying and death.” I then argue that this vision of philosophia finds resonance in the classical Muslim world in the embodied encounters between …

Humanitarianism Through Alan Kurdi Photograph: A Discourse Of Governing Suffering, Nada Mahmoud

Theses and Dissertations

Humanitarianism has become one of the powerful languages of modern times, in which compassion, ethics, and moral obligations are mediated to alleviate suffering. This thesis investigates humanitarianism not exclusively on the basis of its moral sentiments but on its functioning as a system of power that governs people’s conduct. It examines how different technologies of power feed into the operationalization of humanitarianism to transform it into a system for governing suffering. By decoding the elements of its power, the thesis aims to understand humanitarian reason through the humanitarian loop, from generating knowledge, categorization and representation, to the legal and normative …

Scruples Before Religion: Muslim Waraʿ Of The Formative Period, Omar Laaroussi

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the conceptual history of waraʿ and its role as a normative paradigm existing in the formative centuries of the Islamic world. To do so, I consider the Hellenic concepts that ground Near Eastern understandings of virtue and piety before the rise of Islam. This, I then use to contextualise a focused discussion on the textual history of waraʿ before moving on to discuss its properties in a ascetic social-world through the analysis of those very texts. I attempt to place those properties in conversation with modern philosophers’ work on disciplinary regimes and their impacts upon the self. …

Differentiation Of Self As A Therapist Effect In Couple Therapy, Nathan D. Knebel

Theses and Dissertations

Murray Bowen proposed that a therapist's level of differentiation of self influences therapeutic effectiveness, particularly in clinically distressed relational systems. Although existing literature has demonstrated that therapist effects account for a meaningful portion of variance in couple therapy outcomes, differentiation of self has received limited empirical attention as a therapist-level predictor. The present article proposes a framework for empirically examining Bowen's hypothesis by investigating whether therapist differentiation predicts trajectories of couple relationship quality across treatment. Additionally, the article explores theoretical pathways through which therapists may increase their level of differentiation, assuming Bowen's hypothesis is supported.

Media Literacy Education In Hadhramout Governorate, Case Study: Hadhramout University, Amal Omar Ba Qatyan

Theses and Dissertations

Media literacy is an essential skill in today’s digital environment (Khoirunnisa, Udiana, & Zahra, 2025), especially in conflict-affected societies where misinformation and propaganda spread rapidly through social media platforms (Uzochukwu et al., 2025). In Yemen, the ongoing conflict has weakened the education system and reduced access to reliable information, which increases university students’ vulnerability to misleading, biased, and inaccurate media content (Moharram, 2026). Despite the recognized importance of media literacy education, academic research on this topic remains very limited in Yemen, particularly in Hadhramout Governorate.

This study addresses this research gap by examining the current state of media literacy education …

Documenting Death: A Question Of Sovereignty In The Cairo Geniza, Thomas Adkins

Theses and Dissertations

How can death offer a case study for the question of sovereignty in eleventh to thirteenth century Egypt as it was performed by sovereigns, officials, and subjects alike, and, in this context, how can the documentary practices preserved in the Geniza be understood as an instrument to perform sovereignty? This thesis uses death as a case study in the same way that scholars of the medieval Islamic world have studied taxation, administration, and ceremonials to understand sovereignty as it was performed by the state, officials, and subjects. This performance of sovereignty by each implicated actor left a rich documentary trail, …