Digital Commons Network^™

Relevant Reading: Modernizing High School Reading Lists, Michele Honeycutt

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative action research study, using case study methodology, explores the modernization of high school reading lists to ensure inclusivity, cultural relevance, and engagement in contemporary educational settings. Grounded in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Constructivism, and Problem-Posing Theory, this research examines how diverse literary selections impact student learning, motivation, and critical thinking. The study uses semi-structured interviews, observations, and student surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating contemporary texts that reflect varied cultural, social, and political perspectives. The findings highlight the tensions between traditional literary canons and efforts to introduce diverse narratives, emphasizing the challenges of book bans, parental resistance, and …

Editing Japan: Pornography Commentary As Postcolonial Revenge In China's Digital Sphere, Yichi Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how Chinese male audiences reconstruct postcolonial masculinity through the consumption and reinterpretation of Japanese pornography. By analyzing commentary videos produced by "Team Strawberry," I argue that this phenomenon constitutes a symbolic revenge against Japan's historical dominance. Through degrading Japanese female performers and mocking Japanese culture and male actors, Chinese viewers invert colonial hierarchies, transforming sexual consumption into a nationalist project. However, this mimicry of colonial violence ultimately reinforces patriarchal structures rather than subverting them, while also framing nationalism through sexual conquest that mimics collective historical trauma. The re-editing and mocking of Japanese pornography by Chinese content creators …

Ideologies Of Language, Race, And Time In U.S. Political Discourses, Paige Pinkston

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation follows how public discourses that emerged during the 2020- 2022 “Critical Race Theory Panic” played out in different contexts and at different scales in the United States, from conservative national media to South Carolina legislative action. While political discourse has become increasingly nationalized (Berry & Sobieraj, 2014), new legislation has largely taken place at the state level (Johnson, 2022). Drawing on over two years of fieldwork and methods of discourse analysis, I thus examine how nationally circulating discourses about race and racism were taken up by South Carolinians to create partisan alignments and distinctions as well as to …

Between Tajweed And Lenition: A Sociophonetic Investigation Of Pharyngealized Consonant Variation In Ammani Jordanian Arabic, Amenah Jehad Salman

Theses and Dissertations

Thіs dіssеrtаtіоn іnvеstіgаtеs the sосіоphоnеtіс vаrіаtіоn іn thе rеаlіzаtіоn оf phаryngeаlіzеd соnsоnаnts іn Аmmаnі Jоrdаnіаn Аrаbіс (АJА), іntrоduсіng Tаjwееd—thе study оf Qurаnіс phоnоlоgy—аs а sосіаlly sаlіеnt vаrіаblе іnfluеnсіng еvеrydаy spееch. А lеnіtеd-phаryngeаlіzеd (LP) vаrіаnt surfасеs аs аn аcоustіcаlly аnd pеrcеptuаlly іntеrmеdіаtе rеаlіzаtіоn, pоsіtіоnеd bеtwееn fully phаryngeаlіzеd (/sˤ, tˤ, dˤ, ðˤ/) аnd plаіn (/s, t, d, ð/) соnsоnаnts. Whіlе prеvіоus studіеs hаvе ехаmіnеd thе іmpасt оf mасrо-sосіаl fасtоrs suсh аs gеndеr, аgе, sосіоеcоnоmіс stаtus, аnd оrіgіnаl rеgіоnаl dіаlеct (ОRD) (Аl-Маsrі & Jоngmаn, 2004; Аlzоubі, 2017; Аbudаlbuh, 2010), nо rеsеаrch hаs examined thе rоlе оf Tаjwееd іn shаpіng sосіоphоnеtіс оutcоmеs.

Dаtа was …

Emotional Landscapes: St. Teresa Of Avila And The Spiritual Journey, Jillian Louise Breeden

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the writings of St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) through the methodological lens of the history of emotions, arguing that her mystical accounts represent a crucial yet understudied contribution to our understanding of early modern emotional frameworks. Through close textual analysis of Teresa's major works, this study demonstrates how her detailed articulations of spiritual ecstasy, divine love, and religious melancholy offer unique insights into both the religious and secular emotional landscapes of Counter-Reformation Spain. Teresa's innovative emotional vocabulary, which combined traditional Catholic devotional language with embodied metaphors and spatial conceptualizations, allowed her to navigate the complex ecclesiastical politics …

The Penn Center’S Impact On Rural Health Through Midwife Programming In 20Th Century South Carolina, Kathryn Addison Greenberg

Theses and Dissertations

The Penn School of the Sea Islands provided an education to thousands of rural, Black South Carolinians over the twentieth century. Northern missionaries including the founders of the Penn School, Laura M. Towne and Ellen Murray, taught and provided healthcare to the residents of the Port Royal Experiment through the Civil War and into Reconstruction. With the arrival of Rossa Cooley and Grace House, the Penn School put emphasis on auxiliary programing including midwifery training institutes held in conjunction with Dr. Hilla Sheriff and the South Carolina Department of Public Health’s Division for Maternal and Child Health. With the goal …

"We Have Such Fantastic People Working Here": Using Action Research To Address Community College Burnout, Christine Pipitone

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods action research dissertation explores faculty burnout at a New Jersey community college to propose actionable, faculty-led solutions through a collaborative approach. Grounded in a theoretical framework that integrates theories of action, critical theory, and job demands–resources theory, the study included three phases that followed an explanatory sequential design. In the first phase, quantitative and qualitative data obtained through an anonymous questionnaire provided baseline information about the dimensions of burnout participants experienced. The data informed the second phase, which consisted of semi-structured focus group interviews. In the third phase, an action research team worked together to make recommendations based …

When Words Fail: Why Ai-Driven Context Beats Word Error Rate For Safety-Critical Air Traffic Control, Muhammad Maaz

Theses and Dissertations

Accurate speech-to-text transcription is critical for Air Traffic Control (ATC) to en- sure safety and operational efficiency. However, existing Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems struggle with domain-specific phraseology, high noise levels, and real-time constraints. This work explores domain adaptation strategies of OpenAI’s Whisper ASR model, applying Transfer Learning and Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) on ATC benchmark and a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) corpus. Experimental results show that fine- tuning significantly reduces Word Error Rate (WER) from 55.2% to 6.8%, yet WER alone fails to capture safety-critical transcription errors. To address WER’s limitations, we introduce the Contextual Error Rate (CER), a novel …

No Longer At War With My Words: Finding Healing Through Therapeutic Writing, Marlo Degaetano Kreitzinger

Theses and Dissertations

While living in Dallas, Texas, I had the incredible opportunity to work with women transitioning out of homelessness, addiction, prison, or other life traumas. During my four years of facilitating life skills and job readiness classes, I witnessed a desperate need for healing. Many of the women I served were stuck in the repetitive cycle of their unprocessed emotional trauma. These women were often victims of the unprecedented mental health crisis plaguing our world and had little to no access to mental health resources. My initial introduction into therapeutic writing helped me to accept my own mental health crisis and …

The Use Of Culturally Responsive Mentor Texts For Literacy Development In An Elementary Classroom, Ashley Vernon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of Culturally Responsive Mentor Text in literacy development in an elementary classroom. Students in this study demonstrated increases in overall literacy development in the areas of comprehension and verbal discourse when paired with Culturally Diverse texts throughout the study. This study revealed that students were able to make more connections with texts and increase discussion when recognizing unfairness and overcoming struggles.

The Impact Of Latino Faculty On Latino Students, Sarai Aleida Noriega

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract This study examined the relationship between Latino faculty representation and the academic experiences, sense of belonging, and personal and professional success of Latino students. I used a qualitative case study research method where data was collected through semi structured interviews with self-identified Latino students enrolled in Rowan University Higher Education Administration Program. Participants were prompted to reflect on their collegiate experiences and inspect the role of Latino faculty representation on their educational journey, and the challenges of maneuvering predominantly White academic spaces. The findings revealed that the presence of Latino faculty had a direct impact on students’ feelings of …

“Perfect Hearts And Pure Pages”: The Transmission And Recitation Of The Qur’An In Mamluk Cairo—The Shāṭibiyya As A Case Study, Jonathan Hearn

Theses and Dissertations

The Ḥirz al-Amānī wa-Wajh al-Tahānī of Abū al-Qāsim b. Fīrruh al-Shāṭibī (d. 590/1193) became one of the most widely studied texts associated with the recitation of the Qur’an. A didactic versification of Abū ʿAmr al-Dānī’s (d. 444/1053) Kitāb al-Taysīr fī al-Qirāʾāt al-Sabaʿ, the Shāṭibiyya was composed in Ayyubid Egypt and transformed the discipline of the variant readings (qirāʾāt). Despite its popularity and acknowledged impact upon the discipline, the Shāṭibiyya remains a relatively untapped resource for understanding the Qur’an in its recited form. This thesis studies the recitation of the Qur’an in Mamluk Cairo through the Shāṭibiyya, …

The Communal Lyric: Poetry In Devotional And Oppressed Communities, Michael N. Yacoub

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the interaction between lyric and community; it asks what a communal lyric is, how it functions, and to what ends. In Chapter One, I compare Jonathan Culler’s performative model of lyric with the theory of Takhyīl as expounded by Arab philosopher-critics al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and al-Qartajanni to argue that a communal lyric is a form of audience-oriented public discourse distinguished by formal features that prompt the poem’s (re-)iteration and establish an interpersonal relationship with the audience in order to influence them and make shareable value claims about the world. In Chapters Two and Three I provide close-reading …

Paradise Lost Thrice: Exile And The Abrahamic Religions In Aciman, Werfel, And Ashour, Malak K. Hosny

Theses and Dissertations

Exile is an integral part of the history of all three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This thesis compares between literary narratives of the exile of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It explores the notion that having been exiled from Eden with the fall of Adam and Eve, and having each religion’s prophet’s story intrinsically tied with exile, the believers’ exile is then the third in a layered cycle of exile. Having lost the paradise, believers tend to search for earthly paradises that they attach themselves to, and then tragically lose those as well. The thesis’ three primary literary texts …

Assessing The Impact Of Digital Transformation On Regulatory Processes And Systems Compared To Traditional Paper-Based Processes At The Egyptian Drug Authority, Rania Aa Soliman

Theses and Dissertations

In the past several decades, the rate of scientific and technological advancements in drug development and digital fields have been extraordinary. Internet of Things and block chain technologies are currently viable in the mature cloud computing industry, these transformative examples contrast starkly with the current pharmaceutical regulatory submission, review, and approval process of the EDA. However, with the emergence of initiatives that aim to improve and expedite regulatory decision-making, there is a promising future ahead. These initiatives, if successful, will not only transform the current transactional structure but also leverage scientific and technological advances to deliver patient-centric therapies. This radical …

A Tragedy Of Incommensurability: Indigenous Rights And The Limits Of Human Rights Law, Zeina Ali

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the tragedy of incommensurability between indigenous rights and international human rights law. Despite the emergence of frameworks like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), indigenous calls for sovereignty remain fundamentally unintelligible within a liberal order structured to preserve settler-state legitimacy. Tracing the historical and theoretical evolution of indigenous advocacy, this study critiques the strategic shift from demands for self-determination to claims of cultural rights. It argues that this shift offers no real alternative: self-determination and cultural rights are functionally equivalent, as both are ultimately filtered through legal and political frameworks that cannot …

Implications Of The Mind’S Active Participation In The Formation Of Perception, Maikel Adel Samy Michael

Theses and Dissertations

The mind-body problem, particularly the issue of qualia, remains a fundamental challenge in understanding the nature of the mind and its relation to the body. In this thesis I argue that the problem is epistemic, stemming from how we perceive and know ourselves as physical and mental beings. This argument will be explored through the respective of idealisms proposed by George Berkeley and Immanuel Kant. Berkeley's idealism suggests that reality is rooted in perception, offering a major steppingstone by demonstrating the major role perception plays in understanding and acquiring knowledge. Kant contributes by asserting that the "thing-in-itself" is beyond our …

Expanding A Standardized Reading Program Utilizing Research-Based Literacy Practices, Culturally Responsive Teaching, And Teacher Decision Making, Jacalyn Marie Gizara

Theses and Dissertations

The reading achievement disparities between diverse learners and their advantaged peers has been at the forefront of education for decades (Hammond, 2015; Kelley et al., 2015; Ladson-Billings, 2006; Paschall et al., 2017; Pitre, 2014). Educational policies have attempted to close the achievement gap and address the inequitable practices school systems place on our youth (Paschall et al, 2017; Pitre, 2014). However, teachers can lead in the profession and create positive change for students’ school experiences and learning outcomes. The purpose of this action research study was to enhance the prepackaged reading program with thematic units, culturally responsive teaching, and research-based …

Elite Cohesion And Its Historical Sources: Analyzing Its Impact On Democratization In Nigeria And Botswana, Aliaa Magdy Aboutera

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the divergent democratization trajectories of Botswana and Nigeria, focusing on the role of colonial legacies and post-colonial elites in shaping elite cohesion. While both countries experienced British colonial rule, their transitions to democracy in the post-independence period have differed significantly. This study argues that elite cohesion, although insufficient on its own, is a critical facilitating factor in democratic consolidation that warrants greater attention in the democratization literature. This cohesion is largely shaped by the sociology of political elites, with historical contexts influencing how elites organize. Through process tracing, the thesis argues that colonialism in Botswana did not …

Language Style Evaluation Validation For Implementation On Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Augmentative And Alternative Communication Devices, Meghan A. Hunter

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored various methods of evaluating language style for integration into prompts designed for a sophisticated augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device. A total of 395 individuals without a language disorder were recruited via a crowdsourcing platform to complete five surveys. The initial four surveys were designed to assess individuals' language style using different approaches (questionnaire developed with ChatGPT, self-written, questionnaire developed by Hartman and McCambridge, and choosing tags). Following the completion of these four surveys, a fifth survey was dynamically created based on the responses in the previous four surveys. Each possible response in the fifth survey was …

Comparison Of Elementary Dual Language Immersion Programs And Non-Dual Language Immersion Classes Before And After Attrition, Nathaniel Blain Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

Using a longitudinal, multi-cohort design, this study examines the academic and linguistic effects of student attrition from Spanish-English dual language immersion (DLI) programs, particularly among multilingual learners (MLs). Drawing on 10 years of assessment data from two schools, the study addresses four research questions through multinomial logistic regression and hierarchical linear modeling to evaluate predictors of attrition, reading growth trajectories, and English language proficiency across student subgroups. Results indicated that attrition was most common in the early grades and was modestly associated with disability rates. At the same time, assessment scores were not predictive of program exit. Growth modeling revealed …

Semitic Root Encoding: Tokenization Based On The Templatic Morphology Of Semitic Languages In Nmt, Brendan T. Hatch

Theses and Dissertations

The morphological structure of Semitic languages like Arabic and Hebrew is based on non-concatenative roots and templates. This complex word structure used by humans is obscured to neural models that use traditional tokenization algorithms. In this work, I present and evaluate Semitic Root Encoding (SRE), a tokenization method that represents Semitic words with distinct root and template stem tokens, and apply it to neural machine translation (NMT). I evaluate whether tokenization with the SRE method leads to increases in translation quality, whether it allows NMT models to hypothesize unseen word forms needed at inference, and how impervious resulting NMT models …

Se Quema: Burnout In Undergraduate Latiné Students, Shirley Victoria Celi-Landeo

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past five years, Latiné students have contributed most of the nation’s increase in college degrees earned. But even with more people enrolling in college, undergraduate retention remains a concern, raising critical questions about equity in higher education (The Pell Institute, 2023). This thesis examines burnout among Latiné undergraduates, who face financial strain, familial responsibilities, and lack of representation in resources, contributing to their underrepresentation in graduation rates. The study emphasizes the need to understand and address these stressors to support the success of Latiné students, who are under-represented in graduation rates compared to their counterparts (Excelencia in Education, …

Reactivity To Environmental And Social Demands In Autistic And Neurotypical Children: More Alike Than Different?, Sarah-Ann Louder James

Theses and Dissertations

Research has increasingly recognized that empathy difficulties between autistic and neurotypical individuals are mutual. As empathy depends on shared understanding, identifying common ground between autistic and neurotypical children is important to foster greater empathy. This study examined reactivity patterns in autistic and neurotypical children to explore how similarities in reactivity might promote empathy across neurodiverse groups. Using a quantitative, survey-based design, parents of 56 children (19 autistic, 37 neurotypical; ages 5-11) completed a novel measure developed for this study, the Reactivity to Scenarios of Differing Intensity (RSDI), which measures children's reactivity to various social and environmental scenarios of differing intensity. …

Comparing Emotional Facial Expressions Produced During Personal Narrative Discourse By People With And Without Aphasia, Chloe K. Houghton

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the differences in emotional facial expressivity between people with aphasia (PWA) and control participants during emotional discourse tasks. Participants consisted of 26 PWA and 26 control participants from Aphasia Talk Bank who retold a stroke or illness story and an important life event story, totaling 104 video files. Undergraduate research assistants were trained to code emotional facial expressions according to valence, intensity, and duration utilizing a modified Facial Expression Coding System (FACES; Kring & Sloan, 1991). Dependent variables included positive frequency, negative frequency, positive intensity, and negative intensity. Results from this study demonstrate that female participants used …

From One Campus To Another: Transfer Student Journeys, Meocha Dozier-Pendleton

Theses and Dissertations

Community college systems offer accessible and affordable postsecondary education, with nearly half of all undergraduates attending public institutions opting for community colleges, particularly low-income, minority, and first-generation students. Less than 35% of students will reach the goal of transferring to a four-year institution within six years even though 80% of community college students intend to (Jabbar et al, 2019). This thesis explores the experiences of transfer students as they transition from one institution to another, focusing on the challenges they face and the support systems they rely on during this process. Focusing on transfer students can provide insights into why …

Contract Quality Feature Extraction Using Llm, Aaron C. Washington

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the potential insights generated from linguistic complexity measurements and large language model (LLM) based assessments on the quality of contract documents. By combining structured True/False prompts with log-probability analysis and ambiguity scoring, the study introduced novel contract-quality assessment methods. Results support a feature-driven approach to contract evaluation, one that offers automated, scalable insights for triaging risk and improving drafting practices. These assessment methods contribute to the growing field of legal natural language processing by offering modular tools for effective contract analysis.

Framing The Sudanese Refugee Flows To Egypt Across Traditional And Social Media., Ghada Abdullah

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the framing of Sudanese refugees in Egyptian media during the first year of the Sudanese conflict (April 2023–March 2024). Employing a content analysis framework, the research investigates content from three Egyptian newspapers—Al Ahram, Al Masry Al Youm, and Al Wafd—alongside tweets from the social media platform X. The study identifies recurring frames, themes, and narratives, highlighting differences between traditional media and social media platforms in their portrayal of Sudanese refugees. Key findings reveal that neutral tone dominate traditional media, focusing on factual reporting, followed by negative, then positive tones. Conversely, social media predominantly features negative narratives, such …

Creating And Validating An Aphasia-Friendly Measure Of Marital Relationships: Preliminary Pilot Testing, Jasmine Espinoza

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to modify and validate an aphasia-friendly questionnaire that can be used to assess marital attachment for couples impacted by aphasia. Twenty participants (10 people with aphasia and their spouses) participated across two sessions. The study consisted of two phases. Phase 1 focused on modifying the Brief Accessibility, Responsiveness, and Engagement Scale (BARE) into an aphasia-friendly format through collaboration with an expert panel. Phase 2 involved piloting the revised questionnaire on participants with aphasia and their spouses along with a cognitive interview to obtain qualitative and descriptive data to assess the questionnaire's face validity and preliminary test-retest reliability …

Conversational Theatre Rehearsals For English Language Education, Empowerment, And Healing, Jennifer Schaupp

Theses and Dissertations

I set out to examine the history and current structure of the English-learning classroom, with a strong focus on adult learners in community-based classrooms, of immigrants, refugees, and more who arrive and make their home in the U.S. as well those born in the U.S. to multilingual homes. I incorporate elements of therapy and theatre, particularly improvisational comedy and Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, as points of comparison to the teachers and students of the classroom by way of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. I use the concept of rehearsal to compare the three disciplines of psychology, language …