Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Relationship Between Body Composition, Bmi, And Sleep Outcomes Among Nepalese Brick Workers, Zoe C. Peterson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sleep is a critical determinant of metabolic health, with extensive evidence linking insufficient and fragmented sleep to increased adiposity and obesity risk in high-income populations. However, these relationships remain poorly understood in labor-intensive, low-income occupational settings. This study examined associations between objectively measured sleep characteristics using accelerometry and body composition among a population of Nepalese brick workers, a group of people exposed to substantial environmental and occupational stressors.

A secondary cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from 233 adult brick workers in the Nepal Kathmandu valley. Sleep metrics – including total sleep, wake after sleep onset (WASO), and number of …

Justice-Involved Individual Experiences Accessing Community Reentry Services Postincarceration In Northern California, Pamela Michelle Kesee-Wyre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Examining The Effect Of Assistant-Centered Peer Interventions On Student Belonging And Academic Performance In Introductory Physics And Introductory Astronomy College Courses, Shiva Basir

Dissertations

Physics education research (PER) plays an important role in improving teaching strategies and student outcomes in STEM education. This study examined relationships among academic preparedness, sense of belonging, and academic performance in introductory physics and introductory astronomy courses at the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL). Diagnostic assessments, belonging surveys, and academic performance measures were used across multiple instructional phases. The study also explored the implementation of assistant-centered peer interventions model, targeted math reviews, and motivational starts designed to support student engagement and belonging. Findings suggested meaningful relationships among belonging, confidence, and academic performance, while highlighting the importance of supportive instructional …

Strategies To Increase Employee Retention In U.S. Independent Restaurants, Tania Raquel Londono-Rivera

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

The Prevalence Of Dysphonia: A Comparison Of Indoor And Outdoor Athletic Coaches, Keelyn Peacock

Student Theses and Dissertations

This investigation was conducted to assess the Prevalence of Dysphonia, while comparing indoor and outdoor athletic coaches. This investigation also looked at the prevalence of self-perceived vocal dysphonia symptoms within collegiate athletic coaches. This study was conducted by distributing a survey to the Division I athletic coaches in the state of Arkansas. The survey consisted of demographic questions, a questionnaire that explored the self-perceived vocal symptoms, clinician perspective vocal ratings, and acoustic parameters of voice recordings. The data collected revealed that there were vocal symptoms that were identified as an effect of occupational voice demand during the current season of …

Examining The Influence Of Students’ Socioeconomic Background And Teachers’ Perceived Stress On Their Burnout In A Rural Arkansas Delta School District, Tessa C. Cripe

Student Theses and Dissertations

Teacher burnout presents ongoing challenges in high-poverty rural schools, affecting teacher retention and instructional quality. In the Arkansas Delta, educators frequently navigate complex professional and emotional demands. The purpose of this convergent parallel mixed-methods study was to examine the influence of students’ socioeconomic background and teachers’ perceived stress on overall teacher burnout and each of its dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Perceived stress was measured using the PSS-10, a unidimensional instrument that assesses the appraisal of stress, or how unpredictable life feels. The study was guided by the Maslach Burnout Theory and the Job Demands-Resources framework. Quantitative …

Teacher Perceptions On Optimizing Instructional Practices For English As A Second Language Instruction, Molly Elizabeth Davis

Student Theses and Dissertations

The rapid growth of English learners (ELs) in middle schools across Northwest Arkansas has intensified the need for instructional practices that effectively support English language acquisition while promoting equitable academic outcomes. Despite the presence of district-level English as a Second Language (ESL) policies, inconsistencies remain in how instructional practices are implemented at the classroom level. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to examine middle school teachers’ perceptions of instructional practices that optimize ESL instruction, explore the alignment between teacher practices and district policy, and identify challenges educators face in implementing effective strategies. Guided by Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural …

Implementation Of Standardized Mental Health Screening And Referral Protocols For Depression In Patients Aged 65 And Older In Primary Care Settings, Elizabeth Nyambura Irungu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Beyond Commemoration To Reparations: A Media Representation Analysis Of The Elaine Massacre Of 1919, Oyeronke Oyindamola Afolabi

Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the evolving public memory of the Elaine Massacre of 1919 through a critical analysis of media representation, commemorative practices, and descendant-led advocacy. Situating the massacre within the broader history of racial violence in the United States, the study argues that its significance extends beyond the events of 1919 to include the long-term processes of historical silencing, narrative distortion, and contested remembrance that have shaped its afterlife. Drawing on interdisciplinary frameworks from memory studies, critical heritage studies, and media discourse analysis, the research employs a qualitative thematic analysis of contemporary media publications from 2018 to 2024. Guided by …

From Hashtags To Regime Change: How Ai-Driven Social Media Algorithms Fueled Youth Protests Against Authoritarianism In Bangladesh But Stalled In Pakistan (2020-2025), Rafia Nishan Abbasi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this research, it has been investigated that how and why youth protests were amplified by AI based social media algorithms in Bangladesh; however, their impacts resulted in occasional and isolated resistance in Pakistan during 2022-25, taking in account the differences in state regulations, platform governance, and civil society networks. While utilizing Mixed-methods approach, this study employs comparative discourse analysis, a structured survey (N=466), semi-structured interviews, legal and policy tracing, and platform data. This research has proposed a novel theoretical framework of Algorithm Regime Mediation (ARM). ARM considers platform algorithms as politically intermingled intermediaries which can determine socio-political outcomes by …

Don't Force Me To Explain: Rethinking Access Outside Of Compulsory Transparency, Rhea Ienni

Dissertations

My dissertation is concerned with better understanding the barriers disabled people encounter while attempting to procure access both at the institutional level, and in their everyday lives. Within disability and accessibility literature, there are many discourses on what disability is and what access means. However, there are few people who explore the harmful consequences of disabled people being forced to “prove” they are disabled to an ableist world to get their basic needs met, and my dissertation intervenes in this gap. Within current US policy, if a disabled person requires access support at the institutional level, they must provide medical …

Learning In Infants Using Intrinsically Motivated Goal Conditioned Reinforcement Learning, T I Darsan

Master’s Dissertations

Traditional artificial intelligence models learn by passively digesting large datasets. In contrast, human infants discover skills by actively interacting with their bodies and environments without explicit external rewards. This thesis introduces the Composer Architecture, a machine learning framework designed to mimic this autonomous, open-ended development. The Composer architecture operates in a multi-stage loop, the latent model using Contrastive Learning Through Time (CLTT) to compress high-dimensional raw data from visual, proprioceptive, and touch sensors into a low-dimensional space. To preserve data relationships and prevent topological collapse, a Softmax activation forces these latent representations to lie smoothly on a probability simplex. A …

Design And Evaluation Of A Code-Switching-Aware Multilingual Conversational Ai System Using Advanced Rag Architectures, Ashutosh Juvale

Master’s Dissertations

Conversational artificial intelligence has become the primary interface through which hundreds of millions of users in India seek information and customer support. Yet the way these users actually write and speak is fundamentally at odds with the monolingual assumptions baked into most retrieval and generation systems: they code-switch, fluidly mixing one or more of the twenty-two scheduled languages of India with English, frequently typing Indic words in the Roman script ("mera refund kab tak aayega"). Standard Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines silently fail on such input — the retriever returns off-topic passages because the query and the knowledge base live in …

An Efficient Hierarchical Deployment Of Sensors For K-Coverage In Planner Wireless Sensor Network, Abhay Raj Singh

Master’s Dissertations

Ensuring reliable sensing coverage is a fundamental challenge in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), particularly when multiple sensors are monitoring each location to provide robustness against node failures. In this work, we address the problem of deterministic k-coverage in planar WSN by proposing a hierarchical triangular lattice-based deployment strategy that organizes sensor locations across di↵erent refinement levels and guarantees coverage of every point in the sensing domain by at least k sensors. Each lattice is three-colorable, and selective activation of color classes ensures adjustable coverage guarantees. We prove that activating a single color class at refinement level t guarantees at least …

Telluric Correction Of M-Dwarf Stars Using Machine Learning, Sayak Rana

Master’s Dissertations

The study of M-dwarf stars is of prime scientific interest to us because of their closer habitable zones and the favorable conditions they offer for exoplanet detection. However, telluric contamination of the ground-based spectra results in sharp absorption lines, which makes their study cumbersome. Removing this contamination is necessary for estimating key stellar parameters. The central contribution is a one-dimensional Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) that retrieves the four atmospheric parameters governing telluric absorption: pressure, temperature, humidity, and airmass. These predicted parameters are passed to Telfit which produces an estimated telluric spectrum. The observed spectrum is then divided by this estimated …

Examining Technology Integration In Teaching Science In Secondary Schools In Nigeria, Williams Ahupa Iyango

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

K–3 General Education Teachers’ Experiences On Their Roles In Supporting English Language Learners, Sylvia Pollard-Ware

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Relationship Between The Use Of A Personalized Learning System And English Language Arts Proficiency In Grades Three Through Five At A New Jersey School, Rolanda Monique Terry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Examining Teachers' Perceptions On How To Close The Ela Achievement Gap Among Black And White Students In Elementary Title I Schools In A Northwest Florida District, Caressa Renae Richardson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Nursing Staff Education On Transgender Patient Care In A Nursing Home, Cyril Shan Madera Tena

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Dissecting The Discourse: Colin Kaepernick's National Anthem Protest And Conservative Media As Competing Racial Projects, Travis Moody

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the media portrayal of Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality and racial injustice during the National Anthem in the 2016 National Football League (NFL) season. Using content analysis, I analyze why Colin Kaepernick protested in his own words and how conservative media outlets such as Fox News rearticulated and criticized his social justice stance as an unpatriotic denigration of the American flag and Star-Spangled Banner. As I further argue, social movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and the Colin Kaepernick-inspired “Take a Knee” movement represent a political project to inform racial discourse regarding racial injustice in the United States. …

Evaluation Of A Sleep Health Composite: Changes In Sleep Over The Menarcheal Transition Among Girls, Julianna Adornetti

Master's Theses

Sleep undergoes a shift during puberty, increasing the risk for psychological and insomnia symptoms, particularly among girls. However, little research has examined how the onset of menarche may contribute to vulnerability in sleep and psychological functioning. The Sleep Health framework provides a standardized, multidimensional way to conceptualize sleep health (RU-SATED: satisfaction, alertness, timing, efficiency, duration, and regularity). Although prior studies have provided proof-of-concept for assessing sleep health using a composite score (SHc), its measurement properties have yet to be explored. The primary aims of this longitudinal study were to (1) evaluate the factor structure of a sleep health composite, (2) …

Satisfaction With Caseworker Services And Child Outcomes For Youth In The Foster Care System, Taira Masuda

Master's Theses

Currently, there are approximately 400,000 children involved in the U.S. foster care system (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023). Youth involved in foster care experience challenges such as trauma, disruptions to their support system, academic disruptions, and additional public system involvement (Emerson & Lovitt, 2003; Fawley-King et al., 2017; Masuda & Helm, 2024; Modrowski et al., 2023). Considering this context, it is essential to increase efforts to reduce added distress and bolster supportive contexts for youth. Caseworkers are essential service providers for youth in foster care. Caseworkers provide support to youth and families through assessing needs, connecting families …

A Qualitative Study Of Gratitude Practice Among Won Buddhist Older Adults And Implications For Gerontological Social Work, Sungsim Lee

Dissertations

Although gratitude has been widely studied in social science, existing scholarship has largely relied on Western worldviews and quantitative research frameworks, limiting understanding of lived gratitude experiences within diverse spiritual and cultural contexts, including Eastern spiritual traditions. In Won Buddhism, originating in South Korea, gratitude holds a central place in spiritual life and is understood as an essential practice. This qualitative study explores the views of Won Buddhist older adult practitioners regarding their experiences, benefits, and challenges of engaging in spiritually grounded gratitude practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 practitioners aged 65 and older from English-speaking Won Buddhist communities. …

Being Desi At School: Exploring The Racialized School Experiences Of South Asian American Youth, Prabha Kaundinya

Dissertations

Schools in America have been central areas for racialization, and as an immigrant, racial-ethnic minority population, South Asian American (SAA) students have been subjected to a variety of racialization processes (S. J. Lee et al., 2017; Rice, 2017, 2019; Subedi, 2013). However, what is known about SAA educational experiences is often based on celebratory stereotypes that proclaim their uniform success while neglecting attention towards the diversity of their needs (including academic, social-emotional, or mental health needs; Saran, 2015; Ngo & Lee, 2007; P. Patel & Patel, 2017; Pedraza & Guillaume, 2023; N. Sharma et al., 2020). This dissertation uses a …

Elucidating The Mechanisms Of Complex Flavoprotein Dehydrogenases, Tyler Alt

Dissertations

Flavins are ubiquitous redox active cofactors that can catalyze electron transfer between substrates. They offer the advantage of being able to stabilize a range of oxidation and protonation states, as well being amenable to covalent modification, which can further alter their activity. As such, the scope of reactions catalyzed by flavoproteins is broad and flavin has implications in a range of biological processes. The two predominant forms of flavin that serve as redox active cofactors are flavin adenine mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), which are functionally homologous. A major complication of studying flavoprotein dehydrogenases, and one that has …

Making Sense Of The Barrio: Place-Based Appraisal And Coping Among Latine Residents In Chicago, Juanita Vivas Bastidas

Dissertations

Residents of Chicago’s Latine barrios often describe their neighborhoods as places of familiarity and safety—sites defined by both personal independence and collective solidarity, where daily life is marked by a sense of belonging and mutual support. Yet, residents also contend daily with overlapping social and environmental stressors. While urban, medical, and environmental sociologists have each shown that place matters, their findings remain siloed and rarely integrated to illuminate the everyday realities of Latine neighborhoods. As a result, we lack a systematic analysis of how people living in Chicago’s Latine barrios make sense of and cope with multiple, simultaneous stressors. I …

Merleau-Ponty On The Crisis Of Natural Philosophy: A Critique Of The Metaphysical Foundations Of Natural Science And Investigations Into The Ontology Of Nature, Kevin Mager

Dissertations

In this dissertation, I show that Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy of nature is also a radical critique of the metaphysical foundations of natural science. This critique leads us to a new ontology for science, grounded in the lifeworld. I focus on how his philosophy offers a detailed critique of both physicalism and mechanism. For Merleau-Ponty, mechanism is not just the strict adherence to classical causality, but any view that asserts that classical causality has any role to play in reality at all. To replace mechanistic causality, Merleau-Ponty argues that we must conceive of nature as grounded in meaningful possibility. Merleau-Ponty's emphasis on …

Responsive Rigor And Strategic Care: Faculty Praxis For Holistic Student Success In The Community College, Jennifer Elizabeth Kelley

Dissertations

This qualitative study examines how community college faculty conceptualize, communicate, and enact academic rigor and care in their teaching practice. While post-pandemic debates have positioned rigor and care as opposing forces—evident in the "Rigor Wars" that framed care as performative laxity and rigor as gatekeeping—community college faculty successfully integrate these practices to support holistic student success. This research addresses critical gaps in higher education scholarship, which has studied rigor and care separately, focused primarily on four-year institutions, and overlooked faculty perspectives on how integration occurs in practice. Drawing on a single-case study of 38 faculty members at a large Midwestern …

The Year Of Birth Age Grouping Policy: Its Impact On Participation In Us Youth Soccer, Murray James Findlay

Dissertations

In 2016, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) implemented a nationwide year-of-birth (YOB) age grouping policy that aligned youth soccer teams with calendar years (January 1st –December 31st), replacing the traditional schoolyear (August 1st –July 31st) grouping system. This dissertation investigates the impact of that policy on youth soccer participation in the United States, addressing a critical gap in empirical research linking national policy interventions to participation outcomes. Framed through the Fun Integration Theory (FIT) (Visek et al., 2015), which conceptualizes youth sport engagement as driven by social and intrinsic enjoyment factors, the study examines whether the YOB policy caused …