Digital Commons Network^™

Refuge Or Refusal: Turning Points In U.S. Immigration History, Museum Of History And Holocaust Education

Museum of History and Holocaust Education Exhibits

Five key moments emerge as turning points in U.S. immigration policy: 1790, 1882, 1924, 1948, and 1965. This exhibit explores the impact of these turning points and the factors that influenced them, from global conflicts and economic conditions to cultural trends and social aspirations.

Rethinking Judicial Power & Remedial Restraint, Caprice L. Roberts

Catholic University Law Review

This Article maintains that groundbreaking Supreme Court cases reshaping judicial power and restraint are frequently remedies centric. The much- anticipated ruling in Trump v. CASA illustrates this correlation. Interpreting traditional equity, the Supreme Court circumscribed federal judicial power to issue universal relief. The Court relied on Marbury v. Madison to bolster its reasoning on the limits of judicial power. Ironically, both cases denied any remedy while enhancing the potential for future judicial power. Whether via judicial review and supremacy power or the Court’s future ability to now be the only federal court able to issue universal remedies—the Court’s role in …

Journal Of The Arts And Special Education: Volume 5, Issue 2

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

No abstract provided.

Hip-Hop Culture As A Catalyst For Belonging Among Black Male High School Students Who Stutter, Antonio L. Ellis

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

This ethnographic study explores how Hip-Hop culture fosters belonging, identity, and agency among six Black male high school students who stutter in a public charter school in Baltimore, Maryland. Grounded in culturally sustaining pedagogy, DisCrit, and Hip-Hop pedagogy, the research draws on participant observation, interviews, and field notes to examine how students use freestyling, beat-making, and cyphering as expressive tools. Findings reveal that Hip-Hop repositions stuttering as rhythmic expression, cultivates emotional safety through peer collaboration, and challenges deficit-based speech norms. Participants described Hip-Hop spaces as sites of affirmation where their voices were valued and their identities celebrated. The study calls …

Keeping It Real: Hip-Hop Based Education In A Mathematics Classroom, Michelle J. Cook, Elizabeth M. Hughes, Jonte C. Taylor

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

Hip-Hop based education (HHBE) infuses elements of Hip-Hop culture into teaching and learning. Growing research shows that HHBE engages students, validates students’ identities and lived experiences, and supports academic success. In this article we share how HHBE can be used in mathematics with a focus on teaching word problem solving strategies. Using vignettes and real-life examples, we illustrate how creative elements of Hip-Hop (i.e., breakdancing, graffiti art, DJing, MCing, knowledge of self) naturally enhance mathematics and word-problem solving instruction. Educators can sample/adapt strategies shared to create HHBE lessons to meet the interests of their students with disabilities. We hope that …

Learning From Images And Text (Clinical) Data: Toward Putting Ai In Radiology Workflows, Pan Xiao

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The rapid growth of medical imaging data highlights the need for intelligent systems that can understand both radiological language and image content. This dissertation presents two complementary research directions that advance machine learning in radiology through large-scale natural language understanding and unsupervised image representation learning. The first part develops and benchmarks machine learning models for identifying follow-up recommendations in radiology reports—a task essential for improving patient care and reducing missed follow-ups. Using 49,769 reports across multiple modalities and three institutional datasets, along with external and temporal test sets, thirty-two classification methods were systematically evaluated on both findings and impression sections. …

Examining The Effects Of Video Modeling To Enhance Culturally Specific Social Greeting Skills In Preschoolers With Asd In Saudi Arabia, Sarah Alzahrani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A lack of social communication skills, including initiation and responding, has been a prominent characteristic of children diagnosed with ASD (Kanner, 1943; Kroeger et al., 2007). Enhancing these skills in children with ASD during early childhood is crucial to their future relationships, friendships, participation in communal activities, and overall lowering the likelihood of adverse long-term effects, giving significance to this age as a pivotal period for enhancing various skills (Hart Barnett, 2018). Failure to provide interventions to address social communication in children with ASD, specifically in cultures that value this skill, can impede their integration into that society. Thus, this …

The Marathon: A Qualitative Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Black Male Educators, Lloyd M. Cheatom Sr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing a culturally relevant framework and methodology, this qualitative dissertation proposal aims to explore and investigate the unique life experiences and exposures that influence Black men to not only become educators but to sustain their careers in the educational field. The purpose of this study is to identify ways in which 1Nation Mentoring can organically implement strategic opportunities that replicate experiences capable of inspiring interest among young Black males to pursue meaningful roles within education and foster a pipeline of future Black male educators.

Additionally, this research will examine the intersection between education and trauma-based experiences, as well as the …

Mind The Gap: Intergenerational Perspectives On Mental Illness Within Ghanaian American Communities, Ama Danso-Ayesu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research explores attitudes toward mental illness among Ghanaian immigrants and

first-generation Ghanaian Americans, with particular focus on factors that influence

stigma. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model, the study utilized the

Community Attitudes Toward Mental Illness (CAMI) Scale to measure four dimensions

of stigma, including authoritarianism, benevolence, social restrictiveness, and community

mental health ideology. A comparative, cross-sectional design was employed to examine

differences between immigrant and American-born participants. The findings revealed

generational differences where Ghanaian immigrants reported higher levels of

authoritarian and socially restrictive beliefs, while first-generation Ghanaian Americans

demonstrated more benevolent and inclusive attitudes. Interpreted through the ecological

systems …

The Making Of Jewish-American Progress In Gertrude Stein’S, The Making Of Americans: Being A History Of A Family’S Progress, Rochel L. Gasson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation provides a comprehensive reading of Gertrude Stein’s The Making of Americans (TMOA), situating the novel at the intersection of literary modernism, Jewish American identity, and feminist thought. It argues that Stein reconceives American progress not as linear advancement but as a recursive, relational, and culturally grounded process. Through experimental form, repetitive syntax, and a sustained present tense, TMOA dramatizes the psychological and social complexities of immigrant families navigating assimilation while maintaining heritage. Characters such as the Old Man, his son, and the Dehning and Herland families reveal generational tensions, moral labor, and the ambivalences of upward …

Likes For Love: Examining The Relationship Of Sociocultural Factors On Social Media Influences Of Instagram Use For Young Black Women, Cheria S. Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years there has been a push toward studying ethnic minority women related to the psychological implications of image and beauty, as historically the focus has been on the experiences of European women (Awad et al., 2015). Black women must process sexual development, attitudes, and behaviors through the lens of the sexual scripts and stereotypes of their ethnic group and must negotiate between mainstream and culture specific norms of sexuality (Daniels and Zurbriggen, 2016; Jerald et al., 2017). The presence of these scripts signifies a difference between Black women and other races about how they may internalize and react …

Counselor Perspectives On Substance Use Treatment In Pennsylvania As Medical Cannabis Laws Evolve, Renee L. Ludwig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cannabis, once primarily regarded as a recreational or “party” drug, has undergone a significant shift in public and medical perception over the past two decades. It is now increasingly recognized as a therapeutic agent prescribed within clinical settings. While substantial research has examined the general use of medical cannabis, relatively little attention has been given to its implications for substance use counselors treating clients who use medical cannabis during treatment for substance use disorders. The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of substance use counselors regarding client use of medical cannabis and to investigate how such use …

Charter School Counselor's Perceived Barriers To Implementing A Recognized Asca Model Program, Nadene P. Pomerico

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2003, the American School Counselor Association published its first edition of the ASCA National Model—a framework for school counselors to develop and implement comprehensive school counseling programming. This streamlined guidance supports school counselors in developing and implementing comprehensive school counseling programming that prioritizes services to students with systematic intentionality. In addition, the American School Counselor Association released the Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) award. This distinction is awarded to school counseling programs that demonstrate the implementation of the ASCA National Model with fidelity, which includes using data to evaluate the impact of school counseling programming. Through the years, a …

An Ancient And Future Model Of Ecclesial Ministry: Exploring Insights From African Ecclesiology For A Revitalized Understanding Of The Catechist In The Amecea Region, Fortunatus Mugisha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ministry of the catechist has historically been an enduring and transformative ministry in the life of the Church in Africa, particularly in the AMECEA region. Within the AMECEA region (Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa), catechists have ministered not merely as transmitters of the faith but as the “unsung heroes and heroines” and vital agents of evangelization, pastoral care, and community leadership serving as the local face of the Church. This dissertation, relying on the insights from African ecclesiologies, proposes a renewed theological and pastoral understanding of the catechist as an ancient and future model of ecclesial …

Navigating The Digital Divide: A Quantitative Analysis Of The Digital Literacy Skills Of College Students Through The Lens Of Technological Self-Efficacy, Robert M. Spisak Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative dissertation addresses the digital literacy skills gap among college students and their ability to effectively use digital technologies in higher education. While many students arrive with technical skills, gaps exist in their ability to critically assess information, ethically engage with digital content, and apply these competencies across academic and professional contexts. Grounded in the framework of technological self-efficacy, which emphasizes the belief in one’s ability to perform digital tasks, this study examines both the digital literacy skills student bring from high school and their self-perceptions of those skills during college. This study was guided by the following research …

Child Care For Student Parents: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Policy And Politics In Nys, Elizabeth M. Starks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This policy analysis dissertation explores the complex and multifaceted challenges that exist within New York State’s early childhood care and education (ECCE) system by critically examining the amendment of one NYS social services law. Guided by Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis, this study examines two research questions (under one overarching question):

1. What language and arguments are effective in making change in Early Childhood policy in NYS?
   1. What is the policy discourse surrounding the amendment of subdivision 1 of section 410-w social services law in NYS?
   2. What is the political discourse surrounding the amendment of subdivision 1 of section 410-w social services …

The Experience Of African American Male Counselor Educators Navigating Racial Battle Fatigue, Quincy J. Stephenson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative phenomenological approach was used in this research to explore the lived experiences of African American male counselor educators (AAMCEs) in historically or predominantly White universities who have obtained tenure and promotion. The need for equitable support, recruitment, and retention of faculty of color in counselor education has received more attention from universities in recent years. Although some advancement has occurred, AAMCEs continue to be underrepresented in academia, especially counselor education. There has been research concerning the impact of racism on and resilience of AAMCEs; however, there is a lack of research concerning how this specific population navigates racial …

Exploring The Potential Effects Of Read Naturally Live To Support Reading Fluency Development In Diverse Learners, Jovonne Tabb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ability to comprehend and apply knowledge learned through reading is fundamental for individuals to become successful and productive citizens in society. The inability to read fluently and accurately with appropriate pacing and expression significantly inhibits text comprehension. Research suggests that children who do not develop reading fluency are more likely to experience learning and comprehension difficulties throughout their academic careers (Lange, 2019). Computer-assisted interventions (CAI) have demonstrated effectiveness in advancing students' reading fluency, particularly for those at risk of developing reading disabilities or those already diagnosed with reading difficulties. However, a significant gap exists in research examining CAI effectiveness …

Hoarding And The Hoarded Home: A Phenomenological And Psychoanalytic Study, Brianna Stich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While research on hoarding tends to isolate hoarders from the homes they hoard and in which they live, the hoard and the hoarder share a life in the home. This study explores how hoarders live with and live through their hoard at home. It combines psychoanalysis and phenomenology within a unique methodological framework to provide a hermeneutic reading of the psychological significances of the hoarded home. In this study, the contemporary conceptualization of hoarding is historically situated and critiqued from a phenomenological perspective, and the view that hoarding is a single, behaviorally-defined syndrome that is explainable by a cognitive-behavioral model …

Discovery Of The Multi-Ion Bridge Intermediate: A Computational Exploration Of The Mechanism For Azomethine Ylide Formation From N-Oxides, Martin J. Neal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Density functional theory (DFT) provides a method for calculating the ground-state energies of complex molecular systems through evaluating the electron density instead of the full wave function. When results match either experimental outcomes, calculations with DFT offer a computationally efficient method to help explain chemical phenomena. The transformation of tertiary amine N-oxides to azomethine ylides, a simple route to the precursor for 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions that result in the pyrrolidine scaffolds found in natural products, has received only minimal attention due to concerns that its mechanism includes a highly electrophilic intermediate. Utilizing DFT to model the mechanism of the conversion …

State Constitutional Law: Developments In Georgia Election Law, Bryan P. Tyson, Bryan F. Jacoutot, Diane F. Laross

Mercer Law Review

Since the 2018 election, the election process in Georgia has been subjected to intense scrutiny both on the campaign trail and in the courtroom through a variety of lawsuits. Cases in superior courts and the Supreme Court of Georgia have challenged everything from candidate eligibility to election outcomes to the voting machines used in elections. While much of the highest-profile litigation has been in federal court, state law regarding election administration and post-election contests has developed in significant ways during that time period. This Article reviews some of the most significant cases involving Georgia election law that have made their …

Does Georgia’S Code Have The Force Of Law? Early Codification Practices And Constitutional Questions, Jake Shatzer

Mercer Law Review

In 1858, Georgia’s General Assembly commissioned the state’s first official code. The legislature appointed three men to assemble a lengthy volume that included all the legislative acts that were in force at the time. Besides statutes, the General Assembly also tasked the codifiers with codifying legal principles of the English common law, Georgia Supreme Court decisions, and English statutes that were still in force. As a result, the codifiers inserted hundreds of provisions into the code that they wrote in an attempt to distill these legal principles into statutory form. When the codifiers’ work was done, the General Assembly adopted …

Zoning And Land Use Law, Newton M. Galloway, Steven L. Jones, Joshua Williams

Mercer Law Review

This year’s Georgia Survey on zoning law analyzes new developments in case law and legislation over the Survey period. It analyzes the impact and aftermath of the Supreme Court of Georgia’s opinion in State v. SASS Group, LLC. SASS Group was the first case arising under the 2020 amendment to the Georgia Constitution of 1983, which permitted a limited waiver of the state’s sovereign immunity for declaratory judgment claims alleging that an action of a government official was unconstitutional. Though SASS Group did not factually involve a zoning decision, its holding impacted how and against whom an appeal of a …

Beyond Gary V. State: Paragraph Xiii And The Future Of Georgia’S Exclusionary Rule, Joshua R. Wright

Mercer Law Review

While lawyers across Georgia routinely file motions to suppress evidence in the state’s superior courts, many may never stop to consider what actually affords their clients that right. Practitioners preparing these motions quickly discover one of the most significant recent developments in modern Georgia criminal law: the debate over the scope of a criminal defendant’s constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures and, more importantly, when courts must suppress evidence obtained in violation of those rights. Will the Georgia Supreme Court overturn Gary v. State in full and adopt a good-faith exception? If so, can criminal defense attorneys look to …

Chapter Three: Aging, Compounded Effects, And Health, Lihua Huang, Alena Kenyon

Books and Contributions to Books

It examines ageism in the context of additional major social positions that older adults experience, such as class, sex, race/ethnicity, rurality, ability, sexual orientation and gender identity, and immigration, but also highlight the cumulative, compounded effects of multiple marginalizations on their health and lived aging experiences, from food and housing security to digital access.

Multi Agent Large Language Models For Biomedical Hypothesis Generation In Drug Combination Discovery, Qidi Xu, Claudio Soto, Mohammad Shahnawaz, Xiaozhong Liu, Xiaoqian Jiang, Yejin Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recent advancements in large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated their potential in scientific reasoning, but their ability to open-ended hypotheses in data-scarce domains remains underexplored. Here, we introduce Combinatorial Alzheimer’s Disease Therapeutic Efficacy Decision (Coated-LLM), an AI-driven framework that is inspired by scientific collaboration to predict efficacious combinatorial therapy when data-driven prediction is infeasible. Coated-LLM employs multiple specialized LLM agents—Researcher, Reviewers, and Moderator—to systematically generate and evaluate hypotheses through several in-context learning techniques. Using Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as a test case, Coated-LLM outperformed traditional knowledge-based methods (accuracy: 0.74 vs. 0.52), with external validation achieving an …

Powering Up Clinical Scholarship In Dental Journal Club: Article Review Session 2, Evelyn Wang

HSLIC Faculty and Staff Instructional Resources

This presentation is designed for Dental Services Journal Club attendees as Session 2 of an article‑based workshop series on clinical scholarship, featuring three exemplar systematic reviews and meta-analyses on endodontic restoration: Naumann 2018 (ferrule effect in post-and-core restorations), Tsintsadze 2024 (survival rates of glass-fiber vs metal posts), and Batista 2020 (ferrule effect on fiber-reinforced composite post-and-core failure). The session teaches participants how to distinguish between systematic review and meta-analysis, apply PICO framework for formulating clinical questions, evaluate study design and methodological rigor (risk of bias assessment, inclusion/exclusion criteria, follow-up duration), interpret results and heterogeneity (I² statistic, confidence intervals), and understand …

The Campus Evp: A Multi-Case Content Analysis Of Employer Branding Communication In U.S. Higher Education, Latoya A. Clarke

Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how universities across the major geographical regions in the United States communicate their employer brand through the Careers section on their websites and digital recruitment materials. Using a multiple-case qualitative content analysis, the study applies the four-dimensional brand SMRT storytelling framework of story, meaning, ritual, and transmedia to evaluate how institutions signal aspects of their employer value proposition across various content formats. Findings show that meaning and ritual were consistently applied through content formats via mission statements, departmental narratives, and employee photography. However, story and transmedia appeared inconsistently, as fewer content formats featured long-form …

Dialogic Communication And Digital Fandom: The Role Of K-Pop In Shaping Global Artist–Fan Relationships, Huanchun Xu

Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how K-pop artists use Instagram and Weverse to communicate with fans, and how platform-specific affordances shape the relational dynamics of contemporary fandom. Using a mixed-method content analysis of four artists—Seventeen, Babymonster, Lee Sung-Kyoung, and Kim Myungsoo (L)—this study compares 2022–2024 posting patterns across both platforms. Quantitative findings show that highly curated promotional photos and videos dominate Instagram, whereas Weverse contains far more text-based, casual, and relational posts.

This study further reveals that Weverse fosters dialogic communication, personal disclosure, and multilingual fan interaction, unlike on public-facing platforms. Drawing on dialogic communication theory and computer-mediated communication (CMC) interaction frameworks, …

Data Storytelling For Reputation Management: A Multiple Case Study Of Formula 1, Patagonia & Spotify, Michael O. P. Lowsley-Williams

Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates data storytelling as a reputation management strategy by examining how organizations leverage data narratives to enhance brand identity, build stakeholder trust, and reshape public perception. Through analysis and comparison of three qualitative case studies of Patagonia, Formula 1, and Spotify, this research explores how these companies construct and utilize data-driven narratives to address reputational challenges across distinct industry contexts. Drawing on elements of framing, situational crisis and stakeholder theories as well as the concepts of encoding and decoding, this study analyzes narrative structures, framing devices, and audience engagement tactics within reports, campaigns, and multimedia content from 2015-2025. …