Digital Commons Network^™

“When I Farm, I Am Free:” Navigating Hmong Identity And Citizenship Through Farming, Stephen Kwas , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

No abstract provided.

Perspectives On Music Within The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Community, Anna Hanbeck

Graduate Research Papers

This study investigates how Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) individuals perceive and experience music. Through a survey with DHH participants, the research explores alternative modes of musical perception, including vibration, visual cues, and emotional response. Findings reveal that many DHH individuals actively engage with music through multisensory strategies, challenging the understanding of music as primarily a hearing-based experience. The results highlight the importance of inclusive musical practices and technologies that provide diverse sensory experiences. Music is an experience that can be sought through different means. This research contributes to a broader understanding of accessibility in the arts and underscores …

An Examination Of Teacher Perceptions Of Student Retention In Choir When Transitioning Between 8th And 9th Grade, Megan Mccrary

Graduate Research Papers

This study was conducted over the course of 10 weeks through an online survey sent to public high school and middle school choral educators across Iowa and gathered data about choir student transitions into 9th grade for the 2024-2025 school year. 38 choir teachers across the state of Iowa participated in this study. Eligibility for participation required that the teachers had taught either 8th or 9th grade choir during the Spring 2024 semester or the Fall 2024 semester. Simple main effects analysis showed that neither students changing buildings nor students changing instructors had a statistically significant effect on student enrollment. …

Welcome From The Editor, Joshua E. Young

Iowa Journal of Communication

No abstract provided.

Teasing In Romantic Relationships: The Roles Of Attachment Dimensions, Relational Uncertainty, And Interpersonal Attraction, Nathan Miczo

Iowa Journal of Communication

Drawing upon DiCioccio’s interactionist model of teasing, this study examined positive and negative teasing in romantic relationships, with relational uncertainty and interpersonal attraction as mediators. Participants completed measures of teasing, attachment, relational uncertainty, and interpersonal attraction. Affectionate teasing was positively predicted by anxious attachment, physical attraction, and social attraction, and negatively predicted by avoidant attachment. Social attraction mediated the relationship between anxiety and affectionate teasing, while physical attraction and social attraction were mediators between avoidance and affectionate teasing. There were no significant results for relational uncertainty as a predictor or for aggressive teasing as an outcome.

Student Affairs Professionals' Sensemaking Following Student Disclosures Of Mental Health Concerns, Andrea L. Meluch, Alison Doehring, Maria Hannah

Iowa Journal of Communication

Based on semi-structured interviews with 23 participants, this study explores how student affairs professionals in higher education make sense of the role-related and communication-related challenges that they face when students disclose mental health concerns. Study results indicated that participants construct their role as student affairs professionals as advocates and sources of support for students struggling with mental health. However, despite framing their role as “helpers” to students, participants noted that they must navigate mental health resources within and beyond their institution, manage constraints on their role, and grapple with external factors that inhibit students’ ability to receive mental health support. …

Assessing Residents' Water Knowledge, Communication Preferences, And Risk Perceptions: Insights For Practice And Future Communication, Ashleigh M. Day, Eric S. Cerino, Zoe Zidzik, Laura Umphrey

Iowa Journal of Communication

The purpose of this research was to better understand Flagstaff, Arizona (AZ) residents’ water knowledge, media uses, information sources, and water-related risk perceptions. After collecting survey responses from residents (n=476), results highlighted that most residents know their water supplier, but their risk perceptions varied as related to waterborne diseases and water scarcity. Particularly, participants felt more susceptible to water scarcity issues than waterborne diseases and felt that water scarcity was more severe than waterborne diseases. Further, when considering getting water-related information, many participants preferred receiving information via digital devices. Regarding social media use, participants held the strongest preference for receiving …

Toxic Sweetness And Abstinence: The Citationality Of Robert Lustig's Anti-Sugar Rhetoric, Tyler J. Snelling

Iowa Journal of Communication

Robert Lustig’s (2009) lecture on YouTube “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” animated a widespread conversation about whether sugar poisons bodies. Discourse following the lecture warrants analysis to gage how the meaning of the lecture transformed from a critique of food systems into individual actions. I argue that citationality of “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” fosters healthism by grounding sugar’s toxicity in scientific and affective reasoning that compels individual actions like abstinence from sugar. The pediatrician's lecture enabled the construction of a supposedly "moral eater" who removes sugar from consumption to avoid the poison's consequences. This paper offers tools for examining the spread …

Moldy Whoppers And Vitamin Donuts: Health Halos In Food Advertisements, Debbie Danowski

Iowa Journal of Communication

Health Halos have been used in food advertisements since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when the advent of mass-produced consumer goods took hold and manufactures began advertising their products. It wasn’t until nearly eight decades later, however, that theoretical framework specifically involving health halos was recognized in advertising research. Though subsequent research suggests the effectiveness of health halos in making unhealthy food appear healthier, there has been little, if any, attention given to identification of the health halos used in food advertising. This study aims to fill the gap by identifying two of the health halo techniques used …

Fault Box Modeling Of Dip Slip Faults: A Framework For Fault Box Design And Future Studies, Hailey Pressnell

Master's Theses

The behavior of soils during surface fault rupture is a serious concern in the planning and design of infrastructure that may be located within or near a fault zone. Challenges associated with developing mitigation measures for surface fault rupture include the uncertainty of fault rupture and the variability of fault behavior. Current analytical procedures define surface fault rupture according to the type of fault movement (strike slip, normal or reverse), the amount of displacement on the fault, and the mechanics of the material overlying the fault. The purpose of this thesis is to reconfirm analytical solutions and gain a better …

Queer Coasts: Beach Space, Climate Change, And The American Queer Community, Erin Cardoza

Open Access Master's Theses

Queer coastal spaces and beaches have been culturally and historically significant to the LGBTQ+ community for decades. These sites provide visibility, acceptance, and community allowing for LGBTQ+ folks to connect, organize, and find refuge from societal stigma and discrimination. However, these spaces face increasing threats from climate change, gentrification and privatization, and shifting societal dynamics. This research was conducted at two historically queer beaches on the American East Coast, Herring Cove in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Jacob Riis Park in Queens, New York. This study examined the similarities and differences between these sites regarding (1) the importance of beach spaces for …

An Analysis Of Commercial Real Estate, Amanda Christine Fowler

Honors Program Theses

Commercial real estate is typically described as comprising four sectors: office, retail, industrial, and multifamily. Each sector is affected by economic changes and consumer spending differently. This research shows the general overview of the sectors and trends affecting the market, a discussion of the factors driving commercial real estate prices such as inflation, interest rates, unemployment, and employee engagement. A review of the factors affecting regions in the United States is also included. A focus is set on office rental prices for the purpose of the analysis.

Per Se Non-Takings, Nestor M. Davidson, Timothy M. Mulvaney

Faculty Scholarship

In the discourse on the Takings Clause, disputes over methodology have long formed a kind of proxy war, with per se rules ordinarily underwriting strong constitutional protection for property rights and ad hoc standards more often vindicating public interests. At a moment when the Supreme Court is increasingly embracing the rules end of this rules–standards spectrum, this Article offers a novel perspective to challenge the conventional link between categorical reasoning and classical liberal conceptions of constitutional property.

To do so, the Article excavates a vast body of law denying takings liability through rule-like reasoning, an approach the Article calls per …

Race, The Academy, And The Constitution Of The War On Drugs, I. Bennett Capers, Jeffrey Bellin

Faculty Scholarship

The war on drugs is widely viewed as a policy failure. Despite massive government intrusions on personal liberty, drug addiction, overdoses, and drug-related violence have only increased since the war was declared in 1971. David Pozen’s new book, The Constitution of the War on Drugs, reveals a constitutional failure as well. Pozen chronicles a host of constitutional arguments that American litigants deployed to protect a “right” to use drugs with surprising, if fleeting, success. Pozen asks what might have been, exploring why the courts backtracked and effectively removed the Constitution as a meaningful obstacle to drug prohibitions. 

This Review …

Front Matter - Table Of Contents - Preface

Iowa Journal of Communication

No abstract provided.

Scholarly Program Notes For "Songs Of Love & Loss", Seth A. Tanner

Research Papers

This document presents the extended program notes for the graduate voice recital of Mr. Seth A. Tanner which took place on March 1, 2025 in the Old Baptist Foundation recital hall at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. These extended program notes also contain the program of repertoire performed at the recital in addition to the texts of all pieces with translations for those non-English songs.

The repertoire list includes operatic arias from the Baroque and late Romantic periods, and art songs from the late Romantic period, early 20th century, and mid 20th century. The repertoire is representative of a …

The Feminine Perspective - Extended Program Notes, Madison Betz

Research Papers

This research paper is an extension of the program notes to the master’s recital entitled The Feminine Perspective that was given on November 15, 2024. The selection of pieces that are analyzed and described were performed in the order reflected in this paper. All piece selections feature a female composer and/or poet/librettist. In each chapter, one can find the content of the composer’s biography, background to the set or piece, and an analysis of each piece. The recital program included the following pieces:

Clara Schumann: Selections from Sechs Lieder aus Jucunde, Op. 23 (Nos. I, V, VI)

Lucy Simon: …

Examining The Prevalence Of Food Insecurity Among Division 1 Collegiate Athletes, Amna Osman

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Teaching Functional Skills To Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Intellectual Disability Using Behavior-Analytic Curricula, Catrina Barber

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Burnout And Job Satisfaction Among Behavior Technicians In Applied Behavior Analysis: Implications For Practice And Workforce Sustainability, Faryna V. Navar

Research Papers

Burnout is a significant concern for behavior technicians in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA), where high emotional demands and turnover rates pose challenges to workforce sustainability. This paper explores existing research on burnout in ABA and related fields, with a focus on strategies to mitigate its impact. Drawing on the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), the literature suggests that components such as values clarification and committed action may serve as effective tools to reduce burnout and improve job satisfaction among behavior technicians. This paper reviews various studies that examine the role of supervisor support, emotional resilience, …

Analysis Of Port Traffic Growth For Optimization Of Traffic Flow: A Microscopic Traffic Simulation Study Of Jaxport's Blount Island Marine Terminal, Amy A. Aida

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To accommodate increasing cargo volumes and remain competitive, ports worldwide are facing growing pressure to expand and modernize their facilities. However, these expansions can place additional strain on land transportation networks, leading to congestion, delays and operational inefficiencies. This study used VISSIM, a microscopic traffic simulation tool, to model and analyze the complex traffic dynamics at the Blount Island Marine Terminal in Jacksonville, Florida, which is currently undergoing expansion.

To account for future traffic conditions, time series analysis was employed to project growth in traffic demand, taking into consideration anticipated expansions in tenant yard facilities, as well as increases in …

Antisocial Behavior Among Students In Florida School Districts And Their Associated Disciplinary Approaches: A Cross-Lagged Panel Design, Kaylee A. Salt

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that antisocial behavior is a major problem for all those involved in school environments. Additionally, despite the prevalence of using harsher punishments in response to such behavior, these practices may present more negative rather than positive consequences. The aim of the current study was to explore antisocial behavior in schools and the disciplinary approaches used in response to such behavior. Using disciplinary data reported for public schools in 67 districts of the state of Florida, the prevalence of antisocial behavior incidents was compared to the prevalence of other, drug-related incidents. A cross-lagged panel model determined whether a preference …

Community Perception And Attitudes Toward Plastics And Microplastic Pollution: A Case Study In The Red River Delta, Vietnam, Dang Hai Mai

Applied Environmental Research

Plastics and microplastic contamination pose increasing threats to human health, food safety, and environmental sustainability. In Vietnam, rapid urbanization, economic growth, and population expansion have contributed to a surge in plastic waste, intensifying pollution across regions such as the Red River Delta. This study adopts the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explore community perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions regarding plastic and microplastic pollution. A quantitative research design was employed, with data collected through structured questionnaires administered to 1,305 respondents via a stratified multistage sampling strategy across four provinces in the Red River Delta. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression …

Influence Of Crabgrass Root Exudates On The Hydrocarbons Degrading Microorganisms In Crude Oil Contaminated Soil, Sinha Changsiriwatana, Kwang Mo Yang, Toemthip Poolpak, Prayad Pokethitiyook

Applied Environmental Research

Understanding plant‒microbial interactions in petroleum-contaminated soil is critical for enhancing phytoremediation technology. In this study, the root exudate of crabgrass (Digitaria ciliaris) was collected hydroponically, and its dominant composition was identified via GC‒MS. A soil microcosm study was subsequently conducted to evaluate the influence of crabgrass root exudates on microbial growth, dehydrogenase activity, and biodegradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons by the petroleum-degrading bacteria Micrococcus luteus WN01 and Acinetobacter lwoffii A07. The amendment of crabgrass root exudates significantly promoted microbial degradation in both A. lwoffii A07 (47.98%) and M. luteus WN01 (62.78%), which were 8.47% and 15.78% greater than …

The Philippine Digital Paradox: Challenges, Opportunities, And The Way Forward, Shamir Jakaria

Asian Review

The rapid growth of digital technologies is reshaping public governance. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in Philippine public administration. While digital technologies offer significant benefits such as streamlined services, enhanced transparency, and improved citizen engagement, the Philippines faces critical barriers including infrastructure gaps, cybersecurity risks, and a persistent digital divide. Through a systematic review of academic studies, government reports, and policy documents, the study identifies key strategies for advancing e-governance, such as infrastructure development, cybersecurity reforms, and digital literacy programs. The paper highlights successful local and national initiatives, including the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) and …

Nationalism And Indian Community In Malaya During The Japanese Occupation, 1941-1945, Ji-Eun Lee

Asian Review

This study examines the transformation of the Indian community in Malaya during the Japanese occupation (1941–45), with a focus on the rise of nationalist consciousness and collective identity. Through the formation and activities of the Indian Independence League (IIL) and the Indian National Army (INA), the Indian community experienced significant organizational and ideological changes. Under Subhas Chandra Bose’s leadership, civilian participation and support for the INA increased dramatically, fostering a sense of unity and purpose. Comparative analysis highlights the differing wartime experiences of Malaya’s major ethnic groups: while Malays benefited from Japanese policies, the Chinese faced harsh repression, leading to …

Identity, Familia, And Belonging: Librarians Of Latino American Heritage And Professional Associations, Alicia Long, Denice Adkins

School of Information Faculty Publications

The lack of diversity in the library and information science (LIS) field is a historical problem in a profession that strives to provide access to information for all. Many librarians of Latin American heritage are and have been members and/or leaders of the American Library Association (ALA). Some of them are also members of and participate actively in the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA). The purpose of this case study is to understand how librarians of Latin American heritage (LLAH) experience a sense of belonging within librarianship based on their …

A Post-Normal Environment-Centered Approach To Engineering Ethics Education, T Børsen, Shannon Chance, G Meskens

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

This chapter probes engineering responses to contemporary socio-ecological challenges – like climate change and loss of biodiversity – and advocates for a new, post-normal engineering (PNE) paradigm. The chapter promotes cultivating, via reflection and dialogue, a nuanced ethical understanding for grappling with urgent socio-ecological problems, underscoring the need for a diverse palette of ethical frameworks for current and future engineers. The proposed PNE paradigm rejects today's conventional engineering practices and extractive cradle-to-grave model, prioritizing global responsibility and advocating for reflexivity in constructing new approaches to complex present-day issues. Existing theories like virtue ethics and utilitarianism (covered elsewhere in this handbook) …

2025 Cheshire County Advisory Council Agenda & Minutes, Diane Dugray

Advisory Council

No abstract provided.

Strafford County Advisory Council 2025 Meeting Minutes, Cooperative Extension

Advisory Council

No abstract provided.