Digital Commons Network^™

Integrating Multi-Method Monitoring To Characterize Seasonal Habitat Use Of Green Sturgeon (Acipenser Medirostris) In Humboldt County, California, Olivia S. Boeberitz

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) are a long-lived, anadromous, iteroparous species that spawns in large West Coast North American rivers but ranges widely in the coastal ocean. For coastal California Native American Tribes, green sturgeon are a vital part of their cultural heritage and traditions, and central to their food security. Two genetically distinct population segments (DPSs) of green sturgeon are recognized in the United States, Canada, and Mexico; the southern DPS is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act and the northern DPS is considered of “conservation concern.” Although green sturgeon are known to use large estuaries …

Queering Poetry Workshops, Dobby Morse

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

To what extent do participants report that a poetry workshop builds connections between poets and strengthen their confidence in writing? What do participants want or expect from a poetry workshop?

Through this project I hope to attend and host poetry workshops with an emphasis on the queer community. I will collaborate with campus and community organizations like Queer Humboldt and other organizations that are interested in exploring queer experiences through writing, connection, and meditation. This project will serve as a how-to guide for those seeking to conduct their own workshops.

Amplifying Counterstories And Testimonios About Latine Rural Youth: A Case Study Of The Educational Experience Of Oaxacan-American Youth In Rural Humboldt County, Lorena Cortez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

As the Latine community has increased in rural Humboldt County and in rural regions across the country, educators and researchers have struggled to address the needs of this student population. These challenges are reinforced by deficit perspectives that frame multicultural and multilingual student populations as “culturally lacking” or as “English learners”. Such narratives continue to drive policy in the K-12 education system and contribute to persistent inequities; Latine students represent the lowest educational attainment across other rural student populations (Sansone, 2023, p.60). To challenge these deficit narratives, this research applies a LatCrit methodological framework to create testimonios, a form of …

Relational Approaches To Fire Resilience: Designing A Living Shaded Fuel Break With Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Natalee Nicole Lopes

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Escalating wildfire severity across California reflects not only changing climatic conditions but also the cumulative impacts of colonial land management systems that have disrupted Indigenous fire stewardship and altered forest structure and function. This project examines how wildfire mitigation infrastructure, specifically linear fuel treatments, such as fuel breaks, can be reimagined through Indigenous relational frameworks of care-based land stewardship. Grounded in Happy Camp (Athithúfvuunupma), California, within the ancestral homelands of the Karuk Tribe along the mid-Klamath River, this research is carried out in collaboration with Karuk knowledge holders, centering Indigenous knowledge systems and priorities.

Using a mixed-methods approach that integrates …

Effects Of Coaching Interventions On Burnout And Mental Health Outcomes Among Collegiate Athletes: A Meta-Analysis, Natalie Mitchell

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This meta-analysis examined the effects of coaching interventions on burnout and mental health outcomes among collegiate athletes. Following PRISMA guidelines, literature published from 1980 onward was searched across SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and ProQuest Theses & Dissertations. Studies were included if they assessed burnout, psychological well-being, or related mental health outcomes in collegiate athletes and investigated a coaching intervention. Twelve interventional studies met the inclusion criteria. Across studies, coaching interventions varied in structure, duration, sport context, and cultural setting, with most emphasizing intrapersonal strategies and emotional or mental health outcomes. Meta-analytic results indicated small, non-significant effects favoring …

Pretend Play Effects On Autistic Children's Theory Of Mind & Social Skills, Joelle Lok

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Autistic individuals often struggle with basic social skills due to deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM), perspective taking, reciprocity difficulties, etc. Early interventions that target these skills, specifically metarepresentation skills, could be essential to an individual’s social success and overall well-being. Further, pretend play shares an important relationship with ToM and social skills, due to their shared use of putting oneself in others’ shoes. Thus, a pretend play intervention could be beneficial in not only improving children’s overall play interactions, but also through a domino effect on their ToM and social skills. The directionality of the relationship between pretend play, …

Plurality Of Place: A Critical Walk Through The Ananda Meditation Retreat, Heidi L. Cram

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This autoethnographic research project is located in the fertile literary world of authors Gary Snyder and J. Donald Walters’s historic Bald Mountain land cooperative in Northern CA. This is the site of Walters’s Ananda Meditation Retreat, and Snyder's Ring of Bones Zendo. The project takes a creative embodied approach to analyzing and contributing to this location's literature of place through the genres of creative nonfiction and interpretive mapping. The cooperative's focus on Eastern and Indigenous spiritual practice seeded the countercultural bubble which surrounds these two institutions and generated a ripple of rich and varied literature of place. Through autoethnographic inquiry, …

The Religious Landscape Of Ukraine During The War: Consolidation Potential And Destructive Imitations, Vadym Dyiak

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines the transformation of religion’s functional role in the context of the russian-Ukrainian war. The author analyzes how the extreme circumstances of armed conflict catalyze the polarization of Ukraine’s religious landscape, clearly distinguishing between authentic religiosity and its ideological imitations. The main focus is on conceptualizing the differences between churches that serve as a resource for spiritual consolidation and social therapy (the OCU, the UGCC) and religious institutions that are used as instruments of hybrid aggression. To describe the latter phenomenon, the author introduces and adapts Oswald Spengler’s concept of “historical pseudomorphosis.” It is argued that the activities …

The Ukrainian Religious Diaspora In Countering Russian Aggression, Liudmyla Fylypovych, Georgii D. Fylypovych Mr.

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the activities of the Ukrainian religious diaspora during the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, its involvement in humanitarian support, and information-media opposition to Russia. It examines the initiatives of various churches, including the UGCC, the Orthodox Church in America, and Protestant congregations abroad, in providing concrete assistance to Ukraine, specifically to refugees, displaced persons, medical institutions, and units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The assistance provided is multi-vector in nature, ranging from financial support for individuals or institutions to psychological aid for those suffering from various traumas. The article highlights the necessity of creating inter-confessional coordination centers for …

The Reconfiguration Of Institutional Trust In The Church In Ukraine During The Full-Scale Russian–Ukrainian War, Nataliia Ishchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the transformation of institutional trust in the Church in Ukraine under the conditions of the full-scale Russian–Ukrainian war. The phenomenon of trust is interpreted as an interdisciplinary concept that makes it possible to combine theological, anthropological, and social approaches to its comprehension. Trust in God and trust in the Church belong to different levels of religious experience: the former has an existential character, while the latter functions as a form of institutional legitimacy. Based on sociological survey data from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) and the Razumkov Centre, it is demonstrated that throughout all the …

The Transformation Of Traditional And Islamic Values Of Kazakhstani Youth In The Context Of Globalization, Nurgul Kabylbayeva, Kalimash Begalinova, Mohd Roslan Bin Mohd Nor

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of globalization processes on the transformation of traditional and Islamic values among Kazakhstani youth. In the context of contemporary globalization, the expansion of the information space, intensified cultural interaction, and the spread of Western lifestyles significantly influence young people’s worldview and value orientations. The study examines how traditional values inherent in Kazakhstani society and the spiritual and cultural foundations of Islam are being transformed in the consciousness of youth. Particular attention is paid to the emergence of new value models under the influence of globalization and their impact on national identity …

Challenges Of The Religious Leadership In The Era Of Digitalization And Information-Communication Technology: The Example Of North Macedonia And Serbia, Vesna Zabijakin Chatleska, Marijana Maksimovic, Ruzhica Cacanoska

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Abstract

The rapid development of the digitalization and the information-communication technology resulted in their wider use in the everyday professional and personal life, via various forms of its manifestation, such as, social networks, podcasts and artificial intelligence. The willingness and the capability of the religious leaders to accept information and communication innovations, and to adjust them to the existing specific structure of the religious communities, presupposes a strategic re-thinking of the religious practices and the relations with the believers in the online space. New technologies have enabled simpler and faster communication in religious communities, but with the use of digital …

Dynamics Of Changes Of Religiosity In Condition Of Crisis Events (Based On The Example Of The Russian-Ukrainian War), Yurii Boreiko, Fedotova Tetiana

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes changes in the religiosity of Ukrainians during the Russian-Ukrainian war as a large-scale event. It explores the nature of the connection between the traumatic experience of war and religiosity and determines the trajectory of changes in the religiosity of Ukrainians during the war. It has been established that the Russian-Ukrainian war caused social upheavals accompanied by crises in various spheres of public life. As a large-scale tragic event, the war became a catalyst for changes in self-assessment of faith in God and participation in religious practices. The level of religiosity of Ukrainians during the war was significantly …

The Response Of Diaspora And Religious Institutions On The Refugee Crisis: Case Study Of The Republic Of Croatia, Galyna Sagan Dr., Tetiana Kostiuk Dr.

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article is dedicated to the multifaceted support that Ukrainian diaspora and Catholic organizations in the Republic of Croatia have been providing to Ukrainian refugees since the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. The study details the systemic response of such key religious institutions as the Diocese of Križevci, Caritas and the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). Particular attention is paid to integration initiatives, like educational programs developed by the Catholic University of Croatia (HKS), and the provision of spiritual and pastoral care, which remains the unique prerogative of the Church. The study emphasizes coordination between ecclesiastical and state …

Two Fronts Of War: Physical And Spiritual: A Conversation With The Head Of The Chaplaincy Service Of The Land Forces Of The Armed Forces Of Ukraine– Larysa Polianska, Valentyna Kuryliak

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

She is an officer – and a woman. Emphasizing that she is not a military chaplain herself, she describes her role as a manager of the spiritual front. She is responsible for organizing the fulfillment of soldiers’ spiritual and religious needs and coordinating military chaplaincy activities. This conversation with Colonel Larysa Polyanska explores what it means for a woman to lead the chaplaincy service of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the reality of two fronts – physical and spiritual – and the pain of loss, prayer, and the power of words.

Socio-Psychological Portrait Of Muslim Women Who Joined Radical Religious Organizations, Akerke Sakbayeva, Nagima Baitenova, Zhuldyz Zhorabek, Assel Alimkhanova, Raimbek Zeinullin

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines the socio-psychological characteristics, motivations for radicalization, and the legal and social status of Muslim women who have joined radical religious organizations from gender and cultural studies perspectives. In recent years, the increasing involvement of women in violent extremist movements has intensified the need to investigate this phenomenon not only as a security issue, but also as a complex social, cultural, psychological, and gender-related phenomenon. The study analyzes both internal and external factors influencing the radicalization of women, including social marginalization, identity crises, emotional dependency, limited religious literacy, and perceptions of social injustice. Particular attention is given to …

The Phenomenon Of Professional Burnout Among Military Chaplains In Ukraine, Artem Makovskyi, Oleg Mateyuk, Oleksandr Bilovskyi, Anton Datskov, Dmytro Oleshko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article presents a comprehensive study of the phenomenon of professional burnout among military chaplains in Ukraine in the context of their personal experience of being in extreme (combat) conditions. The relevance of the problem is due to the prolonged impact of combat operations, high psycho-emotional stress, and the special role of military chaplains in the system of moral and psychological support for Ukraine's security and defense sector. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was the concept of professional burnout by K. Maslach, the provisions of the person-centered approach, and the theory of personal experience. The empirical study …

Ten Signatories, A Hundred Communities: Pluralization Without Consolidation In Slovenian Protestantism, Katja Brkič Golob

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines why contemporary Slovenian Protestantism exhibits a dual structure: a low‑variance Lutheran core (the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession - ECAC) and a high‑variance neo‑Protestant field (mainly Pentecostal, Charismatic, Evangelical, and some Baptist communities). Using the public Register of Churches and Other Religious Communities as an administrative tracer of organizational volatility (first registrations, renamings, deletions), and situating findings in census/survey context, the study shows that post‑1991 legal liberalization enabled rapid formalization without automatic consolidation. A four‑lens framework—historico‑legal, sociological (church–sect–mysticism; religious‑economy), ecclesiological (order vs. movement), and psychological (charisma and its routinization; risks of authoritarian patterns)—explains why tensions in …

Theological Foundations And Regional Adaptation Of Jihadist Ideology In Russia: Case Of The North Caucasus, Tilekkabyl Amangeldi, Gulzhan Rasheva

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The growth of jihadist movements in the post-Soviet space has generated significant scholarly interest in the ideological and theological mechanisms that sustain militant mobilization. Russia, particularly the North Caucasus, represents an important regional context where global jihadist doctrines intersect with local political conflicts and historical narratives of resistance. This article examines the theological foundations of Russian jihadist movements in order to understand how militant actors reinterpret Islamic doctrines to legitimize violence and construct ideological authority. The study aims to analyze the key theological concepts that shape jihadist discourse in Russia and to explore how global Salafi-jihadist ideology has been adapted …

Religion At The Bedside: Institutionalizing Medical Chaplaincy In Ukraine’S Secular Healthcare Space And Its Moral Tensions, Iryna Horokholinska

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The author conceptualizes medical chaplaincy in Ukraine as a phenomenon of significance for society and its value sphere. It is emerging at the intersection of the secular healthcare system, the social functionality of religion, wartime trauma, and the growing need for spiritual and existential care. The study demonstrates that, in the context of full-scale war, the social relevance of medical chaplaincy is not merely a pragmatic response to psychological and moral challenges, but also a systemic manifestation of the post-secular transformation of the public sphere characteristic of both Ukraine and the contemporary world.

The article further examines the legal and …

Islamic Identity In Post-Soviet Kazakhstan: Between Nation-Building And Global Religious Transformations, Ainur Adaikhan, Ainur Shormanova, Nurlan Orynbekov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This study examines the formation and expression of Islamic identity in Kazakhstan within the broader post-Soviet transformation of religion, nationhood, and state governance. Following decades of Soviet-imposed atheism, Islam re-emerged as a significant cultural and social force after independence in 1991. The objective of this research is to analyze how Islamic identity is constructed, expressed, and regulated in contemporary Kazakhstan, and to assess the interaction between ethnocultural belonging, institutional governance, and global religious influences. Methodologically, the study employs a mixed analytical approach combining theoretical interpretation, quantitative analysis of census and survey data, and institutional analysis of religious policy frameworks. Empirical …

Security Challenges For The Activities Of Religious Organizations During Russian-Ukrainian War, Iryna Kondratieva, Iryna Fenno

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

In the article authors identify the greatest security challenges for religious organizations of Ukraine during Russian-Ukrainian war. In conditions of martial law, external threats and risks associated with the existential dimension become particularly acute. In the context of armed conflict and military operations, issues of survival assume paramount importance. Religious communities, like all other civilian populations, incur substantial losses and are perpetually vulnerable during the active phase of armed conflict. Security challenges are defined by authors as the most significant factor in changes in religious life in Ukraine during martial law.  Among them authors examine in detail war crimes in …

Imperial Islam And Colonial Control: The Orenburg Muslim Spiritual Assembly As A Mediator Of Russian Rule In The Kazakh Frontier, Zharas Akhan

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Examination of the strategic role of the Orenburg Muslim Spiritual Assembly (OMSA) as a pivotal instrument of imperial governance in the Kazakh Steppe during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The study investigates how the Russian Tsarist administration instrumentalized Islamic institutions to exercise political control and facilitate the integration of nomadic Kazakh society into the imperial hierarchy. Drawing on extensive archival evidence, the author analyzes the institutional evolution of the Muftiate, its involvement in diplomatic and intelligence operations, and the intermediary agency of Tatar mullahs who bridged the gap between the Kazakh aristocracy and the Russian bureaucracy. The paper identifies …

Transformation Of Spirituality: Religious Practices Of Ukrainian Youth During The Full-Scale War, Tetiana Bevz, Olena Hazizova, Viktoriia Kapustina, Serhii Maiatskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines the transformation of spirituality among Ukrainian youth during the full-scale war and the changes in religious practices, motivations, and individualized faith in the context of existential crises, social upheavals, and mass population mobility. The impact of war on the role of religious institutions, including the development of institutional adaptability, the shift to horizontal communication models, and the decolonization of religious narratives, is analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the formation of “social religiosity,” when faith serves not only as a tool for individual spiritual practice but also as a tool for civic participation and volunteer initiatives. The …

The Phenomenon Of Existential Ecumenism In Contemporary Ukraine, Iryna Kondratieva, Andrii Marchenko, Oleksii Marchenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

An analysis of existential ecumenism as a dimension of inter-church unity, which is being formed in modern Ukraine due to a common existential threat from the Russian aggressor, when Ukrainian churches unite in an ecumenical response to war crimes, focusing on practical cooperation in real life, on the tasks of social service, and not on existing doctrinal or institutional differences. Existential ecumenism combines the main ideas of existential philosophy, with its emphasis on the value of the human person, the significance of the themes of human freedom and human choice in the face of meaninglessness and death, and ecumenism as …

Faith, Doubt, And Belonging: Spiritual Trajectories Of University Students Under Conditions Of Full-Scale War, Nataliia Ishchuk, Anna Laputko, Yaroslava Demydenko, Iryna Vasiuk, Serhii Kiriienko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines the transformation of religiosity among Ukrainian university students under conditions of the full-scale russian-Ukrainian war. The study aims to identify the specific features of religious self-identification among students of the Bogomolets National Medical University and changes in their attitudes toward religion following the outbreak of the full-scale invasion. The application of the case study method made it possible to examine these processes within a local student community by comparing different dimensions of religiosity, including the place of religion within individuals’ worldviews, denominational affiliation, and subjectively perceived changes in attitudes toward religion under wartime conditions. The findings reveal …

The Romanian Orthodox Church And Ukrainian Refugees: Humanitarian Response And Ecclesial Solidarity, Damian Buchiu

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Romanian Orthodox Church’s public response to Ukrainian displacement combined emergency assistance with forms of solidarity that became increasingly connected to ecclesial life. A purposive corpus of twenty-four English-language items published by the Basilica News Agency, the official news agency of the Romanian Patriarchate, between February 2022 and December 2025 forms the principal source base. These materials record humanitarian and pastoral activity while also showing how the Church publicly interpreted its response. The early response relied heavily on structures already present in dioceses and local communities, which could be redirected quickly toward …

Frontmatter (Volume 46 Issue 9), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Russian-Speaking Muslim Female Bloggers And The Rise Of Gender-Justice Religious Narratives, Kymbat Karatyshkanova, Kudaiberdi Bagasharov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines how Russian-speaking Muslim female bloggers use social media to construct gender-justice narratives and contest religious interpretations they perceive as patriarchal. Drawing on qualitative thematic discourse analysis of publicly available content on YouTube, Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok, the study conceptualizes these practices as digital counter-preaching: the public contestation and reframing of existing religious messages through alternative Islamic arguments. The findings identify several strategies, including framing women’s rights as divinely grounded entitlements, distinguishing Islam from patriarchal cultural practices, promoting economic resilience, challenging selective gendered accountability, and emphasizing reciprocity in marital relations. Digital counter-preaching emerges from perceived interpretive injustice, women’s …

Fy 2026 Financial Report - July, Tennessee. Emergency Communications Board., Tennessee. Department Of Commerce And Insurance

Financial Reports

No abstract provided.