Digital Commons Network^™

Teaching Digital Evangelism And Web Design As Redemptive Work For The Women Of The Northeastern Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Brenda Michele Rhyne

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem.

The COVID-19 pandemic eliminated thousands of jobs, including positions held by women within the Northeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Unemployment and underemployment may contribute to diminished self-esteem and adverse mental-health outcomes. The problem of unemployment and underemployment is not simply economic—it is theological.

For women in the Northeastern Conference, the lack of an ordered pathway to explore technology-related fields as a career option represents both an economic and a spiritual loss. A course combining technical and evangelistic training may promote members' involvement in evangelistic initiatives (i.e., TMI) while simultaneously providing technological skills. Also, women who do not regularly use …

Intersectionality In Discrimination, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, And Suicide Ideation: Black Americans In Appalachian Contexts, Jailyn May Wilson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Racial discrimination is recognized as a race-based traumatic stressor that has been associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and suicide ideation (SI). However, there remains a paucity of research investigating the impact of racial and other forms of discrimination on understudied populations, including Black Americans residing in Appalachian regions. The current study used an online self-report survey to examine PTSS as a mediator in the association between perceived discrimination and SI and to examine the moderating effect of the number of identity factors with which one experienced discrimination (i.e., race, gender, region) on the relationship between perceived discrimination and PTSS. …

A Guide To The Style Of Domenico Scarlatti With An Analysis Of Six Sonatas, Joseph Mcdermott

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document aims to inform pianists preparing to perform keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757). Readers will learn about Scarlatti's professional life and his compositional characteristics. Analyses of six sonatas, the influence of Spanish traditional music, and details on performance practices are used to illustrate his style. The six sonatas included in this study are Sonata in G Major, K. 63; Sonata in C minor, K. 22; Sonata in F minor, K. 238; Sonata in F minor, K. 239; Sonata in D Major, K. 490; and Sonata in D Major, K. 491. The influence of Spanish traditional music is discussed …

Timing, Spectral, And Single-Pulse Properties Of Radio Pulsars, Evan Francis Lewis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Radio pulsars are highly magnetized, rapidly rotating neutron stars which emit beams of radio waves from their magnetic poles. Their incredible rotational stability allows for their use in a variety of high-energy astrophysical studies, though the details of their internal structure and emission mechanisms are still unknown. We use observations of a cross-section of the pulsar population in order to investigate the nature of their evolution, their emission properties, and their environments.

First we derive timing solutions for three pulsars discovered through their sporadic single pulses. It was possible to obtain timing solutions through a set of single-pulse times of …

How Do Reading Specialists Shape Their Identities As Literacy Leaders? An Exploration Of Competence, Performance, And Recognition Within Communities Of Practice, Christina Glance Petrone

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This qualitative multiple-case study explored how reading specialists enact literacy leadership within elementary schools in West Virginia. Although reading specialists are increasingly expected to support schoolwide literacy improvement, leadership responsibilities are not always explicitly defined within their roles. Guided by a communities of practice framework and an identity model, this study examined how reading specialists develop and demonstrate literacy leadership through their daily interactions with teachers, administrators, and other school personnel. Data sources included participant questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with participants, their principals, and colleagues from their school. Participants in this study included three reading specialists (interventionists) working in K-5 …

A Survey Of Disability-Inclusive K-12 Public School Music Programs In The United States Where Best Buddies Friendship Programs Have Been Established, Geena Louise Jeffries Mattox

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examines the presence and structural characteristics of disability-inclusive band, orchestra, and choir programs serving students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) in K-12 public schools across the United States that implement the Best Buddies School Friendship Program. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is defined as group of chronic, lifelong conditions that originate before age 22, affecting physical, learning, language, or behavior areas. Despite federal legislation, peer reviewed scholarship specifically addressing access to performance-based music ensembles for students with IDDs remain comparatively limited. Employing a survey distributed nationwide within a defined population of schools implementing Best Buddies Programs, administered via …

Self-Leadership And Perceptions Of Artificial Intelligence: A Single-Case Study, Patrik Garren

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this single-case qualitative project is to uncover how self-leadership’s behavioral and cognitive strategies influence perceptions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI adoption. While existing literature acknowledges that there is an association between self-leadership, technology’s perceived usefulness and ease of use, as well as comfort with AI preparedness and its professional impact, there is limited research on how self-leadership shapes perceptions of AI and AI adoption in real-life contexts. To fill this gap in contemporary literature, this project analyzes qualitative semi-structured interviews with 25 healthcare professionals involved in the implementation of ‘AI Model 1’ at their mid-sized United …

Pbmc Transcriptome Analysis Following Lps Stimulation Reveals Distinct Inflammatory Strategies In Feed-Efficient And Inefficient Beef Cattle, Yarahy Leal

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Improving feed efficiency is a primary objective in livestock production, serving as a major driver of profitability and sustainability in beef cattle operations as feed costs continue to rise. Residual feed intake (RFI) and residual average daily gain (RADG) are widely recognized indicators of feed efficiency and are commonly used as selection traits to reduce production costs and environmental impact. Previous research suggests a functional shift in transcriptional activity associated with immunity depending on efficiency phenotype, with evidence of greater immune system robustness in more efficient animals. This dissertation examines the molecular mechanisms linking feed efficiency and immune competence and …

The Bleeding Edge Of Misogyny: How Gender-Based Harassment And Infrastructural Neglect Shape Menstrual Distress, Mackenzie J. Miller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Despite growing attention to menstrual health, organizational research has largely overlooked how workplace conditions shape menstrual experiences. Dominant perspectives frame menstruation as an individual issue that negatively affects work, neglecting how features of the work environment – such as gender-based harassment and access to menstrual-related infrastructure – contribute to menstrual distress. Addressing this gap, this dissertation adopts a bidirectional perspective, examining how social and material workplace conditions shape menstrual distress, defined as the extent to which menstrual symptoms interfere with daily functioning. Drawing on the transactional model of stress and objectification theory, I hypothesized that gender-based harassment would predict menstrual …

The Effect Of Innovative Value Proposition On Buyer Reactions: The Moderating Roles Of Price Orientation And Perceived Risk, Chad Stuttz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Value propositions are essential to the success of personal selling in the Business-to-Business (B2B) context. While earlier studies have offered valuable insights into the roles of value propositions in driving B2B sales, they have often regarded value propositions as uniform. In this dissertation, I argue that value propositions vary in their levels of innovativeness. The dissertation introduces the concept of innovative value proposition (IVP) and proposes that IVP indicates greater future growth potential to buyers, leading to more favorable reactions such as responsiveness and willingness to engage than less innovative ones. Additionally, the dissertation explores the moderating effects of buyer …

Facial Aesthetics And The Esthetic Plane: Effects Of Modern Lip Trends, Allison Paige Fritz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background and Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate whether there is a difference in aesthetic preferences of lip position between dental professionals and the general public, which we will refer to throughout the paper as lay people. In addition, age and gender differences will be determined to evaluate whether there is a need to re-evaluate the accepted normative values for lips to Esthetic plane (E-plane).

Experimental Design and Methods: A cross sectional, observational study design was used. The study aim was to evaluate the perception and opinions regarding lip position and fullness of both lay people …

Survival In The Stigmatized Industry (Bitcoin Atm), Brooks Mcadam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ii ABSTRACT Survival in the Stigmatized Industry (Bitcoin ATM) Brooks McAdam This paper examines how companies can survive in a stigmatized industry where the same message may attract customers while simultaneously generating skepticism. The study posed the following research question using the Bitcoin ATM industry as the context: Does the message presented on company websites influence the degree of exit risk in a market characterized by moral concerns, exposure to fraud, and unstable regulation? The answer is clear. Messaging is important; however, not every message is equally important. Fee-related messaging emerged as the most consistent predictor of exit risk. Messaging …

Exploring The Determinants And The Effects Of Crypto Assets, Qiu Zheng

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation consists of three studies that primarily delve into the factors influencing and outcomes of firms’ crypto assets. The first paper examines the association between corporate crypto assets and firms’ credit ratings. Using a large sample of U.S. public firms, we find that firms holding crypto assets receive significantly better future credit ratings, particularly when their activities are related to crypto mining, which generates relatively stable cash flows. However, crypto exposure also increases disagreement among credit rating agencies, reflecting the uncertainty associated with evaluating crypto-related risks. This effect is more pronounced when firms operate in less transparent information environments …

Social Media Addiction And Its Influence On The Physical Social Interactions Among West Virginia University Students, Blessing Ochom Omaleko

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

Social Media Addiction and its Influence on the Physical Social Interactions Among West Virginia University Students

Blessing O. Omaleko

This qualitative study investigated social media addiction and its perceived influence on face-to-face interactions among 14 West Virginia University students using an open-ended qualitative survey. Grounded in Griffiths' (2013) behavioral addiction components, salience, mood modification, conflict, and relapse, the data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Findings revealed that while students characterized their social media use as a habit rather than an addiction, their descriptions aligned with multiple addiction components. Students consistently valued in-person interactions over online …

“Black Students Matter”: A Phenomenological Study Of Black Student Experiences At A Predominately White Institution In Appalachia During The Dual Pandemic Of Covid-19 And Systemic Anti-Black Racism, Toni Owens

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As the spread of COVID-19 escalated into a global pandemic in 2020, simultaneously, the nationwide media in the United States (U.S.) highlighted coverage of the country’s ongoing incidents of longstanding systemic anti-Black racism in America, another pandemic. In the Summer of 2020, a collective of Black students at West Virginia University (WVU) signed and publicly submitted a petition to the university’s leadership with a list of demands to address their needs as they were further exacerbated by the dual pandemic. This study is guided by the question, “What are the lived experiences of Black Students at West Virginia University during …

Genomic Variation, Adaptive Evolution, And Invasive And Evolutionary History Of Microstegium Vimineum, Cameron William Corbett

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Invasive species can cause environmental and economic damage, but can offer unique opportunities to study rapid evolution and adaptation in novel environments. Microstegium vimineum (stiltgrass) is a prolific invasive grass in the eastern United States. Historical herbaria collections were used to identify patterns of invasion history and population dynamics over a spatial and temporal scale. Analyses of plastid genomes reveal a complex invasion history, including a single introduction in the southern United States linked to Japan and multiple repeated introductions in the northern United States from various source populations. Spread of introduced populations provide evidence of admixture among previously geographically …

Formation-Based Analysis In Contemporary Saxophone Practice: A Case Study Of Ziwei Shi's The Blue Lotus Bloms, Jiageng Ren

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examines contemporary saxophone repertoire through a formation-based analytical approach, using Ziwei Shi’s The Blue Lotus Blooms as a case study. It is organized into three parts. Part I establishes the conceptual and methodological framework by introducing the concept of “formation-based analysis,” positioning the “condition of musical formation” as its core. Further situating the study within scholarship on practice-based research, cross-cultural theory, and modernism/postmodernism. Part II provides a detailed analytical and performance-based investigation of the work, including the collaborative commissioning process, the application of Thaat as a pitch resource, the role of extended techniques and embodied endurance, and contrasting …

Orogenesis, Timothy Ryan Butcher

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis and accompanying exhibition explore the translation of panenhenic mystical experience and the collaboration with Appalachian natural spaces into abstracted landscape images. This work aims to “map” a sensation of fundamental unity and gesture toward the ineffable by utilizing found-object stamp printing, and automatic mark-making. Inspired by practical mystic traditions and contemporary landscape painting, this body of work, entitled Orogenesis, combines intricate, abstracted ink landscape drawings and photographs to create images suggestive of the mystical patterns in the process.

Framing Addiction In The Age Of Vaping: A Journalism-Focused Reporting Toolkit, Jessica L. Riley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This project addresses a critical gap in journalism practice: the lack of accessible, evidence-based guidance for reporting on addiction. Particularly as it relates to nicotine, tobacco and vaping. Journalists play a key role in shaping public understanding of substance use, yet existing resources often focus on opioids, lack specificity, or fail to keep pace with rapidly evolving nicotine products and scientific research. As a result, reporters may struggle with inconsistent terminology, unclear risk communication and the potential for unintentionally stigmatizing language.

Grounded in media effects theory, health communication and stigma research, this project examines how journalistic language and framing influence …

Taxpayers Willingness To Use Ai Conversational Tools, Nessrine Mesto-Assaad

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

With the rapid emergence of Artificial Intelligence Conversational Tools (AICTs), such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini, and their widespread use, the need to understand users’ acceptance of this emerging technology has increased. Prior research has investigated users’ acceptance of AICTs in hospitality, tourism, e-commerce, and retail industries. However, users’ acceptance of the use of AICTs for tax information remains relatively underexplored in the tax context. Therefore, this study investigates taxpayers’ willingness to accept and use AICTs for tax-related questions when e-filing their tax returns. Drawing on the Artificial Intelligence Device Use and Acceptance (AIDUA) model as a research framework, this …

Acts Of Becoming: A Phenomenological Investigation Into The Lived Experiences Of West Virginia Teacher-Activists, 1990 To The Present, Phillip Elias Howard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This critical phenomenological dissertation explores the lived realities of becoming a West Virginia teacher-activist. Presenting the experiential accounts of three participants, its semi-structured questions Show the lifeworld forces, inherited (factical) self-identities, and occupational, "on-the-ground" classroom experiences that inspired its research collaborators to assert themselves as unionists and natural teacher-organizers. This dissertation utilizes a collection of Marxian, phenomenological, and post-structural interpretation devices to develop robust, sensemaking themes which reveal the meaning of participants’ lived reflections. It also provides thick descriptions of co-researchers' historic and current political, economic, and socio-cultural backdrops amid West Virginia’s right-wing political realignment of the 2010s, the eternal …

Essays On Stock Market Expectations And Financial Decisions, Shanxiang Yang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation consists of three essays on stock market expectations and financial decisions. The first essay shows significant racial differences in expectations regarding future stock market performance. Using data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Survey of Consumer Expectations from 2013 to 2022, we find that, relative to White Americans, Black and Hispanic Americans have lower probabilistic expectations that the stock market will increase. This racial gap in expectations was even larger during the recession caused by the Covid-19 epidemic, suggesting that economic uncertainty exacerbates this heterogeneity in expectations. Furthermore, we show that relative to White Americans, the …

Jazz And Classical Form In Selected Movements Of Nikolai Kapustin's Eight Concert Etudes Opus 40, Hsiaofen Lin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research focuses on three etudes from Kapustin’s Eight Concert Etudes, Op. 40, offering analyses for “Prelude,” “Reverie,” and “Toccatina,” The analysis explores several interrelated issues: the extent to which jazz-derived formal structures may be discerned in Kapustin’s piano works beyond traditional classical models; the ways in which jazz structural frameworks interact with forms such as sonata, ternary, and through-composed designs; and the degree to which jazz formal procedures influence sectional organization, phrase structure, and large-scale form. A further concern is whether Kapustin’s use of jazz form serves merely as a stylistic reference or operates as a structurally determinative …

Evaluation Of Brook Trout (Salvelinus Fontinalis) Thermal Tolerance And Projected Climate Change Effects On Headwater Brook Trout Population Persistence, Cory Bauerlien

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Climate change has been identified as one of the greatest threats to global biota in recorded human history. Consequences are expected to be more pronounced in ectotherms because most of their physiology is controlled by external temperature conditions. Predicting how ectotherms may respond to increasing global temperatures necessitates information about thermal limits of thermal sensitive species and how increasing temperatures may affect individual and population-level fitness. Therefore, the objectives of this research were aimed at gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms that underpin thermal tolerance limits of fish and how those mechanisms may affect fitness and population persistence under …

A Digital Audio Workstation-Based Analytical Framework For Contemporary Acoustic Music: Modeling Selected Excerpts By Viet Cuong, Robert Daniel Traugh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) has made sound recording, manipulation, MIDI sequencing, and digital live performance accessible to nearly anyone with a computer and an interest in digital music-making. A DAW’s functionality is modeled on decades of development in analog modular electronic instrument design and sound recording techniques. Theorist and composer Jonathan D. Kramer, through his work in the 1980’s, referred to the invention of sound recording as a catalyst of a temporal discontinuity experienced by Western-trained musicians. Since that time, these same sound recording techniques have become increasingly prevalent in modern society. This document proposes a DAW-based analytical framework …

More Than A Man: An Ethnomusicological Survey Of The Folklore Of John Henry And Resource Guide For “More Than A Man” By Shanyse Strickland, Clayton R. Heath

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

“John Henry” exists as an enduring folk legend in the United States of America, representing the confluence of the Reconstruction Era, the economic utility of Appalachia and the Westward expansion of industry which left it behind. Though based on historical events, Henry’s fictional representation has diverted and evolved in music and other media from its inception in the oral tradition to the modern age. Through this progression, shared symbols have circulated, gathering embedded meanings and associating the folklore with specific communities. Henry’s representational identity has been signaled with the creation and distribution of each version of his story, both complicating …

“This, To Me, Was My Town”: How Segregation Shaped Huntington, West Virginia’S Black Community, Jillian Alexis Kendall

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Using Huntington, West Virginia as a case study to examine Black urban-Appalachian communities, this thesis analyzes Huntington’s Black “city within a city” from 1934–1961, exploring how city-sanctioned segregationist practices shaped the community. In 1929, The Herald Dispatch asserted that Black Huntingtonians were able to thrive due to racial harmony facilitated by the “tolerant” attitudes of white Huntingtonians. However, closer inspection reveals that the city’s Black population survived in spite of persistent racial intolerance from white citizens, as well as city, state, and federal authorities. Though Huntington was not technically segregated by de jure means, it is apparent that the city …

Community Resilience Drives Change, Andrew Thomas Solt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The opioid crisis has impacted many Americans. From 1999 to 2023, approximately 800,000 people have died due to opioid overdose (CDC, 2025). What began as overprescriptions of painkillers has quickly evolved into a complex social health issue that is now further worsened by stronger synthetic drugs like fentanyl. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (synthetic opioids that are very similar chemically to fentanyl) are often found in illegal drug supplies and in counterfeit pills (CDC, 2025). Thus, individuals who might have been initially overprescribed painkillers might now be pushed towards illegally produced drugs that are significantly more potent than what they were …

Community Resilience Drives Change, Claudia Rose Dilima

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The opioid crisis has impacted many Americans. From 1999 to 2023, approximately 800,000 people have died due to opioid overdose (CDC, 2025). What began as overprescription of painkillers has evolved into a complex social health issue that is now worsened by stronger synthetic drugs like fentanyl. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (synthetic opioids that are very similar chemically to fentanyl) are often found in illegal drug supplies and in counterfeit pills (CDC, 2025). Thus, individuals who might have been initially overprescribed painkillers might now be pushed toward illegally produced drugs that are significantly more potent than what they were originally prescribed. …

Graded Repertoire For Violin By Latin American Composers: Pedagogical Analysis And Categorization Of Selected Pieces, Irene Guerra Rudas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Repertoire sequences have evolved from a collection of technical studies into a comprehensive educational framework. This research aims to enhance the integration of innovative pedagogical materials by identifying, analyzing, and categorizing works originally composed for violin by Latin American composers. These works are assessed for their suitability within a structured violin curriculum and organized into graded levels, ranging from elementary to advanced.

Each selected piece is evaluated according to pedagogical parameters commonly used in established violin teaching traditions. These parameters include pitch range, rhythmic complexity, bow strokes, length, stylistic diversity, musical language, and the historical and cultural relevance of both …