Digital Commons Network^™

Beyond The Indicators: Community-Defined Sustainability In Bario, Sarawak, Rhonwyn Hagedorn

Capstone Collection

This study examines how Kelabit community members in Bario, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo define and practice sustainability within community-based tourism (CBT), and how these local understandings align with or diverge from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study used a thematic analysis drawing on fifteen semi-structured interviews with Kelabit community members, supplemented by tourist questionnaires and document analysis of online tourism materials. Four themes emerged: sustainability as collective stewardship; community decision-making and collaboration; cultural identity as the core of tourism; and equity, participation, and the limits of growth. Findings suggest that Kelabit community members hold a holistic, relational, and …

Bioethics As Seen On Stage: Can Theater Change The World?, Sarah J. Cavanaugh

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

This research paper investigates the extent to which theatrical works can influence societal reform through the depiction of bioethical dilemmas through time, analyzing performative theater’s ability to change the world through great societal impact. By examining four plays from distinct historical periods—Philoctetes by Sophocles (409 BCE), Whose Life is it Anyway? by Brian Clark (1972), The Waiting Room by Lisa Loomer (1994), and Next to Normal by Brian Yorkey (2010)—this study analyzes how theater has consistently engaged with evolving issues of medical ethics and patient autonomy. Each play presents ethical conflicts reflective of the medical and social dilemmas of …

Lights, Camera, Acting! A Collaborative, Interdisciplinary Approach To Basic Filmmaking, Jessica Maloney, Chris Nelson

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

No film studio? No problem! This activity is designed to introduce basic concepts of filmmaking across disciplines such as theatre and communications, but could be used by either. It includes an emphasis on acting as well as the technical processes and procedures on set. We have geared this activity specifically towards use in a cross-listed class in Communication and Theatre Arts.

The Chameleon Experience: Queer Identity, Mental Health, And Transformation, Cameron Penny

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

In this autoethnographic piece, I examine the correlation between queer identity and mental health through reflective analysis of my own experiences within a Western socio-cultural setting. I expand external perspectives on the queer experience by highlighting the normalization of queer prejudice and its adverse impact on self-image. I share how the religious praxis of Catholicism enforces binary conformity by promoting dichotomous thinking that simultaneously constricts queer expression and subjugates implicit biases. In tandem, I utilize autoethnography as my medium because it provides a unique outlet to raise awareness for chronically stigmatized identities by centering marginalized voices (Atay, 2011; Chavez, 2013). …

Best Practices And An Agenda For Research In Benefits Communication, Kristi Egbert, Anne Kerber

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Benefits communication is information an employer/organization provides to employees about the types of benefit plans offered and information about them (i.e., health insurance, retirement, vacation time). Despite its importance to jobs across all sectors of the workforce, there is a dearth of current academic research regarding benefits communication. This paper defines benefits communication, examines its impact on organizations and workers, and explores existing research on best practices. Findings underscore the complexity of benefits material and emphasize the need for simpler and clearer language, employee-preferred formats, and adequate time for employees to review information and receive guidance from a knowledgeable source. …

Communication & Theater Association Of Minnesota Journal, Volume 49, Issue 1, 2026

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Volume 49, Issue 1 (2026) of the Communication & Theater Association of Minnesota Journal.

Growth, Governance, And Organizational Crisis In Nonprofit Rowing Club: Failures In Leadership In A Growing Organization, Noah Legendre, Ehren R. Green

The COSMA Journal

This case explores governance and leadership challenges within a growing nonprofit sport organization governed by a volunteer board of directors. Within this case, the Litchberg Valley Rowing Club (LVRC), a rowing organization in a small community, experienced rapid growth in membership, financial resources, and competitive success. Despite this growth, the organization maintained informal governance structures and policies to guide its decision-making. In this case, the board of directors elected to terminate the head coach because of difficult contract negotiations and other issues at hand. This decision was met with public backlash, raising concerns about club leadership and the future of …

Developing An Object Level Understanding Of Sine And Cosine As Ratios And A Coherent Trigonometry, Jeffrey Peter Nair

Theses and Dissertations

Solving right-triangle problems as well as integrating right-triangle and circular trigonometry into a coherent understanding are documented challenges for students. Prior research has deeply investigated students constructing ratio meanings for sine and cosine using a circle-first approach, which then can be extended to right triangles. Also, past work has separately documented distinct meanings that are useful for sine and cosine, in addition to the ratio meaning, including as lengths in a unit circle and coordinate points. This study took these existing ideas and put them together into one possible developmental progression, based on APOS theory, where students can learn length, …

Engaging University Students In A Non-History Course With History, Cynthia Huffman Ph.D., William Huffman

PD Day 2026

Incorporating history into a non-history university classroom builds real-world relevance, sharpens critical thinking, and boosts engagement. By anchoring abstract theories in historical case studies, origin stories, and ethical dilemmas, educators bridge the gap between textbook concepts and professional practice. In this session, we will discuss reasons for using history in non-history courses and provide examples of a variety of subject-specific implementation strategies.

Lindenwood Digest, August 12, 2026, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

• Event & Date: Lindenwood University Employee Digest, published August 12, 2026.

• Geographic Grounding: Lindenwood University, St. Charles, Missouri.

• Key Honorees/Awards: Brandon Perkins was recognized in Q2 Moments for revisions to the faculty performance evaluation guidebook.

• Institutional Context: Key scheduled institutional programs include the 2026 Football Fan Fest on August 14, the Welcome Week Kickoff Meeting featuring Dr. John Porter, Dr. Kathi Vosevich, and keynote speaker Dr. Stephanie Afful on August 17, and the launch of the rebranded Office of Careers, Internships, and Achievements (C.I.A.) directed by Sara VonBokel on August 19.

Sac Newsletter 2026, South Asia Center

Newsletters from the South Asia Center

No abstract provided.

Strategic Information System Leadership And Information System Function Performance In Universities In Kenya: A Pls-Sem Analysis, Joseph K. Muchina, James M. Njihia Prof., Agnes N. Wausi Prof.

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Information systems as enablers have evolved from an efficiency and effectiveness focus to enterprise-wide performance, placing strong demands on information system leadership. Emerging leadership models call for collaborative practices. Information systems leadership in higher education is a challenging task. Universities' top management team members and their information system executive counterparts lack a common and shared vision and understanding of information systems capabilities and roles. As the highest-ranking officers in organizations, they make strategic IS decisions. Yet, noting that existing approaches are ineffective, there is a growing concern about the kind of leadership needed to guide the institutions. Four sets of …

Actionable Hydrologic Data To Information With National Water Model-Based Derived Dataset, Cutting-Edge Data Services, And Agentic Ai System, Sujan Chandra Mondol

Theses and Dissertations

Hydrologic data are the cornerstone of many complex hydrologic research and operational workflows that produce useful hydrologic information for water resources decision-making, flood risk communication, and water availability implications. The National Water Model (NWM) is a valuable source of hydrologic data, particularly for its extended coverage of unmonitored streams and the large-scale continuity of hydrologic processes. Precomputed secondary datasets derived from this simulated data, such as streamflow indices, can improve operational efficiency through thresholding. Disseminating the data through modern technologies, such as application programming interfaces, is required for ready integration into applications. However, if extraction requires an intermediate service, there …

"Tithing Is An Insurance Premium": A Framing Analysis Of Speaker Innovation And Diachronic Trends In Latter-Day Saint Religious Discourse, Reid Empey

Theses and Dissertations

Religious language relies on shared metaphor and frames that contextualize religious experience and practice. Current approaches to frame semantics (Fillmore 1982) and cognitive metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson 1980) lend important insight into religious language, particularly in describing the role that figurative language serves in a religious speech community. However, a vital component of many religious speech communities is the presence of and engagement with a scriptural canon, which often contains metaphorical and framing language that religious speakers can directly reference. Yet, past conceptualizations of speech communities have not accounted for this engagement with a shared canon. To illustrate the role …

Synthetic Strategies For Bioactive Peptides: From Aggregation Inhibitors To The Total Synthesis Of Tunicyclin C, Stephanie Graciela Garcia Morin

Theses and Dissertations

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), a brain protein called "tau" abnormally clumps and forms neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), causing damage to brain cells. Ac-PHF6-NH2 is a hexapeptide segment of tau protein that plays a dominant role in tau aggregation and is used as a model to design tau protein aggregation inhibitors. In this research we synthesized four dehydroamino acid (□AA) containing PHF6 analogues with △Abu (derived from L-threonine) and △Val (derived from □-OH-Valine) at position 2 or 3 via dehydrations or azlactone ring-openings as key reactions. We evaluated their proteolytic resistance, ability to inhibit aggregation of PHF6, and impact on the morphology …

Measuring Proteostasis Changes In Apolipoprotein E Mouse Models Using Quantitative And Kinetic Proteomic Methods, Ariel E.A. Denos

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a neurological disorder associated with brain mass loss and cognitive decline. It affects millions of elderly people and is currently uncurable. Since 1906, when the disease was first described, researchers have uncovered many components of AD pathology. However, it is now evident that curing Alzheimer's Disease will require intervention before the pathological onset of amyloid beta plaque deposition, tau neurofibrillary tangles, and associated neuronal loss. Studying AD from the perspective of early intervention requires special attention to small changes that may disrupt the normal processing of cells. Cells undergo a natural cycle of creation and destruction …

Multi-Band Extinction Modeling In Early-Type Galaxies With Circumnuclear Disks, Nonnie Bash

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we present a spatially resolved, multi-band dust-attenuation method for correcting the stellar luminosity models used in dynamical supermassive black hole (BH) mass measurements. If uncorrected, dust extinction effects may dominate over other systematic uncertainties when determining the BH mass ($M_\mathrm{BH}$). We expand on a simple dust-attenuation method that treats the circumnuclear disk as a thin dust layer embedded in the galaxy midplane. Using a Multi-Gaussian Expansion, we create a three-dimensional stellar luminosity model to calculate the fractions of stellar light originating in front of and behind the disk along each line of sight. We infer the pixel-by-pixel …

Children Second Dialect Acquisition In North America, Iqbal Nurul Azhar, Mohammad Halili

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This article aims to examine the causes, social contributing factors, and the linguistic consequences of Second Dialect Acquisition (SDA henceforth) in children in North America, drawing on relevant articles. For children growing up in a monolingual region but then must live in a new space, acquiring second dialect can pave them to improve their communication skills, adjust their social and identity belonging. Yet why, how, and the linguistic consequence of SDA require further studies. We used the thematic synthesis in reviewing the existing related literature based on three steps: article identification, selection, and analysis. Six causes of SDA were found: …

Development And Validation Of The Global Impact Of Chronic Illness Scale – Universal, Abigail Kukay

Theses and Dissertations

The current manuscript presents the development and validation of the Global Impact of Chronic Illness Scale – Universal (GICIS-U), a novel measure of chronic illness impact through three separate studies. The pilot study aimed at measure development, which included item selection and two rounds of item refinement using feedback gained through four focus groups. Study 1 consisted of an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to determine factor structure of the measure. Participants were 183 individuals recruited from an online participant pool and social media outlets who completed the refined GICIS-U online. Results of the EFA suggested a six-factor structure, of which …

Simulating Wind-Induced Temporal Variability In Gnss Transmissometry Via Coherent Bistatic Scattering, Brantley Allen Forrest

Theses and Dissertations

Global Navigation Satellite System Transmissometry is a technique for forest remote sensing. Interpreting these measurements requires physically based models to relate observed signal behavior to underlying biophysical parameters. A limitation of current electromagnetic modeling approaches is the assumption that vegetation optical depth is static. In practice, forest canopies, and therefore vegetation optical depth, are dynamic systems continuously influenced by wind. These geometric changes alter the scattering environment and introduce temporal variability in the received signal, particularly through phase-sensitive multipath interactions. This thesis presents a methodology for simulating wind dynamics for first-order scattering. The approach integrates a procedural, stochastic aeroelastic wind …

How Family Functioning Impacts Adolescent Outcomes: The Roles Of Cohesion, Flexibility, Communication, Satisfaction, And The Family Environment On Well-Being Across Levels Of Family Complexity, Emily E. Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research is a combination of two studies. The overarching and guiding focus for this study involved how family functioning and environments influence adolescent psychological well-being, and do these associations vary based on levels of family complexity. Study 1 examined family complexity and family environments as potential predictors of family functioning, while Study 2 examined family functioning and family complexity as potential predictors of adolescent negative (i.e., anxiety and depression) and positive (i.e., engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness, and happiness) well-being. In Study 1, family complexity was not predictive of family functioning, but the family environment was a strong predictor. …

Toward Secure Genomic Intelligence: Privacy-Preserving Deep Learning Frameworks For Cancer Classification And Collaborative Analysis, Yibo Dong

Theses and Dissertations

Genomic data contains highly sensitive personal information, yet cancer classification and collaborative medical research increasingly depend on sharing such data across institutions. Existing privacy-preserving approaches for deep learning, including differential privacy (DP) and standard federated learning (FL), leave critical vulnerabilities: DP degrades model utility through noise injection, while FL relies on a trusted aggregation server that remains susceptible to gradient-based attacks. This dissertation develops, evaluates, and optimizes a series of privacy-preserving deep learning frameworks specifically designed for genomic cancer classification. First, a systematic benchmarking study evaluates DP, FL, and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) across three deep learning architectures (fully connected …

Co-02 - Bylaws And Procedures 2026-07-08 - Proposed Association Bylaws Revision 2026, Mpla

Committees

No abstract provided.

Philosophical Education As A Vision For Lasting Peace: Keynote Address At The Phase 1 Workshop Of “Ethics, Society, And Education: Empowering Early Career Philosophers In The Philippines”, Armin A. Luistro Fsc

SDRC Media Releases

Background

This keynote address was delivered by Br. Armin A. Luistro, FSC, during the Phase 1 Workshop of Ethics, Society, and Education: Empowering Early Career Philosophers in the Philippines on 12 August 2026 at De La Salle University.

The project aims to strengthen the research, writing, and professional capacities of early career philosophers in the Philippines. It is supported by the British Academy International Writing Workshops 2025 Programme under the United Kingdom Government’s International Science Partnerships Fund. The initiative is led by Dr. Hazel T. Biana of the De La Salle University Department of Philosophy, in partnership with Durham University …

Instruction Guide, Mark C. Hall

Analytical Biochemistry: A Practical Handbook for Undergraduates

The instruction guide provides useful information for setting up and running the lab activities each week and assessing student preparation, performance, and comprehension.

Profiles Of Body Image In Emerging Adults And Associations Across Sociocultural Influences, Alligrace Story

Theses and Dissertations

The Tripartite Influence Model of body image suggests that multiple sources of appearance-related pressures (i.e., family, peers, significant others, and media) impact body image and disordered eating behaviors via appearance-related comparisons and internalization of body-related ideals (i.e., thin-ideal internalization and muscular-ideal internalization). Previous research has shown support for the Tripartite Influence Model of body image among various demographic groups. The current study identified and examined profiles of emerging adults based on their reported body esteem and body appreciation. Body esteem was measured using the Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAA; Mendelson et al., 2001), and body appreciation was …

Wellness In The Workplace: An Assessment Of The Mississippi State University Extension Service Workplace Environment And Its Effect On Employee Mental Health And Overall Wellbeing, Tashmia S. Prowell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify perceived stressors within the Mississippi State University Extension Service (MSU-ES) workplace environment and to determine the impact of these stressors on employee mental health and overall wellbeing. This study utilized a descriptive, cross-sectional research design collecting data through a quantitative web-based survey developed in Qualtrics and adapted from the NIOSH Worker Wellbeing Questionnaire. To examine the research questions and hypothesis guiding this study, quantitative data were analyzed using Stata MP 19.5. After a data scrub, 213 usable responses were yielded. Associations between variables were examined using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The …

The Role Of Latinx And Hispanic Identity In The Presentation Of Hoarding Symptoms, Caitlyn Ashley Nix

Theses and Dissertations

Although people who identify as Hispanic and Latinx make up approximately 19% of the United States population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023), most research into hoarding disorder is comprised of White, non-Latinx samples. Thus, the current study investigated Hispanic and Latinx ethnicity as a predictor of several facets of hoarding disorder. Previous literature has shown lower risk for Hispanic and Latinx individuals in terms of several physical health outcomes when compared to individuals of similar socioeconomic status (Markides & Coreil, 1986), though mental health outcomes have more variation by subgroup (Barragán et al., 2020). Previous research has also shown that collectivistic …

An Equity-Centered Creative Therapies Implementation Framework For K-12 School Counseling Practice, Brian Caleb Carlisle

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents in K-12 schools are experiencing a significant mental health crisis, with rising rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, and emotional dysregulation, while many continue to face limited access to equitable, developmentally appropriate supports. Although schools increasingly serve as primary sites for mental health services, they often lack resources, training, and infrastructures necessary to implement effective interventions. Arts-based and creative therapy approaches demonstrate benefits for emotional regulation, trauma processing, and social-emotional development but remain underused due to inconsistent implementation and systemic barriers. This capstone project examines how creative therapies can be integrated into school counseling programs to address these gaps. Guided …

Enhancing Social Emotional Learning Interventions For Black Adolescent Girls Through Staff Training, Shundrell Mcmullan

Theses and Dissertations

Black girls often face systemic inequities rooted in discriminatory practices and policies in the educational system contributing to adverse social-emotional outcomes unless mitigated by intentional protective supports. Many schools have adopted social emotional learning (SEL) programs; however, their effectiveness for culturally diverse students are often challenged. The present study examined the impact of Sisters of Nia, a race-conscious and gender-responsive intervention designed to enhance protective factors and social-emotional well-being among six adolescent Black girls. Student outcomes, including academically engaged behaviors and positive peer interactions, were primarily evaluated using a single-subject A/B design. Students’ self-esteem and racial identity were also measured …