Digital Commons Network^™

Childcare Center Administrators’ Challenges To Using Trauma-Informed Approaches With Children Experiencing Toxic Stress, Jessica Lynn Pierce

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Recovering Persuasion In A Post-Truth Classroom, Lydia James

Masters Theses

Modern composition pedagogy embraces pluralism and expressivism that in turn reduces persuasion to mere self-expression or genre performance rather than disciplined inquiry. This thesis argues that the historical shift in composition’s values has created a civic gap. Within this gap, students adopt either powerful or reluctant attitudes due to the lack of ethical responsibility attached to their agency. Surveying the negligence of classical definitions of persuasion in modern models, this research traces the collapse of ethical deliberation through the movements of expressivism, pluralism, and postmodern skepticism. While these movements intended to avoid the rigid dogma that existed over time, they …

Fanning The Flames: Incorporating Faith Into Fantasy, Rachel E. Noonan

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the integration of Christian themes into fantasy literature through critical analysis and original creative work. The critical component traces the tradition of Christian fantasy from Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene to C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, arguing that faith achieves its greatest literary impact when woven organically into character and world-building rather than imposed upon the narrative. Contemporary novels by Shannon Dittemore and Chuck Black illustrate the dangers of didacticism and shallow characterization. The creative manuscript, Fanning the Flames, applies these principles through Kian Sai, a young conscript navigating an authoritarian military …

Behind The Lines In The Balkans: U.S. Military, Intelligence, And Diplomatic Operations In Romania During World War Ii And The Early Cold War, Timothy W. Brophy

Masters Theses

U.S. involvement in Romania during World War II was significant. This involvement began with a U.S. Army Air Forces bombing campaign against the country’s oil refineries, which provided approximately 25% of Nazi Germany’s oil supply during the war. Initial bombing raids occurred in 1942 and 1943, but it was not until April 4, 1944, that the Fifteenth Air Force (15th AF) launched a sustained bombing campaign against Romania. By August 1944, the American bombing of Romania had successfully crippled Romanian oil production and export to Nazi Germany, paved the way for the Soviets to drive German forces out of Romania, …

Modern Visual Solutions For Established Brands: Making Graphic Design Accessible To Legacy Businesses, Emma R. Shanton

Masters Theses

Legacy businesses, often family-owned shops or companies that have been around for decades, have real history and loyal customers, but many look old-fashioned and struggle to attract new people today. Outdated logos, hard-to-read designs, and the habit of using ready-made templates or AI-generated images lead to branding that feels generic, turns customers away, excludes people with disabilities, and can even cause legal trouble.

This study asks a simple question: How can small, long-running businesses update their look in a way that is affordable, easy for everyone to use, legally safe, and still feels true to their story, without high costs, …

Cinematic Biblical Translation: An Introduction To Narratological Screenwriting Through Genesis 38, Wesley Newman

Masters Theses

CBT draws from three areas of study: screenplay analysis, biblical narratology/narrative criticism, and screenplay adaptation to evaluate specific Hebrew narratives into a screenplay. Biblical narratology offers insight into the literary structure and narrative logic of ancient Hebrew storytelling, while contemporary screenwriting explains how narrative functions within modern audiovisual media. The marrying of these two fields creates a new methodology for translating biblical narratives into a form that remains faithful to the text while also being engaging on screen. This allows me to establish the guidelines necessary for crafting an accurate and compelling screenplay translation while also laying the foundation for …

The Impact Of Teacher Verbal And Nonverbal Communication On Student Motivation, Claire E. Haines

Masters Theses

The classroom environment is one of vast areas of scholarly literature yet may levels of understanding classroom communication remain unexplored. This study provides an in-depth analysis of the lived student experience with how teacher communication impacts student motivation in general as well as intrinsic forms of communication. Data for this research was taken directly from student accounts of verbal and nonverbal interactions with teachers that impacted their motivation. One of the key findings of this research was the observed process that participants described through interviews. This observed three step process displayed how verbal and nonverbal communication were expressed to have …

Dialogue In Screenwriting: Developing The Character Through Conversation, Madalynn Ruth Shiderly

Masters Theses

The purpose of this document is to highlight the importance of dialogue in a screenplay, discuss specific examples of dialogue from well-known films, and analyze how words affect the characterization of a film’s protagonist. First, the document explains the importance of having strong characters in a story for it to be compelling enough for audiences to engage with it. Then, the question of whether character or plot is more important in a narrative is discussed. Finally, the document introduces the concept of dialogue in a screenplay, forming the argument that dialogue is just as important as plot structure. For this …

An Empirical Analysis Of Augmented Reality’S Impact On Fan Engagement And Behavioral Intention To Use: A Technology Acceptance Model Study Among U.S.-Based Major League Soccer Fans, Gozde Sezgun

Masters Theses

Although augmented reality (AR) is becoming a routine part of how sport is consumed, evidence specific to Major League Soccer (MLS) remains limited. This study applies the technology acceptance model (TAM) to examine how perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) relate to behavioral intention to use (BI) and to two experience outcomes−fan engagement and fan satisfaction in the MLS context. The study is a nonexperimental, cross-sectional online survey of U.S.-based adult MLS fans with prior exposure to AR in an MLS context, including live stat overlays, in-stadium wayfinding, interactive replays, and virtual try-ons. Constructs were measured with …

The Message Within The Show: A Cultivation Study On The Impact Of Children's Television On Perceptions Of The Family, Ashley Bowes Fletcher

Masters Theses

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the impacts of popular early 2000s children’s television shows on now-adult viewers’ perceptions of the nuclear family. The problem is that current scholarly literature had not addressed how early 2000s television shows have impacted the perception of a traditional nuclear family’s role in society. This study sought to identify the views currently held by the participants regarding the importance and roles of the nuclear family. The study also sought to identify the participant’s perceptions of the portrayals of the nuclear family in specific early 2000s children’s sitcoms. Through a variety …

Adam, The First Scientist: Unlocking The True Foundation Of Scientific Thinking, Thomas E. Lohman Jr.

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates the complex relationship between scientific thought and theological perspectives, proposing that God breathing life into Adam symbolizes a full divine inspiration for both scientific and theological understanding. The perceived conflict between science and theology arises from a shift in human thinking at the fall, which altered humanity's ability to rightly grasp both realms. After this crucial event, science shifted to a more naturalistic approach, while theology often downplayed God's sovereign power over creation.

The alterations to the original functions and purposes of science and theology have led to a fragile relationship between the two. According to Scripture, …

From Christology To Ontology: A Diachronic And Exegetical Evaluation Of A Maximalist Sacramental Interpretation Of John 6:51–58, Andrew R. Johnson

Masters Theses

John 6:51–58 occupies a central place in the debate regarding the ontological nature of the Eucharist, frequently serving as a primary scriptural warrant for sacramental realism such as articulated by the Council of Trent as it concerns the dogma of transubstantiation within the Roman Catholic tradition. This thesis conducts both an evaluation of historical reception and a critical exegetical analysis to determine whether the Evangelist’s primary intent was to establish sacramental doctrine in this passage or to further develop already pervasive Johannine soteriological and christological themes.

Methodologically, this study bridges the gap between historical reception and synchronic exegesis. The first …

Build Digital Annual Survey 2025 And Trends & Comparisons 2022 - 2025, Clare Eriksson, Robert Moore, Bilal Succar

Reports

The Build Digital Annual Survey 2025 provides an overview of digital transformation across Ireland’s construction and built environment sector, drawing on responses from 205 participants across industry, government, and academia. The findings show continued sector engagement with digital transformation, driven by government mandates, project benefits, and partner expectations. Common digital deliverables, such as model-based design, documentation, coordination, and clash detection, are now widely used, while more advanced uses linked to operations, sustainability, interoperability, and AI remain less mature. The report also highlights ongoing challenges, including skills gaps, uneven training provision, limited OpenBIM adoption, and inconsistent implementation of ISO 19650 and …

The Effects Of Phonetic Knowledge And Bilingualism On The Acquisition Of Non-Native Consonant Clusters, Kylie Wakley

Theses and Dissertations

Speech motor learning involves the production of new sounds or sound sequences. This study investigated how explicit phonetic knowledge and bilingualism affect how individuals acquire sound sequences that do not occur in English, or non-native consonant clusters. Sixty adults with typical speech, aged between 18 and 27 years, participated in the experiment. The researcher recruited participants into four groups based on their phonetic background (experienced or not) and language background (monolingual, bilingual). The participants produced stop-stop and fricative-nasal clusters in the initial position of nonsense words across six practice blocks. The duration of each cluster was measured, which in English …

“Being Comrades And Friends”: Friendship Networks Of Activists In College, Lance Paul L. Sunga

Sociology Undergraduate Senior Theses

Friendship is often thought of as a byproduct of activism. People naturally get close and form bonds as they become involved and participate in collective action with others. While scholars have focused on how social networks influence mobilization, there has been a lack of research on the other direction of this relationship, the already commonly held assumption. Using the case of student networks at a liberal arts college, this leads to the following questions: “To what extent do variations in social movement mobilization explain patterns and outcomes of friendship network types? How does activism impact a respondent’s understanding of friendship …

Unlocking The Colleague Next Door, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

The structural barriers that isolate faculty from one another—individualistic reward systems, professional identity protection, disciplinary silos, fragmented time—have been documented in detail elsewhere. This paper begins where that analysis ends. Its sole focus is solutions: what actually works, what you can do without waiting for your institution to change, and most importantly, what you can do today. It is organized in three movements: evidence-based institutional strategies, community-level structures any group of faculty can build, and a granular map of the smallest possible individual first steps—the ones that cost almost nothing and have an outsized probability of changing how you experience …

Play And Parents: Influence Of Caregiver Characteristics On Children’S Play, Isabelle Selko

ETD Collection

Play is established as an essential part of development, through which parents play an instrumental role. This study sought to understand the relationship between types of play and facility with and enjoyment of play with parent leisure activities and personality traits. One hypothesis stated that parents’ personality traits and preferred activities would positively correlate with the type of play they engage in most frequently with their child. The second hypothesis predicted that parents will demonstrate more facility with and enjoyment of play if there is a match between their activity preferences/hobbies, personality traits, and most frequent play type with their …

Return To Nicu Follow-Up: A Multiple Factor Analysis, Jenna Saviano

ETD Collection

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) follow-up programs are critical for monitoring the developmental outcomes of preterm and medically fragile infants. If deemed necessary, these programs may also provide referrals to various intervention modalities; however, loss to continued follow-up remains a concern in pediatric health care. To increase the understanding of how infants can be retained in medical and developmental follow-up programs, this study examined socio-demographic, caregiver, medical, and attendance-related predictors of loss to follow-up among infants enrolled in the NYU Langone Medical Center’s Neonatal Comprehensive Care Program (NCCP). The sample included 193 preterm infants who received neurodevelopmental follow-up between 2021 …

When Platform Regulations Fail: An Institutional Fix For California Social Media Laws, Roz Kohan

LLR Forum

Three recent Ninth Circuit decisions struck down parts of California’s content moderation laws regarding transparency, child-safety, and algorithmic design on First Amendment grounds. Such challenges act as a barrier to effective platform regulation. When examining past speech regulations that withstood such challenges, telecommunications law provides guidance for the platform context. The lack of expert administrative agencies accounts for the failures of content moderation regulation. This Forum Article argues for the creation of a specialized California agency to produce rules and regulations that withstand First Amendment challenges.

Improving A1c Levels Through An Individualized Diabetes Education Among Patients Living With Type 2 Diabetes, David W. Cardona Jr.

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) represents an increasing global health, social, and financial burdens. Nutrition, among other diabetes self-management topics, is a foundational aspect in managing T2DM. Significant knowledge gaps persist among patients regarding the impact of mindful eating habits in relation to euglycemia. Individualized diabetes education focused on healthy eating habits offers a promising strategy to address this gap. The quality improvement (QI) project aimed to evaluate the impact of diabetes education, focused on nutritional awareness, and mindful eating habits on hemoglobin (A1c) levels, weight, and diabetes self-management questionnaire scores (DSMQ-R) were assessed among adults living with T2DM. The …

The Impact Of Translated Phq-9 And Gad-7 Scales On Treatment Recommendations In An Adult Vietnamese Population: A 3-Month Primary Care Evaluation, Vivienne Bui

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Depression and anxiety are prevalent yet underdiagnosed in limited-English-proficient (LEP) populations due to language barriers, cultural stigma, and provider bias. Vietnamese-speaking patients are particularly vulnerable to under-recognition in primary care. This quality improvement project evaluated whether implementing Vietnamese-translated Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) tools would improve mental health diagnosis and referral rates. Guided by the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Model, a pre–post design was conducted at a San Diego clinic from March 26 to June 26, 2025. Vietnamese-speaking adults (≥18 years) completed translated PHQ-9 and GAD-7 forms during intake. Providers used scores in conjunction with clinical …

Patient And Provider Perceived Barriers To Completion Of Breast And Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Spanish-Speaking Patients, Alexa Figueroa Baiges Md, Mph, Kayla Flores Md, Dawn Wankowski Ms, Manuel Lamptey Ms

Scientific Day

Background/Significance:

Limited studies have shown that Latino/Hispanic populations have disproportionately low breast and colorectal cancer screening rates in the United States. The role of language barriers on these disparities remains understudied. This project evaluated patient and provider-perceived barriers to breast and colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among Spanish-speaking patients.

Purpose:

Given that 16% of the Milwaukee population is Spanish speaking, this project aimed to identify barriers to cancer screening among Spanish-speaking patients receiving primary care at Aurora Healthcare clinics, to inform strategies to improve screening equity.

Methods:

A cross-sectional survey project was conducted among Spanish-speaking patients due for breast or colorectal …

Hmong Individuals Practicing Animism And Their Engagement With The Mental Health System, Bao Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Gap Beyond Foster Care For Aged-Out Youths In Transition, Kemi Ngozi Bunmi Adelakun

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Multimodal Analysis Of Content Drift And Algorithmic Bias In Youtube Recommendations, Mert Can Cakmak

Theses and Dissertations

Recommendation systems play a major role in shaping how users encounter information on digital platforms, yet their influence often unfolds through sequences of recommended content rather than isolated outputs. This dissertation investigates recommendation bias on YouTube by examining how recommendation pathways evolve across long-form videos and YouTube Shorts. Focusing on politically sensitive narratives, including the China–Uyghur conflict, the South China Sea dispute, and Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election, the dissertation develops a unified framework for understanding how recommendation systems reshape exposure across platform formats. Using an audit-based and multimodal methodology, the dissertation combines controlled recommendation collection, topic and relevance analysis, emotion …

Why The Library Of Congress Matters More Than Ever, Hope O'Keeffe

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

An End To The Madness: How Justice Barrett Provides A Way Out Of The Categorical Approach, Sarah Webster

Catholic University Law Review

Is murder by omission a crime of violence? In its October 2024 term the Supreme Court of the United States was asked this very question in Delligatti v. United States. This case appeared before the Supreme Court because of its 2019 decision United States v. Davis. In Davis, the Supreme Court narrowly held the residual clause of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B) as unconstitutionally vague as a result of its interpretation that the statute required a categorical approach. As a result, federal courts have been forced to provide pages of painstaking analyses to hold that murder by omission …

Masthead

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Making Data Usable For Schools And Colleges: The Regional Data Collaboratives Approach, Benjamin Boer

Reports, Analyses, and other Publications

This white paper outlines a strategic initiative by the Education Systems Center (EdSystems) to establish regional data collaboratives that improve how schools and colleges use information. Unlike traditional top-down accountability models, these collaboratives focus on longitudinal data sharing to help administrators understand student transitions from ninth grade through postsecondary completion and into the workforce. The framework relies on four core competencies: legal data agreements, secure management, linking analytics, and meaningful presentation of results. By examining factors like dual credit, pathway participation, and 9th-grade performance, these partnerships aim to identify and eliminate educational inequities. Ultimately, the initiative seeks to create a …

Lindenwood Digest, May 20, 2026, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

Event & Date: The Lindenwood University Employee Digest was published on May 20, 2026.

Geographic Grounding: The events and programs originate from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.

Key Honorees/Awards: Web Strategy and Development Manager Jason Waack was recognized for enhancing the digital commencement program; Communications Operations Specialist Crystal Carter was commended for optimizing the Honors Academy recruitment invitation email sent to students with a 3.5 GPA or higher; Public Safety and Security Officer April Johnson was thanked for roadside assistance.