Digital Commons Network^™

Community Perceptions Of A Hospital-Based Doula Program In Mobile, Alabama, Sarah Laney

Honors Theses

Background: The maternal mortality ratio in the United States is much higher than the mortality rate for women who live in other countries with similar Human Development Index scores. Black women are more likely to die than their white counterparts. Most of these deaths are preventable. Patients feel like they are being ignored, or that they are not being seen. Doula care is a possible solution to these problems.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess patient understanding and perception of doulas as well as comparing desire for doulas to demographics and past experiences to search for relationships. …

Developing A Protocol For Non-Cellular Transplantation Of Donor Mitochondria Into Recipient Cells, Andrew Parton

Honors Theses

Tumor innervation has emerged as a critical feature of cancer progression, with increased nerve density correlating with enhanced aggressiveness, metastatic dissemination, and poor clinical outcome. However, the functional contribution of neurons to tumor biology remains incompletely defined. We recently identified the intercellular transfer of mitochondria from neurons to cancer cells as a mechanism that promotes tumor progression. We therefore hypothesized that disruption of this transfer could attenuate tumor aggressivity. To directly investigate this process, we developed an approach to isolate mitochondria from donor cells and transplant them into recipient cancer cells independently of canonical cell-cell interactions. Transferred mitochondria were tracked …

Popular Protest And Corporate Reputation: Exploring The Impact On Recruitment And Retention, Heather Miller

Dissertations

In today’s sociopolitical climate, popular protest has become a powerful force shaping how organizations are judged and how people decide where to work. This qualitative study took place during a period of heightened sociopolitical activity and public unrest in the United States, when organizational responses to contested issues were especially visible and consequential. This study explored how popular protest affects corporate reputation (CR) and, in turn, influences employee recruitment and retention. Drawing on stakeholder theory (ST), corporate social responsibility (CSR), and corporate social advocacy (CSA), the study situated popular protest as an external pressure that exposes alignment or misalignment in …

The Perceived Cultural Intelligence Of Leadership And Its Impact On Employee Organizational Commitment And Workplace Well-Being, Melinda Bowens

Dissertations

In today’s continuously evolving workplace, the role of leadership has expanded beyond traditional management competencies to encompass the ability to recognize, navigate, and leverage cultural differences. This quantitative study examines the relationship among perceived leader cultural intelligence, employee workplace well-being, and organizational commitment. Recognizing that workplace well-being and organizational commitment are critical to the overall health and success of organizations, it is essential to gain a greater understanding of the factors that influence these constructs. Accordingly, this study collected from 410 participants to investigate the relationship between perceived cultural intelligence of leadership, employee organizational commitment, and workplace well-being. Employing a …

Who Speaks For The Public? The Limits And Potential Of Participation In Sarasota’S Public Art, Anna Lazzara

Theses & ETDs

The City of Sarasota’s Public Art Program recently implemented a new master plan emphasizing community participation in the development of public art. This shift signals movement toward what art historian Miwon Kwon has labeled the “Art in the Public Interest” model, in which community input shapes both the process and outcome of public art. This thesis examines how the “public” is defined and represented in practice through a case study of two mural projects at the Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences: Reverend Lewis and Irene Colson (2025) and Creative Seeds (2026). Drawing on primary sources, including Public Art Committee …

Generations At Work: Examining Differences In The Nonprofit Sector, Cory J. Bergeron

Dissertations

This non-experimental quantitative dissertation examined generational differences among non-management employees in the United States nonprofit sector, where multiple generational cohorts work side by side. The problem addressed is that nonprofit leaders’ limited understanding of how distinct generational experiences shape employees’ work-related attitudes and preferences can contribute to conflict, reduced engagement, and costly turnover in already resource-constrained organizations. Grounded in Mannheim’s generational theory and Becker’s human capital theory, the study conceptualized generational cohorts as groups whose shared formative experiences influence what they value in their work context and how those values translate into human capital that affects organizational outcomes.

Using a …

The Impact Of Coach-Athlete Interactions On Athletic Performance: Exploring How Interpersonal Dynamics Translate Into Athletic Performance., Amanda Pizzol

Theses & ETDs

This study examines how interactions between coach and athlete shape athletic performance, through an ethnographic study involving three members of the New College of Florida beach volleyball team and their respective coaches. As a member of the team, I had direct access to daily practices, conversations, and competitive moments, which allowed me to observe how the athletes react to different coaching styles in real time. This access also enabled me to connect my own experience as an athlete to the data I collected throughout this research. The team's context is central to this research. At the time of this study, …

Enhancing Communication In Amateur Soccer Teams Through A Centralized Management App, Manuel Rodriguez

Theses & ETDs

MatchFit is a full-stack web application designed to help amateur soccer teams manage internal logistics in one centralized system. Many teams currently rely on fragmented communication and planning tools such as group chats, email threads, and paper notes. This creates information silos where important updates are missed, schedules are unclear, and player availability is not reliably tracked. The result is extra administrative work for coaches and inconsistent accountability for players. The objective of this project was to design and implement a user-friendly platform that supports core team operations without requiring advanced technical skill. MatchFit provides secure authentication with role-based access …

Time Is A Tree: Arboreal Chronotopes & Reciprocal Dendrochronology, Alyssa Bernard

Theses & ETDs

This thesis proposes a framework for reciprocal dendrochronology, a decolonial approach to tree-ring science that shifts the role of the researcher from an extractive observer to a vessel for translating arboreal memory, and explores how trees function as chronotopes: material intersections where time and space are fused into a living record (Bakhtin 1981). By applying the structuralist frameworks of Claude Lévi-Strauss (1955) and Joseph Campbell (1949), it is argued that trees have long functioned as universal symbols of continuity and the axis of existence. This baseline is then brought into conversation with the chronotopic theory of Mikhail Bakhtin (1981) and …

From The Field To The Sidelines: Student-Athletes’ Transitions Into Coaching, Lais Leonardo Martins

Theses & ETDs

This study explores the transition from student-athlete to coach and examines how athletic experiences shape individuals’ motivations, leadership philosophies, and identity development. Drawing on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with current and former student-athletes, as well as the researcher’s own experience, this research analyzes how individuals navigate the shift from competitive sport to leadership roles. The findings highlight the central role of athletic identity in shaping the transition process, as many participants experienced challenges redefining their sense of purpose after leaving competition. Coaching emerged as a key pathway that allows former athletes to maintain their connection to sport while transforming …

Everyday Objects, Disrupted: Five Chairs As Form And Sculpture, Lily Cerle

Theses & ETDs

We sit in chairs every day without thinking twice about it. My thesis asks what happens when this changes. By transforming 14-gauge sheet metal into folded, origami-inspired forms, my project reimagines the chair as something more than a place to sit, exploring how a chair can function as both functional furniture and sculptural artwork that challenges the way we experience our own bodies in space. The collection consists of five chairs, each built through bending, folding, rolling, and welding. Inspired by the work of Ron Arad and Vivian Beer, the series plays with the idea that a hard, industrial material …

Reproductive Characteristics Of The Chain Pipefish, Syngnathus Louisianae, David Kelley

Theses & ETDs

Syngnathids: pipefish, seahorses, and seadragons in the family Syngnathidae, are an evolutionarily unique, yet often understudied group of species typically found in shallow seagrass habitats, defined by their collection of extremely specialized adaptations, which include but are not limited to: male pregnancy, elongated and rigid bodies with bony plates, small fins not well suited for swimming, and fused jaws that form long and thin snouts. This study examines the species Syngnathus louisianae, a large pipefish native to coastal waters, namely seagrass and sargassum habitats, in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Coast. This species was chosen for this study over …

Scrolling Fatigue: How Continuous Short-Form Video Consumption Affects User Attention And Satisfaction, Maribeliy Ramos Jimenez

Communications and Digital Media Theses

This thesis focuses on the negative effects that derive from continuous short-from video consumption. It specifically examines the relationship between user scrolling fatigue, attention, and satisfaction with constant usage of short-form video platforms. It mainly focuses on the use of digital platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. This research builds on previously examined empirical investigations that analyzed the effects of scrolling through short-form video digital platforms influences users’ memory, stress, and procrastination. The research analyzes the possible connection with the use of survey-based quantitative methods. The study aims to determine how users process the continuous exposure to short-form …

Back To The Bayfront, Dania Hefley

Theses & ETDs

I’m trying to make sense of the different versions of myself that existed inside New College over the last four years. How I existed while studying. Which classrooms made me feel like a person. Which professors taught me how to read. Which ones taught me how to think. Which ones made me want to rise to the level of the room. Which ones made me feel like I was disappearing. I don’t want to turn these four years into a lesson, but I need a way in that lets me see the throughline. Recently, my literature professor, Miller, was talking …

Optimizing Fleet Use And Revunue Management Of Car Rentals: A Case Study Of Enterprise Mobility, Cannon Hinkle

Theses & ETDs

This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of fleet utilization, pricing strategies, customer demand, and the relationship of these aspects with operational efficiency. The analysis is performed via the case of Enterprise Mobility and is based on personal experience gained during an internship program at Enterprise Mobility's airport rental facility. Firstly, this paper addresses the issue of how rental companies maximize revenue via effective distribution of their assets, use of dynamic pricing strategies, and proper forecasting of customer demand. It is important to note that unlike most businesses, companies in the car rental industry do not have the luxury of storing …

Understanding Tlr3 Immune Response Activation In Cryptosporidium Parvum And Cryspovirus Pathogenesis, Surayya Hudayberganova

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Cryptosporidiosis is a serious gastrointestinal illness caused by a protozoan parasite known as Cryptosporidium. It is particularly dangerous for malnourished children and those with compromised immune systems. My research focuses on the Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) response to the Cryptosporidium parvum infection, specifically in the presence of the parasite’s viral mutualist named cryspovirus (CSpV1). Results using research methodologies like ELISA and RT-qPCR have indicated that TLR3 expression increases during the infection process of Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum). Furthermore, one intriguing observation concluded during this study suggests that administering the TLR3-specific inhibitor CU-CPT4a to infected cells drastically decreased this activation. This …

Effects Of Early Life Karenia Brevis Exposure On Bottlenose Dolphin Calves In Sarasota Bay, Florida, Elizabeth Fry

Theses & ETDs

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) have increased in frequency, intensity and geographic distribution in the past several decades. Florida is an epicenter for an HAB, commonly referred to as red tide, caused by the algal dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, which produces the neurotoxin brevetoxin. Acute exposure to brevetoxin causes respiratory distress and has been associated with large scale marine mammal mortalities and fish kills. However, potential chronic effects of exposure, including via maternal transfer, have not been well characterized. Fetal and juvenile mammals may be particularly susceptible to the neurobiological effects of excitotoxins due to their developmental stage. Many resident coastal bottlenose …

Canvascram Automating The Generation Of Learning Materials Using Retrieval Augmented Generation (Rag), Paige Grimes

Theses & ETDs

An increasing number of students across the globe have been utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in their studies. These tools can be beneficial when assisting students in understanding different topics; however, hallucinations that provide incorrect explanations by these models may negatively impact the learning process. CanvasCram is proposed to create an alternative approach to generating learning materials by integrating the use of retrieval augmented generation (RAG) into the generation process for both students and teachers. RAG relies on a knowledge base, rather than solely relying on public training data that base models use to generate their output. Additionally, a Canvas …

Rhetorical Models Of Conspiracy Theories How Two Political Commentary Youtubers Build Narrative Authority, Riley Bucklin

Theses & ETDs

The purpose of this study is to explore the rhetoric that independent political commentators on YouTube used to develop conspiracy theories in the immediate aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder. On September 10th, 2025, Charlie Kirk — a prominent conservative political commentator and activist — was assassinated at a Turning Point USA event on Utah Valley University campus. Following the shooting, various conspiracy theories developed online as the narrative from the federal investigation was still developing. This study is necessitated by the rapid pace at which digital subcultures have displaced traditional media outlets and reshaped what is considered trustworthy reporting. To …

Inbreeding Effects On Fitness-Related Traits: Evidence From Two Populations Of The Least Killifish (Heterandria Formosa), Abigail Hansen

Theses & ETDs

Inbreeding, the mating of closely related individuals, can affect the fitness and overall health of natural populations by reducing genetic diversity and exposing deleterious recessive alleles. To better understand the effects of inbreeding, a controlled lab experiment was conducted using the Least Killifish species, Heterandria Formosa. Many species have evolved behavioral and demographic mechanisms to avoid inbreeding; however, these mechanisms can be constrained in small or structured populations. This species was purposely chosen for this experiment as the fish appear in two diverse populations; a population with high density from the Wacissa River (WR) located in South-Central Jefferson county, Florida …

Changes In The Dental & Oral Health Information Landscape, Alisun Dekock, Melissa Ernst, Jimmy Gonzalez Vicker, Kelly O'Brien

Individual Scholarship

As we navigate rapid changes to information access and utilization, dental and oral health care professionals are finding new ways to meet the needs of their users. Practitioners locating, evaluating, and applying research continues to encounter new obstacles, including significant changes to institutions that share health data and make recommendations. This poster discusses effective strategies dentistry librarians have used for information retrieval, method analysis, and patient education.

Background  

This poster provides an overview of how four dentistry librarians are responding to trends and changes in the dental and oral health information landscape at their various institutions and organizations.

Description   

Within …

A Better Box To Lie In, Camille Gros

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This written thesis accompanies an exhibition of textiles and works on paper that explore the emotional, architectural, and political structures that relay experiences of a Queer Southern livelihood; it is about girlhood, homoeroticism, isolation, passion, hunger, sweet love, and terrible fear. The show is a celebration of our dependance upon one another, and an expression of grief. I am sure that this work will need to be repaired in time, and I hope for many hands to mend it.

A Multi-Criteria Decision And Spatial Modeling Framework For Socially Informed Advanced Air Mobility Implementation Planning, Noah Wesley Bretz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Advanced air mobility (AAM) is an emerging mode of transportation that integrates advanced aircraft technologies, such as manned air taxis or unmanned freight drones, to transport people and goods across urban and regional environments. While these technologies promise to transform mobility, successful implementation depends heavily on community acceptance, which is shaped by multiple social factors. This study presents a multi-criteria decision framework to evaluate and prioritize the key social factors influencing AAM adoption. A literature review identified six primary social factors: safety, noise, privacy and cybersecurity, automation, environmental impact, and price and economics. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used …

Global Perspectives On Cns Drug Innovation: Achievements, Barriers, And Priorities For The Next Decade, Hiroyuk Uchida, Gabriella Gobbi, Joseph Zohar, Allan Young, Dan Rujescu, Ming-Chyi Huang, Suresh Sundram, Lukoye Atwoli, Jana Vukovic, Kazutaka Ikeda

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background Over the past decade, neuropsychopharmacology has shifted from stagnation to momentum, with first-in-class mechanisms and biomarker-enabled trials spanning psychiatry and neurology.

Methods We narratively synthesized advances from 2013 to 2026 across central nervous system (CNS) discovery and development, including pivotal trials, regulatory actions, digital/real-world evidence, genetics, artificial intelligence (AI), and implementation/global-access themes that are endorsed by international societies.

Results Therapeutic gains include rapid-acting drugs for treatment-resistant depression (intranasal esketamine); psychedelic-assisted therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder and depression; neuroactive steroid γ-aminobutyric acid-A receptor positive allosteric modulators (brexanolone, zuranolone) for postpartum depression; non-dopaminergic muscarinic agonists (xanomeline–trospium) for schizophrenia; orexin receptor antagonists …

Advancing Transplant Excellence: A Dual Approach To Education Revitalization And Hospital-Wide Resource Access, Hillary Chickering Msn, Rn, Npd-Bc, Cmsrn

Academy Scholars Projects

Effective nursing education must be as dynamic as the clinical environment it serves. By prioritizing clinical synchronization and hospital-wide accessibility, we ensure that every nurse—regardless of their unit—has the tools to provide expert transplant care.

Revised - The Role Of Gad67/65 In The Therapeutic Effects Of Ketamine And Fluoxetine In Fear-Conditioned Mice, Alex G. Ottimer

All NMU Master's Theses

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic psychiatric disorder and the most common disorder following exposure to a traumatic event. The most commonly used drugs in PTSD treatment are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), though only about 50% of patients respond to this treatment. Previous work in our lab demonstrated the combination of chronic fluoxetine (FLX) and acute ketamine treatment decreased fear response in a contextual fear paradigm in male C57/BL mice. In rodents, fear conditioning (FC) is commonly used in the literature to induce behaviors related to PTSD. The mammalian central fear memory circuit involves a dynamic interplay between …

Post-Truth Gaming: Fictional Pasts And Constitutive Rhetoric In Video Game Nostalgia, Hunter Bishop

All NMU Master's Theses

What happens when we become nostalgic for experiences we never had? How do video game companies impact what we are nostalgic for? What might a fictional nostalgia look like, and how can it help us better understand the role of nostalgia in Western culture? These are the central questions that this thesis seeks to answer. As seen in the United States’ current cultural and political infatuation with the past, nostalgia has become a dominant rhetorical strategy. Nostalgia is especially prevalent in the medium of video games, where a steady stream of remakes, remasters, and rereleases attempts to repurpose the past …

Enhancing Occupational Balance And Well-Being Among Significant Others Of First Responders, Alexis M. Ziegler

OTD DEx Reports - College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Stress is defined as “a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation” (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023). It is common in daily life, however the amount and intensity of it is variable. First-responders, such as police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics, have a predisposition to stress due to the requirements of their position. Because of the increased and consistent stress, these professions are at an increased risk for mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; O’Toole et al., 2022). This relationship between stress and negative mental health, such as …

Evaluating Bawaslu’S Sigaplapor For Electoral Justice In Indonesia’S 2024 Election, Nur Hidayat Sardini, Muhtar Muhtar

Jurnal Wacana Politik

This article assesses the effectiveness of the Election Violation Handling and Reporting Information System (SiGapLapor) operated by Indonesia’s Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) as a case of digitalising electoral oversight. Using a qualitative-exploratory case study, the research draws on document analysis (regulations, internal reports, and SiGapLapor web statistics) and semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with election supervisors and ICT managers. Findings indicate that SiGapLapor works reasonably well as an administrative registry and an internal reporting tool, but remains weak as a participatory public complaints mechanism and as an instrument of electoral justice. Key constraints include a non-user-centred interface, predominantly manual …

Leveraging Generative Artificial Intelligence To Launch An Independent Game Studio, Douglas Evans

Theses

This project report examines how Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) can be integrated into the early formation and operations of an independent/indie game studio. Using a qualitative, practice-based single-case study approach, the project focused on Boar’s Head Studio, LLC. A human-in-the-loop approach was maintained with Generative AI used to support company formation, ideation, planning, documentation, analysis, coding assistance, marketing preparation, and community-building preparation

The report concludes that Generative AI can serve as a meaningful system integrated into the studio pipeline when used with structured, repeatable, human-in-the-loop processes. The project contributes a practical, case-based framework that may be useful to other …