Digital Commons Network^™

One Long Yawn, Dylan Musler

Theses and Dissertations

Dylan Musler contextualizes her painting and ceramic work. She explores themes around time, the grotesque, transference, holes, and dirty snow piles.

Transient Landscapes, Selena Lozano

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores a technical shift from studio to plein air observation and contextualizing urban landscapes through art history and memory. By investigating the tension between permanence and erasure amidst rapid gentrification, the work utilizes painting and photography to mirror the physicality of El Barrio in East Harlem.

Covert And Overt Expression: Understanding Jazz Through Individual And Communal Values, Jalen F. Grandchamps

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that jazz— particularly the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s–70s—can be understood through the lens of covert and overt expression, a framework tracing its lineage to earlier Black musical forms like Spirituals and Blues. Covert expression, defined here as coded or survivalist communication (e.g., Spirituals’ biblical allegories for liberation), emerges under conditions of violent oppression; overt expression, by contrast, reflects unfettered artistic agency and direct protest (e.g., Mingus’s "Fables of Faubus").

Genetic Screen For Regulators Of Pol4, A Dna Repair Polymerase In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Pasang Dolma Sherpa

Theses and Dissertations

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, DNA polymerase 4 (POL4) is the beta repair polymerase, the product of the POL4 gene, and is involved in base excision repair (BER) and microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ). Despite its involvement in these repair pathways and its conservation across eukaryotes, deletion of POL4 shows no detectable phenotype under standard laboratory conditions. I hypothesized that unknown genes act as backup systems, providing redundant activities that allow pol4Δ cells to survive. To test this, a genetic screen for mutants showing synthetic lethality with pol4Δ was implemented. I constructed a strain lacking the POL4 gene and carrying …

The Effect Of Inbound Tourism On Consumer Prices In Japan, Serenity E. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

This paper uses monthly prefectural data to estimate the effect of inbound tourism on Japan’s consumer prices. Results indicate that a 10% increase in foreign overnight stays is associated with a 0.01% increase in capital city prices. The paper discusses localized dual pricing as a response to these price pressures.

Heirloomed: An Italian-American Daughter Weaving Past And Present, Catherine Santino

Theses and Dissertations

Amid a string of family deaths, writer and journalist Catherine Santino found herself preoccupied by the idea of lineage and inheritance. As she digs into her Sicilian heritage, she explores how the traditions and values set forth by her family’s matriarchs have shaped the woman she’s still becoming. From grappling with the shame caused by the Roman Catholic Church’s teachings of purity to examining how Italian food customs impacted her body image, Santino interrogates the complicated truth that the belief systems she was raised with offer both comfort and torment.

Science, Fiction, James Nick Peelor

Theses and Dissertations

Science, Fiction is about death, mental health, UFOs, and having a mutifaceted art practice rooted in a DIY ethos.

Some Equivalence Statements Are Metaphors, Malik A. Terry

Theses and Dissertations

Metaphors work best when topic and vehicle come from different domains. Glucksberg (2011) observed that same-domain statements ( "Cats are dogs") lack metaphorical interpretations, and Experiments 1 and 2 confirmed this. Prasada (in press) proposed that minority framing ( "Some cats are dogs") enables such metaphors. Experiment 3 confirmed this.

Sonic Rupture And Embodied Politics:
Reconfiguring The Aesthetic Regime In The Syrian Uprising, Lynn Shabani

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that the Syrian uprising of 2011 emerged as a sonic and embodied rupture within an authoritarian aesthetic regime that had long governed public sensibility. Through chants, song, and coordinated movement, political agency took form as collective, affective practice, transforming vernacular repertoires into infrastructures of mobilization, audibility, and resistance.

Public Art And Military Technology At The Mexico-U.S. Border: Disrupting Boundaries On Battlegrounds, Anna Luise Kaunert

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how contemporary artists Rubén Ortiz Torres, Chico MacMurtrie, rafa esparza, and Cassils transformed military technologies into powerful artworks that interrogate the Mexico-U.S. border as a battlefield. Together, their works illuminate militarization and surveillance technologies at the border and the violent enforcement of U.S. immigration policy.

A Fine Arts Program For No. 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, Paul Richert-Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reads Chase Manhattan's 1959 art program as a reconstitution of ornament. The spatial and affective work historically performed by murals, carved stone, and mosaic was now performed by collecting—contemporary art, ethnographic holdings, folk art—deployed by committee across a corporate modernist master plan stripped of the handcraft tradition.

Carved In Grief, Crafted In Power: The Alabaster Mourner Of Fernando De Antequera And Late-Medieval Royal Propaganda, Teresa D. Kinley

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the alabaster mourning sculptures from the tomb of King Fernando I de Aragón at the Monastery of Santa María de Poblet.  Through formal analysis, material culture, and political theology, I argue that the ensemble functioned as a coordinated instrument of dynastic legitimacy, translating ritual grief into a durable technology of royal memory.

Landscaping The Exotic And The Ancient Through Picturesque: Reconsidering The Impact Of David Roberts’S Egypt And Nubia, Sophie Cooke

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis considers David Roberts’s use of picturesque art for imperial Britain and analyzes the ways Egypt and Nubia played an influential role in the cultural transmission of ancient Egypt. By confronting both antiquity and modernity, his Egyptian landscapes are evidence of how Western picturesque artworks influence historical narratives.

Real Mom Fake Mom, Marisa Kriangwiwat

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis exhibition examines how contemporary photographic perception is conditioned by digital interfaces and attention economies. The thesis artwork I make tries to trace an understand the bodily affects of looking at mass images online.

Signs In The Landscape: Authenticity, Ambiguity, And The Work Of Richard Long, Heather Green-Gulez

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Richard Long’s walking-based practice as a sustained and direct engagement with lived experience, tracing his development through walking landscapes, marking, and documentation. It negotiates tensions between reductive and hermeneutic readings, ultimately arguing that Long gestures toward pre-agrarian land ethics, raising broader questions of authenticity in modern life.

Hanne Darboven: Bismarckzeit (Bismarck Time), Lindsey J. Poremba

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines post-war German artist Hanne Darboven’s 1978 work Bismarckzeit (Bismarck Time). Bismarckzeit is a significant work where images, quotations, and equations meet and explore history. This thesis studies the different visual languages in Darboven’s installation, comparing her work with that of Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project.

Voyager, Ben K. Voss

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores painting as a site of meditation, time and (un)knowability.

Neuroprotective Effects Of Prophylactic Brivaracetam On Memory And Anxiety Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Sofia Dumic

Theses and Dissertations

Prophylactic brivaracetam (BRV) was evaluated in a rat TBI model for effects on behavior and serum tau. BRV reduced anxiety-like behavior with optimal dose-dependent effects at 2.1mg/kg, but did not affect working memory. Serum tau was detectable early post-injury, supporting its use as a biomarker.

A New Electroencephalography Electrode Design For Curly And Kinky Hair Types, Elena Butler

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Medical discrimination and implicit bias are present in both societal systems and into the design and validation of medical devices. Traditional electroencephalography (EEG) systems often fail to provide reliable physiological recordings on curly and kinky hair types (3B–4C), associated typically with Black American and others of African descent. EEG on these hair types often results in high electrode-scalp impedance, poor signal quality, and participant discomfort. Consequently, such technical biases contribute to the underrepresentation of these populations in neuroscience research and clinical diagnostics, while simultaneously limiting equitable access to EEG-based medical care.

To address this gap, a novel conductive electrode attachment …

Enhancing Healthcare Communication With Artificial Intelligence Translation Methods For Improved Patient Healthcare Satisfaction, Mireille Signe

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose:

To evaluate whether artificial intelligence (AI) verbal translation improved communication-related satisfaction during routine nurse–patient interactions.

Background:

In the ICU, brief, frequent conversations with patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) often occur without timely access to professional interpreters, contributing to delays, improvised communication, and lower satisfaction. AI tools offer immediate access for low‑complexity exchanges but require evaluation for feasibility and effectiveness as a supplement to certified interpreter services.

Methodology:

Twelve nurse-LEP proxy patient dyads were evaluated using a mixed-methods design (8/2025-12/2025) in a 16-bed ICU during QI PDSA cycles. Standardized care communication scenarios were completed using the AI tool. Process …

The Muse Of Modern Day Celebrity Endorsements, Cassaundra Garcia

University Honors Program Senior Projects

Kim Kardashian has redefined what it means to be a celebrity endorser in the modern age. It is not just about putting a celebrity face to a product, or in this case a Luxury Fashion Brand, but instead about embodying the brand itself. Kim Kardashian has served as the epitome of a ‘Modern Muse’, one who shapes and inspires brands. This thesis proposal takes an exploratory case study approach to Kardashian’s partnerships with Luxury Fashion Brands. It focuses on her Instagram social media presence and how it transforms traditional endorsement strategies into brand collaborations. By analyzing her posts, engagement, and …

Newly Registered Nurses With Neurodiversities: A Qualitative Study Of Their Experiences During Transition To Professional Practice, Heather Wallace

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Abstract Introduction: Transition-to-practice (TTP) programs play a crucial role in bridging the academic-to-practice gap for newly licensed Registered Nurses (NLRNs) and improving first-year retention rates. However, these programs may fall short in addressing the specific needs of NLRNs with neurodiversities (NLRN-ND). Neurodiversity (ND) encompasses Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Tourette Syndrome, and the 3 Ds – Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Dysgraphia. Unsupportive environments for disclosing neurodiversity and requesting accommodations may contribute to the 10-25% NLRNs leaving their jobs within the first year, with 1-3% exiting the nursing profession altogether. Objectives: This study aimed to (1) explore NLRN-ND …

Exploring Teamwork Between Virtual And Bedside Nurses, Caitlin Weinheimer

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background: Advancing technologies and the use of telehealth have expanded in hospitals to include telenursing. Telenursing introduces a unique dynamic where virtual and bedside nurses work together as a remote team to provide patient care. Published literature reports that teamwork among nurses and healthcare professionals impacts patient and workforce outcomes. However, there is a gap in exploring teamwork between virtual and bedside nurses. Addressing this knowledge gap is critical to ensure positive patient and nursing workforce outcomes in hospital-based telenursing settings.

Objective: To generate a grounded theory that explains teamwork between virtual and bedside nurses in the hospital setting. A …

Breastfeeding Education Preferences Of Pregnant People With Low Incomes, Megan Kindred

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background: The proportion of infants breastfed at 1 year in the United States remains below the Healthy People 2030 goal. Longer breastfeeding durations are important due to dose-response benefits, but disparities are greater among those with low incomes. Prenatal breastfeeding education (PBE) interventions can increase breastfeeding duration. Additionally, incentivization and gamification can be used to increase use of educational technology but are underexplored in this domain. Prior studies examining PBE format preferences do not reflect currently available technology. PBE format preferences of childbearing people should be reexamined.

Purpose: This purpose of this study is to: (1) identify PBE format preference …

Using Publicity To Encourage Course Materials Reporting At Unc, Nancy A. Henke, Caterina Azzarello

About OER

The University of Northern Colorado (UNC), like many institutions, relies on instructors to report on which learning materials they plan to use in their courses, whether those materials are Open Education Resources (OER), other Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) materials, or cost-bearing commercial resources. This information ensures the institution is meeting federal and state mandates for cost transparency, supports students as they plan for the upcoming semester, helps in assessing the use of OER/ZTC at an institution, and aids in planning open education outreach and advocacy. Yet getting faculty to report their course materials in a timely manner (or at all) …

Ethnic And Sex Differences In Salt Sensitivity Amongst Normotensive Young Adult Nigerians: Implications For Hypertension Prevention, Ahmed Oloyo, Abdullahi Adejare, Oluwakemi Odukoya, Simiat Elias, Oyewole Kushimo, Olusoga Sofola

Biomedical Sciences, East Africa

Background: High dietary salt intake is a well-established modifiable risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Salt sensitivity – a blood pressure (BP) phenotype defined by exaggerated BP response to salt loading, remains underrecognised in normotensive populations despite its strong link to adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The burden and determinants of salt sensitivity amongst young Nigerians remain poorly understood.

Aims: This study aimed to identify demographic and behavioral risk factors associated with salt sensitivity, explore potential ethnic and sex-related differences, and determine the independent predictors of salt-sensitive (SS) BP response amongst normotensive young adult Nigerians.

Subjects and Methods: An …

Faith Leaders’ Guide To Adolescent Protection, Population Council, Zambia Interfaith Networking Group (Zingo), Faith Mother Bodies

Adolescents and Young People

No abstract provided.

Lake Region Conference Elects President To Serve Remainder Of Term, Lake Region Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Andrews University Summer Experiences, Lake Union Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

A Methodology For Space-Based Lightning Risk Assessment, Drew Early

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.