Digital Commons Network^™

Certified Orientation And Mobility Specialists’ Experiences Working With Students Who Have Cerebral Visual Impairment, Elise Nobuko Darrow

Dissertations

Certified orientation and mobility specialists (COMS) provide instruction to students who are blind or visually impaired on how to navigate safely and efficiently. Visual impairments can stem from eye-related conditions or neurological issues, such as cerebral visual impairment (CVI), which affects visual processing. Cerebral visual impairment is currently the leading cause of visual impairment in children in the United States and is often accompanied by comorbidities such as cerebral palsy, which is associated with additional disabilities. Orientation and mobility (O&M) instruction focuses on teaching safe and efficient travel skills and began as a rehabilitation service for blinded war veterans who …

The Paradox Of Twice-Exceptional Teacher Experience: A Narrative And Visual Inquiry, Michael Danielle Bell

Dissertations

Twice-exceptional (2e) individuals, those with high cognitive ability and concurrent disabilities, have been the primary focus in K-12 research, yet they largely disappeared from research as adults. This narrative inquiry examined the lived experiences of three 2e educators navigating the public school system. Grounded in the Neurodiversity Paradigm and the Social Model of Disability, the study utilized semi-structured interviews and photo elicitation to externalize the sensory and cognitive realities of 2e educators through an affirmative, strengths-based lens. Narrative analysis revealed a central synthesis of the paradox of 2e educator experiences that highlighted participants’ neurodivergent traits as simultaneously their greatest professional …

Exploring Predictors Of First-Time National Council Licensure Exam For Registered Nurses Next Generation Success In Bachelor Of Science In Nursing Program To Determine The Need For Remediation, Ashton Clarkson

Dissertations

Passing the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) on the first attempt is crucial not only for nursing students but also for nursing programs and employers. Nursing programs’ reputations rest on their first-time NCLEX pass rates for incoming students and for national accreditation (Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, 2023; Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 2024; Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation, 2021). Also, the United States is experiencing a nursing shortage that could be alleviated by more nurses passing the NCLEX-RN on the first try. This quantitative study aimed to determine whether there is predictive ability between the …

Exploration Of The Intent To Remain In The Nursing Profession: Reasons New Nurse Graduates Remain At The Bedside, Amy Simons

Dissertations

Newly graduated nurses (NNGs) have been essential to sustaining the nursing workforce, yet up to 35.0% have left their initial positions within 2 years of licensure, contributing to persistent workforce instability (Kovner et al., 2016; Shatto & Lutz, 2017; Yu & Kang, 2016). Although factors influencing early turnover have been widely studied (Blegen et al., 2017; Fox & Abrahamsen, 2009; Kovner et al., 2016; Shatto & Lutz, 2017; Skillman & Toms, 2022; Wei et al., 2018; Yarbrough et al., 2017), less has been known about the determinants of NNGs’ intent to remain in the nursing profession. Guided by Herzberg’s Two-Factor …

Reconsidering The Undergraduate Viola Canon: A Skill Based Framework For Repertoire Expansion, Daniella Isabel Angulo Martinez

Dissertations

This research analyses the limitations of the standard undergraduate viola repertoire and proposes a structured, skill-based framework for its expansion. Within collegiate viola programs in the United States, training frequently focuses on a limited group of orchestra-accompanied works, particularly those by Telemann, Stamitz, Bruch, and Walton. While these works have a great pedagogical value, their dominance has contributed to a restricted repertoire that can limit students’ technical development, musical style knowledge, and artistic growth.

Based on the pedagogical standards of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), this research identifies five core performance domains - technique, rhythm, intonation, tone projection, and …

A Phenomenological Examination Of Value Recognition And Development In Mental Health Counselors-In-Training, Luke Erskine Steinman

Dissertations

The importance of values in therapy is well recognized and documented in the field of mental health counseling, despite this, the implementation of value-based instruction into formal training is often unclear and inconsistent. As such, the purpose of this study was to investigate how CITs recognized their personal and professional values; the impact those values have on their work and personal lives; how their values developed throughout the course of their training; and what factors influenced that development. This was done with the hopes of better understanding how these areas shape their professional practice. Research questions examined how CITs recognize …

Vinicio Meza And The Bassoon: A Study Of The Costa Rican Composer’S Chamber Music And Episodios For Bassoon And Orchestra, Bryan Valderrama Vega

Dissertations

Vinicio Meza (b.1968) has had a significant impact on Costa Rican bassoon music, contributing over sixty chamber works featuring the instrument and a work for bassoon and orchestra. Despite his successful career and professional recognition, only a small number of his compositions have been the subject of academic study, offering a mere glimpse of the composer’s artistry. The present dissertation responds to this gap by utilizing Meza’s bassoon works as a vehicle to delve into his life and artistic production, following a qualitative approach to answer questions about his career and musical style, the historical and compositional particularities of his …

Part Of The Family, Brian Garbrecht

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

Part of the Family examines television as both a domestic object and a cultural force. TV was not simply something my family watched, but something we lived with. Through CRT televisions, VHS recordings, family photographs, altered TV Guides, fictional broadcasts, and immersive living-room installations, the project explores how television shaped memory, kinship, attention, and belonging in the American home. Drawing from my family’s archive of Chicago-area broadcasts recorded between the 1990s and early 2000s, the work treats VHS as a hybrid form of home movie, preserving the flow of commercials, news, station IDs, sitcoms, movies, and accidental overlaps that structured …

Application Of Maritime Non-Line-Of-Sight Relay Attack On Wireless Digital Communication, Nathan Meyer

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As wireless communication becomes increasingly prevalent, securing information over wireless channels is an ongoing challenge, especially in maritime environments where communication depends on radio links. While higher layer wireless attacks have been widely studied, lower level physical-layer relay attacks in maritime settings have received less attention. This thesis presents a simulation of a maritime relay attack in a beyond line-of-sight wireless environment for study. A three antenna communication model is developed where a legitimate transmitter sends a digital wireless signal, an attacking antenna intercepts, modifies, and retransmits the signal, and a final receiver observes both the direct and relay transmission. …

Real-Time Adaptable Residential Kitchen: A Plug-In Standard, Rachel Fuelberth

Masters in Architecture Program: Theses

This thesis looks at how a real-time adaptable standard could be put in place within the modern kitchen to allow for equitable use of the space by numerous members of the household and their differing physical characteristics. The residential kitchen is a fundamentally exclusionary architectural construction designed around able-bodied, average-height adults. This excludes children, the elderly, anyone outside of the average height, and people with mobility differences. The kitchen has never been a place of equity. It has been designed to be used by an average-height female, and it does not account for the discomfort of those outside this norm. …

Exploring The Biocultural Profile Of The Undocumented Populations Of The Sonoran Corridor: A Skeletal Assessment Of The Prevention Through Deterrence Strategy, Mary A. Vaughn

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Over the last thirty years the mortality rate of the undocumented population at the US-Mexico border has risen, requiring methods distinguishing US-born individuals from immigrants to improve the likelihood of identification and repatriation through foreign consulates. Forensic anthropologists with the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME) have advocated for the use of the biocultural profile, combining the biological profile with factors including oral health, osteological stress, and personal effects. The biocultural profile serves two purposes, functioning both as a tool for identification and with which to document structural inequality within communities of origin.

This study examines changes in …

Observation And Reflection Of Neighborhood And Community 2026: Food Access, Housing, Religious Community, And Health Care Access Reflection, Celene Philip, Michaela Kizy, Haley Montgomery, Akash Dantuluri, Josh Hailo, Abdel Kareem Hilo, Shadi Charara, Sarah Schenck

Patient Education Projects

No abstract provided.

Discharge Process Improvement Initiative Using An N-By-T Strategy In A Progressive Care Unit In An Acute Care Setting, Sukhvir Walia

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background

Timely and efficient patient discharge processes are crucial for enhancing hospital throughput, reducing emergency department boarding, optimizing inpatient bed utilization, and ensuring safe transitions of care. Delayed hospital discharges contribute to prolonged hospitalizations, operational inefficiencies, increased healthcare expenditures, and decreased patient satisfaction. Progressive care units (PCU) are particularly vulnerable to discharge delays because patients frequently require multidisciplinary coordination before safe discharge can occur.

Purpose

The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing a structured discharge readiness checklist combined with an n-by-T discharge planning strategy during multidisciplinary patient progressive rounds (PPRs) to improve discharge …

Mental Health Representation And Audience Interpretation In Contemporary Streaming Media, Caitlyn Freeman

Communications and Digital Media Theses

This study looks at streaming television as a place where ideas about mental health are shaped and communicated. These shows communicate mental health through storytelling, rather than simply reflected. Instead of viewing series as realistic depictions of psychological struggle, this analysis focuses on different elements to understand how audiences understand mental illness. This study focuses on patterns in how mental health is presented to audiences, including whether it is shown as an emotional conflict, ongoing experience, or a moment of crisis within the story. Using a qualitative analysis, the research analyzes selected episodes from each series through a codebook with …

Nadh Flim Reveals Cellular Bioenergetics And Mitochondrial Morphology During Drosophila Convergent Extension, Maria Espana Pena

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that can fragment or fuse to support different bioenergetic demands and cellular processes, although the role of mitochondrial fission and fusion during embryonic development is not well understood. Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) of the mitochondrial cofactor NADH can be used to visualize mitochondrial networks and infer aspects of cellular bioenergetics in a label-free manner. We used NADH FLIM to test whether germband cells undergo changes in cellular metabolism during Drosophila convergent extension (CE)––a process in which hundreds of epithelial cells undergo coordinated intercalation to elongate the embryo. Contrary to our expectations, we did not observe significant …

Exploring Agricultural Pathways: An Analysis Of Arkansas Community Colleges, Natasha Hightower

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As demand for a highly skilled agricultural workforce continues to grow, Arkansas must strengthen accessible and clearly defined academic and career pathways to prepare future agricultural professionals. Community colleges serve as a critical entry point into higher education, particularly for rural and first-generation students, and play a vital role in both workforce development and transfer preparation. However, information related to agricultural education offerings, transfer pathways, and faculty at Arkansas community colleges is often decentralized and difficult for students and stakeholders to locate. The purpose of this study was to examine agricultural education offerings at community colleges in Arkansas, specifically agricultural …

The Relationship Between Sports Related Head Injuries, Mental Health And Academic Performance In University Student-Athletes, Odyssey Keller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student athletes face many challenges when it comes to participating in team sports, one of the most notable being sport-related head injuries. Concussions are a growing concern since they have the potential to impact mental health and academic performance long-term. While many athletes report recovery within weeks, some continue to struggle with impairments in their psychological functioning and overall mental well-being that interferes with academic performance over time. Many of the standardized protocols in place for concussion management vary across institutions. This study aimed to address gaps in the existing literature by assessing concussion history, mental health and academic challenges …

"Am I A Man Or A Muppet": A Rhetorical Analysis Of Generative Ai’S Representation Of Gender, Jessica Boaz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how generative artificial intelligence constructs and performs gender roles through a rhetorical analysis of the fully AI-generated podcast Fairytale Forensics. Drawing on theories of constitutive rhetoric, stereotyping, and McLuhan’s approach to the medium, this thesis investigates how AI-generated hosts interpret classic fairy tales while simultaneously reproducing and negotiating gender norms through the lens of prosopopoeia, metonymy and synecdoche. These performances rely on normative gender stereotypes that align with broader societal expectations, thereby potentially reinforcing existing cultural assumptions about masculinity and femininity. Ultimately, it demonstrates that AI-generated discourse does not merely reflect human biases but actively participates in …

Modernizing United States Marine Corps Enlisted Professional Military Education: Benefits Of Transitioning From Industrial To Technological Learning, Michael W. Hensley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within organizational and societal contexts, there persists a belief that technologically infused asynchronous or synchronous educational programs, such as online, blended, or seminar-style formats, are inferior to in-person courses. Despite recent shifts in attitude caused by factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and global threats, the perception of such programs as substandard remains prevalent. This dissertation addresses the necessity of researching the applicability and benefits of these formats, particularly within the United States Marine Corps Enlisted Professional Military Education programs. Emphasizing the potential enhancement of warfighting abilities and leadership skills, this research investigates how technology-based educational programs can benefit enlisted marines …

Towards Dementia-Inclusive Digital Text-Based Health Information: A Multi-Method Investigation Of Cognitive And Affective Accessibility, Margi Engineer

All Dissertations

This dissertation examines the accessibility, readability, emotional tone, and trustworthiness of digital, text‑based dementia information and investigates how older adults with and without dementia cognitively and affectively engage with such content. It further explores the potential of generative AI to improve dementia information delivery through the development of a domain‑specific retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) large language model (LLM) chatbot designed to deliver accessible, stigma‑free information. The dissertation comprises four studies using complementary quantitative and qualitative methods. Study I conducts a large‑scale content analysis of 300 medical articles, 35 websites, and 50 blogs, applying readability metrics, LIWC‑based linguistic and sentiment analysis, and …

Examining Mathematics Identity And Student Capital In The United States And Norway: Comparative Insights From First-Generation College Students In First-Year Mathematics Courses, Margaret Ann Bolick

All Dissertations

First‑generation college students (FGCSs)—students whose parents did not complete a bachelor’s degree—are underrepresented in international research on first‑year mathematics course retention and are often compared to their continuing‑generation peers in ways that reinforce deficit narratives and skew perceptions of FGCSs. This study provides a descriptive comparison between FGCSs’ mathematics identity and forms of capital across the cultural contexts of Norway and the United States through four interconnected papers that address the overarching research question: How do cultural and educational contexts in Norway and the United States influence how FGCSs conceptualize and express forms of capital and mathematics identity in first-year …

Versatile Exoskeleton Control Paradigms For Agile Human Locomotion: Task-Agnostic And Stability-Augmented Assistance, Miao Yu

All Dissertations

Lower-limb exoskeletons have shown great potential for assisting human locomotion, but designing controllers that provide assistance across diverse locomotor tasks and under external perturbations remains a major challenge. Many existing controllers for steady-state walking rely on pre-defined reference trajectories, which constrain voluntary human motion and limit adaptability across tasks. Moreover, they usually assume stable walking, while their performance under unstable conditions remains largely unexplored. In addition, existing gait stability augmentation controllers are often reactive rather than proactive to unstable conditions. In this dissertation, we propose control frameworks that preserve voluntary human motion while addressing two major challenges: providing task-agnostic assistance …

Participatory Land Management In A Dynamic Coastal, Wilderness Landscape: Stakeholder Engagement, Public Land Disinvestment, And A Paradox At Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, Kelly Alvidrez

All Dissertations

Federal coastal protected areas in the United States are increasingly shaped by intersecting social, ecological, and institutional pressures, including climate change, amenity-driven population growth, rising visitation, and sustained public land disinvestment. Within this context, Participatory Land Management (PLM) has been promoted as a mechanism to enhance legitimacy, incorporate local knowledge, and foster shared stewardship. However, the implementation of PLM within U.S. federal land agencies remains under-theorized, particularly in ecologically dynamic landscapes that have designated wilderness. This dissertation examines PLM at Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, a federally managed coastal refuge embedded within a rapidly changing social-ecological system and constrained by …

Progressive Digital Health Engagement And Genetic Testing Intention: Evidence From The Genetic And Rare Disease Evaluation (Garde) Health System Trial And The Health Information National Trends Survey (Hints7), Emma Coen

All Dissertations

Background Digital health technologies including patient portals, internet based health information seeking, and electronic communication platforms are central mechanisms for genomic risk communication and recruitment into genetic testing. Engagement with these tools occurs progressively rather than uniformly, and structural inequities may contribute to staged disengagement along digital health pathways. Identifying where disengagement occurs and whether it differs by demographic and contextual characteristics is critical for advancing equitable genomic implementation.

Objectives This dissertation evaluates progressive digital engagement and genetic testing intention across two complementary data sources. Aim 1 examines sequential engagement within a health system genomic outreach trial. Aim 2 evaluates …

X-Raying The Material Surrounding Active Supermassive Black Holes, Isaiah S. Cox

All Dissertations

It is important to understand the nature of the gas and dust immediately surrounding the supermassive black hole (SMBH) in active galactic nuclei (AGN), because this material feeds the accretion disk and couples the activities going on at the AGN scale to the host galaxy. However, there remain large uncertainties on basic properties about this material such as its location and distribution. This is primarily due to the difficulties in resolving spatial information on these scales at extragalactic distances.

AGN emit a tremendous amount of radiation all across the electromagnetic spectrum, including X-rays. The X-rays come from a very small …

Algorithmic Resilience Memory: Designing Agentic Ai Systems For Organizational Learning And Climate-Crisis Adaptation, Harsha Sammangi, Aditya Jagatha, Navyasri Maddukuri

Research & Publications

Climate disruption has become a persistent organizational condition rather than an episodic event, yet most information systems designed to support organizational resilience treat each disruption as an isolated incident. Existing digital resilience platforms, disaster recovery systems, and AI-driven decision support tools lack the capacity to accumulate, encode, and reuse organizational knowledge across successive climate-related crises. This paper introduces Algorithmic Resilience Memory (ARM), a novel IS construct defined as an AI-enabled organizational capability through which agentic AI systems sense climate-related disruptions, encode prior organizational responses, preserve decision rationale, generate contextually adaptive recommendations, and reconfigure future actions through structured outcome feedback. Drawing …

Conversations That Matter : Discerning And Responding To Prevenient Grace In Evangelistic Practice Among Australian Nazarenes, Richard H. Giesken

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Gdpr-Compliant Fatca Structure?, Michael Hatfield

Articles

A 2025 Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA) decision and ensuing preliminary questions referred by the Belgian Market Court to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) highlights the tension between the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) structure in Europe. The FATCA structure relies on intergovernmental agreements (FATCA IGAs) between the US and EU Member States. Under these agreements, Member State tax authorities transfer personal data of their citizens and residents to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It may be determined that these transfers violate some or all of …

The Neo-Monastic Invitation : A Rule For Church Multiplication In South Georgia, Andrew Robert Anderson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

From Structure To Support: An Integrative Model Of Leadership, Emotional Exhaustion, Role Clarity, And Daoist Moderation, Aradhna Mohan

Dissertations

Rooted in the understanding that effective leadership significantly influences organizational outcomes, this study examines process-oriented relationships between leader initiating structure and subordinate outcomes. Specifically, it extends the leadership literature by focusing on the cognitive resources underlying initiating structure behaviors, such as role-related clarity, that may enhance positive subordinate outcomes and mitigate negative ones. The study also incorporates an underexamined Eastern leadership style, Daoist Water-Like Leadership, and explores its associations with leader initiating structure and consideration. Guided by the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, this research assesses the effects of initiating structure and Daoist leadership on emotional exhaustion, examines the relationship between …