Digital Commons Network^™

Administrators

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Effectiveness Of Picture Exchange Communication System On Functional Communication For Saudi Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Mohammed Albahrani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by restricted interests, repetitive or inflexible behaviors, and challenges with communication and socialization (Flannery & Wisner-Carlson, 2020). Children with expressive communication disorders, including those with ASD, can benefit from using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) as a tool to improve their communication skills (Chazin et al., 2016). The AAC approach helps them learn and communicate more effectively by addressing various needs, such as making requests, commenting, or responding to questions (Mirenda, 2001). Many families, special education classrooms, and inclusive settings have adopted the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), an evidence-based …

Family Functioning And Adolescent Outcomes In Wilderness Therapy: A Quanitative Analysis Of Change And Predictive Relationships, Elizabeth Santone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the impact of wilderness therapy on adolescent and family functioning using archival data from a licensed outdoor behavioral healthcare program. The purpose of this research was to examine both individual and systemic changes over the course of treatment and to explore whether improvements in family functioning were associated with youth outcomes. The final sample included 1,293 adolescents who completed the Youth Outcome Questionnaire (Y-OQ 2.01) at intake and discharge. A subset of 454 adolescents and their caregivers also completed the Family Assessment Device (FAD) at both time points. Paired-sample t-tests revealed statistically significant improvements in both adolescent …

Christopher Younger V. R. Gross

2025 Decisions

USDC for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Usa V. Keenan Righter

2025 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Dairy And Food Science Student Newsletter, December 16, 2025, Department Of Dairy And Food Science

Dairy and Food Science Student Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Structural Framework And Tectonic Implications From Field Investigations In The Ramelau Mountains, Timor-Leste, Tanner A. Nielsen

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in petroleum exploration off the southern coast of Timor-Leste and emerging mineral discoveries onshore have underscored the need for a more comprehensive structural understanding of the nation's geology. Although new structural models have been proposed for other parts of Timor, limited progress has been made toward developing detailed models for the Ramelau Mountains, which presents the highest structural relief of the Timor Ranges. Previous mapping in this area has been largely reconnaissance in nature and focused primarily on surface bedrock geology. This study presents a new 1:62,500-scale geologic map and a geometric structural analysis of the Ramelau region …

Civic Center Curriculum Committee Agenda December 19, 2025, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

1. Welcome and introductions

2. Administrative and Faculty Governance Structure

a. Administrative Group & Office of Data & Analysis

b. Curriculum Committee

i. Responsibilities

ii. Ad Hoc Working Groups

c. Governance Advisory Committee/DH Taskforce

3. Immediate Tasks Ahead

a. Vote on and approve course titles and course descriptions for classes going live AY 26-27 (1/5 - 1/9), no later than January 14.

b. 1) Discuss, 2) finalize and 3) approve items for new courses developments no later than February 1.

News You Can Use: What Mississippi's Maternal, Infant Health 'F' Means, Marvis Herring

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – When Mississippi received another "F" on the March of Dimes 2025 Report Card for maternal and infant health, it reinforced what many families already know: pregnancy and childbirth can be far more complicated than they appear.

Maya Health In The Days Of Deportation Discussion And The Case Example Of Colectivo Vida Digna, Guatemala, David W. Barillas Chon

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Health inequalities and health racism have a long history in the Americas, as in Guatemala and the United States. Drawing upon testimonies and case examples from the Maya non-profit Colectivo Vida Digna [Guatemala]. Barillas-Chon reveals how some Maya in Guatemala have organized to overcome historic and current challenges and are now working with Maya who have returned from the US.

Women In Santa Eulalia, Guatemala Through The Concepts Of Rootedness, Community, And Migration., Helen Hobson

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

This essay explores the experiences of Maya Q’anjob’al women in the villages of Santa Eulalia in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Women from eleven communities participated in group interviews during the four months I spent conducting fieldwork in 2024, thus building upon my findings from 2022 and 2023. Questions focused on their daily lives, their connections to people and places, strategies for generating income, and the impact of migration on their lives and the community. Two broad themes emerged from the interviews. The first relates to their relationships to the land and community, and how this rootedness supports a wholistic (Indigenous) sense of …

Sleep Menus: A Personalized Approach To Enhancing Patient Rest And Improving Sleep Quality, Justin W. Dorman

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Manuscripts

Sleep disruptions among hospitalized patients can negatively impact healing, recovery, and patient satisfaction. Hospital noise remains a persistent barrier to restful sleep, yet previous hospital-based noise reduction strategies have shown limited sustained success. This quality improvement project aimed to enhance patient-perceived sleep quality by implementing a patient-centered Sleep Menu offering patients earplugs or sound machines. A pre-post design was employed, using the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ) to assess patients' sleep quality before and after the Sleep Menu intervention. Sixty patients were approached; 25 chose earplugs, and 7 selected the sound machine. Despite environmental decibel levels remaining above the WHO recommendations …

Service, Citizenship, And Civil Rights, Museum Of History And Holocaust Education

Museum of History and Holocaust Education Exhibits

Generously funded by a grant from the Breman Foundation of Atlanta, Service, Citizenship, and Civil Rights is a ten-panel traveling exhibit that traces the history of veterans with a focus on those who have experienced marginalization due to membership in various identity groups. Through connection, communication, shared struggle and common experiences, veterans have found ways to push for civil rights and recognition within the military and beyond.

December 19, 2025 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Disregarding Severability, Kevin C. Walsh

Catholic University Law Review

The infirmities of severability doctrine have elicited increased attention at the Supreme Court. In his application of severability doctrine for a five-Justice majority in United States v. Arthrex, Inc., Chief Justice Roberts began to reformulate the doctrine in a way that can free the Court from the misleading mental imagery conjured by the conception of courts as “severing” provisions from a statute. Roberts's reformulation more properly depicts the relevant judicial activity to be judicial disregard of statutory rules to avoid unconstitutional applications of law rather than judicial severance of textual provisions to fix a problem that inheres in the …

Journal Of The Arts And Special Education: Volume 5, Issue 2

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

No abstract provided.

Hip-Hop Culture As A Catalyst For Belonging Among Black Male High School Students Who Stutter, Antonio L. Ellis

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

This ethnographic study explores how Hip-Hop culture fosters belonging, identity, and agency among six Black male high school students who stutter in a public charter school in Baltimore, Maryland. Grounded in culturally sustaining pedagogy, DisCrit, and Hip-Hop pedagogy, the research draws on participant observation, interviews, and field notes to examine how students use freestyling, beat-making, and cyphering as expressive tools. Findings reveal that Hip-Hop repositions stuttering as rhythmic expression, cultivates emotional safety through peer collaboration, and challenges deficit-based speech norms. Participants described Hip-Hop spaces as sites of affirmation where their voices were valued and their identities celebrated. The study calls …

If You Don’T Know, Now You Know: Jase Special Issue On Hip-Hop Pedagogy For Students With Disabilities (Side A), Jonte C. Taylor

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

This special issue examines Hip-Hop pedagogy (HHP) as a culturally grounded, multimodal approach that supports K–12 students with disabilities. Hip-Hop is presented as a comprehensive culture rooted in the five elements—MCing, DJing, breakdance, graffiti, and knowledge—which offer inclusive pathways for identity development, community, and learning. This special issue of JASE highlights HHP as an asset-based framework that enhances engagement, self-expression, assessment, and social-emotional growth while aligning with high-leverage practices. Research demonstrates that hip-hop–infused instruction can deepen academic understanding, reframe behavioral challenges, and promote equitable, disability-affirming learning environments. The included articles explore belonging for students who stutter, integrated pedagogical models, mentorship …

Keeping It Real: Hip-Hop Based Education In A Mathematics Classroom, Michelle J. Cook, Elizabeth M. Hughes, Jonte C. Taylor

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

Hip-Hop based education (HHBE) infuses elements of Hip-Hop culture into teaching and learning. Growing research shows that HHBE engages students, validates students’ identities and lived experiences, and supports academic success. In this article we share how HHBE can be used in mathematics with a focus on teaching word problem solving strategies. Using vignettes and real-life examples, we illustrate how creative elements of Hip-Hop (i.e., breakdancing, graffiti art, DJing, MCing, knowledge of self) naturally enhance mathematics and word-problem solving instruction. Educators can sample/adapt strategies shared to create HHBE lessons to meet the interests of their students with disabilities. We hope that …

Hip Hop Integration With Transition Planning: Empowering Middle And High School Students For Post-Secondary Success, Lasheba Hilliard, Develyn Biagas

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

This manuscript explores the integration of hip-hop pedagogy into transition planning for urban middle and high school students with disabilities. Grounded in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and aligned with Indicator 13, the paper highlights how culturally responsive strategies can amplify student voice, foster goal setting, and enhance post-secondary outcomes. By embedding hip-hop elements such as lyric reflection, storytelling, and motivational music into instruction, educators can increase student engagement across four key transition domains: post-secondary education, employment readiness, independent living, and community involvement. The framework encourages early implementation, personalized supports, and strong school-community partnerships. Practical strategies, including vision …

Learning From Images And Text (Clinical) Data: Toward Putting Ai In Radiology Workflows, Pan Xiao

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The rapid growth of medical imaging data highlights the need for intelligent systems that can understand both radiological language and image content. This dissertation presents two complementary research directions that advance machine learning in radiology through large-scale natural language understanding and unsupervised image representation learning. The first part develops and benchmarks machine learning models for identifying follow-up recommendations in radiology reports—a task essential for improving patient care and reducing missed follow-ups. Using 49,769 reports across multiple modalities and three institutional datasets, along with external and temporal test sets, thirty-two classification methods were systematically evaluated on both findings and impression sections. …

Examining The Effects Of Video Modeling To Enhance Culturally Specific Social Greeting Skills In Preschoolers With Asd In Saudi Arabia, Sarah Alzahrani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A lack of social communication skills, including initiation and responding, has been a prominent characteristic of children diagnosed with ASD (Kanner, 1943; Kroeger et al., 2007). Enhancing these skills in children with ASD during early childhood is crucial to their future relationships, friendships, participation in communal activities, and overall lowering the likelihood of adverse long-term effects, giving significance to this age as a pivotal period for enhancing various skills (Hart Barnett, 2018). Failure to provide interventions to address social communication in children with ASD, specifically in cultures that value this skill, can impede their integration into that society. Thus, this …

The Marathon: A Qualitative Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Black Male Educators, Lloyd M. Cheatom Sr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing a culturally relevant framework and methodology, this qualitative dissertation proposal aims to explore and investigate the unique life experiences and exposures that influence Black men to not only become educators but to sustain their careers in the educational field. The purpose of this study is to identify ways in which 1Nation Mentoring can organically implement strategic opportunities that replicate experiences capable of inspiring interest among young Black males to pursue meaningful roles within education and foster a pipeline of future Black male educators.

Additionally, this research will examine the intersection between education and trauma-based experiences, as well as the …

Mind The Gap: Intergenerational Perspectives On Mental Illness Within Ghanaian American Communities, Ama Danso-Ayesu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research explores attitudes toward mental illness among Ghanaian immigrants and

first-generation Ghanaian Americans, with particular focus on factors that influence

stigma. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model, the study utilized the

Community Attitudes Toward Mental Illness (CAMI) Scale to measure four dimensions

of stigma, including authoritarianism, benevolence, social restrictiveness, and community

mental health ideology. A comparative, cross-sectional design was employed to examine

differences between immigrant and American-born participants. The findings revealed

generational differences where Ghanaian immigrants reported higher levels of

authoritarian and socially restrictive beliefs, while first-generation Ghanaian Americans

demonstrated more benevolent and inclusive attitudes. Interpreted through the ecological

systems …

The Making Of Jewish-American Progress In Gertrude Stein’S, The Making Of Americans: Being A History Of A Family’S Progress, Rochel L. Gasson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation provides a comprehensive reading of Gertrude Stein’s The Making of Americans (TMOA), situating the novel at the intersection of literary modernism, Jewish American identity, and feminist thought. It argues that Stein reconceives American progress not as linear advancement but as a recursive, relational, and culturally grounded process. Through experimental form, repetitive syntax, and a sustained present tense, TMOA dramatizes the psychological and social complexities of immigrant families navigating assimilation while maintaining heritage. Characters such as the Old Man, his son, and the Dehning and Herland families reveal generational tensions, moral labor, and the ambivalences of upward …

Likes For Love: Examining The Relationship Of Sociocultural Factors On Social Media Influences Of Instagram Use For Young Black Women, Cheria S. Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years there has been a push toward studying ethnic minority women related to the psychological implications of image and beauty, as historically the focus has been on the experiences of European women (Awad et al., 2015). Black women must process sexual development, attitudes, and behaviors through the lens of the sexual scripts and stereotypes of their ethnic group and must negotiate between mainstream and culture specific norms of sexuality (Daniels and Zurbriggen, 2016; Jerald et al., 2017). The presence of these scripts signifies a difference between Black women and other races about how they may internalize and react …

Charter School Counselor's Perceived Barriers To Implementing A Recognized Asca Model Program, Nadene P. Pomerico

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2003, the American School Counselor Association published its first edition of the ASCA National Model—a framework for school counselors to develop and implement comprehensive school counseling programming. This streamlined guidance supports school counselors in developing and implementing comprehensive school counseling programming that prioritizes services to students with systematic intentionality. In addition, the American School Counselor Association released the Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) award. This distinction is awarded to school counseling programs that demonstrate the implementation of the ASCA National Model with fidelity, which includes using data to evaluate the impact of school counseling programming. Through the years, a …

An Ancient And Future Model Of Ecclesial Ministry: Exploring Insights From African Ecclesiology For A Revitalized Understanding Of The Catechist In The Amecea Region, Fortunatus Mugisha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ministry of the catechist has historically been an enduring and transformative ministry in the life of the Church in Africa, particularly in the AMECEA region. Within the AMECEA region (Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa), catechists have ministered not merely as transmitters of the faith but as the “unsung heroes and heroines” and vital agents of evangelization, pastoral care, and community leadership serving as the local face of the Church. This dissertation, relying on the insights from African ecclesiologies, proposes a renewed theological and pastoral understanding of the catechist as an ancient and future model of ecclesial …

Navigating The Digital Divide: A Quantitative Analysis Of The Digital Literacy Skills Of College Students Through The Lens Of Technological Self-Efficacy, Robert M. Spisak Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative dissertation addresses the digital literacy skills gap among college students and their ability to effectively use digital technologies in higher education. While many students arrive with technical skills, gaps exist in their ability to critically assess information, ethically engage with digital content, and apply these competencies across academic and professional contexts. Grounded in the framework of technological self-efficacy, which emphasizes the belief in one’s ability to perform digital tasks, this study examines both the digital literacy skills student bring from high school and their self-perceptions of those skills during college. This study was guided by the following research …