Digital Commons Network^™

When A Government’S Control Crosses Borders: How The Overinclusive Nature Of Trig Continues To Exclude Qualified Noncitizens From Obtaining Legal Status In The United States, Mailinda Hoxha

Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

2025 Undergraduate And Graduate Commencement, Lindenwood University

Commencement Programs

2025 Lindenwood University Commencement program.

The Quest For Algorithmic Justice In The Workplace: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission And Other Federal Responses To Ai, Technology, And Enhanced Dangers Of Employment Discrimination, David Lopez

Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Research On Automated On-Site Construction Of Timber Structures: Mobile Construction Platform Guided By Real-Time Visual Positioning System, Kang Bi, Da Wan, Haining Zhou, Wenxuan Zhao, Chengpeng Sun, Peng Du, Hiroatsu Fukuda

College of Architecture and the Built Environment Faculty Papers

In recent years, the AEC industry has increasingly sought sustainable solutions to enhance productivity and reduce environmental pollution, with wood emerging as a key renewable material due to its excellent carbon sequestration capability and low ecological footprint. Despite significant advances in digital fabrication technologies for timber construction, on-site assembly still predominantly relies on manual operations, thereby limiting efficiency and precision. To address this challenge, this study proposes an automated on-site timber construction process that integrates a mobile construction platform (MCP), a fiducial marker system (FMS) and a UWB/IMU integrated navigation system. By deconstructing traditional modular stacking methods and iteratively developing …

Healthcare Provider Comfort Surrounding Adverse Childhood Events (Aces), Cameo Culcasi

Doctoral Projects

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are strongly linked to long-term health outcomes, yet discussions around ACEs in clinical settings remain inconsistent. This study investigates the comfort levels of healthcare providers in addressing ACEs with their patients, identifying barriers and facilitators to such conversations. Using a Quasi-experimental, single group, pretest-post test experimental design, we surveyed a diverse group of physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants working in a primary care setting, providing ACE training, and an opportunity for learning reflection. Preliminary results indicate that while most providers acknowledge the importance of discussing ACEs, many report discomfort due to time constraints, lack of …

Spectator 2025-05-08, Editors Of The Spectator

The Spectator

No abstract provided.

Microplastics In Brachyurans: Comparing Contents Of The Atlantic Ghost Crab, Ocypode Quadrata, And Their Surrounding Sediments, Michael See

Honors Theses

The emergence of microplastics as a threat to physiological and environmental health has led to an increase in studies in recent years that aim to identify and quantify potential risks to marine ecosystems. Ocypode quadrata is a species that is a critical component of coastal ecology, leading this study to collect and analyze specimens regarding microplastics and their presence as a pollutant to the marine environment. Samples were collected from beaches along the Grand Strand of South Carolina. Microplastic density and diversity were recorded from investigating fecal pellets from the captive crab specimens to examine microplastic abundance. In addition to …

Associations Between Screen Time, Executive Functioning, And Book Use In Preschool-Age Children From Rural Mississippi, Anabel W. Mccraney

Honors Theses

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between screen time, executive function (EF), and book use in a sample of preschool-age children from rural Mississippi. To measure this relationship children were asked to complete three different EF tasks measuring impulse control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. To measure the child’s frequency of screen and book use, a parent-report survey was used. The results indicated that there might be a relationship between EF, screen, and books within certain variables. There was a relationship found between screen time and fewer books reported in the household. Between EF and …

The Impact Of Digital Storytelling In Nonprofit Marketing: Increasing Donor Engagement, Haley Cote

Honors Theses

Digital storytelling has emerged as a powerful tool in nonprofit marketing, reshaping how organizations engage donors, communicate their mission, and drive action. This thesis explores the impact of digital storytelling in nonprofit marketing, analyzing how nonprofit organizations leverage various digital platforms – websites, email marketing, social media—and frame their messages to enhance donor engagement. Using framing theory as a foundation, the research examines how the way nonprofit messages are structured influences donor perception and behavior. Through a literature review, case study analysis of Charity: Water, and survey data, thstudy evaluates key storytelling techniques such as positioning the donor as the …

Challenges Us Study Abroad Students Face When Acculturating To A Foreign Food Environment, Sydney C. Davis

Honors Theses

Studying abroad presents a unique opportunity for college students to immerse themselves in new cultures, including experiencing different food environments and dietary customs. However, adapting to a foreign food culture can pose various challenges that impact students’ overall health, eating behaviors, and study abroad experiences. The purpose of this study to develop a survey instrument designed to investigate the extent to which U.S. study abroad students embrace, accept, and face challenges with different aspects of Italian food culture, using the Social Ecological Model (SEM) as a guiding framework. Initial survey items were developed with information obtained from focus group discussions …

Redefining Roles In Displacement: The Asylum Journey Of Sudanese Women In Faisal, Cairo, Majeda Abdin Mahasneh

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how Sudanese refugee women, who arrived in Faisal, Cairo, after April 2023 experience gender-based violence (GBV). The research investigates the types of GBV these women encountered during their journey from Sudan to Cairo, how their gender roles changed in the asylum context, and their vision for the future regarding safety and support. A qualitative approach was employed, using in-depth interviews with four Sudanese refugee women, complemented by field notes and observations made during visits to the Faisal neighborhood. The analysis focused on the personal stories shared by the women, highlighting the various forms of violence they experienced, …

The Ethical Imperative Of The Renewal Of Virtue Within The Moral Community Of Catholic Healthcare, Amanda Altobell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Catholic healthcare is one of the largest nonprofit organizations and providers in the United States, offering medical care to many diverse communities. The fundamental mission of Catholic healthcare is to bring about Christ’s healing ministry and live out the fundamental principle of caring for the vulnerable in pursuit of the common good. However, there have been many missteps, not only due to a more polarized and secular community but also to scandals and conflict due to previous hierarchical and rules-based anthropology that often misses the person's lived experience. Therefore, this dissertation will argue that for Catholic healthcare to survive the …

On The Deconstruction Of Nothingness In Digital Communication, Matthew S. Lindia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project argues that digital technologies call for a new problematic of communication, centered around the conditions of (im)possibility for creating perfect digital profiles of users as generated from user data. Beginning with Edmund Husserl’s analysis of essentially occasional expressions, this dissertation posits that user data occurs on three levels: (1) the level of expression, where a user wants-to-say something through their inputs, (2) the level of facticity, where biometric data are involuntarily produced by the user, and (3) the level of nothingness, where the user’s inaction, such as not-answering, is taken as data. Moving beyond what Husserl’s framework can …

A Theory-Based Intervention To Mitigate Weight Bias Among Nurses: A Pilot Study, Gregory S. Marler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: As obesity rates continue to rise, a growing number of individuals living with obesity will seek medical care, increasing their exposure to weight-biased healthcare providers. This bias presents a significant risk, as it can lead to compromised care, diminished trust in medical professionals, and ultimately poorer health outcomes. Nurses, as frontline caregivers, must recognize the harmful impact of weight bias and take proactive steps to mitigate its effects. Addressing this bias is essential to ensuring equitable, high-quality care and improving patient outcomes.

Aim: The study explored the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of an intervention for acute care …

Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Mtss: Ethical And Actionable Strategies For Supporting Multilingual Learners In Multi-Tiered Frameworks, Arnold Rodríguez Robles, Matthew Quirk, Meghna Paul, Emmanuel Perez, Julian Mcguinness, Erin Dowdy, Emily Grande Gonzalez, Claudia Zavala Lara, Catherine Draper-Rodriguez

Education and Leadership Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper examines the ethical and legal considerations in providing services to multilingual learners (MLs) before special education evaluations, focusing on the decision-making process within Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). Legal mandates require districts to ensure MLs have equitable access to the general education curriculum and are provided with language support before special education assessment. However, school teams often face ethical and logistical challenges navigating MLs through MTSS, especially when employing a “one size fits all” approach. The unique needs of MLs may be overlooked, leading to misinterpretation of language differences as learning disabilities. Drawing on Armistead et al.'s (2011) …

"Significant Bodily Intrusions": Investigations Into Law Enforcement Phlebotomy, Anne Kathleen Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

This three-paper dissertation explores law enforcement phlebotomy, the ability of law enforcement officers to draw blood. Phlebotomy is both a ubiquitous, invasive diagnostic tool as well as a social site with complex relational dynamics at play between phlebotomist and patient. Through law enforcement phlebotomy, the blood draw is co-opted from the medical field into the policing field, and the normative framework through which it is used changes: whereas medical edicts instruct providers to work with patients through an ethics of care--respecting consent and refusal--policing is not similarly bound, instead operating through a prioritization of security and efficiency. In the articles …

“Let Me Be A Bridge”: Language Brokering Among Emerging Adult Latina Professionals In The Midwest, Elise M. Dubord

Faculty Publications

In immigrant families, bilingual children and adolescents regularly act as translators and interpreters for family and community members who are not fluent in the dominant language. These childhood language brokers later shift the focus of their translation activities as they transition into adulthood and develop professional skills. This research explores narratives of language brokering trajectories of three bilingual Latinas who were emerging adult professionals in three cities in Iowa. Based on a series of interviews collected over a 15 month period, this analysis examines how participants described realigning their family language responsibilities while simultaneously transferring their language brokering skills to …

Investigating Social Network Peer Effects On Hiv Care Engagement Using A Fuzzy-Like Matching Approach: Cross-Sectional Secondary Analysis Of The N2 Cohort Study, Cho-Hee Shrader, Dustin T Duncan, Redd Driver, Juan G Arroyo-Flores, Makella S Coudray, Raymond Moody, Yen-Tyng Chen, Britt Skaathun, Lindsay Young, Natascha Del Vecchio, Kayo Fujimoto, Justin R Knox, Mariano Kanamori, John A Schneider

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Social network data are essential and informative for public health research and implementation as they provide details on individuals and their social context. For example, health information and behaviors, such as HIV-related prevention and care, may disseminate within a network or across society. By harmonizing egocentric and digital networks, researchers may construct a sociocentric-like "fuzzy" network based on a subgroup of the population.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to generate a more complete sociocentric-like "fuzzy" network by harmonizing alternative sources of egocentric and digital network data to examine relationships between participants in the Neighborhoods and Networks (N2) cohort study. Further, we …

As-996-25 Resolution To Amend The Grading System To Include The A+ Grade, Academic Senate Instruction Committee

Academic Senate Resolutions

Resolves that the Academic Senate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo supports amending the grading system to include the A+ grade with the following caveats: the grading scale will continue to award 4.0 grade points to the grade of A or above; and the use of the A+ grade will go into effect with the Fall 2026 term.

Case Studies In Modern Accountancy: Exploring Financial Ethics, Corporate Influence, And Regional Development Through An Interdisciplinary Lens, Caroline Klocke

Honors Theses

This thesis compiles five case studies researched and completed during the 2023-2024 academic year, each exploring a different topic pertaining to the accounting profession today. With the guidance of Dr. Victoria Dickinson, professor at the University of Mississippi, these case studies were completed throughout the Accountancy 420 class to fulfill the research requirements of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Patterson School of Accountancy. The first case emphasizes reliable international financial reporting, while exploring the exposure of fraudulent Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges that costed American investors billions of dollars. The second explores U.S. military spending …

Bottom-Up Mechanochemical Synthesis Of Nanographene, Sarah Kerr

Honors Theses

This research explores the application of mechanochemistry in the bottom-up synthesis of nanographene, specifically focusing on the mechanochemical Diels-Alder (DA) reaction. The study investigates the effect of different reaction conditions and dienophiles on the mechanochemical DA reaction, aiming to optimize reaction efficiency and yield using a ball mill. The initial trials with a sterically hindered dienophile (2) and an electron-deficient diene experienced repeated failure, while reactions using dienophile (B), a terminal alkyne showed more promising results. Various variables were examined, including reaction time, jar size, ball size, ball number, shaking frequency, liquid-assisted grinding (LAG), heating, and diene to dienophile ratio, …

A Search For Transcriptional Cofactors Of Gcm/Repo Involved In Determining Glia Cell Fate In Drosophila Melanogaster, Nivedha Kosalram

Honors Theses

In Drosophila melanogaster, the mechanism influencing the differentiation of glia and neurons is directed by a key transcription factor known as glial cells missing (gcm). gcm is a crucial regulator of cell fate decision, functioning as a binary switch to direct glial fate in gcm- positive cells and neuronal fate in gcm-negative cells (Jones, et.al, 1995; Hosoya, et.al, 1995; and Vincent, et.al, 1996). In addition to directing gliogenesis, gcm and its homolog gcm2 facilitate the determination of macrophages and tendon cells, highlighting that gcm acts with supplementary factors to induce various signaling pathways in different contexts (Jones, 2005; Johnson, et …

Over-The-Counter Cold Medication Usage Self-Efficacy Among Undergraduate Students In The United States, Ray Goodwin

Honors Theses

Background

This study looks at the trends in over-the-counter medication usage and self-efficacy among undergraduate college students in the United States. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications serve as the most easily accessible and commonly purchased medications and can be used as a basis to determine this demographic’s attitudes and behaviors towards self-medication. In addition, undergraduates represent a diverse population for analyzing differences among demographic groups.

Methods

A Qualtrics survey was sent out to undergraduates across the US via a panel, and the team received 403 useable responses. As part of a larger study, the survey presented participants with four different scenarios at …

Debits, Credits, And Accounting Case Studies, Evangeline Reynolds

Honors Theses

This thesis consists of a compilation of six case studies that were completed under the direction of Dr. Victoria Dickinson during the course ACCY 420 – Independent Study over two semesters. The first five case studies explore various real-world topics related to the accounting field. These topics range from historical exploration of figures relevant to accounting, historical events, and current events and developments in accounting regulations. The last case study is a quantitative and cumulative analysis of a semester-long group project focused on developing a detailed business plan that was presented to members of accounting firms, State of Mississippi governmental …

The Impacts Of The Transfer Process Through The Eyes Of Stem Majors, Astrid Y. Lopez Matias

Honors Theses

This study explores the experiences of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) transfer students through the lens of Lily, a biology major who transferred from a large Midwestern university to a large Southeastern university. Employing a qualitative case study approach, data were collected via a semi-structured interview to delve into the complexities of her transfer journey. The analysis was guided by the Edalgo and High (2022) framework, which examines the interplay of personal, institutional, and social factors in shaping student experiences.

Lily's narrative highlights several challenges common among STEM transfer students, including unexpected personal and financial pressures, difficulties in navigating …

Associations Between Tiktok Use And Undergraduate Nursing Professional Identity, Parker M. Watts

Honors Theses

Background. The global surge in social media usage prompts extensive research into its links with nursing professional identity. College-aged individuals who are in nursing school or are going to be in nursing school in the future must navigate their professional identity as they face heightened susceptibility to subjective opinions about the career of a nurse due to their frequent engagement with social media platforms. Among these platforms is that of TikTok, a platform of which has rapidly gained traction, especially among younger demographics. TikTok remains relatively underexplored in terms of its impact on nursing professional identity. This study seeks to …

Art In Itself: The Vision Of Three Female Mississippi Artists, Jane E. Thomas

Honors Theses

This thesis is a collection of longform, narrative-style journalistic profiles on artists in Northeast Mississippi. These artists include Carol Roark from Enid and Hannah McCormick and Coulter Fussell from Water Valley. Each profile highlights an individual artist’s work, from her background, inspirations, process and distinctiveness as a creator. These profiles required studio visits and extensive interviews, as well as secondary interviews with clients, gallery owners and art curators. An overarching theme between the three artists is their ability to recognize artistic potential in their immediate surroundings; Roark paints landscapes from her own backyard, McCormick paints scenes from everyday life and …

Cooking For A Cause: Food Insecurity In Lafayette County, Ms, Anna K. Richie

Honors Theses

Many people in Lafayette County, MS, experience ongoing difficulties with consistent access to healthy food options. According to the Mississippi Health & Hunger Atlas, “food insecurity rates in Mississippi are consistently and statistically higher than national averages—having been ranked as #1 or #2 for highest food insecurity rate every year for the past 15 years” (Haggard, Cafer & Green, 2017). This capstone project examines how a Little Free Pantry (LFP) initiative can contribute to local food security efforts and evaluates cooking demonstration outcomes using ingredients found in LFPs. The approach combines quantitative and qualitative methods by tracking pantry inventory data …

A Local Assessment Of Glp-1 Use For Weight Loss: An Interview Study, Maci Bradley

Honors Theses

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are a novel class of medications used primarily for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, as well as for chronic weight management. The first GLP-1 medication, exenatide, was FDA-approved in April of 2005 for glycemic control, however, it was not until December of 2014 when liraglutide became the first GLP-1 FDA-approved for weight loss. There are now eight FDA-approved GLP-1s, only two of which are approved for weight loss. GLP-1 use has become increasingly popular in recent years, even extending to the college-aged population. The purpose of this study is to examine the trends in …

Evaluating The Factors That Lead To A Lack Of Gender Diversity Among Senior Level Executives In The Federal Bureau Of Investigation, Joyce A. Wallace

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite progress in workplace equality, women face barriers to advancement in the FBI. This underrepresentation raises concerns about organizational performance and decision-making. The purpose of the study was to explore the obstacles to promoting women to senior leadership positions within the FBI by focusing on gender roles, social expectations, and organizational culture. The qualitative phenomenological approach used interviews with female law enforcement officers in conjunction with feminist theory. The study findings identified biases in selection processes, discriminatory hiring practices, non-inclusive workplace culture, and limited professional development opportunities as barriers to promotion. Cognitive and cultural biases that hindered progress were stereotypes …