Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder And Problematic Internet Usage In Lgbtq+ Adults, Kayli Nicole Heigelmann

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how LGBTQ+ adults who experience attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomology perceive and navigate potential problematic Internet usage (PIU). Utilizing a qualitative, phenomenological approach, twelve participants were interviewed to gain insight on how neurodivergence, queer identity, and Internet engagement intersect. Findings revealed two overarching themes: 1) the interplay between PIU, ADHD, and sexual/gender diversity, and 2) the meaning of the Internet for individuals with intersecting minority identities. Participants widely endorsed the Internet as an important space for identity negotiation, community, and affirmation for their multiple minority statuses, but acknowledged their vulnerability to the Internet’s attention-capturing mechanisms, reporting …

Poets, Pioneers, And In-Betweeners: Musicians Of The South Asian Diaspora, Kancana Preetika Kathiravan

Music Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sid Sriram, Arooj Aftab, and Ganavya Doraiswamy are three Asian American musicians who have experienced a meteoric rise over the past five years. These artists are signed to major labels, receive mainstream media exposure, have multiple Grammy nominations, and tour internationally. Through different avenues, they have built up diverse audiences that include members of the South Asian diaspora who see their own stories and music represented. Rather than being a single part of a cross-cultural collaboration, these musicians belong to both worlds. With backgrounds both in South Asian and American musical styles and grammars, these musicians are like their work: …

After The Game: Comparing Career-Readiness Attitudes Between First-Generation And Continuing-Generation Student-Athletes, Heidi J. Robinson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Successfully transitioning from college to a career requires skills, experience, and knowledge. Specific student populations face increased challenges in accessing campus career resources that promote readiness for post-graduate employment. Among these vulnerable populations are student athletes and first-generation college students. While both student groups stand to gain increased professional success because of their college experiences, college-to-career barriers are well-documented. These challenges include access to and awareness of career-readiness resources, and career preparation and exploration opportunities. More information about the career readiness of an adjacent student group, first-generation student athletes, is needed. Students who experience the intersectionality of being both a …

Capturing The Digital Scene: Applying Routine Activity Theory To Iot Smart Frames, Jordan Bakar

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This project investigates the forensic risks and investigative challenges posed by smart frames, which are WiFi-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) devices used to store, display, and share digital media. These devices often collect and synchronize sensitive media, metadata, and behavioral logs across cloud ecosystems that lack adequate transparency and privacy safeguards. Routine Activity Theory (RAT) provides a criminological framework for examining how the convergence of a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of capable guardianship creates opportunities for misuse and forensic exploitation. Smart frames represent ideal targets because of weak default security configurations, passive data synchronization, and limited …

Strategic Construction Of Anomalies: A Quantum International Relations Framework For Uap, Nate Ostdiek

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), commonly known as UFOs, are notoriously tricky to understand and analyze. The persistent ambiguity surrounding UAPs is not accidental but strategic; by keeping them in a liminal state of explanation, actors construct a geopolitical anomaly that blurs the boundaries between threat, curiosity, and control. Utilizing a Quantum International Relations (QIR) framework pioneered by Alexander Wendt, James Der Derian, and others enables new analytical tools to explain the creation and impact of these strategic anomalies. The social ontological status of UAP (extraterrestrial, fake, interdimensional, secret technology, natural phenomena, etc.) is determined by an entangled network of epistemological …

No Unified Ableukhov: Orientalism And Imperialism In Andrei Bely's Petersburg., Tuesday Shaw

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This project brings into dialogue the 1913 Russian novel Petersburg by Andrei Bely and postcolonial approaches to literature, primarily those developed by Edward Said in Orientalism (1978) and Culture and Imperialism (1994). Petersburg was the product of an artistic movement, Symbolism, that idealized breaking apart boundaries between artforms. Said’s notion of Orientalism, in contrast, is based on the idea that there is an essential division between “East” and “West.” While there might appear to be a tension in applying a theory premised on division to a work that apparently wants to dissolve all boundaries, attention to Petersburg’s depiction of …

Design Dogma: Redefining Tradition And Innovation Through Mahjong., Isabel L. Ahnemiller

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This design project explores the creation of a Riichi Mahjong set that bridges the traditional cultural heritage of the game with modern design, aimed at introducing the game to new audiences. Riichi Mahjong, a variant of the traditional Chinese Mahjong game, has evolved significantly over the centuries. This project focuses on the development of a visually appealing and functional set that enhances a player’s experience, while staying true to the historical roots of Mahjong. The design uses careful selection of color schemes and symbols, such as the use of both Chinese characters and Arabic numerals to encourage recognition and learning …

The People's Ledger: Reform Or Revolution?, Kostantinos R. Grigoras

Applied Economics Theses

The ramifications of the 2007-08 financial crisis, the later Covid-19 pandemic, and the technological developments surrounding cryptocurrencies and digital ledgers have led to increasingly explicit political views on banking apart from dominant mainstream economic narratives. As such, a widening range of authors from varying perspectives have sought to contribute a “programmatic vision” to the set of changes they assert as necessary in the current financial system. Saule T. Omarova’s (2021) controversial article, “The People’s Ledger: How to Democratize Money and Finance the Economy,” and the resulting political reaction to its goal of advancing such a programmatic vision in order to …

Comprehensive Analysis Of Racial Differences In Comorbidities And Prenatal Care Among Pregnant Women, Ryian Owusu, Kurt R. Wharton

Posters

• Research highlights that women of color face significantly higher risks of pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality.¹

• Factors contributing to these disparities include: 2,3

• Access to healthcare

• Health literacy

• Education level • Community support

• Prenatal care plays a pivotal role in mitigating these risks by educating women on healthy lifestyles and identifying those at high risk for complications. 4

• Determining patient satisfaction with their prenatal care could greatly contribute in defining a link between prenatal care services and maternal-fetal outcomes. 4

Analysis Of Opposition To Multifamily Housing In Shrewsbury, Ma, Justin Dobson

Master of Public Administration for Senior Leadership

Massachusetts is experiencing a critical shortage of affordable housing, driven by decades of underbuilding, which is exacerbated by local opposition to multifamily housing development. Although the Commonwealth has adopted policies to increase housing supply, such as Chapter 40B and the MBTA Communities Act, the impact of these efforts is mitigated by resistance from residents at the local level. This research analyzes whether common concerns voiced by opponents of multifamily, affordable housing, such as adverse impacts on school enrollment, property values, municipal services, and infrastructure, are substantiated by data. Using Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, as a case study, this research employs a quantitative …

Assessing Leadership In Business: A Critical Investigation Of Jeff Bezos, Kyna Shah

Honors Scholar Theses

Understanding what makes a good leader is a topic of ongoing interest in the practice of business. Research to-date has distinguished between being a manager and being a leader and also has established a set of principles to consider in assessing leadership. In this thesis, I draw upon principles of leadership, including emotional intelligence; vision creation; inspiring others; leading in good and difficult times; fostering, developing, and recognizing others; and creating a winning culture to offer a critical assessment of Jeff Bezos as a leader within the business arena.

Detection Of Covid-19 Variants, Christina Aglieco

Honors Scholar Theses

The outbreak of Covid-19 in December 2019 was devastating to many but led to major advancements in vaccine research and development. The development of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection offers protection for the public but cannot eliminate the risk of contracting Covid-19 due to the many viral mutations since the initial wild-type strain isolation in 2019. Analysis of these viral mutations will allow for the development of vaccines with greater protection against the new variants of the coronavirus. Secondary to Covid-19 infection seen in the pediatric population is Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children or MIS-C. Through qPCR analysis of pediatric …

The Role Of Myosin L In The Survival Of Toxoplasma Gondii And The Importance Of Mlc1 For In Vitro And In Vivo Myosin F Motility, Victoria K. Yi

Honors Scholar Theses

My thesis discusses the work that I have conducted on two myosins in Toxoplasma gondii, which is an obligate intracellular parasite that has chronically infected around 10% of the American population. It causes toxoplasmosis and severe health consequences for individuals with compromised immune systems or when infections occur in utero. However, immunocompetent individuals are asymptomatic or present with subclinical symptoms. In the Heaslip lab, I investigated two myosins in the parasite: Myosin L and Myosin F. MyoL is an uncharacterized motor that localizes at the apical end of the parasite. It was shown to be important for parasite …

Teaching Strategies For Twice-Exceptional Students, Aidan S. Karpicz

Honors Scholar Theses

This research study investigates effective strategies for supporting twice-exceptional (2e) students, who possess both gifted abilities and a co-occurring disability such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, or a Specific Learning Disability. Despite a prevalence perhaps as high as 1 in every 50-500 students, many 2e students remain unidentified, and their unique educational needs are often unmet. This study addresses the challenges faced by 2e students, including difficulties in identification due to the masking of giftedness by disability and vice versa, as well as social and emotional issues. Drawing upon existing literature that highlights the necessity of integrated instruction combining gifted …

From The Eyes Of Latinx Children: Parental Detainment And Deportation In Picture, Middle Grade, And Young Adult Books, Hannah Spinner

Honors Scholar Theses

In the current sociopolitical environment of the United States, detainment and deportation issues are highly prevalent for many Latinx families and have emotional, social, financial, and/or educational ramifications for affected children. However, discussing legal status challenges in educational settings can create spaces for open conversations and promote empathetic classroom communities. Furthermore, bibliotherapy, the therapeutic use of books to combat feelings of loneliness and guide readers through faced challenges (Gomm et al., 2017), could be one usage of these books. This research critically analyzes parental detainment and deportation portrayals from the perspective of a main Latinx character in 20 PreK-12th grade …

Quality Of Affected Upper Extremity Use During A Ride-On Toy-Based Training Program In Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study, Megan Carlmark

Honors Scholar Theses

Unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP) is a subtype of cerebral palsy that impacts movement and coordination on one side of the body. This condition often leads to reduced use of the affected upper extremity in daily tasks. This pilot study explored the feasibility and potential of a joystick-operated ride-on-toy training program as an engaging home-based and play-based intervention to promote affected upper extremity use in children with UCP. Five children from a larger sample of 15 children with a diagnosis of UCP between the ages of 3 and 8 years old were used as data for this thesis. This study included …

Garver, Lucas G. Ortiz

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis is a summary of my two-year internship at Garver, an engineering firm headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas. I interned with the finance department in the North Little Rock office. During my time with Garver, I gained an abundance of technical experience in the accounting field, as well as invaluable networking and professional development skills.

Art Of Returning: Supporting Students After Psychiatric Hospitalization, Kaly Mariano

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Reintegrating into campus life after a psychiatric hospitalization can be deeply challenging for college students. Research shows that in the two weeks following discharge from inpatient care, individuals are 200 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population—making this a critical period of vulnerability (Chung et al., 2017). Suicide remains the second leading cause of death among college-aged adults (Centers for Disease Control, 2023). In response to these risks, this capstone project utilized a mixed-methods approach, through community-based participatory research to explore how CSUMB’s CARE Team and Dean of Students’ Office can best support students before, during, …

Bridging Gaps: Connecting Santa Cruz Seniors To Services, Elsa B. Tamayo Alvarez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone project addresses the lack of awareness among the senior population in Santa Cruz County about available resources and services that support healthy aging. Nonprofit Connection Santa Cruz County is a county-wide nonprofit that provides a platform to connect people, ideas, and resources for the benefit of nonprofits across all sectors. It serves a diverse population of over 270,000 residents, including a significant older adult population (19.8%) and a large Hispanic/Latino community (35.2%), by supporting nonprofits that address health and social needs. The project aimed to increase awareness through the creation and distribution of an informational pamphlet and a …

Promoting Safety And Sustainability: A Community-Based Approach To Road Safety, Nicole V. Vargas

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Pedestrian and cyclist injuries remain a public health concern in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, where low safety awareness and infrastructure gaps contribute to preventable collisions. This capstone project, in partnership with Ecology Action’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) and Modo Active Transportation programs, assessed the impact of community-based education on road safety awareness and behavior. Using convenience sampling, two tailored surveys were distributed at farmers' markets and tabling events in February–March 2025. Over 800 individuals were engaged, and 113 surveys were completed. Results showed that 75% of Bay View Elementary participants increased active transportation and felt more confident in …

Building Language Enrichment Activities For Parents Of Eld Students, Lizbeth Ponce-Alcantar

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Parents of elementary school children learning a second language often lack the skills to support language improvement at home effectively. Without a strong foundation in language development, children may struggle to improve their language skills. When parents learn at-home activities to enrich their child’s language enhancement, children can benefit by increasing communication and building social relationships. Therefore, I have created a one-session curriculum on how parents can build and maintain their child’s language with at-home activities for parents of English learners at Washington Elementary School in San Jose, California.

Impacts Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy On College Students' Self-Esteem And Mental Health, Adriana Hay

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The purpose of this senior capstone research project is to examine the potential impacts of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) on the self-esteem and mental health of college students. CRP is an approach which connects students’ cultures, experiences, and identities to what is taught in the classroom. Through the use of literature review and anonymous surveys to college students, faculty, and professors, the results suggest that students indeed benefit from the caring relationships which CRP creates at the university level. By assessing the methods of CRP implementation within higher education, this senior capstone also evaluates how educators could optimize their students’ …

Empowering Parental Involvements In School Activites, Aracely Ramirez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The benefits of empowering parental involvement in school activities are many; however, due to parents' lack of time or school’s lack of resources, there are a lot of students that do not have parents involved in school activities. The purpose of this senior capstone research project is to empower parent involvement in school activities with different resources that schools or parents can use to help them get more involved in school activities. Through the use of literature review and survey of parents in five schools and interviews with five principals about parental involvement in their schools to impact their students’ …

Meeting Student Needs: Exploring Social Workers Perspectives Through Maslow's Lens, Joselyn Villasenor

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone project was focused on the lack of adequate access to basic needs and resources for students in the Salinas Union High School District (SUHSD), which impacts their behavior and contributes to behavioral challenges. The project was implemented in collaboration with the district’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Coordinator and was carried out through interviews with eight social workers from four middle schools and three high schools within the school district. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was used as the guiding framework to assess the social workers' understanding and their capacity to address students’ basic needs. The expected outcome …

Parent Involvement In Elevating Elementary Children's Educational Success, Taylor R. Arreola

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In many elementary schools, a common problem lies in the lack of overall and consistent parental involvement at home and communication with the child’s teacher. This creates challenges because if a child is not receiving extra support at home- whether due to parents' beliefs about their responsibility for education, their relationship with teachers, or barriers they may face, such as language- it can lead to gaps in the child’s educational success and may cause them to struggle in their academic journey. This project's purpose and focus are to assist parents and teachers in understanding the different implications of parent involvement. …

Environmental Racism In Our Backyards, Elizabeth Sanchez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper aims to investigate the connection between environmental racism and marginalized groups in Monterey County, California.

Lateral Violence Awareness In Nursing Students At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Aika Owens

Honors Theses

The purpose of this honors thesis was to obtain descriptive data about how nursing students at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Professional Nursing Practice perceive lateral violence in their clinical rotations and educational environments. This Honors thesis is significant to nursing because although lateral violence is a well-researched topic among scholars of nursing practice, there is little gathered data regarding lateral violence among nursing students, specifically at the University of Southern Mississippi. Nursing students are a vital population to examine because nursing students are often first exposed to lateral violence within a clinical setting, leading to early internalization …

The Chilling Effects Of Dobbs, Jonathon W. Penney, Danielle Keats Citron, Alexis Shore Ingber

Articles & Book Chapters

The Supreme Court’s evisceration of the federal constitutional right to abortion has raised the specter of criminal and civil liability for abortion providers and patients. Police and prosecutors have easy access to commercial reservoirs of intimate data. As individual accounts made clear in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, corporate surveillance of intimate life chilled expressive activities, such as searching for information about reproductive health and using period tracking apps. Health professionals did not feel safe to speak out about the impact of new abortion laws. Harassment and threats directed at abortion clinics and at …

Double, Double, Toils And Troubles: Analyzing The “Magical” Relationships Between University Leaders’ Personality Traits And Their Self-Efficacy In Leadership Situations, Fay Ludvine Boudreaux

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This present study investigated the relationship between higher education leaders’ personality traits and their self-efficacy in leadership situations. A total of 151 leaders employed across the nine institutions within the University of Louisiana System completed a survey that prompted them to identify their personal values, traits, and skill sets, as derived from the online Pottermore quiz, the official Harry Potter Hogwarts House sorting instrument. This niche personality metric was chosen to cater to higher education’s evolving landscape, as it welcomes an influx of Millennials into leadership positions. Participants’ responses were eventually recoded to “sort” them into their respective Houses: Gryffindor, …

Assessment Of Lake Salvador Shoreline Dynamics To Support Restoration Of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation In Jean Lafitte National Historical Park And Preserve, Louisiana, Lydia V. Dipaola

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

High wave energy degrades shoreline habitat between Lake Salvador and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (JELA), Louisiana. JELA constructed a northern breakwater in 2004, and a southern breakwater in 2024 to protect the shoreline and promote restoration of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). This study analyzes Sentinel-2 imagery to quantify coastal loss along the JELA-Lake Salvador using the Change Polygon Approach, assessing annual, cumulative and major storm event-associated shoreline changes for January 2017-2025. SAV cover, nekton diversity, wave energy, and turbidity were measured before-and-after southern breakwater construction to monitor ecological and environmental outcomes. The JELA-Lake Salvador shoreline has lost …