Digital Commons Network^™

Organismal Classification And The Phylogenetic Tree: Improving Its Teaching Using Decision-Based Learning, Melissa Cavan

Theses and Dissertations

For a lot of students, learning biology is like learning a new language. There are new terms and concepts that a lot of new students have never heard of. Evolution is the cornerstone for understanding biology, yet it is one of the more misunderstood topics. In combination with learning new terms and concepts some students come in with preconceived ideas about evolution or misunderstandings about how evolution and the phylogenetic tree work. The research indicates instructors attempting active learning techniques to increase understanding of the phylogenetic tree with mixed results, where there appears to be some improvement but nothing significant. …

"The Truth Of Our Historic Encounter": Curating Networks Of The Past In Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, Holden O. D'Evegnee

Theses and Dissertations

What unites the critical response to Colson Whitehead's 2016 novel The Underground Railroad is universal interest in the text's attitude towards historical truth. I contend that critics fixate so much on the issue of truth that they miss how the novel offers an alternative to historic truth in the form of an aesthetic encounter. During her employment as a "living exhibit" in North Carolina's Museum of Natural Wonders, protagonist Cora despairs at the apparent absence of truth. Despite the overt manipulation of history to justify white imperialism in the museum, Cora experiences a transcendent moment of refuge when she works …

The Value Of Alternative Credentials To Earners And Employers, Daniel O. Young

Theses and Dissertations

Between the rising cost of education and the oft-mentioned skills gap, current and potential students are pursuing alternatives to expensive 4-year degrees. This has contributed to the rapid rise of alternative credentials over the past 10 years. However, these alternatives still struggle with public awareness, questions of validity, and familiarity and acceptance by employers. This dissertation focuses on understanding the research surrounding alternative credentials and specifically looks at whether those credentials have perceived or actual value for gaining or improving an individual's career. To better understand this topic, I looked to the literature for context, and used data gathered from …

Musical Resurgence Phenomenon: A Look Into How Older Songs Are Making Comebacks After Being Featured In Acclaimed Television Shows And Films, Emily Formica

Honors Theses

This study evaluates how and why the showcasing of a song (released before 2012) in a contemporary film or television show (released after 2020), affects the song's overall success. The analysis consists of an exploration of the phenomenon’s effect seen in 9 examples. A mixed-methods approach is used, first conducting a qualitative study of why each song’s feature led to their resurgence. Specific tactics used to connect the song to the multiple aspects of the TV show or film were examined. To supplement the exploration, secondary data analysis was completed by using online databases to determine a song’s numerical charting …

A Program To Empower Neurodivergent Individuals And Their Caregivers To Advocate For Individualized Sensory Needs And Prepare For Medical Appointments, Eden Singh, Jazminne Orozco Arteaga, Valerie Schlieder

Spring 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Neurodivergent individuals frequently experience sensory processing challenges that can limit participation in healthcare. This project aimed to develop a program that equips neurodivergent individuals and their caregivers with the tools to understand sensory processing, advocate for individualized needs, and effectively prepare for medical appointments. Guided by occupational therapy theory and frameworks, the program includes caregiver education, interactive activities, and accessible resources focused on sensory regulation and advocacy. This project emphasizes the role of occupational therapy in promoting equitable and person-centered healthcare experiences.

We Lift As We Climb: An Intervention Method Proving The Efficacy Of Mentorship In Higher Education, Dogan Copeland

Masters Projects

This project examines the lack of mentorship programs for first-generation Black students in higher education. It aims to develop a structured peer mentorship program tailored to their unique needs. Given the systemic barriers that first-generation Black students may face, this project explores how culturally relevant mentorship can improve academic success, retention, and professional development while fostering a sense of belonging. The research involves a literature review of existing mentorship programs, an analysis of student success markers (retention rates, academic performance, and professional development), and qualitative data from mentorship initiatives. In addition, the project assesses student experiences and satisfaction levels to …

Next Nasa Artemis Launch To Send Components Built By Carabello ’11 Into Space, Keith Testa

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Implementing A Six-Week Intermodal Expressive Arts Therapy Program For Individuals With Parkinson’S Disease: A Practitioner-Based Perspective, Sara Adams

Expressive Therapies Theses

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects motor function, emotional well-being, and social engagement. While traditional rehabilitation approaches emphasize physical therapy and medication management, emerging research highlights the potential of creative arts therapies in addressing the multidimensional challenges of PD. This thesis explores the implementation of an intermodal expressive arts therapy intervention designed to support individuals with PD through dance, music, drama, and visual arts. Conducted over six weeks within a community support group in Nova Scotia, the program included guided visualization, Brain Dance exercises, creative movement, drama-based activities, and reflective art-making. A qualitative, practitioner-based method was used, …

Digital Image Processing In Determining The Degree Of Turnip Yellows Virus Infection In Oilseed Rape, Alina-Ștefania Stanciu, Teodor Rusu, Alin Cristian Teușdea, Olimpia Smaranda Mintaș, Mihai Marcel Cărbunar, Cristian Oneț

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

In agricultural crops, leaves play crucial roles in plant physiology, providing information on both the quantity and quality of future production. They also serve as indicators for diagnosing foliar diseases. Detecting plant diseases through image reading and computer vision in a specific format allows for both quantitative and qualitative studies, which is a key step in diagnosing diseases using images of leaves exhibiting symptoms specific to a pathogen. In this study, we present an approach that integrates digital image processing to assess the extent of turnip yellows virus (genus Polerovirus, family Solemoviridae) infection in oilseed rape. This study focuses on …

University Of New Hampshire 2024-2025 Faculty Senate Xxix - April 21, 2025 Minutes Summary, Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Agendas & Minutes

No abstract provided.

User-Generated Content: A Systematic Literature Review (Slr) Research, Ni Wayan Suryatini, Puput Tripeni Juniman, Anastasia Winanti Riesardhy, Irwansyah Irwansyah

JURNAL KOMUNIKASI INDONESIA

The advancement of technology has given rise to the phenomenon of user-generated content (UGC), which presents an intriguing subject for investigation through various perspectives. This paper aims to conduct an analysis of journal articles focusing on UGC within the context of the Instagram social media platform. To achieve this, the paper employs a systematic literature review (SLR) research method, adhering to the PRISMA protocol, focusing specifically on journal articles discussing UGC on Instagram. The literature search was conducted in April 2023 using the keywords "UGC" and "Instagram" in the Scopus database. After a series of exclusions, the research examined 30 …

Student Senate Meeting Minutes April 21, 2025, Student Senate-Winona State University

Student Senate Meeting Minutes

This document is the official Winona State University Student Senate Minutes for April 21, 2025.

Acculturation, Education, Food Choice, And Body Mass Index: A Survey In The Rio Grande Valley, Melanie Espinoza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity is a global problem and a risk factor for many life-threatening illnesses and diseases. The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) in South Texas has higher than state and national obesity rates. The cultural influences on food choice in this region are a frequent focus of research, and there have also been numerous studies on the relationship between socioeconomic status and overweight and obesity; however, there are currently no studies that specifically investigate the relationship between educational attainment, acculturation, food choice behavior, and overweight and obesity among Hispanics in the RGV. Grounded in social cognitive and acculturation theories, the purpose of …

Standard Fog Collector And Dual Fm-120 Comparisons, D. Fernandez, S. Kim, T. Robinson

AES Faculty Publications and Presentations

For the first time in the northern hemisphere, extended measurements of fog droplet sizes and numbers were measured both upstream from and on the leeward side of a standard fog collector (SFC) using FM-120 optical spectrometers. These measurements, coupled with the water recorded by the standard fog collectors and accompanying meteorological data, have yielded efficiency measurements for field-based fog collectors for the first time in the northern hemisphere and only for the third time ever that we are aware of. Of note, two of these efficiencies are the ‘collector efficiency’ and the ‘mesh efficiency’. The collector efficiency is the ratio …

Canada's New Gaar Preamble: Pivoting Toward Fairness And Parliamentary Contemplation, Jinyan Li, Michael Conroy, Sebastien Tuli, Kitty Wang, Patrick White

Articles & Book Chapters

This paper examines the role of the new preamble in the GAAR provision and argues that fairness is a legal concept that can be applied in GAAR cases.

Culturally Competent Diabetes Management Guide For African Immigrants, Bryce Hunderman

Doctoral Dissertations & Projects

Abstract

Background: Culturally competent care is a cornerstone in medicine to address health disparities and improve outcomes for vulnerable populations. Suboptimal diabetes management was noted within a federally qualified health center in the Midwest along with a lack of culturally competent diabetes education available for African immigrants. The research question for this project is: Will a culturally appropriate diabetes management guide that addresses barriers to diabetes management improve African immigrant’s understanding and abilities to manage diabetes within a federally qualified health center in the Midwest?

Methods: A culturally competent diabetes management guide for African immigrants was created. We …

Implementing A Standardized Colorectal Cancer Screening Protocol To Enhance Screening Rates In A Primary Care Setting, Sam Terranova

Doctoral Dissertations & Projects

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a significant health concern in the United States, ranking third in incidence and mortality among all cancers. Despite established screening guidelines, adherence often falls short in primary care settings. This quality improvement project aimed to enhance CRC screening rates in a Midwest primary care practice through implementation of a standardized screening protocol. The intervention was two-fold and consisted of the routine ordering of fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kits to eligible patients and the use of electronic health record (EHR)-based patient reminders. Screening completion rates were monitored over a four-month period and compared to pre-intervention rates from …

Habitually "Ant-Eyeing": The Life And Work Of Billy Joe Tatum, Lauren Adams Willette

Student Theses and Dissertations

Billy Joe Tatum was a naturalist, author, and educator who grew up in Missouri and Arkansas during the 20th century. She is often compared to Euell Gibbons; her book titled Billy Joe Tatum’s Wild Foods Field Guide and Cookbook was the first of its kind to offer gourmet-style recipes for wild and foraged foods. She wrote many different columns for the Ozarks Mountaineer magazine which was distributed not only in the region but around the United States and internationally. Billy Joe was the first herbalist or “yarb doctor” at the Ozark Folk Center State Park, where she oversaw the first …

Teachers’ Knowledge Of Pediatric Voice Disorders And Their Attitudes Toward Children With Voice Disorders, Hannah G. Hopper

Student Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This study aims to observe elementary school teachers’ knowledge and attitudes of voice disorders in children. Method: Seventy-nine elementary school teachers electronically completed the survey on Qualtrics. Results: The results of this study support the theory that teachers have limited knowledge of voice and voice disorders and that children with abnormal voices are rated less favorably than their peers with normal voices. In addition, it was found that teachers' knowledge does not correlate with their attitudes toward pediatric voice samples. Conclusion: Data from the current study reveal that teachers have limited knowledge and often do not view children equally …

Students In Healthcare Professions: Their Knowledge Of Speech-Language Pathology, Savannah Hicks

Student Theses and Dissertations

This research provides insight into interprofessional collaboration between healthcare students and advocates for speech-language pathology (SLP) by highlighting the necessity to increase the awareness of SLPs’ responsibilities and interprofessional education across all disciplines throughout college education. Specifically, healthcare professionals need to have a complete understanding of what type of care patients are receiving or who they may need to be referred to. In this research study, healthcare students completed a survey to determine their knowledge of speech-language pathology and the amount of collaboration with SLPs. The qualitative results were analyzed with coding, which created a thematic analysis. The results revealed …

Confederate Inspired Mascots As Cultural Representatives In Public Secondary Schools Of The American South: A Case Study, Jessica Seat

Student Theses and Dissertations

The topic of this dissertation was Confederate inspired mascots and their relationship with school cultures. The purpose of this qualitative intrinsic case study was to explore how former students of secondary schools in former Confederate states perceived the use of Confederate mascots in public secondary schools, specifically 9th-12th grades, and how the mascot shaped the culture of the school overall. The primary theoretical framework used for this study was Social Identity Theory. The secondary theoretical framework used for this study was the symbolic frame of the four-frame organizational model. This qualitative intrinsic case study included document study and voluntary participant …

Speech-Language Pathology And Counseling: Confronting Communication And Swallowing Disorders At The End Of Life, Samuel Parker Wooten

Student Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study was conducted to gain a better understanding of how speech-language pathologists (SLP) prepare for and provide professional counseling to those at the end-of-life stage. Participants in this study consisted of SLPs from northeast Arkansas with at least three years of experience providing counseling in an English-speaking setting to individuals at the end-of-life stage. Interviews were conducted using Zoom software, where they were recorded and then transcribed via a speech-to-text transcription service. The data were then analyzed by the primary investigator to determine themes and attitudes regarding professional counseling at the end of life. The results of the …

Agricultural Farmers' Perceptions Of Farm-Related Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, Charlene Phillips

Student Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to assess Arkansas farmers’ hearing health, perceptions, and knowledge of noise-induced hearing loss and the use of hearing protection devices. Three questions were formed to outline the primary focus areas of the current study. The following questions are outlined: What is the hearing health of farmers in Arkansas? What are the attitudes of farmers in Arkansas toward noise-induced hearing loss and the use of hearing protection devices? What is the knowledge level of farmers in Arkansas regarding noise levels, noise exposure, and harmful effects of noise-induced hearing loss? Ninety-six Arkansas farmers electronically completed a thirty-question survey on …

The Caregiver Perspective Of The Speak Out!® Program, Caitlyn Marie Moore

Student Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study aims to explore the perspectives of caregivers of individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) participating in the SPEAK OUT!® program and to assess its potential to alleviate some aspects of caregiver burden. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with six caregivers. These results highlighted overarching themes of program benefits, caregiver challenges, and caregiver rewards while expressing challenges with the program. Caregivers mentioned that the participants had challenges with inconsistent practice and resistance to applying the skills they learned from the program daily. While caregivers did perceive benefits and no adverse changes due to the SPEAK OUT!® program, …

It’S Hella Cool: Investigating The Properties Of Hella, Lydia Lee

Yale Working Papers in Grammatical Diversity

Hella is known as a strongly characteristic feature of Northern California, particularly the San Francisco Bay Area (Waksler 2000, Boboc 2016). Based on data collected from public Twitter posts from 2013–2020 and examples drawn from Boboc (2016) and Waksler (2000), this paper investigates the origin, syntactic properties, and sociolinguistic aspects of hella. This study also draws on 1,389 responses to sentences (1)–(3), adapted from Boboc (2016), which were included in the Yale Grammatical Diversity Project’s survey work conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk in 2019.

1. This seat reclines hella!
   ‘This seat reclines a lot.’
2. I spoke Spanish today for the …

Increasing Resources And Meaningful Participation For A Successful Community Reentry, Lindsay A. Molloy

OTD Capstone Projects

Dismas House is an approved Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), 501(c)(3) non-profit residential re-entry program serving men who are returning to the community from Tennessee prisons and county jails. The purpose of this capstone experience is to work with the residents of Dismas House by supporting them as they face barriers reentering society after incarceration. Dismas House offers services under their "Four Pillars of Programming", which includes basic needs, health & well-being, life skills, and legal support. These four pillars were taken under consideration when creating resources and implementing new programming for the residents. Outcomes of this project included creating …

Making Moves: Magnifying The Move Inclusive Dance Professional Development Workshop 2025, Abigail G. Smith

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed through a partnership with MOVE Inclusive Dance in Nashville, Tennessee. MOVE Inclusive Dance is a nonprofit organization that empowers individuals of all ability levels to learn life skills through dance. The aim of this project was to create a full-scale professional development program for special education teachers to learn how to incorporate movement into their classrooms. An occupational therapy-based handout was created using evidence-based research and provided to all workshop participants. The project involved planning and executing the workshop, while also providing participants with resources to learn more about to importance of movement in …

2025 Undergraduate Research Competition Program, Coastal Carolina University

Undergraduate Research Symposium Programs

16th Annual Undergraduate Research Competition, April 15-16, 2025.

The 2025 CCU Undergraduate Research Symposium included 168 oral and poster presentations (51 oral presentations and 117 poster presentations) and an additional 20 team pitch presentations composed of 57 students who participated in the inaugural year of the Wall College’s Chant’s Tank Pitch Competition.

Presentations at the Undergraduate Research Symposium were judged by over 80 faculty and staff, and prizes are awarded in three categories: Best Oral Presentation, Best Poster Presentation, and Best Chant’s Tank Pitch Presentation. Here are the following award winners in their respective categories:

Best Oral Presentation:

• 1st Place: …

Animal-Assisted Therapy With Children In Hospitals And Schools: A Systematized Review, Tantine Kendig

LSU Master's Theses

It has been demonstrated that animals can offer humans significant health benefits. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a growing form of therapy used in various settings to enhance the health of children, encompassing both physical and mental wellness. The challenges of hospitalization and the school environment have been shown to pose different challenges for children, such as an increase in anxiety, stress, depression, and others that have the potential to affect their mental, physical, emotional, and social well-being. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy, specifically dog-assisted therapy, on children in hospital and school settings by conducting a …

Copyright Statement, Cleveland State Journal Of Law And Health

Journal of Law and Health

No abstract provided.