Digital Commons Network^™

Health Behavior In A Culture-Driven Society: Using Mixed Methods Research To Examine Medical Pluralism In Zimbabwe, Stephen Mhere

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This dissertation examined the role of cultural influences on health-seeking behaviors and healthcare choices among Zimbabweans, focusing on medical pluralism – where individuals simultaneously access traditional, faith-based, and allopathic medical systems. It applied the PEN-3 Cultural Model to examine Cultural Identity, Relationships and Expectations, and Cultural Empowerment. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, data were collected via a Shona-language survey on WhatsApp. Multiple choice, closed-ended, and open-ended survey questions were texted to participants, and they responded by text or audio messages. Response data were collected from 137 study participants. Multinomial logistic regression was used for quantitative data analysis, while deductive …

The Effect Of Four Vocabulary Tasks On The Initial Learning And Retention Of Formulaic Language: The Case Of Phrasal Verbs, Eman Barri

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The quasi-experimental study investigated the effect of four vocabulary tasks on the learning and retention of English phrasal verbs (PVs). University Intensive English Program students (91) completed one of the following tasks: One Fill-in-the-Blank, Three Fill-in-the-Blank, Sentence Writing, and Composition Writing. Their knowledge of eight target PVs was measured using a modified vocabulary knowledge scale at three points: pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed posttest (two weeks later). A mixed factorial ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between task and time. Follow-up repeated-measures and one-way ANOVAs showed that the Three Fill-in-the-Blank produced the highest scores on both posttests. Consistent with findings on …

Eating Disorder Patient Experiences With Best Practices During Psychiatric Treatment: An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Study, Pamela L. Dow

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Eating disorders are among the deadliest mental health disorders and represent a significant financial burden to the U.S. healthcare system. However, little is known about eating disorder patients' experiences during psychiatric treatment. Informed by the Picker Principles of Person-Centered Care and recommendations from the American Psychiatric Association, this study explored eating disorder patient experiences with best practices during psychiatric treatment. First, 10 patients were interviewed about their treatment experiences with a psychiatrist. Themes were analyzed using iterative categorization in Dedoose and informed a quantitative survey to examine patient experiences with their psychiatrist performing best practices during eating disorder treatment. The …

Knowledge Kept Or Knowledge Shared? Understanding The Tenure Relationship And The Power Of Knowledge Management In The U.S. Public Workforce, Kristan Avis

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This study examined the relationship between organizational tenure and knowledge hiding behaviors within the U.S. public sector, with a focus on how perceptions of knowledge management systems (KMS) and the relational role of the requestor shape these dynamics. Knowledge hiding, defined as the intentional concealment of knowledge when requested by others, represents a critical barrier to organizational effectiveness, particularly in government settings where collaboration and information exchange are essential. Guided by social exchange theory, the study investigated how employees weigh perceived costs and benefits when engaging in knowledge hiding behavior. A mixed-methods design was employed, integrating quantitative survey data from …

Examining The Impact African American Male Teachers Have On The Math Scores Of Underserved Students, Demetrice Thomas

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This study contributed to a growing body of evidence emphasizing that teacher identity profoundly influences not only how students learn but also how they perceive themselves and their potential. As Gershenson (2022) noted, “Black teachers provide benefits to all students, fostering higher achievement and stronger aspirations,” highlighting the essential role of diverse educators in shaping student success. Consistent academic gains observed among students taught by African American male teachers reinforce the urgent need for educational systems to prioritize equity not only in student outcomes but also in diversifying the teaching workforce. Despite African American male teachers comprising less than 2% …

Fluidity In Structure: Balancing Form And Freedom, Tyler Stevens

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

In our postmodern society, there is a natural urge to want to decentralize the metanarratives that make up the standards and structures of defined aesthetics within the theatre landscape. This urge poses a potential threat to the authenticity of the dramatic context, encouraging performers to create narratives outside of the text. This led me to investigate how theatre artists can strike a balance between creative exploration and authenticity of context, of form and freedom. In seeking a way to engage with the effects of postmodernism in the theatre, I follow Hans-Theis Lehmann’s Postdramatic Theatre to a dead end and must …

Queering The Queer Bildungsroman: Literature Of Aids, The Rhizome, And Rat Bohemia, Emma Tolliver

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The advent of the bildungsroman with Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship was a seminal moment in literature. From that point onward, the genre, which would come to be known as the “coming-of-age” novel, evolved and as such developed a variety of subgenres. This thesis focuses on the queer bildungsroman, a subgenre which has been dubbed the “coming-out” novel. Through Judith Butler’s work, I conceptualize genre as gender. Additionally, I utilize the Deleuzian concepts of the rhizome, becoming, and minor literature along with literature of AIDS to argue that the queer bildungsroman is not solely the coming out novel. …

Not Just Playing Pretend: Story Drama As Queer And Humanist Praxis, Julia Veiga

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

While conventional story time typically involves passive listening and enforced stillness, Story Drama transforms the storytelling experience into a participatory process where children use their voices, bodies, and imaginations to shape the narrative collaboratively. Indeed, Story Drama, combined with queer and humanist learning theory, fosters an inclusive, student-centered environment where youth practice critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-realization. Using the techniques of Story Drama transforms storytelling into a tool for cultivating socially engaged, independent learners, encouraging critical thinking and activism by nurturing empathy, community awareness, and creative agency from an early age.

This thesis explores the reimagining of traditional storytelling practices …

Methods And Applications Of Coherent Analog Photonic Processing, Andrew B. Klein

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Photonic processing is a compelling approach to address the increasing computational requirements of neural networks, promising increased processing speed and better energy efficiency for operations such as matrix-vector multiplication. However, in practice the limitations of photonic hardware necessitate that these systems adopt fixed-point encoding rather than the floating-point standard used by digital electronics. The reduction in accuracy incurred by this requirement must be managed and addressed for real world applications. In this work, we present a reconfigurable, scalable, and parallelizable photonic multiplier cell using coherent balanced photodetection of analog signals to produce signed multiplications. This style of system outperforms other …

The Multifaceted Roles Of Propionic Acid In Autism Spectrum Disorder And Crohn’S Disease, Piotr P. Lagod

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including propionic (PPA) and butyric (BA) acid, exert a variable and organ-specific effect on the body. They are by-products of human microbiota metabolism and are often used as a food preservative. Studies have shown that PPA and its producers are elevated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients and their mothers. Our lab previously demonstrated that PPA alters neural stem cell differentiation in favor of glia. In this work, we utilized an in vivo mice model, in which dams and their offspring were fed a PPA-rich diet. In the brain, we observed a significant increase in …

Ethical Concerns And Consumer Perceptions Of Fairness In Gamified Customer Loyalty Programs, Shelley Maccini

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Business organizations use customer loyalty programs as marketing tools by providing incentives for consumer behaviors, which generate customer engagement value for the business. Customer loyalty programs typically use game mechanics common to digital gaming in order to motivate behavior, often referred to as gamification. While studies of gamified programs used for education and training purposes appear frequently in the literature, a gap exists in exploring gamified programs used in a marketing context. This dissertation seeks to understand how consumers view the use of gamified customer loyalty programs as fair under the frameworks of justice. This exploratory study employed a mixed …

Designing Immersive Educational Experiences: An Exploration Of Animal Attractions And Exhibits To Create A National Park Themed Experience, Sarah G. Merrill

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This thesis analyzes the disconnect between immersive environmental storytelling and conservation education at animal attractions. How can designers create immersive educational experiences that engage audiences? Can environmental narrative practices be applied in a new way to develop effective conservation and wildlife education? A literature review assists in defining immersion, discovering the evolution of Modern Zoo design as an immersive experience, and evaluating conversation education in animal facilities. When combined with educational techniques, immersive habitat design improves guest engagement and informal conservation learning outcomes in zoos and animal-related experiences. Using Scott Lukas’ theming and immersion modes, three attractions are analyzed as …

Exploring The Role Of Geofencing, Geolocation, And Audio Descriptions In Enhancing Mobility And Inclusion For Individuals With Blindness And Visual Impairments In Museums And Indoor Spaces, Javier Enrique Molinares

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This dissertation explores the challenges individuals with blindness and visual impairments face in navigating cultural spaces, explicitly focusing on museums, and emphasizes the importance of inclusion. The study explores how conventional accessibility solutions can accidentally establish obstacles which restrict autonomy and diminish chances for meaningful participation. Accessibility challenges were identified through qualitative observations at the Gateway Museum, located within the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merritt Island, Florida. Additionally, interviews and a participatory co-design methodology involving five participants with blindness and visual impairments were conducted. These methods led to the development of a mobility application that combines geolocation technology, …

I'M Sorry You Have To Read This, Mark Blok

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

I’m Sorry You Have to Read This is a collection of essays that explore Russian culture, Jewish traditions, and American identity. Through reflections on illness, the indignities of premature balding, and the ongoing puzzle of cultural belonging, these essays navigate the awkward and absurd passage from childhood to adulthood. The first essay, “Traditions Schmaditions,” explores cultural identity, assimilation, and generational inheritance within a Russian-Jewish immigrant family. At its core, it’s about obligation and fear, and the struggle to break free from traditions kept out of habit rather than intention. Following essays of culture-shaping experiences that explore learning to define adulthood …

Transformative Pedagogies Through Iterative Instructional Design, Nikki F. Barnes

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Pedagogical reforms have fallen short, limited to strategies and symptomatic approaches instead of systemic restructuring. Addressing learning environments as reciprocal communities, this dissertation is a critical making project where I developed a model integrating relationship-based practices. I applied Indigenous pedagogies guided by my research question: How does combining Indigenous methods, intersectional feminisms, and digital humanities transform course development and deployment as a communal process of collective learning? Using design justice principles and digital learning affordances, this work seeks to increase learning engagement and outcomes and participant experiences by explicitly embedding community-building along with content. Building with the liberation pedagogies of …

Netflix And The Platformization Of Film And Television Content Discovery, Jacob Boccio

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This dissertation investigates the Netflix streaming platform to better understand the platformization of film and television cultural production and content discovery. Building on platform studies and scholarship on platformization, this work contributes to the growing body of literature that critically examines the implications of digital platforms in reshaping cultural and creative industries. Using this framework, the dissertation explores how the evolution of content discovery mechanisms on Netflix affects the cultural production of the film and television industries. Chapter 1 frames Netflix as a platform within the platformization framework. Chapter 2 examines Netflix employees, who serve as gatekeepers by curating and …

Catching Light Finding Encouragement Through Art And The Role Of Women In Impressionism, Vlada Evtushenko

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Catching Light is a two-dimensional (2D) animated film about the importance of human connection through the tale of an artist rediscovering their passion for painting through the support of a fellow artist. Catching Light is told through the lens of the period in art history when the artists, who eventually came to be known as 'Impressionists', broke free from the traditions of the Academy. The story highlights how the Art Academy restricted and discriminated against people based on social class and gender, and its disrespect towards the craft of paintmaking. By setting this story in the late 19th century, Catching …

The Value Of Balance: Exploring Timelessness Of Narrative Styles And Character Dynamics Through Animation, Jessica Gray

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Dazzling: A Timekeepers Tale is a 2D/3D animated short film that explores timeless storytelling, perception of time, anthropomorphism, and friendship. The film illustrates the necessity for balance between curiosity and caution when striving to learn. Through the dual protagonists’ contrasting personalities, they reach a deeper understanding of each other, thus learning the value of balance. This theme was constructed around a fantasy space that will function as a means of understanding varying perceptions of time. Thesis research explores ideas of balance between traditional Western narrative structures such as the Hero’s Journey, Aesopic fables, and Buddy Comedy within a combination of …

Relationship Partners’ Experiences Of Managing Conflict With Individualist And Collectivist Cultural Perspectives: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis, Rebecca Alithia Payan

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, the increasing number of multicultural marriages leads to the individualistic traditional American nuclear family colliding with ideals from a collective culture. This conflict over individualistic and collective nature can lead to martial conflict, including divorce. In this context, this study seeks to answer an important question: How do relationship partners experience managing conflict, considering individualist and collectivist perspectives in the United States? The methodology utilized the Medium-Q of Reflexive Thematic Analysis of data gathered from qualitative open-ended interview questions and a brief survey. Findings reveal engaging themes, leading us to understand that individualism and collectivism influence …

Just Breathe: Demystifying Breath In Theatre Performance And Pedagogy, Gabriella Headley

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Breathing is an involuntary reflex that happens every day, usually without any extra effort or consideration. Often as actors we are instructed to “just breathe” in a scene, but what does that really mean when breathing is something that is already done subconsciously? Since beginning graduate training, I have realized how imperative breath is in our work as performers, and how it is the cornerstone of everything: the voice, the body, the text, and how it acts as the connecting force between the performers and the audience. How can actors, educators, and directors expand their vocabulary and use breath as …

Perezhivanie In Practice: Exploring Affective Memory And Imagination Through The Stanislavski System, Paige E. Mason

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This thesis explores the enduring significance of The Stanislavski System in modern American actor training, addressing why it remains essential over a century after its creation by Konstantin Stanislavski. While studying the history of how The Stanislavski System was introduced and adapted in America, I identified a fundamental divide that shaped actor training: Lee Strasberg emphasized affective memory to generate emotion, while Stella Adler advocated for imagination to connect with character. Their public dispute has had a lasting impact on American theatre pedagogy, often leaving actors caught between methodologies without a clear understanding of the System’s original intent. At the …

Roleing In & Out Of Character, Dominique E. Marshall

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This thesis explores different methods for an actor to safely get in and out of character. There is a myriad of methodologies for actors to get into their roles, but not much public information on how actors should get out of character. My research navigates how to release a role, or ‘de-roleing,’ along with what actors need in preparation for taking on a role, or ‘pre-roleing.’ The risks of not having an efficient pre-roleing and de-roleing method are emphasized. Using a combination of ideas brought on by Augusto Boal, Susana Bloch, Suzanne Dieckman, and others, I explore methods to de-role …

Precedents For The Experiential Turn In American Art Museums: A Case Study Of Paul Gardner, Chick Austin, Leslie Cheek, And The Museums They Directed, 1932-1968, David Matteson

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This dissertation examines the historical precedents for the experiential turn in American art museums by analyzing the directorships of Paul Gardner, Chick Austin, and Leslie Cheek Jr. between 1932 and 1968. Drawing on archival research and museum studies scholarship, this study reevaluates how these directors innovated museum practice through theatricality, mass media, and audience engagement—long before contemporary museological discourse framed such strategies as revolutionary. Gardner’s use of radio broadcasts at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, Austin’s integration of circus spectacle at the Ringling Museum, and Cheek’s scenographic exhibition designs at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts illustrate how mid-century museum leaders actively …

Development Of Human Neuronal Microphysiological Models And Subsequent Integration Into Multi-Organ Platforms For Evaluation Of Therapeutic Efficacy And Off-Target Toxicity, Aakash Patel

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Microphysiological systems are a rapidly growing field of research for modeling of physiological processes and disease in an in vitro environment. The translatability and cost effectiveness of these platforms make them a valuable tool for drug discovery, allowing investigation of both efficacy and off-target toxicity either as a replacement or supplement to traditional animal models. Neurological disorders in particular are often difficult to emulate in an animal model, making the development of these models a highly useful area of research for both elucidation of brain function, as well as neurological disorders. Taking these models and integrating them into a multi-organ …

The Coffee Corner Project: Creating Rehearsal Community Through The Café Space, Jacob Romeo

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The ensemble is the heart of any rehearsal process, and a sense of community as an ensemble is enriched more in the moments between rehearsing than in the rehearsal room itself. Approaching the ensemble from this perspective, this thesis examines how this connection can be strengthened or deepened by observing the history of the coffee shop social space. I implemented this lens of community into the rehearsal process by constructing a pared-down cafe space adjacent to the rehearsal room that elevated coffee beyond its “grab and go” forms into an enriching sensory experience where the cast and creative team were …

Application Of Multi-Branching Narratives And Cooperative Gaming For Theme Park Rides, Jon Bryan Salvador

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This thesis examines the opportunities to combine video game concepts such as branching narrative games and cooperative games with interactive theme park rides or attractions. With the state of the contemporary themed entertainment industry explicitly defining the guest’s role to the context of the ride or attraction’s storyworld, there is a need to reassess the conventional forms of theme park ride interactivity to create a more dynamic narrative, gameplay experience, and guest or audience engagement. Through a brief analysis of relevant themed experience and video game references, this research proposes a cooperative theme park ride that utilizes a modified version …

Eiu 1002 : Foundations For Academic, Career, And Life Success, Eiu

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Tha 3555 : Acting In Performance, Theatre

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Fmd 4858 : Art & Fashion, Art + Design

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Tha 2801g : Musical Theatre On Film, Theatre

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.