Digital Commons Network^™

Living The American Dystopia: Parallels Between Louise Erdrich's Future Home Of The Living God, Leni Zumas's Red Clocks, And Us Abortion Legislation, Erin R. Walden

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis highlights the parallels between contemporary U.S. culture and legislation (particularly after the overturning of Roe v. Wade) and two pieces of feminist speculative fiction: Louise Erdrich’s novel Future Home of the Living God and Leni Zumas’s Red Clocks. Through a rhetorical analysis of political and cultural discourse, legislation, and the two novels, utilizing the frameworks of theorists such as Catharine MacKinnon, Michel Foucault, and Stacy Alaimo, I investigate the similarities in legislation, culture, rhetoric, and atmospheres of reproductive dystopian fiction and our current political environment after the U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health …

Pestilent Air, Contagious Evil: Infectious Disease In Early Modern Poland, Danielle Marie Airola

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The individuals buried in the cemetery of Czysty Square and the population of the vanished village of Gać lived and died during the early modern period in what is now modern-day Poland. Epidemics broke out repeatedly during this time, and the skeletal remains of several individuals buried in Czysty Square’s cemetery display pathological changes suggestive of infectious disease. These non-specific morphological changes created a need for DNA testing to search for pathogens associated with these lesions. In contrast, Gać’s population declined over time until the village’s abandonment. This has led to a hypothesis of an epidemic having contributed to the …

From Mandate To Implementation: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Early Childhood Coursework In Educational Leadership Preparation Programs, Anna Louise Puryear

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Research on principal leadership in the P-3 continuum is limited, even though leadership is second only to teaching in its impact on student outcomes. Most leadership preparation programs emphasize K–12 content, with little focus on early childhood education. Illinois is the only state to codify legislation requiring early childhood content in educational leadership programs, offering a unique case to examine how such mandates are implemented. This study employed qualitative content analysis to investigate how institutions of higher education represent mandated early childhood content in graduate-level coursework. Data sources included program-level documents from 22 Illinois leadership preparation programs and course-level materials …

“An Extremely Dangerous Institution:” The Cultures And Controversy Of Public Social Dances In Montana, 1900-1930, Danielle Allison Brown

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper explores public social dances east of the Continental Divide in Montana from 1900 to 1930. Rural social dances in schoolhouses and urban dances in dance halls created two different dance cultures. The relaxed nature of rural dances preserved the traditional values of nineteenth-century social dances, which reinforced community and family ties. Urban dances reflected the modern fads of the roaring twenties and challenged traditional values with sexual suggestiveness. Progressive Era moral reformers concerned about the possibility that social dance promoted illicit sexuality participated in an anti-dance movement and pushed for regulations of social dances. The anti-dance movement in …

"More Boldly I Shall Go:" Jacobites, Hanoverians, And The Fabrication Of Nostalgia, 1745-1766, Jacob Louis Shropshire

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study investigates how Jacobites and Hanoverians constructed competing forms of nostalgia, identity, and political meaning in the decades after the rebellion of 1745. Although the defeat of Prince Charles Edward Stuart at Culloden ended any realistic hope of a Stuart restoration, it sparked a cultural struggle in which both supporters and opponents of the Stuarts depicted the Highlander as a symbol of heroic resistance or barbarism. A psychic struggle emerged as a result, and the Highlander became beloved by Jacobites and loathed by Hanoverians. These representations circulated through paintings, engravings, clothing, glassware, newspapers, pamphlets, and verse, which became central …

Queering Poetry Workshops, Dobby Morse

IdeaFest 2026

To what extent do participants report that a poetry workshop builds connections between poets and strengthen their confidence in writing? What do participants want or expect from a poetry workshop? Through this project I hope to attend and host poetry workshops with an emphasis on the queer community. I will collaborate with campus and community organizations like Queer Humboldt and other organizations that are interested in exploring queer experiences through writing, connection, and meditation. This project will serve as a how-to guide for those seeking to conduct their own workshops.

Illusions Of Fairness And Sacrifice, Brady Schwertfeger

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The American West is a shifting landscape. An incongruous expanse of isolation and urbanity, wilderness and extraction, wealth and welfare, clear water and fire. Fifteen years ago, I moved to my mother’s ancestral homeland of Montana, and have been here ever since. Before that, I was born and raised in Texas, both the West and the South (and often something else entirely), depending on who you ask. My experiences in this region have shaped me indelibly, and have inspired this collection of essays built around culture, politics, and justice in the West. “Pinedale, Wyoming” considers the musician as itinerant wanderer …

Reclaiming Agency: Ai Hallucinations And Translingual Interrogations In The City Tech Writing Center,, Joseph Franklin, Anna Laura Falvey

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Artificial Intelligence Large Language Mocdels In Dental Education: A Cross-Sectional Survey On Usage, Perceptions, And Integration At A U.S. Dental Scho, Celine Sheng, Camie Mcfarland, Nikola Angelov, Sridhar V K Eswaran, Richard Halpin, Jennifer Chang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education presents opportunities and challenges for dental education. This study explores the use of Large Language Model (LLM) based AI tools, including ChatGPT and Grammarly AI, among faculty and students at the UTHealth School of Dentistry in Houston (UTSDH). This research assessed usage patterns, perceived benefits and concerns, and AI training demand.

Methods: A piloted, cross-sectional survey was administered via email. The survey included Likert-scale, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions. Respondents provided demographics and rated their LLM-based AI tools for use and perceptions in educational, clinical, and research contexts. Data was analyzed …

A Complete Diploid Human Genome Benchmark For Personalized Genomics, Nancy F. Hansen, Nathan Dwarshuis, Hyun Joo Ji, Arang Rhie, Hailey Loucks, Glennis A. Logsdon, Mitchell R. Vallger, Jessica M. Storer, Juhyun Kim, Eleni Adam, Nicolas Alternose, Dmitry Antipov, Mobin Asri, Sofia Barreira, Stephanie C. Bohaczuk, Andrey V. Bzikadze, Sara A. Carioscia, Andrew Carroll, Kuan-Hao Chao, Yanan Chu, Arun Das, Peter Ebert, Adam English, Mark Fleharty, Laura E. Fleming, Giulio Formenti, Andrea Guarracino, Gabrielle A. Hartley, Katharine Jenike, Jenna Kalleberg, Yu Kang, Robert King, Josipa Lipovac, Mira Mastoras, Matthew W. Mitchell, Shloka Negi, Nathan D. Olson, Keisuke K. Oshima, Luis F. Paulin, Brandon D. Pickett, David Porubsky, Jane Ranchalis, Desh Ranjan, Mikko Rautiainen, Harold Riethman, Robert D. Schnabel, Fritz J. Sedlazeck, Kishwar Shafin, Mile Sikic, Steven J. Solar, Alexander P. Sweeten, Winston Timp, Justin Wagner, Dongahn Yoo, Ying Zhou, Erik Garrison, Evan E. Eichler, Michaeel C. Schatz, Andrew B. Stergachis, Rachel J. O'Neill, Karen H. Miga, Steven L. Salzberg, Sergey Koren, Justin M. Zook, Adam M. Phillippy

School of Medical Diagnostics & Translational Sciences Publications

Human genome sequencing typically relies on mapping reads to a reference genome to call variants, but this approach introduces technical biases, excluding duplicated and structurally polymorphic regions of the genome. To overcome this, we present a telomere-to-telomere genome benchmark with near-perfect accuracy across 99.4% of the diploid HG002 genome. This benchmark adds 701.4 Mb of autosomal sequence and both sex chromosomes (216.8 Mb), which were absent from prior benchmarks. We annotated genes and repeats on both haplotypes, including 19,956 protein-coding genes on the maternal haplotype and 19,190 on the paternal haplotype, and developed new methods to measure the accuracy of …

Alternative English Language Development Scheduling In High School: Long-Term English Learners’ Attitudes And Perceived Control, Kira Rashada

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined whether an alternative English Language Development (ELD) scheduling model influenced ninth-grade Long-Term English Learners’ (LTELs) attitudes toward school and perceived control at a California high school operating on a block schedule. Guided by Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), the study explored how differing ELD scheduling models may shape students’ experiences related to autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Specifically, the study compared ninth-grade LTEL students who participated in a traditional 90-minute ELD course during the 2023-24 school year with students who participated in an alternative scheduling model during the 2024-25 school year in which designated …

Statistics 103a Instructor Guide, Elizabeth R. Wentworth

Open Educational Resources

This set of slides contains reading, original videos, activities and instructions for instructors to run a complete 12 week course in any modality. These resources can be used to supplement in-person instruction or can be used for either a hybrid or asynchronous course.

Words That Heal Or Harm: A Narrative Review On Language Use In Nursing Care.", R. Sudha, A.S. Neya

Manipal Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences

No abstract provided.

Challenges In Implementing Digital Health Solutions For Pressure Ulcer Management: A Narrative Review, Shreenidhi Jogi, Elsa Sanatombi Devi, Vishal Shanbhag

Manipal Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences

Background: Digital pressure ulcer care solutions are both accurate and well-developed in terms of technology. However, a gap remains between available digital solutions and their use in everyday pressure ulcer care practices. This review aims to summarize the technical, human, and system-level challenges that restrict the effective application of digital health solutions in pressure ulcer management.

Methods: The search was conducted in CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE. Studies that reported implementation challenges in their findings were included.

Results: Infrastructure barriers were about more than just having internet access. Issues such as inconsistent system performance and hardware malfunctions …

Joyful Literature As Life-Giving Pedagogy In Teacher Education, Katherine Egan Cunningham

Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Impact Of Skin Tone Satisfaction On Racial-Ethnic-Cultural Belonging Among Latiné Caregivers, Nithya Angadi, Raven J. Bacchas, Fantasy T. Lozada, Chelsea Derlan Williams

UROP Posters

A sense of racial-ethnic-cultural belonging (REC-B) is a key process that supports wellbeing and ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development across the lifespan. Yet, little research has examined how phenotypic characteristics may shape belonging within caregivers. While the impact of skin tone on Latiné families has been examined, understanding caregivers' feelings towards their skin tone is essential due to its potential impact on their identity. The current study aimed to investigate whether skin tone and skin tone satisfaction predicts REC-B within Latiné caregivers. This study contributes to understanding how phenotypic factors shape belonging-related identity processes throughout adulthood.

Participants included 113 Latiné caregivers …

Provenance In The Book Lab Library, Regan Spangler

UROP Posters

For my Distinguished English Major project, I am designing and implementing a catalog of the books in the Book Lab (VCU Campus, Hibbs Hall room 408). This consists of three major components. One, I am compiling a digital catalog of the collection, including book title, author, editor(s), Library of Congress call number, and provenance (in other words, previous owners and users). Two, I am adding corresponding physical cards to each book. Both the digital catalog and the cards include all information previously stated. The third component includes research into provenance of the Book Lab collection. Using David Pearson’s Books as …

The Limits Of Daca: Affordability- And Access-Related Barriers To Health Professions Education, Nicole Perez, Laura Hirshfield

Journal of College Access

The U.S. is currently facing a shortage of health professionals from underrepresented backgrounds. One potential pathway to decrease this shortage is through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a policy that provides temporary relief from deportation for individuals who migrated to the U.S. before age 16. This study, using 15 life-history narrative interviews, investigates the experiences of Latinx young adults who were pursuing health professions education or working as health professionals. Nine of the participants were DACA recipients, while the remaining six were second-generation (i.e., children of immigrants). An iterative, inductive approach to data analysis was used to …

Making Their Community Proud: First-Generation Latinx Students' Participation In Clep, Michelle Van Beek, Abby Holland

Journal of College Access

This study explores the impact of earning Spanish CLEP credit on first-generation Latinx students' levels of self-efficacy, college-going mindset toward earning a post-secondary degree, and their perceptions of bilingualism. Study participants (n=47) were all enrolled or previously enrolled in a college access program in high school. All participants received the opportunity to take the Spanish CLEP exam. Participants (n=33) completed a pre/post survey, and a paired sample t-test showed self-efficacy, college-going mindset, and language perceptions remained neutral for participants. Five semi-structured group interviews (n=26) were conducted after the post-survey. Participants showed that earning Spanish CLEP credit impacted their way of …

The Impact Of Test-Optional Policy On Private College Admissions During The Covid-19, Anna Kye, Meng-Jia Wu

Journal of College Access

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of higher education, including college admissions processes. Since 2020, numerous universities and colleges have adopted test-optional policies, allowing applicants to decide whether to submit standardized test scores. Although such policies have been in place at some institutions since 1998, research on their associations with student diversity and enrollment patterns has produced mixed findings. The widespread adoption of test-optional policies during the pandemic presents an opportunity to further examine their role in admissions. This study draws on admission data from a four-year, nonprofit, private university in the Midwest and uses logistic regression to explore patterns …

Plan De Comunicación Para La Internacionalización De Loreak Mendian, María Teresa De Donesteve Luengo

Grado en Gestión y Comunicación de la Moda

El presente Trabajo de Fin de Grado analiza la viabilidad y el potencial estratégico que tiene la marca Loreak Mendian para internacionalizarse en el mercado surcoreano. El proyecto defiende que el storytelling y la identidad de una marca pueden generar interés y valor en un mercado con tantas diferencias tanto culturales como digitales. La investigación se ha llevado a cabo a través de un enfoque metodológico mixto, es decir, cuantitativo y cualitativo. En cuanto a lo cuantitativo se destacan el uso de informes como BoF, McKinsey, Vogue Business y WGSN. Por otro lado, en cuanto a lo cualitativo se destaca …

Taking Stock Of Comparative Law Teaching In U.S. Legal Education, Francesca Bignami, Irene Calboli

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

For over 25 years, U.S. law schools have sought to globalize their curricula, reflecting the increasing interconnectedness and international scope of legal practice. Although there have been efforts to take stock of the impact of globalization on law schools, the vast majority have focused on international law, not comparative law. This U.S. National Report, written for the International Academy of Comparative Law’s 2026 Congress, fills the knowledge gap. In summer and fall 2024, we conducted a survey that examined course offerings, requirements, and opportunities for JD students. The survey was supplemented by interviews and a literature review of law schools …

Hiw 301: Ottoman History, Firat Koklu

Open Educational Resources

Hybrid asynchronous survey of Ottoman history from the empire’s emergence through its collapse, examining major political, social, economic, and legal transformations across six centuries. Through primary sources, historical scholarship, and audiovisual materials, the course considers themes including imperial expansion and governance, religious communities, migration, economic change, reform, European imperialism, and the transition from empire in a broader global and comparative context.

Syllabus: Guttman Psyc101: Introduction To Psychology, Natalia Lara Gonzalez

Open Educational Resources

The present syllabus includes materials to be used for an introduction to psychology class. The topics range from basic cognitive, behavioral and developmental psychology to social sciences and nature vs. nurture debates. The syllabus also includes an abnormal psychology open access textbook where students can access details on mental health conditions which they present on at the end of the semester.

Eng 2100 - Writing 1 - Writing As Being, Jonathan Toro

Open Educational Resources

This is an Open Educational Resources (OER) syllabus for ENG 2100 - Writing 1 - Writing as Being. In this course, students will examine how their identities and communities shape their understanding of themselves and the world around them—how it affects the way they move and think in the spaces they occupy. Through the usage of personal narrative and critical writing, the students will study how language, culture, community, and socio-historical contexts influence their ways of knowing and being. Then, they will utilize these influences—the very systems that affect them in tremendous ways—to write themselves into being.  All course materials, …

Spn 316, Introduction To Hispanic Linguistics, Bernardita Chaigneau Castro

Open Educational Resources

The present syllabus includes the structure for an Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics class. The topics range from basic concepts in linguistics to the specific study of Spanish in the United States. The syllabus also includes different Open Access Resources in Spanish, as the class was thought to be taught mainly in Spanish.

Syllabus Itl 112: Basic Italian I, Chiara Caputi

Open Educational Resources

This is a syllabus for Basic Italian I (ITL 112) taught at the College of Staten Island during the Fall 2026 semester. This course teaches students about reading, writing, speaking and listening in Italian.

Topic Modeling The Cuny Graduate Center's Dissertations And Theses, Michael Mandiberg

Open Educational Resources

This 4 week module is designed for Data Analysis, Data Visualization, and Digital Humanities courses at the MA/MS or advanced 400-level undergraduate level. It introduces students to textual analysis with topic modeling and requires a solid foundation in Python. The module uses Gensim and a Colab notebook to introduce a standard text analysis workflow used in Digital Humanities, archival research, and exploratory data analysis.

Students build a topic model describing 19,000 CUNY Graduate Center dissertations and theses. They work with an unexplored dataset to load and explore the data, prepare the corpus, train and evaluate a topic model, and interpret, …

Hey! System! Leave Them Kids Alone: A Justification Of Minnesota’S ‘Raise The Age’ Law, Violet Butler

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

The Right To Share: Affording Americans Meaningful Control Over Their Data, Kevin Frazier

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

Americans today face unprecedented opportunities to leverage their personal data for health, education, and economic benefit; yet state and federal privacy laws increasingly restrict their ability to do so. This Article argues that the prevailing regulatory paradigm—rooted in paternalism, behavioral assumptions, and a deep distrust of both firms and individuals— has produced a system that paradoxically denies people meaningful control over their own information. As artificial intelligence tools grow more capable, the inability of individuals to share data freely threatens to entrench inequities, concentrate access to high-quality AI systems among the wealthy, and accelerate the formation of an “AI abyss” …