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The Church As Provider Of Pastoral Care: Relational Presence, Narrative Listening, Preaching, And Advocacy In African American Missionary Baptist Churches In Southside Fort Worth, Texas, Michael R. Timberlake

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

Abstract

Michael R. Timberlake, Sr.

May 1, 2026

THE CHURCH AS PROVIDER OF PASTORAL CARE: RELATIONAL PRESENCE, NARRATIVE LISTENING, PREACHING, AND ADVOCACY IN AFRICAN AMERICAN MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCHES IN SOUTHSIDE FORT WORTH, TEXAS

The purpose of this research project is to restore and maintain the resiliency in the African American Missionary Baptist churches in the Southside of Fort Worth, Texas. The research identified a high level of importance for African American churches in Fort Worth to resemble the historic legacy of spiritual leadership, communal care, and social advocacy while ministering within contexts marked by racial and economic marginalization. Enabling practical …

Predictive Natural Language Metrics Of Alzheimer's Disease And Cognitive Decline Trend Analysis, Zerui Ma

Computer Science and Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Inspired by Dr. David Snowden's Nun Study, which linked early-life Propositional Idea Density (PID) to later-life Alzheimer's disease, this thesis investigates two questions: whether fine-tuned Transformer-based large language models (LLM) can detect cognitive decline from patient speech transcripts with meaningful feature attribution, and whether longitudinal PID trends are observable across large-scale internet and academic text corpora. We evaluate dementia prediction on the DementiaBank Pitt Corpus and conduct an exploratory longitudinal PID analysis across seven diverse datasets spanning up to 29 years and over 12.6 million documents. This work suggests that linguistic ability metrics, traditional PID metrics and novel LLM-based analysis, …

Machine Learning And Formal Methods In Quantum Chemistry: Theory And Application, Ishna Satyarth

Computer Science and Engineering Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the progress in inter-disciplinary application of machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) have truly transformed various fields, from weather forecasting and drug development to medical diagnostics, energy, and sustainability. Computational chemistry uses computational tools to model, predict, analyze, and explain chemical phenomena, while the Quantum chemistry specifically uses techniques based on quantum mechanics (as opposed to classical mechanics or empirical models). Quantum chemistry or Computational chemistry has also observed a momentum in application of ML techniques over the past decade significantly accelerating results and providing valuable insights into vast datasets, often surpassing traditional methods.

This dissertation explores …

Characterizing A Potential Cbp/P300 Histone Acetyltransferase Homolog In Tardigrade Germline Specification And Development, Brittney Michelle Hartshorn

Honors Projects

Germline specification is a fundamental process that ensures the proper development of germ cells. Germline specification occurs either through germ cell determinants maternally inherited through the mechanism of preformation or through induction, where cell interaction and epigenetic modifications direct specification. Determining how these mechanisms evolved and diverged remains an important question in developmental biology. Despite research on germline regulation in model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans or Drosophila melanogaster, such regulation remains poorly understood in many other animal groups. Tardigrades are an emerging model system for investigating developmental mechanisms due to their phylogenetic placement and experimentally tractable embryos. CBP/P300 is …

Limited Long-Term Changes In Tree Physiological Function Despite Shifts In Forest Stand Structure Following Moth (Lymantria Dispar L.) Outbreak And Drought, Diane Radwanski, Tomer Duman, Kenneth L. Clark, Dirk W. Vanderklein, Karina V. R. Schäfer

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Introduction: In this study, we investigated forest stand dynamics and leaf gas exchange of co-occurring oak and pine species in an oak-pine forest in the Atlantic Coastal Plain in the Northeastern United States following defoliation by a moth (Lymantria dispar L.), and severe drought.Methods: We used forest stand inventory and leaf gas exchange data spanning from 2005-2015 to analyze the effects of drought and defoliation.Results and discussion: The defoliation and subsequent drought caused great mortality in a selected group of species and moderate mortality in others. Investigating these dynamics on a decadal time scale (2005 – 2015) revealed a shift …

Increasing Task Performance Through False Positive And False Negative Feedback, Craig M. Gilmore

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Feedback is commonly used to increase future performance of the individual receiving the feedback. This study focused on the implementation of false negative, false positive, and true feedback procedures to measure its impact on task performance. Performance was measured through both accuracy of correct responding and response latency across conditions. The participants of this study were recruited from Pittsburg State University and participated in a series of computerized tests while receiving various feedback types using a multielement design. The findings of this study aligned with some previous studies indicating the feedback types did not produce meaningful changes task performance in …

Where Is Home: Finding Belonging In God Through Expressive And Drama Therapy Processes Among Chinese Diaspora International Students, Minmin Pan

Expressive Therapies Theses

Being an international student for 12 years in the United States, this research engages with personal reflection and literature around international student identity formation situated in the current social and political context of increasing visa and employment uncertainty. International students’ ongoing movement across cultural spaces, limited representation of cross-cultural narratives and supportive spaces in academic settings, can contribute to fragmentation in experiences and identity that are shaped by dominant narratives and social positioning, thus further leading to disconnection from self and surroundings.

Relational spirituality literature suggests that one’s relational experience with God can deeply impact their interpretation of experiences, social …

What Is Mine, Yours And Ours: Bodily Metaphor And Neuropsychology, Alicia K.E Parham

Art Theses and Dissertations

Mapping the landscape of the brain has taken human lifetimes to navigate, both structurally to understand how our biological functions interact and functionally as our thoughts and emotions shape our existence. Neurological stimulus and response inform our reality, shape our thinking, and affect our bodies in profound physiological ways. Our nervous system acts as a bridge from what we experience physically to what we feel emotionally, through the sending of electrical signals to all parts of our body.

My art practice explores the interactions of neuroscience with outside stimuli. It is rooted in the personal: learning that a neurological condition …

Synecdoche: Archiving Violence In Schools, Jillian Whitney

Art Theses and Dissertations

K-12 Educators often find themselves thrust into a swamp of politics they never asked to enter. It is in this swamp that educators strive to meet students’ social, emotional, and educational needs. However, issues such as school shootings, racism, and gender inequality all make it difficult for schools to be what they should be: an equalizing, safe place where children can learn. These problems weaken the school system and harm public interest while leading to teacher burnout.

Synecdoche: Archiving Violence in Schools is a body of paintings and experimental artist books that responds to the everyday experiences of the educators …

Symbolists Beyond The Magic: Appropriation In The Art Of Elihu Vedder And Gustave Moreau, Rebecca B. Shalliker

Art & Art History ETDs

This thesis examines the paintings of Elihu Vedder and Gustave Moreau as examples of how the late nineteenth-century Symbolist movement drew on Eastern regions as aesthetic sources for representing the spiritual. Considering the iconographic and conceptual overlap with the Spiritualist movement, it explores how these groups contributed to constructing an image of the “East” as inherently mystical. While existing scholarship analyzes the Symbolist movement’s engagement with psychoanalytical concepts such as the subconscious and dream state, the role of cultural appropriation in shaping the Symbolist aesthetic has been largely overlooked.

The depiction of Eastern iconography as fantastical will be explored through …

The Effect Of Acute Hypoxia Exposure, With Exercise, On Bone Metabolic Biomarkers, Alyssa Bailly

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Hypoxic environments, resulting from decreased atmospheric partial pressure of oxygen, reduce oxygen availability in the blood and tissues, leading to a mismatch between supply and demand. This elicits several physiological adaptations and may influence bone metabolism. Although evidence suggests that hypoxia can modulate bone remodeling through hypoxia-inducible pathways, findings remain mixed, with most data derived from chronic hypoxic exposures in animal and cell culture models. Exercise, an essential stimulus for bone health, may exacerbate hypoxic stress; however, the skeletal response to acute hypoxic exposure combined with exercise remains unclear. We propose that intermittent exercise in hypoxia may increase negative markers …

Pneumomlpred: Innovating Pneumonia Management With Guideline Adherence Review And Explainable Machine Learning-Based Mortality Prediction - A Single-Centre Retrospective Study, Kamel A. Samara, Hiba Jawdat Barqawi, Saryia Adra, Batool Aldaher, Drishti D. Kampani, Enad Haddad, Hebah Soudan, Islam Ibrahim Anwar, Mohamad Besher Adi, Omar Hamadi, Yumna Almour, Mohamed Nassef, Zaher Al Aghbari, Eman Abu-Gharbieh

Abington Jefferson Health Papers

Introduction: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the leading causes of death globally. Changing antibiotic resistance profiles, paucity of reliable CAP mortality prediction models, and ageing populations will increase its burden. This study aims to evaluate adherence to CAP management guidelines as well as develop an ML-based mortality prediction model.

Methods: This retrospective, chart review included all CAP cases between 2016 and 2021. Variables collected included patients' demographics, comorbidities, vitals, laboratory, imaging, and culture findings, as well as initial and targeted antibiotic regimens. Data was pre-processed and analysed in python-3. Adherence to the American thoracic society/infectious diseases society of America …

Efficacy And Equity In Type 2 Diabetes Care: Comparing Glp-1 Therapy And Dietary Interventions Through Clinical, Social, And Ethical Lenses, Makayla Bogle

Honors Projects

Objective: Explores the clinical and sociocultural dimensions regarding type 2 diabetes (T2DM) care, comparing GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) therapy and dietary interventions for adults with T2DM. Part I consists of a narrative literature review examining clinical outcomes such as glycemic control, insulin sensitivity, and weight management for the two compared treatment methods. Part II conducts a narrative literature review examining the structural and social determinants that influence access to diabetes treatments. The review evaluates how social determinants of health (SDOH) shape the real-world implementation of both GLP-1 RA therapies and dietary interventions. The discussion highlights differences in measurable clinical …

Beyond Brain Drain: H-1b Visas, Innovation, And Human Flourishing, Joel Wong

Honors Projects

High-skilled migration has become one of the defining features of the modern global economy, especially in technology, engineering, and research-intensive industries. While public debate surrounding the H-1B visa program often centers on its effects within the United States, less attention has been given to how these migration flows affect the countries from which workers originate. This question is important because many sending countries invest heavily in the education and development of highly skilled workers while also seeking long-term economic growth and innovation. This study examines whether increases in H-1B visa migration are associated with changes in innovation outcomes in major …

Undergraduate Commencement Exercises Program, May 16, 2026

Bryant University Commencements

No abstract provided.

Improving Health Literacy And Self-Management In Adults With Heart Failure: A Nurse-Led Virtual Intervention In Outpatient Support Groups, Vivian Efosa Osunde

Doctoral Projects

Heart failure is a leading cause of morbidity and hospital readmissions, with limited health literacy contributing to poor self‑management and adherence challenges. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice project was to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a nurse‑led, virtual education-intervention designed to improve health literacy, self‑care behaviors, and medication adherence among adults with chronic heart failure who participate in an outpatient support group. A quality improvement design was used. Convenience sampling yielded nine adult participants with a documented diagnosis of chronic heart failure who attended at least one virtual support group session. The intervention consisted of …

Whiny Women: How Medical Gaslighting Becomes Medical Trauma, Neena Marcus

Honors Projects

Background: The idea of “medical gaslighting” has been present since 1969, but it has increased in popularity in the recent century. Women in particular are at increased risk of being dismissed by their healthcare providers, as throughout history they have been deemed “hysterical” or untrustworthy when recounting their symptoms.

Methods: Articles were compiled from CINAHL Complete, Google Scholar, and the University of Washington library. A total of 33 articles were chosen and reviewed.

Results: Medical gaslighting results in lasting medical trauma, a decreased quality of life and detachment from standard healthcare. Six themes were recurrent in the papers utilized: sexism, …

Musical Methods For Nonverbal Emotional Expression, Carrie Uddenberg

Music: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Agricultural Water Management, Farmer Decision-Making And Climate Adaptation In Dryland Agriculture: A Case Of The Middle Rio Grande Basin, Oluwatosin A. Olofinsao

Economics ETDs

Agriculture in dryland regions faces mounting pressure from climate change, water scarcity, and shifting land-use demands. The Middle Rio Grande Basin (MRGB) of central New Mexico exemplifies these challenges, where irrigated agriculture relies on increasingly variable surface water supplies. This dissertation examines agricultural water use, farmer decision-making, and adaptation strategies across farm types and climate conditions in the MRGB. The first study presents a spatial descriptive analysis of farm size, crop patterns, groundwater access, evapotranspiration (ET), and effective ET, revealing a landscape numerically dominated by smallholder farms that account for a substantial share of irrigation water use. The second study …

Marine Geophysical Studies Of Coupled Tectonic And Sedimentary Processes At Active Plate Boundaries, Sarah R. Rysanek

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Deep-sea and convergent margin sedimentary systems preserve critical records of tectonic and climatic processes that shape Earth’s surface. This dissertation investigates source-to-sink sediment routing and forearc deformation to better constrain the interplay between sedimentary and tectonic processes, through investigations of a deep-sea fan system, and the forearc geomorphology offshore Nicaragua. In the Gulf of Alaska, we integrate ultra-long-offset and regional multi-channel seismic reflection data, multi-resolution bathymetry, and plate reconstructions to remap the Baranof Fan system. Results show that the fan is larger than previously recognized and constructed by two primary depocenters linked to distinct glacial sediment pathways, with accommodation space …

Moving As Mycelium: Dance/Movement Therapy With Nature And Its Potential For Sustainability Transformations: A Literature Review, Abby Polk

Expressive Therapies Theses

Environmental degradation and destruction impact the long-term health and wellbeing of humans and ecosystems alike. Humans require new ways of relating to nature that support sustainable futures for all. This thesis argues that dance/movement therapy (DMT) with nature has the potential to facilitate sustainability transformations and that the embodiment of relationality can support the development of reciprocal human-nature relationships. This literature review is grounded in theories of relationality and reciprocity as conceptualized in various Indigenous knowledge systems and the fields of both sustainability and DMT. Existing research suggests that culturally-responsive, embodied, arts-based practices may increase human-nature connectedness and strengthen reciprocity …

Identification Of Aortic Centerline Shape Features, Bebel B. Trani

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

Better predictions of the likelihood of an aortic event in patients are paramount to providing quality care in medicine. Ascending aortic aneurysms (AsAA) are typically asymptomatic until sudden complications, such as rupture or dissection, occur and are often fatal [1]. As a form of preventative care, physicians identify and monitor high-risk patients. Surgical interventions are also performed for high-risk patients, replacing the weakened segment of the ascending aorta before a catastrophic event occurs. Determining which patients require surgical intervention or close monitoring is therefore extremely important. These decisions are largely guided by maximum diameter measurements; for the ascending aorta, a …

Alternative Positioning, Navigation, And Timing In Global Navigation Satellite System Denied Environments, Joshua R. Atencio

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) provide the majority of critical positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services for civilian, commercial, and military applications. However, GNSS is vulnerable to service denial from spoofing and jamming from adversaries and environmental obstruction. These vulnerabilities highlight the need for resilient Alternative PNT (APNT) methods. This dissertation investigates APNT frameworks operating in GNSS denied environments. We develop coalition formation and matching theoretic models that allow users APNT services from anchor nodes under resource constraints and in adversarial or emergency conditions. The proposed frameworks optimize positioning accuracy, network utility, and system stability while accounting for geometric dilution …

Applications And Comparisons Of Machine Learning Methods In Ultra-Fast Laser Control, Aasma Aslam

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This dissertation demonstrates the applications and comparative analyses of machine learning methods in ultrafast laser control. By learning the relationship between the system’s input parameters and output pulse characteristics, the performance of a laser can be significantly improved. In this work, the results are presented in two stages by utilizing data from the femtosecond laser system. The first stage concerns two neural networks, named NN1 (fitrnet) and NN2 (feedforwardnet). The second stage, which extended with five different models, namely the linear regression (fitlm), the support vector machine (SVM), the Gaussian process regression (GPR), the boosted tree (fitrensemble), and LASSO (fitrlinear), …

Stochastic Derivative-Free Deep Learning Methods For Solving High Dimensional Partial Differential Equations, Qing He Mr.

Mathematics Theses and Dissertations

Solving high-dimensional partial differential equations (PDEs) is a fundamental challenge in scientific computing, with applications ranging from quantum chemistry and computational finance to statistical physics and stochastic optimal control.  Classical numerical methods such as finite element or finite difference schemes suffer from the curse of dimensionality, rendering them computationally infeasible when the dimension $d$ exceeds a handful. Physics-informed neural network (PINN) methods alleviate this by embedding the PDE residual directly into a loss function, but they require computing derivatives of the network with respect to its spatial inputs---an operation that scales poorly in high dimensions and demands that the approximate …

The Drive Diaries: How Motivation Shapes Work And Performance, Christian D. Diaz

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Employee motivation remains central to organizational research, yet less is known about how employees personally experience the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and performance. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory and Expectancy Theory, this qualitative narrative inquiry examined how employees describe their motivational experiences and their influence on workplace effectiveness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 3 employees across diverse industries and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Four themes emerged: (1) autonomy as a primary driver of sustained performance, (2) recognition as a reinforcing factor, (3) organizational culture as either amplifying or diminishing motivation, and (4) motivation as evolving across career stages. Findings …

The Motivation Tapes: Employee Narratives Of Leadership That Matters, Jessica Gray

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This qualitative phenomenological study explored how employees describe their lived experiences at work. The purpose of the research was to understand the relational, emotional, and developmental dimensions that shape employees’ day-to-day workplace realities and the meanings they assign to those experiences. Four participants from diverse occupational backgrounds were interviewed using semi-structured protocols designed to elicit rich, descriptive accounts of their work environments, relationships, and sense-making processes. The findings reveal that participants shared experiences of supportive and hands-on leadership, opportunities for autonomy and ownership, and moments of connection, meaning, and long-term growth. Participants also described disruptions to these experiences. The implications …

Lowering Class Size To Improve Teaching And Learning Mathematics In Early Grades, Dianne S. Mccarthy

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Fourth-grade mathematics proficiency in the United States remains low, with only 39–57% of students meeting proficiency standards on NAEP, New York State, and TIMSS assessments. This article argues that reducing class sizes in the early grades (K–3) is an effective strategy to improve teaching and learning in mathematics. Evidence from the Tennessee STAR study and supporting research (Clanet, 2010; Cho et al., 2012) shows that smaller classes yield statistically significant and lasting gains in student achievement. Benefits include stronger teacher-student relationships, increased individualized attention, fewer disruptions, and more active student engagement. These conditions enable high-impact, constructivist approaches such as inquiry-based …

May 16, 2026, Seattle University School Of Law

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Kinetic Study Of Oil–Water Separation In A Dual Port Inlet Cyclone Separator, Ikhwanul Qiram, Agung Nugroho

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST)

In this study, a Computational Fluid Dynamics method is used to investigate the oil–water separation kinetics in a dual-port inlet cyclone separator. This was achieved using the Reynolds Stress Model coupled to an Eulerian multiphase framework. Three Reynolds numbers were studied (Re = 1.41×10⁵, 1.94×10⁵ and 2.52×10⁵) to analyse the flow; axial velocity distribution, vortex stability, radial migration velocity and separation efficiency were examined individually. Results indicate that both the radial migration velocity (vᵣ) and separation probability (p_remove) grow with Reynolds number, especially for larger oil droplets (10–100 µm). The best condition concerned is that …