Digital Commons Network^™

Social Identity And Language Learning/Teaching Trajectories: Egyptian English Teachers’ Reflections On Being Taught By Native English- Speaking Instructors, Asmaa Mohamed Badawy

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores how teacher social identity is shaped by Egyptian English teachers’ past learning experiences, particularly in relation to native and non-native English-speaking teachers. It seeks to understand how these experiences influence teachers’ perceptions of themselves within English-speaking contexts and how they make sense of dominant language ideologies surrounding nativeness. The study is guided by the following research questions: how participants perceive their sense of social belonging within English-speaking contexts; how ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ English teachers understand and interpret nativeness; and how past educational and social experiences shape teachers’ sense of ownership and legitimacy. Situated within the framework of …

Philosophia From Dialectic To Dying Before Death: Traces Of Plato’S Spirit In The Encounters Between The Falāsifa, Mutakallimūn, And Sūfiyya, Fadhil Yunus Alsagoff

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis offers a fresh approach to the question “What is philosophy?” by reconsidering Plato’s vision of philosophiaand seeking its traces in the encounters between the Falāsifa, the Mutakallimūn, and the Sūfiyya of the classical Muslim world. I argue that Plato’s true legacy lies in a vision of philosophia as dialectical inquiry that ultimately leads – due to the inextricable limitations of propositional language – to aporia and what he called “practicing for dying and death.” I then argue that this vision of philosophia finds resonance in the classical Muslim world in the embodied encounters between …

Sense Of Belonging Among Undergraduate Students At The American University In Cairo: Demographic Trends, Barriers And Facilitators, Lamiaa M. Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

A sense of belonging is widely recognized as a key determinant of undergraduate students’ academic success, well-being, and persistence in higher education. However, existing research is largely grounded in Western contexts and often emphasizes institution-level measures, with limited attention to how belonging is experienced and constructed by students in non-Western settings. This study examines undergraduate students’ sense of belonging at the American University in Cairo, focusing on factors that shape belonging and institutional practices that may strengthen it. Using a sequential mixed-methods design, the study examined 87 responses from a quantitative survey adapted from the University Belonging Questionnaire, followed by …

The Informal Impact Of The Headscarf Ban On Veiled Students’ Everyday University Experiences In Paris, Farah K. Lotfy

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the informal impact of the 2004 headscarf ban on the everyday university experiences of veiled students in Paris. Although the ban applies formally to public schools rather than universities, the wider social climate surrounding laïcité and the veil continues to influence how veiled students experience visibility, belonging, and participation in higher education.

Using a qualitative approach based primarily on semi-structured interviews, supported by informal observations conducted within university spaces in Paris, the study explores how exclusion is experienced through stereotypes, scrutiny, social discomfort, self-monitoring, and anticipation of discrimination rather than through formal university policy. The research focuses …

الهجانة في الترجمة الفورية: مسيرة تكيّف, سليمى غريّب البستاني, لينا منعم

Al-Kīmiyā

Linguistic mediation is undergoing profound transformations due to rapid developments in artificial intelligence technologies and automated text processing. Innovations in the field, such as Neural Machine Translation (NMT), Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), and Computer-Assisted Translation and Computer-Assisted Interpreting (CAT-CAI), have induced new forms of interaction between translators, interpreters, and technological systems. By reviewing how simultaneous interpreting adapts to developments in the labor market and technological innovation through hybridization, this study aims to demonstrate that the integration of modern technology and artificial intelligence into the field is nothing but the emergence of a new form of hybridity, this time embodied in …

Regional Differences Between Puerto Rican And Hispanic Mainland U.S. Parents’ Perceptions Of Childhood Obesity, Kasandra Blanton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Gamma Belief Functions And Fuzzy Sets And Application To Combining Predictive Models, Liping Liu

University Research

Extending classic finite frameworks to continuous settings, this paper proposes the concept of gamma belief functions and gamma fuzzy sets. It shows that both the combination of gamma belief functions and the intersection of gamma fuzzy sets remain within the gamma family, enabling their application in combining gamma probability judgments in decision making and gamma regression models in ensemble learning. Using both simulated and real datasets, and under both constant and varying dispersion assumptions, experimental results show that the combined gamma regression models closely approximate the reference models learned from the full datasets, aligning with the objectives of bootstrapping. Notably, …

Where To Now With Privacy? A Systematic Literature Review With Human–Artificial Intelligence Synthesis (Slr-Hais), Moulik M. Zaveri, Ameet Pandit, Violetta Wilk, Steven D’Alessandro

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose – The development of digital technologies has led to changes in how consumers perceive privacy. This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to introduce human–artificial intelligence (AI) synthesis (HAIS) as a novel methodology for extending traditional SLRs. Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive review of the privacy literature is conducted to demonstrate the efficacy of the SLR with HAIS (SLR-HAIS) approach, using 149 articles published by top marketing journals on consumer privacy. The PRISMA approach is adopted as the organizing framework. In addition, the TCCM framework is applied in conjunction with Leximancer-driven HAIS analysis, which utilizes natural language processing techinques for thematic …

Adverbial Particles From A Semantic-Syntactic Perspective, Hasan Mohammed Mfreg

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

Adverbial particles are those words that constitute what I have called an adverbial compound. This adverbial compound is what grammarians know as semi-sentence that includes the adverb, prepositions, and names that follows them. I preferred to deal with these particles from a syntactic perspective that sees their structural and semantic function within the sentence system. I did not prefer to call these particles semi-sentences because I merely consider them representing a grammatical compound like the rest of the compounds that relate to the verb. These particles often represent a compound with the genitive following them, and sometimes they are just …

Phonetic Morphology: Its Concept, Justifications For Its Emergence, And Foundations Of Analysis, Nawal Saleh Mahdi, Omar Rashid Shaker Al-Samarrai

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

This research examines the attempts of modern scholars to establish a new branch of linguistics concerned with the methodological overlap between the phonological and morphological levels, which they have termed phonological morphology. What prompted researchers to pursue this line of thinking was their realization that a rigorous scientific methodology must transcend the idea of separating the linguistic analysis levels. This separation was merely for educational purposes and should not persist in analytical scientific research. It appears that phonological morphology has acquired the status of an independent science, as it now has its established concept documented in modern linguistic literature, both …

A Stylistic Linguistic Study Of Alliteration And Assonance In Selected Poems, Lina Salam Farouq

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

This research paper investigates the use of alliteration and assonance as major sound devices in poetry, concentrating on their stylistic and aesthetic functions in selected poetic texts. Sound patterns such as the repetition of consonant sounds (alliteration) and vowel sounds (assonance) play a vital role in shaping rhythm, musicality, and meaning in poetic language. The study aims to identify these phonological features and analyze how they contribute to the artistic structure and emotional impact of the poems. The research adopts a stylistic and statistical approach, examining the distribution and frequency of alliteration and assonance in two poems: The …

Listener Factors In Integrating Syntax And Plausibility In Sentences Produced With Versus Without Stuttering, Gabriella L. Burgess Hayes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Development of communication-focused therapy for people who stutter requires better understanding of how stuttering impacts oral comprehension. One aim was to investigate how stuttering impacts listeners’ ability to integrate syntax and world knowledge (plausibility) in sentence processing. A second aim was to investigate how listener factors predict ability to integrate information in sentences with stuttering.

Methods: 224 adults heard 24 experimental sentences interspersed with 24 fillers. Experimental sentences included six plausible double-object dative (DO) constructions, six plausible prepositional dative (PD) constructions, six implausible DO constructions, and six implausible PD constructions. Implausible constructions served as analogues of communication breakdowns. Half …

Thinking Through Critical Metaphor: A Semiotic-Cognitive Study Of Political Caricatures, Sarah Tariq Hashim, Mahmood Atiya Farhan

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences

Political caricature serves as a powerful weapon that help caricaturists to reach their opinion to the public. They are used to criticize the political situations and highlight implicit discourse ideologies in a simple way. The current study explores critical metaphor in constructing ideological meaning in political caricatures from a semiotic-cognitive viewpoint. Although political caricatures have been widely studied, limited attention has been given to the interaction between visual signs and cognitive metaphor in shaping ideological interpretation. The findings show that these metaphors (verbal or visual) are not considered as stylistic tools but as ideological tools. Also, caricatures rely on critical …

In Memoriam: Marielle Rispail, Jarrod Hayes, Mohammed Harbi, And Edgar Morin, Fazia Aïtel

Journal of Amazigh Studies

NA

In Memoriam: Hugh Roberts, Bruce Maddy-Weitzman

Journal of Amazigh Studies

NA

Akhiate, Brahim. The Amazigh Revival: A Memoir Of Its Birth And Progression, Andrew Long

Journal of Amazigh Studies

NA

Éléments De Lexicographie Amazighe De Abdelaziz Berkai, Youva Djouadi

Journal of Amazigh Studies

NA

Fatima Sadiqi, Women And The Codification Of The Amazigh Language, Lahoucine Aammari

Journal of Amazigh Studies

NA

La Conceptualisation Du Temps À Travers Les Métaphores Dans Le Parler De Zayan : Approche Cognitive, Amenzou El Mostafa, Brahim Oumeraouch

Journal of Amazigh Studies

L'analyse des expressions métaphoriques du temps dans le parler des Zayan révèle une utilisation récurrente de métaphores conceptuelles qui reflètent la perception du temps dans cette culture. Les expressions métaphoriques telles que « le temps coule » sont largement utilisées pour décrire la continuité et l'irréversibilité du temps, tandis que celles comme « ne gaspille pas l’argent » soulignent sa valeur et sa gestion. En examinant ces expressions à travers les postulats de la théorie de Lakoff (1980), nous observons que les schémas conceptuels associés au temps reflètent deux visions distinctes : une conception dynamique, où le temps est vu …

La Formation Des Noms D’Agent En Tamazight À Travers Un Modèle Inspiré De La Morphologie Distribuée « Le Parler De Zayan Au Moyen Atlas Marocain », Rachid Achahboun

Journal of Amazigh Studies

Dans le Parler de Zayan du Moyen Atlas marocain, les noms d'agent se distinguent par une diversité morphologique influencée par des consonnes labiales et des allomorphies spécifiques. Ils présentent des mélodies vocaliques communes et intègrent souvent l'infixe [-m-] associé à des voyelles. Cet article analyse la dérivation des noms d’agent, mettant en lumière l'affixation des morphèmes et les transformations vocaliques, à travers un modèle inspiré de la Morphologie Distribuée. Pour ce faire, nous étudions le rôle des voyelles initiales et pénultièmes ainsi que des consonnes dans la formation des noms d’agent dans le cas du masculin et du féminin, tout …

Les Pseudonymes Des Femmes Rifaines En Diaspora : Stratégies De Résistance Et D'Affirmation Identitaire Sur Les Réseaux Sociaux, Abdelouahab Bazine

Journal of Amazigh Studies

Cet article explore les stratégies onomastiques développées par les Rifaines en contexte diasporique à travers l’analyse de leurs pseudonymes sur les réseaux sociaux, en particulier dans les groupes Facebook communautaires en France et en Belgique. Il examine comment ces désignations fonctionnent comme des marqueurs identitaires, traduisant des dynamiques de résistance, d’affirmation et d’adaptation en contexte migratoire. En mobilisant une approche sociolinguistique et anthropologique, cette étude met en lumière la manière dont les pseudonymes articulent attachement aux origines, inscription dans un espace transnational et négociation des rapports de domination linguistique et culturelle. L’analyse du corpus révèle plusieurs stratégies onomastiques, notamment l’usage …

Indigeneity In The Diaspora: Amazigh Women In The United States, Heide Castaneda

Journal of Amazigh Studies

As people migrate elsewhere, they create new forms of solidarity and citizenship through articulations of their Indigenous identity. The activities and identity formations of migrant Imazighen have long been integral to the Amazigh movement, often producing and propelling forward ideas and practices that influence politics in their North African homelands. At the same time, migration is a key driver of shifts in gender roles and identity. The gendered dimension of Indigenous experience remains largely underexplored and is the subject of this article. Amazigh women, like other Indigenous women around the globe, are frequently portrayed as guardians of cultural and linguistic …

Amazigh Women In The 21st Century: Discourses And Representations, Jas Editorial Staff

Journal of Amazigh Studies

NA

Automatic Glossing In Under-Resourced Languages: Case Studies In Bribri And Cook Islands Māori, Carter D. Anderson

Linguistics Undergraduate Senior Theses

Interlinear glossing is a major task in Indigenous language documentation. In this paper, I explore how effectively two Large Language Models, ByT5 and Gemini 2.5 Flash, can produce interlinear glossed text. I also examine how prompting an LLM with different types of information (dictionary entries, other training samples, and translations) can augment model performance. I apply these models to two under-resourced Indigenous languages: Bribri, which is morphologically complex from Costa Rica, and Cook Islands Māori, which has a simpler morphology and is from the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. ByT5 exhibits much better performance when glossing Cook Islands Māori …

Computational Contrast Of Argument-Adjusting Operations In Cook Islands Māori: An Initial Exploration, Daisy Li

Linguistics Undergraduate Senior Theses

This paper presents the first corpus study of the semantic and syntactic features of active, actor emphatic, and passive constructions in Cook Islands Māori, a Polynesian language of the Cook Islands. Using computational techniques, including Universal Dependencies parsing, this project identifies and evaluates these constructions in corpus data. The actor emphatic construction is of particular interest because it is only found in Eastern Polynesian languages. However, it has historically been difficult to study due to its cross-linguistic variability and relative infrequency. This study compiles, to my knowledge, the largest corpus of Cook Islands Māori actor emphatic sentences to date, analyzing …

Lawrence University One Hundred Seventy-Seventh Commencement, Sunday, June 14, 2026, Lawrence University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

The Merger Of Short Rising And Falling Pitch Accents In Serbo-Croatian: A Socio-Phonetic Study, Aleksa Sotirov

Linguistics Undergraduate Senior Theses

This thesis is a sociophonetic study investigating the surface realisation of the short-falling and short-rising pitch accents in different dialects of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language. In particular, it investigates the hypothesis of a merger-in-progress between these two pitch accent contours in Belgrade and surrounding areas by analysing phonetic data collected from 17 young speakers of various dialect areas.

The study shows several significant results. We find that the two short accents are, indeed, continuing on their merging trajectory, and most strongly in the Belgrade area. Unexpectedly, we find that they tend to merge in favour of the rising accent, …

Category Learning Under Verbal Interference, Yawen Xue

Cognitive Science Senior Thesis Posters

What happens to cognition when you disrupt language? What does language actually do as a representational medium for cognition? Much literature shows a facilitative role of language on categorical thinking. This work specifically examines the role of language in category learning using a verbal interference paradigm. I ran two experiments where participants learned to distinguish between two novel categories of bugs while under conditions of verbal or visuospatial interference. In Experiment 1, category membership was determined by an XOR rule; in Experiment 2, category membership was determined by an AND rule.

In Experiment 1, participants on average did not succeed …

The Unspoken And The Unseen: An Analysis Of Victim Gender And Linguistic Framing Of Sexual Assault In Judicial Discourse, Sarnika Ali

Quantitative Social Science Undergraduate Senior Theses

Sexual assault is a profound legal and social crisis. However, it is also fundamentally a linguistic one. The words used, or conspicuously not used, to describe victims, perpetrators, and their actions are not neutral arbiters of fact. They are powerful mechanisms that shape perceptions of harm, attributions of blame, and assignments of credibility. The central battleground for survivors is credibility, and while a “credibility discount” is often applied to female victims, the male victim is rendered nearly invisible. This research is therefore guided by one central, overarching question: how does a sexual assault victim’s gender influence the judicial language used, …

Beyond The Best Prompt: A Coverage View Of Multilingual Reasoning, Harshiv Mistry

University Honors Theses

Multilingual LLMs reason more accurately in English than in other languages, and recent work links part of this gap to reasoning behavior: native-language traces contain fewer cognitive behaviors (verification, backtracking, subgoal setting, backward chaining) that support effective problem solving. We test whether prompting for these behaviors at inference time narrows the gap, across seven conditions varying chain-of-thought, instruction and reasoning language, and cognitive-behavior descriptions, on two models, three languages. We find that English-scaffolded reasoning is the strongest single strategy on both models, closing the Hindi gap on Qwen, though the explicit scaffold's value over plain chain-of-thought is model-dependent. Beyond aggregate …