Digital Commons Network^™

A Content Analysis Of Emotional Valence And Engagement In Youtube Comments, Lydia Britton '27

Student Research

This study investigated the relationship between YouTube comment participation and emotional valence. We hypothesized that highly negative-valenced comments would generate higher engagement (likes and replies), based on prior research showing that emotionally intense content drives interaction. Fifty comments from ten popular videos across five categories (shopping, music, gaming, news, and sports) were analyzed using linguistic indicators (language and emojis) and intensifiers (capitalization, exclamation points, profanity). Each comment was assigned a dominant valence and a Likert scale rating. Engagement was measured by likes per view and replies per view. Results showed a negative correlation between emotional valence and replies. Despite trending …

So All Students Learn And Thrive: An Improvecrit Analysis Of A School’S Multi-Tiered System Of Supports, Rebekah Kang

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) is an integrated K-12 educational framework that addresses the needs of all students in a systematic way by focusing on prevention and the implementation of evidence-based practices (California Department of Education, 2023). The “Guide to Implementing California’s Multi-Tiered System of Support” (Orange County Department of Education, 2023) promotes the maxim “All Means All” which paints a picture of schooling where all students are receiving the supports they need to learn and succeed. However, critical MTSS researchers have argued that MTSS failed to address the needs of all students, especially students of color, because it did …

Assessing College Tuition And Wage Prospects For Careers In Archaeology, Angelina H. Gutierrez

Honors Capstones

The pressures of rising college tuition are raising questions about whether a degree in higher education is worth the return on investment in today's society and economy. This study aims to acknowledge the issues of affording college and the opportunities granted in the face of college wealth premiums from the perspective of the field of archaeology. The college wealth premium is understood as additionalopportunities and increased salaries offered to those with a degree in higher education compared to those without. Using the Midwestern United States as a case study, I discuss the gender/race wage gap, college debt, loan inequity, and …

The Influence Of Digital Audit Capability On Tax Compliance In Tanzania, Henry Zeno Chalu, Daudi Deokari Mtena

Business Management Review

The research evaluates the effects of digital audit capacity on tax compliance in Tanzania, focusing on challenges such as tax avoidance and administrative inefficiency. It applies the Task-Technology Fit Theory and Deterrence Theory in tax audit to examine the relationship between digital audit capability and tax compliance. The findings show that digital audit capability has significantly enhanced tax compliance through data integrity, security, and analytical capability. These features minimize misreporting, secure financial information, and build trust while uncovering predictive insights. The current study also has implications for tax policy by highlighting the promise of digital audit capability in enhancing both …

Communication Through Connection And Identity: Songwriting With People Living With Dementia, Sean Connolly

Expressive Therapies Theses

Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative condition associated with significant changes in communication, which can have profound effects on an individual’s autonomy, self-identity and quality of life. Rising global dementia rates underscore the urgent need to address these issues and expand approaches to care. This literature review examines current research on songwriting methods in music therapy for those living with dementia and investigates how songwriting might support communication for that population. The review explores a variety of music-based approaches, including both neurologic and music-centered frameworks, and highlights a range of songwriting techniques. The findings suggest that songwriting may facilitate communication beyond …

A Socio-Computational Framework For Understanding Information Campaigns Through A Collective Action Perspective, Sayantan Bhattacharya

Theses and Dissertations

In a time when social media significantly influences public dialogue, grasping the elements that contribute to the success of information campaigns has become vital for understanding modern social movements and political engagement. This dissertation explores the essential factors that affect the efficacy of information campaigns across digital platforms, addressing a notable gap in existing research that frequently neglects the systematic connection between information spread and outcomes of collective action. Instead of viewing these as distinct phenomena, this study constructs an integrated framework that highlights three crucial dimensions of successful information campaigns: the human factor, which emphasizes the role of influential …

The Impact Of The Science Of Reading Initiative On Reading Test Scores Among Rural Elementary Students In Arkansas, Julie A. Ferguson

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

This study examines changes in reading achievement among rural elementary students in Arkansas following the statewide implementation of the Science of Reading initiative. Beginning in 2019, Arkansas required educators in kindergarten through sixth grade to receive training in evidence‑based literacy practices emphasizing phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Despite these efforts, rural districts continue to face challenges related to staffing, access to professional development, and instructional resources, raising questions about whether statewide reforms have produced measurable improvements in reading outcomes.

Using a quantitative, longitudinal, quasi‑experimental design, this study analyzes ACT Aspire reading assessment data collected from rural Arkansas schools …

Pedagogy In Context: How Private School Teachers Make Meaning Of Equity-Focused Teaching Practices, Savannah Shana Scarborough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This pedagogical ethnography examines how teachers in a private school context understand and enact Culturally Relevant Education (CRE). While CRE emphasizes cultural competence and critical consciousness, less is known about how it is interpreted within private school settings, where institutional culture and community expectations shape pedagogy. This study explores how teachers engage culturally relevant commitments and how institutional context influences those practices.

A qualitative ethnographic design was used to examine classroom practice in a South Carolina private school. Data was collected through observations, semi-structured interviews, and teacher reflections from four Upper School teachers selected through purposive sampling. Analysis combined deductive …

The Curtains Aren’T Just Blue: The Decline Of Media Literacy Within Pop-Culture, Kaia Divisconti

Honors Theses

This paper explores the relationship between the growing belief that media like film, television and advertisements “aren’t that deep” and the decline of English departments within education. This study explores how pillars of English departments, like analysis and rhetorical awareness, are pivotal for students to learn to understand the vast number of digital media that they are faced with every day. Through pop-culture moments of American Eagle “good genes” advertisement campaign, media trends like “red pill” content and stereotypical representation in film, this paper examines how this content is pushed onto students and how departments like English and humanities can …

Task-Based Language Teaching For Afghans Resettled In The United States Since 2021: Meeting Integration And Employment Needs, Madison E. Wilhelm

Senior Honors Theses

In the aftermath of the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the United States military evacuated tens of thousands of Afghans, many of whom were resettled in the United States. This population has faced many challenges in their resettlement, including barriers to language learning and difficulty finding skilled employment. There is great diversity within this population, including individuals with limited schooling and those with valuable employment skills.

This integrative literature review explores how Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) can be used as a strategy for Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) with the post-2021 Afghan population in the United States. It …

Exploration Of Ai-Based Method Feedback For Clinical Psychology Skill Development With An Emphasis On Deliberate Practice, Beckham G. Mccord

Honors Theses

Training competent psychotherapists requires substantial time, supervision, and performance-based feedback. However, traditional methods of providing feedback are resource-intensive and difficult to sustain outside of university and research settings. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have created new opportunities to automate aspects of psychotherapy fidelity assessment and provide trainees with more frequent feedback. The present study examines the implementation of Lyssn, an AI-based psychotherapy platform that provides clinical feedback to therapists, in a graduate-level course on Evidence-Based Services. Multiple years of course data were reviewed to evaluate therapist competence, therapist behaviors, and student engagement with AI-generated feedback. Particular emphasis was placed …

Pop Prophets: How Celebrity Culture Shapes Gen Z'S Worldview, Olivia G. Usie

Honors Theses

Generation Z has grown up in a social environment shaped by constant connectivity, digital communication, and immediate access to the lives of others. Because of this, celebrity culture and pop culture may play a larger role in shaping attitudes, behaviors, and identity than they did for previous generations. This study explores how celebrity culture shapes Gen Z’s worldview through four areas: pop culture, celebrity, herd mentality, and cancel culture.

A mixed-method approach was used. Quantitative data was collected through a 28-question survey of 202 participants ages 18–25. Qualitative data was gathered through one focus group of eight participants and three …

A Study On Community And Technical College Students' Identification Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Cynthia J. Carow Schiebe

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether students could identify culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) and, to what extent, in a community or technical college classroom where a set of goals and strategies had been established to guide methodology. Previous research on CRP traditionally focused on the educators’ or administrators’ interpretation of what students had learned when CRP was used as a methodology to reduce the opportunity gap. Students in classrooms where CRP was used were able to identify content that was aligned with their needs and wants, bring their own lives into the class without fear, balance their …

Reducing Emergency Department Overuse Through Patient Education, Maddie Pieper, Joshua Heuertz

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects: College of Nursing

Background/Introduction

Emergency departments (EDs) are designed to provide rapid evaluation and management of acute, life-threatening, and time-sensitive conditions. However, EDs are frequently used for nonemergent or low-acuity concerns that could be managed in primary care or urgent care settings. This overuse contributes to rising healthcare costs, resource strain, longer wait times, and overcrowding. Underserved populations may rely more heavily on ED services because of barriers such as limited primary care access, language differences, low health literacy, restrictive work schedules, transportation challenges, and difficulty navigating the healthcare system. These factors can make the ED seem the most accessible source of care. …

Countering Negative Language Attitudes: Adopting A Critical Multidialectal Approach To Language Teaching, Farah Ali, Kristen Terry, Rebecca Pozzi, Chelsea Escalante, Tracy Quan, Xinye Zhang

Global Language Studies Faculty publications

Language attitudes have been recognized as an important area of study in sociolinguistic research (Evans & Preston, 2023; Preston, 2013), and the consequences of prescriptive ideologies and negative attitudes toward non-privileged varieties extend to language instruction. These ideologies regard certain uses of the language as unacceptable if they diverge from what is considered the “standard” variety, established through linguistic imperialism and a colonial heritage (Benaglia & Smith, 2022) and perpetuated by linguistic authorities. Adherence to a prescriptive perspective without questioning its ideological and discriminatory function leads to the reproduction of a “deficit perspective”, in which those who use alternative varieties …

Uncertain Roads, Resilient Journey: At The Intersection Of Love, Wealth, And Undocumentedness Lies A Critical Examination Of Career Development Challenges And Aspirations, Daniel Caballero

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Undocumented college students in the United States graduate with degrees in hand, but face a labor market that, for many, remains legally inaccessible. Despite growing enrollment across higher education institutions, this student population continued to navigate career development in the near minimal institutional support designed for their specific circumstances. This qualitative study examined how career services at small private liberal arts colleges responded to the needs of undocumented students, particularly those without Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA; Napolitano, 2012), as they navigated career development during and after college (Kantamneni, Dharmalingam, et al., 2016; Kantamneni, Shada, et al., 2016; Morales …

Listen To Your Parents: An Exploration Into Why Mississippi Foster Parents Enter, Stay In, And Exit The System, Howell D. Jenkins Iii

Honors Theses

Like many states across the country, Mississippi’s foster care system has faced a shrinking pool of foster parents to care for the state’s most vulnerable children. When states do not have adequate numbers of foster parents, children are susceptible to negative outcomes such as developmental delays, broken attachments with adults, and extended stays in the system. This thesis seeks to understand what motivates individuals to become foster parents, how they experience the system, and what pressures influence their decision to remain fostering or close their doors. To place this research within the appropriate contexts, the thesis draws on literature from …

Beyond The Bug: How The Covid-19 Pandemic Exposed Longstanding Systemic Failures In The United States Workforce And Economy, Abbey M. Markley

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and discuss how longstanding systemic failures in the United States exacerbated the effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on the American economy, essential healthcare workers, and overall public trust in institutions. A review of the existing literature surrounding this topic and the subsequent results of various studies were used to compose this thesis. The United States has a painful lack of worker protections and tends to view members of its workforce as expendable, even in times such as pandemic when they are deemed essential. Healthcare workers in particular faced increasing threats to their …

Hospitalidad Sin Barreras: A Place-Based Approach To Resource Accessibility For Immigrant Communities In North Mississippi, Jackelyn Facio

Honors Theses

This project examines barriers to resource access for Spanish-speaking immigrant communities in Lafayette County, Mississippi. Using a place-based community engagement approach, the project incorporates mixed methods to produce a resource guide for Spanish- speaking immigrants in Lafayette County. Findings showed that access is shaped not only by available services, but also by interconnected barriers such as language, fragmented information systems, and concerns related to trust and safety. These barriers discourage individuals from interacting with formal institutions, resulting in a reliance on informal information networks. In response to the data collected from area residents, the project sought to centralize community input …

Unequal Paths: Experiences Navigating The U.S. Naturalization Process And The Role Of Education, Cecilia Rayburn

Honors Theses

This study examines how educational attainment shapes immigrants’ experiences with the U.S. naturalization process, with a focus on how education influences confidence, access to resources, and the ability to manage bureaucratic demands. While the legal requirements for naturalization are standardized, the ability to navigate them varies widely across individuals. Applicants’ experiences reveal that the U.S. naturalization process is often more complex and unequal than it may appear. This research was conducted through five semi-structured interviews with naturalized citizens of varying levels of higher education. These interviews explored participants’ experiences with the application process, including their preparedness, access to support systems, …

Esports Cosmopolitan Canopy, Reice Hicks

Honors Theses

This thesis concerns the area of sociology. Specifically, it is a sociological study of a community on Ole Miss’s campus and how they form what is known within the sociology field as a “cosmopolitan canopy,” a term coined by Elijah Anderson. Using this term, I proceed to prove not only how the Ole Miss Esports club falls under this jurisdiction, but the effects of esports on the youth as a whole, both positive and negative. All of my data was extracted via literature review, online research, note-taking, visual observation, and one-on-one interviews with people involved with the club. The entire …

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (Ai) To Strengthen Mtss Within Catholic Schools, Kaitlin D. Reichart, Adam B. Lockwood, Jessica Pizzute (Kukura)

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

Many Catholic schools face resource challenges that result in limitations surrounding the implementation of multi-tiered systems and support (MTSS). Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a potential tool for Catholic schools to strengthen systems of support. This article provides a conceptual analysis regarding opportunities for AI to strengthen core components of MTSS, such as identifying evidence-based interventions, developing progress monitoring tools, analyzing student data, and facilitating personalized instruction. The article also discusses the challenges and limitations of leveraging AI within Catholic schools, specifically when supporting staff and students. Although the article is focused on US contexts, there are conceptual implications that may …

Beyond The Ivory Tower: Perceptions, Practices, And The Institutionalization Of Community Engagement At St. Augustine University Of Tanzania, Delphine Kessy

Journal of Management for Global Sustainability

This qualitative study provides a comprehensive analysis of academic staff perceptions and practices of community engagement (CE) at the Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT). Framed by Boyer’s theory of the scholarship of application and contemporary models of university engagement, both a descriptive, cross-sectional survey design and thematic analysis of open-ended responses from 14 academic departments at SAUT were used, with a total of 35 participants informing this study. The findings revealed a robust, practice-driven understanding of CE as a collaborative and reciprocal partnership, widely regarded as a core university function alongside teaching and research. Staff reported a rich spectrum …

Dictionary Of A Vietnamese-American* Borderland, Ngọc Hải Nguyễn '26

Senior Scholarly and Creative Symposium

This project, composed of a contextualising research paper and an autoethnographical writing creative component, explores the conceptualisation of Anzaldúa's (2021) borderlands by applying to the author's own experience as a Vietnamese-native student growing up along multiple cultural points of inquiry (primarily the American culture). The core research question of this paper is What does it mean to be at the crossroads of many cultures? In the research paper, the author first contextualises the current discourse on borderlands, along with a justification for their usage of storytelling as a mode of inquiry. The author implements a framework theorised through Loveless (2019) …

Paternalism Under The Guise Of Partnership: How Modern Treaties In Canada Fall Short In Building Nation-To-Nation Relationships Between Indigenous Governments And The Crown, Maci Clements

Culture, Society, and Praxis

Indigenous nations in Canada have an inherent right to self-determination of their governments and traditional territory; however, how best to implement and ensure this right remains up for debate within Indigenous scholarship. In contrast to such debates, the Canadian State boasts the modern treaty process as the apex tool of Indigenous self-governance, permitting legitimate nation-to-nation relationship building. In this paper, I use an Indigenous feminist analytical framework to investigate if the negotiation and arrangement of existing modern treaties successfully accomplish the goal of creating a nation-to-nation partnership between Indigenous nations and the Crown. Following a critical reading of the modern …

The Manifestation Of George Orwell’S 1984 In The Legal Profession’S Use Of Ai, Alexa Cedras

NSU Undergraduate Law Journal

George Orwell’s 1984 tells the chilling story of an oppressive regime that uses information control and manipulation to further its political agenda. Within the realm of 1984, the Party, the head of the regime, weaponizes instruments, such as a telescreen, to subject citizens to ongoing surveillance with the promise that any suspicious activity will be punished. In furtherance of that agenda, the Party controls every existing narrative of the past, present, and future, using their authoritarian position to alter primary and secondary sources for their benefit. Lastly, by creating a new language to serve as a linguistic constraint, the Party …

Supporting Multilingual Learners’ Reading Comprehension Through Explicit Instruction In Oral Language, Vocabulary, And Comprehension Strategies, Bailey Groat

Masters Projects

Multilingual learners in the United States consistently underperform in reading comprehension compared to monolingual peers, which is due to limited oral language proficiency and academic vocabulary. This academic achievement widens across grade levels, which emphasizes the need for instruction that integrates language development with literacy. This project designs an instructional model to support reading comprehension in upper elementary classrooms through explicit instruction, academic vocabulary, and structured oral opportunities. This project is grounded in the theories of sociolinguistic and social constructivist theories. Additionally, this project includes low-preperation and practical materials for general education teachers. Although this project has not been implemented, …

What History Shows: A Structural Account Of Fixed-Point Theory Formation, Griselda Poe

Publications and Research

Theory generation has long been subsumed under categories such as creativity, genius, and innovation. These categories do not distinguish assembly-based conceptual synthesis from fixed-point theory generation.

This paper makes that distinction explicit. The termination condition of assembly is external: data, citation, endorsement, usability. The termination condition of fixed-point theory generation is internal: consistency with internally held constraints, resolution of structural contradiction. The two operate under different processing conditions.

The historical record confirms this distinction. What Darwin, Einstein, Spinoza, and Kant produced was not assembly. Their processes involved unresolved branch retention and decomposition necessity, arriving at internally constrained fixed-point termination. Freud …

Health Disparities In Pediatric Epilepsy: A Narrative Review Of Barriers To Equitable Care, Nikhila Archakam, Akhila Archakam, Wesley Kim, Harshal Parmar

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Epilepsy affects approximately 1% of children in the United States, representing over 456,000 pediatric patients with active seizure disorders. Despite advances in antiseizure medications and surgical interventions, the benefits of these developments are not distributed equally across racial, socioeconomic, and geographic groups. A narrative review of the literature was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Medline using search terms including "pediatric epilepsy," "health disparities," "health equity," "social determinants of health," "race," "socioeconomic status," and "access to care." Articles were included if they focused on pediatric populations aged 0 to 17, addressed at least one disparity domain, and were published between …

Left Waiting: Pediatric Primary Care Access For Hispanic Children In Mixed Status Households In South Jersey, Renzovic Francisco Escobedo, Andrea Trifundo, Ayair Hernandez

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

BACKGROUND: High-quality primary care is essential to a strong health system, yet many Hispanic children in mixed-status households face barriers that limit consistent access to pediatric care. In New Jersey, many immigrant families remain uninsured or under-enrolled in public insurance programs despite eligibility. These barriers are shaped not only by insurance and clinic availability, but also by language discordance, fear related to immigration status, and limited trust in the health care system. This project examines the intersecting barriers that affect pediatric primary care access for Hispanic children in mixed-status households in South Jersey.

METHODS: We conducted a literature review using …