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Manufacturing Collapse: American Power And The Dissolution Of The Federal Republic Of Yugoslavia, Jonah Michael Hillmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This thesis argues that the United States systematically worked to destabilize the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and initiate regime change through economic sanctions, propaganda campaigns, funding of political opposition movements, and the facilitation of NATO bombing campaigns. Through an examination of recently declassified U.S. government documents, National Security Council briefings, and diplomatic correspondence, a more complicated reality of U.S. involvement in Yugoslavia emerges. Evidence reveals that the Clinton Administration leveraged the real humanitarian crisis in Kosovo to advance post-Cold War strategic interests, particularly the political and economic unification of Europe under NATO. Organized into three thematic chapters: Militaristic Involvement, Economic …

American Heresiology: Exclusionary Rhetoric In The Development Of Early Christian And Rabbinic Jewish Identity, And The Polarizing Narratives That Inform Contemporary Religio-Political Discourse In The United States, Taylor Cripe '26

Honor Scholar Theses

Emerging from the highly diverse religious landscape of second-century Judea, Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism did not arise organically as separate religious categories but were deliberately formed into theologically distinct groups. Writers of a genre of religious literature called heresiology engaged in the exercise of defining their traditions by the process of identifying theological alternatives, establishing orthodoxy by determining and repudiating possible heresies. Their effort in the second century to establish these religious categories by the explicit identification of the theological boundaries around them evidences the intentional creativity involved in the initial development of these familiar religious categories. The self-definitions created …

Musical Meaning In Koshkin, Kyle Edward Pieczynski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate how to analyze musical topoi (topics) and use them to inform interpretive decision making. This study focuses on the solo guitar compositions of Nikita Koshkin, including complete analyses of Usher Waltz, Fall of Birds, and Merlin’s Dream. The method for research uses foundational work by Charles S. Peirce and Ferdinand de Saussure for its approach to semiotics. It references Leonard Ratner, Janice Dickensheets, and Jessica Narum for examples and definitions of topics in the classical, romantic, and modern stylistic periods. The essay succeeds in its goal by identifying topics commonly used by …

Roots: A Recording Project Of Cello Repertoire Based On Global Folk Traditions, Christine Sears

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Roots is an audio recording project that represents cello repertoire based on global folk traditions. It acknowledges the value of varied musical styles and influences in an effort to increase awareness and inspire more performances of music from these traditions. Some of the works in this project lack accessible recordings for other performers to reference, and this project is meant to help bridge that gap. I chose five pieces for the recording portion, each by a composer representing a different geographical location and cultural background. The selected works are Folk Suite for Solo Cello by Daniel Delaney, Variations on a …

Balancing Act: The Impact Of Feminine Expression, Name, Image And Likeness (Nil) On The Mental Health Of Female College Athletes, Sedaria Lanora Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Female college athletes navigate multi-faceted pressures at the intersection of gender, race, finances, and athletic identity. However, their lived experiences remain understudied. This qualitative study examined how feminine expression and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) financial pressures intersected to impact the mental health of Division I female college athletes. Guided by a hermeneutic phenomenological framework and grounded in Brewer et al.’s (1993) Athletic Identity Theory and Crenshaw’s (1989) Intersectionality Theory, data was collected through semi-structured virtual interviews with eight participants representing a range of sports and racial backgrounds. The thematic analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase model which yielded …

Book Review Of International Faculty In East Asian Higher Education: Theory And Reality, Xixi Zhang Ph.D.

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Barriers To Secure Research Funding In Japanese Universities: The Case Of Foreign Early Career Academics In Humanities And Social Sciences, Qianran Wang

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Many Japanese universities are actively promoting globalization in higher education by recruiting more foreign academics. The reduction of government funding results in a need to secure external funding. Foreign early-career academics in Japan, with language and cultural barriers, are facing bigger challenges in securing external research funding. This study focuses on foreign early-career academics in the humanities and social sciences, who represent a significant proportion of foreign academics in Japanese universities. The purpose of this study is to examine their current research funding situation and difficulties they encounter, and to clarify the support they require. Findings show three key areas …

The Messy Negotiation Of Power, Context, And Self In Constructing A Global Researcher Identity, Punita Lumb

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

The formation of researcher identity is complex and evolves over various experiences, including international fieldwork and research. Especially important to consider is how power dynamics impact the development of researcher identity in the cases of international research between the Global North and Global South. This study uses phenomenological and decolonial approaches to analyze 23 interviews of faculty from India and the United Kingdom who have worked on UK-India research projects in the field of social sciences. Salient themes on how power and being were constructed, challenged, or negotiated by the participants include how researchers locate themselves in the paradigm of …

Voiceless Experiences: Stress And Coping Of International Students With Language Barriers, Junguen Lee, Hongryun Woo, April Nguyen, Melissa Henry

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

International students’ difficulties and unique needs have been increasingly explored in professional literature, reflecting the expanding number of international students enrolling in the United States’ higher education institutions. Language difficulties appear to be the most challenging issue for international students from non-English speaking countries as they become marginalized as a linguistic minority on campus. Few researchers have focused specifically on understanding international students’ experiences of being voiceless due to language barriers, nor have they postulated the nature of their adaptation process. This grounded theory study aimed to investigate international students’ stress and coping experiences with language barriers and develop a …

International Student Transition: An Autoethnographic And Archival Study, Abdulsamad Olajide Yusuf, Jepkorir Rose Chepyator-Thomson

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Within the framework of a globalized university campus, this study investigates the process that an international student goes through while adapting to a new culture. Using autoethnography and archival research methods, this study recounts the personal and lived experiences of a doctoral international student navigating the cultural adjustment contexts of a southeastern public university, providing an understanding of how the challenges and opportunities faced by international students are historicized and located within a broader cultural and social context. This approach includes maintaining a reflexive journal, self-analysis, personal conversations, and analyzing historical records and correspondences, including policy papers, factbooks, and institutional …

Service Abroad: Developing Human Connections And Global Citizenship, Anna Zak

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This grounded theory investigation theorizes how service abroad programs can promote global citizenship development among university students. The analysis of interviews, annotated artifacts, and class assignments delineates the theory that participation in service abroad provides opportunities to form connections to the host community and empathize with people who are different, thereby promoting personal paradigm shifts from caring about the self to caring about the collective. Service offers an entry point into a host community that enables students to embrace a wider global perspective, form a better understanding of social justice, experience profound personal growth, as well as develop human connections …

A College Choice Model For Chinese International Undergraduate Students Studying In The U.S., Ian D. Baker, Seyoung Hong

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Students hailing from China now represent the largest single international undergraduate student population on college campuses in the United States (U.S). We advance a theoretical model to better conceptualize the college choice process of Chinese international undergraduate students. Utilizing Hossler and Gallagher’s (1987) college choice model as a foundation, our model theorizes that the college choice process for Chinese international undergraduate students can be understood as the combination of three distinct phases: predisposition, search, and choice. Our research advances the scholarly literature by positing a conceptual model of college choice for one of the largest international student populations in the …

Jcihe Vol. 18(2) 2026, Rosalind Latiner Raby

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Beauty In The Ai Of The Beholder: Exploring Human And Machine Assessment Of Creative Work, Melissa Clark

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Translation Quality As A Cue: Effects On Fair Price Perceptions And The Moderating Role Of Consumer Traits, Chiara Marinelli, Marco Balzano, Guido Bortoluzzi

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

No Hablo Español, But My Students Do: A Self-Study To Understanding How Teacher Positionality And Experiences Manifest In Pedagogy And Praxis, Kaitlyn E. Herling

Education Doctorate Dissertations

As a middle school science teacher in a predominantly Hispanic classroom, I explore how my positionality as a White female educator and my experiences both inside and outside the classroom shape my teaching practices. This study examines the integration of culturally based teaching practices into the science classroom. By reflecting on my positionality, curriculum choices, and pedagogical methods, I aim to better understand how to create a more inclusive and engaging learning environment that resonates with my students’ cultural backgrounds. Through self-study and narrative inquiry, this research highlights the importance of connecting students’ lived experiences with academic content to foster …

Lexical Selection And New Word Formation In Apex Legends, Genevieve Dickerson

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This research observes the use of language within FPS gaming. Data was collected by solo queuing into the battle royale FPS, Apex Legends, and analyzing the way the player group develops different verbiage to meet the communication needs of the game. Four forms of word-formation mechanisms were observed: compounding (hitbox), borrowing (heaven), noun-verb conversion (spawn), and new-word formation (int-ing). This work supports the hypothesis that the lexical formations which are most-opted for within these games result from noun-verb conversion, due to the fact that these formations are typically monosyllabic and thus more efficient within time-sensitive gameplay. This research explores …

Entiscum Yrfe Ealdniflunga: Meter And Poetic Style In Tolkien’S Old English Attila, Galen Miller-Atkins

Journal of Tolkien Research

Tolkien famously wrote several poems in Old English and Gothic; however, these remain understudied for their philological and poetic qualities relative to his modern English poetic corpus. In the Old English Poem of Attila Tolkien adapts the Old Norse poem Atlakviða into Old English. This essay analyzes the meter and poetic techniques in Old English Poem of Attila, especially in relation to the closely related, Eddic poem Atlakviða. The Old English Poem of Attila exhibits verse patterns and vocabulary from the Old Norse original, but it is firmly rooted in the Old English poetic tradition. Tolkien deliberately blends …

The Association Of Having Physician Parents With Medical Students’ Intention To Pursue Ophthalmology: An Aamc Analysis, Shamila Ladak, Anam Akhlaq, Rahel M. Imru, Laura K. Green, Ambar Faridi, Grace Sun,, Fasika A. Woreta

Journal of Academic Ophthalmology

Background: Having a physician parent may influence a medical students’ career choices. However, limited data exists regarding the relationship between having a physician parent and medical students’ intention to pursue ophthalmology, which remains a highly competitive specialty.

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of physician parents among U.S. medical students intending to pursue ophthalmology and identify associated demographic and socioeconomic factors.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using deidentified data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Graduation Questionnaire (GQ) administered between 2016 and 2022. Chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression were used to examine associations …

Impact Of Letter Writers On Ophthalmology Residency Match Success, Simran Ohri, Iden Amiri, Daniel E Rubinstein, Alice Yang Zhang

Journal of Academic Ophthalmology

Background: Ophthalmology residency applications have surged in recent years, and with USMLE Step 1 now evaluated on a pass/fail basis, program directors increasingly rely on subjective metrics. Letters of recommendation (LOR) offer valuable insight into applicants’ interpersonal skills and are among the most important selection factors. This study investigates how characteristics of LOR writers influence residency match outcomes.

Purpose: To examine how the characteristics of LOR writers affect success in the ophthalmology residency match.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of San Francisco (SF) Match application data for United States allopathic seniors from 2023 and 2024. Reapplicants, international medical graduates, …

Exploring Gender Bias In Ophthalmology Clerkship Evaluations: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Student And Evaluator Interactions, Anagh Kulkarni, Jullia A. Rosdahl

Journal of Academic Ophthalmology

Background: Although the proportion of female medical trainees has grown in recent years, disparities related to sex and gender persist, especially among students and physicians in surgical specialties. With clinical evaluations increasingly influencing residency selection, understanding potential gender bias is essential to fostering equity in ophthalmology training.

Purpose: To investigate potential gender bias in ophthalmology clerkship evaluations by examining both quantitative scores and narrative feedback for second- and fourth-year medical students, with attention to the influence of student and evaluator gender.

Methods: This was a retrospective mixed-methods study analyzing 643 ophthalmology clerkship evaluations from the Duke University …

Federated Learning With Deep Learning: A Comprehensive Survey, Sarah H. Mnkash, Faiz A. Alawy, Israa T. Ali

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Federated Learning (FL) introduces a decentralized machine learning paradigm where model training occurs directly on user devices, ensuring data privacy by keeping sensitive information local. This approach ensures data privacy and security by keeping all sensitive or personally identifiable information local to the device, thereby eliminating the need to transfer or centralize raw data. In this survey, we examine federated deep learning — its challenges, recent developments, application domains, privacy preservation strategies, and future trends. We will give some primitive reference papers of the heterogeneity of statistics and systems, communication cost, fairness, and trust. Applications in health, Internet of Things …

Barriers And Facilitators To Lung Cancer Screening In Arab/Middle Eastern And North African (Mena) Communities, Sara Komaiha, Mustafa Sharba, Ahmad Dulli, Faten Abda, Rawan Antar, Dana Sunbulli, Jad Fawaz, Ragad Almsaddi, Jawad Saad, Yasmin Snounu, Morhaf Al Achkar

Medical Student Research Symposium

Background: Lung cancer remains the second most prevalent cancer worldwide, with an estimated 2.21 million new cases in 2025. Screening rates for colorectal and cervical cancers are consistently lower among Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) populations compared to White populations, suggesting similarly low participation in lung cancer screening (LCS). This study explores multilevel determinants of LCS engagement.

Methods: Using the Socio-Ecological Model and the Health Belief Model frameworks, this qualitative study examines how individual, interpersonal, and community factors shape screening behaviors. Screening-eligible adults and key LCS stakeholders, including clinicians, administrators, and community leaders, are recruited for focus groups and …

Outreach Challenges And Strategies For Educating Arab/Mena Community On Colorectal Cancer Screening, Rawan Antar, Faten Abda, Dana Sunbulli, Ahmad Dulli, Mustafa Sharba, Sara Komaiha, Jad M. Fawaz, Ragad Almsaddi, Jawad Saad, Yasmin Snounu, Morhaf Al Achkar

Medical Student Research Symposium

Background: Arab/MENA communities in Michigan face unique cultural, linguistic, and structural barriers that contribute to lower colorectal cancer (CRC) screening awareness and uptake. “Trimming the Risks” was a community-engaged educational project designed to reach Arabic-speaking men through trusted social spaces, particularly barbershops, and through community-based Lunch and Learn sessions. This project assesses engagement patterns from this initiative to identify effective strategies and challenges to improve future MENA engagement.

Methods: Our educational initiative implemented two main interventions. Pilot A trained barbers on CRC screening information through a structured 2-hour session, provided iPads with bilingual educational videos, and equipped barbers to guide …

Patient-Provider Communication Among Deaf English Users: Disparities And Implications For Cancer Screening, Ciara Luttrell

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

Early detection is one of medicine's powerful tools; routine cancer screenings can help diagnose cancer early and enable immediate treatment. Cancer screening and prevention efforts have accounted for 4.75 million (80%) cancer deaths averted between 1975 and 2020 for five major cancer types (NIH, 2025). Nevertheless, this powerful tool is not shared equally. Many deaf adults who use English still experience barriers and disparities. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to investigate how deaf English-using individuals in the United States interact with their healthcare providers and whether these interactions are associated with cancer screening interest among these populations. The …

Relational Histories: Exploring The Transmission Of Ceramic Technology In The Norton Sound Region Through Petrographic Analysis, Laurel Michelle Diciuccio

Dissertations and Theses

Ceramic technology in the Bering Strait region of the North American Arctic dates to approximately 2,500 BP and is broadly divided into two traditions: the Early Arctic (Norton, pre-1,500 BP) and the Late Arctic (Thule, post-1,500 BP). While Arctic ceramic studies have focused on raw material sourcing, vessel use, and cooking performance, this research investigates forming methods and ceramic fabrics to better understand their place in the technological behavioral chain. This approach fills a gap in the literature by centering on vessel construction and offers new insights from Norton Sound sites, including type sites Iyatayet and Nukleet.

Macroscopic and petrographic …

The Myth Of The Immigrant As A Criminal: Rhetoric, Otherness, And The Legal Construction Of Danger, Katerina Fernandez

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

The figure of the “criminal immigrant” occupies a central place in contemporary U.S. immigration discourse, shaping public perception, enforcement priorities, and legal doctrine. Yet a substantial body of empirical research consistently demonstrates that immigrants—both documented and undocumented—commit crimes at lower rates than native-born citizens. This Note examines why the narrative of immigrant criminality persists despite this evidence and how it influences the development and operation of immigration law. It argues that “immigrant” functions not only as a legal category but also as a socially constructed marker of Otherness, encompassing perceived differences in race, language, culture, and religion. Through this lens, …

The Expanding Digital Border: Ai, Surveillance, And The Fight For Justice, James Chesser

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

As artificial intelligence transforms the mechanisms of immigration control, the modern border has become a digital filter—one governed less by geography and more by code. This Article examines the legal, technical, and ethical implications of AI-driven systems now central to global border enforcement, including biometric surveillance, algorithmic risk scoring, and predictive profiling. It explores how states use these technologies not only to manage irregular migration, but to compete for global talent—constructing migration regimes that reward capital and compliance while eroding transparency, due process, and equality.

Through an international and comparative lens, the piece highlights the expansion of algorithmic decision-making across …

Review Of Christian Conversion And Mission: A Brief Cultural History. By Andrew F. Walls., Misael Cornelio

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A review of Christian Conversion and Mission: A Brief Cultural History. By Andrew F. Walls.

The Modern Shift In The Roman Catholic Understanding Of Speaking In Tongues, John Gresham

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Over the course of the twentieth century, the Roman Catholic understanding of speaking in tongues shifted from viewing the gift as always and exclusively xenolalia (infused knowledge of foreign languages) to a view of tongues as primarily glossolalia (inspired praise not in any known human language). This theological shift is reflected in standard Catholic reference works and in the ordinary teachings of the Catholic magisterium. This shift was a result of Catholic acceptance of historical-critical study of Scripture, a new understanding of charisms, ecumenical openness to the gifts of other Christian traditions, and most significantly, the rise of the Charismatic …