Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating Learning In Immersive Virtual Reality, Andrew Negrette

Master's Theses

Students often struggle with learning challenging subjects throughout their education. This also tends to lead to lower enjoyment and science self-efficacy for learning. Some subjects may be better represented in 3-dimensional spaces utilizing immersive virtual reality (IVR). Recently, IVR headsets have become more accessible and affordable and therefore are in wider use. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether differences in science selfefficacy, enjoyment, presence and knowledge retention exist between IVR and controls on an ocean acidification lesson. I predicted that participants taking the lesson in IVR would score higher compared to a laptop on all measures, due …

Interpretable Wellness Prediction From Passive Wearable Sensor Data Using Large Language Models, Cheng-Huan Yu

Master's Theses

This thesis presents a unified framework for multi-target wellness prediction using passive wearable sensor data and large language models (LLMs). The study integrates two complementary paradigms: prompt-based regression and representation-driven classification. In the first stage, structured wearable representations derived from daily physiological signals are used to prompt LLMs to predict stress, fatigue, sleep quality, and readiness. Two input representations are evaluated: statistical summaries and hybrid inputs combining statistical summaries with raw sensor values. To improve interpretability and prediction consistency, the second stage introduces a representation-centric classification framework in which wearable signals and wellness targets are discretized into categorical levels. Multiple …

Monoids With K-Strictly Local Geodesic Languages, William M. Hong

Master's Theses

A paper by Gilman, Hermiller, Holt and Rees (2011) prove that a group G finitely generated by X is virtually free if and only if the language of geodesics words in G over X is k-strictly local if and only if the word problem is context-free. If M is a monoid finitely generated by X, we define Γu(M,X) to be the underlying, undirected graph of Γ(M,X). We prove that if the language of geodesics in Γu(M,X) based at the identity is k-strictly local, then the monoid and semi-group word problems are context-free.

Teachers' Perspectives: Literacy Recommendations For Newcomers With Limited Language Proficiency, Rachel Edmunds

Theses and Dissertations

Although multilingual literacy instruction has expanded in recent years, less is known about how teachers can support newcomers with limited language proficiency in Grades 4-6. This gap is significant as many teachers report feeling underprepared to meet the needs of their multilingual learners, especially those with limited language proficiency. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the literacy practices and strategies that teachers found effective when working with students who are multilingual newcomers with limited language proficiency (NLLPs) in Spanish and English in Grades 4-6 along with their implementation experiences. Drawing from Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, this qualitative study …

Mountains And Mythology: Folklore In The Alps, Arya Karki

Honors Projects

From nature spirits to secret doorways, an air of mystery and magic surrounds the mountains of Austria. All over the world, mountain ranges inspire rich folklore, each set of tales unique to its respective culture. The purpose of this Honors Project is to answer the question: how does mountain-inspired folklore mirror cultural values and fears? A comparative analysis between Austrian Alpine and American Appalachian folktales is conducted in order to isolate the variables that cause folklore to differ region-to-region. Through research consisting of primary-source folklore anthologies, secondary texts on mountain theory, and direct observation from a study abroad experience, this …

"Girl I'Ll Figure It Out": First-Generation Women Of Color Navigating Higher Education, Prisilla Cortez

Dissertations

This qualitative study focused on understanding the experiences of first-generation women of color at a California public four-year institution and how their intersecting identities shape their academic experiences and overall well-being. Women of Color Feminist (Crenshaw, 1991), and intersectionality frameworks guided this study. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, and thematic analysis was used to identify patterns in participants’ experiences. Findings revealed three central themes, collective orientation and familial expectations, faculty interactions and sense of belonging, and institutional resources and access. Participants described navigating higher education while balancing family responsibilities, financial pressures, and academic demands. Although they demonstrated resilience …

Rewriting The Plan: Environmental Justice, Community Resistance, And Governance Power In Hollister, California, Rolan Resendiz

Dissertations

This dissertation examines how community-led resistance in Hollister, California, challenged environmental injustice and infrastructure governance through grassroots civic action. Focusing on the Hollister Guardians, a coalition of primarily Latinx residents who organized in response to concerns about the city’s sewer system, this qualitative case study introduces the Critical Just Sustainability Policy Praxis (CJSPP) framework, developed by integrating Critical Policy Analysis and the Just Sustainability Paradigm with a praxis-oriented focus on community action. Using critical document analysis of city council meeting minutes, local media coverage, and community-authored texts mainly from 2023 to 2025, the study explores how policy discourse, institutional decision-making, …

Addressing The Lack Of Representation Of Hijab-Wearing Teachers Of Color In Education, Feroza Solaiman

Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of hijab-wearing teachers of color in TK–12 public schools in Northern California. Six participants shared perspectives on representation, inclusion, exclusion, and moments of joy within their school communities. The findings highlight that increased representation of teachers of color strengthens educators’ sense of belonging, supports students’ self-esteem, and enhances both teacher and student engagement. Participants emphasized the need for greater awareness of Muslim women’s diverse cultures, languages, celebrations, dietary practices, and professional attire, as well as the importance of challenging single-story narratives through dialogue, understanding, and upstander practices. Inclusive school environments were found to …

The Experiences Of Deaf American Muslims In Their Pursuit And Retention Of Employment, Shukry Mahmood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Deaf American Muslims in the United States face high levels of unemployment. They often experience compounded marginalization at the intersection of disability, religion, and cultural identity, which often leads to exclusion and underrepresentation in employment contexts. The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences while pursuing and retaining employment in the United States of deaf Muslims in United States workplaces. In this qualitative study, a self-designed, semistructured interview protocol with open-ended questions was used to explore these experiences. The sample of 12 participants was selected based on their self-identification as deaf American Muslims with at least 30 …

"A Door To The Future." A Case Study In Exploratory And Culturally Sustaining Theater Curriculum, Verónica Meza

Dissertations

This study addresses the persistent inequities in access to quality arts education for Latino immigrant and linguistically diverse communities in California. Despite progressive initiatives such as Proposition 28 (The Arts and Music in Schools Act) and the California Arts Council's Racial Equity Statement, systemic barriers prevent Latino and immigrant students from benefiting equitably from the arts. The central objective of this project is to understand how an exploratory, culturally sustaining theater curriculum can serve as a transformative and healing vehicle for adult immigrant Latino students, providing emotional protection, cultural affirmation, and language preservation within a U.S. educational context. This qualitative …

Understanding The Impact Of Transfer Orientation Leadership: Student Leader Perspectives At A Mid-Sized California University, Kaci Taylor Turpin

Dissertations

Community college transfer students represent a vital source of diversity for public four-year institutions; at the same time, declining enrollments heighten the need for stronger, more functional transfer pathways between community colleges and four-year universities, especially given the significant vertical transfer gap and the unique barriers transfer students face in student leadership roles. This semi-structured interview study explored the experiential knowledge of 14 first-generation transfer student orientation leaders to understand how they navigate institutional barriers in their on-campus employment. Findings reveal that these leaders navigated institutional barriers by relying on peer networks and drawing heavily on their navigational capital. Furthermore, …

A Literature Study On Collaborative Art Learning In Tasikmalaya Based On Paulo Freire's Pedagogy Of The Oppressed, Wan Ridwan Husen, M. Fahmi Nugraha

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study examines collaborative dialogical learning in art education based on Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy. It aims to explore how the concept of collaboration can be integrated into school-based art learning by utilizing the cultural assets of Tasikmalaya as a contextual framework. This research employs a literature study method by analyzing primary sources, particularly Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, along with secondary literature from academic journals related to critical pedagogy and art education. The analysis focuses on identifying key principles of dialogical learning and their relevance to collaborative practices in art education. The findings indicate that Freire's concept of …

Childbirth Experiences Of The Bangladeshi Immigrant Women In South Florida, Tahsina Ferdous

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This qualitative research was conducted among Bangladeshi immigrant women living in South Florida who have given birth here. Twenty Bangladeshi immigrant women were selected using the snowball sampling method from various cities in South Florida. The unit of analysis was the individual Bangladeshi immigrant woman, focusing on her experiences and behavior during pregnancy and childbirth. Semi-structured interviewing and case study methods were used for data collection. The results reveal the coping strategies and the navigation process of socio-cultural transition from non-mother to mother, and the Bangladeshi traditional views regarding beliefs, rituals, and practices of Bangladeshi immigrant women regarding their pregnancy …

Perceptions Of Speech-Language Therapy Among Generations Of One Mexican-American Family, Sabrina A. Macias

Master's Theses

This research is a modified replication of Salas-Provance et al. (2002) and analyzes the perceptions of speech-language therapy among one Mexican-American family. It investigates opinions about causes of speech-language disorders, for whom speech therapy can be helpful, characteristics and stereotypes about people with hearing and speech disorders, and the influence of education level on such opinions. With the assistance of three family members and two cultural informants, an online survey was developed consisting of demographic factors, Mexican folk and medical beliefs, and potential stereotypes of people with speech, language, and hearing disabilities. Twenty-three family members (response rate = 76.7%) completed …

Communication Innovation: Developing A Bilingual Communication Board Validated By Lawshe’S Cvr, Natalie Palau, Amy Valenta

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Hospitalized families with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) can encounter communication barriers during routine interactions due to limited interpreter access, increasing the risk for adverse events and reducing satisfaction. At a freestanding pediatric hospital neurology unit, 67.3% of nurses reported difficulty communicating basic needs and 60% felt dissatisfaction with current LEP communication methods. To address these challenges and enhance communication, a bilingual communication board, featuring English and Spanish captions alongside illustrative icons, was developed and validated.

Experts, identified as nursing staff and Spanish and English-speaking caregivers, evaluated each icon and caption for clarity and accuracy using a four-point scale. Analysis using …

Judges, Speaking Of Death: Criminal Sentencing As A Socio-Cultural Practice In India’S Trial Courts, Ashna Devaprasad

Socio-Legal Review

What role does language play in legitimising the exercise of judicial discretion during sentencing? And what can a judge’s linguistic choices tell us about the wider sentencing culture of a criminal justice system? Sentencing outcomes have long attracted considerable attention in criminal law scholarship, but the process of sentencing – the logics judges use, the narratives they construct, and the audiences they seek to persuade – has received much less empirical scrutiny. Building on ideas from “law and culture” and organisational sociology literature, this Article proposes studying sentencing as a “socio-cultural” practice; one that qualitatively examines the judicial function of …

Fundamentally Linguistic, John Rosegrant

Mythcon

We know that although Tolkien wrote that his legendarium was “fundamentally linguistic in inspiration. . . To me a name comes first and the story follows”, in fact legendarium content preceded Tolkien’s invention of Elvish languages. I will argue that nevertheless the first part of the quotation is true: the legendarium was fundamentally linguistic in inspiration. Tolkien used symbolic language to access the musical and body-related aspects of language that the symbolic has distanced us from, simultaneously uniting two aspects of our nature while recognizing their inevitable separation. When we as children master the symbolic function of language we lose …

Continuing Christopher Tolkien’S Work In A Digital Age, James K. Tauber

Journal of Tolkien Research

Christopher Tolkien’s 12-volume History of Middle-earth is a remarkable achievement, yet Christopher repeatedly acknowledged how difficult the material was to present in print form and that “that there was no really satisfactory solution”.  This paper contends that a printed book is not scholarship but just one way of presenting its results. It explores how digital philology can overcome some of the limitations of print, giving examples from the Digital Tolkien Project. It shows how structural markup, version alignment, parallel reading environments, and other approaches can make relationships between drafts and published texts clearer. Importantly, these methods do not replace Christopher’s …

Local & Experiential: Exploring Embodied Ethnogeomythology Through Ttrpg, Gregory Fields, Teagan Brady, Dakota Dalota, Claira Hickman, Gina Manygoats, Donovan Mcbride, Ryan Pillmore

Mythcon

The panel will focus on an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach anchored to research applications of AAC&U High Impact Practices in integrative learning, learning communities, place-based writing, project-based learning, and gamification studies (Chou). Framed through a synthesis of ethno-geology and mythology, I developed a collaborative assignment that asked my intro to mythology students to develop their own mythologies based on Arizona specific cultures or geological features and oddities. After conducting their own background research, undergraduate students developed locally-based mythologies that answered at least one of the four big questions of existence. Then, they anchored those mythologies within one of the more readily …

Are Uninterpretable Features Unlearnable? Revisiting The Interpretability Hypothesis In Second Language English Acquisition, Salma Musleh Alqahtani

Journal of Arabic Sciences and Humanities

The Interpretability Hypothesis (IH) predicts that uninterpretable features absent in the L1 become inaccessible in adulthood, whereas Full Access theories maintain that Universal Grammar (UG) remains available. Despite extensive research, it remains unclear whether elevated resumption acceptance in L2 learners reflects a representational deficit or processing-based strategies, and no study has examined the role of working memory in this distinction for Saudi learners. This study tested whether Saudi learners of English show L1 transfer in accepting resumptive pronouns (RPs), grammatical in Arabic but ungrammatical in English, and whether this reflects representational deficits or processing limits. A total of 164 Saudi …

Virtual Reality Communication Training In Health Professions Education: A Multi-Country Evaluation, Mohamad M. Saab, Mark O'Donovan, Irem Koç, Jennifer Kenny, Jan Hrdlička, Jiri Wild, Martin Zielina, Lucie Hrdličková, Katerina Rusinová, Martin Loučka, Aleksandrina Skvortsova, Liesbeth M. Van Vliet, Madelief Medema, Arianne D. Pieterse, Claudia Bausewein, Sabine H. Krauss, Johannes Rosenbruch, Stephanie Stiel, Kambiz Afshar, Malte Klemmt, Vasco Silva-Neves, Salomé Pinho, Ana Carolina Monteiro, Cathy Payne, Irene Hartigan

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: Virtual reality (VR) is transforming nursing and medical education by providing immersive, safe, and realistic environments for developing skills [1-4]. The use of VR for teaching emotionally complex communication, such as delivering bad news, is underexplored [5,6]. This study evaluated the feasibility, usability, acceptability, and satisfaction with VR-based communication training among nursing and medical students and educators in Europe.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted across six universities in five European countries. Two VR scenarios simulating “breaking bad news” were developed using the NURSE [7] and SPIKES [8] communication frameworks. Participants took part in a pre-briefing session, then engaged …

Variation In The Use Of Interdentals In The Taif Arabic Dialect: The Impact Of Spatiality And Neighbourhood, Najla M. Alghamdi, Kholoud A. Al-Thubaiti

Journal of Arabic Sciences and Humanities

The variation in the use of plain interdentals (ð)  and (θ ) across Arabic dialects is a significant factor in dialect classification. This study examines the variation in the use of these variants in two Saudi dialects (tribal and non-tribal) within Taif city in the western province of Saudi Arabia. The population of Taif consists of tribal groups that use interdentals and non-tribal groups that use stops. Spatiality (Britain, 2004) and neighbourhood (tribal dominant, non-tribal dominant, and mixed) were examined in relation to interdental and stop usage by both tribal and non-tribal groups. Due to Taif's unique location, which promotes …

Translating Metaphor In Qur'an Into English: Strategies And Challenges, Sultan Samah A Almjlad

Journal of Arabic Sciences and Humanities

Metaphor, or istiʿāra in Arabic, is one of the most prevalent rhetorical devices used in Qur'anic discourse. The Qur'an employed metaphor to convey meanings not immediately apparent on the surface of the text, yet significant. Thus, translating these metaphors into English was extremely difficult due to linguistic and cultural differences. Three well-known English translations of the Qur'an by Ali, Pickthall, and Abdel-Haleem were examined in this study. The study adopted a theoretical approach depending on metaphor translation and Newmark’s conceptual metaphor theory. To achieve its goals, the study was based on 40 Qur'anic verses in Arabic, as only 13 metaphors …

Dari Teks Ke Makna: Model Interpretasi Bertingkat Sebagai Jawaban Atas Ketegangan Hukum Dan Keadilan, Erwin Susilo, Iustika Puspa Sari, Dharma Setiawan Negara

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

The Indonesian rule of law emphasizes that law should not be understood merely in a legal-formal sense, but also in its moral and social dimensions. This study stems from the persistent tension between legal certainty and justice and the need for an interpretative method capable of bridging the two. The main objective of this research is to examine and formulate a model of tiered legal interpretation that integrates four approaches derived from the common law tradition—Literal Interpretation (LI), Golden Rule (GR), Mischief Rule (MR), and Purposive Approach (PA)—into the Indonesian legal system. This model has been contextually applied in jurisdictions …

International Student Athletes And The Covid-19 Global Pandemic: Disruption, Uncertainty, And Coping, Isabella M. Franks, Trent A. Petrie, Whitney G. Moore, Carmyn Hayes

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

COVID-19 and its ripple effects (e.g., social distancing, sport cancellations, quarantining) negatively affected the careers of collegiate student-athletes. The disruption to university systems and collegiate athletics and the stress and uncertainty felt globally likely increased international student-athletes' (ISAs) risk for distress. Yet, ISAs also possessed unique characteristics and were immersed within supportive sport environments, which may have shaped their psychological responses in distinct ways. The COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity to understand how ISAs, as individuals navigating both athletic and international identities, responded and coped. To date, no study has examined the initial coping experiences of international collegiate athletes, even …

The Road Goes Ever On: Teaching Tolkien In Colleges Today, Leslie A. Donovan, Megan B. Abrahamson, Cami D. Agan, Katherine Wyma, Joseph Rex Young

Mythcon

As Tolkien studies has evolved, Middle-earth no longer needs to be defended as a legitimate academic subject. Today, Tolkien’s works are commonly taught as literary classics in colleges and universities alongside other mythic traditions such as The Odyssey and Beowulf. For students, however, the meaning of “classic” can be complicated. Many students encounter Tolkien long before entering college through popular media, films, games, and digital fandom, while the historical, linguistic, and cultural contexts that informed his writing (war, philology, faith, and medievalism, among others) can feel increasingly distant. As a result, Tolkien’s works may seem both deeply familiar and …

Le Nouveau Projet De Loi Successorale Au Liban, Ibrahim Najjar

Proche-Orient, Études juridiques

No abstract provided.

Is Originalism Orthodoxy?, Neel Sukhatme

Articles

What theory of constitutional interpretation has the Supreme Court followed? We search Supreme Court opinions for a wide range of sources that originalists identify as central to their methodology, over the entire universe of cases beginning in 1791. We find that for much of Supreme Court history, conventional indicators of originalist practice--citations to Founding-era sources--are largely absent, raising questions about originalism's past orthodoxy. Originalist citation practices are absent for much of the 19th century and grow sharply in the late 20th century. The Article elaborates the implications of these findings for debates in constitutional law.

From Seductress To Sovereign: A Reassessment Of Cleopatra Vii’S Power, Gender, And Historic Representation, Jordan L. Myrick

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Cleopatra VII is one of the most famous women in history. As Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BCE and a major player in the Augustan age, she had the power to change the fate of empires. Despite her powerful position in history, however, Cleopatra’s historical narrative is often focused on the alliances that surrounded her. She has been portrayed as a seductive ruler who snared Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius and whose drive for power led to the downfall of her kingdom. This original image of Cleopatra seems to have stemmed from the Augustan …

Batik Motifs For The Distinctive Jarik Of The Samin Community In Reinterpreting The Essence Of Samin Surosentiko Pitutur Luhur, Sugeng Wardoyo, Aryo Anggorojati, Tri Wulandari

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

The Samin community (Sedulur Sikep) in Margomulyo, Bojonegoro, has the value of Pitutur Luhur inherited by Samin Surosentiko, but it has not been represented in the batik jarik motif as a communal identity. This creation-based research aims to explore this value, realize it in the design of written batik, and examine its philosophical meaning as an effort to preserve intangible cultural heritage. The method used is practice-based research with a qualitative approach through literature study (ethical data), participatory observation, and in-depth interviews with elders (emic data). The creation process refers to the stages of experimentation, manekung, and the formation of …