Digital Commons Network^™

Perverse Convergences: Aelred Of Rievaulx And The Queerness Of Waiting, Zaccary A. Haney

Dissertations

ABSTRACT Using Aelred of Rievaulx’s (1110-1167) treatise Spiritual Friendship and his fundamental insight, “God is friendship,” this dissertation seeks to understand how the divine arrives woven into the dynamics of human relationships. I bring together social media research, critical theories of language, queer phenomenology, queer temporalities, and liberation theologies into a cross-temporal erotic narrative between Aelred and me. The first part establishes the imaginative distemporal space of Sodom, based on a shared homosexual identity. It critiques historical and theological disciplines as familiarizing discourses that compel arrivals of the other through structures authentication and the social magic of professionalization. In the …

The Influence Of Defects: Oxidation Of Non-Planar Transition Metal Model Catalysts, Maxwell Gillum

Dissertations

Metal-catalyzed oxidation reactions are a major application of heterogeneous catalysis and are a widely applied synthetic route for the production of chemicals and reagents essential to modern society. However, as the intricacies of heterogeneous surface catalysis are slowly being unraveled, minute details of the catalytic environment have been revealed to play outsized roles in the catalytic activity of the surface. The experiments herein further investigate the interplay between surface geometry and the formation oxygen-induced surface structures. Understanding how defects influence surface reactivity is a necessary step in gaining the ability to accurately model heterogeneous catalytic environments. Two different aspects of …

Special Education Disproportionality In Illinois: What Are We Doing?, Kaelyn Chanel Green

Dissertations

This mixed-methods study examined special education disproportionality in Illinois to determine current trends, root causes, and responses to significant disproportionality as reflected in Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS) plans. Quantitatively, repeated measures analyses of risk ratios over a five-year span revealed that although many districts had reduced overall risk ratios, racial and disability-based disparities persisted. Qualitatively, inductive content analysis of 32 CCEIS plans identified four primary root causes—deficiencies in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Response to Intervention (RTI), inadequate Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) supports, cultural and linguistic barriers, and vague or misaligned problem statements. Most action plans …

How School Psychologists Narrow The Socioeconomic Opportunity Gap: The Practices And Beliefs Of School Psychologists In High-Performing, High-Poverty Schools, Nora Durgin

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the practices and beliefs of school psychologists working in high-performing, high-poverty (HP/HP) schools in order to make recommendations for how their practices can be replicated in other high-poverty schools to help narrow the socioeconomic opportunity gap. Results indicate that school psychologists engage in the major professional activities of school psychology practice to a similar degree as is documented in the existing literature. Despite relatively lower levels of engagement in delivering mental and behavioral health services, school psychologists view the practice to be highly impactful on students’ academic achievement. The school-wide activities commonly …

Philosophical Purification As Liberation And Transformation, Lachanda C. Davis

Dissertations

This study utilizes Plato’s conception of purification as a diagnostic tool to examine contemporary issues of police brutality and political violence. Within this context, I aim to treat the multiple tensions that arise with the question of living a good life. What does it mean to live and what does it mean to live a good life within constraints that magnify fear, anxiety, and despair? I argue that philosophical purification involves ‘aporia’ (perplexity; difficulty; confusion; loss; or puzzlement) in both a literal and generative sense. Moreover, the multiple aporias that arise cannot be reconciled by merely performing a religious rite …

Investigating Queer Asians' Accultrative Resilience And Wellbeing, Yiyu Cheng

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role of resilience factors in moderating the effects of acculturative stress on the well-being of queer Asian Americans. A total of 181 survey responses were collected from queer-identified Asian Americans over the age of 18 residing in the United States. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, this study explores three models incorporating two identity resilience factors (ethnic identity salience and queer identity salience), two community resilience factors (ethnic community support and queer community support), and two intersectional resilience factors (queer Asian identity salience and queer Asian community support). Well-being was assessed through life satisfaction, negative affect, and …

Drawing The Curtain: A Grounded Theory Analysis Of The Conceptualizations Of Culture, Ethnicity And Race In Professional Training Materials For Child Life Certification, Kia Lee Ferrer

Dissertations

Objectives: Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) are pediatric healthcare professionals primarily working in hospital settings to support children and families in navigating the developmental challenges of hospitalization, illness, and enduring medical treatment. Recognizing the presence of racial and ethnic health disparities, coupled with the field’s notable lack of diversity (98% White female), the child life workforce is increasingly acknowledging the undeniable evidence that discriminatory behaviors adversely affect a child’s life and well-being. As advances in the social sciences increasingly reveal that discrimination functions as a "socially transmitted disease" in a child's life, I predict that the failure of child life …

The Beloved Disciple In Performance, Eric Christian Zito

Dissertations

This project aims to reconsider the Fourth Gospel’s Beloved Disciple from the standpoint of biblical performance criticism, an approach that takes seriously the likelihood that most first-century audiences would have encountered the Fourth Gospel by means of performance rather than private reading. The dissertation considers: 1) what difference the medium makes in a first-century reception of John’s Gospel, and 2) how early audiences would have been shaped by the discipleship model portrayed by the unnamed Beloved Disciple in a performance setting. Against the current of mainstream scholarship, I argue that the Beloved Disciple is a developing character who epitomizes Johannine …

Parental Autonomy Support And Children’S Affect As Predictors Of Children’S Stem Engagement In An Informal Educational Context, Bianca Martins Aldrich

Dissertations

In this project, we examined relations between parental talk and children’s affect on children’s STEM talk during an engineering-related activity (i.e., tinkering) in a local children’s museum. We characterized children’s affect in terms of valence (positive or negative) and activation (activating or deactivating), and parental talk was characterized as autonomy supportive or directive, as well as STEM-related or not. Parents and their 4- to 10-year-old children were recruited at the entrance of the Tinkering Lab exhibit at Chicago Children’s Museum. Parents and children were video and audio recorded during the activity. We coded parents’ and children’s behaviors using a time-sampling …

Fear Of Victimization, Trust, Security, And Public Spaces In Guatemala, Keyla Navarrete

Dissertations

This dissertation explores fear of victimization, personal encounters with crime, perceptions of institutional trust, support for informal justice practices, and avoidance of spaces in Guatemala. Institutional trust—understood as individuals’ confidence in the police, judiciary, and correctional systems, particularly their fairness and effectiveness—is vital for democratic governance and social stability. High levels of trust in legal institutions can foster civic engagement, reduce social fragmentation, and encourage public cooperation in crime prevention. In contrast, diminished trust may lead individuals to withdraw from formal systems of justice, limiting the state's capacity to function effectively. Utilizing nationally representative data from the National Survey of …

Forgive As We Are Forgiven: Reframing A Trinitarian Model Of Forgiveness In A Post-Genocide Rwanda, Deogratias Mbonyumugenzi

Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to develop a theological model of forgiveness rooted in a relational conception of the Trinity. The central argument of this dissertation is that the model of forgiveness practiced in post-genocide Rwanda and the forgiveness modeled by Jesus, and testified to in the New Testament and developed in the Christian tradition, are good, but not sufficient to address the kind of trauma and human disrepair, as well as the devastation of communities, inflicted by genocide. Rather, a theology of forgiveness modeled on a relational conception of the Trinity and its practical implications for a Trinitarian ecclesiology and anthropology …

Youth And Parent Knowledge And Perceptions Of Spina Bifida: Associations With Neurocognitive Factors, Self-Management, And Quality Of Life, Olivia Emery Clark

Dissertations

Spina bifida (SB) is a common congenital birth defect with multiple and varied medical, physical, and psychological impacts. The objective of these studies is to examine youth and parent condition-related knowledge in the context of SB and associations with executive function, quality of life, and medical self-management. Collectively, these studies examine both qualitative and quantitative multi-informant data from youth with SB, their parents, and their teachers. The first study used growth analyses to examine changes in condition-related knowledge over time, predicted by executive dysfunction and inattention, and predictive of medical self-management skills. The second study used qualitative coding methods to …

Effectiveness Of A Classroom-Based Stress Awareness And Coping Skills Program Among Adolescents From Diverse Backgrounds, Adriane Van Zwoll

Dissertations

The ongoing youth mental health crisis in the United States, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, has highlighted the urgent need for accessible and effective school-based interventions. This dissertation evaluates the effectiveness of Stress Less: Resilience for Success™, a single-session, classroom-based stress awareness and coping skills program implemented by NAMI Metro Suburban in diverse middle and high schools in the western suburbs of Chicago from 2018 to 2024. Using the CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation, this study analyzes secondary data from 7,225 pre-test and post-test surveys and is complemented by qualitative informational interviews with current and former NAMI staff and volunteers …

Situational Safety: Exploring The Relationship Of Environmental Change & Sense Of Belonging For Gsm Students In Academic-Required Internships, Nancy Goldberger

Dissertations

This research focused on recently enrolled undergraduates in programs including an academically required internship that bridges the transition between being a student at an IHE to being a professional in the field. Students who identify as LGBTQIA+ comprise a group referred to as Gender and Sexual Minorities (GSM) (Smalley, et al., 2018). The purpose of this research is to explore differences in the sense of belonging between students who identify as GSM their IHE versus experiences during their internship. The conceptual framework for this study draws on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943), Chickering’s seven vectors of student development (1969), and …

Establishing Best Practices Guidelines For Collaborative Research In Global Surgery: Developing A Delphi Survey, Ramitha Eshan Ruwanpathirana, Swati Deshpande, Sophia Abdulhai, Mathilde Djeneba Billau, Sumeja Catic, Theresa L Chin, Julia N Harrison, Pratyush Kumar, Maria Cecilia T Leyson, Helen W Li, Katayoun S Madani, Arthur Serumaga, Margaret Tarpley, Grayson Wright, Nia N Zalamea, Joshua S Ng-Kamstra

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Collaborative research in global surgery has resulted in the rapid development of the field via knowledge creation and dissemination, research capacity building, and direct improvements in the delivery of clinical care. Yet the establishment and maintenance of trans-boundary collaborations carries significant risk to health systems, clinicians, patients, and researchers, particularly if such collaborations are not developed thoughtfully and with appropriate guardrails. In recent years, there has been significant growth in the literature on the pervasiveness and impact of neocolonialism on global health research.

Methods: To harness the benefits of global surgery research collaboration while mitigating these risks, we reviewed …

Hunt, Amber, Elizabeth Ruane, And Stephanie Sopka, Eds. Closing A College Library. Chicago: Association Of College And Research Libraries, 2024., Joni L. Addis

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

An Evolutionary Preamble Towards A Multilevel Framework To Understand Adolescent Mental Health: An International Delphi Study, Federica Sancassiani, Vanessa Barrui, Fabrizio Bert, Sara Carucci, Fatma Charfi, Giulia Cossu, Arne Holte, Jutta Lindert, Simone Marchini, Alessandra Perra, Samantha Pinna, Antonio Egidio Nardi, Alessandra Scano, Cesar A Soutullo, Massimo Tusconi, Diego Primavera

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/objectives: Adolescence is a sensitive developmental window shaped by both vulnerabilities and adaptive potential. From an evolutionary standpoint, mental health difficulties in this period may represent functional responses to environmental stressors rather than mere dysfunctions. Despite increasing interest, integrative models capturing the dynamic interplay of risk and protective factors in adolescent mental health remain limited. This study presents a holistic, multi-level framework grounded in ecological and evolutionary theories to improve understanding and intervention strategies.

Methods: A two-round Delphi method was used to develop and validate the framework. Twelve experts in adolescent mental health evaluated a preliminary draft derived from the …

Continuous Pump-Probe Experiment To Observe Zeeman Wave-Packet Dynamics, K. L. Romans, K. Foster, S. Majumdar, B. P. Acharya, O. Russ, A. H.N.C. De Silva, Daniel Fischer

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this work, we study the coherent dynamics of an atomic Zeeman wave packet using a continuous pump-probe scheme. A polarized Zeeman wave packet is created in laser-cooled lithium atoms via few-photon excitation by a femtosecond laser pulse, producing a state with a magnetic moment tilted relative to an external magnetic field. The subsequent Larmor precession of the atomic magnetic moment is probed via continuous ionization by an optical dipole trap (ODT) laser. The resulting ionization fragments—photoelectrons and photo ions—are detected in coincidence using a cold target recoil ion momentum spectrometer (COLTRIMS). While the ODT facilitates further cooling of the …

Re: Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Final Reclamation Improvement Sites Field Sampling And Investigation Plan (Fsp): Bres No. 18 – Walkerville Ballfield, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Settling Defendants Bmfou Annual Report Consent Decree For The Butte Mine Flooding Site Cd, Cv 02-35 Bu-Rfc Remedial Action – Implementation Of The Remedy Horseshoe Bend Water Treatment Plant 2024 Annual Report, Mark Thompson, Dave Griffis

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Strategies Used By Tribal Chairpersons Within The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe To Enhance Internal Controls And Integrate Modern Technologies, Luke Aaron Warnsholz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Strategies Used by Tribal Chairpersons Within the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe to Enhance Internal Controls and Integrate Modern Technologies by Luke Warnsholz MBA, Bemidji State University, 2021 BS, Rasmussen University, 2020 Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University August 2025 Operational inefficiencies and increased risk exposure within the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe have been linked to outdated internal controls and limited technological modernization. This issue is important to tribal governments because it affects financial oversight, service delivery, and long-term sustainability in tribal governance. This qualitative pragmatic inquiry capstone research project …

The Impact Of Social Support On Camouflaging Behaviors Among Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Exploring Protective And Risk Factors, Mofoluwakemi Omololu Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Impact of Social Support on Camouflaging Behaviors Among Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Exploring Protective and Risk Factors by Mofoluwakemi Omololu Johnson MSW, University of Ibadan, 2007 BSc, University of Ilorin, 2003 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Clinical Psychology Walden University August 2025   Camouflaging strategies used by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to mask or compensate for autistic traits are often linked to adverse mental health out-comes. This quantitative correlational study investigated the relationship between perceived social support and camouflaging behaviors in young adults with autism. Grounded …

Access Barriers To Early Childhood Development Surveillance And Screenings: Insights From Pediatric Office Providers, Pamela Russell Ledesma

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Scholarly literature review found a gap in the identification of barriers experienced by pediatric office providers (POPs) for the provision of early childhood development (ECD) surveillance among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) children under the age of three years. The barriers may inhibit access to recommended screenings at defined milestones during the state of neurogenesis, whereby a child’s life trajectory may be negatively impacted and further handicap society at large. This qualitative study aimed to explore the access barriers and remedial strategies identified in the reconstructed narratives of southeast Florida POPs. The research design was premised on the behavioral model …

Examining The Impact Of Technology-Enhanced Peer Mentorship On First-Year University Students’ Mental Health And Academic Success, Maya Hareli

Dissertations

Poor mental health among first-year college students has been associated with a plethora of unfavorable outcomes including worsening mental health problems later in college as well as declines in academic performance, rates of college retention, and postgraduate employment and income potential. While demand for mental health services on college campuses is high, there are various barriers to accessing these services. Peer mentoring is a resource-efficient solution for curbing college student mental health and academic challenges; however, the effects of past mentoring programs are inconsistent. Additionally, technology-delivered interventions (TDIs) have been shown to yield positive outcomes for young adults along various …

Singular-Perturbation Control Of A Tendon-Driven Soft Robot: Theory And Experiments, Lucas Novaki Ribeiro, Pablo Borja, Cosimo Della Santina, Bastian Deutschmann

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The existing model-based control strategies for tendon-driven continuum soft robots neglect the dynamics of the actuation system. Nevertheless, such dynamics have an important impact on the closed-loop performance. This work analyzes the influence of the actuation dynamics in tendon-driven continuum soft robots performing trajectory-tracking tasks. To this end, we use singular perturbation (SP) theory to design controllers that account for such dynamics. We provide the analytical formulation of the SP controllers and their in-depth experimental validation. Additionally, we use high-and low-stiffness tendons to experimentally compare the performance of the proposed SP controllers against traditional feedback control schemes that disregard the …

Brief Of Amici Curiae Intellectual Property Scholars In Support Of Petitioners, Laura A. Heymann, Alfred C. Yen

Briefs

No abstract provided.

Fathers' Racial Differences In Perceived Workplace-Induced Stereotype Threat: Impacts On Sense Of Belonging, Job Satisfaction, And Turnover, Frances Evalyne Kealiimahiaiokalani Hampton

Dissertations and Theses

Black fathers (BFs) face unique workplace challenges due to racialized and gendered stereotypes that undermine their legitimacy as men, workers, and parents. Drawing on Stereotype Threat Theory (STT) and Stereotype Embodiment Theory (SET), this study examined how workplace-induced stereotype threat (WIST) affects BFs' job attitudes and turnover intentions (TIs). I hypothesized that BFs would report higher WIST than White fathers (WFs), and that WIST would mediate the effects of race-related perceptions on job satisfaction (JS), sense of belonging (SOB), and TIs. In addition, perceived organizational support (POS) was tested as a moderator on the relationships between WIST and these job-related …

Identifying Bio-Behavioural Signatures Of Persistent Opioid Use Risk In Trauma Injury Patients: A Protocol For A Prospective Cohort Study, Joy M Schmitz, Jin Ho Yoon, Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon, John A Harvin, Preethi H Gunaratne, Darrion Mouton, Kandice Motley, Erin E Fox, Jessica Vincent, Megan Tarbet, Consuelo Walss-Bass

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Exposure to prescription opioids following traumatic injury can increase the risk of developing tolerance, persistent opioid use and opioid use disorder. The mechanisms underlying opioid tolerance or dependence are not well understood, and no biomarkers predict risk. Opioid exposure causes epigenetic modifications, including alterations in microRNA (miRNA) expression. Several miRNAs, which regulate synaptic plasticity, are hypothesised to underlie substance use disorders and influence µ-opioid receptor levels, modulating opioid tolerance. This project aims to develop a bio-behavioural signature to predict persistent opioid use and chronic pain up to 6 months post-discharge.

Methods and analysis: The study will use a prospective …

How Euler Could Have Done It: Euler And A Direct Proof For The Functional Equation For The Riemann Zeta-Function, Alexander Aycock

Euleriana

We present a chain of argumentation for a direct proof of the functional equation for the Riemann ζ–function that Euler could have presented.

Euler’S Original Derivation Of Elastica Equation, Shigeki Matsutani

Euleriana

Euler derived the differential equations of elastica by the variational method in 1744, but his original derivation has never been properly interpreted or explained in terms of modern mathematics. We elaborate Euler's original derivation of elastica and show that Euler used Noether's theorem concerning the translational symmetry of elastica, although Noether published her theorem in 1918. It is also shown that his equation is essentially the static modified KdV equation which is obtained by the isometric and isoenergy conditions, known as the Goldstein-Petrich scheme.