Digital Commons Network^™

The Spring 2025 Issue, Destiny Dehart, Laura K. Clark Hunt, Crystal Walker, Austin Bello, Lauren Nimon-Viola, Sarah Gonzalez

Fonds and Feathers

This issue, edited by Destiny DeHart, features “Advances in Storytelling” by Assistant Professor Laura K. Clark Hunt, Ph.D., “Evolving Storytelling in Libraries: Project Techne” by Crystal Walker, “Who’s Rewriting History” by Austin Bello, “Soldiers in Disguise: Women’s Stories from the Civil War” by Lauren Viola, “Once Upon a Map: Storytelling in Libraries with ARCGIS Storymaps” by Sara Gonzalez, “Mold in the Archives: How Bias Influences Stories” by Destiny DeHart, and interview with managing reference archivist Devin McGeehan Muchmore of the GLBT Historical Society. In addition, upcoming conferences are listed. A list of students who will graduate in December 2024 with …

Enhancing Multi-Step Stock Price Forecasting With Social Media Sentiment And Engagement Metrics, Damilare Olaniyan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates whether social media sentiment can improve the accuracy of stock price prediction beyond traditional historical data. While financial markets have long relied on structured numerical indicators, the growing influence of public discourse on platforms like Twitter has introduced new opportunities for extracting market-relevant signals from unstructured text. The study focuses on four major technology firms and combines sentiment features derived from Twitter with historical stock prices in a hybrid machine learning framework. Engagement-weighted sentiment, linguistic complexity, and polarity intensity were extracted using natural language processing techniques and incorporated into classification and regression models. Results show that including …

The Role Of Adolescent Depression Heterogeneity And Resilience Resources In Adulthood Cardiometabolic Health And Depressive Symptoms, Samantha R. Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Depression in adolescence is a major public health problem and is a risk factor for early-onset cardiometabolic disease. Although adolescent depression is a risk factor for poor cardiometabolic health, depression is heterogeneous and associations may differ by sex. Additionally, if risk factors such as depression can predict adulthood cardiometabolic health, resilience factors (e.g., social, school, neighborhood) that are protective for depression may also be protective for physical health, but this is an ongoing area of research. The goals of the current dissertation were to gain a better understanding of what depressive symptom presentations in adolescents are most concerning for adulthood …

A Qualitative Examination Of Homelessness Risk Factors And Housing Histories Of Single Room Occupancy (Sro) Tenants In Chicago, Shadman Syed Saquib

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) housing is among the most affordable private market housing options and serves tenants who often have multiple oppressed identities, including economic marginalization, carceral histories, and disabling conditions. However, SRO buildings are often sold for redevelopment, displacing tenants with few alternative housing options and at risk of homelessness. Research suggests that multiple ecological factors, such as prior housing instability, predict future homelessness, which may be compounded for individuals with oppressed identities. Thus, the current study explores the housing histories and identities of displaced SRO tenants to understand their vulnerability to post-displacement homelessness. Seventeen participants who were displaced from …

Design, Manufacturing, And Engineering Design Validation Of A Fetal Activity Monitor, Hector Andres Pena Vega

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fetal movement monitoring is an important indicator of fetal health, but

current methods often rely on subjective self-reporting or medical equipment that

may not be universally available. The research described in this thesis describes

the design, manufacture, and engineering validation of a wearable fetal activity

monitor based on nanocomposite wide-range strain gauge technology. Embedded

in a wearable maternity band garment, the technology is designed to discreetly

record fetal movements with the eventual goal of providing real-time information

that can assist pregnant women and medical professionals in monitoring patterns

of fetal activity.

The scope of the described research focuses on the …

Burned In Berlin – Banned In Boston: Censorship Of Booksellers During The Interwar Period In The U. S. As Compared To Germany, 1919-1939, Aleksandra Jimerson-Mckinnies

Lawrence University Honors Projects

During the twenty-year interwar period from 1919-1939, two vastly different nations faced their own personal wars with the censorship of booksellers. Germany—at first the Weimar Republic, then later the Nazi Regime—underwent such a transformation that Berlin went from one of the literary capitals of the world to the site of the most infamous of censorship crimes: the book burnings. Meanwhile, the United States was a long-standing democratic nation in which freedom of speech was one of its cornerstone tenants. Despite the differences of governments and the scope and scale of the censorship, there were major similarities between the tactics and …

“Why Us, Though?” Gendered Resilience In Climate-Displaced Bangladesh Narrated By Child Brides, Marzuka Amal Binthe Akber

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This thesis explores the resilience strategies narrated by women and girls displaced by climate change and subjected to child marriage in Bangladesh. Centering their voices and lived experiences, it highlights the intricate, often invisible methods through which these women navigate the intersectional precarity of environmental displacement, gender norms, and socio-economic marginalization. Through qualitative fieldwork conducted in riverine islands (chars), urban informal settlements, and government resettlement sites, the study foregrounds community practices like adda (social storytelling), mutual caregiving, informal healthcare, bodily negotiations, and strategic silence. Challenging dominant narratives of passive victimhood, it reveals resilience as relational, iterative, and context-specific acts rooted …

A Ritual Of Institutions: The State Industrial School In Golden, Colorado And The Shaping Of American Youth, Cyndal Groskopf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the Colorado State Industrial School as a ritualistic institution that influenced boys aged 7 to 19 through Americanization practices between 1881 and 1930. By employing primary documentation, drone imagery, and LiDAR technology, the study examines how cultural and physical activities, along with personal statements, described and maintained the ritualized nature among these incarcerated youth. The findings reveal how institutional routines and activities reinforced narratives of American identity, particularly in relation to themes of personal identity, conformity, and agency. These rituals played a crucial role in institutionalizing cultural ideals and shaping the identities of marginalized youth. The research …

Movement As Metamorphosis: An Examination Of Transformative Learning In Dance, Whitney Egstad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using the arts-based methodology of Educational Criticism and Connoisseurship (Uhrmacher, Moroye, & Flinders, 2017) to examine the curriculum and pedagogy of a Colorado-based dance studio, this qualitative dissertation explores how transformative learning (TL) unfolds within the context of adult dance education. Grounded in Mezirow’s (1991) theory of transformative learning, the study investigates how dance becomes a medium for personal transformation, identity reconstruction, and emotional healing. Data collection included six hours of interviews with instructors and students and twelve hours of class observations, focusing on how adult learners experience curriculum not just as technical instruction, but as an embodied, relational journey …

An Auto-Criticism Exploration Of An International Transracial Adoption, Jessica M. Morganfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation explores the lived experience of international transracial adoption through the combined methodologies of auto-criticism and journaling. Using a first-person, insider-led approach, this study addresses four central research questions: (1) What experiences emerge when an adult adoptee reflects on their childhood as an international transracial adoptee? (2) How do identity development, cultural socialization, and experiences of racial and adoptive microaggressions intersect and influence an individual? (3) How does auto-criticism uniquely describe the international transracial adoptee experience? and (4) How might journaling serve as a research tool for data collection and analysis?

Daily journaling over a 30-day period functioned …

Reading Interventions In The Modern Era: Reconceptualizing The Utility Of Video Games, Senaida Mehmedovic

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Youth in the United States continue to have difficulty developing reading skills, with only 31% of fourth graders reading at a “proficient level” (NAEP Reading: National Average Scores, 2024). Youth struggling to develop reading skills often have reading anxiety (Chow et al., 2021; Martinez, 2019; Ramirez et al., 2019), which impacts their reading skill development even more (Mohammadpur & Ghafournia, 2015); the interwoven and cyclical relationship between reading anxiety and reading comprehension requires interventions to address these needs concurrently (Francis et al., 2019; Francis et al., 2021; Grills et al., 2012). The increased avoidance and paired aversion of reading-related tasks …

Benefits Of Extended Unemployment Insurance On Post-Unemployment Outcomes, Alyssa Roche

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates how unemployment insurance (UI) affects individuals during and after unemployment. Drawing on historical evidence from recent recessions in the United States, publicly available data, behavioral insights, and mathematical modeling, it argues that the benefits of extending UI outweigh the potential costs. The analysis incorporates a wide range of sources, including empirical economic studies using regression models and psychology and business research that highlight behavioral responses to financial stress and job insecurity. By combining quantitative data with behavioral context, the thesis offers a more comprehensive understanding of how extended UI influences job search decisions, wage outcomes, and overall …

Representation Of Diseases And Health Care In Selected African Gyno-Texts, Rachael K. Aderoju

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the interdisciplinary field of literature and medicine through a feminist psychoanalytic lens, focusing on how Nigerian female writers represent illness, healthcare, and medical ethics in post-independence gyno-texts. Traditionally, scholarship in this field has centered on andro-texts (literary works authored by men), leaving a critical gap in the exploration of women’s perspectives. This research addresses that gap by analyzing nine prose works authored by Nigerian women, including texts by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ayobami Adebayo, Lola Shoneyin, and Samira Haruna Sanusi. These texts are examined for their portrayal of diseases such as infertility, cancer, bipolar disorder, and renal failure, …

A Spatial Analysis Of Residential Photovoltaic Adoption In New Jersey: Focusing On 2020 With Trends Through 2025, Brandon Mcalister

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This capstone project seeks to find the relationship between socioeconomic and demographic variables and their relationship to residential photovoltaic installations across New Jersey. The study consists of Geographic Weighted Regression Analyses to construct and socioeconomic index indicating the likelihood of photovoltaic adoption in New Jersey zip codes. Then using the index to predict future photovoltaic adoption across the state. The study found that socioeconomic and demographic variables can predict photovoltaic adoption within one year, but when placed in an index and used to predict future adoption trends, the model under predicts and extremely over predicts. While socioeconomic status is a …

Embedding Mental Rehearsal In Surgery: A Comprehensive Review Of The Evidence, Josephine Walshaw, Bright Huo, Paul Barach, Philippa Banks, Adam Mcclean, Florent Lebon, Faisal Mushtaq, David Jayne, Danilo Miskovic, Marina Yiasemidou

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Mental rehearsal (MR), the deliberate practice of skills specific to a procedure, has been successfully used in sports and music training for decades, but has not been adopted in surgery. This narrative review explores MR's role in surgical training and clinical practice, evaluating its effectiveness in motor skill acquisition, technical and non-technical skill development, and real world clinical implementation. Our aim was to assess MR's impact on both surgical education and clinical performance, while identifying the barriers to its routine adoption in surgical training.

METHODS: We searched for relevant studies on the topic and impacts of MR in surgery …

The Positivity Effect In Contracts, Megan Kathryn Stricker

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The positivity effect is a noted preference for positive information over negative information in older adults’ cognition. This effect has been observed in multiple domains of cognition, including both attention and memory (Carstensen & Mikels, 2005). Evidence for the positivity effect has shown up consistently in replications across type of memory (Reed et al., 2014), and this phenomenon can be considered within the context of other trends of cognitive aging. Most if not all research in this area has been constrained to laboratory settings, and there has been limited research as to the context sensitivity of this observed effect. What …

The Relationship Of Organizational Democracy And Psychological Safety On Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Thomas William Rice

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between organizational democracy and organizational citizenship behaviors through the mediating effect of psychological safety. This study contributes to the organizational democracy literature in the introduction of psychological safety as a mediator through the lens of social exchange theory. An online survey was completed by 245 participants who self-reported as being full-time, English-speaking employees in the United States. The survey was composed of a demographic section and different measures of organizational democracy (i.e., perceived organizational participation and democracy questionnaire, organizational democracy scale), psychological safety, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Utilizing mediated regression analysis, results indicated that psychological …

Mental Healthcare For Us: Examining Awareness Of, Barriers To, And Recommendations For Mental Healthcare Among Immigrant-Origin Chinese American Adolescents, Mengxue (Fiona) Sun

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Background. Ethnic minority adolescents face elevated mental health challenges and encounter significant barriers to accessing mental healthcare compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Despite these challenges, limited research has explored culturally responsive mental healthcare for adolescents from specific Asian American communities, and even fewer studies have actively incorporated adolescents' perspectives to inform treatment and policy. This study aimed to examine the experiences of immigrant-origin Chinese American adolescents with mental health and mental healthcare.

Method. Ten immigrant-origin Chinese American adolescents, aged 14 to 17, were recruited through community organizations and participated in semi-structured individual interviews. Open-ended questions focused on …

Shadowed Identities: The (Mis)Representation Of Communities Of Color In Classic Film Noir, Yolanda Porter

University Honors Theses

This thesis is an inquiry into the (mis)representation of women, Latinx, and BIPOC individuals in classic film noir, examining how race, gender, class, and sexuality intersect to perpetuate stereotypes in Hollywood. Through a deep analysis of films like Gilda (1946) and Touch of Evil (1958), this project explores how the conventions of film noir, such as chiaroscuro lighting, moral ambiguity, and non-linear storyline, work to expose and also reinforce social hierarchies that preserve whiteness and oppression of minorities. The research positions these films within the postwar socio-political context of the United States, addressing the influence of the Hays Code, Cold …

Fancy Mice, Damian Aguilar

University Honors Theses

In this proof-of-concept screenplay, a family becomes the subject of an isolating experiment that observes their behavior changes after remaining in their home for an extended period of time with all their basic needs met. The first twenty-pages of this psychological horror lays the foundation for a larger work that explores existential themes related to purpose, competition, and play.

How Did I Get Here? A Capstone Review, Michael Koach

University Honors Theses

In this thesis, I highlight my personal and professional growth as a college student. I use structured reflection and meta-analysis to uncover insights about how I learn and develop new skills. Over the past five years, I have built a toolbox of skills, including teamwork, public speaking, navigating uncertainty, strategic thinking, and leadership. I trace the development of each of these skills back to my coursework as a business student, my role in PSU's student-run advertising agency, and my professional experience. I show how these skills culminated in my business capstone project. My communication and leadership skills allowed me to …

Intersectional Realities, Multi-Dimensional Films: Reading Julie Dash's Illusions As An Activist Text, Amelia Morrison

University Honors Theses

This paper reads Julie Dash's 1982 film Illusions as an activist text, which challenges dominant cinematic and historical narratives through its Black feminist perspective. It explores the cinematic and narrative devices that Dash uses--including the weaving of fantasy and history, the strategic use of period aesthetics, and masking--to expose and subvert the mechanisms of white supremacist and patriarchal hegemony within Hollywood. Drawing on intersectional feminist theory from scholars like Kimberlé Crenshaw, Patricia Hill Collins, and bell hooks, alongside cinematic theory, this analysis demonstrates how Illusions critiques the historical erasure of people of color from United States cinema and history. By …

Effect Of Ipv On Latino Children's Perspectives Of Fatherhood, Elizabeth Berks

University Honors Theses

Intimate partner violence (IPV) can be found in many cultures throughout the world, with varying levels of acceptability, victimization, and perpetration. Approximately one in five couples report experiencing at least one instance of IPV in a given year. Women are victims of IPV more frequently than men, and experience more severe injuries. 20% of women report a lifetime history of physical IPV victimization by their current or past partners. Further, women are also ten times more likely to be killed due to IPV than men are. Presently, empirical research literature surrounding the dynamics and impacts of IPV is heavily focused …

Game-Based Learning As A Dynamic System: A Review Of The Literature, Meadow Mcgalliard

University Honors Theses

Game-based learning (GBL) in its development as a field has found itself at an ever-increasing complexity with regard to theories, design elements, and outcomes that define it. It's been long since proven that games produce learning and the ways in which this benefits educators and designers have broad applications, from direct game implementation to integrating GBL knowledge into non-game spaces. The density and complexity of design in GBL prove beneficial for learning opportunities, as the adaptability of design can create an almost infinite series of outcomes in a highly replicable manner. In this broad review, I attempt to display the …

Stigma, Shame, And Narcissism: A Literature Review, Alex Gaither

University Honors Theses

This thesis is a literature review of 12 peer reviewed journal articles accessible through the Portland State University library database on the relationship between stigma, shame, and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). This thesis discusses ideas brought up in these articles regarding the classification and conceptualization of NPD as a disorder, the role that shame plays in the pathology of NPD, the ways that shame is addressed through treatment, and public and practitioner held bias resulting from the stigmatization of the disorder. New and upcoming ways of conceptualizing the disorder are also briefly discussed as there has been a push to …

Examining The Impact Of Legalized Sports Gambling On Ncaa Athletes' Welfare And Game Integrity, Reem Al Jaradi

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the effects of legalized sports gambling on NCAA player welfare and the integrity of competition through a mixed-method analysis of NCAA reports, academic literature, and media sources. Data disclose that although the overall prevalence of gambling among student-athletes has decreased, these individuals are demonstrating more detrimental behaviors, including solitary gaming and incurring substantial losses in a single day. The emphasis on internet abuse associated with betting results has escalated, especially during prominent tournaments. The NCAA's instructional programs and data-monitoring agreements are compromised by ethical issues surrounding data monetization and varying state gambling rules. The research contends that …

Changing Minds, Changing Modes: Optimizing Public Perception Strategies For Urban Cycling Through Behavior Change Theory, Brandon Barnhart

University Honors Theses

This thesis addresses the recent decline in bicycle mode share in cities like Portland, Oregon, despite decades of investment in cycling infrastructure. While the "build it, and they will come" approach succeeded through the early 2000s, it no longer meets targets for bicycle use or broader goals related to sustainability, congestion, health, and safety. A new approach is needed that effectively rebuilds the cultural and behavioral components of cycling. This research asks: What role can behavior change theory play in increasing the effectiveness of public perception campaigns to promote urban cycling? Using a qualitative methodology, this study draws on behavior …

How Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (Mbsr) Techniques Affect Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Literature Review, Piper Ritke

Honors Theses

This literature review examines the potential effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) as a non-invasive therapeutic intervention for individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Traditional treatments for OCD, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure and response prevention (ERP), are evidence-based but can be distressing for some patients. MBSR, originally developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, emphasizes nonjudgmental awareness of thoughts and may offer a less intrusive alternative. Three peer-reviewed studies were analyzed: a randomized controlled trial comparing MBSR with cognitive therapies, a technology-supported mindfulness intervention utilizing EEG feedback, and a case study documenting individualized MBSR treatment. All studies demonstrated reductions in …

Who's On The Phone: Effectiveness Of Cloned Vishing Messages, Katherine A. Rackliffe

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Voice cloning is increasingly used as a form of phone-based phishing attack (i.e., vishing attack). The purpose of this research is to understand the impact of voice cloning on the success rate of vishing/phishing attacks. We hypothesize that calls utilizing cloned voices are more likely to deceive recipients compared to traditional vishing calls or text messages with the same phishing content. As AI cloning is a new technology, there is not much literature on this topic. To evaluate this hypothesis, we conduct a field experiment with students in university courses who receive a message purporting to be from a professor …

Exploring The Effects Of Africana Studies On Black Undergraduate Students: A Qualitative Case Study, Lanaya M. Butler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Particularly in the context of American K-12 schools, education has been manipulated to control—rather than liberate—students through the erasure and distortion of Black history, experiences, perspectives, and capabilities. Additionally, American schools prioritize memorization and obedience while failing to equip students with critical thinking skills. As a result, students are trained to become workers rather than innovators, worldbuilders, and change-makers. For nearly a century, Black educational critics have stated that these systems were designed to subjugate Black community members through dehumanization and enslavement of the mind. These critiques are foundational to the aims of Afrocentric education which posits the life experiences …