Digital Commons Network^™

The New Middle Cinema: Aesthetic Restraint, The Urban Middle Class, And The Reconfiguration Of Mainstream Bollywood (2007–2017), Hasnatun Nabi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Between 2007 and 2017, a distinctive wave of mainstream Hindi films, termed here as the “New Middle Cinema”, employed aesthetic restraint to reconfigure Bollywood’s identity in response to a rapidly changing India. Rejecting the industry’s traditional spectacle, melodrama, and visual opulence, these films embraced naturalistic visuals, grounded performances, character‑driven narratives, and a muted color palette. Drawing on industrial analysis, close textual reading, and audience reception data, this thesis examines seven representative films (Chak De India, Wake Up Sid, My Name is Khan, The Lunchbox, Piku, Kapoor & Sons, and Lipstick Under My Burkha …

Three Degrees Of Representation: How Genai Filters, Retrieves, And Remixes Lesbian Film Data, Maria G. Baker

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project investigates how generative AI systems assemble, filter, and represent Lesbian film data. Through auditing GenAI outputs across multiple dimensions (text, images, metadata), 3°R explores what gets included, excluded, and transformed in the process.

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Three Degrees of Representation is a public website (https://mgb513.github.io/lesfilm-meets-AI/) featuring an investigation of AI-generated images and texts in response to Lesbian film data. Filtering simple prompts based on Lesbian film titles through the algorithms of AI image and text generators makes visible how these systems digest and remix existing (training) data, and how aspects of Lesbian representation are either amplified or suppressed …

Exploring Minor Feelings: Asian And Asian American’S Racialized Emotions, Identity, And Mental Health Amidst Covid-19, Kristina Mirasol Arevalo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the central role of racialized emotions in shaping how Asians/Asian Americans (A/AA) experience, interpret, and respond to racism, yet these emotional processes remain underexamined in psychological research. Rather than treating emotions as outcomes of discrimination, this dissertation conceptualizes racialized emotions as dynamic processes through which structural racism is experienced, interpreted, and embodied in everyday life. This framework positions racialized emotions as a key mechanism linking racialized social contexts to identity development and mental health. Across three studies using qualitative and quantitative methods, I examine how racialized emotions shape racial meaning-making, ethnic-racial identity, and psychological well-being among …

Healing Historical-Intergenerational Trauma And Colonial Soul Wounds With Ancestral Healing Practices And Psychosocial Limpias: An Ofrenda For The Salvadoran Community, Joanna D. Beltrán Girón

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In 1992, the United States-backed Salvadoran military and the leftist guerrillas signed the Chapultepec Peace Accords, which put an end to a 12-year war in El Salvador that resulted in 75,000 deaths, 12,000 forced disappearances, and half a million internal displacements. Around 85% of the reports made by survivors of the war attributed the violence to state agents, paramilitary groups, and death squads.While taking into account this history of state violence, this dissertation is interested in the psychosocial aftermath of the war and in how survivors integrate healing practices in their lives in response to the painful memories their bodies …

Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems And The Principles Of Distinction And Proportionality, Nicholas Cromie

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) challenge the core principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), distinction and proportionality, by delegating life-and-death decisions to algorithms rather than human judgment.  This dissertation examines whether LAWS can conform to these principles and, if so, under what conditions.  Through process tracing, the study traces the historical integration of disruptive weapons technologies, including chemical, biological, nuclear, and armed drones, into IHL-compliant frameworks or their exclusion via prohibition.  Each case reveals distinct pathways: outright bans for indiscriminate or inherently inhumane systems (chemical and biological weapons), normative restraint and limited acceptance despite destructive power (nuclear weapons) and phased …

Visible Lives, Invisible Strands: Critical Consciousness And Civic Engagement Among Muslim Sa/Swana College Students, Firdevs Yigiter

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In recent years, young people have navigated an increasingly polarized sociopolitical climate marked by racism, Islamophobia, and heightened racial violence (Cureton, 2023; Wegemer et al., 2025). These tensions have intensified in the current moment, shaped by the aftermath of October 7, activism for Palestinian rights, and the political climate of the Trump Administration. College campuses, which historically are sites of political activism and social transformation, are not neutral spaces. For SA/SWANA Muslim college students, these dynamics are intensified by systematic marginalization and a polarized political climate (Khamis, 2023).  In this dissertation, I examine how SA/SWANA Muslim students experience ethnic-racial discrimination, …

Sexual Communications, Digital Intimacy, And The Extremely Limited Admissibility Of Evidence Of A Complainant’S Intention To Consent, Elaine Craig

Dalhousie Law Journal

Research indicates that women are less likely than men to have any intention of actually engaging in the sexual activities they communicate about digitally, and men are more likely than women to assume that sexual text messages indicate an intention to engage in sex “in real life.” Sexting often reflects a highly stylized, performance-based, uninhibited and sometimes disinhibited form of discourse that distinguishes it from in-person communications. It is frequently open to interpretation and only rarely can these communications reasonably be said to reveal a reliable and non-discriminatory inference about a complainant’s actual sexual intentions for the future, let alone …

Toward A Synthetic Theory Of Tolerance For Carnivores: Learning From A Half-Century Of Research On Attitudes Toward Wolves, Jeremy T. Bruskotter, John A. Vucetich, Lisa Naughton-Treves, José Vicente López-Bao, Benjamin Ghasemi, Nicole D. Sintov, Tara L. Teel, Neil H. Carter, L. Mark Elbroch, Adrian Treves

Michigan Tech Publications

Human intolerance is a critical factor limiting both the distributions and populations of large carnivores. Using gray wolves as a case study, we synthesize a half-century of scholarship with the aims of clarifying the conceptual foundations of “tolerance” and integrating insights from across the social sciences. Specifically, we review longitudinal studies of attitudes toward wolves and show how trends vary across the populations examined. We then identify and discuss three complementary theories that help explain variation in tolerance across individuals, social groups, and societies: (1) Risk–benefit theories illuminate how perceptions of risks, benefits, and controllability shape individuals’ tolerance of carnivores; …

Why Smallholders (Do Not) Adopt Productivity-Increasing Technologies? Developing A Smallholder Adoption-Process Model Through An In-Depth Qualitative Study In Ethiopia, Tamiru Amanu Abetu, Paul T.M. Ingenbleek, K. E. Giller, Endalkachew Wolde-Meskel, Edward Baars

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Research and innovation have developed an impressive number of technologies that can increase the agricultural productivity of African smallholders. The impact of technology is nevertheless hindered by the heterogenous and unpredictable adoption patterns of smallholders. Most current studies examine farm-level constraints and environmental barriers (e.g., distance to market and access to financial capital) as the main explanation for variations in adoption. We take a complementary approach that draws on adoption theories from consumer psychology, thus considering the interplay between contextual barriers and the micro-level decision making processes of smallholders with regard to the adoption of technology. Qualitative data on the …

Community Programs That Build Connection, Jihye Baek, Cal J. Halvorsen

Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging

Social connection is a fundamental human need and a critical driver of individual health and well-being. When older adults maintain stable, supportive relationships, they experience significantly better physical, mental, and cognitive health outcomes. In response to growing evidence of its public health impact, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated social connection as a global public health priority, and the U.S. Surgeon General issued an Advisory calling for action to address the loneliness epidemic.

Substations In The Digital Economy: Fiscal And Political Geographies Of Data Centers In Georgia, Jacqueline Wright

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

In recent years data center construction has drastically increased around the world, especially in the U.S. Building out the infrastructure of the digital economy consumes water, electricity, and capital at great scale, drawing resources from public use towards regimes of private accumulation. This thesis takes Metro Atlanta as a particular microcosm within international digital infrastructure buildout, first worth investigating on its own terms, but also for lessons that may reach across the broader geography of the digital economy. This thesis takes up concerns with the politics of data centers siting, how these projects fit into narratives of economic development, and …

Fluency ≠ Literacy: Practical Strategies To Scaffold, Not Offload, Rachel Rupprecht, Heidi Keller, Vanessa Hörmann

Teaching & Learning with AI

This open-access resource kit helps faculty transition students from passive AI outsourcing to critical evaluation and essential skill cultivation. It includes 11 Assignment Templates & Rubrics, a Template Selector Gem, an AI Literacy Coach Gem, a Mindset Shifts & Expert Blind Spots visual guide, and student-facing resources.

Minding The Body: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Somatic Experiences During Therapeutic Psychedelic Use, Daniel Grossman

ETDs from 2020-2029

Somatic phenomena, including shaking, spontaneous movement, vocalization, and purging, are commonly reported during psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT). However, despite their perceived importance to some users, their role in the therapeutic process has remained largely unexamined. This mixed-methods study provides the first systematic investigation of these experiences during therapeutic psychedelic use, with particular attention to observable bodily responses (OBRs) and release-like somatic experiences (RLSEs), defined as a subset characterized by sensations of physical discharge. An online retrospective survey (N = 286) assessed the prevalence of OBRs and RLSEs, and their relationships with body awareness, bodily dissociation, emotional breakthrough, and perceived therapeutic benefit. …

The Healthcare Transition Experiences Of Emerging Adults With Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Leslie Noojin Pitts

ETDs from 2020-2029

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a group of disorders characterized by enzyme deficiencies impairing adrenal hormone production and requiring lifelong management. Individuals with CAH experience increased morbidity and mortality due to the underlying condition, steroid exposure, and inadequate preventative care. Despite clinical guidelines recommending a structured healthcare transition (HCT), little is known about the HCT experiences of emerging adults with CAH. Understanding these experiences is critical for identifying practice gaps and developing interventions to improve health outcomes. This qualitative descriptive study explored the HCT experiences, challenges, and outcomes of emerging adults with CAH, as guided by the refined Social Ecological …

Randy D. Gordon, Randy D. Gordon

Faculty CVs

No abstract provided.

Philip Petrov, Philip Petrov

Faculty CVs

No abstract provided.

Patient-Reported Distress And Anxiety During Cone-Beam Ct Imaging Sessions With Increased Gantry Rotation Speeds, Atefeh Rezaei, Alex T. Price, Theodore H. Arsenault, Runyon Woods, Rojano Kashani, Angela Y. Jia, Daniel E. Spratt, Clair R. Kueny, Lauren E. Henke

Psychological Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Introduction We conducted a prospective imaging clinical trial to evaluate rapid cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging on a C-arm linear accelerator. As part of this trial, we evaluated patient-reported anxiety and distress before and after imaging sessions to evaluate the impact of increased gantry rotation speed on patient experience. Materials and methods Forty patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT) as part of standard clinical care were separately imaged using CBCT imaging on a C-arm linear accelerator with faster gantry rotation (1.5 rpm versus standard 1.0 rpm speed used clinically) as part of an imaging clinical trial. Patient anxiety and distress were evaluated …

Updated 2026 Comprehensive Evidence-Based Guidelines For Facet Joint Interventions In The Management Of Chronic Spinal Pain: American Society Of Interventional Pain Physicians (Asipp) Guidelines, Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Mahendra R. Sanapati, Sheri L. Albers, Alan D. Kaye, Vinita Singh, Nebojsa Nick Knezevic, Rajesh Naidu Janapala, Amol Soin, Annu Navani, Adam M. Kaye, Ahad Mussarat, Alexander Bautista, Dajie Wang, Paul J. Christo, Maged Mina, Daneshvari R. Solanki, Devi Nampiaparampil, Gerard Limerick, John Manor, Kris Ferguson, Lynn Cintron, Michael Bottros, Shirley Chen, Shivam S. Shah, Vahid Grami, Douglas P. Beall, Shalini Shah, Sairam Atluri, Mittal S. Prajapati, Alaa Abd-Elsayed, Salahadin Abdi, Steve Aydin, Sanjay Bakshi, Joseph Cabaret, Aaron K. Calodney, Kenneth D. Candido, Christopher G. Gharibo, Mayank Gupta, Michael Harned, Standiford Helm Ii, Sachin Sunny Jha, Radomir Kosanovic, Vidyasagar Pampati, Ramarao Pasupuleti, Bradley W. Wargo, Hermant Kalia, Gary Schwartz, Joshua A. Hirsch

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Chronic axial spinal pain is a major contributor to disability and healthcare expenditures, with facet joints recognized as one of the established sources of pain.

OBJECTIVE: To provide evidence-based guidance in performing diagnostic and therapeutic facet joint interventions.

METHODS: A multidisciplinary panel of experts from various medical and pharmaceutical disciplines, convened by the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP), reviewed the available evidence, considered patient perspectives, and formulated recommendations for facet joint interventions in the management of chronic pain.The methodology included the development of key questions with evidence-based statements and recommendations. Grading of the evidence and recommendations followed …

Table Of Contents, Journal Of Youth Development

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Japanese Learners And Mixed-Speech Styles, Nana Kawada

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores to what extent Japanese as a Target Language (JTL, henceforth) learners use mixed-speech styles. "Mixed-speech styles" refers to the phenomenon that occurs when speakers shift speech styles during the course of an interaction. The three primary speech styles are (1) the desu/masu forms, which are generally considered formal speech-level markers, (2) the non-desu/masu forms, considered informal speech-level markers, and (3) the Chūto shūryō-gata, which I translate to unfinished utterances that do not contain a clear style-marker.

The studies examined naturally occurring conversation point out that Japanese speakers often strategically manipulate and mix these speech styles …

Threats And Political Violence, J. Richard Broughton

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Line Warming: Improperly Influencing Voters Or Mitigating The Effects Of Voter Suppression?, Elizabeth Ellen Gordon

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Sex On Trial, Nathalie Greenfield, Sandra L. Babcock

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

On January 21, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized in Andrew v. White that the State’s introduction of sexualizing evidence in a woman’s capital trial may violate due process. In Brenda Andrew’s case, prosecutors presented evidence about her sexual relationships, clothing, and style of underwear as proof that she was guilty of capital murder. Our research, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, reveals for the first time that the prosecution’s tactics in Brenda Andrew’s case were far from unique. Based on a systematic review of the trial transcripts of every woman currently on death row in the …

Navigating Future Careers And Life Purpose: The Effect Of Artificial Intelligence Experiences On Undergraduate Students At A Liberal Arts College, Shannon Kelly Schans

Dissertations

This interpretive phenomenological analysis examines how 13 undergraduate students at a liberal arts college construct meaning from their experiences with artificial intelligence technologies in relation to their career development and life purpose. Guided by an integrated theoretical framework combining Career Construction Theory (Savickas, 2012, 2013) and Transformative Learning Theory (Mezirow, 1991, 2000), the study addresses three research questions: how students describe their AI experiences across educational contexts, what connections they make between those experiences and their developing professional identities, and how they integrate AI experiences into broader narratives about work and purpose.

Data are collected through phenomenological interviews with 13 …

Percepciones, Uso Y Confianza En Ia Generativa Según Género En Estudiantes Universitarios, Elena Rodríguez-Rodríguez, María Moreno Guzmán, Irene Ojeda Fernández, Juan Pablo Hervás-Pérez, Inmaculada Mateos-Aparicio, Alejandra García-Alonso, María Luisa Pérez-Rodríguez, Rocío De La Peña Armada, José Raggio, Beatriz Gómez-Gómez, Araceli Gónzalez-Cortés, Emma Gracia-Lor, Gustavo Moreno-Martín, Ángel Juilio Reviejo-García, Esther Sánchez-Tirado, Jon Sanz Landaluce, Arturo Casado, Marta Sánchez-Paniagua

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

Introducción: La presencia creciente de la inteligencia artificial (IA) en la universidad está transformando el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje y la relación del alumnado con la tecnología. Un equipo docente de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) y la Universidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC) diseñó diversas estrategias para integrar la IA generativa (IAg) como recurso complementario en asignaturas de estudios universitarios oficiales de Grado y Posgrado. Esta iniciativa surge de la necesidad de evaluar la implementación de la IA para mejorar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje y fomentar un uso crítico entre el alumnado de estas …

Teach In English Or Perish: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Lives Of Three Emi Educators, Michela Gronchi

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Teaching in English Medium Instruction (EMI) programs can significantly reshape educators’ professional identities particularly when English is not their first language. This article summarizes a previously published phenomenological study with three Italian EMI educators in educational linguistics. Drawing on creative fortune lines to trace their experiences, the study showed that participants’ disciplinary field played a central role in their lived identity, intersecting with issues of language teaching and native-speakerist ideologies. The findings also revealed a heightened awareness of multilingual competence across English and other languages, which contributed to identity formation, alongside a pronounced tension between their professional selves expressed in …

Empowering International Students For Positive Social Risk-Taking In U.S. Higher Education, Maha Azzazi

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

During the acculturation process to their new life in the United States, international students can face challenges in building meaningful connections with their campus community due to difficulties in social integration. There has been limited research on finding effective ways to help international students overcome these challenges, despite numerous studies exploring the factors contributing to international students' disengagement, such as cultural and linguistic barriers and financial difficulties. To address this gap, this phenomenological qualitative study examines the experiences of eight international students at a US university. Among the themes that emerge from preliminary results are familiar challenges faced by students, …

Experience Therapy: How Service Experiences Regulate Everyday Negative Affect, Chang Ma Ph.D., Jae Eun Park, Alei Fan, Laurie Wu

Faculty Publications

In today's fast-paced and high-pressure society, maintaining emotional well-being requires effective strategies for managing everyday negative affect. This research examines the role of service experiences in reducing negative affect and introduces experience therapy as a novel strategy for affect regulation. Through a series of studies, we assess the effectiveness of experience therapy and investigate how different service experiences—varying in levels of personal effort involvement and social involvement—contribute to negative affect regulation. The findings demonstrate that experiences requiring high personal effort and social involvement are particularly effective in alleviating negative affect, especially among emotionally stressed individuals. These effects are mediated, respectively, …

Enhancing The Metacognitive Thinking Of Middle-Grade Multilingual Learners: A Design-Based Research Study Leveraging Dialogic Teaching, Renee R. Burns

Dissertations

This study explores how dialogic teaching can enhance metacognition and self-efficacy among middle school multilingual learners (MLs) who face challenges with the academic language demands of literacy tasks. Using a design-based research (DBR) methodology, specifically formative experiment, the Metacognitive Dialogic Teaching Protocol (MDTP) was implemented over seven iterative cycles. The research questions were as follows: How do dialogic interactions impact metacognition in middle-grade MLs? How does Metacognitive Dialogic Teaching affect comprehension development in these students? And how does it influence their self-efficacy? The participants included six middle-grade MLs engaged in a Tier 2 literacy intervention who initially exhibited fake reading …

Aged 539 Internship Report: Cal Poly Rodeo Media And Marketing, Anna Grace Durham

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship report examines the role of media and marketing within the Cal Poly Rodeo Program and highlights the integration of leadership, athlete development, and strategic communications in a collegiate athletics setting. Serving as the Media Manager for Cal Poly Rodeo, the internship focused on strengthening the program's digital presence, enhancing brand identity, and increasing community engagement, particularly surrounding the 2026 Poly Royal Rodeo. Through collaboration with University Administrators, the Officer Team, sponsors, and external media partners, comprehensive marketing campaigns were developed and implemented, resulting in significant increases in social media reach, audience engagement, and ticket sales. The project included …