Digital Commons Network^™

Cracking The Hive Code: A Quantitative Examination Of Queen Bee Syndrome Behaviors In K–12 Education, Katie Renee Gordon

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Queen Bee Syndrome (QBS) has historically been used to describe women who distance themselves from other women and hinder the advancement of female peers (Staines et al., 1974). While early explanations framed QBS as rooted in individual competitiveness, more recent scholarship suggests it may reflect responses to gender discrimination and organizational context (Derks, 2017). In K–12 education, women comprise the majority of the workforce, yet remain underrepresented in upper leadership roles, particularly the superintendency. The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of Queen Bee Syndrome behaviors among female leaders in K–12 educational settings and to explore how internal …

Qualitative Insights In Superintendent Habits And School Culture, Katy Eastes

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Superintendents are responsible for shaping the vision of a district, yet they are often removed from the daily interactions that define building-level school culture. This study examined the relationship between superintendents’ professional habits and their ability to identify and demonstrate ownership of school culture. Guided by Leader–Member Exchange Theory and Organizational Culture Theory, the research explored whether relational and organizational dynamics influence how accurately superintendents perceive culture within their schools. Using a dataset from the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute, public school superintendents who had nominated a principal between 2021 and 2025 were identified as potential participants. Ninetythree superintendents were invited …

The Experience Of South Asian International Students In Online Classes, Ashima Sitaula

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a widespread shift to online education, compelling higher education institutions to reassess their delivery methods. South Asian international students, a significant global demographic, were particularly affected. This qualitative study examines how South Asian international graduate students experience online learning at U.S. universities and the strategies they use to succeed. Guided by the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, the research addresses two questions: (1) What are the experiences faced by South Asian international students in online classes? and (2) What tools and strategies do they use to enhance their online learning experience? Participants were ten graduate students …

The Environment, Health, And Vector Nexus: Evaluating The Spatiotemporal Variability And Societal Impact Of Ticks In Arkansas, Dalton Williams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a surging public health and veterinary concern in the United States. In states like Arkansas, climate change and shifting land use have recalibrated the ecological niches of vector species. This research utilizes species distribution and ecological niche modeling to assess the spatiotemporal suitability of ixodid tick habitats, specifically where environmental and socioeconomic factors intersect. By integrating spatial science with public health frameworks, this study identifies priority intervention areas in underserved rural regions where healthcare resources are often constrained. This study provides a comprehensive methodological framework, leveraging remote sensing datasets and historic disease data to delineate exposure …

Persistence In The Pressure Cooker: A Mixed-Methods Case Study Of Teacher Working Conditions In High Turnover School Districts, John E. Byrnes

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

American schools face teacher shortages in many disciplines and age groups (Darling-Hammond et al., 2023; Learning Policy Institute, 2024). Rural and urban schools, especially those serving low-socioeconomic-status students, feel this shortage most (Goldhaber et al., 2021; Ingersoll et al., 2022). Teachers report rising dissatisfaction with their work (Lin et al., 2024). This study examined teacher working conditions in two high-turnover districts: Orleans and Jefferson Parish Schools. It used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods case study to assess working conditions (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011; Stake, 1995; Yin, 2009). District and federal data showed limited resources in Jefferson Parish. Orleans Parish had …

An Interdisciplinary Review Of The Gaslighting Literature And Future Research Agenda, Paula A. Kincaid, Samantha C.O. Stalion

Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Gaslighting is increasingly discussed in organizational contexts, yet its meaning, boundaries, and process remain unclear within management and organizational scholarship. Although research on gaslighting has expanded across multiple disciplines, existing work is conceptually fragmented and difficult to integrate, limiting cumulative theory development and empirical progress. In this review, we synthesize 56 years of gaslighting research (1969-2025; 266 articles) to clarify how gaslighting has been defined, studied, and applied, with particular attention paid to its relevance for work and organizational settings. We identify four recurring ways gaslighting has been conceptualized and show how variation across these approaches has contributed to inconsistent …

The Effects Of Fluency Building On Undergraduate Student Performance, Lauren B. Shibley

Dissertations

Online learning has become integral to higher education, with enrollment steadily increasing over the past decade and accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research highlights the importance of flexibility, learner autonomy, and self-regulated learning skills in this environment, with studies demonstrating that strategies such as mastery-based, self-paced instruction, fluency training, and timely feedback support student engagement and academic success. Early work adapting personalized instruction for online use (Pear & Crone-Todd, 1999) and subsequent studies on fluency practice (Quigley et al., 2018; Urbina et al., 2019) emphasize how these supports can improve concept retention. Despite these advances, more quantitative research is needed …

Increasing Pride Skills For Child Engagement Using Cdi-Only Ipcit With Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jordan T. Etherington, Zachary C. Labrot, Emily R. Defouw, Brad Dufrene, Brittany D. Garza, Amarah Sweaks, Briley Newcomb

Faculty Publications

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display elevated levels of challenging behaviors and decreased social engagement. Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) may help children with ASD increase rates at which they engage and interact with their caregivers. Existing barriers to treatment completion, including high attrition and travel time and costs, may be ameliorated by delivering PCIT virtually (iPCIT) and setting attainable mastery criteria. This study utilized a multiple baseline design across three caregiver-child dyads with ASD to determine whether an iPCIT protocol affected caregivers’ use of positive engagement skills, children’s engagement, and children’s challenging behaviors. Results demonstrated increased and …

Reward Representation Learning, Gregory M. Hyde

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The \emph{Markov decision process} (MDP) has long served as the canonical model for sequential decision-making. However, it assumes that the reward function is Markov with respect to a given state representation---an assumption that often does not hold in practice. Instead, agents typically only perceive streams of observations and actions and must infer the latent structure according to which reward unfolds over time. From this perspective, reward prediction is initially non-Markov, reflecting a mismatch between the agent's current representation and the underlying structure of the environment.

In this thesis, we advance the view that reward is not simply a signal to …

Augmented Reality In Fashion Retail: A Walmart Unlimited Study, Chloe A. Mcpherson

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

As technology continues to evolve, augmented reality (AR) has become increasingly common within the retail and fashion industries. This study explored Gen Z consumers’ perceptions of immersive AR shopping experiences through Walmart Unlimited, an interactive digital shopping platform. The purpose of this research was to better understand how younger consumers respond to AR-enhanced shopping environments and whether these technologies influence attitudes toward convenience, engagement, and sustainability in retail.

A quantitative research design was used for this study. Participants completed the Walmart Unlimited shopping experience and then responded to a Qualtrics survey measuring areas such as immersion, satisfaction, ease of use, …

Exploring The Significance Of Hyper-Feminine Fashion Within Gen Z, Riley D. Frymark

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examines the rise of hyper-feminine fashion within Gen Z and the role that social media plays in shaping trends. Through a social media content analysis, this study explores how hyper-feminine fashion and aesthetics gained popularity and how it is perceived by Gen Z women. The findings suggest that Gen Z associates hyper-feminine fashion with empowerment, agency, and a sense of nostalgia redefining and challenging traditional expectations of femininity. These findings informed a fashion design developed to reflect key themes and design elements identified in the content analysis such as a pink color palette, lace, bows, and ruffles. Overall, …

The World Of Counterfeits: How Fake Sneakers And Clothing Affect The Fashion Industry, Jake R. Watkins

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

Counterfeit sneakers and clothing continue to grow at an unprecedented rate, creating a global market valued between $400 and $800 billion and posing significant challenges for both consumers and fashion brands (Cardona, 2024). This study investigates the motivations behind counterfeit purchases, the economic and social factors that sustain counterfeit culture, and the effectiveness of current authentication resources. Using qualitative content analysis of discussions across 4 selected Reddit communities, the research identifies five dominant themes influencing counterfeit consumption: financial constraints, social display, authenticity and identity, ethical rationalization, and functional use. Findings reveal that consumers frequently turn to counterfeit goods due to …

The Impacts Of Doomscrolling On Adolescent Development, Neyssa Birotte

Education

Current research indicates that doomscrolling on social media negatively impacts one’s mental health and emotional well-being. The term “doomscrolling” refers to the act of scrolling excessively through distressing content on social media, often leading the individual down a rabbit hole of bad news. Doomscrolling can be associated with any type of distressing or traumatic event, such as school shootings or the COVID-19 pandemic. Being exposed to such negative content on a daily basis can be destructive to adolescents’ mental health. As a result, this can influence their ability to manage their own emotions in a healthy manner. Additionally, doomscrolling is …

A Dyadic Mixed Methods Study Of An Online Asynchronous Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Intervention For Individuals Diagnosed With Dementia And Their Caregivers, Gavin Brendan Green

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

A dementia diagnosis can be overwhelming for both the person diagnosed and the people who care for them. Many experience stress, uncertainty, and emotional strain, yet most support programs require significant time and are difficult to access. This study examined a brief, online program called the Compassion Compass, designed to provide early emotional support for both individuals living with dementia and their caregivers.

The program is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and can be completed in about 30–45 minutes. It focuses on helping individuals notice difficult thoughts and emotions, reconnect with what matters to them, and take small, …

Where Were Women?: Women In The United States Intelligence Organizations From The Office Of Strategic Services To The Central Intelligence Agency, Madison Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

United States intelligence historians have largely neglected the importance of women’s intelligence labor as well as the centralized intelligence organizations that existed from World War II to the early years of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) – including the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Strategic Service Unit (SSU), and Central Intelligence Group (CIG). While assumptions about women in intelligence work during this period are usually drawn from stereotypical portrayals in popular media, such as books and movies, this thesis utilized statistical data and other agency sources to build a broader understanding of women’s actual labor.

This thesis demonstrates that women …

From Classroom To Courtroom: Understanding Real Pathways Into Legal Careers, Timothy S. Troxel

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This study examines how legal professionals describe their preparation for legal and law-adjacent careers, with the goal of identifying practical guidance for college students entering the field. Existing literature on legal career preparation often emphasizes measurable qualifications, while offering broad or generalized advice. At the same time, research on career development highlights the importance of experiential learning and mentorship, suggesting a gap between formal guidance and lived experience. To explore this gap, this study conducted interviews with ten legal professionals across a range of roles and experience levels. Participants were asked about their backgrounds, career paths, skill development, and other …

The Role Of Perceived Perpetrator Centrality In Intentions To Express Or Confront Sexist Behaviors, Anna G. Miller

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Confronting sexist acts (e.g., by saying, “That was sexist!”) has been empirically shown to reduce others’ sexist behaviors. However, bystanders are often reluctant to confront sexist acts, particularly when perpetrators of sexism are perceived as high in status. Prior studies have operationalized status in terms of organizational rank. However, individuals may also have status by virtue of their connections to other group members, which I investigate in the present study. Participants with full-time work experience (N = 451) were asked to read a vignette describing a sexist incident in which a male perpetrator of sexism had many (vs. few) …

Teacher–Student Relationship Quality As A Predictor Of Effective Classroom Leadership, Ty P. Rockwell

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

A teacher is the leader of their classroom. Strong teachers manage classroom climate, deliver engaging instruction, support students’ academic outcomes, and form lasting relationships with students. This study examined whether teacher–student relationship quality predicts student engagement, academic success, and subject interest, and whether classroom psychological safety and perceived teacher support help explain those links. Drawing on leader-member exchange (LMX) theory and educational psychology, the study treated teachers as classroom leaders and asked University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) undergraduates to recall either a positive or a negative experience with a high school core-course teacher. A total of 128 participants completed …

Artistic Embodiment: The Role Of Art-Based Research In Communicating Disability Experiences, Juliana Scheopner

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Visual art has immense potential to communicate complex experiences of disability. As a disabled artist, I am interested in how disability has been portrayed in artwork, particularly in how other disabled artists choose to represent their lived experiences. Through art-based research, this study explores how disabled artists have used portraiture to depict their disability. Selected art includes work from Frida Kahlo, Deborah Padfield, Persimmon Blackbridge, and the author. Following an analysis of literature, selected artworks, and salient disability scholarship, emergent themes were identified. The focus on the complexity of disability experiences demonstrated the importance of considering a wide range of …

The Self-Perception & Identity Of Latino Men: Looking At The 2024 Presidential Election & Its Impact On Latino Communities, Lucia M. Revollo

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

In the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election and under the second Trump administration, Latino and immigrant community has experienced significant sociopolitical impacts. During the presidential campaigning of the elections, media narratives focused on the male Latino voters as a contributing factor to this presidential election. However, this was not as big of a contributor as the media and research centers are portraying. This study addresses critical gaps in existing research by examining the self-perception and identity of Latino men and how these factors shaped their voting decisions in the 2024 presidential election. Especially looking at the current trends in …

The Lasting Impact: Aces, Foster Care Placement, And Lifespan Development, Abigail J. Luth

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Research shows that children in foster care experience adverse childhood experiences at a disproportionately high rate. This significantly impacts developmental, and health outcomes across ones lifetime. Through interviews with field specialists and individuals with experience in foster care, a qualitative analysis was conducted to identify thematic responses and draw conclusions. Interviewees were briefed on the project and gave consent to participate. Key findings included a high ACE score prevalence among foster youth as well as a need for stability in home placements. Further research should be done to look into how professionals can help make the transition into foster care …

Cartoons From Dickinson Poetry, Abby B. Tarr

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This zine interprets poems by Emily Dickinson through cartoons. The drawings do not replace the poems. They offer a different way to understand them, translating abstract language into clear, visual moments. This approach shows how meaning can shift when it moves between forms, from text to image. The zine invites readers to engage with Dickinson’s work in a different format while still preserving the original work and context.

Success In Motion: A Comparative Thematic Analysis Of Patient Success In Inpatient And Outpatient Physical Therapy, William T. Gish

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Physical therapy is practiced across a wide range of clinical settings that differ substantially in patient populations, goals, and care timelines. While standardized outcome measures are commonly used to evaluate treatment effectiveness, little research has examined how physical therapists themselves define successful outcomes  or whether those definitions vary across inpatient and outpatient contexts. This study employed a qualitative mixed-methods design to explore how physical therapists conceptualize success in clinical practice. Ten licensed physical therapists participated in semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Supplementary quantitative data were collected via an online background survey. Five primary themes emerged: goal-oriented, patient-centered …

Cultural Influences On The Association Between Gender Typicality And Self-Perceived Competence In Adolescents Across Multiple Countries, Alexa Mcinerney

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Participants were early adolescents from Bogota, Colombia; Curitiba, Brazil; Montreal, Canada; and Shanghai, China. Correlations between gender typicality and social, cognitive, and physical competence were examined across cultural contexts. Gender typicality was strongly, positively correlated with social competence, and weakly, positively correlated with physical competence. Classroom-level collectivism and individualism were tested as moderators of the examined associations but did not significantly impact the relationships. Place and gender effects were analyzed. Three-way interactions between gender typicality, gender, and place were significant for social and physical competence. Gender typicality and social competence were distinctively weakly related among boys in Bogota. Gender typicality …

From Feeling To Faith: How Affective Experience Gives Rise To Religion, Asia Wewel

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This paper argues that religion is the intelligible, structured response to distinct pressures arising from within human experience itself. Drawing on Schleiermacher, Otto, Kant, and Becker, the paper traces religion's emergence through four phases. The first establishes that religious feeling is pre-conceptual and categorically distinct from ordinary emotion. The second works through Otto's correction of Schleiermacher: the genuinely religious encounter is not dependence intensified but the numinous. The third shows that Kant, arriving from an entirely different direction, reaches the same destination: practical reason diagnoses a radical evil the will cannot correct alone, demanding an ethical commonwealth that mirrors …

“Am I A Criminal?”: How College Students Conceptualize Misconduct And Crime, Talia J. Norby

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Institutions of higher education play a critical role in regulating student behavior; however, existing research has given limited attention to how students themselves interpret conduct addressed through campus disciplinary systems. The present study examined how college students differentiate institutional misconduct from crime in university settings and whether those judgments are associated with perceptions of institutional legitimacy. Data was collected through an online Qualtrics survey administered to 146 students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Participants were presented with six vignette-based scenarios depicting campus-relevant behaviors and asked to classify each as criminal or non-criminal, rate its perceived severity, and identify …

Soft Skills In The Workplace: A Comparative Analysis, Meg Rothfuss

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Soft skills are defined as any non-technical ability related to how you do your work. While hard skills are commonly thought of first when it comes to job responsibilities, soft skills are increasingly important to the success of any role. Soft skills can be broken into the broad categories of cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills. The goal of this study was to define the soft skill profiles of different industries and compare the similarities and differences across industries. To do this, an interview and survey were conducted including employees from a variety of industries. The interviews compared the IT and …

Utilizing Brain Computer Interfaces That Interact With A Virtual Keyboard, Skye Lilienthal

Honors Theses

A brain-computer interface (BCI) can allow someone to utilize electrical signals in their brain to complete tasks using a computer. BCIs can help people take advantage of technology to type without the need for a traditional keyboard setup. This paper used the OpenBCI Mark IV to test the effectiveness of non-invasive BCIs with dry electrodes within the OpenViBE P300 Speller. This paper shows how to use the P300 speller through a setup pipeline. Results indicate that electrode placement affects P300 accuracy and that areas related to visual processing improve accuracy, suggesting that P300 signals can be detected within OpenBCI Mark …

Designing For Wellbeing: Expanding Frameworks, Deepening Impact, Leandro Miletto Tonetto

DRS Summer Meetings

No abstract provided.

Design For Global Health Research: Challenges And Future Perspectives, Claudia De Souza Libânio

DRS Summer Meetings

No abstract provided.