Digital Commons Network^™

Politics, Pedagogy, And Public Perception: A Shifting Understanding Of Liberalism In America, Jackson Trahant

Honors Theses

At Harding University, and in broader American political discourse, liberalism has been contorted from a prolific political philosophy into a meaningless misnomer. This paper studies what liberalism is to define what it isn't, by building a foundation of understanding in both modern theorists, like Sheldon Wolin, Alan Ryan, and Ian Adams, and the seminal works of classical liberal thinkers such as Locke, Tocqueville and Mill. Next, I deploy a self-designed survey, consisting of 4 passages derived from the literature written by those above. 80 Harding students responded, and their responses were gathered into SPSS, a data processing software, and ran …

The Effect Of Self - Conscious Emotions On Help- Seeking Behavior, Kiera Blankinship

Honors Theses

Self-conscious emotions are a select category of emotions which are of special interest in the field of psychology because of the impact they have in the therapy room and beyond. Shame, pride, and guilt are incredibly influential in behavior, self-concept, and many other areas, yet we still know so little about them. This study addresses a gap in the literature regarding the interaction and correlation between proneness to self-conscious emotions and intentions to seek help for mental health issues. The research questions were evaluated using a quasi-experimental survey design utilizing the Test of Self- Conscious Affect (TOSCA) and the General …

The Effects Of An Administrator’S Years Of Service On A K-12 School’S Culture Perceived By Teachers, Mitchell S. Schank

Education Doctorate Dissertations

This correlative study explored the relationship between the length of service of K-12 administrators and teachers’ perception of school cultures in public schools. The study used a correlation analysis to determine significance in these two variables. Three key domains were used to measure school culture: engagement, safety, and environment. Data was collected through a survey using a modified questionnaire from the ED School Climate Survey (EDSCLS) to assess perceptions of school culture. These findings found no significant correlation between the length of service of administrators and teachers’ perceptions of school culture. R2 values of each domain were below 0.1, showing …

The Impact Of Prenatal Yoga On Hip Mobility And Delivery Outcomes, Zoe Avery

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Yoga has been shown to decrease lumbar pain, improve maternal mental health, and improve delivery outcomes. While there are many well-established benefits of yoga, the mechanism by which yoga elicits these improvements is unclear. One potential mechanism that has not been studied is through improvements in hip mobility. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test the effect of prenatal yoga on hip mobility. The secondary aim was to determine the relationship between hip mobility and pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: Hip mobility via hip internal and external range of motion and hip flexor muscle length was measured in pregnant females …

Differences Between Media And Industry Professionals’ Views On Welfare Issues At Equine Racetracks In The United States, Olivia Burris

Honors College Theses

The objective of this project was to see if there was a difference in views between lay publications in the media and industry professionals regarding welfare issues occurring at equine racetracks. This study focused on the issues of drug usage and racing-related injuries in racehorses. This project examined current lay publications versus surveys of industry professionals discussing the specific welfare issues. These lay publications were reviewed and summarized for comparison to the industry professionals’ responses to the survey.

What The F**K Happened: An Analysis Of Why The Emerging Democratic Majority Theory Failed, Olivia Mitchell

Honors College Theses

Despite the Democratic belief that new generations would usher in a more successful era for the party, the 2024 presidential election saw the Republican Party candidate win the popular vote for the first time in two decades. Both Harris and Trump continued the trend of using social media to appeal to young voters, relying heavily on the use of digital platforms and new media to cater to their target audiences. But their approaches varied drastically, reflecting the patterns of political engagement and activity of young Millennial and Generation Z voters, and their successes and failures served as evidence of the …

Clemson Commencement Program, May 2025, Clemson University

Clemson Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

A Mixed Methods Study Of The Process Of Commissioning New Music For Choirs, Kyle Justin Brazell

Dissertations

This study provided an in-depth look at the commissioning process for choral music. The pursuit of new music has a storied tradition in western culture, deeply connected with the Catholic church, starting in the medieval era. In modern times, there is a substantial amount of research on commissioning new music. However, most of the existing research is focused on band and orchestra ensembles, with very few exploring choral music commissions. Using a mixed methods design, this study identified a process for pursuing new music for choral ensembles and measured attitudes and perceptions of the director and composer during the commissioning …

Dean Sicking: Celebrating Safety, Ashley S. Mcguire

Patent Coloring Books

Patent coloring book

2025 Summer - Veterans Upward Bound Newsletter, Veterans Upward Bound, East Tennessee State University

Veterans Upward Bound Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Examining How Perceived External Stigma Mediates The Relationship Between Rejection Sensitivity And Depression, Anxiety, And Stress For Neurodivergent Adults, Brianna E. Galloway

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Neurodivergence describes people whose brains and cognitive processes differ from the general population. Neurodivergent disorders include autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc. Rejection sensitivity is defined as hypervigilance to being rejected and intense reactions to rejection. Previous research has found that individuals with neurodivergent disorders are often treated more poorly by peers than neurotypical people. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between perceived external stigma, rejection sensitivity, and depression, anxiety, and stress for neurodivergent individuals. The first hypothesis was neurodivergent adults who report higher rejection sensitivity will report 1a) higher perceived external stigma and …

Education For Healthcare Providers: Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy, Chelsi Carlson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy is emerging as a promising therapeutic modality for addressing psychological distress in psychiatric and palliative care settings. This scholarly project explores the current literature on psilocybin-assisted therapy, providing an educational framework for healthcare providers regarding its clinical applications, potential benefits, and safety considerations. With the rise in treatment-resistant mental health disorders, there is an increasing need for innovative and holistic approaches to care. This project evaluates healthcare providers’ existing knowledge and attitudes toward psilocybin therapy and delivers an educational intervention aimed at reducing stigma and fostering informed clinical perspectives. Grounded in Margaret Newman’s Theory of Health as Expanding …

Narratives Of Resistance: Undergraduate Chicanas Navigating The World With Critical Literacy And A Mestiza Praxis, Elena Marquez

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Against a backdrop of rising fascism in the racial-capitalist patriarchy of the U.S., this dissertation study explores the questions, “How do Chicanas in undergraduate programs develop criticality to take action against systems of oppression, and how do they make sense of their social positioning, and what leads them to activism?” This narrative study utilized the theoretical frameworks of critical pedagogy and Chicana feminist epistemology. Guided by decolonizing methodologies, the findings include the narratives of five Chicanas devised from one-on-one research conversations, as well as cross-case data from small group discussions. The themes that emerged from the data led to the …

Mentorship As Experienced By Black Woman In Stem At Predominantly White Institutions, Chelsei Lasha Arnold

Honors Theses

Black female college students have experienced a marginalized history in STEM higher education. Although students associated with this identity are enrolling and earning college degrees at historic rates, there is a gap in the resources available, especially at predominantly white institutions (PWIs), for these students once they reach collegiate level. The goal of this study is to examine the role of mentorship in the lived experiences of Black women STEM students at PWIs. I used interpretive phenomenological analysis on transcribed interviews to examine psychological patterns, and then I carefully analyzed the phenomenon of being mentored. Through the analysis, I sought …

History And Constitutional Interpretation: What’S Really “There”?, Thomas C. Galligan Jr.

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

In recent years, under the moniker originalism, the United States Supreme Court has relied heavily upon history to delineate the scope and contour of various constitutional rights.[1] The Court’s justification for that approach is that defining the meaning of the Constitution according to its original or historical meaning limits a judge from engaging in unbridled discretion when deciding a case. The Court’s focus on history continued in its 2023 term. Justice Breyer has called the history-heavy analytical approach a “rigid history-only approach.”

For a number of reasons, the history-only approach is flawed and does not, in fact, limit judicial …

Can Consumers Protect Themselves Against Privacy Dark Patterns?, Matthew B. Kugler, Lior J. Strahilevitz, Marshini Chetty, Chirag Mahapatra, Yaretzi Ulloa

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

Dark patterns have emerged in the last few years as a major target of legislators and regulators. Dark patterns are online interfaces that manipulate, confuse, or trick consumers into purchasing goods or services that they do not want, or into surrendering personal information that they would prefer to keep private. As new laws and regulations to restrict dark patterns have emerged, skeptics have countered that motivated consumers can and will protect themselves against these manipulative interfaces, making government intervention unnecessary. This debate occurs alongside active legislative and regulatory discussion about whether to prohibit dark patterns in newly enacted comprehensive consumer …

Layered Alignment, Spencer Williams

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

Most artificial intelligence (ai) researchers now believe that ai represents an existential threat to humanity. The most dangerous threat posed by ai is an issue known as the alignment problem: the risk that a sufficiently intelligent and capable ai system could become misaligned with the goals and values of its human creators and instead pursue its own objectives to the detriment of humanity, including the possibility of extinction. The tension at the heart of the alignment problem is familiar to scholars of agency, contracts, and corporate law, though it goes by a different name: the principal-agent problem. In the traditional …

May The Micro Forces Be With You: Pharmaceutical Research And Patents In Space, Erin R. Gaddes

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

No abstract provided.

Frontier Healthscapes: Competing Narratives Of Disease, Environment, And Wellbeing In Early Minnesota, Aidan Reynolds

Geography Honors Projects

Across settler societies, health narratives were shaped by evolving tensions between lay and expert knowledge, frameworks of disease causation, and perceptions of the environment as both a source of health and a threat. In the decades following Euro-American settlement (1860-1900), Minnesota became a focal point for these debates, with its landscape fostering complex and competing narratives on health, wellbeing, and disease. This paper explores how public health discourse developed in Minnesota through the perspectives of institutions, the public, and economic interests. Combining environmental history with critical discourse analysis of archival materials, this study examines shifts within the Minnesota State Board …

Front Line Innovation In Federal Agencies: U.S. Department Of State Passport Services Innovation Portal Engagement Program, Bill Langer

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project explores strategies for enhancing front-line innovation within federal agencies through employee engagement with the U.S. Department of State's Passport Services Innovation Portal. Rooted in the principles of creative leadership and intrinsic motivation, the project addresses persistent barriers to innovation in federal settings, such as bureaucratic inertia and a lack of feedback mechanisms for idea submissions. Utilizing the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) model and a modified 21st-century facilitation framework, the project team designed and implemented an engagement program that included informational briefings and targeted newsletters. Quantitative data from website analytics and idea submissions were analyzed using paired t-tests and …

Differentiated Instruction For Students With Special Needs: “How Can We Better Equip Students, School Systems, And Society For Differentiated Instruction For Students With Special Needs In Career And Technical Educational Environments?”, Mikala A. Highsmith

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Career and Technical Education (CTE) plays a vital role in preparing students for the demands of the modern workforce by providing essential knowledge, technical skills, and industry-recognized certifications. As the number of students with disabilities, including neurodivergent learners, continues to rise, CTE programs face increasing pressure to adopt innovative, inclusive educational practices. Integrating creative teaching strategies and leveraging technology are now critical tools in addressing diverse learning needs that promote effective classroom management and enhance student engagement. Moreover, CTE programs emphasize the development of professional competencies, workforce protocols, and transferable skills that strengthen students’ employability across industries. This paper examines …

Measuring Abortion Incidence, Severity Of Complications, And Health Facilities’ Capacity To Provide Abortion Care In Refugee Settings In Ethiopia: Technical Report, Baobab Research Programme Consortium, Guttmacher Institute

Humanitarian Task Force

Humanitarian crises disrupt essential services, making it difficult for people to access basic care, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. While data on SRH services in humanitarian settings is lacking, even less is known about how common abortion is or the severity of abortion-related complications in these settings. Using a modified application of the Abortion Incidence and Complications Methodology (AICM), this study aimed to estimate the incidence of induced abortion, determine the severity of abortion related complications, and assess the capacity of the health system to offer safe abortion and quality postabortion care among refugee women in 23 of …

The Banner - V. 160, No. 4 - (May 2025), Christian Reformed Church In North America

The Banner

No abstract provided.

Reconstructing Diets In Iron Age Ashkelon: A Stable Isotope Analysis, Delaney Ballard

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Diet can represent how different individuals within a population may be affected by famine, drought, or the fall of an empire. Bioarchaeologists observe patterns in human diet--and consequently, human experience--through generalized reconstructions of consumption via faunal and human skeletal remains. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes are an effective and accurate way of learning what past individuals consumed. By analyzing the stable carbon and nitrogen values derived from collagen in human bones, bioarchaeologists can ascertain the primary protein source of a person’s diet. This thesis used the theoretical framework of structural vulnerability and stable isotope analysis on secondary data to describe …

The First Amendment And The Commencement Provocateur, Duncan Hosie

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article explores an untheorized area of First Amendment doctrine: students’ graduation speeches at public or private universities that embrace free speech principles, either by state statute, state constitutional law, or internal policy. Responding to recent graduation speech controversies, it develops a two-tier theory that reconciles a multiplicity of values, including students’ expressive interests, universities’ institutional interests in curating commencement ceremonies and preventing reputational damage and political reprisals, and the interests of captive audiences in avoiding speech they deem offensive or profane. The Article challenges the prevailing view that university students’ graduation speeches implicate individual First Amendment rights. It develops …

But For A Free Press: A Response To Press Freedom Skeptics, Patrick J. Charles, Kevin Francis O'Neill

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article is divided into three Parts. Part I will outline the history-in-law case for why the historical record sufficiently supports recognizing distinct constitutional press freedoms. Part II then provides a history-in-law response to some of the most common arguments made by press freedom skeptics as to why distinct constitutional press freedoms should not be recognized by the courts. Lastly, Part III makes the case for why the recognition of distinct constitutional press freedoms should become a jurisprudential reality and provides a roadmap to accomplish this.

This abstract has been taken from the authors' introduction.

Second Amendment Principles, Jamie G. Mcwilliam

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In United States v. Rahimi, the Supreme Court explained that firearm regulations “must comport with the principles underlying the Second Amendment.” This Article examines what those principles are, how to derive them, and how to apply them in concrete cases. It begins with the Second Amendment’s core principle of defense of self and community, which traces its lineage back to classical thinkers like Aquinas and Grotius. The tradition of firearm regulation that surrounded the adoption of the Second Amendment depended on this fundamental principle. But it also developed subsidiary principles that implement the defense principle in specific ways. This …

Understanding Dobbs V. Jackson Women's Health Organization: How The Modern Supreme Court Broke From Tradition And Changed The Original Meaning Of Due Process, Matthew W. Lunder

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

What follows here describes and criticizes the modern liberal and conservative approaches to substantive due process. Part I shows how substantive due process came about in the mid-twentieth century as the union of two extant doctrines: incorporation and fundamental rights. Part II then describes how modern conservatism used the doctrine to arrive at the deeply rooted-in-history-and-tradition test and shows the deliberate reconfiguration of the jurisprudence during the latter twentieth century into the novel patchwork of the modern-conservative method applied in Dobbs. Part III offers a contrast, describing and explaining the traditional due-process analysis of medieval origin and the concept of …

The Bare-Majority Requirement Of The Delaware Judiciary And Its Unfortunate Violation Of The First Amendment, Tyler Mayhew

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Note will attempt to remedy the circuit split on the issue of whether judges are policymakers for purposes of the First Amendment, and if they are not—as this Note concludes—whether the Delaware Constitution is in violation of the First Amendment through its major-party and bare-majority requirement.

First, this Note will analyze the development of the only challenge to article IV, section 3 of the Delaware Constitution as it proceeded from the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware to the U.S. Supreme Court where it was thrown out on standing. Second, this Note will argue that judges are …

Hunting For Meaningful Boundaries: Virginia's Dog Retrieval Statute And Defining Per Se Regulatory Takings Under Cedar Point, Mason Miller

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Note will begin with a summary of the [Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid] decision. Next, it will provide an overview of Virginia’s dog retrieval statute and discuss a recent case challenging the same. The Note will then analyze the statute by applying the Cedar Point standard, with special attention given to the exceptions, to determine if the law constitutes a per se taking. Finally, the Note will conclude by exploring some implications of the analysis, again emphasizing the effect of the amorphous exceptions.

This abstract has been taken from the author's introduction.