Digital Commons Network^™

Performative Masculinity In Ducal Literature In Florence (1520-1580), Matthew T. Perkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ducal literature of sixteenth-century Florence illuminates the performative nature of gender and sexuality, especially in regard to masculinity. The impetus of this study is Benvenuto Cellini’s autobiography, My Life. While contemporary historiographical studies examine Cellini’s work for its overt misogyny and violence, this work argues that the performative nature of gender, through interdisciplinarity and contextual analysis, offers a highly complex view of masculinity. Cellini’s autobiography directly relates to Giorgio Vasari’s The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. Vasari’s accounts of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni and Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, called Il Sodoma, emphasize the importance of fashioned …

Diversity In Beauty Brand Marketing On Instagram: The Case Of Fenty Beauty, Julia K. Narh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diversity in beauty brand marketing is increasingly important as platforms like Instagram shape consumer perceptions. This study analyzes how Fenty Beauty, MAC Cosmetics, and L’Oréal represent diversity, particularly skin tone, in their Instagram content, using source credibility theory and social identity theory. A content analysis was conducted to evaluate how visual elements relate to engagement, measured by likes, comments, and shares. Findings show that Fenty Beauty features more dark-skinned models than its competitors. However, posts with darker-skinned models do not receive higher engagement. Instead, factors like model attractiveness and hair type, especially curly hair, drive interaction. Although Fenty’s posts generally …

Digital Revival: The Role Of Social And Streaming Media In The Resurgence Of Appalachian Country Music, Jacob Cody Powers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the role of digital media, specifically social media, and streaming platforms, in the resurgence of Appalachian country music. In recent years, niche music genres have found new life through online platforms, which offer unique avenues for discovery, engagement, and community building. Using a mixed methods approach, this research combines quantitative survey data and qualitative thematic analysis to explore how audiences discover Appalachian country music on platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Spotify. A cross-sectional survey was distributed to college students and social media users, collecting responses on participants' digital engagement habits, platform preferences, and motivations for exploring …

The Importance Of The Relationship Between General And Special Education Co-Teachers In Inclusive Preschool Programs, Ruth Copeland, Ruth B. Copeland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative case study was designed to examine the importance of the relationship between general and special education co-teachers in inclusive preschool programs. The holistic strengths-based portraiture method will be used to study the positive aspects of the relationships of two co-teaching teams. In-depth interviews with individual teachers, co-teaching teams, and administrators combined with a questionnaire and classroom environmental rating scales were used to examine the culture and community that build positive relationships between general educators and special educators who co-teach in an inclusive preschool setting. The main goal of this research was to identify critical elements that contribute to …

Intraspecific Genetic Variation In Green Salamanders (Aneides Aeneus) At Bays Mountain Park, Brianna Drake

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accurate taxonomy is crucial for conserving vulnerable cryptic species like the green salamander (Aneides aeneus) in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Prior studies identified three distinct lineages within the A. aeneus complex: Northern Appalachians, Southern Appalachians, and Blue-Ridge Escarpment. One previously collected sample indicated green salamanders in northeast Tennessee fit within the Northern lineage. The present study uses molecular data of A. aeneus at Bays Mountain Park (BMP) in Kingsport, Tennessee, to determine where the BMP population fits within these lineages. It was hypothesized that individuals from BMP belong in the northern lineage. Tail tips were collected from thirty-four …

Ai For Sustainability In Appalachian Businesses: Challenges And Successes, Mariatu Mahmoud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the perception of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how this technology can advance sustainable development in small businesses in Central Appalachia. Participants described how they leveraged AI-enabled technologies to address economic challenges as well as how they overcame the technological barriers often associated with emerging technologies. Findings reveal that AI can significantly improve efficiency, streamline workflows, and enhance visibility for Appalachian entrepreneurs. However, the research also highlights challenges, including trust issues, limited resources, and resistance to change, which hinder adoption. Results from this study produce strategies for adopting AI that enable small businesses to integrate innovation while …

Assessing The Utilization Of Building Information Modelling (Bim) In The Preservation Of Cultural Heritage: A Case Study Of Ashe-Street Courthouse, Boluwatife J. Oluwamakinde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how Building Information Modeling (BIM) was used in the Ashe Street Courthouse restoration, with an emphasis on its role in heritage preservation. It follows a context-oriented instrumental case study methodology and a systematic four-step approach: reviewing literature and historical records, conducting semi-structured interviews with renovation architects, and analyzing project documentation. The study compares BIM with traditional methods to assess documentation quality, stakeholder collaboration, and project efficiency. Findings show that BIM increases documentation accuracy through real-time modifications while preserving historical data. It also enhances collaboration by providing a centralized platform for architects, engineers, and preservation specialists, reducing errors …

Held On By A Thread, Annie M. Hutchins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The artist, Annie Hutchins, discusses her Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition, Held on by a Thread, which was installed at Tipton Gallery in Johnson City, TN, from March 6, 2025, through March 28, 2025, with a public reception held on March 7, 2025. The exhibition is a collection of textile works containing repurposed material artifacts of the life she shared with her maternal family since childhood. The artwork incorporates found objects from the artist’s home, including domestic textiles, clothing, handmade sewing projects, family photographs, and sewing notions. The artworks are made using the printmaking technique of photo emulsion screen …

The Promotion Of Native American Boarding School Archives For Truth And Healing, Emma Schuele

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Native American Boarding Schools were federally funded programs of forced assimilation that involved family separation. There is a lack of community access to the records and archives about these boarding schools. The Niibi Center, our community partner, is working to create an online database to make this information available to the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. Our proposal includes assisting the Niibi Center by sorting through letters, photographs, and artifacts from these boarding schools and helping to digitize them. The aim of this proposal is to promote further truth and healing to the White Earth Band of Ojibwe by providing …

Temporal Immune Profiling In The Cerebrospinal Fluid And Blood Of Patients With Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Thomas A. Ujas, Katie L. Anderson, Jenny Lutshumba, Samantha N. Hart, Jadwiga Turchan-Cholewo, Kevin W. Hatton, Adam D. Bachstetter, Barbara S. Nikolajczyk, Ann M. Stowe

Surgery Faculty Publications

Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is a significant complication of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). This study profiled immune responses after aSAH and evaluated their association with DCI onset. Twelve aSAH patients were enrolled. Leukocyte populations and cytokine levels were analyzed in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and peripheral blood (PB) on days 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 post-aSAH. PB mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected, and their cytokine production quantified following stimulation. Mixed-effects models reveal distinct immune cell dynamics in CSF compared with blood. Monocyte/macrophage numbers continue to increase in both CSF and PBMCs for days post-aSAH. CD4⁺ human leukocyte antigen II+ …

Training, Validating, And Testing Machine Learning Prediction Models For Endometrial Cancer Recurrence, Jesus Gonzalez Bosquet, Andrew Polio, Erin George, Ahmad A. Tarhini, Casey M. Cosgrove, Marilyn S. Huang, Bradley Corr, Aliza L. Leiser, Bodour Salhia, Kathleen Darcy, Christopher M. Tarney, Rob L. Dood, Lauren E. Dockery, Stephen B. Edge, Michael J. Cavnar, Lisa Landrum, Rob J. Rounbehler, Michelle Churchman, Vincent M. Wagner

Surgery Faculty Publications

PURPOSEEndometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecologic cancer in the United States with rising incidence and mortality. Despite optimal treatment, 15%-20% of all patients will recur. To better select patients for adjuvant therapy, it is important to accurately predict patients at risk for recurrence. Our objective was to train, validate, and test models of EC recurrence using lasso regression and other machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) analytics in a large, comprehensive data set.METHODSData from patients with EC were downloaded from the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network database and stratified into low risk, The International Federation of Gynecology …

Outcomes Associated With Absent Blood Product Utilization In Jehovah’S Witness Patients Compared To The Standard Of Care In Cardiac Surgery, Nathan Fields, Ayesha Ather, Dan Davenport, Sadiq Ahmed, Michael Sekela

Surgery Faculty Publications

Introduction: For Jehovah’s Witness (JW) patients requiring cardiac surgery, various strategies such as preoperative use of erythropoietin stimulating agents (ESAs), intravenous iron (IVI), and non-pharmacologic interventions have emerged to prevent complications from blood loss given transfusion is not acceptable in this population. Methods: Retrospective case-control of cardiac surgeries performed by the same surgeon between 1/1/2011 and 8/30/2021. JW patients were matched to non-JW who received blood products and non-JW who did not receive blood products on a 1:2:2 basis. Patients were matched on procedure, age, gender, and Society of Thoracic Surgeons morbidity score. Eligible patients were aged >18 years and …

Care For The Carer: A Program For Caregivers & Their Loved One, Luke Allen

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The purpose of the Doctoral Capstone Project is to reduce the burden experienced by dementia caregivers due to unmet physical, mental, and social needs. To meet this objective, CAREpackages with resources pertinent to dementia caregiving, with accompanying Dementia Difficulty educational videos will be delivered to families from low socio-economic backgrounds in the Northeast Arkansas community.

Rooted In Play: Empowering Development Through Nature-Based Occupational Therapy, Nicole Roper

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The doctoral capstone project included advocating for the use of outdoor play by identifying and emphasizing the benefits of occupational therapy (OT) involvement within nature-based therapy for pediatric patients and creating nature-based therapy recourses for caregivers and occupational therapists.

Impacts Of Reef Fish Length On Foraging Radius: Exploring Behavioral Patterns Within A Patch Reef Ecosystem, Kilia Brawand

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Reef fish exhibit various behaviors upon the Great Barrier Reef. One of these behaviors includes that of limiting their grazing distances from a patch reef refuge to a certain maximum distance in order to avoid predators. This is defined as a ‘foraging radius’ or ‘margin of safety’. This ‘foraging radius’ varies among fish due to many factors- including species, morphology, ontogenesis, habitat complexity, and importantly: speed. Quicker fish can outswim predators to safety more efficiently than slower fish, and can therefore afford to travel farther distances to forage. Speed varies among fish for a number of reasons, including fish size …

Stock Pitch: Robinhood Markets (Hood), Morgan Cole

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This capstone project presents an in-depth analysis and valuation of Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD). Robinhood Markets is a revolutionary fintech platform aiming to democratize finance and investing.

The company was founded in 2013 in Menlo Park, California by Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt. The co-founders created an intuitive mobile trading platform and were the first to offer commission-free trading. Robinhood has opened the door to investing to a new demographic through the easy-to-use mobile app, the ability to buy and sell fractional shares (this makes purchasing shares of companies with high share prices accessible to more individuals), in-app financial …

Transcription Factor Y- Box Binding Protein 1 (Ybx1) Enhances Sorafenib Resistance And Tumorigenic Capacities In Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Hcc), Dennis Kwabiah

Theses and Dissertations

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common liver cancer, with early-stage cases potentially benefiting from surgical treatments like liver transplantation and hepatectomy. However, advanced HCC stages have poor prognosis due to resistance to therapies, especially sorafenib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for late-stage HCC. Despite its clinical use, sorafenib has limited efficacy in prolonging survival, and the mechanisms of resistance remain unclear. Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) HCC dataset shows elevated Y-box binding protein 1 (YBX1) expression in HCC tumors compared to normal liver tissues. Previous studies have indicated that YBX1 is involved in drug resistance in various …

#Helpplz: Mental Health Representation In Theatre For Young Audiences, Kate Elizabeth Dirrigl

Theses and Dissertations

#HELPPLZ is a play for young theater audiences that depicts four teenagers with various mental health challenges. It’s target audience is for children ages ten to fifteen and should be performed by actors of similar ages. #HELPPLZ is an immersive theatre experience, as a audience members watch four actors perform from four different lifestyles and point of views, all while broadcast on screens behind the actors. Every seat is a good seat in the house. This play follows a shift in trends of mental health depiction in contemporary theatre. No longer demonized and much more accessible, plays such as Dear …

The Effects Of Placing Students In Special Education In A Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, Daniel Garza

Theses and Dissertations

Educating students with special needs can be very challenging especially when their academic challenges are compounded with behavioral challenges. Disciplining students with special needs can create additional challenges and often the use of punishment can have little to no effect in deterring undesirable behavior. As behaviors escalate, so does the form of punishment and students with special needs are often sent to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program. This study aimed to uncover the effects of placing students who receive special education services in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program focusing on the impact of placements on academic outcomes and behavioral changes. …

Climate Change And The Field Of Farm Labor In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Cody Richard Mortell

Theses and Dissertations

Farm workers in the United States are often vulnerable to adverse impacts of climate change, particularly extreme heat. This study explores farm workers’ climate change perceptions (CCP) as a mediating force in climate adaptation. Using latent class analysis, in-person survey data (n=404) from Lower Rio Grande Valley, TX (2024) and NOAA data were analyzed. Results were interpreted using Bourdieu’s field analysis framework and his notions of capital and symbolic power. Findings include: a social hierarchy with three latent classes of workers based on economic, cultural, social, and symbolic capital, which statistically significantly affected CCP. Workers in higher structural positions were …

Tracing Anti-Communist Nation-Building In South Korea, Jiyoung Im

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

Anti-communism has always been the cornerstone of South Korea’s national identity. The Rhee government, the very first of the post-Independence era, created the basis for anti-communist state-building. This thesis focuses on how the South Korean and the U.S. governments succeeded in internalizing anti-communism among ordinary civilians through critical historical incidents and cultural policies. By tracing the Yeosu-Suncheon incident and the Korean War, this thesis investigates how the Korean peninsula – which in the immediate wake of liberation from Japanese colonial rule was a relatively open space in ideological terms – shifted to a closed-off and exclusionary space, only allowing anti-communism. …

Soldiers Of Fortune: A Historical Analysis Of American Mercenary Employment, Connor R. Fershin

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

In the Simba Rebellion, which occurred during the Cold War, senior American officials chose to employ mercenaries rather than rely solely on the United States military. Similarly, during the War on Terror, government bureaucrats elected to hire non-state actors to support the American military. To better understand these events, this thesis poses two questions. First, why did the United States government utilize mercenaries in those conflicts? And second, what factors motivate individuals to join a mercenary company in the modern era?

Research into various government databases revealed key documents pertaining to the decision to employ mercenaries in both periods. These …

The Value Of Holidays In World War I America, Laura Kathleen Neis

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

World War I affected what people valued, which in turn impacted American celebrations of the Fourth of July and Christmas. These two holidays became patriotic ways to demonstrate unswerving loyalty to the U.S. government, with charitable pursuits, parties, and even meals altered due to the need for victory. These holidays impacted the war in turn by bolstering morale on the homefront and overseas, and strengthening Americans’ emotional connection to the war.

Surprisingly, the Fourth of July became an international holiday which emphasized the United States’ historical ties to France, and the shared values between the United States and Great Britain. …

In Memoir And Memory: Us Servicewomen Narrating 21st Century Combat, Kelly A. Taylor

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

Over twenty years after the initial invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, much work remains to uncover the stories of US servicewomen. As the collection of oral histories continues and in the absence of letters, postcards, and other mail for analysis, their memoirs provide some of the first glimpses of the ways 21^st century warfare impacted their experiences in the US military. With shifting “front lines,” the prevalence of improvised explosive devices, and the need for new search tactics, women participated in high rates of combat. Nevertheless, the combat exclusion policy remained in place until 2015. …

Art And Effort, Saul Gabriel Dominguez Ii

Theses and Dissertations

Since childhood I questioned living and my life itself. I wondered the extent of our own free will since people live to cry, to hate, to think they’ve been born simply to die. I use philosophers and some contemporary fiction to portray a lens of living where we must romanticize the present, rather than an uncertain future, and remove the idea that there is a reason for our living. This method of present thinking is a characteristic of a life-well lived. The manuscript will largely be told from my point of view, a young aspiring author with limited experience, through …

The Perception Of Waiting Times On Patient Satisfaction And Patient Care: A Cross-Sectional Study At A Tertiary Health Care Institution In Kenya, Soud Seif, Jasmit Shah, Ali Chandani, Sayed Karar

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Introduction: Patients often spend significant time waiting for care, which influences patient satisfaction, perceived quality, access to care, and utilization of various health care services. Waiting time and resulting implications remain understudied in low- and middle-income countries like Kenya. This study aimed to describe the impact on the perception of waiting times on patient satisfaction and care at a tertiary healthcare institution in Kenya.

Method: We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study between the first of April 2023 and the thirty-first of August 2023 at the Emergency Room (ER) at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Data was collected through a structured …

Queer Hope And Asexual Desire In Nella Larsen's Passing And Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse, Jeremy Buckner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This project examines Nella Larsen’s Passing and Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse together as queer artifacts in hopes of shedding new light on how race and sexuality can be reexamined across national modes of thinking. Although these writers’ backgrounds provide them with different bodies of knowledge, Larsen’s Irene and Woolf’s Lily have much more in common than might first appear. For one, even if racialization is more explicit—and presents more of an obstacle—for Irene, race is an important factor for both characters. Additionally, Irene and Lily both express profound discontent with marriage, Irene in her marriage to Brian and Lily …

Incorporating Recycled And Repurposed Plastic Into 100% Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement, Basant Bhatt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

The increasing awareness of sustainability in the asphalt industry has driven the use of recycled materials like reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and waste plastic. This study examines the incorporation of recycled polypropylene (rPP), recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE), and recycled low-density polyethylene (rLDPE) at 0.3%, 0.6%, and 0.8% dosages into 100% RAP, along with the warm mix asphalt additive Evotherm® P25. Laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the mechanical and durability performance of the modified asphalt mixtures while rutting and fatigue life were evaluated using mechanistic-empirical (ME) analysis in PerRoad software. Both plastic type and dosage had a statistically significant impact …

A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Intentionality Bias Task, David Willard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Intentionality Bias Task (IBT) provides quick and easy assessment of the tendency to overattribute intentionality to the behaviors of others. The IBT has been used repeatedly in research that has attempted to connect intentionality bias to a wide range of disorders and socio-emotional abilities, including schizophrenia spectrum disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and cognitive empathy. To date, however, there has been no systematic examination of the IBT’s psychometric properties. The present study attempts to fill this gap by testing whether the IBT possesses a reliable factor structure. Specifically, the 34 items of the IBT were written to reflect two types of …

Reframing Rudeness: Exploring Positive Reappraisal As A Pathway From Customer Incivility To Self-Efficacy, Justin S. Boyd

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Customer incivility is a persistent challenge for front-line employees (FLEs), often leading to adverse workplace outcomes. This research examined whether positive reappraisal can transform incivility into a source of growth. Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, the research explored how positive reappraisal mediates the relationship between customer incivility and two key forms of self-efficacy—regulatory emotional and workplace social—ultimately influencing job satisfaction. The moderating roles of perceived organizational support and trait mindfulness were also investigated.

A cross-sectional survey of 296 FLEs was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). More specifically, the results confirmed customer incivility positively predicts positive reappraisal. …