Digital Commons Network^™

Reuben Hersh's What Is Mathematics, Really? (Book Review), Calvin Jongsma

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Reuben Hersh’s 1997 book What is Mathematics, Really? popularized a trend in the philosophy of mathematics that was gaining some traction at the time it was written. This essay examines Hersh’s work within the broader historical context of 19th- and 20th-century developments in mathematics and philosophy of mathematics. It also focuses on Hersh’s antagonism toward the influence of religion on (philosophy of) mathematics, concluding by briefly considering two positions taken by Christian mathematicians associated with ACMS in defense of such a connection.

A Biomarker Signature-Guided Clinical Trial Design For Precision Medicine, Yuan Li, Dejian Lai, Ruosha Li, Han Chen, Xuelin Huang, Jing Ning

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Targeted cancer therapies aim to effectively treat patients with specific biomarker profiles. Nevertheless, these therapies may not always precisely hit their intended targets, leading to uncertainty about the specific subset of patients who will benefit. To address this uncertainty, the identification of sensitive patient subsets in clinical trials becomes crucial. Our proposed phase IIB/III clinical trial design seeks to pinpoint a biomarker signature with precision, ensuring the accurate identification of patients who will respond to a specific treatment. This approach allows for the selective enrollment of sensitive patients to maximize benefits for trial participants. We incorporate Bayesian methodology to facilitate …

Nebraska's Preparedness For A Growing Diverse Aging Population: A Survey Of Area Agencies On Aging, Vince Barger

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper aims to examine the current efforts of Nebraska’s Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) to serve a growing diverse population of older adults (United States Census Bureau, 2023). This project is comprised of a survey created to gauge the thoughts and opinions of Nebraska AAA employees supplemented by a comprehensive literature review. The findings of the literature review indicate the need for an understanding of the importance of diversity and how it affects individual life experiences. The survey revealed that the AAAs are already making changes to reflect the population shift that is currently happening, such as specific programs …

Die With Me: An Exploration Of Cultural Notions Of Mortality And Their Potential Influence On In-Law Relationships Through A Fictional Shared-Near-Death Experience, Suzana Stipanovic

Postgraduate

This exegesis explores the transformative potential of near-death experiences (NDEs) and shared-near-death experiences (SNDEs) through the creation of the fictional screenplay titled Die With Me. Employing a non-linear narrative structure, the screenplay follows a protagonist who, through a SNDE, enters her mother-in-law’s NDE - an encounter that profoundly reshapes their perspectives and relationship.

The research integrates case study analysis of relevant films, a review of academic literature, and engagement with autobiographical accounts of NDEs and SDEs. Grounded in Smith and Dean’s (2009, p. 20) iterative cycle web of practice model, the project employs a cyclical approach that blends creative-led, practice-led …

A Framework For Quantifying The Benefits Of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Development, Donya Negahbani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Under the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, a significant portion of benefits derived from federal clean transportation investments is required to be directed to disadvantaged communities. Meeting this mandate necessitates a transparent and reproducible approach that quantifies various dimensions of value and allocates them equitably. This dissertation presents a flexible framework specifically tailored for the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Nebraska, effectively translating equity goals into rigorous spatial and economic analyses. The framework first identifies multiple distinct categories of benefit that reflect the societal value of charging access: energy savings, economic opportunities, environmental quality enhancements, and public health improvements. …

Addressing Structural Violence In Eastern Nebraska Through The Assessment Of Mortality Profiles, Victoria M. Pate

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Humanitarian forensics has recently expanded to include the examination of forensic casework demographics within the medicolegal community. Additionally, it is proposed that research and data collection should look beyond the individual case report to address public health, crime vulnerabilities, and marginalization at local and national levels to advocate for policy changes protecting against institutionalized violence. With the utilization of quantitative and qualitative methods, 294 case reports provided by Nebraska police departments, between the years of 2014-2024, were analyzed to conceptualize mortality vulnerabilities and the ways in which forensic anthropologists can aid in community action. Pearson’s Chi-Square and one-way Analysis of …

Internalized Homophobia In Midwestern Sexual Minorities, Charissa Farr

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Research into internalized homophobia in sexual minorities has identified several factors that tend to lead to higher levels of internalized homophobia. These factors are parental acceptance or rejection, religion, urban versus rural environment, and societal attitudes. There are, however, few studies that have been done on these factors specifically in Midwestern sexual minorities. Twenty participants that identified as non-heterosexual were interviewed for this study. Participants completed a short quantitative survey on internalized homophobia before being interviewed with questions that looked at the known factors of internalized homophobia as well as what they thought needed to happen for future generations to …

Culture And Context: How Frames Of Teaching And Of Learning Mathematics Form And Change For Graduate Student Instructors, Johan Benedict Arroyo Cristobal

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Why do instructors teach the way that they do? This question is key in understanding how and why asset-based or deficit-based practices are enacted in the classroom. In consequence, this question also gives insight into how the environment where students learn is shaped. Mathematics education research, in particular, has been concerned with how instructors respond to students’ contributions in the classroom and how these ways of responding can (dis)empower students.

One way to answer this question is to understand how instructors frame their own teaching and their students’ learning. Frames are mental constructs which help individuals filter details, interpret information, …

Educational Leadership In A Vuca World: The Crisis Management Experiences Of Rural School Superintendents, Lucas J. Grossnicklaus

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The job of both urban and rural superintendents is challenging, but it is the rural school superintendency that comes with unique challenges that aren’t always faced by their urban and suburban counterparts. The COVID-19 Pandemic brought about a number of crises for school superintendents such as school closures, mask mandates, and navigating positions taken by governors, teachers unions, and school boards. While concerns about school closures and mask mandates has dissipated, conflict within school districts has only seemed to grow since the pandemic.

This multi-case study explored the lived experience of rural superintendents in the Midwest who have experienced a …

From Self To Society: How Threat Type And Message Mode Affect Environmental Intentions Among Young Audiences, Lucas Vogt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the influence of threat type (personal vs. societal) and message mode (narrative vs. utilitarian) on young adults’ environmental intentions. Using the extended parallel process model (EPPM), this study argued for expanding the theory to include threat type (societal vs. personal) to clarify how threat is understood. A 2 x 2 factorial design was utilized to test the effects of threat type and message mode on environmental behavioral intentions. A sample of 266 university students participated in an online survey. Based on prior research, this study hypothesized that personal threats would yield the highest levels of environmental behavioral …

Non-Esl High School Teachers’ Instructional Training And Professional Development Needs And Their Emergent Bilingual Student Classrooms, Brynn Erin Caddell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. emergent bilingual student population continues to grow and is projected to increase nationwide. The growing population of students has specific academic and social needs that need to be addressed and provided for emergent bilingual students to be successful. This qualitative case study examined the instructional needs of high school non-English as a second language (ESL) teachers who serve emergent bilingual students and how the district can support the instructional practices of high school teachers in an urban school district in Texas. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of instructional training and professional development for secondary …

The Lived Experience Of New Graduate Nurses Implementing Evidence-Based Practice In A Clinical Setting, Kimberly A. Mcfarland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative interpretive phenomenological analysis study was to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of new graduate nurses (NGNs) as they implemented evidence-based practice (EBP) in clinical settings. This study addressed the problem that NGNs often lack the skills and confidence to effectively apply EBP, despite its critical role in improving patient outcomes. The research aimed to provide insight into the challenges, support systems, and strategies that influence EBP integration during the transition from student to practicing nurse. The study utilized the interpretive phenomenological analysis methodology to analyze data collected through semistructured interviews conducted via the Teams …

Defining, Defending, & Delusion: White Social Studies Teachers Grappling With Whiteness, Meghan E. Moore-Hubbard

All Dissertations

This study explores rural white social studies teachers’ understandings of their whiteness and racial identity. In this multiple-case study, four participants engaged with a reader designed to elicit discussion and reflection on whiteness. Over the course of one week, teachers read works by George Lipsitz, Reverend Thandeka, Charles W. Mills, and James Baldwin. Grounded in the work of these scholars and the theory of Critical Whiteness Studies, this study asked participants to reflect on, discuss, and design lesson plans to be implemented in their classrooms based on their understanding of whiteness. Data was gathered in the form of interviews, reader …

An Investigation Of Design Processes And Their Effects On Accessibility In Narrative Themed Environments, Arielle Spencer

All Dissertations

Accessibility matters, and not merely in meeting minimum codes or limited to basic necessities. Access and inclusion matter still more in places of recreation and leisure which have too often been overlooked or considered low priority, however it is precisely these places that merit special attention. Narrative Themed Environments occupy a unique position relative to the general built environment, often acting as utopic ‘other-spaces’ for enjoyment, freedom, and escape. However, for guests with disabilities, current themed experiences can often lack true inclusivity and instead create inequality, segregation, diminished experiences, and feelings of isolation and exclusion. The peculiar idiosyncratic design process …

Shame, Identity And Reconciliation With Christ, Michele D. Corgiat

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the impact of reconciliation with Christ on shame narratives and identity. Although shame and identity has been extensively researched, the added theological construct of reconciliation with Christ makes this research unique. This phenomenological study explored the impact of reconciliation with Christ on shame narratives and identity. Sixteen participants, ages 20 to 75 years, who professed to have reconciled with Christ through faith and repentance, were selected and interviewed. Each participant was interviewed three times over a four-week period using a transcendental phenomenological method. Data were collected and analyzed using reflexive thematic …

A Holistic Case Study On Leaders In The Division Of Enrollment Services’ Experiences Implementing Interdepartmental Partnerships In Higher Education, Christopher A. Almond

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this holistic case study was to understand the experiences of higher education leaders in the division of enrollment services at a public research university who experienced departmental realignments or mergers because of performance-based funding initiatives. The study addresses the gap in the literature on the effect of change on interpersonal relationships in higher education. The theory guiding the study is Tierney’s theory on organizational behavior among college employees. The research methodology consisted of three phases. I conducted focus groups, individual interviews, and document analyses. The setting was a large research university in an urban city. There were …

A Qualitative Phenomenological Exploration Of The Experience Menopausal African American Women Have With Their Health Care Providers And Accessing Treatment For Menopausal Symptoms, Michelle Way-Houser

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological qualitative case study delved into the underexplored area of menopausal research as it pertains to African American women. This study aimed to identify the existing gap in literature, through examining the factors contributing to the disparity, and proposed potential solutions. By conducting a thorough review of the available evidence, this study sheds light on the unique challenges faced by African American women during menopause and advocates for more inclusive and diverse research approaches in this field. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants and thematic analysis was used to identify key themes related to symptom management, healthcare access, …

Sermon Series Impact : Evaluating The Impact Of A Sermon Series From The Book Of James, Santosh Sharma

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Intergenerational Leadership : A Model For Developing An Age-Diverse Leadership Team, Jovelyn Califlores Gamiao

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effective Discipleship Methods Among College Students In Telangana Through Uesi Ministry, Dasari Rajesh

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Reframing The Message Of Jesus : For The Newer Generations Of Urban Latin American Youth, Rich Brown

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Deconstructing Politicism : How Multiethnic Churches Can Maintain Scriptural Unity In The Midst Of Political Diversity, Morgan Stephens

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effective And Sustainable Church Planting Strategies For Persians From A Muslim Background In Britain, Jonathan Aptin Samadi

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Surge Of The Populist Radical Right: How Transnationalism And Party Systems Influence Populist Radical Right Success And Decline, Liucija Balciunaite

Dissertations

My dissertation examines the causes behind the slows and surges of the populist radical right (PRR) success. I attempt to answer the following question in the context of the growing global legitimacy of the populist radical right (PRR). What process contributes to the slows and surges of populist radical right (PRR) legitimacy? Previous explanations have narrowed the possible conditions influencing populist radical right success in two ways. First, the available literature often analyzes separately the structural and strategic conditions behind populist radical right success. This has created a gap in the literature, especially regarding the possible interaction between the structural …

Two Case Studies Of American Classical Music Patronage In The 1980s And 1990s, Skyler E. Dykes

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how changes in the composition of classical music institutions’ funding bases in the 1980s and 1990s shaped their programming priorities and institutional behavior. Through two case studies—one focused on the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra’s “In Unison” program and the other focused on Sybil Harrington’s philanthropic support of the Metropolitan Opera—it explores how individual and institutional funders used legal, financial, and symbolic mechanisms to exert influence over the music presented on symphonic and operatic stages. The first chapter argues that the Saint Louis Symphony’s community engagement efforts in the 1990s were shaped by the priorities of its public …

Black Scare, Red Scare: The Fbi’S Covert War On Black Radical Activism, Christian E. Maddox

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Black resistance movements have always existed to push the envelope and fight to establish political agency and freedom against the state and surrounding institutions that work to dispose of and disenfranchise Black communities across the U.S. The contentious relationship between the U.S. government and leftist movements is a rich and developed ground of scholarship analyzing how repression emerges and evolves across time as a tool against social movements fighting for change. This scholarship however misses how state agencies work to undermine and racially flatten Black radical movements through crafting official, racialized narratives and images that reshape what these movements represent. …

Dobbs Before Dobbs: Anita Hill, Christine Blasey Ford, And The Public Rehearsal Of Gendered Privacy, Renee H. Metzger

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Senior Honors Papers

This thesis argues that a gendered double standard for privacy emerges during Clarence Thomas’s and Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings — a logic Thomas and Kavanaugh later codify when limiting women’s reproductive rights in the 2022 Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’ s Health Organization. While some critics have previously explored the way privacy operates in Thomas’s hearings, scholars have written far less about how the public and private spheres get invoked in Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing. Using critical discourse analysis, I examine Thomas’s and Kavanaugh’s construction of privacy during both hearings, and investigate how Thomas’s and Kavanaugh’s obfuscated …

The Living Library Of Dune, Josey W. Wilson

Architecture Theses

This thesis investigates how language – as a natural, poetic force – can serve as a generative tool in architectural design. It argues that architecture must reclaim its mythopoetic roots, and that through the reintegration of narrative and literary language, built space can once again become a vessel for memory, cultural identity, and transformation.

As both a method and muse, Frank Herbert’s Dune becomes the central literary source for my resulting architectural design. This subjective translation takes form in The Living Library of Dune, a project located in Tacoma, Washington.

The final design of this thesis does not simply present …

Home As A Sanctuary: A Residence Influenced By Japanese And Scandinavian Architecture And Philosophy, Katie Burandt

Architecture Theses

In today’s fast-paced world, a home should be more than a shelter, it should be a sanctuary. This thesis explores how the minimalist beauty of Japanese architecture and the practical warmth of Scandinavian design can come together to create spaces that support well-being, simplicity, and comfort. By blending the philosophies of wabi-Sabi and hygge, Havenfjord becomes a home that is emotionally grounding, functionally efficient, and aesthetically timeless. Through the design of a custom home tailored to what a real client’s needs would be, Havenfjord examines how principles of natural materials, thoughtful layouts, and intentional simplicity can meet the demands of …

May 1, 2024, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2020-

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.