Digital Commons Network^™

From Identification To Implementation: Anti-Gentrification Strategies In Planning The Omaha Beltline Trail, Curtis Dedman

Public Administration Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Urban green infrastructure projects provide significant environmental and public health benefits but can also contribute to gentrification and displacement. This study examines how anti-gentrification strategies were identified, incorporated, and implemented in the planning of the Omaha Beltline Trail, a multi-phase redevelopment project in North Omaha. Given its ongoing development, the project offers a unique opportunity to analyze equitable planning in real time rather than retrospectively.

Pop Prophets: How Celebrity Culture Shapes Gen Z'S Worldview, Olivia G. Usie

Honors Theses

Generation Z has grown up in a social environment shaped by constant connectivity, digital communication, and immediate access to the lives of others. Because of this, celebrity culture and pop culture may play a larger role in shaping attitudes, behaviors, and identity than they did for previous generations. This study explores how celebrity culture shapes Gen Z’s worldview through four areas: pop culture, celebrity, herd mentality, and cancel culture.

A mixed-method approach was used. Quantitative data was collected through a 28-question survey of 202 participants ages 18–25. Qualitative data was gathered through one focus group of eight participants and three …

The Rise Of Realism And The Search For Justice In 19th Century Literature, Isabella R. Clark

Honors Theses

This thesis follows parallel legal and literary arcs towards “Realism.” While these two movements do not have the exact same timeline, they both characterized the 19th century. This thesis intertwines the literary shift towards writing that more closely resembles reality with the legal realist aim at a justice that more closely relates to its society. As we look at three novels from the 19th century, we will see how the change in literary form relates to a change in legal philosophy as the popular literary style and goal was later formalized by the law. In our study of each novel, …

The Response Of Child Protection Services To Prenatal Substance Exposure, Cierra Hassel

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Prenatal Substance Exposure (PSE) is a growing public health concern that requires Child Protection Services (CPS) involvement. CPS is a government agency that investigates child safety to determine whether child removal is necessary. Due to the increase of substance use during pregnancy, often linked to the opioid epidemic, more mandated reporters are submitting reports for positive drug tests at birth, which are screened in as neglect by the mother. PSE has significant implications for developing fetuses, potentially causing both short- and long-term behavioral, medical, and developmental challenges.  

Pregnant women with substance use disorder may often neglect prenatal care, as they …

Clemson Commencement Program, May 2026, Clemson University

Clemson Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

The Cost Of Compassion: Mixed Methods Insights Into Healthcare Chaplains’ Experiences Of Workplace Violence, Dana Fachner

Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare workers’ exposure to workplace violence has been well documented, with research emphasizing both its frequency and severity among clinical staff like physicians and nurses. Still, one group remains markedly overlooked: healthcare chaplains. Despite their frequent presence in high-stress, unpredictable, and emotionally charged situations, chaplains have never before been included in research regarding healthcare workers’ exposure to workplace violence. Healthcare chaplains provide spiritual and emotional care to patients, families, and staff by offering support that is culturally sensitive and appropriate to patients’ religious traditions. Chaplains collaborate with medical teams to deliver holistic care and are involved in a wide range …

Storytelling As A Pedagogical Tool For Improving Memory In Lectures, Sydney E. Rutter

Honors Theses

The purpose of the study was to examine if utilizing storytelling in lectures caused a positive effect on students' memory over a week-long period. Storytelling has been used as a mnemonic device to improve memory, however its benefits have not been experimented much in higher education. In this study, 53 undergraduate psychology students were placed into two groups: traditional lecture or storytelling lecture. Students then watched the lecture they were assigned, both lectures discussed the ASURE model. A week later, students returned and took a 17 question memory test. Results indicated that students who watched the storytelling lecture performed significantly …

Beyond The Bricks: The Friends Of The Burns-Belfry Online, Madeline M. Webb

Honors Theses

This capstone project was completed to offer a new website to the members of the Friends of the Burns-Belfry Museum and Multicultural Center. This project entailed research into the importance of a museum’s digital presence, the significance of community and cultural spaces for historically marginalized groups, and the role of community engagement initiatives for students and community leaders. All findings were considered and implemented into the website and website manual deliverables.

Hospitalidad Sin Barreras: A Place-Based Approach To Resource Accessibility For Immigrant Communities In North Mississippi, Jackelyn Facio

Honors Theses

This project examines barriers to resource access for Spanish-speaking immigrant communities in Lafayette County, Mississippi. Using a place-based community engagement approach, the project incorporates mixed methods to produce a resource guide for Spanish- speaking immigrants in Lafayette County. Findings showed that access is shaped not only by available services, but also by interconnected barriers such as language, fragmented information systems, and concerns related to trust and safety. These barriers discourage individuals from interacting with formal institutions, resulting in a reliance on informal information networks. In response to the data collected from area residents, the project sought to centralize community input …

Unequal Paths: Experiences Navigating The U.S. Naturalization Process And The Role Of Education, Cecilia Rayburn

Honors Theses

This study examines how educational attainment shapes immigrants’ experiences with the U.S. naturalization process, with a focus on how education influences confidence, access to resources, and the ability to manage bureaucratic demands. While the legal requirements for naturalization are standardized, the ability to navigate them varies widely across individuals. Applicants’ experiences reveal that the U.S. naturalization process is often more complex and unequal than it may appear. This research was conducted through five semi-structured interviews with naturalized citizens of varying levels of higher education. These interviews explored participants’ experiences with the application process, including their preparedness, access to support systems, …

Joy Beyond Circumstance: Crafting A Picture Book That Challenges Western Perceptions Of Joy, Sarah L. Stockett

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the creation of a children’s picture book as a method of challenging Western perceptions of happiness, particularly the assumption that material abundance determines joy. Drawing from two service-based experiences with Zoe Ministries in Kitale, Kenya, the project centers on The Glad Rag, a picture book in which a single piece of fabric travels through many hands and becomes many useful items. Through this narrative, the book invites young readers to consider resourcefulness, gratitude, and joy that transcends circumstance.

The project uses a mixed-methods research approach. Primary data were gathered through participant observation and informal conversations on …

Esports Cosmopolitan Canopy, Reice Hicks

Honors Theses

This thesis concerns the area of sociology. Specifically, it is a sociological study of a community on Ole Miss’s campus and how they form what is known within the sociology field as a “cosmopolitan canopy,” a term coined by Elijah Anderson. Using this term, I proceed to prove not only how the Ole Miss Esports club falls under this jurisdiction, but the effects of esports on the youth as a whole, both positive and negative. All of my data was extracted via literature review, online research, note-taking, visual observation, and one-on-one interviews with people involved with the club. The entire …

Strategies U.S. Defense Industry Government Contractors Use To Train Unskilled Workers, Dartagnan Holmes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Hukum Rakyat A La Friedrich Karl Von Savignyl, Antonius Cahyadi

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Perceived Principal Influence Tactics And Early-Tenure Teacher Status, Vanessa Perez-Peterson, Christopher Benedetti

School Leadership Review

Teacher staffing stability remains a persistent challenge for schools, particularly during the early years of teachers’ placement. This study examined whether teachers’ perceptions of principal influence tactics were associated with early-tenure status, defined as 0–3 years at their current campus. Guided by influence tactics theory, a quantitative, cross-sectional design was employed using survey data from 167 certified teachers in Southeastern Texas. Participants completed the Influence Behavior Questionnaire–General (IBQ-G), and composite indices of noncoercive, soft-coercive, and hard-coercive tactics were included in a logistic regression model, along with teacher and principal demographic variables. None of the three influence-tactic categories was significantly associated …

Dictionary Of A Vietnamese-American* Borderland, Ngọc Hải Nguyễn '26

Senior Scholarly and Creative Symposium

This project, composed of a contextualising research paper and an autoethnographical writing creative component, explores the conceptualisation of Anzaldúa's (2021) borderlands by applying to the author's own experience as a Vietnamese-native student growing up along multiple cultural points of inquiry (primarily the American culture). The core research question of this paper is What does it mean to be at the crossroads of many cultures? In the research paper, the author first contextualises the current discourse on borderlands, along with a justification for their usage of storytelling as a mode of inquiry. The author implements a framework theorised through Loveless (2019) …

Change Of Accessibility In The Izu Islands Before And After Tourism Development In The Pre-World War Ⅱ Period, Kantaro Takahashi

International Journal of Islands Research

This study compares accessibility on the Izu Islands, an inhabited archipelago. part of Tokyo Prefecture, from around the 1910s to the 1930s, during the early years of tourism development. Most islands in the archipelago started attracting tourists during the economically prosperous 1960s and 1970s; uniquely, Izu Oshima, the largest island, had been a tourist destination since before World War II. Tourism research on this region and period has predominantly employed a descriptive approach; quantitative studies have been rare owing to the dearth of data. Addressing this gap, this study conducts a network analysis of data acquired from the books of …

Framing And Diffusion Of The 4b Movement: Why We Are Seeing A Resurgence, Kendall M. Goodwin

Culture, Society, and Praxis

In this study I examine how framing and diffusion has played a role in the resurgence of the 4B Movement over social media. First, I reviewed literature on sociological concepts and theories such as social movement framing and diffusion as well as Almeida’s social movement model. From there, I made a coding chart where I utilized the literature review to know what to code for. Then, I began collecting data. From November 2024 to January 2025, I collected and coded 656 TikTok videos. I then analyzed each of these videos, finding that social movement framing coupled with specific environmental factors …

Merely Bystanders: Understanding And Overcoming The "Appalling Silence Of The Good People”, Catherine A. Sanderson

Heroism Science

This article reviews classic and contemporary research on the psychological processes that contribute to silence and inaction in the face of problematic behavior. In ambiguous situations, people look to others for cues, but mutual hesitation can result in collective inaction. In group contexts, diffusion of responsibility reduces people’s sense of obligation to intervene, decreasing the likelihood that help is offered. Additionally, fears of social and professional costs—such as rejection, ostracism, or reputational harm—discourage speaking up, reflecting a broader human sensitivity to social pain. The article concludes by outlining evidence-based strategies for overcoming bystander inaction, including skills-based training, opportunities for practice, …

Becoming Mandan: The Collaborative Life History Of Robert O’Brien, Douglas D. Meigs

Sociology and Anthropology Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

This thesis examines how separation from—and later discovery of—an Indigenous family and culture shapes ethnic identity formation. Grounded in Charles Horton Cooley’s theory of the looking-glass self, it uses collaborative life history methodology to analyze the process of Indigenous identity formation experienced by Robert O’Brien, a Native American orphan who discovered his Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) heritage as an adult. Drawing on two decades of reflexive research, unstructured interviews, participant observation, and archival documents, the case study shows how O’Brien’s sense of identity developed in response to shifting and often contradictory social mirrors.

May 6, 2026 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Addressing Diabetes Risk Through Preventative Education In Multicultural And Economically Underserved South Jersey Communities, Bavly Nagy Halaka, Janet Jimenez-Merino, Izayah Diaz

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

BACKGROUND: Diabetes and prediabetes affect a substantial and growing portion of the U.S. population, with adolescent prediabetes rates more than doubling from 11% in 1999 to 28% in 2018. In multicultural and economically underserved South Jersey communities, structural barriers including food insecurity, limited access to preventive healthcare, and language gaps make early detection and prevention particularly difficult. We aimed to assess diabetes risk, management behaviors, and preferred education formats among a Camden-area bilingual community, and to identify culturally responsive intervention strategies.

METHODS: We conducted a literature review utilizing data from the CDC, NJ Department of Health, NJSHAD, and the U.S. …

Living Archaeology: A Comparative Perspective On How Archaeologists Can Study And Document The Present, Alia S. Moran

Honors Capstones

Archaeology has long remained a social science that has tended to exclude sustained consideration of contemporary societies in the analysis of material culture. In recent decades, approaches such as ethnoarchaeology and the archaeology of the contemporary have expanded the field to include the study of present-day societies through material culture. Inspired by my involvement in the Thais in Illinois Project, which focused on documenting the Thai American immigrant experience in the greater Chicago area to produce an oral history collection, alongside other goals, this thesis intends to further explore how archaeological practice can be used to understand everyday issues in …

Phenomenological Philosophy Of Psychedelics: Psychedelic Experience In The Modes Of Saturation And Flesh, Michael V. Kramer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work seeks to develop the nascent sub-field of the phenomenological philosophy of psychedelics. Beginning with a general overview of key aspects pertinent to psychedelic studies, the focus then turns to a general disciplinary discussion of current approaches within the philosophy of psychedelics, as well as psychedelic philosophy—a distinction which is technically deployed. Special consideration is given to the specific approach known as the “natural philosophy of psychedelics,” which is taken as the philosophical foil to the preferred approach of phenomenological philosophy. A survey of the extant literature regarding the implementation of phenomenology within psychedelic discourse is then provided …

Case Study: 46-Year-Old Female With Auditory Hallucinations, Ahmed Aly, Tayeb Ahamed, Chien Y. Cepeda, Apn

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The case study discusses a patient seen at a voluntary psychiatric unit. Patient has been prescribed benzodiazepine and bupropion; she became dependent on the benzodiazepine due to social difficulties that have not been addressed by her prescriber. The study highlights the dependency of benzodiazepine while being offered bupropion (which lowers seizure threshold), which can be deadly if accompanied with benzodiazepine withdrawal

Do International Alumni Give Differently? A Study On The Alumni Philanthropic Perspective Of Trust And Key Relational Factors Affecting Attitude Towards Giving, John Held

Dissertations

Philanthropy plays a key role in the funding of institutions of higher education. Previous research has focused on domestic populations, exploring the antecedents and elements of philanthropy in higher education. The literature has yet to examine differences in these elements between domestic and international, or distance extremes, amongst alumni populations. This study investigates the perceptions and motivating factors influencing alumni who experience significant geographic separation from their Higher Education Institution (HEI) and their philanthropic support for their alma mater. The conceptual model includes factors at the organization-to-organization, person-to-organization, and person-to-person levels and their moderating effects on the relationship between trust …

Understanding Communication In Green Infrastructure Project Teams In Rochester Ny Region: Coordination, Negotiation, And Constraints, Hayden Berner

Theses

This study explores how communication is perceived and used within multidisciplinary green infrastructure (GI) project teams. As GI continues to grow in the United States, projects increasingly rely on collaboration between professionals from different fields, making communication a critical factor in project success. Using a qualitative research approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with professionals working on GI projects in the Greater Rochester, New York region. The data were analyzed using an inductive, grounded theory approach to identify key themes related to communication practices, challenges, and outcomes. Results show that communication is not just a tool for sharing information, but a …

Defining Success In Collegiate Recovery Programs: A Systematic Review, Brooke Trogdon, John B. Moore

The Corinthian

Background: The transition to higher education is a critical period for emerging adults. Often marked by increased substance use experimentation due to a variety of internal and external factors. This group faces a heightened risk of developing substance-related health issues, necessitating targeted intervention and prevention efforts. Purpose: To systematically review and define key indicators of success for collegiate recovery programs (CRPs) that support students in recovery from substance use disorders (SUDs). Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search was conducted using GALILEO and Google Scholar databases. Articles were appraised using the JBI critical appraisal tools. Results: CRPs provide a supportive …

Transforming Experience Into Practice: A Portfolio Of Growth, Identity, And Leadership, Ana I. Loli

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This professional portfolio documents the integration of my academic learning, practicum experience, and personal transformation throughout the Master of Social Work program at the University of Montana. Drawing from trauma‑informed, anti-oppressive, and culturally responsive frameworks, I demonstrate competency across micro, mezzo, and macro levels of practice, with particular emphasis on ethical decision-making, ADEI engagement, community assessment, policy analysis, research-informed practice, and collaborative leadership. Through narrative reflections and applied artifacts—including case analyses, simulated clinical sessions, community-based research, organizational evaluation, and leadership implementation—I illustrate how meaning, context, power, history, and possibility shape my approach to social work. This portfolio highlights my development …

Exploring Child Trafficking Survivors' Experiences: Support, Revictimization, And Justice Institutions, Max Lubin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.