Digital Commons Network^™

The Integration Struggles Of Myanmar/Burmese-Catholic Youth Refugees In The United States, Nant Thazin Shwe

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Myanmar, previously known as Burma, generates a significant yearly refugee exodus stemming from ongoing ethnic conflicts, political instability, human rights violations, and the targeted persecution of Christian minority groups. Individuals seek shelter and improved opportunities in other nations. From 2011 to 2023, for example, Burmese refugees represented the largest group among U.S. refugee arrivals, accounting for 18 per cent.

Presently, there is a lack of knowledge about what the Burmese-Catholic youth refugees experiences during their integration journey into the US society. This qualitative study aimed to shed light on how the larger socio-cultural and religious environment intersects with Burmese-Catholic …

Post Racial Reckoning: Montessori Instructors' Perspectives On Teaching Through An Antibias Antiracist Lens, Jasmine E. Williams

Dissertations

Prior to the racial reckoning of 2020, Montessori teacher education programs (MTEPs) have only narrowly focused on social justice education (Aronson et al., 2020; Bartolomè, 2004; Cook, 2015; Cross, 2005; D’Cruz, 2022; King, 1991). Although MTEPs began to respond differently post-reckoning, support for implementing practices like antibias antiracist (ABAR) instruction was often absent. This study sought to understand how the racial reckoning and efforts to include an ABAR lens impacted the teaching practices of instructors in MTEPs. While ABAR-related studies exist in general teacher education (Blanchard et al., 2018; Madkins & Nazar, 2022; Martinez-Alba, Herrera, & Hersi, 2022), few focus …

Exploring The Experience Of Embodiment Of Diverse Leaders, Susan Lynn Flaming Yeats

Dissertations

The experience of embodiment is a complex phenomenon that spans a range of feelings: a sense of connection to one's physical body, a sense of capability to accomplish certain physical acts, an attunement to self-care behaviors, a connection to desire, and inhabiting the body as a subjective site (Piran, 2016). This can be a complicated experience for leaders who hold multiple intersecting identities (Hill et al., 2016). As new medical therapies promise radical weight loss possibilities, the experience of embodiment has taken on a new layer of complexity (Giorgis, 2024). For fat leaders who are also women of color, sexual …

Leading Through Crisis: San Diego County Schools' Response To The Social Emotional Needs Of All Students, Johana Bielma

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented school closures, forcing administrators to take decisive action to radically change the educational system. The imperative to switch to remote learning transformed the dynamics of teaching and learning, leading to both immediate and long-term academic and social emotional consequences for all stakeholders. When schools reopened, administrators faced the challenge of reintegrating students into in-person learning while addressing the pandemic’s lasting effects on academics, mental health, and school safety. While academic regression was evident, the extent of students’ emotional struggles was less anticipated. Many students exhibited increased irritability and mental health issues such as depression …

Quest For Purpose In Education: An Autoethnographic Study Of A Chinese Student’S Cross- Cultural Journey Through Logotherapy And Culturally Relevant Leadership, Bingsheng Chen

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This autoethnography examines a Chinese student's search for meaning while transitioning between Chinese and U.S. academic systems, shaped by the interplay of cultural values, societal pressures, and personal agency. Guided by Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy and Culturally Relevant Leadership (CRL), the study uses reflexive narrative analysis to explore how this personal quest for purpose intersected with institutional structures and cultural contexts (e.g., St. John's College, University of New Mexico). Illuminating profound challenges—including cultural shock, systemic inequities, and the emotional toll of adaptation—the research reveals a transformative journey of navigating dissonance, reframing adversity, embracing a dual cultural identity, and ultimately finding meaning …

Latinas In Higher Education: Paving & Weaving Wholeheartedly, Ariela M. Canizal

Dissertations

The deficit model in research has often framed Latinas in higher education through a lens of barriers and challenges, reinforcing stereotypes that depict them as unlikely to succeed in academic spaces. However, Latinas are actively resisting these narratives, weaving their resilience into their stories as they navigate the complexities of higher education, culture, and identity. This study examines how Latina students incorporate cultural background, familial support, and personal agency to thrive academically while challenging systemic obstacles and societal expectations. The research question that guided this study is: In what ways do undergraduate Latina students navigate identity as they experience leadership …

Pollinator Plant Communities Within Restored Montane Longleaf Pine Ecosystems, Hanen Van Rossem

Master's Theses

Historically the fire-dependent and biodiverse longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystem was the dominant ecosystem of the Southeastern US. This ecosystem’s range was massively reduced due to land conversion and fire exclusion, causing the decline of many native species. Efforts to restore and protect longleaf pine stands are now ongoing with the goal of expanding habitat and refuge for threatened species. Differences in restoration practices and prior land use may influence the extent to which restored habitat patches can support pollinators and their plants. This study compared pollinator plant biodiversity between restored neighboring montane longleaf pine stands that differed in …

Human Trafficking: An Examination Of Policies And The Impact Of Trafficking On Victims, Hannah Lyons

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Human trafficking is a pervasive and complex global issue that involves the exploitation of individuals. While there is also the trafficking of objects, this study solely focuses on sexual exploitation and forced labor of humans. This paper defines trafficking and examines the impact that trafficking has on victims’ physical and mental health. This paper also examines the intersection of human trafficking and policies designed to combat it, focusing on the effectiveness of legal frameworks and enforcement mechanisms. By analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of current anti-trafficking laws and initiatives, the paper explores how policies can be improved to better address …

The Normalization Of Clandestine Graves In Mexico, Alejandra Vela

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Clandestine graves are increasing at an alarming rate in Mexico, as cartels fight for dominance over the wealthiest territories. Those who fall victim to cartels are brutally tortured into submission or are murdered and disposed of. These graves are the preferred method of body disposal by the cartels. By disposing of various victims in hidden locations, the cartels seek to erase the existence of these individuals. Victims are reduced to only bone fragments and ash. Friends and family of those who have gone missing have created a large search organization, Madres Buscadoras, to combat the helplessness of authorities. Madres Buscadoras …

Oviposition And Immature Development Of Blowflies In Forensic Investigations, Amalia Herrera-Benitez

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Forensic entomology is a subspecialty within the field of forensic science where insect evidence is analyzed to solve criminal cases. Insects begin to colonize the body, with blowflies being the first insects to arrive. Within minutes, blowflies can lay eggs on a decomposing body, and the larvae will feed once they hatch. The life cycles of blowflies are analyzed to help determine an estimated post-mortem interval (PMI), which is crucial in investigations, as it can help establish a timeline. Various factors, such as temperature and access to the body, can cause delays in the oviposition of blowflies. A delay in …

The Rape Kit Backlog: Problems And Solutions, Tracey Cao

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

This literature review examines the ongoing issue of rape kit backlog in the United States. Rape kits are a means of evidence collection from victims of sexual assault that can be used in court. Across the nation, many state jurisdictions have hundreds and thousands of rape kits left untested and locked away in storage facilities. Consent for testing, police bias, and funding issues are the main issues that will be addressed. Many victims choose not to have their kits tested. Other kits never get tested due to police choosing not to submit a kit due to their bias against some …

Forensic Psychology Of Serial Killers, Karla Suarez

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Many serial killers share patterns in psychological and neuropsychological disorders and behaviors. These behaviors and patterns should be recognized and acknowledged to understand why serial killers murder without remorse or guilt. It is important to discuss matters such as common patterns, typologies, and characteristics within serial killers. After looking at these essential aspects of serial killers, common neurodevelopmental disorders, brain damage, and biological epigenetics will be further explored. In order to fully assess this topic, forensic psychology and behavioral analysis are essential to aid in understanding serial killers and how their brains function to lead them to the actions that …

Comparative Analysis Of Forensic Science Systems: Scotland Vs. America, Alec Noland

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Forensic science plays an important role in the justice system of both the United States and Scotland, but the structure, application, and effectiveness differ significantly. This research paper presents a comparative analysis of forensic science in two different legal and institutional contexts, examining differences between the two forensic science systems. This includes forensic laboratories and services, education and training, policing, court procedures, legal framework, and crime scene investigation. The analysis highlights significant differences such as Scotland’s centralized system versus America’s decentralized system, which impacts resource allocation and standardization for forensic science. Despite major differences, both countries emphasize scientific reliability, standardized …

Optimizing Genetic Ancestry Adjustment In Dna Methylation Studies: A Comparative Analysis Of Approaches, Kira D Höffler, Seyma Katrinli, Matthew W Halvorsen, Anne-Kristin Stavrum, Kevin S O'Connell, Alexey Shadrin, Srdjan Djurovic, Ole A Andreassen, James J Crowley, Jan Haavik, Kristen Hagen, Gerd Kvale, Kerry Ressler, Bjarne Hansen, Jair C Soares, Gabriel R Fries, Alicia K Smith, Stéphanie Le Hellard

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Genetic ancestry is an important factor to account for in DNA methylation studies because genetic variation influences DNA methylation patterns. One approach uses principal components (PCs) calculated from CpG sites that overlap with common SNPs to adjust for ancestry when genotyping data is not available. However, this method does not remove technical and biological variations, such as sex and age, prior to calculating the PCs. The first PC is therefore often associated with factors other than ancestry.

Methods: We developed and adapted the adapted EpiAnceR + approach, which includes 1) residualizing the CpG data overlapping with common SNPs for …

So Much More Than Summer Camp: The Importance Of Environmental Education At Nature Centers, Olivia Upton

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Education in the U.S. currently faces a deficit in the promotion and proper teaching of climate change curriculum. Obvious gaps are created by a lack of clear teaching standards for environmental education, the American political machine stirring up controversy over the legitimacy of climate change, or teacher preferences. As climate change is considered one of the greatest threats facing humanity today, there is a need to educate people, especially younger generations, in order to navigate future challenges and make informed decisions. Nature centers offer the ideal location for the promotion of climate change education based on their direct connection to …

The Effects Of Stress On Injury And Sickness Rates Of Middle-Distance And Distance Division Iii Athletes, Hailey Smith

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Running training intentionally stresses the body to experience positive physiological changes, however, maladaptions such as suppressed immune function and growth hormone production may occur without adequate recovery. Male distance and middle distance athletes (n = 14) participated in this study. For 6 weeks, heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate (HRrest), perceived stress, and cortisol levels were assessed as indicators of recovery and stress. It was anticipated that indicators of physical stress, such as higher resting heart rates and lower heart rate variability, would correspond with greater perceived stress and higher occurrence of injury and sickness. Cortisol (n = 2, …

Framing The East: An Exploration Into Tony Blair’S And George Bush’S Speeches And Orientalism, Darcy Ross

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Orientalism is a theory that is heavily ingrained in Western Society. It is the theory which explains how the West portrays or views the East, or more specifically the Middle East. It is a way to separate or “other” a region. It is a degrading tactic used by the West to look at the Eastern regions differently from things such as religion (Said 2-8). Since the West views the Eastern region as uncertain or different, there is an urgency to label them as bad or unstable (Said 2-8). Western Society becomes uncertain about the East, creating a sense of danger …

Parallel Paths:, Jacob Jones

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Observing The Prevalence Of Wolbachia Found In Tick Species From The Central Virginia Region, Madison Hoover

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Research has found that ticks are considered the second highest global vector of disease. Ticks can serve as a vector for pathogens such as Rickettsia rickettsii (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever), Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme Disease), Borrelia miyamotoi (B. miyamotoi disease) and Borrelia hermsii (tick-borne relapsing fever). Tick species such as Dermacentor variabilis (American Dog ticks), Amblyomma maculatum (Gulf Coast ticks), Amblyomma americanum (Lone Star ticks), Ixodes scapulari (Black legged ticks), and Ixodes affinis can be found within the southeastern Virginia region. Arthropod hosts that possess Wolbachia can have their reproduction negatively impacted through methods such as Parthenogenesis, Male Killing, Feminization, and …

A Phylogenomic Investigation Of The Historical Biogeography Of Livebearers (Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae), Sheila Rodríguez Machado

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Neotropics contain several biodiversity hotspots and harbor the highest diversity of freshwater fishes globally. Yet, recognizing the patterns and processes driving this richness remains a challenge. Similarly, all groups and subregions have not received the same attention, especially in the genomics era. Addressing these knowledge gaps will help us to better understand the region’s evolutionary and biogeographic complexity. The goal of this dissertation is to examine phylogenetic and biogeographic patterns of Neotropical freshwater fishes, with emphasis on the Greater Antilles, across multiple taxonomic and geographic scales. To achieve this goal, I generated a genomic dataset of hundreds of ultraconserved …

Comparing Gains And Losses: Examining The Effects Of Incentives On Working Memory Capacity And Motivational Processes In Older Adults, Julie Q. Pham

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Working memory is critical for the storage and maintenance of information but is susceptible to age-related changes. Prior studies have shown that incentives can be used to successfully modulate cognition in older age. However, research has largely focused on the use of reward incentives. Less is understood about the motivational processes of avoiding losses and whether this can also improve working memory capacity. Given that an aversion to losses may become more salient with age, it is important to determine whether these motivational shifts are reflected in how older adults attend to and store information. The current study compared how …

A Comparison Of Museums From The U.S. And Mexico Within National History, Leticia M. De León

Museum Studies Theses

With the creation of nation-states, the implementation of museums within a society is used to propagate a national agenda. A Comparison of Museums From the U.S. and Mexico Within National History will discuss the social and historical contexts of public museums in the modern nations of Mexico and the United States of America. Using Benedict Anderson’s definition of a nation, this thesis will conduct a comparison between the two countries in how their museums uphold their chosen national identities. The topics of religion, politics, colonization, race relations, and more will be explored in a discussion of how these phenomena play …

Commencement 2025

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Using Natural Materials In Art Therapy To Address Accessibility And Well-Being In Low-Income Older Adults, Ahlyana J. Richardson

Expressive Therapies Theses

This study investigated the implementation of natural materials during the artmaking processes in an older adult art therapy group (eco-art therapy), and its effects on their well-being and the role of accessibility in their lives. An open-studio approach was applied to emphasize the artmaking process being driven by the participants independently, while also sharing a collaborative space and creating community with each other. There was an exception to this condition in this study, being that the participants were encouraged to ask for assistance in using unconventional materials in their artwork if they felt they needed it. The participants were older …

Quixotes, Quacks, And Laughing Philosophers: Humor And Intellectual Authority In The Long Eighteenth Century, Macklin Fanning

English Theses and Dissertations

Quixotes, Quacks, and Laughing Philosophers: Humor and Intellectual Authority in the Long Eighteenth Century recovers the fascinating and forgotten story of John Elliot (1747–1787), a novelist, physician, mad scientist, pioneering optical theorist, criminal lunatic, and Gothic antihero whose life and work illuminate a strange new history of science, medicine, law, and literature in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Examining Working And Episodic Memory In Young Adults With Anhedonia, Sofia Uribe

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Depression is associated with impairments in memory processes. Evidence suggests there is poor recognition of positive information and quicker disengagement with positive information from working memory in depression compared to healthy controls. The working memory differences are hypothesized to be downstream effects of taxed working memory from rumination processes that impair reward learning. Furthermore, episodic memory impairments for positive information are hypothesized to be downstream effects of dopamine dysregulation from anhedonia in memory formation processes. The current study utilized the Diffusion Drift Model to examine whether anhedonia severity predicted differences in evidence accumulation using an index called drift rates in …

Physiological Regulation And Paths To Social Status In Chimpanzees, Megan F. Cole

Anthropology ETDs

In this dissertation, I leverage longitudinal comparative data from naturalistic chimpanzee populations to examine the evolutionary context for healthy aging and cooperative leadership. First, I use health data from semi-free-ranging chimpanzees living at African sanctuaries (2012-2023) to demonstrate that the effects of diet and exercise that promote healthy aging in humans are shared with chimpanzees. Semi-free-ranging chimpanzees exhibit a slower pace of biological aging compared to sedentary laboratory chimpanzees (Chapter 2). Sanctuary chimpanzees also have healthier inflammatory profiles, with no evidence of chronic inflammaging (Chapter 3). Second, I use hormonal and behavioral data from wild chimpanzees at Kanyawara (2005-2019) to …

Synthesis Of Some New Substituted Pyridilimides From 2-Carboxy Nicotinic Acid By Reaction With Amines, And Evaluation Of Their Antibacterial Activity, Anwar Abdulghani Fathi, Yassir Shakeeb Al Jawaheri, Shaimaa Samir Ismaeel

Baghdad Science Journal

In this paper, we synthesized some new substituted pyridilimides in three different ways. Firstly, by the reaction of 2-carboxy nicotinic acid with some amino acids to form 2-substituted (5,7-dioxo-5,7-dihydro-6H-pyrrolo [3,4-b] pyridine-6-yl) acetic acid (1–2). In the next step, the resultant compounds were treated with phenylene diamine to form substituted 6-((1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl) methyl)-5H-pyrrolo [3,4-b] pyridine-5,7(6H)-dione (3-4). Secondly, 2-carboxy nicotinic acid, which was converted to anhydride (5), reacted with acetic anhydride and acetic acid. In the next step, two moles of (5) were used to react with some aliphatic or aromatic diamine to give substituted bis 5H-pyrrolo [3,4-b] pyridine-5,7(6H)-dione (6–11). Finally, (5) was …

Antioxidant Capacity Of Benalu Duku Leaves Alcoholic Extract On Sod Level And Pancreatic Cytology In Induced Diabetic Rats, Anggun Syafitri, Yuandani, Tri Widiyawati, Dwi Rita Anggraini, Syukur Berkat Waruwu

Baghdad Science Journal

Diabetes mellitus causes damage to pancreatic β cells and oxidative stress due to an imbalance of oxidants and antioxidants in the body. Controlling hyperglycemia by administering conventional drugs and with long-term use carries the risk of side effects, so traditional treatment is recommended. Benalu Duku (Dendophthoe pentandra (L.) Miq) is a plant considered a parasite. However, it has the potential to be developed as a diabetes drug because it contains metabolites that can be used as drugs that come from nature. This study aims to test phytochemicals and examine the effect of ethanol extract of Benalu Duku leaves (EEBD) …

A Floristic Study Of The Vascular Flora Of The Brokeoff Mountains, Southcentral New Mexico, Bryana L. Olmeda, Harpo Faust, Hannah E. Marx

Biology ETDs

The vascular flora detailed here describes 438 km² (169 mi²) of the Brokeoff Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. The Brokeoffs are part of the northern extent of the Chihuahuan Desert, the largest desert in North America and one of the ecoregions least represented in botanical collections. Prior to 2023, only 254 plant collections were known from the study site, representing roughly 1.5 collections per 2.59 km² (1 mi²), despite strong research interest in its neighboring Guadalupe Mountains. Over two field seasons, 1920 plant collections were made, over 81 days of field work conducted, in …