Digital Commons Network^™

Awe As Signpost: An Argument For The Consistency Of Lewis’S “Joy” And Psychological Awe, Audrey Hendricks

Senior Honors Theses

C.S. Lewis’s Surprised by Joy details Lewis’s autobiographical apologetic for the existence of God through his experiences of “Joy,” a technical term invented by Lewis. Upon close study, his experiences of Joy contain many similarities to psychological awe. This investigation compares Lewis’s Joy with psychological awe using the Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S) to determine consistency. Lewis’s Joy was found to be consistent with all six criteria of the AWE-S in addition to other recognized psychological characteristics of awe. In addition to qualitative consistency, this review also argues for the teleological consistency of the two concepts, contending for a Christian teleological …

Programmable Degradation Of Polyethylene Via Amide-Functionalization: A Dual-Path Strategy Combining Palladium-Catalyzed Copolymerization And Enhanced Microbial Breakdown, Safi-Dapetel Balkissou Wouna

Master's Theses

Polyethylene (PE) is one of the most widely used polymers due to its durability, low cost, and chemical stability; however, these same properties contribute to its persistence in the environment. It takes about 1000 years for PE to be degraded by microbes in nature. This study investigates a molecular design strategy to enhance the biodegradability of PE by introducing polar functional groups into its backbone through palladium-catalyzed copolymerization with a Vince lactam-derived comonomer. This strategy was inspired by our previous observation that PHEVD (poly[7-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2,4-divinyl-3-oxa-7-azabicyclo[3.3.0]octane-6,8-dione]), a newly synthesized petroleum derived polymer that is rich of amide group, can be near-completely degraded …

Changing The Narrative: Exploring Post-Traumatic Growth In African American Women Who Identify As Transformational Leaders After Experiencing The Foster Care System, Leah Angel Vance-Daniel

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of African American women who identified as transformational leaders and who successfully navigated adulthood after experiencing the foster care system. Post-traumatic growth (PTG) theory served as the theoretical framework for this study, which reflects a positive mental shift brought about by struggling with at least one extremely difficult life circumstance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight African American women, and five themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) Journey to Transformational Leadership: Self-Awareness, Vulnerability, and Self Acceptance; (b) From Repeating to Repairing; (c) You Either Have to Lie …

Volume 17, Christian O’Neill, Kyara Greene, Savva Sidorov, Laura Bisaillon, Luke Clemmer, Hannah Gordon, Kitt Benson, Taylor Blount, Rachel Danzitz, Nicholas Duellman, Chase Gionis, Hima Fernando, Seth Franzyshen, Onyx Gonzalez, Bryan Lin, Samantha Start, Ysabel Wells, Maggie Duncan

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction Dr. Amorette Barber, Director, Office of Student Research

From the Editor Dr. Hannah Dudley-Shotwell

Cover Artist’s Statement Maggie Duncan

On Mentoring Dr. Yulia Uryadova

Ukrainian Resistance in the Face of Russification: Nestor Makhno and Anarchism

by Christian O’Neill

Life Vest by Kyara Greene

Isolation and 16S rRNA Identification of Bacteria from Fire Department Connection Pipe by Savva Sidorov

The Effectiveness of Planned Exercise in Reducing ADHD Symptoms in Children by Laura Bisaillon & Luke Clemmer

Linguistic Analysis on Confidence and Communication Strategies with Disparities Between Sign Fluency and Hearing Impairment by Hannah Gordon

Freedmen in Indian Territory by Kitt …

Analyzing The Evolution Of Science: Topological Cycles And Community Detection In Knowledge Networks, Frances C. Mcconnell

Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Honors Projects

How scientific knowledge grows and organizes itself is a central question in the study of science. This thesis uses tools from topology and network science to detect and characterize knowledge gaps—places in a field’s literature where related concepts do not co-occur. We develop a metric to quantify the degree of interdisciplinarity of each gap, using the community structure of the underlying network as a proxy for subfields. Across a wide range of fields, gaps reliably span multiple subfields and evolve in recognizable temporal patterns, highlighting new insights into how scientific fields are structured and their stage of development.

Dor-E: Final Design Report, Arav Singh, August Hogen-Esch, Bruce Le, Patrick Mcgee, Spencer Major

Mechanical Engineering

I. PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary contains a diverse array of benthic habitats that remain largely undocumented due to the financial and logistical barriers of deep-sea exploration. Traditional high-end autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated vehicles capable of reaching 1000-meter depths require significant surface support infrastructure and hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding. Furthermore, navigating protected ecological zones demands strict adherence to "Leave No Trace" principles. Conventional benthic landers and submersibles routinely leave metallic debris behind; many submersibles use galvanic timed releases that corrode in seawater over a set period of time or heat-activated bolts to …

Ihelp Foundation 2025 Uganda Medical Mission, Kade Spencer Robison

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Uganda faces significant barriers to health care access, particularly in rural communities, due to physician shortages and limited resources. As a result, care is concentrated in urban areas, leaving rural populations disproportionately affected by both communicable and noncommunicable diseases.

This Honors Capstone project focused on preparing for and supporting the iHelp Foundation’s 2025 Uganda Medical Mission. The iHelp Foundation works to reduce barriers to care in Uganda by partnering with local hospitals to provide short-term rural clinics and specialized surgical care for advanced otolaryngological conditions.

In this project, I contributed to mission preparation by training volunteers and coordinating physician licensing. …

Utilizing Pine Needles To Compare Spatial Profiles Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) In Two Urban Areas, Autumn Jensen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are an important class of semivolatile air pollutants known for their adverse health impacts. This research used conifer needles as passive air samplers to create spatial maps of two Utah cities (Rose Park and Spanish Fork) to compare overall PAH exposure and identify any differences in their congener profiles or PAH “fingerprints”. Conifer needles were chosen due to their prevalence as a passive air sampler in previous research and their ubiquity in urban and suburban environments. Second year needles were collected and the concentrations are considered to be an annually averaged view of the PAH concentrations …

Effects Of M6a Dna Methylation By Bacterial Methyltransferase In Colorectal Cancer, Fabian Alejandro Mendoza Galvan

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Effects of m6A DNA methylation by bacterial methyltransferase in colorectal cancer Fabian Alejandro Mendoza Galvan Advisory Professor: Angela H. Ting, Ph.D. Fusobacterium nucleatum animalis (Fna) is found in the human oral cavity and gut. A distinct clade of Fna is primarily enriched in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and within colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. This clade DNA methylation pattern is primarily catalyzed by a cell-cycle regulated methyltransferase (CcrM) ortholog, M.FnI, that targets the GANTC sequence motif through methyl-6-Adenine (m6A) DNA methylation. We hypothesized that M.FnI enzyme can induce m6A methylation abnormalities in CRC cells to promote cancer progression. Evidence for endogenous …

Targeting Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis Through Novel Combination Of Fda-Approved Orally Active Blood-Brain Barrier Permeable Ret And Tgli1 Inhibitors, Joshua Cha

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in American women, and breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) exhibits the worst prognoses with a life-expectancy averaging at 6 months. This short life expectancy is largely attributed to the lack of effective treatment. Many challenges remain unsolved, including the limited number of actionable targets for targeted therapy and effective blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeable drugs that are safe without promoting drug resistance. Therefore, there is an urgent call for identification of novel therapeutic targets and development of BBB-permeable drugs. One of the potential targets identified by our lab for BCBM targeted therapy is the …

Pattern Dynamics And Stochasticity Of Brain Rhythms And Spike Trains In A Tauopathy Mouse Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Clarissa M. Hoffman

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Systems neuroscience posits that every aspect of perceived physical reality, every aspect of animal and human behavior, and every cognitive phenomenon emerges from patterns of neuronal activity. While most researchers embrace this idea, there are major difficulties in describing and analyzing these complex neuronal dynamics—spike flows produced by cells ensembles, synchronized extracellular field oscillations, and other patterns—which limits our understanding of how the activity of individual neurons and the whole-animal cognition and behavior might be connected. In particular, we lack the approaches and even the semantics for connecting the individual cell outputs and the integrated results of their activity. Current …

Characterization Of Staphylococcus Aureus Clinical Isolates From Deep Musculoskeletal Infections For An In Vitro Biofilm Model For Phage Therapy, Raquel C. Luna

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The rise of multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections is a growing concern in the treatment of deep musculoskeletal infections (MSKIs) and orthopaedic device-related infections (ODRIs). Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for about one third of these infections due to its strong biofilm forming capacity, presence on human skin, and the large number of antibiotic-resistant variants. Bacteriophage (phage) therapy is now being considered as a treatment for MDR MSKIs/ODRIs. We are investigating the use of phage encapsulated into or adsorbed onto biodegradable microspheres for local delivery to the site of these MDR infections. We determined that the anti-staphylococcal phage K effectively lyses the S. …

From Antigen Presentation To Tumor Control: Mechanisms Of Type I Conventional Dendritic Cell-Based Cancer Vaccines, Josue E. Pineda

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) are important for generating and sustaining antitumor immunity. Accordingly, the abundance of cDC1s in human tumors correlates with improved outcomes in cancer. Capitalizing on this role, we previously demonstrated that vaccination with in vitro-derived murine cDC1s elicits durable tumor control in multiple preclinical models; however, the immunological mechanisms underlying the efficacy of cDC1 vaccination remain unclear. Here, we examined whether in vitro-derived cDC1s resemble tumor-infiltrating DC populations and whether MHC-I and MHC-II antigen presentation contribute to cDC1-mediated tumor control following vaccination in melanoma.

As expected, MHC-I- or MHC-II-deficiency had minimal impact on …

Membrane Organization Of Rheb And Rhoa: Roles In Function And Allosteric Druggability, Chase M. Hutchins

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Small GTPases of the Ras superfamily are membrane-bound molecular switches that regulate nearly all major cellular processes, and their dysregulation drives cancers, neurological disorders, and metabolic diseases. While anchored to cellular membranes, the catalytic domains of small GTPases undergo orientation dynamics, adopting distinct configurations that can occlude or expose effector-binding surfaces and modulate signaling output. These dynamics have been characterized in the Ras oncoproteins, but whether they extend across the superfamily and influence allosteric druggability has remained unknown.

In this dissertation, I address these questions through Rheb and RhoA, two small GTPases with complementary differences in subfamily lineage, membrane localization, …

Understanding Epigenomic Landscapes In Cancer Progression And Immunotherapy Response, Jonathan Schulz

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Nonmutational epigenomic reprogramming has emerged as a key hallmark of cancer that plays crucial roles in tumor evolution during its progression and response to therapy. However, the extent and nature of epigenomic reprogramming remains poorly understood. This dissertation examines how epigenetic regulation shapes cancer progression and response to immunotherapy. Working at the intersection of cancer biology and computational genomics, it develops analytical frameworks for characterizing chromatin structure and DNA methylation across diverse tumor contexts and uses these frameworks to address two complementary biological questions: how promoter-associated chromatin organization varies across cancer types, and how epigenetic perturbation modulates tumor immunogenicity in …

An Integrated Framework For Early Detection And Transmissibility Assessment Of Emerging Variants In Wastewater, Xingwen Chen, Tin Phan, Wei Lin Lee, Katie Clark, Steven F Rhode, Samantha Brozak, Bruce Pell, Tsultrim Palden, Mats Leifels, Anna Gitter, Yang Kuang, Stefan Wuertz, Janelle Thompson, Kristina D Mena, Eric J Alm, Fuqing Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Tracking the emergence of new viral variants is critical for epidemic preparedness, but remains challenging because variants typically circulate at low prevalence during the early phase of outbreaks. Here, we present an integrated framework that combines sensitive variant detection in wastewater with quantitative assessment of transmissibility through dynamic epidemic modeling. Using the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant as a proof of concept, we developed a novel nested allele-specific RT-qPCR assay (NAS-PCR) that achieved a thousand-fold increase in sensitivity compared with allele-specific RT-qPCR (limit of detection: 0.5 copies/μl). NAS-PCR detected Omicron in wastewater samples from the Greater Boston area starting in September 2021, …

Securing Cloud-Native Systems: From Vulnerability Analysis To External And Insider Threat Detection, Jiongchi Yu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Cloud-native systems have become the backbone of modern software infrastructure. However, their dynamic resource orchestration and complex configurability introduce a large attack surface and intricate security challenges. Adversaries can externally exploit vulnerabilities in cloud components or perform insider movement within cloud environments to launch attacks. As these systems increasingly support critical services, security breaches can lead to severe operational and economic consequences.

Despite extensive efforts in vulnerability detection and attack monitoring, existing approaches struggle to remain effective in cloud-native environments characterized by rapid evolution and inherent heterogeneity. In particular, they exhibit three fundamental limitations: (1) Insufficient understanding of defect patterns …

Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy In Veterinary Medicine: A Review Of Client Attitudes, Grace Moore

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Uncertainty toward vaccination, long recognized as a public health concern in human medicine, is increasingly recognized within veterinary contexts, posing risks to both animal and community health. This literature review examines the development, causes, and implications of reduced vaccine confidence in veterinary medicine, with emphasis on small animal and some large animal practices. The review combines historical and current research to explore how vaccination perceptions have evolved among veterinarians and clients, and how factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic have shaped current attitudes.

The literature highlights recurring themes surrounding vaccine reluctance in veterinary settings. Client perceptions of safety, efficacy, and …

Body And Blood: The Black Catholic Imagination In Toni Morrison's Novels, Allison Schneider

FCRH Honors Program Theses

Religion was a powerful shaping force in Toni Morrison’s life, so it should come as little surprise that it shaped her art, as well. From the personal to the academic, her religious experiences deeply inspired her writing, and the spiritual dimension of her work has become a prominent topic among Morrison scholars. Despite a vast body of research dedicated to the religious in her novels, the prevalence of Catholic themes in Morrison’s novels remains largely unexplored. Born and raised in Lorain, Ohio, Morrison grew up surrounded by different faith traditions. Her mother belonged to the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, …

Donor And Recipient Microbiome Interactions Determine Functional Outcomes Of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation For Clostridioides Difficile Infection, Sophie A. Millard

All Dissertations

Clostridioides difficile is a major cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea. Infection typically occurs after antibiotic treatment disrupts the gut microbiome, allowing C. difficile to colonize and produce toxins leading to disease (CDI). Standard antibiotic treatments can resolve acute infection but frequently lead to recurrence, highlighting the need for alternative strategies that restore the gut ecosystem. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), the transfer of stool from a healthy donor, has emerged as an effective therapy for recurrent C. difficile infection (rCDI). Understanding the mechanisms underlying the success of FMT for treatment of rCDI could lead to safer, more defined microbial mixtures.

This dissertation …

Generative Ai Of Breast Cancer Progression In Gene Expression Space, Xusheng Ai

All Dissertations

Breast cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers in the world. Although doctors can use gene activity data to better understand different types of breast cancer, it is still difficult to identify the most important genes and to track how the disease changes over time. This is partly because gene data are very large and complex.

This dissertation develops a computer-based framework to study breast cancer using gene expression data. The work focuses on three goals: creating realistic synthetic gene data, identifying important genes linked to cancer, and modeling how breast cancer changes from normal tissue to …

Investigation Of Low-Pressure Mercury Lamp System Configurations And Xenon Excimer Lamp System Development As Vacuum Ultraviolet Sources For Optimal Photolytic Degradation Of Poly-/Perfluoroalkyl Substances, Eman Zuhair Alhamdan

All Dissertations

PFAS are persistent synthetic chemicals, with unique properties that enable them to easily enter and accumulate in water sources. Their public health impacts have raised concern and highlighted the need for effective treatment. Numerous techniques for PFAS removal from water have been studied, few have proven the ability of breaking down PFAS rather than separating and concentrating it. Many of these methods are chain-length dependent, showing slower degradation rate of short-chain PFAS and requiring substantial amounts of energy, and chemical agents that may produce byproducts.

Among available PFAS destruction methods, direct photolysis by high-energy UV with wavelength below 200 nm …

Towards Dementia-Inclusive Digital Text-Based Health Information: A Multi-Method Investigation Of Cognitive And Affective Accessibility, Margi Engineer

All Dissertations

This dissertation examines the accessibility, readability, emotional tone, and trustworthiness of digital, text‑based dementia information and investigates how older adults with and without dementia cognitively and affectively engage with such content. It further explores the potential of generative AI to improve dementia information delivery through the development of a domain‑specific retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) large language model (LLM) chatbot designed to deliver accessible, stigma‑free information. The dissertation comprises four studies using complementary quantitative and qualitative methods. Study I conducts a large‑scale content analysis of 300 medical articles, 35 websites, and 50 blogs, applying readability metrics, LIWC‑based linguistic and sentiment analysis, and …

Learning Global Context For Sparse Activity Recognition In Lengthy Recordings With Limited Dataset Size, Zeyu Tang

All Dissertations

This dissertation describes methods to analyze lengthy recordings of data in order to detect sparsely occurring activities. The narrative below describes the progression of research that led to the development of these methods and their generalization into a unified framework. My research started with designing models for dietary monitoring, including detecting meals from day-long recordings and detecting intake gestures from meal-length recordings. Both tasks share some common characteristics: (a) the target event takes only a small portion of data recordings, and (b) there is global context within full-length data recordings that can help a model make better decisions. After finishing …

Using Large Language Models To Assess Entrepreneurial Personality In Generation Z College Students, Xianyong Wang

All Dissertations

As entrepreneurial personality (EP) plays a critical role in Generation Z’s (Gen Z) long-term success, it is crucial to understand the EP of Gen Z college students. To date, little is known about what EP is and how it can be assessed in Gen Z. Therefore, this dissertation presented two sequential studies to address two closely related research foci. The first study examined the scope and dimensionality of EP in Gen Z college students using topic modeling. In the second study, pre-trained LLMs were fine-tuned to predict self-reported EP levels from personal narrative responses. To collect data, college students (N …

Refining Treatment Thresholds Of Insect Pests In South Carolina Soybeans Using Simulated Injury And Natural Populations, Adam Whitfield

All Dissertations

Insect pests are a major limiting factor to profitable soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., production in South Carolina, yet current economic thresholds are largely based on historical data and may not reflect modern cultivars, production practices, or input costs. Key insect pests in South Carolina can be categorized into three major feeding groups: defoliators, stem feeders, and pod feeders. Defoliating insects include, but are not limited to, soybean looper, Chrysodeixis includens (Walker); velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis (Hubner); green cloverworm, Hypena scabra (Fabricius); grasshoppers; and numerous species of beetles. Stem feeders include, but are not limited to, kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria …

Abnormal Trafficking And Processing Of Multiple Matrix Metalloproteinases Drive Cartilage Defects In Congenital Disorders Of Glycosylation, Chia-Lun Wu

All Dissertations

Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG) are rare metabolic diseases caused by defects in glycosylation. Despite identification of over 200 CDG types, the mechanisms linking glycosylation defects to diverse clinical phenotypes remain unclear. This dissertation uses zebrafish models of PMM2-CDG and STT3-CDG to redefine CDG pathogenesis, shifting from a simple glycan deficiency model to one involving disrupted cellular spatial organization.

We identify a protease-dependent pathway underlying craniofacial cartilage defects. Specifically, defective proteolytic processing of N-cadherin, a key adhesion molecule in chondrogenesis, is a central driver of pathology. We further uncover an unconventional trafficking mechanism in which ER stress and altered secretory …

The Impact Of Label Material On Perceived Value And Environmental-Friendliness Of Beverages In Returnable Glass Bottles Versus Actual Environmental Impact Via Life Cycle Assessment, Toni Sharp

All Dissertations

With guidance from the EPA to reduce virgin packaging use and alternatively increase reuse, the concept of reusable packaging has re-emerged as a potential sustainable alternative to single-use and recyclable packaging. For businesses, an understanding of the potential environmental benefits of switching from single-use packaging to reusable packaging, along with consumer willingness to pay for sustainable packaging are paramount. Existing literature on willingness to pay (WTP) for ethical or sustainable products typically relies on consumers’ stated preferences found through surveys using hypothetical products and prices. It has been revealed that sustainability claims printed on the label or products in glass …

Participatory Land Management In A Dynamic Coastal, Wilderness Landscape: Stakeholder Engagement, Public Land Disinvestment, And A Paradox At Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, Kelly Alvidrez

All Dissertations

Federal coastal protected areas in the United States are increasingly shaped by intersecting social, ecological, and institutional pressures, including climate change, amenity-driven population growth, rising visitation, and sustained public land disinvestment. Within this context, Participatory Land Management (PLM) has been promoted as a mechanism to enhance legitimacy, incorporate local knowledge, and foster shared stewardship. However, the implementation of PLM within U.S. federal land agencies remains under-theorized, particularly in ecologically dynamic landscapes that have designated wilderness. This dissertation examines PLM at Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, a federally managed coastal refuge embedded within a rapidly changing social-ecological system and constrained by …

Assessing Neurodiverse Inclusion In Zoos, Aquariums, And Nature Centers: A Secondary Analysis Of The Mozaics Project, Jennifer N.K. Garcia

All Dissertations

Playful experiences are found to promote positive youth development (Burdette & Whitaker, 2005; Gray, 2011; Sobel, 2018; Watchman & Spencer-Cavaliere, 2017). Additionally, playing in nature can improve attention and mood and reduce stress (Greenleaf, 2014; Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989; Shin & Swank, 2018; Ulrich ,1991). Unfortunately, neurodiverse youth, especially those with autism, can often experience barriers that limit access to play (Pynn et al., 2018; Stern, 2003) specifically play in nature (Barnes, 2007; Wolfberg, 2009). Yet, community organizations that offer playful experiences in nature, such as zoos, aquariums, and nature centers, could be uniquely positioned in the community to support …