Digital Commons Network^™

Manufacturing Migrants: How Historical Identity Construction And Bureaucratic Tools Enable Anti- Immigration Politics In The Dominican Republic, Christianne Bertrand

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

This paper examines the rise of anti-immigration politics in the Dominican Republic, asking the question: why and how did exclusionary policies targeting Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent become viable in this specific context? I contend that contemporary deportation and denationalization policies cannot be explained solely by factors such as economic anxiety, cultural backlash, or right-wing contagion. Instead, anti-immigration politics can take hold when politicians draw on historically constructed processes of “othering” and utilize existing bureaucratic tools to carry out exclusionary policies. Through qualitative analysis of scholarly literature, government documents, international human rights reports, political speeches, and legal rulings and …

Teacher Perceptions On Culturally Responsive Teaching And Learning: Middle School African American Male Achievement And Implications, Richard A. Brown

Interdisciplinary Leadership Dissertations

Academic achievement gaps among African American male middle school students persist, raising concerns about educational equity and instructional effectiveness. This phenomenological qualitative study examined middle school teachers’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching (CRT), focusing on how educators understood, implemented, and assessed CRT practices related to the academic engagement and achievement of African American male students. The study sought to identify the beliefs, instructional strategies, barriers, and supports that shape CRT implementation in suburban middle school settings. The research used a qualitative phenomenological design to capture the lived experiences of educators working with African American male students in the southern suburbs …

The History And Distinctives Of Liberty University In Training Pastors At The Undergraduate Level, Mason Andrew Hamilton

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis aims to demonstrate that the Pastoral Leadership major is a viable discipline that calls for appropriate consideration for all considering pastoral ministry. More specifically, this thesis documents the historical distinctiveness of Liberty University’s Pastoral Leadership major in preparing and training men and women for life in pastoral ministry.

The first section discusses the historical developments of pastoral ministry. Ample attention is given to the biblical roots and significant events in church history that discuss the progression of pastors and ordination. The second section discusses the establishment of professional pastoral ministry at Liberty University. The third section illustrates the …

Resonant Cracks In The Music Curriculum: Integrating Social And Emotional Learning In The Secondary Music Classroom, Margaret E. Lerch

Education Doctorate Dissertations

Music education has long been recognized as a subject that encourages student learning beyond the walls of the music classroom. While elementary music programs often foster language development and social awareness, secondary music instruction tends to emphasize performance skills and technical development. The explicit secondary orchestra curriculum for this middle school includes only instrument skill-development standards and learning-target descriptions. In this fourth-marking-period sixth-grade orchestra class, coursework—including students’ journal reflections, classroom dialogue, and comparison soundscape projects—operated intentionally “within the cracks” of the formal curriculum to create opportunities for the students to express and engage with emotions, identity, belonging, empathy, perspective-taking, and …

Under The Cover Of Blackness: The Racialized Dimensions Of Netflix’S Personalized Cover Art, Daphne Gershon

Communication Studies Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the mechanisms that shape how race is represented in online TV interfaces by analyzing Netflix’s personalized cover art, an essential digital paratext designed to attract viewers through individualized images. Netflix has previously been accused of using its personalized cover art or thumbnails in racially biased ways, displaying either Black or white characters based on the presumed race of users. To further existing research on this digital feature, this article focuses not just on whether Black characters are represented, but also on how they are represented. Through an exploratory pilot study that involves the creation of different algorithmic …

Disparities Between Chronological And Biological Age: A Biocultural Analysis Of Aging In Contemporary Populations, Nicollette S. Appel

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation investigates how structural and cultural factors collectively influence the aging process and how these effects manifest in both hard and soft tissues. Chapter 2 used an AI-based CT body composition tool and a CT-based biological age model to examine the relationship between age discrepancy and demographic variables such as sex, race/ethnicity, and manner of death. Results demonstrate significant differences in age discrepancy, with females, Native Americans, and individuals who died of natural causes exhibiting greater discrepancies. Chapters 3 and 4 further evaluate whether anthropological approaches to skeletal aging can be improved by adopting a biocultural perspective. These chapters …

Summoning Models Of “Decolonization”: Performances Of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’S Historical Poetry In Contemporary Pakistan, Muhammad Z. Abro

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation examines how Shia communities in Sindh, Pakistan, mobilize the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai as counter-history within a postcolonial order that folds sectarian difference into homogenized national culture. In dominant state and literary discourse, Latif is cast as a universal Sufi poet whose spirituality transcends doctrinal division and secures Sindhi and Pakistani belonging. The performances studied here place pressure on that settlement by treating the Risalo as a medium through which Karbala remains historically present. Drawing on three years of ethnographic fieldwork at the shrine of Shah Abdul Latif in Bhitshah and related sites in Sindh, the …

Sb 259: Combatting The Unscrupulous Practice Of Surveillance Pricing, Timothy Reeves

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reconstructing A Legacy: Zygmunt Lakociński, The Polish Research Institute’S Archive, And The Women Behind It, Alanna Gallo

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Abstract: In 1945, Polish historian Zygmunt Lakociński embarked on a project to “document the truth against all myths.” Following the arrival of 7,300 Polish former prisoners, 6,000 of them women, to Sweden after liberation, Lakociński created the Polish Research Institute Archive (PIZ). The result was a collection of over 500 highly detailed and corroborated witness testimonies of Nazi war crimes at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. From its interview procedures and methodology to the composition of its staff, the Polish Research Institute Archive was utterly unconventional for its time. Aside from its scope, much of the archive’s importance lies in its …

Ai Mcat Tutor: Personalized Study Planning, Daily Check-Ins, & Slideshow Generator For Pre-Medical Students, Luke Latterman

IPHS 300: AI for Humanity

Preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is among the most demanding academic challenges facing pre-medical students, yet access to professional tutoring remains prohibitively expensive for many. This paper describes the design, implementation, and iterative evaluation of an AI-powered tutoring system built using Claude Code, Anthropic’s command-line interface for the Claude large language model, intended to serve pre-medical students directly, whether or not they have access to a professional tutor. The system integrates three components: a personalized multi-phase study schedule generator, a daily check-in assistant, and an AI-driven instructional slideshow generator for targeted content review. Each component was designed …

Serendipitous Reactivity Of Tripodal Tris(Nitroxide) Aluminum And Gallium Complexes With Halomethanes, Elizabeth N. S. Ting , '26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

The development of new strategies for bond activation remains an important goal in chemistry. Element-ligand cooperative (ELC) chemistry using abundant main-group elements has emerged as a promising strategy for enabling bond activation without relying on traditional transition-metal redox chemistry. In this work, the reactivity of Group 13 complexes supported by a tripodal tris(nitroxide) ligand, (TriNOx^3-)M (M = Al (1), Ga (2); TriNOx^3- = [{(2^tBuNO)C₆H₄CH₂}₃N] ^3-), was investigated toward halomethanes. This reactivity leads to the formation of the ligand-protonated metal halide species (HTriNOx^2-)M–X. To support …

Disputing Geographies Of Sanctuaries: Legal Manifestations And Re-Imagined Practices In Adverse State Conditions For Migrants In Philadelphia County And Miami Dade County, Clara Ximena Villalba , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

No abstract provided.

A Phenomenology On The Possibility Of Freedom, Grounded In The Lifeworld, Sheldon T. White

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

The work here is aimed at three primary goals. The first is largely exegetical and focuses on explicating Edmund Husserl’s phenomenological analysis of the intentional process which constitutes our empathic experience of other people. This is relevant because phenomenology’s capacity to examine intersubjectivity depends on the validity of the pairing association put forth by Husserl in section 51 of the Cartesian Meditations. I accomplish this by analyzing not only the sections in the Cartesian Meditations where Husserl makes his case, but also by engaging with his previous works, upon which his analysis of the pairing association depends. The second goal …

Who Then Can Be Saved? A Discussion Of Views Within The Christian Tradition Concerning The Salvation Of The Non-Christian, Logan A. Davis

Honors Theses

This thesis argues that, contrary to popular conception, the Christian Tradition is not strictly exclusivist in its understanding of salvation or in its assessment of the fate of the non-Christian but rather displays a rich diversity of views. Both the Christian Tradition and the Christian scriptures are characterized by a certain ambiguity on this issue; although a definitive answer may exist, it is not easily identifiable. Given this ambiguity, the study presents a representative spectrum of theological positions within the Christian Tradition and analyzes their respective treatments of the salvation of the non-Christian. In doing so, it seeks to provide …

Giving Meaningful Effect To Victims’ Rights: The Canadian Victims Bill Of Rights As Quasi-Constitutional Legislation, Benjamin Perrin

All Faculty Publications

This research paper is the first detailed examination of the quasi-constitutional status of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights ("CVBR") and the implications for its interpretation and application. It aims to provide a doctrinal account of this extraordinary legal recognition and to serve as a resource for scholars, judges, lawyers, and other justice system participants to ensure that the CVBR is interpreted and applied consistently with its aim of serving as a catalyst for transformative change to how the criminal justice system has historically treated victims.

Department Of Politics And Government News And Views, Spring 2026, Department Of Politics And Government, Illinois State University

Department of Politics and Government News and Views

Newsletter of the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University

Pivot: Plan For Institutional Vitality And Organizational Transformation, 2025-2026 Report, Office Of Academic Affairs, Research And Graduate Studies, Richard Tankersley, Shelly Chabon

Office of Academic Affairs Publications

This report documents the conduct and results of PIVOT's first review cycle, from its September 2025 launch through the submission of recommendations to President Ann Cudd on February 23, 2026. Track 1 reviewed 293 academic programs, each by three to five academic leaders, with calibration by the Deans' Council and feedback from units before classifications were finalized. Resulting classifications were 25 Grow, 85 Sustain, 112 Revitalize, and 71 Sunset. Track 2 reviewed 163 units through a Core Review Team, producing 7 Invest, 61 Sustain, 54 Reassess, 28 Restructure/Consolidate, and 13 Phase Out classifications. The report presents financial modeling projecting approximately …

Verdict Format On Trial: Experimental Tests Of The Criminal Law’S Orthodoxy, Avani Mehta Sood

Vanderbilt Law Review

For centuries, American criminal courts have overwhelmingly favored “general” verdicts over “special” verdicts, without giving the latter a fair trial. A general verdict requires criminal jurors to deliver only an ultimate judgment of “guilty” or “not guilty” on a charged offense. In contrast, a special verdict would require jurors to answer a sequence of questions about whether each legal element of the charged offense has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt before they deliver a final judgment. The criminal law’s conventional wisdom holds that special verdicts will disadvantage defendants by constraining jurors’ latitude to temper or nullify the law, thereby …

The Lithic Assemblage From The 700,000-Year-Old Butchery Site Of Kalinga (Luzon Island, Philippines): New Insights Into Technological Variability In The Early Paleolithic In Island Southeast Asia, Justin Guibert, Jean-Baptiste Lambard, Gerald John Palaya, Jackie Despriée, Alfred Pawlik, Xavier Gallet, John De Vos, Andrea Dominique Cosalan, Paul C.H. Albers, M. Gema Chacón, Thomas Ingicco, Marian C. Reyes

Sociology & Anthropology Department Faculty Publications

Abstract

Despite a long history of archaeological and paleoanthropological research, our understanding of the Early Paleolithic in Island Southeast Asia remains limited as only a few sites with clear stratigraphic contexts—Mata Menge (Flores Island), Ngebung 2 (Java Island), Calio and Talepu (Sulawesi Island)—have been documented. This scarcity of well-stratified assemblages has led to a poor characterization of technological variability and cultural sequences, which mainly rely on surface collections and early typological classifications/facies (e.g., Pacitanian, Cabengian, Cabalwanian, Liwanian, Arubian, etc.). These classifications, mostly based on a handful of cobble artifacts, have long obscured the technological diversity of early hominin settlements in …

The Impact Of R&D Team Diversity On Ambidextrous Innovation In Srdi Smes, Cheng Zhan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

As a vital organizational form of R&D teams in specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative (SRDI) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), distributed teams have gradually emerged as a dynamic source of innovation for such enterprises. Against the backdrop of the (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) era, markets have imposed higher demands on enterprises' innovative and sustainable development capabilities, exerting substantial impacts on the growth of SRDI SMEs. Although the distributed R&D team model, developed through continuous exploration in=132=132enterprises' innovation practices, has drawn practical and scholarlyattention for its role in shaping ambidextrous innovation in SRDI SMEs, the internal mechanism underlying the relationship …

The Nameless Monster: Outperforming Gender In Mary Shelley’S Frankenstein, Camryn Morgan

Munn Scholars Awards

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein places the “Monster” at the center of the text and I argue that Shelley is purposeful in not giving a real, human name to the Monster nor a specified gender. I propose that the Monster is an experimentation of un-gendered embodiment that Shelley meticulously crafts and which can be read through the lens of Trans-studies as a literary example of what I term Gender Outperformance. I define this as what may be embodied once gender is either fully abandoned, never granted, or stretched beyond its normative limits. Once gender is outperformed it is transcended.

“The Very Existence Of The Empire”: U.S.-Japanese Economic Relations And The Road To Pearl Harbor, Noah Haak

Munn Scholars Awards

The following work argues that the most common historiography of the United States and Japanese Empire’s relationship prior to Pearl Harbor has been sidelining the economic struggle between the two nations as context rather than cause when discussing the conflict. This choice leaves out important economic analysis that explains both expanding American executive authority and realist Japanese decision-making that pushed both nations into the Pacific Theater. Roosevelt's decades-long undeclared embargo on Japan set a constitutional precedent that shaped every major exercise of executive war power.

Collecting Dust (Jackets): Regarding The Life And Ephemerality Of Dust-Jackets Through The Early To Mid-Twentieth Century, Kelsey Clodfelter

Munn Scholars Awards

Collecting Dust (Jackets): Regarding the Life and Ephemerality of Dust-Jackets through the Early to Mid-Twentieth Century examines the dust-jacket as a liminal form of printed ephemera, tracing its evolution between disposable packaging to a culturally significant archival object. Using theories of paratext, archival practice, and book history by Gerard Genette, Jacque Derrida, and G.T. Tanselle, and through three cases within the West Virginia & Regional History Center, the paper argues that the increasing incorporation of aesthetics, information, and advertising transformed dust-jackets into cultural artifacts with value beyond their protective function. Their preservation challenges conventional distinctions between ephemera and archival material.

Judicial Underreach: Tiktok Inc. V. Garland'S Implications For National Security And Free Speech, Olivia Sharp

Colorado Law Student Scholars

No abstract provided.

The Domestic Mirror: Tiktok V. Garland, Data Privacy, And Meaningful Free Expression, Olivia Sharp

Colorado Law Student Scholars

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Shield: The Business Judgment Rule As A Tool For Esg Initiatives, Samuel Hawkinson

Colorado Law Student Scholars

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Spatial Disparities On Transportation To Dialysis: A Quantitative And Gis Analysis, Haylee Kirschner

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Access to dialysis treatment is a major concern for the over 500,000 people who suffer from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). There are many factors that may affect one's ability to access treatment, but one that affects almost every in-center dialysis patient is transportation. This study examines how various spatial disparities, such as population density, Medicare coverage, Medicaid usage, poverty, commute times, and vehicle ownership, affect missed and shortened treatments due to transportation. To examine the relationship between spatial disparities and transportation-impacted treatment adherence, a random sample of 400 clinics were emailed to participate in the study, with 113 agreeing …

Resurrecting Natures With Charlotte Smith And Ebony G. Patterson, Leila Walker

Publications and Research

Recent scholarship on the botanically influenced poetry of the early Romantic period, particularly that of Charlotte Smith, has emphasized the genre’s formal engagement with the herbarium, treating botanical poetry as a non-extractive alternative to the violence of specimen collection. Yet such readings isolate the act of specimen collection and poetic return from the larger systems of extraction, translocation, and violence in which they participate. In this article, I read Smith’s Beachy Head alongside Ebony G. Patterson’s recent installation at the New York Botanical Garden, which artistically resurrected extinct species from herbarium specimens and “planted” them among living flora, in order …

Why Democratic Backsliding Is Legal: Judicial Legitimacy And Institutional Decay In The United States, Sherlyn Ochoa

Posters - 2026

“In the United States, democratic backsliding is not a violation of the law—it is increasingly a product of it.” Democratic change often occurs through judicial interpretation Courts shape rights, participation, and equality Focus: how judicial legitimacy allows major democratic shifts—both expansion and restriction of rights

Haitian Protestant Leaders’ Perceptions Of Social Media Use For Discipleship, Cherubin Dorcil

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

This qualitative descriptive study explores how Haitian Protestant church leaders in a large urban area of the northeastern United States describe the influence of their use of social media on promoting discipleship. The study addresses a gap in understanding how digital ministry practices are interpreted within Haitian Protestant diaspora contexts and how these practices inform both theory and ministry application. Using a qualitative descriptive design, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 Haitian Protestant church leaders selected through convenience sampling. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis, which resulted in the identification of five primary themes: social media as …