Digital Commons Network^™

From Ecclesiastical Tradition To Judicial Authority: Divorce In Scioto County, Ohio, 1809-1851, Franchesica Lashelle Kidd

Graduate Masters Theses

This thesis examines divorce in Scioto County, Ohio between 1809 and 1851 as a case study of the legal and social transformations that followed the American Revolution. While previous scholarship has focused primarily on New England and the colonial period, Ohio has received comparatively little scholarly attention. Using legislative records, court proceedings, census records, and individual divorce petitions, this study argues that Ohio’s transition from ecclesiastical precedent toward judicial authority reshaped the ways in which marriage and divorce were understood. Divorce became increasingly accessible to both women and men, while changing legal practices reflected broader shifts in gender, family, and …

Beyond A Little Italy: Italian Community Formation In Washington, D.C., Kathleen P C Millander

Graduate Masters Theses

This thesis examines the development of the Italian immigrant community in Washington, DC, from the early nineteenth century through the beginning of the Second World War. Unlike the dense ethnic enclaves that characterized Italian settlement in many American industrial and port cities, Washington never developed a recognizable Little Italy. Nevertheless, Italians in the nation's capital constructed a cohesive community through social, religious, familial, and economic networks that connected a geographically dispersed population.

Drawing on extensive original archival research, including oral histories, personal memoirs, parish records, newspapers, and manuscript collections, this thesis reconstructs the experiences of Washington's Italian immigrants and their …

Propagating Labor: How The Craft Brewery Movement Attracted And Grew A Workforce To Fuel Its Rise, Timothy J. Vlieger

Graduate Masters Theses

The craft beer movement grew from just a few tiny microbreweries and disparate homebrewing clubs to a nationwide phenomenon accounting for over ten thousand businesses and hundreds of thousands of employees. The arrival of this movement in the 1980s coincided with drastic changes in the economy, which was moving away from the manufacturing base that enabled postwar prosperity and developing a “New Economy” of high-tech and service sector employment. Within this economic transition, the social contract between capital and labor was being rewritten and what constituted a good job was being redefined. Employment in the emerging craft brewing industry represented …

Synthesizing Viscoelasticity: Living Polymers, Micro-Macro Relations, And Paths For Resolution, Adam M. Hasler

Graduate Masters Theses

This thesis investigates the relationship between macroscopic rheological signals and underlying microscopic dynamics in complex fluids, specifically focusing on ”living polymers” within the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium salicylate (NaSal) surfactant system. The research addresses the inverse parameterization problem, demonstrating how bulk measurements like zero-shear viscosity can mask fundamentally different physical topologies, such as purely cylindrical, reptating micelles versus highly branched networks. Through the successful synthesis of viscoelastically ”degenerate” samples, the study utilizes an array of characterization techniques including frequency sweeps, Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (LAOS) to resolve these unique underlying states. Furthermore, the work explores further avenues of study …

Introduction To Film, Teresa A. Fisher

Open Educational Resources

An introduction to the filmmaking process including film history, narrative, mise-en-scene, editing, cinematography, sound, and acting. Includes a chapter on documentary film, experimental film, and animation.

Shaping Disease: Colonial Stigma And The Politics Of Health In Banyuwangi, The Early Twentieth Century, Rifa'i Shodiq Fathoni, Skriptyan Noor Hidayatullah Syuhri, Vini’Matu Hikmah, Ardhita Zahra Namira

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This article examines the colonial stigma attached to Banyuwangi as an “unhealthy region” in the early 20th century, a label used to justify massive exploitation of its natural resources. Using a historical method, this research analyzes how this stigma not only served as a tool for colonial legitimation but also causatively created conditions that triggered ecological disasters and a public health crisis in a previously isolated area. Through an analysis of primary sources such as colonial reports, health journals, and newspapers, this article traces how large-scale plantation exploitation, enabled by the stigma, led to deforestation, uncontrolled labor migration, and poor …

From Mandala To Palace: The Transformation Of Kidung Artati Into Ranggasutrasna Version Of Serat Kidungan From The Surakarta, Agung Kriswanto, I Made Suparta

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This article examines the transformation of Kidung Artati from the Merapi–Merbabu milieu into the version preserved in Serat Kidungan compiled by Ranggasutrasna in the Surakarta court. The study aims to trace the process of textual transmission and ideological transformation that occurred when a kidung originating in an ascetic milieu was incorporated into a later courtly literary context. The sources used in this research consist of Kidung Artati and Kidung Rumeksa Ing Wengi from the Merapi–Merbabu manuscripts, as well as the Ranggasutrasna version of Serat Kidungan. The method applied is textual criticism and comparative textual analysis in order to identify …

Universalism And Exclusion: Immigrants Through The Lens Of French Law And Media, George Mikhael Taliak, Abellia Anggi Wardani

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This research examines France’s Immigration Law LOI n°2024-42 du 26 janvier 2024 and its representation in three mainstream media outlets across the ideological spectrum: Le Figaro (right), CCFD-Terre Solidaire (left), and France Info (center). Using Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1995) and Maurice Halbwachs’s theory of collective memory, the study explores how legal and media discourses construct symbolic and administrative boundaries of national citizenship. Findings reveal that integration is framed not as civic inclusion, but as the internalization of a singular national identity and memory. Media reinforce this framework through divergent but convergent discursive strategies. At the macro level, the law …

Redesigning Quantum Theory, Matthew Weiss

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

QBism understands quantum mechanics to be probability theory supplemented by additional nonclassical coherence conditions. In this dissertation, we develop these nonclassical coherence conditions from first principles, emphasizing the role of a well chosen reference measurement. After treating standard probability on subjective Bayesian lines, we demonstrate an equivalence between the QBist approach and the existing framework of generalized probabilistic theories. We show that the fundamental nonclassical coherence relation may almost always be taken to be a gentle modification of the law of total probability, and give a coherentist account of when an experimental scenario has a classical explanation. Finally, we show …

Process And Change In The Global Governance Of Sustainable Development, Sarah B. Fascitelli

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

In 2015, to euphoric acclaim, the world adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. But with less than five years to deliver its seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Agenda’s “transformational vision” remains unrealized. To understand why, this dissertation looks not to the Agenda’s implementation but to its birth, asking how the three-year process that produced it was designed, implemented, and experienced, and whether its mechanisms reinforced or challenged the structures that shape global sustainability governance. The premise is simple: how global agreements are negotiated matters as much as their substance. The study thus pushes back against a celebratory view …

A Discursive Analysis Of Lesbian And Queer Experiences Of Unwanted Consensual Sex, Sarah E. Swanson

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study drew on a critical discursive psychology (CDP) analytical approach to examine how lesbian and queer participants made sense of unwanted consensual sex (UCS).  The data analysis traced how UCS was constructed on three discursive levels: the construction of UCS across narratives, the interpretive repertoires mobilized (including sexual scripts), and the broader sociocultural discourses that shaped what elements of their experiences were intelligible. Therefore, I sought to understand both how participants drew on familiar heteronormative and queer ways of talking about sex and how various discursive resources shaped how they could construct themselves and others. Data for this research …

The Anti-Racist Organization? Power, Embodiment, And The Politics Of Becoming, Patricia Tiimah Naya

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Why do organizational justice commitments so rarely produce structural transformation, and what happens to the people who take them seriously? This dissertation addresses that question through a longitudinal qualitative study of Aequitas University, a large public urban research institution in the northeastern United States, during a multi-year attempt to become “anti-racist.” Drawing on 129 semi-structured interviews with 115 organizational members, 7 focus group discussions, four years of field observation, and an archival corpus spanning more than a decade of institutional history, the dissertation examines how justice commitments move through organizations over time. Justice commitments do not simply succeed or fail. …

From Structure To Experiences: How Facility Capacity And Staffing Shape The Adoption And Impact Of Lgbt-Affirming Policies In Long-Term Care, Andrew Alberth

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Long-term care (LTC) settings – including nursing homes (NHs) and assisted living facilities (ALFs) – provide necessary care for individuals with extreme health and functioning limitations. Sexual and gender minority (LGBT) older adults report challenges receiving effective, person-centered care LTC. Some LGBT older adults may hide their sexual orientation and gender identity when entering LTC settings or delay seeking needed LTC fearing discrimination from staff and other residents. Furthermore, staff in LTC settings indicate little awareness of LGBT-residents and possess inadequate LGBT-cultural competency necessary for providing person-centered care. Therefore, LGBT-residents LTC experiences remain underexplored in the broader research. Adopting LGBT-affirming …

Our Claims Matter: Latin American Migrants’ Nonviolent And Everyday Resistance Across Transnational Spaces, Pryanka Penafiel-Cevallos

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how Latin American migrants engage in nonviolent resistance across transnational spaces in Ecuador, challenging dominant narratives that portray migrants primarily as passive actors or humanitarian subjects. Focusing mainly on Venezuelan, Colombian, and returned Ecuadorian migrants, the study places migrants’ political agency at the center of analysis. It asks how migrants resist, for what purposes, and under which conditions they mobilize nonviolent and everyday resistance practices to claim rights, dignity, and human security in a host country marked by both legal innovation and growing exclusion.

Drawing on civil resistance theory, everyday resistance approaches, and migration scholarship, the research …

Governing Climate Change For Sustainable Food Security In The Busoga Region Of Uganda, James Kintu

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Busoga, Uganda's most sugarcane-intensive sub-region, hosts seven mills and an expanding outgrower economy, yet remains among Uganda's most food-insecure areas, with over half of its households food-insecure. This study examined how governance of climate change and sugarcane expansion shapes capabilities for food access, land tenure, and decision-making among women, youth, and land-poor households in Jinja and Buyende.

The study developed an integrated CA-CEP-RFS framework, combining the Capability Approach, Comparative Environmental Politics, and the Resilient Food Systems framework, with Sen's Entitlement Framework bridging capabilities to production, trade, own-labor, and transfer entitlements. A qualitative case study drew on a documentary review, 27 …

The Effect Of State Policy On Individuals With Mental Illness In Nursing Homes: A Multilevel Analysis, Adrita Barooah

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

THE EFFECT OF STATE POLICY ON INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS IN NURSING HOMES: A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS

August 2026

Adrita Barooah, B.Sc., University of Delhi, India

M.S., University of Massachusetts Boston

Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Boston

Directed by Professor Pamela Nadash

The proportion of individuals living with a mental illness in U.S. nursing homes has grown substantially over the past few decades (Fashaw et al., 2020), raising serious concerns about care quality, resource adequacy, and costs to both nursing homes and government payers. The lack of adequate resources and knowledge has resulted in sub-par mental health care (O'Connor et al., …

Towards The Development Of Targeted And Quantitative Mass Spectrometry Methods For The Investigation Of Biological Systems, William Gazlay

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Mass spectrometry has become an essential analytical platform for the characterization of complex biological systems, enabling detailed investigation of molecular structure, post-translational modifications, and protein expression. This dissertation applies modern mass spectrometry methodologies to three analytical challenges spanning lipidomics and proteomics.

The first study examined the influence of complexing agents on the sensitivity of collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectra to fatty acid position in synthetic XYZ-type triglycerides. Comparison of ammonium, lithium, and sodium adducts demonstrated that alkali metal adducts provide substantially improved positional sensitivity and greater consistency across triglyceride systems. These findings support the use of lithium and sodium adducts for …

Cost Effectiveness Analysis Of Psychopharmaca Therapy Combination Compared With Psychopharmaca Therapy And Ect Combination In Schizoaffective Inpatients At The Rsj Provinsi Jawa Barat, Yasmin Fadillah, Sani Asmi Ramdani Lestari, Ardilla Kemala Dewi

Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy Research

Mental disorders constitute an economic burden on health, estimated at USD 2.5 trillion in 2010 and expected to increase to USD 6 trillion by 2030. Treatment of schizoaffective disorder involves a combination of medication and psychotherapy. Pharmacoeconomics is an important consideration in drug selection. This study aims to determine the cost-effectiveness of psychopharmaca therapy combination compared with psychopharmaca therapy and ECT combination in schizoaffective inpatients at the RSJ Provinsi Jawa Barat. Data collection was conducted retrospectively from patient medical records for the period December 2023–December 2024. Total costs, based on a health perspective, include psychopharmaca drug costs, inpatient care costs, …

Retrospective Analysis Of Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns In Gram-Positive And Gram-Negative Blood Isolates, Helman Kurniadi, Timbul Partogi Haposan Simorangkir, Ros Sumarny, Fitria Heldiana

Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy Research

Bloodstream infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality, while antimicrobial resistance limits treatment options. This retrospective study evaluated bacterial distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility in blood cultures at RSPAD Gatot Soebroto, Jakarta, using microbiology and medical record data from January-December 2019. Clinically significant isolates were included, while duplicates and contaminants were excluded. Identification and susceptibility testing followed standard procedures and CLSI 2019 guidelines. Data were analyzed descriptively. Among 482 isolates, 246 (51.0%) were Gram-positive and 236 (49.0%) were Gram-negative. The Gram-positive isolates were mainly coagulase-negative staphylococci, including Staphylococcus epidermidis (62, 25.2%), S. hominis (61, 24.8%), and S. haemolyticus (50, …

A Novel Approach For Evaluating And Comparing Multiple Antipsychotic Polypharmacy In Adults Across Specialist Intellectual Disability Services In England And Wales: A Retrospective Feasibility Cohort Study, Samuel J. Tromans, Helen Neilens, Crispin Musicha, Victoria Allgar, Emily Stanyard, Richard Laugharne, Paula Mcgowan, Angela Hassiotis, Sarah Lennard, Lance V. Watkins, Bhathika Perera, Kiran Purandare, Ashok Roy, Indermeet Sawhney, Sujeet Jaydeokar, Ryan Ashford, Chris Rollinson, Hanna Abraham, Nusra Khodabux, Ogheneochuko Akusu, Samuel Paisley, Georgios Mousailidis, Meera Naran, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

Background:In England and Wales, significant numbers of people with intellectual disability (PwID) are prescribed antipsychotics for a range of licensed and non-licensed indications, particularly behaviours that challenge. There is no system to compare antipsychotic prescribing practices across specialist adult intellectual disability (ID) services.Aim:This study aimed to determine whether converting antipsychotics and their doses to equivalent chlorpromazine units enables comparison of licensed (psychosis, etc.) and non-licensed (behaviours that challenge) prescribing between different services.Method:A feasibility retrospective cohort study using convenience sampling captured anonymized data of PwID on ⩾2 antipsychotics across eight specialist England and Wales adult ID services. The doses prescribed across …

Extended Meshfree Approach For Crack Statistical Analysis Of Anisotropic Functionally Graded Brazilian Disc Subjected To Traction Load, Hassanein Khalaf, Haider Mehbes, Ameen Nassar

Engineering and Technology Journal

An extended meshless method that relying upon Galerkin formulation is applied on the crack analysis of orthotropic functionally graded Brazilian disc. Weak form is involved to solve the governing equation in the numerical method. In addition, enrichment terms and sub-triangle techniques are applied to improve the accuracy of relevant results. This paper depicts the influence of variation in the crack stretch and non-homogeneity parameters on the values of stress intensity factors using a developed MATLAB program. In the isotropic case, it is clear that when the length of crack increases, SIF increases. Graduation in has more effect in increasing the …

Incorporation Of Iraqi Rocks In The Production Of Eco-Friendly Cement Mortar, Rawnaq Mahdi, Aseel Al-Zubaidi, Hassan Hashim

Engineering and Technology Journal

This work reports on the incorporation of Flint and Kaolin rocks powders in the cement mortar in an attempt to improve its mechanical properties and produce an eco-friendly mortar. Flint and Kaolin powders are prepared by dry mechanical milling. The two powders are added separately to the mortars substituting cement partially. The two powders are found to improve the mechanical properties of the mortars. Hardness and compressive strength are found to increase with the increase of powders constituents in the cement mortars. In addition, the two powders affect water absorption and thermal conductivity of the mortar specimens which are desirable …

Comparative Study Of Specifications Between Local And Imported Water Pumps And An Energy-Efficient Local Developed Pump, Maryam Abdul Wahid, Lamyaa Dawood

Engineering and Technology Journal

Conserving energy is one of those important requirements of the environment. In this research, an eco-friendly power saving Water pump [Air coolers] is developed. This development is based on GQFD. The model of this developed Water pump is drawn by a CAD solid model (version 7, Autodesk AutoCAD 2011). The electrical motor is responsible for the rotation of the pillar and further distributes Water inside the Air cooler [regardless of the size]. In the developed model motor is canceled where the rotation is throughout attachment to the Air cooler. A further prototype of this model is made were common and …

Path Planning Of Mobile Robot Using Improved Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm, Rkaa Kamil, Mohamed Mohamed, Bashra Oleiwi

Engineering and Technology Journal

A modified version of the artificial Bee Colony Algorithm (ABC) was suggested namely Adaptive Dimension Limit- Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm (ADL-ABC). To determine the optimum global path for mobile robot that satisfies the chosen criteria for shortest distance and collision–free with circular shaped static obstacles on robot environment. The cubic polynomial connects the start point to the end point through three via points used, so the generated paths are smooth and achievable by the robot. Two case studies (or scenarios) are presented in this task and comparative research (or study) is adopted between two algorithm’s results in order to evaluate …

Properties Of Self-Compacting Cementitious Composite Materials Containing Cement Kiln Dust Powder, Ahmed Kadhim, Alaa Atiyah, Shakir Salih

Engineering and Technology Journal

This paper aims to investigate the influence of utilization micro cement kiln dust as a sustainable materials additive in order to reduce the voids and micro cracks in the cementitious mortar materials which cause a drastic reduction in the load carrying capacity of the element. Its therefore very important to decrease the pores and enhance the mechanical strength of the cementitious composite materials. In this article, the properties of self-compacting mortar containing micro cement dust additive was experimentally assessed. Micro cement dust powder was added to the self-compacting mortar in (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 %) percentage by weight …

Effect Of Modified Asphalt Cement Of The Performance Of Stone Matrix Mixtures, Duaa Khalaf, Zaynab Qasim, Karim Al Helo

Engineering and Technology Journal

This research investigates the behavior of Stone Matrix Asphalt mixtures (SMA) modified with styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) polymer at four percentages (1, 2, 3 and 4%) by weight of asphalt cement. The moisture susceptibility and rutting were taken into consideration in this study. To achieve the objective of this research the superpave system is conducted to design the asphalt mixtures. The physical properties of aggregate, bitumen and other mix materials were assessed and evaluated with the laboratory tests. The mixtures were prepared using penetration Graded (40-50) bitumen and a chemical named Polypropylene Fibers was used as a stabilizing additive. Fibers have been …

Engine Performance With Diesel-Biodiesel Blends Fuel And Emission Characteristics, Marwa Kareem, Adel Saleh

Engineering and Technology Journal

In this study, the sunflowers oil was utilized as for producing biodiesel via a chemical operation, which is called trans-esterification reaction. Iraqi diesel fuel suffers from high sulfur content, which makes it one of the worst fuels in the world. This study is an attempt to improve the fuel specifications by reducing the sulfur content of the addition of biodiesel fuel to diesel where this fuel is free of sulfur and has a thermal energy that approaches to diesel.20%, 30% and 50% of Biodiesel fuel were added to the conventional diesel. Performance tests and pollutants of a four-stroke single-cylinder diesel …

Optimizing Of Coating Layers Parameters Of (Nano Hydroxyapatite/Tio2 Nps) On Nitinol Smas By Electrophoretic Deposition, Riyam Rawdan, Makarim Abdulkareem, Ali Mustafa

Engineering and Technology Journal

This study aims to obtain the optimal variable for depositing (HA, TiO2 and Composite) Nanomaterial on NiTi SMAs. Taguchi approach (with L9 array) was used to obtain the optimal conditions for coating produced by Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) techniques. The deposition process was done in different conditions (voltage, time, concentration and degree of grinding). Voltages were used (20, 40 and 60) volts, the time is (2, 4 and 6) min, the degree of the surface roughness (180, 500 and 1200) μm while the concentration of HA and TiO2 are (2, 4, and 6) g/L for each one. Chitosan (biopolymer) was used …

An Analytic Design Approach To Inverse Class-F Rf Power Amplifiers, Firas M. Ali, Mahmuod H. Al-Muifraje, Thamir R. Saeed

Engineering and Technology Journal

The design of high efficiency inverse class-F (class-F-1) radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers includes extensive measurements to characterize the RF power device by means of the empirical load-pull test setup. This paper presents an alternative characterization approach based on evaluating the load impedances analytically at the desired harmonic frequencies for a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) in terms of the internal and package elements of the active device. It additionally provides a method for extracting the parasitic elements of the power device as well as determining the optimum load-line resistance using the transistor manufacturer’s large signal model. A new topology …

Ethical Responsibility In The Practice Of Architecture, Abdullah Almaamouri

Engineering and Technology Journal

The research deals with the concept of ethical responsibility as one of the most influential concepts in the process of practicing architecture. It is defined as “systems of ethical principles and engineering rules governing the architect in making decisions of design practice, making them sound, preventing them from making mistakes during the stages of design, and the maintenance “by the commitment to them, result in creative architectural texts benefit the individual and society,” and thus determine the research problem in (Lack of cognitive perception of the role of moral responsibility in the practice of architecture). Therefore, the research aims at …