Digital Commons Network^™

Safeguarding Mission And Sustainability: A Qualitative Study Of Legal, Financial, And Governance Strategies In Faith-Based Nonprofit Performance Conservatories, Kathey G. Spurr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study examined how nonprofit attorneys, certified public accountants, and board members describe legal, financial, and governance strategies that support faith-based nonprofit performance conservatories. The study addressed a gap in nonprofit governance scholarship by examining professional advisory and board perspectives within religiously oriented performing arts institutions. Semi-structured interviews with nonprofit attorneys and certified public accountants, along with questionnaires completed by board members, provided the primary evidence for thematic analysis. Observation notes and reflexive journaling increased procedural documentation, triangulation, and analytic accountability. Analysis identified five themes: governance structure and board accountability, financial controls and internal safeguards, regulatory and legal compliance, …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Transition Assistance Program Counselors After Their Related Training And The Challenges Of Transitioning Service Members From The Military, Paul Emmanuel Joseph Ii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to address gaps in the education and training provided to Transition Assistance Program (TAP) counselors at Crestview military base. A phenomenological research approach was used to discover themes and experiences shared amongst said counselors. The central research question was: What are the lived experiences of transition assistance counselors in supporting service members’ transitions to civilian life? This study was conducted at a South-Central United States military installation that was one of the largest and most diverse military bases in the U.S. The Schlossberg transition model guided the research and included dimensions such as …

Assessing The Feasibility Of An Online Gaming Ministry And Developing An Action Plan To Train Apologists For Outreach., Alexander R. Mooney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this research project is to assess the feasibility of an online gaming ministry and to develop an action plan to train apologists for outreach. This study is necessary due to several key developments over the last few years, including the growth of social media and digital platforms, the rise of content creation on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and X, the COVID-19 pandemic, which increased the need for digital ministry, and the overall growth of Gen Z in religion and faith. Because of these points, the need for developing digital ministry and online gaming ministry has grown. …

A Christ-Centered Approach To Ai-Assisted Sermon Preparation For Cedar Grove Community Church, Andrew Michael Poe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping nearly every sector of society, presenting both opportunities and ethical challenges for Christian ministry. Amid this technological shift, many pastors, Bible teachers, and lay leaders experience ethical uncertainty about the appropriate use of AI in expository preaching and teaching. This Doctor of Ministry action research project developed and evaluated an eight-week training designed to equip the teaching team at Cedar Grove Community Church with a Christ-centered approach to AI-assisted sermon preparation. The purpose of this project was to provide biblical, theological, and practical guidance enabling communicators to leverage AI responsibly without compromising ministerial integrity …

Grace, Reciprocity Norms, Adverse Life Events, Religious Struggle, Salience Of Religion, Relationship To God As Modifiers, Calvin Jay Slot

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether adverse life events, reciprocity norms, relationship to God, salience of religion, religious struggle and/or grace moderate the frequency of church attendance-physical health relationship or if the psychospiritual variables interact with adverse life events (ALE). 1,000 participants were recruited through Prolific to produce a sample representative of the United States population. An additional 20 participants were recruited through pastors of three churches in Illinois. Multiple linear regression revealed relationship to God, religious struggle, reciprocity norms, and ALE were moderators. Additionally, religious struggle and negative reciprocity norms interacted with adverse life events, …

The Impact Of Military And School Band History And How It Affects National Guard Service Member Musician School Band Directors, Justin K. Stanton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative narrative research was to explore the experiences of Missouri and Oklahoma National Guard service member musician school band directors regarding how the influence of military and school band history, past and present, affects their music education philosophy and pedagogical applications. Less research exists about relationships between military and school bands at the beginning of the twentieth century. The researcher addressed a gap in the literature related to military band activity and the school band movement at the turn of the twentieth century in different ways. However, the literature did not address the effects of their …

A Qualitative Case Study Exploration Of Secondary Educators' Implementation Of Multicultural Education In A Public School District, Chiquita Apollos

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to discover how multicultural education influences teaching practices for secondary educators at Achieve School District in the southeastern United States. The theory guiding this study was James A. Banks’ multicultural education theory, as it provided the framework for implementing the histories, customs, and perceptions of ethnic minority and racial people into the curriculum. The central research question was: How does multicultural education influence the teaching practices of secondary teachers in the Achieve School District? Data were collected through individual interviews, observations, and journal prompts. Thematic analysis of the data revealed multicultural education influenced …

The Word Of Faith Which We Preach: Perspectives On Core Doctrines Of Word Of Faith Theology, James Clifford Crew

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Primary Research Question:

What are the distinctive core doctrines that are officially recognized and universally taught within the Word of Faith movement - as distinguished from some common aberrant or excessive popular teachings - and are these core doctrines biblically and theologically defensible as orthodox teachings within the broader scope of the universal Christian Church? The research problem is a glaring gap in the literature characterized by the general absence of a clear delineation between official core doctrines and controversial popular teachings that are neither officially codified in its doctrinal statements nor universally accepted and taught within the Word of …

Perceptions Of Pursuing Elementary Music: An Examination Of Music Educators' Career Choices, Elise N. Luce

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A growing shortage of music educators leaves school districts with the unfortunate options of cutting music education programs or placing un- or under-qualified staff in those positions. There is a gap in the literature on the personal, professional, and external factors that influence music educators’ career decisions. This qualitative, constructivist grounded theory study addresses the gap in the literature by examining music educators’ perspectives on their career decisions. This study employed focus groups, interviews, and journal prompts to gather data from 26 music educators in the U.S. A theory grounded in the data suggests that personal, professional, and external factors …

The Lived Experiences Of U.S. Army Leaders Transitioning To Civilian Educational Leadership Roles: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Emily M. Cassner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of transitioning into civilian educational leadership roles for U.S. Army leaders at educational institutions throughout the Southwestern and Eastern United States. Guided by Goleman’s emotional intelligence theory, this study addressed the lack of transition mentorship by examining the lived experiences, motivations, transition challenges, and existing support programs for these leaders. Utilizing a qualitative, transcendental phenomenological design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, and artifacts. The findings revealed four central themes: identity reconstruction and loss of purpose, leadership style adaptation, emotional intelligence as a developed competency, …

Exploring How School Leaders Support The Academic Resilience Of Foster Youth: A Case Study, Melissa Gasser Myers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to understand the resilience of foster care students in Oklahoma public schools. The study was guided by Garmezy’s resilience theory, which highlights the critical role of resilience in helping children recover from past trauma and thrive in academic settings. The central research question was: How do school leaders nurture academic resilience in foster children? This study was conducted using qualitative research methods. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, physical artifacts, and journal prompts. The data first underwent analysis through open coding, followed by a round of axial coding and finally selective coding. Informed …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring Administrators’ Experiences Supporting Career And Technical Education Teacher Self-Efficacy, Korbin T. Shoemaker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the support of career and technical education teacher self-efficacy development for secondary public-school administrative leaders at West Central Maryland school districts. The theory guiding this study was behavioral leadership theory, as it provided a lens for understanding how leaders’ observable actions and interactions intentionally influence teachers’ confidence and professional growth. The central research question guiding this study was: What are the lived experiences of secondary public school administrative leaders as they support the development of self-efficacy in CTE teachers? This qualitative study utilized a hermeneutic phenomenological design informed by van …

Restoring Trust And Relational Depth In The Philadelphia Seventh-Day Adventist Church Through Structural Family Therapy Interventions, Laundale Leopold Munroe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This Doctor of Ministry action research project addressed the challenge of unclear relational and leadership boundaries associated with reduced trust, emotional comfort, and healthy communication within the Philadelphia Seventh-day Adventist Church in Bronx, New York. The purpose of this project was to implement and evaluate an eight-week Structural Family Therapy-informed intervention designed to strengthen trust, emotional comfort, leadership clarity, relational boundaries, and healthy communication among church members. The goals were to increase participants’ awareness of congregational relational patterns, encourage healthier interpersonal interactions, and cultivate practices that support sustained relational health. A mixed-methods action research design was employed with eighteen adult …

Stem Afterschool Enrichment Programs On Post-Secondary Minority Students In Southern California And Their Educational And Professional Pathway: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study, Lavar Jamaall Watkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of ethnically and racially minority students who participated in STEM afterschool enrichment programs at middle schools in Southern California. Guided by social cognitive career theory (SCCT), this phenomenological study addressed how participation in STEM supplemental programming served as a predictive motivator that encouraged ethnically and racially minority students to pursue careers in STEM professions. SCCT provided the theoretical framework for understanding how self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and contextual influences shaped students’ perceptions, motivations, and career decision-making related to STEM. The central research question guiding this inquiry was: What …

A Natural Fit: Reconceptualizing The Work Of Oregon's Silent Era Sister Exhibitors, Karen Caverly-Molineaux

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Inspired by the quadrupling of women theater owners in Census reports between 1910 and 1920, this dissertation focuses on women theater owners in the state of Oregon and brings their experiences of theater ownership to the forefront for historical inquiry. The 1920 Census reported nineteen women theater owners for Oregon, yet the research here only found eighteen. Of the eighteen found, only two women’s Census records indicate them as theater owners – meaning this dissertation’s study found more than the Census accounted for. However at the same time, many have yet to be located. Scholarship claims women’s work as happening …

The Doctrine Of Salvation In The Old Testament: Elective Grace Through Faith In The Triune God, Yoojeung Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The doctrine of salvation in the Old Testament (OT) remains a contested topic in biblical theology, particularly its coherence with New Testament (NT) soteriology. Much of this debate centers on the tension between distinct redemptive administrations across history and the specific means of salvation, such as the relationship between covenantal obedience and elective grace. This dissertation addresses whether OT believers were saved differently from NT believers or if a unified redemptive pattern spans both Testaments. The dissertation asserts that Old Testament believers were saved in the same manner as New Testament believers: by God’s elective grace through faith in YHWH, …

The Perceptions Of Leadership Styles On Educator Job Satisfaction Leading To Retention In Rural Title I Elementary Schools: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Savannah Spotz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the administration leadership style on job satisfaction retention for elementary educators at rural Title I elementary institutions in Delaware. The problem was that elementary teachers have limited job satisfaction retention influenced by administrator leadership style. This study was guided by Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory. The study applied a purposive sampling technique to recruit 10 elementary educators of any race, gender, and ethnicity who have worked for two or more years at a rural Title I institution in a Northern state. Individual semi-structured interviews were used to gather data, along with long-answer …

The Practical Application Of The Greatest Commandments In Mark 12:28–34: A Holistic Framework For Spiritual Formation, Mark R. Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christian spiritual formation is a field abundant in materials, resources, and programs to help people become fully devoted followers of God. Yet a disconnect appears to exist between the biblical concept of discipleship, which encompasses both a process and an event, and the lived reality of Christians in the United States today. A new model that lays the foundation for a new spiritual formation framework grounded in the practical application of the Greatest Commandments may be of benefit. This dissertation develops a model that includes orthodoxy and orthopraxy to apply the Greatest Commandments in an easy-to-understand framework in a practical, …

Improvisation, Ear Training, And Sight-Reading Ability In Class Piano Students, Kimberly Witt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Sight-reading is considered an essential functional piano skill for music majors and a component of keyboard proficiency exams in the university setting. While many studies have been completed on sight-reading over the years, research on developing sight-reading as a skill is lacking or incomplete. Additionally, conflicting results among studies have created uncertainty about how to develop sight-reading as a skill. Developing sight-reading skills is crucial for class piano students who need functional piano skills relevant to their future profession. Studying the correlation between improvisation, aural skills, and sight-reading development may show how sight-reading can be built as a skill and …

The Indiana Statesman, August 20, 2026, Indiana State University

Student Newspaper

Welcome Week; Your guide to campus employment; Kicking off the new semester across campus

Effects Of A Standardized Anesthesia Nursing Curriculum On Training Outcomes, Pin-Hsuan Chen, Hsueh-Hsing Pan

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: Following the integration of anesthesia nursing into Taiwan’s national nurse practitioner system in 2020, a standardized and outcome-oriented training curriculum has become essential. Historically, anesthesia nursing education varied across institutions, resulting in inconsistencies in training quality. This study examined how training duration and instructional hours influence academic, technical, and competency-based outcomes among anesthesia nursing trainees.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 30 anesthesia nursing trainees from three training groups between 2022 and 2025. Group A (n = 17) and Group C (n = 8) completed a 12-month curriculum with 266–288 instructional hours, whereas Group B (n = 5) completed a …

The Nurses’ Perceptions Of Shared Governance, Psychological Empowerment, And Turnover Intention, Emma Maniago Aquino-Maneja, Linda Searle Leach, Hong Li, Juli Mcginnis

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: A major challenge in healthcare is the significant shortage of experienced nurses. Although evidence shows that shared governance (SG) is a key strategy for retaining nurses, gaps remain in understanding its relationship and predictive pathways to psychological empowerment (PE) and turnover intention (TI).

Purpose: The study explored the relationships and predictive pathways among nurses' perceptions of SG, PE, and TI in acute care hospitals. It also aimed to compare how nurse leaders (NLs) and clinical nurses (CNs) perceive these factors, and to examine the influence of their socio-demographic characteristics on these perceptions.

Method: The study employed a descriptive, correlational, …

Diagnostic Accuracy Of A Single-Item Happiness Index For Screening Mild Depressive Symptoms, Shun Chan, Aderonke Odetayo, Jasmine Cheung, Anson Chui Yan Tang, Lorna Kawi Ping Suen, Simon Ching Lam

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Depression symptoms are a mental health problem with rising prevalence globally. To enhance the estimation of depressive symptoms in epidemiological studies, a 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) has been widely used. Some local research found that a single-item General Happiness Index (GHI) highly correlated with the scales used for screening the depressive symptoms. This study hence aimed to explore the sensitivity and specificity of GHI for screening mild or more severe depressive symptoms based on the secondary data analysis in the Chinese population.

Methods: This methodological study used the data collected in the General Happiness Survey 2024 and 2025 …

Navigating Psychosocial, Behavioural, And Spiritual Transformations During A Child’S Cancer Journey, Jen-Jiuan Liaw, Wen-Yu Hu, Hsiang-Yun Lan, Yu-Lun Tsai, Chen-Xi Lin

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Parents of children with cancer are highly vulnerable, often experiencing profound psychological distress, and caregiving burden. While existing research primarily focuses on parental distress, few studies have explored how parents navigate psychosocial, behavioral, and spiritual transformations during their child’s illness.

Aims: This study explored how Taiwanese parents navigate psychosocial, behavioral, and spiritual changes while caring for children diagnosed with cancer.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive design using a phenomenological approach was employed. Seventeen parents from pediatric oncology units in three medical centers in Taipei participated in in-depth interviews by trained research nurses with experience of pediatric oncological care. Data were …

Seeing Through Students’ Eyes: Photo-Elicitation For Research And Program Evaluation In Nursing, Megan P. Williams

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Photo-elicitation invites participants to capture and share photographs representing their lived experiences. It offers a meaningful way to evaluate how nursing students integrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes across cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains of learning. Grounded in visual sociology (Harper, 2002) and expanded through nursing pedagogy (Linz, 2011; Kronk et al., 2015), this approach helps students express ideas and emotions that are difficult to articulate or assess. Prior research indicates that photo-elicitation supports empathy, critical thinking, and self-awareness through learning experiences such as aging (Chonody, 2018), community health (Cooper et al., 2017), and academic challenges (Steenfeldt et al., 2019). …

Deltoid Intramuscular Injections: A State-Of-The-Art Review Of The Evidence On Landmarking, Mary Lou Batty, Lily Glazier, Marilyn J. Hodgins

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

During this time of rapid and significant advancements in our knowledge base and practice, it is easy to overlook that which is viewed as fundamental, such as the procedure for administering a deltoid intramuscular (IM) injection. Most fundamental nursing textbooks include a section outlining this procedure; a section which has remained largely unchanged over time. The knowledge base underpinning this procedure warrants re-examination due to increasing use of the deltoid for administration of medications to prevent and manage chronic diseases as well as increasing reports of debilitation and long-lasting physical and functional impairment following injury to underlying anatomical structures (MacKenzie …

Knowledge, Burden, And Experiences Of Peg Caregivers In Türkiye: A Mixed-Methods Study, Hande Nur Arslan, Sevilay Senol Celik

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

This study examined knowledge levels, caregiving burden, and lived experiences of family caregivers providing percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) care in Türkiye using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Family caregivers play a critical role in PEG management; however, limited formal home-care infrastructure and strong familial norms intensify their responsibilities and increasing burden. Twenty-eight caregivers from a university hospital (March–June 2025) completed the PEG Care Knowledge Assessment and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative results showed a mean knowledge score of 15.50±5.64 (55.3% accuracy), with 46.4% demonstrating low knowledge. The average burden was 49.18±15.43, which means it was moderate to severe. Stepwise regression (p< 0.001) identified PEG knowledge, caregiver age, weekly care hours, relationship closeness, household size, patient age, and comorbidities as significant predictors.

Qualitative …

Enhancing Nursing Narrative Interoperability: Omop-Cdm Representation Of Concern Features, Sujin Gan, Rae Woong Park, Youngjin Lee

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: This study aims to standardize inpatient nursing narratives by mapping their semantic units to CONCERN features and implementing a structured, interoperable representation of nursing documentation within the OMOP-CDM.

Background: Nursing narratives capture nuanced assessments, clinical reasoning, and early signs of deterioration, yet remain unstructured and inconsistently represented across institutions, limiting interoperability and secondary use. The OMOP Common Data Model (CDM) provides a standardized framework for harmonizing clinical data, but nursing documentation has not been systematically incorporated. The CONCERN framework, developed to identify early deterioration signals from narrative nursing data, offers an appropriate conceptual basis. This study adopted CONCERN features …

Tidal Evolution Of Packed Moon Systems Around An Earth-Mass Planet, Alan Briseño, Billy Quarles, Marialis Rosario-Franco

Student Publications

While missions have long targeted terrestrial exoplanets within the habitable zone of their host stars, the number of exomoon candidates is expected to grow as next generation space-based observatories achieve the photometric sensitivity required to detect their transit signals. Constraining the stability limits of tightly packed moon systems is therefore essential for transit searches and predicting the number of moons around terrestrial planets. In our solar system, only three moons orbit the terrestrial planets, motivating the question of whether Earth-mass exoplanet systems can sustain long-lived, tightly packed satellites. We investigate the stability limits of an Earth-mass planet orbiting a Sun-mass …

Cells And Networks In Flux: Rethinking Ontogenesis And Pathogenesis, Mark L. Tykocinski

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Organ and tissue functions emerge from the coordinated activity of cell networks. Therapeutics that act on pathogenic cell networks, modulating their cellular interplay, follow naturally. Over several decades, our laboratory has developed a series of approaches for rewiring cell networks, culminating in a class of cell surface-directed signal converter proteins (SCPs) that do so by modulating juxtacrine and autocrine signaling in and among their nodal cells. A first such SCP has now produced encouraging clinical data for cancer immunotherapy. Yet, these early network-directed fusion proteins rest on a deliberately simplified picture: discrete end-cell types plugged into graphically tractable networks. That …