Digital Commons Network^™

Encrypted Eroticism: Encoding And Decoding Strategies Against Censorship In Chinese Slash Fandom, Xiyin Li

Theses - ALL

This study examines how Chinese slash fans circumvent censorship through coding and decoding strategies (Hall, 1980). Based on online ethnography and participant observation of a 20-year slash fandom of a popular online novel, DMBJ, I find that fans employ linguistic wordplay across morphological, phonetic, and semantic dimensions with their linguistic literacy in Chinese. Fans actively extract scenes or descriptions from the original novel that align with erotic contexts and collage them into new slash fiction. This form of creation is not entirely original but involves poaching and recombining canonical texts to assign new sexual meanings. At the same time, fans …

Strategies For Integrating Teaching For Artistic Behavior (Tab) In A High School Ceramics Classroom, Joanna Gurney

Art 895 Research Papers

This research study reveals strategies for the integration of Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) in a high school Ceramics classroom. The primary objective is to identify potential, effective strategies for implementing TAB approaches within a single-media environment. Using a Case Study approach, this study examines and synthesizes existing theories with student outcomes, researcher field notes, teacher observations of a TAB classroom, and teacher reflections to understand how TAB-based pedagogical shifts can be used to effectively promote artistic behavior, while balancing student autonomy with the need for structured skill development in a single-media. Findings from this research will contribute to the …

Authentically Assessing Student Learning In A Data Driven School System, Curtis Marolf

Art 895 Research Papers

As educators, we are often tasked with measuring student progress and understanding using standardized testing methods. As a visual arts instructor, I find these testing methods to be antiquated and inadequate for measuring students’ knowledge in the classroom, as they solely focus on an individual’s ability to recognize, recall or repeat factual data. If the goal of a quarterly assessment is to answer the question, “How do we know that the students know what we want them to know?” then standardized assessments are not the answer for the visual arts. The art classroom is a creative and expressive space, where …

Contending With Anxiety In The Elementary Art Classroom, Natalie Petrushonis

Art 895 Research Papers

The focus of this qualitative study is to explore how students are affected by anxiety in the art classroom. The major objective of this research is to explore methods and strategies to support students who suffer from anxiety to prevent it from negatively affecting their art education. The participants of this study will be elementary students within an art classroom who feel anxiety while engaging in artmaking. This case study research will provide insight into approaches that have been utilized to assist students with anxiety in art while observing the effectiveness of these methods with students in an elementary art …

Mannose: The Hands Of Fate – Overexpressing A Pinus Taeda Hemicellulose Biosynthesis Gene In Populus Tremula × Alba Leads To Increased Height And A Modified Cell Wall Sugar Profile, Joseph Baxter Colbert

Dissertations - ALL

Lignocellulosic biomass as an input for biofuel generation has gained popularity in recent decades due to attainable feedstock ubiquity and an anatomical propensity to fix and sequester carbon. A major challenge facing the integration of such feedstocks is the presence of recalcitrant polymers that are extant in their cell walls, namely lignin and various hemicellulose species. Many studies have illustrated methods in which cell wall modification through genetic means has produced phenotypic improvements with regard to biomaterial generation, though to this point, none have overexpressed exogenous hemicellulose genes to shift the composition of the Populus tremula × alba cell walls. …

Chemical Reversal Of Beta-Lactam Resistance And Induction Of Hyper-Susceptibility In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa By Limiting Horizontal Gene Transfer Under Beta-Lactam Stress, Aimee Iradukunda

Dissertations - ALL

The emergence of antibiotic resistance poses a significant threat to global health, with certain bacterial strains evolving to resist multiple drugs. Urgent action is necessary to develop new antibacterial agents that effectively target these resistant strains; however, no new classes of antibiotics have been approved in recent decades. This research employs innovative biological tools to identify and highlight factors influencing resistance dynamics. Additionally, this study refines the novel approach by utilizing adjuvants to chemically repurpose existing antibiotics and improve their effectiveness against antibiotic-resistant strains. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, recognized for its adaptability, persistent infections—especially in cystic fibrosis patients—and widespread antibiotic resistance, serves …

Measurements And Modeling Of Phonon-Mediated Quasiparticle Poisoning In Superconducting Qubit Arrays, Eric Yelton

Dissertations - ALL

The realization of a quantum computer that can correct for random errors on its constituent quantum bits, or qubits, is one of the primary goals in the quantum information science community. One of the leading protocols to correct these errors on a quantum processor relies on nearest-neighbor coupling of an array of physical qubits that act collectively as a single logical qubit. Superconducting circuits are a leading implementation of a physical qubit and have been used in some of the first demonstrations of this error correction scheme. A key assumption of this protocol is that errors on the physical qubits …

Evaluating Subduction Zone Processes In Early Paleozoic Rocks Of The Northern Appalachian Orogen, John Mark Brigham

Dissertations - ALL

The study of rocks presently exposed at the surface in mountain ranges such as the Appalachian Mountains can offer insight into the evolution of orogenic and subduction zone processes over geologic time. To better understand the timing, conditions (i.e., pressure and temperature), and tectonic setting of mineral formation in former subduction settings, geologists conduct geochronology, geochemistry, and thermobarometry analyses on rocks and minerals in paleo-subduction zones. This dissertation contains three chapters that focus on serpentinization, hydrothermal alteration of mafic rocks during serpentinization (rodingitization), and high-pressure metamorphism that occurred in a subduction setting during the first phase of the Appalachian Orogeny. …

Multifunctional Hydrogel Scaffolds For Tissue Engineering And Wound Healing Applications, Nghia Le Ba Thai

Dissertations - ALL

Wound healing is a complex physiological process in reaction to tissue injury. Our bodies are generally capable of healing wounds on their own, unless the wound volume is too large and/or the normal physiological functions are interrupted due to disease. In these cases, the principles of wound healing can be applied in tissue engineering to develop new tissues that replace damaged tissue. Despite significant advances in research, key challenges in wound healing and tissue engineering remain unsolved, including chronic wound non-healing and complex, but scalable scaffold construction. Hydrogels are crosslinked polymers with three-dimensional networks that can hold excess amounts of …

Implementation Of A Multi-Modal Labor Coping Pathway To Reduce Unplanned Intrapartum Transfers From Community Setting To Hospital, Sunday W. Smith

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Background

Homebirth and birth center midwives aspire to avoid unplanned transfers to hospital. Inadequate coping with the pain of labor increases the need for transfer from community birth to hospital. However when the laboring person determines that she cannot cope with the pain, escalation of care for pain management may be needed. Transfer from the community setting to the hospital for escalation of pain management can be a challenge for the laboring woman, the birth center labor team, and the receiving hospital.

Local Problem

In St. Lawrence County, New York, there is one freestanding birth center. The current transfer rate …

Unilateralism’S Double-Edged Sword: Understanding The Impact Of The United States’ Unilateral Actions Towards Afghanistan And Iraq, Kayla Amanda Matthews

Master's Theses

This thesis will explore the effects of the United States' unilateral actions throughout the war on terror. Has the United States pursuing unilateral actions in Afghanistan and Iraq equated to an increase in anti-Americanism, leading to increasing terrorist acts that endanger its national security? The answer is yes. Although, from what this research will reveal anti-Americanism begins to be refueled in these countries but not due to any current direct conflict between the above-referenced nation-states and the United States. Previous research reveals that the United States' relationship with unilateralism was not a new phenomenon that arose during the war on …

Robotic Rhythm: A Contemporary Look At Ai-Driven Editing Tools’ Efficacy In Understanding And Replicating Creative Rhythm Editing Techniques., Alexander Selby-Lara, Charles Howard

Honors Thesis

It is undeniable that artificial intelligence (AI) has made its way into the film world. From AI-generated imagery and sound design in two 2025 Oscar nominees — The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez (Pulver) — to weekly updates and monthly beta releases of existing and new generative image and video models, AI-driven filmmaking tools are here to stay. But what does this mean for the post-production workflow? Much like camera development, editing technology has come a long way from flatbed film editors to Adobe Premiere Pro v. 25.0. Yet, despite each technological leap from system to system, the delicate task of …

Thank You For Your Service?, Ryan Mitchell

Theses - ALL

In this paper, Thank You for Your Service? I discuss my military service's impact on my artistic practice, conflict images, and how artists use abstraction to create a more authentic expression using the themes of war and conflict. This paper is divided into chapters that discuss my influences and the work I have made concerning exploring memory culminating in frustration, anger, and violence, which led to emotional withdrawal and physical stress from my military service experiences. I use collage and installation to articulate these themes.

The Hagiography Of Trinity Sparkle, Emma Marie Schwartz

Theses - ALL

Through painting and soft sculpture, I create a theoretical realm intertwined with my lived reality pushing against norms perpetuated by religious and secular heteronormativity. I mobilize my desire and dualistic experiences to initiate and recognize the uneasy and necessary conversations surrounding the ways we search for and live out our sexualities and identities in relationships and communities. Themes of acceptance stem from my personal life and are applied in the fictional realm through figuration, cropped imagery, and highly saturated colors in my paintings and soft sculptures. I rewrite art historical Biblical imagery and interweave them with my personal experiences, in …

Annihilation, Reconstruction And Harmony In Carnal Desire, Yukang Tao

Theses - ALL

This thesis investigates the aesthetic, ethical, and philosophical implications of meat consumption and bodily commodification of humans and animals within capitalist hierarchies through the lens of digital art, performance and sculpture. Focusing on the intersection of humanity, animality, and technological embodiment, the project interrogates how contemporary systems of power aestheticize violence and disguise exploitation under the guise of ethical consumption. Inspired by critical theories, particularly of Amber Husain, Jacques Derrida, George Bataille, and Donna Haraway, the thesis examines the ambivalent tensions between seduction and slaughter, subjectivity and domination, and how these dynamics are embedded in both animal and human exploitation. …

The Investigation Of Lateral Foraging Patterns In Fin And Sei Whales, Alex Eschmann

Theses - ALL

Lateralization is the specialization that enhances an organism’s survival by dedicating specific tasks to the hemispheres of the brain, strengthening neural pathways to enhance speed and dexterity of task performance. First described in humans in 1861, lateralization has also been observed in non-human organisms where it often plays a critical role in predator-prey dynamics. Lateralized behaviors for prey foraging, social interactions, and communication have been described in some species of marine mammals from across all three distinct taxonomic orders. In the Order Cetacea, toothed and baleen whale species exhibit lateralized foraging behaviors for prey capture. In this study, I investigated …

Hope In The Living Water, Athena Grace Schamowski

Theses - ALL

This thesis focuses on the concepts and ideas behind my paintings. It aims to explain the conceptual and theological aspects of my works as well as the importance of faith in a Christian’s life. Using my own experiences, I reveal how faith can help us understand sufferings, and how through our faith-related experiences we mature in spirit, learn to understand God’s ways, and ultimately enjoy His companionship. Though our faith does not live by understanding all the ways of God, by growing in faith we will understand in spirit that all things will work out for good for those who …

From Grief To Reconstruction: From Traditional Community To Modern Community, Zhen Wang

Theses - ALL

Death is an inevitable reality of life, and grief, as an emotional response to death, is a universal and complex psychological experience. This study explores the role of the community in coping with death and grief. It analyzes how traditional culture and modern digital technology help individuals achieve emotional repair and social reconstruction through different forms of support. By combining psychological and sociological theories, including Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's “Five Stages of Grief” and Arnold Van Genep's “Ritual Transition theory,” the emotional transformation mechanism in the grieving process has been revealed. This thesis deeply analyzes two traditional rituals, the Zhongyuan festival in …

Hooves, Paws, And Patriarchy: Reimagining A Multispecies Society In Late Chosŏn Korea, Jenny Paszik

Theses - ALL

In late Chosŏn Korea, domesticated animals were more than passive fixtures of human society and culture, but rather active participants in the negotiation of social power dynamics. This paper proposes a species-inclusive reading of Chosŏn society, focusing on the eighteenth century, to expand our understanding from a patriarchal system to a kyriarchal framework. This thesis examines how horses, dogs, and sacrificial animals were enmeshed in intersecting hierarchies of gender and social class in urban and peripheral spaces. I argue that while interactions and conceptions of animals were shaped by the prevailing Confucian worldview, these relationships also worked reciprocally to reinforce, …

Discovery Of Film, Nikou Zabihi

Theses - ALL

In this paper, I introduce my personal journey into film—how I came to fall in love with it, and how my relationship with genres has shaped that passion. I explore how genres helped me shape my understanding of film, guiding the way I interpret and engage with different stories through their distinct characteristics and elements. I will explain why I'm fascinated by genres and how I aspire to blend them in my own creative work to craft unique experiences for my audience. My goal is to evoke connection and catharsis through films that reflect my understanding of genre, drawing from …

In Remembrance Of Culture And Heritage: An Examination Of Taino And West African Cultures As It Pertains To Puerto Rico, Marguerita Malina Cruz-Urbanc

Theses - ALL

The Caribbean is made up of many different cultures and peoples, and Puerto Rico is specifically influenced by history, culture, and legacy from the Taínos, West Africans, and Spanish. Throughout history, Spanish heritage was more highly valued, while the Taíno and African heritage, integral to the culture of Puerto Rico, were undervalued. The focus of this research is an examination of the cultural landscape of Puerto Rico and its origins, extending back to the indigenous Taínos who first lived on the island, to the enslaved West Africans who were forcibly brought across the Atlantic Ocean to replace the dwindling Taíno …

Logging On To Act Out: Understanding Aggressive Personality Traits In Cyberbullies And Cyberbully-Victims, Joy R. Burton

Theses - ALL

Cyberbullying and harassment are pervasive issues online. Certain personality characteristics may make some individuals more inclined to cyberbully than others. This study explores whether aggressive personality characteristics and factors like gender and social media habits are predictive of whether a person cyberbullies, and to what extent. Responses from an online survey of adults distributed via MTurk (n = 189) found a majority of participants (81.5%) report being ridiculed online to some extent in the past year, though most report low levels of cyberbullying. There is a positive relationship between cyberbullying and aggression among adults; physical aggression was by far the …

The Known Unknown, Tevvon Hines

Theses - ALL

Understanding that artists are not obligated to reflect a faithful reality is a realization that is both freeing and intimidating. My graduate filmography is identifiable by its affinity towards fictional narratives that depict the resolution of internal conflicts through intimate relationships and spiritual connections. This thesis investigates my practice by paying close attention to the psychology and philosophy of my screenplays. This is followed by an inspection of my aesthetic approach in order to distinguish their narrative importance and examine subtext. The completed film is then properly defined against the fantasy genre in order to distinguish my narrative choices from …

Maximal Simple Regular Matroids, Elana Joy Israel

Dissertations - ALL

In 1980, Seymour completely classified regular matroids. In this thesis, we use this classification to provide a complete list of maximal simple regular matroids up through rank six. In each rank, exactly one of these is graphic. Additionally, there are one, two, and eight cographic, but not graphic, maximal simple regular matroids in ranks four, five, and six, respectively. In rank five, we also have the 10-element sporadic matroid, and in rank six we have a 12-element maximal simple regular matroid and 16-element maximal simple regular matroid, both of which are decomposable matroids that are not graphic, cographic, or sporadic. …

Muslim Students In K-12 Experiencing Their Faith In The Us Schools, Abdulilah M. Al-Dubai

Dissertations - ALL

This study explores Muslim students' experiences of faith in a K-12 school setting in the United States. The research questions focus on how Muslim students experience their faith in K-12 schools in the United States, their challenges regarding their faith practices, and what support influences their K-12 success. The study aims to highlight the voices of Muslim students and provide educators with valuable insights from their experiences, hoping to assist in creating an equitable educational atmosphere that supports their success and fosters a sense of belonging. Eight students, five females and three males, participated in the study; the participants are …

Persuasion Knowledge As A Continuum: Understanding Engagement In Livestream Commerce Between China And The U.S., Bryce Whitwam

Dissertations - ALL

Livestream shopping on social media platforms represents a merging of real-time social interaction and e-commerce. This dissertation examines the divergent engagement levels of Chinese and American consumers in livestream commerce by integrating the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM) and the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM) to explain differences in trust formation and purchase behaviors. While cultural convergence theory suggests increasing similarities in digital commerce behaviors across markets, findings reveal that persuasion knowledge development, shaped by exposure to commercial persuasion attempts, creates distinct information-processing patterns that persist despite technological convergence. Through a mixed-method comparative study, this research demonstrates that Chinese consumers in a mature …

Towards The Next Generation Of Storage Stack For Nand Flash Memory-Based Systems, Ziyang Jiao

Dissertations - ALL

The explosive growth of data has led to increased attention on NAND flash-based solid-state drives (SSDs), which offer high performance, low power consumption, and significant capacity per unit volume when compared to traditional hard-disk drives (HDDs). However, as NAND flash memory density continues to scale, modern SSDs suffer from what is known as fail-slow symptoms, and their performance degrades over time as they wear out. In this dissertation, we focus on understanding and addressing the performance, reliability, and sustainability challenges of modern flash-based storage systems by modeling key metrics, analyzing the design tradeoffs between these metrics, and optimizing existing storage …

Essays On Multinational Behavior, Brian Adam Green

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation studies issues regarding the tax avoidance behavior of multinational corporations. It is composed of three chapters. The first examines the differential impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 on firm profit-shifting behavior. The second constructs a theoretical model in which the introduction of tax havens to a standard trade model leads to an oversupply of multinational exports and a decrease in public welfare. The third sheds light on multinational responses to the Great Recession of 2008. The US corporate income tax rate used to be the highest in the developed world, yet multinationals were able …

Asymptotics Of Fubini-Study Currents For Sequences Of Line Bundles, Melody Ann Wolff

Dissertations - ALL

Let $(X,\omega)$ be a Kähler manifold, and $L_p$ be a sequence of line bundles on $X$ equipped with continuous hermitian metrics $h_p$. Let $\gamma_p$ be the Fubini-Study current and $h_p^{eq}$ the equilibrium metric corresponding to the metric $h_p$. Our goal is to generalize a theorem of Tian in Complex Geometry to a setting using arbitrary line bundles equipped with metrics with non-positive curvature. This amounts to finding sufficient conditions for $\gamma_p-c_1(L_p,h_p^{eq})$, when appropriately scaled, to converge to $0$ in the sense of currents. To achieve this goal, we imply methods of Demailly and the Oshawa-Takegoshi Extension Theorem to bound a …

Three Essays On The Implications Of U.S. Social Welfare Spending Through The Tax Code, Anna Wiersma Strauss

Dissertations - ALL

In the United States, tax credits are one of the primary ways the federal government supports families with children. This dissertation focuses on the effect of tax credits on the way recipients spend their time and money. I use time use data to examine how tax credits change recipients’ time allocated to both labor supply and caregiving. I use consumption data to examine changes in spending and savings behavior induced by tax credits. Combined, these elucidate the mechanisms through which these policies affect the well-being of recipients and their family members. My first chapter is the first study to examine …