Digital Commons Network^™

Women In War In The Ancient Middle East, Margaret E. Kimbro, Margaret Kimbro

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Women are often overlooked as contributors in conflict and warfare throughout time, both modern and ancient. Women in positions of authority through politics, religion, or both contributed to the management of conflict and warfare through propaganda, political ritual, and direct involvement in the army. This thesis focuses on five different women from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syria beginning in the 2200s BCE to the height of the Roman Empire. It focuses on the utilization of primary sources such as translated writings, statues, art and iconography, and documentation of the works of these women. Women’s contributions continue to be overlooked or erased …

Redeemed: A Dance Composition And Analysis On Transformation, Kasia D. Oliver

Undergraduate Honors Theses

I have created a film entitled Redeemed, which utilizes the medium of dance to explore emotional devastation and restoration present throughout life. My experience as a kinesiology major with an exercise science concentration, dance minor, and fine and performing arts student at East Tennessee State University from 2021-2025 has ignited my desire to connect kinesthetic awareness, somatic movement, dance choreography, and improvisation in a way that is cathartic for both me as the choreographer/performer and the audience. My goal is to touch viewers on a soul level by embodying how it feels to truly and fully exist. This film consists …

Organocatalyst Frameworks For Co2 Reduction To Methanol: Selectivity Control And Mild-Condition Activation, Nehal Asif

Honors Theses

This study investigates the development and application of organocatalysts for the reduction of CO₂ under mild and sustainable conditions. A key focus is the synthesis of an organo-boronic acid–amine catalyst system (derived from thianthren-1-ylboronic acid and diethanolamine) and its subsequent evaluation in reactions with labeled CO₂. Through NMR analyses, including time-resolved monitoring of isotopically labeled substrates, the formation of formyl intermediates and downstream products such as formate and methoxy species was confirmed, demonstrating active CO₂ transformation. Multiple catalyst variants (NA1 series) were screened to assess activity and selectivity, with experimental conditions optimized in terms of temperature, solvent selection, and the …

An Ethical Defense Of Puberty Blockers As Gender Affirming Care For Adolescents, Alexander Konigsberg

Honors Theses

In this paper, I give an overview of the varying perspectives on gender affirming care, which disagree on who has the right to decide for the adolescent. I offer the psychological model as the perspective providers should take to avoid imposing their own morals on the patient. Next, I explore adolescent wellbeing and determine that since no adolescent specific goods exist, we should treat adolescents by child or adult wellbeing if you believe child wellbeing exists). I find that with these arguments, physicians should prescribe puberty blockers to adolescents as it gives more access to wellbeing. Finally, I explore objections …

Race And Age: How Can Your Identities Change How People See You?, Kumiko Sulla

Honors Theses

Research has found that when we first look at someone, we make impressions about how they are as a person, which can lead to negative real-world consequences. However, this research mainly looks at young and/or white faces, leaving those with multiple marginalized identities out. This is especially concerning for older Black women since they are at risk of facing racism, sexism, and ageism. Even when looking at stereotyping research, nothing looks at all three factors combined, meaning there is no clear answer to what older Black women are experiencing. In this study, we aimed to assess how older Black women …

Healing On Their Own Terms: Self-Guided Attuning And Mental Health Among Chinese “Youth”, Ziran (Ted) Zhou

Honors Theses

This thesis explores how Chinese “youth” experiencing emotional distress pursue healing outside formal psychiatric frameworks. Drawing on thirteen qualitative interviews and guided by theories from medical anthropology, this study examines how young people engage Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practices and everyday bodily adjustments to manage suffering. Rather than rejecting care altogether, participants turned toward culturally resonant practices that emphasized gradual self-attuning (自我调节, zìwǒ tiáojié) to internal rhythms. Healing was framed not as rupture or diagnosis, but as a relational and moral process: one that preserved emotional dignity, protected family honor, and maintained social harmony. The findings challenge assumptions that psychiatric …

A Multi-Scale Compartmental Model For Glucose Regulation And Diabetes Treatment, Andrew M. Watts

Honors Theses

Glucose is a fundamental energy source for cellular function, and its regulation is critical for maintaining metabolic stability in the human body. Glucose homeostasis is governed by a network of biochemical processes involving multiple organ systems that coordinate glucose production, storage, and uptake. Disruptions in this regulation contribute to metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus, underscoring the need for mathematical models that provide a mechanistic understanding of systemic glucose dynamics. Herein, we report a multi-time scale discrete-time dynamical systems model using compartmental difference equations to describe glucose concentrations across key physiological compartments. By quantitatively modeling glucose transport and metabolism, this …

Can Neutron Star Mergers Alone Reproduce R-Process Enrichment In Ultra-Faint Dwarf Halos?, Christine Gyure

Honors Theses

Neutron star mergers (NSMs) are the only confirmed source of the r-process responsible for heavy element formation. However, there are concerns about the extent to which NSMs can enrich small dwarf galaxies arising from either a strong natal kick velocity or substantial merger time. We present the results of a novel analytic model investigating the impact of these two distributions, represented respectively by a Maxwellian and power law, and their accompanying parameters on chemical enrichment in ultra-faint dwarf halos. We find that our model reproduces the observed enrichment fractions in these small dwarf galaxies for a variety of parameter combinations, …

Concord Monitor: One Year After Unh Protest, New Police Body Camera Footage Casts Doubt On Assault Charges Against Students, Jeremy Margolis

Digital Edition

No abstract provided.

Job Satisfaction Levels In The Correctional Field Based On Gender, Minal Chughtai

Honors College Theses

The overall purpose of this study was to research and understand the different levels of job satisfaction when it comes to female and male correctional officers and determine if female officers have greater levels of job satisfaction than their male counterparts. This study is a systematic review of different research articles that analyze correctional officers’ job satisfaction levels. This information will then be synthesized into one cohesive paper. The results will display the various factors that contribute to job satisfaction levels of correctional officers, such as gender perception, job burnout and stress, and other workplace variables. The overall findings of …

Total Factor Productivity (Tfp) And Financial Markets, Min Bai, Dong Zhang, Jiaoying Yang

American Business Review

The dynamic interplay between real firms and the financial markets remains under continuous government scrutiny, reflecting the evolving diversity that accompanies the expansion of financial markets. Given the financial market's critical role in capital provision, it is essential to understand how different funding relationships influence firm performance. This study focuses on A-share listed companies in China from 2013 to 2023, categorizing their funding relationships into two distinct types: net investment and net financing. The analysis reveals a significant dampening effect on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) associated with net investment-based funding relationships. Mechanistic investigations indicate that this suppression is due to …

Vol. 45, No. 2, Spring 2025: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Table of Contents and Masthead for Volume 45, Issue 2 of the Northern Illinois Law Review

Hi Barbie! A Cultural Phenomenon Illustrates How Courts Have Lost The True Meaning Of The Independent Creation Defense, Shelby Harrison

Northern Illinois University Law Review

From movies to advertisements to department stores, Barbie is everywhere. Barbie has been around for decades and is now a cultural phenomenon. It is almost impossible to not be familiar with the iconic fashion doll. With a creation so popular and so powerful, how do other individuals or businesses create their own doll without being influenced by Barbie? This Note discusses the independent creation defense within copyright infringement. The focus of this Note is whether a defendant would even be able to assert the independent creation defense when their opponent’s creation is so widely known, like Barbie. This Note emphasizes …

Originalism’S Precedent Problem, James Bernstein

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This paper explores the tension between originalism and stare decisis in judicial decision-making. Originalism, which seeks to interpret the Constitution as understood at the time of its ratification, has gained bipartisan acceptance among judges. However, this interpretive approach faces challenges regarding precedent: How should originalist judges handle past decisions that deviate from the original public meaning of the Constitution? The paper examines this issue, particularly in light of originalists’ varied stances on the role of precedent.

Some originalists, like Antonin Scalia and Amy Coney Barrett, acknowledge the need for stare decisis to maintain legal stability, albeit with allowances for overturning …

Dewatering Of Chlorella Algae Using Co2 Gas Hydrate Formation For The Biofuel Production, Sumeet Oak

Master's Theses

When microalgae are processed for producing biofuel, dewatering the algae is an important step, particularly when combined with extracting valuable byproducts like algal oil. Conventional methods like centrifugation and filtration can be harsh on the algae and usually need high-energy inputs. In this work, the new application of CO2 gas hydrates as an algae dewatering agent was investigated. A CO₂ hydrate, CO2-nH2O, where n (n>5.75), is a nonstoichiometric compound where water molecules with hydrogen bonds are structured in an ice-like fashion to form polyhedral cavities. CO₂ gas hydrates are crystalline because gas molecules are trapped in a lattice of …

Assessing The Effect Of Prolonged Saltwater Exposure On Dna Recovery In Submerged Skeletal Remains From Sus Scrofa Domesticus (Erxleben, 1777), Malia Wellens

Master's Theses

Both water-related and mass disasters occurring over or in water (e.g., boating disasters, commercial plane crashes, and natural disasters) result in multiple deaths every year. Due to the ocean's vastness and lack of equipment, remains may not be recovered for some time, resulting in soft tissue decomposition, leaving bone as the last repository of recoverable DNA for identification purposes. Skeletal remains' physical and chemical components protect them from environmental deterioration and biological attack and preserve DNA well. Therefore, identifying an individual may depend on DNA obtained from skeletal remains. However, there is limited research on how long DNA can be …

Postmortem Detection Of Substance P And Met-Enkephalin Expression As A Possible Indicator For Pain Estimation Prior To Death, Amy M. Lischin

Master's Theses

Substance P (SP) and Met-Enkephalin (MET) are neuropeptides critical to the central nervous system (CNS) and are released as immediate responders to physical stressors like pain. In blood, SP and MET adapt based on an incident-death time interval to suggest the potential to use these as biomarkers in the assessment of pain prior to death. The mRNA and DNA manipulations of RNA isolation, cDNA synthesis, and RT-qPCR allowed for investigation into SP and MET gene expression (TACl, TACRl, OGFR) in those who experienced chronic tissue damage (e.g. domestic abuse) as compared to those who underwent an acute pain event (e.g. …

Influence Of Medicaid And Medicare On Total Joint Arthroplasty Outcomes: 10-Year Report Of Michigan Hospitals, Madeleine Declercq, Jacob Keeley, Robert Runner, Kevin Weisz, Leonardo Cavinatto, Drew Moore

Posters

Access to healthcare significantly varies by medical insurance type, particularly for individuals for low socioeconomic status.

• Medicaid often covers these individuals (a government-funded program for low-income adults and children).

• Only 45% of primary care providers accept new Medicaid patients, versus 94% for private insurance.1

• Large non-profit medical centers accept Medicaid but still present considerable access challenges for patients.

• Lower reimbursement rates, complex medical needs, and extensive administrative requirements are key barriers for providers accepting Medicaid.

• Studies, such as those by Deans et al., highlight greater travel burdens for Medicaid patients needing revision hip or knee …

The Distribution Of Spinal Cord Injury Severity Across Age And Injury Location In Frontal Impact Automobile Collisions, Alyssa Teixeira

Master's Theses

Automobile collisions are a leading cause of spinal cord injuries (SCIs) worldwide, accounting for about 42% of SCIs in the United States alone (McDonald & Sadowsky, 2002; Roberts et al., 2017). The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies road traffic injuries as the leading cause of death for individuals aged 5-29 years, emphasizing the urgent need for effective prevention strategies (World Health Organization, 2023). The primary aim of this study was to identify differences in spinal column injury severity and location (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar) across multiple age groups to identify any discrepancies or similarities. A total of 302 traffic accidents …

Probing The Critical Element Chemistry Of Coal-Combustion Fly Ash, Debora Berti, John G. Groppo, Prakash Joshi, Dorin V. Preda, David P. Gamliel, Todd Beers, Michael Schrock, Shelley D. Hopps, Tonya D. Morgan, Bernd Zechmann, James C. Hower

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Along with the principal rare earth (REE) minerals such as monazite, xenotime, and bastnasite, Y-and REE-bearing zircon and associated minerals survive the combustion process and are found in coal-combustion fly ash. Beneficiated fly ash from a power plant burning an eastern-Kentucky-sourced coal blend was found to have zircon (ZrSiO₄), baddeleyite (ZrO₂), fergusonite (YNbO₄), yttriaite (Y₂O₃), and xenotime (YPO₄). Previous studies of the same fly had also identified monazite with a broad REE suite. Scanning electron microscopy–electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)–EDS as well as other …

Reducing Falls In The Emergency Department By Implementing A Virtual Tele Sitter, Danette Riherd

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose: This Quality Improvement project focused on evaluating the effectiveness of a portable tele-sitter device in reducing fall rates in the emergency department from February 10, 2025 to May 1, 2025. Background: This project was implemented in a 20-bed emergency department within a hospital system located within the suburbs of a major United States city. Methodology: Baseline data was collected prior to project implementation. Data collected during the implementation period was then collected and compared to baseline data to evaluate whether the intervention effectively reduced falls in the emergency department. Results: Post implementation descriptive statistics indicated a 43% reduction in …

The Everglades, Caloosahatchee, And Lake Okeechobee: Challenges And Opportunities, Benjamin Simmons

Student Work

“There are no other Everglades in the world” and nothing anywhere else is like them (Douglas, 1947, p.1). Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, a Medal of Freedom recipient, and author of the famous book The Everglades: River of Grass, helped bring the Everglades to the world’s attention with that opening line. The Everglades are now recognized as a cultural icon, a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and perhaps the most famous wetland on Earth. The Everglades have also been reviled by both politicians and the populace as a Godforsaken swamp and suitable only for the home of noxious vermin. But …

Victims Of Stage And Screen: Parasocial Savior Rhetoric And Coded Social Critique At The Convergence Of Celebrity & Conspiracy Cultures, Amy Whiteside

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis offers a critical rhetorical analysis of what I term parasocial savior conspiracy theories , a unique genre of conspiracy narrative that portrays a public figure as victimized and allows their fans to step into a savior role through their advancement of the conspiracy theory. These narratives, I argue, are both catalyzed by and further insulative to a fan’s parasocial relationship with the public figure in question. Herein, the celebrity acts as a vessel of projection for their fans’ anxieties about control, allowing them to displace their agency panic onto a beloved external party and critique factors that seem …

How Criminal Offenders Offend Society’S Equality Expectations, T. Markus Funk

SMU Law Review Forum

The public’s concern over safety and rising crime rates dominated opinion polls and played a significant role in the 2024 presidential election. This article argues that, although much has been written on the offender’s state of mind and the concrete harms offenders impose, what is missing is a more victim-centric understanding of the full scope of crime’s consequences.

Criminal offenders’ selfish, self-directed conduct subjugates the victims’ legally protected interests and conveys that they do not consider their victims’ rights sufficiently important or deserving of conduct-guiding respect. Offenders, in short, differentiate themselves from the social group by adopting the harmful mindset …

Impact Of Temperature And Microbial Infection On The Honey Bee Hemocytes, Michael E. Oeth

Master's Theses

Introduction

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) rely on hemocytes for immunity, wound healing, and hemolymph homeostasis. While 32°C reflects optimal hive conditions, suboptimal temperatures (22°C) and stressors like pathogens (Varroa destructor, bacteria) or pesticides impair hemocyte function. Using clodronate liposomes (CLD) to deplete hemocytes, we assessed how immune suppression interacts with these stressors.

Methods

Newly emerged (5-day-old) and older (15-day-old) bees were assigned to: CLD, control liposomes (LP), PBS, injection wound, or no treatment. Cohorts were exposed to 32°C (optimal) or 22°C (stressful for non-immunosuppressed bees). Fifteen-day-old bees were challenged with Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus. Survival, hemolymph volume, and hemocyte …

Key-Based Authentication Scheme For Evtol Drones Using Chebyshev Chaotic Maps, Eduardo A. Hernandez Escobar

Master's Theses

The development of electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) drones signifies a substantial advancement in urban air mobility, ready to transform transportation models in densely populated regions. These advanced drones, distinguished by their capacity to function in limited spaces and their minimized environmental impact, are set to transform individual, shipping, emergency services, and public safety activities. Nonetheless, like any transformational technology, the implementation of eVTOL systems presents many challenges, especially in the realm of cybersecurity. Adding many devices and entities to an eVTOL network increases the risk of privacy and security attacks. This paper proposes a key-based authentication scheme that …

Does Resilience Moderate The Relation Between Caregiver Behaviors And Post-Traumatic Symptoms In Young Adults?, Akila Uma Gopalkrishnan

Master's Theses

Exposure to a potentially traumatic event (PTE) is not an uncommon experience for children and adolescents. After exposure to adverse events, youth may experience significant maladjustment and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). As such, researchers continue investigating potential risk and protective factors contributing to youth post-trauma adjustment. Considering their critical role in children’s development, caregivers likely play a key role in youth post-trauma adjustment. However, the field lacks studies on caregiver behaviors following youth PTE exposure and on factors, such as resilience, that could influence how children respond to stress and caregiver environments. I aimed to evaluate: (a) how perceived caregiver …

Those Magnificent Men In Their Fighting Machines: An Investigation Into The Lives Of Wwi Tankmen, Lucas C. Campbell

Master's Theses

This thesis will look at the immense backlog of war diaries, journals, personal letters, government documentation, and oral histories left behind by British tank crewmen of the First World War. The purpose of this investigation is mainly to uncover the reasons that individuals were chosen for transferal into the Royal Tank Regiment, where they were transferred from, what their training consisted of before their deployment, and their combat history once they were sent into the battlefields on the Western Front. The goal of this project is to gauge the reaction to the emergence of this crucially important technology on a …

Evaluating Coordination And Variability Within Collegiate Basketball Players Using Vector Coding, Minali G. Patton

Master's Theses

The countermovement jump (CMJ) is a popular tool used to assess neuromuscular capabilities and production of power. The literature has also shown the CMJ to assess differences in strategic approaches, and it is common to see the variables countermovement depth, impulse, and ground-reaction force (GRF) curve shapes being used to describe differences in strategy. However, these variables are not descriptive enough to evaluate how individuals are moving at a segmental level. Vector coding, a qualitative analysis of coordination, may be the better answer for assessing differences in strategy from a coordination point of view. Thus, the purpose of this project …

Jump Strategy Changes In Collegiate Women Soccer Players, Madeline Klubertanz

Master's Theses

Countermovement jumps (CMJ) are often utilized to monitor athletes because of their sensitivity to neuromuscular fatigue, which can be seen through assessing jump strategies. The current literature has reported conflicting views on how jump performance is impacted over acute and longitudinal testing. This is likely due to insufficient analyses regarding the impact of fatigue on jump strategy. This study aimed to investigate how the integration of jump strategy metrics and single-subject analysis could provide a better representation of the presence of fatigue among collegiate women soccer players. Eighteen participants were utilized in this study. Participants were required to complete three …