Digital Commons Network^™

A Rude Awakening : Divine Disruption And Human Dynamics In Revival And Spiritual Renewals, Ruben Cervantes Jr.

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Developing Spiritually Healthy Churches : Advancing Biblical Ecclesiology And Ministry Practices Among Pastoral Leaders, Julian Panga

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Transforming Pastoral Ministry : Spiritual Formation Practices For Biblical Preaching, Jeffrien Joel Joseph

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Women In Christian Leadership : Promoting Women To Lead Within A Complementarian Setting, Swarn Kaur Potter

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Embodying Biblical Hospitality : Threshold Moments For God's Welcome In Secular Workplaces, Sandra Lynn Blumanhourst

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Inviting Hospitality : An Incarnational Model Of Pastoral Care For Chaplains, Martha M. Cramer

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Holistic Discipleship Groups : The Importnace Of Integrating Confession And Evangelism Into Discipleship, Joseph H. Tillman Jr.

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Holy Art : Reclaiming The Visual Arts For Worship And Spiritual Formation, Joey Fitzgerald

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Mathematics Teacher Certification Status And Student Achievement: A Quantitative Analysis, Angela K. Wallace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sixty years ago, James Coleman (1966) released a report called Equality of Education where he focused on inequalities in education between Black and White students. Today, continued research has built on Coleman’s findings particularly on teacher quality and its effects on student achievement (Coleman et al., 1966). The purpose of this quantitative analysis was to explore if any relationship exists between 8th grade math and 10th grade geometry teachers’ certification status and 8th grade math and 10th grade geometry students’ achievement. By utilizing Pedagogical Content Knowledge Theory (PCK) and Mathematical Knowledge for Teachers Theory (MKT) as the theoretical frameworks, the …

An Ethnographic Study: The Influence Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy On Student Agency, Gerald D. Smith Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study aimed to investigate and analyze the methods and practices of teaching within urban educational settings, with a specific focus on the culturally relevant practices that should be integrated into the learning experiences for Black learners. The primary goal was to highlight the necessity for educators within urban educational settings to adopt a culturally relevant pedagogy within their context that promotes higher academic excellence and meaningful learning experiences for Black students through the cultivation of agency. Using an ethnography qualitative research design, the study worked to answer two questions: RQ1: What culturally relevant pedagogical practices are used to …

Clinical Implications Of Mismatch Repair Deficiency In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, Zachary Kaplan, Elizabeth Prezioso, Aditi Jain, Harish Lavu, Charles Yeo, Wilbur Bowne, Avinoam Nevler

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive and lethal disease, characterized by a limited response to chemotherapy and overall poor prognosis. Pancreatic cancers with a distinct mismatch repair deficiency, although relatively rare, have been shown to be associated with markedly better outcomes in comparison. Furthermore, whereas pancreatic cancers are generally unresponsive to current immunotherapy, this specific group of tumors has been shown to have a notable susceptibility to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

AIMS: In this review, we aim to summarize the relevant literature regarding mismatch-repair associated pancreatic cancers, the impacted biological mechanisms, and the resulting vulnerabilities for potential opportunistic immunotherapeutic treatment …

Taking Back The Takings Clause: The Case For Compensating Innocent Property Owners Caught In The Crossfire Of Police Activity, Kathleen Collins

William & Mary Law Review

Part I of this Note will provide an overview of the history of the Takings Clause, the role of the police power in takings jurisprudence, and the necessity exception to takings. Specifically, Part I will demonstrate that (1) the gravity of physical government intrusions has led the Supreme Court to consistently treat such intrusions as per se takings, (2) any distinction between eminent domain and the police power exists in the context of regulatory takings, and (3) the necessity exception rests on a shaky foundation as a common law tort doctrine. Part II will refute Lech’s conclusion that law …

Shaq, Ripple, And The Future Of Crypto Regulation, James C. Spindler

William & Mary Law Review

Crypto is at a regulatory crossroads. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators have taken a hard line on enforcing traditional regulatory requirements that would severely limit crypto offering activities. At the same time, crypto advocates seek preferential treatment, under the guise of “regulatory clarity,” that would allow them to bypass much of the applicable regulatory regimes. After a halt to legislative activities, brought on by the FTX implosion and ensuing crypto winter, the battle for crypto’s future is currently in the courts. Two pending, bellwether cases—the class action against Shaquille O’Neal and other celebrity spokesmen for FTX, …

Bostock And The Limits Of Textualism: A Doctrinal Structuralist Approach, Martin Katz

William & Mary Law Review

In Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court held that Title VII prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This result, the majority claimed, was required by the interpretive theory called textualism. But textualist Justices in the dissent vehemently disagreed. This split, and the controversy that has followed it, has had two consequences. First, it added fuel to the ongoing debate about the value of textualism. Second, it opened the door for lower courts to decline to apply Bostock to similar antidiscrimination laws, such as Title IX in education or the Equal Protection Clause.

This Article argues …

Car Damage Detection Using Deep Learning, Rahul Varma Indukuri Sr.

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Growing vehicle usage has resulted in a notable increase in road accidents, so it is imperative to have effective systems for identifying and evaluating vehicle damage. This work aims to create a computer vision and deep learning-based automated car damage detection system. This project's main goal is to develop a model that, using visual cues, can categorize car photos as either damaged or undamaged.

The algorithm operates in two steps: first, determining whether the picture features an automobile; then, it classifies the state of the car—damaged or undamaged. We thus employ the InceptionV3 model for damage classification and the MobileNet …

User-Centered Design Of A Weight Loss Mobile App, Sunaina Advani

Honors Scholar Theses

Obesity, the excessive accumulation of body fat, increases risk for chronic disease and affects 34% of U.S. adults (10). Lifestyle interventions are effective but heavily rely on calorie tracking, while adherence to this behavioral strategy is low (6). An alternative to calorie tracking is to simply track instances of overeating. In a pilot trial, obese individuals used Habit app, a mobile app that assists users in tracking overeating episodes. Users were asked to identify, record, and reflect on dietary slips, or deviations from the recommended diet. Following 6 months of use, in a focus group session, 20 participants were asked …

Reconstructing Art And Evidence: Forensic Architecture In Institutional Settings, Makenzie Smith

Honors Scholar Theses

Forensic Architecture (FA) is a London-based multidisciplinary research collective and human rights agency that uses digital modeling, architectural and spatial analysis, and open-sourced images to investigate and present visual evidence of human rights violations committed by state governments, militaries, and corporations. The team of architects, software developers, filmmakers, investigative journalists, scientists, and lawyers, collaborates with civil society groups, witnesses, and victims to establish a counternarrative in the service of human rights and social justice, exhibiting their investigations in institutional settings as varied as legal courts and parliamentary tribunals, citizen assemblies, mass media, universities, and art museums. My research focuses on …

The Politics Of The Black Womb: How Education And Power Reinforce The U.S. Black Maternal Health Crisis, Foluke Akinkunmi

Honors Scholar Theses

This study investigates the alarming maternal mortality rates among Black women in the U.S. today first by exploring the historical exploitation of Black maternal bodies during enslavement and with the rise of professionalized gynecology. It challenges the narrative that attributes these outcomes to individual choices or supposedly inherent biological factors, arguing instead that the devaluing of Black women’s well-being and authoritative knowledge have been constructed along with the United States itself. To advance a constructive response, the paper analyzes curriculum competencies for obstetric and midwifery healthcare providers, surveys of Black women's birthing experiences in the previous 20 years, and interviews …

Mechanistic Investigation Of Ring-Opening Polymerization Of Polycaprolactone Using Tin(Ii) Catalysts: Ligand Effects And Biomedical Applications, Eva-Larue M. Barber

Honors Scholar Theses

This research explores the mechanistic aspects of ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone (CL) to produce polycaprolactone (PCL), a biodegradable polymer widely used in biomedical applications. The study investigates how light exposure and catalyst concentration influence polymerization efficiency, using tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate [Sn(Oct)₂] as the catalyst in a non-polar toluene solvent at 90 °C. Reactions were conducted under either ambient light or black light bulb (BLB) illumination, with monomer-to-catalyst ratios of 1:1 and 200:1.

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy was used to analyze conversion efficiency by tracking the disappearance of monomer signals and appearance of characteristic PCL peaks. Results revealed …

Effects Of Tetrabenazine On Temporal Parameters Of High-Effort Behaviors In Male And Female Rats, Angela M. Jacdedt

Honors Scholar Theses

Motivational symptoms, such as fatigue and anergia, are common in various psychiatric and neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. These symptoms have been associated with dopamine (DA) levels in which DA depletion or antagonism has been linked to decreases in the selection of high-effort behaviors. For example, the DA-depleting agent tetrabenazine (TBZ) induces depressive symptoms in humans and depressive-like symptoms in rodents. To better understand the effects of TBZ on effortful behaviors, the current study examined the effects of TBZ on both the acquisition and the detailed temporal characterizations of high-effort behavior in male and female rats. During …

Efficacy Of Single Joystick-Operated Ride-On-Toy Navigation Training Program To Promote Increased Spontaneous Use And Motor Function In The Affected Arm In Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy, Neha Samuel

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this study is to assess the adjunctive effects of a home-based single joystick-operated ride-on-toy navigation program to conventional care on affected upper extremity (UE) use and motor function in children with hemiplegia. Wrist-worn accelerometers were worn by children on both their affected and unaffected extremities at baseline (i.e., prior to start of the training program) and during ride-on toy training sessions to measure affected and unaffected arm activity, resulting in measurements of percent duration of time in every session that children engaged in sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous activity (MVPA) using their affected and unaffected arms at baseline …

Latitudinal Gradients In Arctic Willows And Their Effects On Stream-Riparian Systems, Donal Heaney

Honors Scholar Theses

Extreme warming in the Arctic due to climate change presents the opportunity to study rapid changes to ecosystems and their potential resilience. Willow (Salix) shrubs form the base of many Arctic riparian ecosystems, and they have increased in height and range as temperatures have warmed. The effects of warming on willows could alter riparian ecosystems and neighboring streams, so understanding how climate change will affect willows is integral to understanding how the stream-riparian meta-ecosystem might change. I used data from the EvoME Institute to compare willow canopy cover above Arctic streams along a latitudinal transect and investigate how …

Deadly Choices: Political, Legal, And Moral Understandings Of U.S. Supreme Court Death Penalty Decisions, Anabelle S. Bergstrom

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis explores the political, legal, and moral factors that influence Supreme Court justices when penning capital punishment decisions. It also examines the evolution of thinking toward the death penalty by former justices John Paul Stevens and Harry Blackmun throughout their tenure on the Court. Cases are analyzed through fact-pattern analysis and the jurisprudential regime theory, which quantitatively build upon existing literature detailing the theoretical background of judicial decision-making through the attitudinal model. An analysis of Justices Blackmun and Stevens’ papers at the Library of Congress focuses on rhetoric that reflects utilitarian and retributive theories of punishment. Findings show that …

Exercise As An Intervention For Postpartum Depression (Ppd), Kylie P. Mistretta

Honors Scholar Theses

Objective: To illustrate the applications of exercise for preventing the development of postpartum depression (PPD) and addressing associated risk factors identified in the literature. Data Sources: PubMed and EBSCO: Academic Search Premier were accessed using the search terms exercise OR physical activity OR yoga AND postpartum depression OR postnatal depression. A secondary search of PubMed was conducted using the search terms exercise AND pregnancy AND depression OR gestational diabetes OR weight gain OR sleep quality.

Study Selection: Studies selected for inclusion were peer-reviewed, published after January 2012, written in English, and relevant to the PPD risk factors examined. Only clinical …

Nurse-Physicians: From Nursing School To Practicing Physician, Tobias Fraedrich

Honors Scholar Theses

Nurse-physicians are healthcare professionals who have obtained both a nursing degree and a medical degree, transitioning from Registered Nurse (RN) or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) to a licensed physician, including Medical Doctor (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), or Naturopathic Doctor (ND). Research on this phenomenon conducted to date is limited to a single study. Some nonresearch sources indicate a small presence of this topic online. Yin’s (2018) descriptive, multiple-case study approach was employed to investigate the phenomenon using oral history interviews and a survey of the online platform YouTube as data sources. For the intention of pursuing this …

The Cowl - V. 88 N. 20 - May 1, 2025

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 88 No. 20 - May 1, 2025. 24 pages.

Optimizing Inpatient And Emergency Care For Pediatric Healthcare For Patients With Disabilities And/Or Diverse Health Needs, Ellagrace Brunton

OTD DEx Reports - College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Abstract

A researcher from an entry-level doctorate program examined the barriers to equitable healthcare access and experiences in emergency and inpatient settings for pediatric patients with diverse health needs, including intellectual and developmental disabilities, social-emotional challenges, and complex medical histories. The Optimizing Pediatric Healthcare project aimed to enhance the healthcare experience for individuals with disabilities and their support systems by emphasizing the importance of continuing education, collaboration, and inclusivity. This report evaluates the implementation of evidence-based resources, such as continuing education modules for healthcare providers. These modules were developed to address disparities pertaining to sensory strategies, trauma-informed care approaches, and …

Understanding And Supporting Psychosocial Health And Sensory Regulation In Children With Cancer (Or Cancer History), Alexandra Kulman

OTD DEx Reports - College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Objective: The purpose of this capstone is to understand the psychosocial and sensory needs of pediatric oncology patients or survivors and educate staff members on the topics of psychosocial health and sensory regulation. It is also to discover how summer camp and activities offered are beneficial in decreasing signs and symptoms of decreased psychosocial health in individuals diagnosed with cancer or have prior history of cancer diagnosis.

Methods: Mixed methods surveys were conducted during the experiential portion of the capstone to identify the needs of individuals with cancer attending camp, benefits of camp, and identify staff member’s knowledge of topics …

The Effectiveness Of Cannabis And Its Impact On Daily Activities, Brooke Mazzarelli

OTD DEx Reports - College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Mental and physical health struggles have become increasingly prominent for individuals in all phases of life to various degrees. These struggles negatively impact a person's ability to effectively complete preferred daily tasks and occupations, specifically if untreated. Current literature indicates that although there are multiple prescription medications to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, chronic pain, and sleep issues, these medications come with a long list of short-term and long-term side effects and can also be expensive and unaffordable without insurance, especially when considering that these four symptoms are often identified as comorbidities. These factors highlight why there is an increased need …

Supporting Care Partners Of Individuals Impacted By Mental Illness Through An Occupational Therapy Lens, Chelsea A. Monpas

OTD DEx Reports - College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Care partners of individuals with mental illness experience impacts on daily life from stress, stigma, changes in role and routines, and occupational imbalance. Addressing these needs falls within the scope of occupational therapy (OT); however, it has not been widely implemented with care partners. The purpose of this research study was to develop and implement a support program for care partners of individuals with mental illness through an OT perspective. The program was designed using literature supported interventions, collaboration with mental health practitioners and health care providers, and participant reported needs to support and increase occupational balance for care partner …