Digital Commons Network^™

Examining Reframing Behavior Implementation: Teacher Perspectives And Discipline Patterns In Middle School, Francisco J. Hidalgo

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation examined teacher-reported implementation of the Reframing Behavior (RB) Initiative at a middle school in North Central Florida. The districtwide training occurred in the 2024-2025 school year. The RB Initiative provides educators with opportunities to reframe how they address disruptive behaviors among students perceived as problematic, who may receive numerous disciplinary actions. Disciplinary actions can affect students’ academic and social lives. Using a convergent mixed methods design, the study addressed four research questions and examined implementation fidelity, teacher perceptions, school-wide discipline patterns, and teacher experiences with RB implementation.

The researcher surveyed 19 teachers and interviewed four teachers. The …

How Leadership Styles Can Effectively Alleviate Some Of The Organizational Stressors Of Food-Plant Workers, Latarshe Mccuthin

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to investigate how leaders in the food processing industry perceive their management style and how they may alleviate some job related employee stress. There was no management training at the organization; the only training provided was for food safety for certification and licensure procedures. Once a year, the company listed a management course, but the supervisors had to pay for it without reimbursement. Further, although the course was available, most supervisors did not know of it.

The researcher developed semi-structured, in-depth interviews to answer the research questions regarding how supervisors perceived leadership styles, strategies, and …

The Effectiveness Of Behavioral Skills Training In Enhancing Teachers’ Ability To Write Specific, Measurable, And Individualized Iep Goals Targeting Quality-Of-Life Skills, Emilia Endean

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation sought to assess the effectiveness of a behavior skills training (BST) protocol in improving teacher behaviors for writing high-quality individualized education plan (IEP) goals that target quality-of-life (QoL) domains. High-quality IEP goals that target both academic and functional repertoires are required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) and are essential for students with disabilities to achieve meaningful outcomes. BST is an effective intervention for teaching a variety of skills. No prior research has explicitly examined the application of BST for teacher professional development in writing IEP goals.

This single-subject study used a time-lagged multiple probe …

The Continuity And Fluidity Between Emergent Literacy Skills And Literacy Acquisition, Shiesha D. Otokina

Theses and Dissertations

This research study was undertaken because emergent literacy skills are crucial in helping children develop their reading abilities. Research suggests that early intervention is a key strategy for closing the achievement gap, and that early literacy skills develop as early as when children begin to communicate verbally and nonverbally. Studies show that the larger a child's vocabulary is, the quicker they learn to read.This study examined the significance of reading development and a child’s ability to acquire reading skills across the stages of reading acquisition.

This study compared student scores in the experimental and control groups to determine whether the …

Technology-Facilitated Labor Trafficking Power And Control Wheel, Julie A. Dahlstrom

Faculty Scholarship

This wheel is based on the Article, "Digital Servitude":

Measuring Lawyer Mental Illness: Evidence From Two National Surveys, Benjamin David Pyle, Clifford Rosky

Faculty Scholarship

The American Bar Association declared a “well-being crisis” among lawyers, but the empirical basis for this claim has been contested in recent years. This study systematically compares two high-quality, nationally representative surveys —the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)—to measure the prevalence of mental illness and alcohol misuse among lawyers. In both surveys, lawyers report elevated rates of alcohol misuse compared to the general public and similarly educated peers. The NHIS finds that lawyers experience psychological distress at rates lower than the general public and similar to, or moderately higher than, …

Obscurity And The Fallacy Of No Privacy In Public Information, Woodrow Hartzog

Faculty Scholarship

The main thesis of this chapter is that because there are so many different possible interpretations of ‘public information’, the concept cannot be used to justify data practices and surveillance without first articulating a more precise meaning that recognises what is at stake. By disposing of the myth that there is an objective and dispassionate concept of public information, judges and lawmakers can clear the way for information rules based on overt value choices. In short, if the concept of ‘public’ is going to shape people’s social and legal obligations, its meaning and neutrality should not be assumed.

My argument …

The Hypocrisy Of Data Governance, Zubair Shafiq, Olivia Figueira, Athina Markopoulou, Woodrow Hartzog, Michael Lavine

Faculty Scholarship

“Data governance” is an empty term, like a Rorschach inkblot just waiting to be filled with meaning. Tech companies take advantage of this ambiguity to craft narratives about their data-governance capabilities to fit their audience and purpose. On one hand, tech companies brag about their data-governance capabilities when it fits their business model (for example, to advertisers) and public image (for example, to their customers). On the other hand, tech companies claim that meaningful data governance is challenging or impossible when accountability is demanded.

In this Article, we argue that tech companies systematically misrepresent or selectively ignore their data-governance capabilities. …

Higher Order Affordances For Serve Reception In Volleyball, Danilo G. Arruda, Bethany Freeman, Jeffrey B. Wagman, Thomas A. Stoffregen

Faculty Publications – Psychology

Using a head-mounted virtual reality system, we investigated the ability of skilled volleyball players to perceive virtual volleyball serves, and to use such information to control their actions in receiving serves. We compared shorter and taller groups of competitive players, and we varied the height of incoming serves. In two experiments, we found that, with very rare exceptions, participants used either an overhead or underhand technique to receive serves. Technique selection was reliably related to serve height, such that the overhead technique was used for higher serves and the underhand technique for lower serves. In Experiment 1, participants were free …

Microgravity-Induced Alterations In Left Atrial Hemodynamics And Thrombogenic Risk: Insights From Healthy And Atrial Fibrillation Models, Grace M. Hoeppner

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Background: Microgravity exposure alters cardiovascular loading, yet its impact on left atrial flow dynamics and thrombotic risk remains poorly understood. This study investigates how spaceflight-relevant microgravity-induced changes in cardiac outflow affect left atrial hemodynamics in healthy individuals and patients with atrial fibrillation.

Methods: Patient-specific left atrial models were generated for three healthy individuals and three AF patients. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed using each patient’s baseline mitral outflow waveform and two modified waveforms representing short- and long-duration post-flight cardiac loading changes derived from echocardiographic observations. Hemodynamic metrics included left atrial velocity, time averaged wall shear stress, oscillatory shear …

The Serotonin 1b Receptor In Psilocybin’S Therapeutic-Like Mechanisms: From Behavior To Network Reorganization, Sixtine Fleury

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Mood disorders represent a substantial and growing global health crisis, with ~10 million adults in the US meeting criteria for a major depressive disorder (MDD). Current first-line treatments such as SSRIs require long-term daily administration and fail a significant proportion of patients, driving renewed interest in rapid-acting alternatives. Psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic, shows growing clinical evidence of efficacy in treating depressive and anxiety disorders, often producing therapeutic effects persisting weeks to months following a single dose. Yet, the neural mechanisms underlying these enduring effects remain poorly understood and have been largely attributed to the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) based on …

The Role Of Personality Traits In The Relationship Between Executive Functioning And Identity Dimensions, Faith Alexander

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This study examined the mediating role of personality traits on the relationship between executive functioning (EF) domains and dimensions of identity development. A cross-sectional, correlational design was utilized. 364 participants (MAge = 20.03, SD = 4.11) completed self-report measures of EF, personality, and identity. It was hypothesized that the Big 5 personality traits would mediate associations between EF components (working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility) and adaptive or maladaptive identity dimensions. Results indicated that conscientiousness partially mediated the relationship between working memory and identification with commitment, while fully mediating the relationship between working memory and commitment making, suggesting …

Un Lugar A Donde No Puedo Volver: Perteneciendo En La Distancia, Alberto J. Alonso

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

“A Place I Cannot Return To: Distance and Belonging” investigates how home is not limited to a fixed place, but instead a reconstruction sustained through memory and longing, which focuses on personal experiences of being away from Puerto Rico. I contribute to this broader dialogue by offering a deeply personal perspective shaped by the complexities of cultural belonging. Through photography, collage, and painting, my art practice reconstructs fragmented visual narratives of lived experience to explore homesickness, nostalgia, and displacement, examining how personal and shared histories become anchors to what continually slips away. Although I can physically return to Puerto Rico, …

In The Walls, Taylor S. Arnold

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

In the Walls is a collection of short and flash fiction that uses gothic and speculative elements to explore isolation, identity, gender roles, and experiences of women, including pressures of conformity and the persistent draw of the domestic. In “Poltergeist,” a scorned ghost discovers her supernatural abilities when her husband brings home a new woman. “Home For Sale,” an experimental story structured as a Zillow listing, contains the tale of a housewife’s psychological unravelling amid paranormal encounters in her family’s new home. The titular story, “In the Walls,” focuses on a woman who attempts to conform to a homemaker role …

The Uncanny And Uneasy: An Exploration Into Using Puppets To Share Dark Stories, Grace Auls

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

In this thesis, I will explore the role of puppetry and practical effects in evoking the uncanny and the uneasy as well as questioning the implications they have in dark theater and cinematic contexts. This paper will examine how puppetry and practical effects can contribute to potentially disturbing and dark imagery both on screen and in live theater. I will be focusing on looking at Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal, as well as at different puppetry performances used in Voyage of the Little Mermaid (1992), Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, Kirikou and the Sorceress (Kirikou et la Sorciere), and even …

'But George Floyd Wasn't A Saint': A Critical Discourse Analysis Pre And Post George Floyd, Raya Berkley-Jacobs

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

May 25, 2020, George Floyd died at the hands of former police officer Derek Chauvin after he placed his knee on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. His death sparked outrage, protests, and calls for accountability, justice, and reform. This study addresses the impact of George Floyd’s death as a focusing event that created a policy window under which federal legislation was introduced as a response to his death. Drawing on Punctuated Equilibrium Theory and Social Construction Theory, the study utilizes a critical discourse analysis to test how the death of George Floyd impacted the amount and …

An Integrated Framework For Last-Mile Delivery Optimization Using Reinforcement Learning And Social Media-Based Traffic Prediction In Underdeveloped Megacities, Vasanth Bhat

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Supply chain management has become increasingly critical as transportation costs rise and urban delivery systems place additional pressure on already congested networks. Last-mile delivery—the movement of goods from distribution centers to end users—represents the most expensive and operationally complex segment of the logistics process, particularly in underdeveloped megacities characterized by unpredictable traffic, limited infrastructure, and sparse real-time data. This dissertation proposes an integrated framework for optimizing last-mile delivery in such environments by combining social media–based traffic intelligence, machine learning, and deep reinforcement learning. The framework leverages unstructured, real-time data from social media platforms to enhance traffic prediction and incorporates these …

Examining Team Leader Visual Dynamics And Team Performance In Pediatric Emergency Simulations, Annamarie Brosnihan

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Pediatric medical emergencies are dynamic, high-intensity clinical situations that demand coordinated interdisciplinary actions for optimal patient outcomes. Effective teamwork and leadership are critical, especially during the preparatory phase. Here, team leaders define task goals, assign individual roles, and maintain situational awareness. This phase directs attention, organizes team dynamics, and ensures medical interventions are deployed properly. Medical simulations provide a unique opportunity to capture dynamic leadership behaviors in a controlled low-stakes environment using multimodal data, such as eye tracking, to gain insight into team leader cognitive processes (i.e., attention allocation and information processing). Prior research suggests that leaders who visually attend …

Do Fair Schedules Matter? Work-Home Conflict And Justice In Emergency Medicine, Maresca J. Brand

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Emergency physicians work in a high-demand environment requiring irregular, around-the-clock schedules, which can contribute to elevated work-home conflict and burnout. While previous research has focused on objective schedule characteristics such as length of shift or time of day worked, less attention has been given to how emergency physicians perceive the fairness of the scheduling process itself. Drawing on Work-Home Resources Theory and Personal Resource Allocation Theory, this study examines whether perceptions of schedule justice influence work-home conflict via schedule satisfaction. I propose that perceived fairness in schedule creation functions as a contextual resource that shapes whether a schedule is experienced …

Making Art For The Love Of The Game, Alissa Beth Burch

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

“Making Art for the Love of the Game” interweaves visual aesthetics from video games and associated online fan community practices with self-portraiture to reflect and process personal past medical trauma, a developmental period in online interactive environments, and showcases self-expressive fan content which joins an underrepresented and emerging sub-culture to contemporary art. Working through an interdisciplinary studio practice, combining printmaking, found-sticker collage, and painting refracts digital aesthetics found in online communities. I intentionally juxtaposed these physical modes of making with digital subjects to examine these subjects’ merit as artistic mediums.  It reflects a contemporary mode of art making, and acts …

Developing The Whole Child: A Retrospective Ethnographic Case Study Of Prosocial Learning Efforts At One Elementary School, Bevan Brown

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

An alarming trend among elementary-aged students in the United States exhibiting significant deficits in social-emotional competency development has intensified since the Covid-19 pandemic. Challenges in developing competent prosocial skills in the elementary-aged years have been associated with difficulties in emotional regulation and social interactions, which can result in compromising school readiness and long-term academic success. Existing school infrastructure provides a vehicle for early intervention, specifically in supporting students with poor social and emotional wellbeing. Thus, the need for innovative pedagogical and instructional approaches that address the complex challenges of the 21st century has become increasingly essential. Coordinated approaches to prosocial …

The Bite Model And Multi-Level Marketing: How Monat Propagates, Lilly D. Cheung

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This study aims to understand how MONAT Global Corp, a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company, utilizes rhetoric that aligns with Steven Hassan’s BITE Model of Authoritarian Control. Hassan is a cult expert and cult survivor whose work primarily explains undue influence and thought control with BITE representing Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional control. The MLM MONAT is a haircare brand that operates through a recruitment-and-sales-based hierarchy, in which sellers sign up and work under one another in a layered marketing structure. To meet quotas and maintain ranks, representatives will use rhetorical strategies to recruit new sellers beneath them in their ‘downline’ …

I, Cock-A-Doodle-Do: Reclaiming Masculinity Through Queer Joy And Humorous Self-Exploration, Nelson J. Garcia

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

I examine the contemporary norms of masculinity. My research wrestles with ultimately unresolvable stereotypes and imagery influencing current masculine behavior. I unearth queer potential through the physicality and behavior of the stereotypical “man’s man”. I infuse my own queer identity into my studio practice with an emphasis on humor and joy to subvert traditional models of male performance. This process drives self-exploration that allows me to personally respond, react, be directed, and redirected by the interactions between queerness and masculinity. Masculine and queer representations across various media, such as film, music, and television, historically and continuously inform restrictive cultural norms. …

Emotional Support Friends: Creating Social Impact Through Art And Polite Humor, Kenyari Gil Rosario

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis aims to provide new imagery to the conversation of mental health and neurodivergence. It does this through forms of soft sculpture, digital paintings, marker drawings, and community murals. Inspired by the practices of Keith Haring, iconographic characters are used to portray common struggles and coping habits of mental conditions in an endearing light. With the goal of social impact, this project is affiliated with the non-profit organization Providing Autism Links and Support (P.A.L.S). This partnership has given the community an opportunity to share their compassion through art and donations and uses art as a means of social impact …

Entre Dos Mundos: A First-Generation Cuban American's Journey Through Identity And Memory, Alessandra M. Gonzalez

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

ENTRE DOS MUNDOS (translated as “between two worlds”) explores the complexities of growing up as the eldest daughter in a Cuban American immigrant family and the tensions of navigating life between cultures. Set in Miami, the collection blends lyrical and prose poetry to examine cultural identity, diaspora, intergenerational memory, and the emotional landscape of young adulthood. Through personal narrative and historical context, ENTRE DOS MUNDOS traces the speaker’s coming-of-age amid the inherited stories of her family’s escape from Cuba and the lingering effects of displacement. The section “Yo” focuses on the psychological challenges of adolescence and early adulthood, reflecting on …

Improvisational Theatre And Theatre Of The Oppressed: Fostering Growth In Myself And Beyond, Leigh S. Green

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis examines how improvisational theatre and Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed function independently and how these practices have shaped me as both an artist and educator. Having grown up with improvisation and continued working professionally in performance and education, I have observed how it creates conditions that support development. Guided by a qualitative practice-as-research methodology, in which my own artistic and pedagogical practice serves as both site and subject of inquiry, this study explores three central questions: How does improvisational theatre contribute to youth development? In what ways can Theatre of the Oppressed deepen or reshape improvisation’s developmental …

Where Did All The Democrats Go? An Analysis Of Defection And Disengagement Of Biden 2020 Voters In The 2024 Election, Scott S. Healy

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

In the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, Donald Trump slightly increased his vote total compared to 2020 while the Democratic ticket led by Kamala Harris received several million fewer votes than Joe Biden had received four years earlier. Since third-party voting remained relatively flat, most of the Democratic decrease seems to be explained by voters who previously supported Biden but abstained from voting in the presidential race in 2024, though some appear to have switched support to Trump. This paper studies why some who voted for Biden in 2020 chose not to support the Democratic nominee four years later. Drawing on …

If Your Muses Don't Hate You..., Hannah Howe

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

If Your Muses Don’t Hate You… interrogates a speaker who feels she lacks the tools needed to properly assess trauma and grief. This collection follows the speaker as she delves into obsessive analysis of self, often using metaphysical lenses as methods of comprehension. Each section explores a facet of the subject’s identity, and examines whether her heartache is self-inflicted, preordained, or both. Six of the seven sections provide the reader with imaginative interpretations of the speaker’s natal chart, allowing the reader the opportunity to analyze alongside the speaker. The first half of these sections present the speaker struggling to separate …

Gratitude As Social Information: How Leader And Follower Gratitude Expressions Influence First-Level Supervisors’ Work Experiences, Meghan E. Kane

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Gratitude is an important other-oriented, moral emotion known to promote individual well-being, strengthen social relationships, and foster positive workplace outcomes. Yet, organizational research has largely focused on gratitude as an individual trait or internal emotional state, with limited attention to its interpersonal signaling functions. Drawing on Emotion as Social Information (EASI) theory, this dissertation conceptualizes gratitude expressions as social cues that shape how others feel, think, and behave in the workplace. Focusing on first-level supervisors, an underexamined yet critical role in organizations, and integrating insights from leadership and followership research, this work examines how the source of gratitude expressions (leader …

From Meaning To Memory: Assessing The Capacity And Representational Structure Of Visual Working Memory With Meaningful Stimuli, Yong Hoon Chung

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Visual working memory is thought to be strictly limited. Yet we remember meaningful, real-world objects better than abstract stimuli. Here I show that this advantage arises from the semantic structure of meaningful objects, not their perceptual features alone, and that it extends even to memory for associated features such as color. In the brain, meaningful objects elicit greater and more distributed delay activity, consistent with the recruitment of higher-level neural processes during maintenance. I propose that semantic knowledge adds representational dimensions that make items more distinctive, and that these dimensions are organized hierarchically with lower-level visual features. These findings recast …