Digital Commons Network^™

Roboethics In Covid-19: A Case Study In Dentistry, Wendy C. Birmingham, Yaser Maddahi, Maryam Kalvandi, Sofya Langman, Nicole Capicotto, Kourosh Zareinia

Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic effects on the healthcare system, businesses, and education. In many countries, businesses were shut down, universities and schools had to cancel in-person classes, and many workers had to work remotely and socially distance in order to prevent the spread of the virus. These measures opened the door for technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence to play an important role in minimizing the negative effects of such closures. There have been many efforts in the design and development of robotic systems for applications such as disinfection and eldercare. Healthcare education has seen a lot …

Race, Sex, Exoneration, & Compensation: How Do They Relate? What Is Done? And What Needs To Be Done?, Sarah Emily Still

Honors Theses

Previous literature has noted multiple causes of wrongful conviction including mistaken eyewitness identification, false confessions, ineffective assistance of counsel, crime lab error, and prosecutorial misconduct. Over time, more wrongful convictions caused by these factors are overturned through the help of organizations such as the Innocence Project. With these increasing exonerations comes the increased needs of exonerated people. The previous literature has exemplified that exonerees have unique needs (Simms, 2016), but these needs are often not met by the compensation that is available (Chunias & Aufgang, 2008; Mandery et. al, 2013). This occurrence is problematic given that exonerees had to lose …

The Veil (Or Helmet) Of Ignorance: A Rawlsian Thought Experiment About A Military’S Criminal Law, Dan Maurer

University of Richmond Law Review

This Article loosely adapts political philosopher John Rawls’s famous social contract thought experiment to interrogate a corner of law that receives too little theoretical attention: the separate federal code at the intersection of criminal law and national security that regulates both martial and non-martial conduct of millions of citizens, invests judicial responsibility and prosecutorial authority in nonlawyer commanding officers, operates with no territorial limitations, and pulls even certain retirees within its jurisdiction: the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Employing the perspectives of four “idealized” actors—Congress, a president, a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a potential recruit—this “experiment” …

Applying Island Biogeography Theory And Ecoacoustic Approaches To Explore The Species Composition, Richness, And Biodiversity In Northern Temperate Salt Marsh Pools Of The Little River Estuary, Sofia Rose Licht

Master's Theses and Capstones

Salt marsh habitats are prevalent throughout coastal New England and offer a wide rangeof ecological services, including serving as nursery habitats to both transient and resident species, trapping sediment and nutrients to keep pace with rising sea levels, and improving water quality through filtration of runoff. These complex habitats remain poorly understood, especially regarding the biological communities that occupy them. The northern temperate salt marshes that characterize the coast of Northern New England contain northern temperate salt marsh pools (NTSPs) that serve as important wildlife habitats with unique abiotic conditions and biotic communities. The isolated nature of these pools from …

"What Camelot Means": Women And Lgbtq+ Authors Paving The Way For A More Inclusive Arthuriana Through Young Adult Literature, Jeddie Mae Bristow

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Arthurian literature has long been regarded as the domain of “dead white men,” dominated by Thomas Malory and Lord Alfred Tennyson. However, since medieval times, women have also been producing Arthurian literature that not only treats the women characters of the story more equitably, but makes social commentary on how the marginalized of their societies are treated. More recently, women and LGBTQ+ authors (basically, authors who are not cisgender white men) have answered the call for more diverse Young Adult literature with an Arthuriana that has a place for all, both creating a more diverse and equitable Camelot and giving …

Archaeological Analysis Of An Early Mississippian Frontier Structure In Southwestern Virginia, Sophie Husslein

Honors Theses

Ely Mound (44LE12) is a significant prehistoric frontier site located in Lee County, Virginia. Frontier sites are important in understanding processes of cultural hybridity and the formation of social hierarchies. Through an analysis of artifacts recovered from a household structure during a 2019 excavation, this research explores Ely’s function on the Mississippian cultural frontier, and discusses its relationship to the Carter Robinson site located within the county (44LE10). Finally, I conclude that the occupants of Ely Mound were a local people engaging with select Mississipian cultural practices and suggest that this site could be an example of Mississippianization.

Hand Over Fist: Russia's Use Of Military Aggression To Affect Regional Policy, Bobby G. Simmons Ii

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to assess Russia's effectiveness at using military exercises to affect the policies of neighboring Eastern European states. This is first done through an analysis of three Russian military exercises: Zapad-2017, Kavkaz-2020, and Ocean Shield-2020. The overview and results of the exercises are discussed. Then, three Eastern European countries are assessed as targets of Russian military aggression: Belarus, Lithuania, and Ukraine. The relationships between these countries and Russia are then reviewed before discussing how each country was impacted by one or more of the three aforementioned Russian military exercises. Following this analysis, a brief assessment …

Praise Under Pressure: How To Cultivate A Worship-Filled Lifestyle Amidst Anxiety, Elizabeth Amels

Senior Honors Theses

Rates of anxiety are at its highest point in the late Millennial and early Gen-Z population, prompting a rise in mental health awareness. For those practicing the Christian faith, it can be difficult to follow Apostle Paul’s simple command to “not be anxious” (Philippians 4:6). This thesis will conduct a targeted literature review of music and group-counseling-based therapy, as both have proven to positively affect anxiety and stress symptoms. Combining these two methodologies with worship lifestyle principles and counseling exercises, a church-modeled devotional study will be created to encourage believers to cling to faith in God despite rising anxiety. The …

Suppression Of Inflammation Of Cytokine Following Induced Francisella Tularensis Infection, Nicole Renee Setzu

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Francisella tularensis is intracellular bacteria which is the causative agent of the disease Tularemia. Highly virulent in both humans and animals, it takes only as few as 10 microorganisms to cause a lethal infection. The bacteria can enter via direct or indirect routes causing the activations of the host innate inflammatory response to ensue. The bacteria invade host dendritic cells and neutrophils but predominately macrophages. This causes a mass inflammatory response resulting in the cytokine storm. Activation of Natural Killer T (NKT) cells has been shown to suppress inflammation in in vivo studies. Development and optimization of an in vitro …

Satellite Vision And Atomic Trails, Anson Wigner

Theses

Satellite Vision and Atomic Trails is an installation of photographs and a three-channel video crafted from an eclectic combination of government archival material, the theory of panopticism, Cold War propaganda, and satellite photographs of secret or obscured sites. Probing the creation and interpretation of what remains “unseen” within these satellite images, Satellite Vision and Atomic Trails decodes the anxious ambitions and failed promises of totalized surveillance. Satellite surveillance both envisions the surface of events and creates a map of their socio-political significance. But just as clouds obscure the view of earth from a CIA satellite, our pursuit of a totalizing …

Architectural Style: Distortions For Deploying And Managing Deception Technologies In Software Systems, Elijah Cantella

Theses

Deception technologies are software tools that simulate/dissimulate information as security measures in software systems. Such tools can help prevent, detect, and correct security threats in the systems they are integrated with. Despite the continued existence and use of these technologies (~20+ years) the process for integrating them into software systems remains undocumented. This is due to deception technologies varying greatly from one another in a number of different ways. To begin the process of documentation, I have proposed an architectural style that describes one possible way deception technologies may be integrated into software systems.

To develop this architectural style, I …

Including The Central American Narrative In Higher Education, Karla Ramirez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In study I found that Central American Studies is underrepresented in academia. With the heightened interest in Ethnic Studies there has also been an interest in Central American Studies, but not many institutions offer the program. My paper dives into the importance of educating others on Central American studies and the history of how it's slowly being included in higher education. Growing up I never really learned much about my own history, and as I got older I wanted to learn more which is when I got inspired to do research on Central American Studies.

Pastoralism, Loss, And Nostalgia: Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending As An Elegy For Environmental Disruption, Kirsten Barker

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The idea that music embodies meaning is largely accepted and uncontroversial. However, the way in which this relationship is articulated is complicated and contributes to music’s ability to project different meanings, especially according to time and place. Such is the case with the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams’s romance for violin and orchestra, The Lark Ascending (1920). This work contains both musical and extra musical traits that can be interpreted as pastoral and nostalgic. Understanding how these meanings interact through time provides the opportunity for reinterpretation of the work in the present through an environmentally-oriented framework. Previous research regarding The …

Bright Star: A Scenic Design, Marty Wolff

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

The purpose of this thesis is to provide research, supporting paperwork, production photographs, and other materials that document the scenic design for Midland University’s production of the 2014 musical Bright Star, written and composed by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. This thesis contains the following: the effects of COVID 19 on the production selection process; a conceptual analysis, scenic breakdown, charting and diagrams to organize the show, preliminary modeling and plotting imagery; research images of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachia, mountain cabins from the early 1900s, and various rustic landscapes; an examination of the design evolution from conception to …

Now, Tomorrow Is Leaving Yesterday : Departure Of Campus Youths From Church, Ayobamiji Joseph Oluwagunna

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Sundered: A Novel-In-Progress, Erik Renner

Honors Scholar Theses

Sundered: A Novel-in-Progress is a creative thesis that discusses the creative process involved in preparing for and writing a fiction novel. It is a thesis of four parts: a critical preface documenting the history of the project and breaking down the creative process involved; the prologue to the eponymous novel-in-progress; an annotated example of an in-progress first chapter; and an annotated transcript of a character sketch made of the book's protagonist. The novel itself is a post-apocalyptic western, with some additional steam-punk and historical influences. The core theme of the project revolves around finding a peaceful way to fix a …

The Mouse Sees No Color: An Examination Of The Disney Corporation’S Recent Depictions Of Race In American History, Jordan Kern

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Walt Disney Studios possesses a checkered past in how its films dealt with racism and representation. Some of the earliest films involved songs and characters that go against modern sensibilities. In recent years, the studio's films have attempted to go against their forebears' racist connotations. Racism, however, proved a constant problem for the company. This paper shall explore the various ways Disney feature films addressed (or did not address) themes of racism and discrimination in its films from 1990 to 2018. The first chapter discusses the business reasoning behind Disney's continued reluctance to address race issues adequately, chiefly fear of …

Locating Us In The Indo-Pacific Region: Implications For China, Kartikeya Gupt

University Departments

No abstract provided.

India's Military Modernization, Omkar Amol Moharir

University Departments

No abstract provided.

Exploring Best Practices To Obtain Useful Student Feedback: Creating An Assessment Tool For The Insure Course At Csusb, Bradley James Robert Willett

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This culminating experience project examines the current method used to investigate the effectiveness of the Seminar in Information Systems and Technology INSuRE project course (IST 5930) at CSUSB from the student perspective. Currently, the Student Opinions of Teaching Effectiveness (SOTE) survey is the standard practice for gathering a student’s perspective on a course. The SOTE is brief and focuses on the feedback of the students on the instructor themselves and how they administered the course. The SOTE is a generalized tool and may not capture specific details about the many learning goals and objectives for a course that uses high-impact …

Referees Seeing Red: Uniform Color And Aggression In Team Sports, Zac Patterson

All Theses

Color plays a vital role in visual perception and communication. Scientists have developed standards for measuring and comparing hues, marketers use color to develop brands and communicate with consumers, and psychologists study the feelings and states of mind associated with colors. In the color psychology field red emerges as a color that elicits high-energy or activating responses from humans and other animals with some degree of consistency. Researchers investigate red’s effects in a number of contexts, from appetite to perceived aggression and even sexual desire and intent. Findings on the topic of red and aggression in particular branch out into …

The Loss-Processing Framework, Lawrence Childress

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The circumstances of responding to loss due to human death are among the most stressful experiences encountered in life. Although grief’s symptoms are typically considered essential to their gradual diminishment, possible negative impacts of complications related to grief are also well known, and have been associated with detriments to mental and physical health. Grief, however, can also generate transformative positive change. Thus, albeit ineludible, responding to loss is not uniformly experienced, expressed, or understood. It is also culturally-shaped, making attempts to define “normal” grief, as well as to label some grief “abnormal”—and to medicalize it—possibly problematic. Bereavement (the situation surrounding …

The Failure Of Chivalry, Courtesy, And Knighthood Post-Wwi As Represented In David Jones’S In Parenthesis, Taylor L. Hubbard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes David Jones’s In Parenthesis to demonstrate the failed notion of chivalry, courtesy, and knighthood in modernity during and after the war. Jones’s semi-autobiographical prose poem recounting his experiences of WWI was published in 1937, nineteen years after the war ended. Jones applied the concepts of chivalry, courtesy, and knighthood to his experiences during WWI through In Parenthesis. Jones used these concepts, which originated in the classical period and the Middle Ages, to demonstrate how they have changed over time, especially given the events of WWI. The best way for Jones to demonstrate the impact of WWI …

Toward A Rights-Based Model Of Economic Sanctions, Seyed Mohsen Rowhani

Student Articles & Notes

This Paper examines the rights-based boundaries of the United Nations (“UN”) sanctions as well as unilateral sanctions by classifying them as embargoes against States, major sectors and entities, and targeted sanctions against individuals and micro entities. For the UN embargoes, its Charter’s Preamble and Articles, the proportionality principle, and the preemptive norms of jus cogens are all investigated. It also analyzes some recorded rights-based challenges in the International Court of Justice (“ICJ”) and the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) for the UN targeted sanctions, highlighting that the Security Council’s (“SC”) targeted sanctions require reconsideration and independent judicial review.

Sanctions imposed …

Through A Trauma-Informed And Culturally Sensitive Lens: A Qualitative Study Of Effective Engagement With Native American Communities, Katie Hawkins

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The focus of this project was on county and tribal professionals’ views on effective social work engagement with tribal communities in a large rural county located in central California. The importance of this topic is recognized by existing literature, as well as by the findings of this study, which indicate that Native Americans are an understudied group that have unique cultural, historical and service based needs. Additionally, the NASW Code of Ethics (2017) endorses social work practice, research, policies and programs that are attentive to different cultures and that challenge social injustices. The findings of this research project support these …

Studying The Electron Population Effects On Magnetron Oscillation Via Particle-In-Cell Simulation, Andong Yue

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This research examines magnetron physics via the Particle-In-Cell simulations of two magnetron models, the 2D Rising Sun magnetron model and the 3D L3Harris CWM-75kW magnetron model, by using new data analytic schemes. Two data analytic schemes are presented, the electron population analysis and the breadth ratio analysis; these schemes reveal insights into the magnetron physics that are not readily accessible otherwise. Both magnetron models were simulated a) without priming, b) with RF priming, and c) with modulated electron injection. The research found that the 2D Rising Sun magnetron model is sensitive to RF priming; a 50 ns RF priming at …

The State Of Language, Endangerment, And Policy In India: A Forking Path, Samantha Immidisetti

Honors College Theses

The Indian subcontinent is one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world. The 2011 Census of India reports over 1,950 languages and 720 dialects are spoken in India. Although India itself has speakers of four distinct language families, its people have a shared culture, genetics, and history that spans thousands of years. The languages spoken in India have grown, stymied, and influenced each other before reaching their current state. The multiplicity of languages led to implementation of institutionalized language protection measures during the Independence period. Despite these efforts, many languages remain at risk for endangerment and extinction. Language …

All Things To All Men: Catholic Social Teaching In Reaction To Anti-Catholicism In Late Nineteenth-Century France And Germany, John Anderson Abbott Harris

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Old Testament Principles For Worship: Worship Practices Applied To Modern-Day Worship In The Evangelical Church From The Life Of Abraham, Cameron Scott Gaddy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Worship in the evangelical church faces challenges regarding its purpose, design, and method of expression. In order to cultivate an authentic community of worshippers, Christians must first strive to understand the biblical basis of worship. Worship is initiated by God and requires a response from man. Many studies have shown the importance of understanding the biblical foundations of worship; however, few studies have focused on understanding biblical worship through observing the historical development of God’s identity through the biblical character of Abraham. The purpose of this study is to identify key worship principles from the life of Abraham that may …

Suspect Spheres, Not Enumerated Powers: A Guide For Leaving The Lamppost, Richard Primus, Roderick M. Hills Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Despite longstanding orthodoxy, the Constitution’s enumeration of congressional powers does virtually nothing to limit federal lawmaking. That’s not because of some bizarrely persistent judicial failure to read the Constitution correctly. It’s because the enumeration of congressional powers is not a well-designed technology for limiting federal legislation. Rather than trying to make the enumeration do work that it will not do, decisionmakers should find better ways of thinking about what lawmaking should be done locally rather than nationally. This Article suggests such a rubric, one that asks not whether Congress has permission to do a certain thing but whether a certain …