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Scared Straight: Investigating The Psychological And Moral Dimensions Of Horror, Angelica Martinez

Masters Theses

This research examines the psychological and moral dimensions of the horror genre through qualitative analysis, with particular emphasis on its potential to convey ethical and spiritual meaning. While often dismissed as mere entertainment, horror frequently engages with profound questions of morality, fear, and the human condition. This study argues that horror, especially in its psychological, apocalyptic, and religious forms, serves as a vehicle for moral instruction and reflection. By tracing thematic developments from the 1970s to contemporary expressions of the genre, the research identifies a resurgence of interest in spiritually charged narratives. The findings suggest that horror can play a …

From Comics To Courage: The Real Life Impact Of Superheroes, Dylan A. Perkins

Masters Theses

Are superheroes good for society? Do fictional stories of heroism have nuggets of applicable truth for the every day, normal citizen? Can it even be a motivation for people who follow religion? All of this and more are explored in this thesis assignment as we examine the history of Marvel and DC Comics and how superheroes have been developed during times of war and uncertainty throughout history. Much of this discourse serves as inspiration for the creative draft which is an original novel excerpt that goes into the life of Jack, a child experiment born with extraordinary abilities set against …

Beyond Skins: The Far-Flung Impacts Of Sea Otter Fur Capitalism, Callie Pappas

Dissertations and Theses

Sea otter fur was one of the first commodities to shape the broader Pacific Ocean trade. As the trade expanded, it became entwined in a global network of commerce that stretched from St. Petersburg to Alaska, from Boston to Astoria, from London to Nootka Sound, and from Hawaii to Canton (China, modern-day Guangzhou). This paper aims not just to view the trade qua trade, but to go Beyond Skins to tell four stories of impacts of sea otter fur capitalism, in the areas of geopolitics, Indigenous cultures, trade in China, and local ecology. Originating in the Pacific Northwest, the sea …

A Futurist Exegesis Of Matthew 24:1-42, Kenneth Garcia

Masters Theses

This thesis explores a Futurist exegesis of Matthew 24:1-42, emphasizing its prophetic fulfillment in future events rather than historical or allegorical interpretations. It critiques Preterist and Historicist views, arguing that key elements—including the abomination of desolation, the great tribulation, and the second coming of Christ—remain unfulfilled. By analyzing the text in its historical, grammatical, and theological context, and correlating it with Daniel’s visions and Revelation, this study defends the position that Jesus’ discourse predicts end-times events such as the rise of the Antichrist, the rebuilding of the third temple, and global tribulation. This work affirms the hope of Christ’s imminent …

Vampyres Reimagined, Madison Marie Strand

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the intricate interplay between imagination and reality in fantasy literature, encapsulated within the first ninety pages of my novel, A Ruin of Memories. It is an explorative contribution to the genre, with themes of mental health, loss, and belonging in an environment that morphs reality with the supernatural.

The artist statement serves as a reflective insight into my creative process and personal journey as a writer. It outlines my motivations for crafting A Ruin of Memories, rooted in my desire to paint a picture of spiritual warfare through the lens of vampyres, werewolves, and witches. Through this …

A Jus Ad Bellum Analysis Of The American Revolution, Lindsey Allen

Senior Honors Theses

America is a rose among the thorns of history, owing her existence to her remarkable victory in the Revolutionary War. However, America's end cannot necessarily justify the means of her creation. This qualitative thesis will determine whether the American Revolution was just by examining the jus ad bellum perspective of Just War Theory. This philosophical purview will focus on the justness of the colonists’ initiation of the American Revolution, with its criteria being last resort, legitimate authority, just cause, probability of success, right intention, and proportionality. This thesis will synthesize the contributing elements and arguments for the defense of the …

Collateral Damage From A Legacy Of Silence: Redefining Sexual Violence In The American Civil War, 1861-1865, Chandra K. Waller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines the often-overlooked issue of sexual violence during the American Civil War, challenging the myth of Victorian restraint and the romanticized notion of the "gentleman soldier." While traditional Civil War historiography has focused on military strategy, politics, and elite actors, this study foregrounds the experiences of civilian women, particularly enslaved and marginalized women, who were subjected to sexual violence at the hands of soldiers. Drawing on court-martial records, personal letters and diaries, newspaper accounts, and military documents, the paper argues that sexual violence was not an aberration but a systemic and strategic aspect of wartime conduct.

It also …

Are Army Recruiters At High Risk For Suicide?, Sherley Pierre

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Suicide and occupational stress among military personnel continue to be a pressing matter, yet research has given inadequate focus to the unique stressors faced by Army recruiters. Even with the emphasis on military suicide, minimal consideration has been given to the mental impact of occupational stress on this specific group, causing a disconnect in recognizing how their occupational stressors may result in suicidal ideation and suicide. This descriptive phenomenological qualitative study researched the occupational stressors experienced by 13 United States Army recruiters, exploring their prospective role as risk factors for suicidal ideation. This research study used semi-structured interviews framed within …

A Study To Understand The Experiences Of Black American Christian Women In Leadership Positions Who Serve Within The Black Church, Keyona N. Harper

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study contributes to the gap in academic literature through the identification of themes within the participants' experiences of being a Black American female leader within the Black church. This study uses a hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative design to understand the experiences of Black American Christian women in leadership positions who serve within the Black church. The findings offer insight into the role of race, gender, religion, and environmental factors in the human experience. Through this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological research approach, data were analyzed to find universal themes of commitment to calling, pastor idolization, exclusion, navigating church culture, balancing personal and …

How The Book Of Genesis Addresses The Problem Of Evil From A Biblical Theological Perspective, Fabio Delgado

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The study focuses on the conventional conception of God, specifically, the question of the problem of evil from a Biblical theological perspective. Theists believe that God is supremely powerful, completely benevolent, and all-knowing. Evil may be found everywhere, as seen in our everyday lives: sickness, natural catastrophes, warfare, a lack of opportunity for advancement, poverty, bigotry, murder, animal abuse, and the list goes on.1 According to conventional beliefs, the problem of evil arises from the apparent contradiction in stating that the Lord, who possesses unlimited power and is kind-hearted, is the origin of all that is good while also acknowledging …

Evaluating The Impact Of Anti-Vaccine Online Search Trends During The Covid-19 Pandemic On Adolescent Pertussis-Containing Vaccine Completion, Deborah L. Fisher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adolescent completion of pertussis-containing vaccines is a public health concern, especially with rising online anti-vaccine misinformation. Incomplete vaccination increases risk for preventable diseases and impacts community health. A gap in the literature on the relationship between online anti-vaccine search trends during the COVID-19 pandemic and adolescent pertussis vaccine completion was addressed in this quantitative, repeated cross-sectional study. Andersen’s behavioral model of health services use guided the study. Secondary data from the 2019 and 2022 National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen) compared adolescents aged 13–17 in the five U.S. states with the highest (n=5,464) versus the five with the lowest (n=3.031) population-adjusted anti-vaccine …

The Impact Of Historical Intergenerational Transmission Of Trauma On Black American Women Who Endured Adverse Childhood Experiences, Gigi Andrews Ritchey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the experiences of Black American women in the Southeastern United States who endured adverse childhood experiences and whether historical intergenerational transmission of trauma (HITT) influenced the behavior of their primary caregivers. The problem was that the connection between Post traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS) and HITT had not been explored as it related to Black American women. To conduct the study, Black American women were screened for HITT via the Black American Woman (BAW) Danieli Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma questionnaire. Qualitative data was accrued via semi-structured individual interviews. The findings …

Coming Of Age In A Time Of Darkness: Young Southern White Women During The American Civil War, Kylie Wroot

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

The American Civil War is one of the most researched eras in history, but that does not mean that research will ever be complete. Historians are always discovering aspects of the war that had been largely ignored. One emerging topic has been the lives of young women and their experiences during the conflict. James MacPherson has analyzed several aspects of the war, including why its history is still relevant today. Amy Murrell Taylor and James Marten have both researched family life and children’s experiences during the war. Other historians like Drew Gilpin Faust, Giselle Roberts, and Victoria Ott have focused …

Design And Optimization Of Low-Loss, High-Gain Metamaterial-Based Log-Periodic Dipole Array Antenna For Full Ka-Band Coverage, Mohamed El Moniar, Ahmed Abd El Hady, Yasser Ismail, Nihal Areed

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

This work describes a microstrip log-periodic dipole array (MLPDA) antenna that uses metamaterials and operates across the whole Ka-band. The suggested MLPDA antenna layout provides a wide bandwidth with fewer dipole elements than traditional MLPDA antennas while maintaining the same resonance frequencies. To reduce size while covering a wide operational spectrum, the antenna design includes bending dipoles as radiating elements, as well as an incomplete ground plane. Furthermore, the proposed MLPDA antenna’s energy loss has been reduced while boosting its signal strength (gain) by inserting a metamaterial-based structure in front of it at a certain distance and on the same …

Cmsi Translations #18: Combine Wisdom And Join Efforts, Training In A Sea Of Mines, "Pioneers Of Breaking Obstacles", Li Muqiang, Yang Fulong, Qu Bin, Zhai Dengqian

CMSI Translations

The sky is high, the lake is vast, and ghosts are lurking.

One day in early winter, in the riverside city of Wuhan, a speedboat zooms across the Great Mulan Lake. Its stern engine propellers spin, stirring up white waves... A realistic comprehensive exercise is in full swing, employing mine countermeasures combat divers. A mine countermeasures diver from a minesweeper unit (dadui) of the Northern Theater Command Navy, headquartered several thousand miles away, arrived at the training camp at the Naval University of Engineering (NUE). The divers collaborated closely with the university's mine countermeasures teaching and research section …

Re-Envisioning Nuclear Deterrence, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

This article examines whether the U.S. nuclear umbrella provided to allies is currently viable and whether it is time for the United States to share nuclear weapons technology with its allies in the Asia-Pacific to counter the growing nuclear threat posed by China, North Korea, and Russia. The article discusses the current capabilities and nuclear doctrine of States possessing nuclear weapons, as well as Iran’s nascent nuclear weapons program. It then discusses the current international law and regulatory regime applicable to nuclear weapons. It analyzes the threats posed by China’s and Russia’s nuclear capabilities, and how they affect U.S. nuclear …

Why Legalism Failed, Aaron J. Walayat Esq.

Ohio Northern University International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Survey On Large Language Agent Technologies For Intelligent Game Theoretic Decision-Making, Xueqiang Gu, Junren Luo, Yanzhong Zhou, Wanpeng Zhang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: The development of artificial intelligence technology has greatly promoted the transformation of the solving paradigm of intelligent game decision problems. From optimal solution, equilibrium solution to adaptive variable solution, how to build an intelligent game adaptive decision agent based on generative large model is full of challenges. The force distribution and multi-entity coordination in the game strong confrontation environment are the core issues in the study of troop deployment and operational coordination. Based on the methods of strategy reinforcement learning, strategy game tree search and strategy preference voting based on skill, ranking and preference meta-game model construction, a large …

A Simulating Framework Construction Method About New Distributed Confrontation, Zhipeng Liu, Yanyang Gu, Baojie Hu, Fangjun He, Zhipeng Fan

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: The new distributed confrontation in future emphasizes systematic combat and flexible use of power in the resistance environment. To study and analyze the potential threats of such new forms of distributed confrontation, this paper proposes a system confrontation strategy focused on decisionmaking confrontation from the perspective of network and electromagnetic space. In addition, a highly flexible and saleable behavior model adversarial framework is proposed. By parameterizing the network and electrical countermeasure strategy, an adversarial model based on typical airspace scenarios is designed, and the confrontation effectiveness of traditional multifunctional platforms and distributed units is quantitatively compared and analyzed. The …

Non-Overlapping Magisteria Vs. Unity In Knowledge, Kenneth E. Caviness Phd

The Journal of Biblical Foundations of Faith and Learning

One philosophical option available to the scientist who believes in God is non-overlapping magisteria (NOMA): treating the domains of science and faith as separate, with science and logic used for the empirical realm (fact and theory) and religion for questions of morality and ultimate meaning. At first glance this seems better than an inconsistent or disjoint worldview, which may require accepting mutually inconsistent “truths” or believing one thing in church and another during the rest of the week. In this paper, arguments for and against NOMA are reviewed, and note made of the fractured and/or illogical thinking that it requires. …

Drama Therapy And The Collective Male Identity: An‬ Examination Of Masculinities,‬ Violence, And The Unique‬ Position Of Drama Therapists In‬ Violence Prevention, Austin Taylor Winchester

Expressive Therapies Theses

Traditional narratives of masculinity have been historically constructed and reinforced by systems of power, shaping a rigid framework that often emphasizes dominance, emotional suppression, and control. Literature on hegemonic masculinity and identity development reveals that masculinity is not a fixed truth but a social construct shaped by external expectations and internal negotiations. This critical review examines the fluidity of masculinity across historical, cultural, and psychological contexts. Drama therapy emerges as a promising intervention for reimagining masculinity in a more inclusive and adaptive way. Through techniques such as role exploration, embodiment, and storytelling, drama therapy provides a relational framework for men …

Moving With The Fluidity Of Water: An Ecosomatic Community Engagement Project To Address Burnout In Therapists, Auriane Vacher

Expressive Therapies Theses

Therapists frequently report experiencing burnout which is correlated with a decline in both physical and emotional health. Burnout affects the quality of care that therapists can provide, rendering self-care essential for ethical practice. Because the experience of burnout affects not only the cognitive experience but the somatic one as well, self-care to prevent and address burnout must address the body in addition to the mind. One avenue for this is through the use of dance/movement therapy (DMT). DMT is well positioned to address the symptoms of burnout as one of the fundamental tenets of DMT is that the mind and …

“How Can We Sing In A Strange Land?” The Pastoral Musician As A Master Griot/Griotte, Dollie Howell

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

The writer of Psalm 137 asks a question that poignantly resonates with the experiences of enslaved Africans who were taken captive, exiled from their homelands, and told to forget their languages, worship practices, and tribal traditions. Their dehumanization was intensified by expectations that “required a song and . . . mirth.” The question was “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” In response to this question of engaging in song as a community while in a strange land of deep and persistent systemic suffering, enslaved African-descended people founded a unique tradition within Christianity that responded to …

Dumy And The Nation: How Folklore And Folk Songs Help Compose A Distinct Ukrainian Narrative, Amy Herd

Senior Theses

Historiography and ethnography have played a critical role in the development of modern Slavic nationalisms, particularly in Ukraine. As these studies became increasingly popular in the nineteenth century, scholars and members of the bourgeoisie identified folk culture as the key component for the making of the modern nation. Viewed as an authentic window into national history and tradition due to their limited interaction with the modernizing world, rural folk offered the perfect opportunity to illustrate how Ukraine had always been distinct from Russia and its other historical oppressors. As folk culture fervor gripped the intellectual elite of Eastern Europe, however, …

Imperial Fabrication Of Ethnic Cleansing: Czarist Through Soviet Russian Practices And Policies Responsibility In The Ethnic Cleansing Of Georgians In Abkhazia., George Kane

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the direct correlation and connection between Goergia’s struggles against Russian imperialism and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia that resulted from the 1990s Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict. After examining the historical and cultural ties of the Abkhaz as one of the many Georgian nationalities, this thesis examines the concerted effort by Czarist and Soviet Russia to separate the two identities in order to further imperial ambitions in the Caucasus region. This targeted separation over decades, along with direct Russian military support during the conflict, would then result in an ethnic cleansing taking place perpetrated by the Abkhaz against …

“Stories That Are Silenced For Way Too Long” Silence On Sexual Violence During The Holocaust And The Importance Of Accurate Depiction Of It, Adele Blokh

Senior Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore and analyze the depiction of sexual violence during the Holocaust in scholarly research literature. Until recently, the topic of sexual violence during the Holocaust has been underrepresented or even silenced altogether. Although the Holocaust has been widely studied, due to the immense trauma and the stigmatization of sexual violence as a social taboo, sexual violence during the Holocaust has not been widely discussed, leaving a gap - sexual violence - in our collective memory of the Holocaust. This paper seeks to identify gaps in the representation of sexual violence in existing scholarship, …

“Gray Areas In The Land Of The Setting Sun”: Unresolved Legacies, Contested Identities, And Economic Stakes In The Western Sahara Stalemate, Driss Zaim-Sassi

Senior Theses

While colonialism across the globe has mostly been dismantled following World War II, nations across the globe continue to deal with unresolved colonial legacies and resource-driven conflicts. As a result, we continue to see regional instability affecting vulnerable regions. Understanding the stalemate in the Western Sahara conflict highlights the complex interplay between history, identity, and economic motives, emphasizing the critical need for nuanced approaches in conflict resolution and diplomacy. My research investigates the roles of key factors that sustain the diplomatic stalemate in the Western Sahara conflict through an in-depth analysis of Morocco’s territorial claims, the ideological differences around identity …

"To Hold For Themselves, Their Children, And Their Heirs": The Saga Of Mexicano Settlement In The Lower Estancia Valley, 1800-1925, Javier E. Sanchez

History ETDs

This dissertation focuses on the mexicano settlement experience in central New Mexico’s lower Estancia Valley, where local settlers co-opted the settlement strategies and traditions of three successive political regimes and experienced a net gain in land ownership over the course of the Long 19^th Century. It invokes four major themes: settlement, culture, economics, and parentela (kinship). Regarding settlement, it explores the mechanics of mexicano frontier settlement traditions and illuminates how deeply rooted concepts such as presura, an ancient method of settling embattled frontier zones through seizure, occupancy, and utilization by the settlers themselves, are reflected in settlement patterns …

Airpower Theory, Close Air Support, And A New Approach To The Forward Air Controller In The Vietnam War, Morgan Mccrackin

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Since the Vietnam War’s conclusion, scholars have stubbornly concentrated on campaigns like LINEBACKER I and II instead of diverse close air support missions. The consequent ignorance of close air support’s maturity and forward air controllers’ contributions during Vietnam obscures the Air Force’s greatest success in Southeast Asia. A new way of looking at airpower in Vietnam is required as few historians have addressed the relationship between evolving close air support practices and United States Air Force (USAF) doctrine. These omissions must be addressed if scholars are to offer counterarguments to the historiographical primacy of interdiction. Otherwise, those who formulate Air …

Sacred Seeds: The Transmission Of Knowledge Seen Through Aztec Religionand Agriculture, Ian S. Hohsfield

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The integration of religion and agriculture was a cornerstone of Aztec civilization, deeply influencing societal practices and knowledge systems. Scholars have long recognized the importance of religious rituals in ensuring agricultural success; however, the specific methods by which agricultural knowledge was transmitted within religious contexts—and how these methods may have contributed to knowledge gaps—remain underexplored. This thesis investigates the relationship between Aztec religious practices and the transmission of agricultural knowledge, focusing on how the methods of knowledge transmission influenced agricultural expertise and led to potential gaps. It does so by analyzing primary sources such as the Florentine Codex and the …