Digital Commons Network^™

Desarrollo E Implementación De Una Estrategia Para Mejorar La Asistencia Y Participación En El Culto Joven De La “Iglesia Nueva”, En La Asociación Central Dominicana, Yoel Lizardo

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The youth service, or “youth society,” of the “Iglesia Nueva” within the Dominican Central Association has experienced low attendance and participation among young adults between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. A preliminary study identified several contributing factors to this situation. These include program content that fails to capture sufficient interest, worship experiences that lack perceived relevance, limited opportunities for young people to discover and exercise their spiritual gifts and talents, a shortage of mentors, and inadequate planning and follow-up in ministry efforts.

Methodology

Theological foundations regarding the principles of youth participation in the church were examined. Contemporary literature …

Implementación Y Evaluación De Un Seminario De Liderazgo Para Dirigentes De La Iglesia Adventista Jardín En Neiva, Colombia, Andrés Palomino

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

A preliminary study, consisting of exploratory dialogues conducted with the church elders, revealed that the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church of Jardín, Neiva, faced limitations in the development of their local leadership. Although the leaders received instruction regarding the specific functions of their departments, they lacked knowledge in broader aspects of leadership, such as biblical leadership and contemporary perspectives (nature, models, styles, and theories). This deficiency limited the effective leadership of the church departments.

Methodology

The present study was framed within the field of applied practical theology, as it intentionally sought to intervene in ministerial practice and evaluate …

Mission Refocus: A Strategic Realignment Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Worldwide Mission Effort In The Context Of The Three Mission Refocus Windows, Erton Kohler

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church emerged as a worldwide missionary movement committed to proclaiming the everlasting gospel to every nation, tribe, language, and people. Throughout much of its history, the Church demonstrated a strong commitment to cross-cultural mission and the establishment of an Adventist presence in territories with low or no access to the gospel message. However, as the Church expanded globally in membership, institutions, organizational structures, and administrative responsibilities, a gradual shift in mission priorities occurred. Increasing attention to institutional maintenance and regional demands often reduced emphasis on frontline mission territories and populations with no or low Adventist presence. …

Desarrollo E Implementación De Un Seminario Sobre La Oración Y El Ayuno Para El Reavivamiento Espiritual De La Iglesia Adventista Del Séptimo Día Hispana De Milwaukie, Oregon, Marlon Batz

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church of Milwaukie (IASDM) demonstrates the need for a spiritual revival among its members. An initial diagnosis, conducted with the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) by Lynn Underwood, shows reduced levels in core aspects of spiritual life. For example, in response to the item "During worship, or at other times when connecting with God, I feel joy which lifts me out of my daily concerns”, only 23.6% of participants indicate experiencing this sensation every day, and just 7.8% report feeling it several times a day. In the item "I find comfort in my religion or …

Teaching Digital Evangelism And Web Design As Redemptive Work For The Women Of The Northeastern Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Brenda Michele Rhyne

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem.

The COVID-19 pandemic eliminated thousands of jobs, including positions held by women within the Northeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Unemployment and underemployment may contribute to diminished self-esteem and adverse mental-health outcomes. The problem of unemployment and underemployment is not simply economic—it is theological.

For women in the Northeastern Conference, the lack of an ordered pathway to explore technology-related fields as a career option represents both an economic and a spiritual loss. A course combining technical and evangelistic training may promote members' involvement in evangelistic initiatives (i.e., TMI) while simultaneously providing technological skills. Also, women who do not regularly use …

Unshackling The Coffee Supply Chain: An “Ethics Project” For Catholic Colleges And Universities, Bernard Prusak, Kimberly Lamberty

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Against the background of a growing and increasingly sophisticated body of theological literature on economic ethics, this article proposes a project to change for the better, morally, how coffee is supplied on the campuses of Catholic colleges and universities. We argue that this project is squarely in service of a Catholic college or university’s core educational goal of humane development of its students. The article then proceeds in three steps. First, we explain how the coffee supply chain works and how it is entangled in what Pope Francis called “the economy that kills.” Second, we discuss obstacles to our proposed …

Shifting Tide: A Comparative Analysis Of News Coverage Of The Israeli–Palestinian Conflict, Devon Skufca, Gloria S. Vaquera

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Internationally, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine has been widely reported for years in mass media. Most recently, the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, again focused international attention on this region. Examining how this conflict has been reported starting October 2023 and for the subsequent eight months provides an opportunity to examine the framing of these events. This comparative study examines two newspapers of record, one from the United States (a known ally of Israel) and the other from Ireland, often seen as more sympathetic toward Palestinian statehood. A total of 179 articles from the New York …

Review Of Lockean Property Ethics And Restitution, Nathan Jun

2026 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Formation-Based Ai Ethics: Ethical Formation, Responsibility, And Opportunity Cost In Ai Ecosystems, Maurice Emelu

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Recent efforts in AI ethics have been dominated by the proliferation of high-level principles intended to guide responsible development and deployment. Yet persistent implementation failures suggest that principlism and tool-based approaches alone do not cultivate the moral capacity required to govern sociotechnical systems. This article advances a formation based framework for AI ethics that situates moral agency throughout the developmental conditions of design, use, and the AI lifecycle. Drawing on Aristotelian-MacIntyrean virtue ethics applied to media ecology, and sociotechnical responsibility, the argument reframes AI as a formative environment that shapes patterns of attention, judgment, delegation, and accountability over time. Against …

Grading In The Digital Age: Ai Feedback Versus Professor Feedback, Latoya Russell, Andrew Zeisler, Ronald Mickler Jr.

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Feedback is a cornerstone of academic development, particularly in marketing education, where skill development often requires iteration and applied practice. While instructors spend considerable time providing effective feedback, artificial intelligence (AI) tools can significantly reduce this burden by generating timely, tailored responses. For example, AI-based chatbots can supplement instruction, providing students with timely feedback and reducing instructors’ workload. This study examines how marketing students perceive feedback quality based on its source, specifically whether it is delivered by an AI system or a human instructor. Through a scenario-based experiment, we investigate student perceptions of feedback quality and effectiveness based on the …

Analytics And Irony In Organizational Change: Agency And Emotions In The Mangle Of Practice, Uri Gal, Sean Hansen, Kalle Lyytinen

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Advanced data analytics technology has experienced an explosion of interest as firms seek to increase profits, operational efficiency, and employee engagement through evidence-based management. However, empirical evidence of the impact of this technology on organizational outcomes remains mixed, which assertions of benefits closely matched by concerns about potential adverse outcomes. In this study, we explore the adoption of a popular application of analytics technology – a people analytics system – at Everest, a leadership development consulting firm. By juxtaposing idealized and realized facets of the organizational practices mediated by the system, we highlight the emergence of situational ironies, in which …

Dietary Intake And Predictors Of Healthy Eating In Midwestern American College Students: An Observational Study †, Anna Peluso Simonson, Jacquelyn N. Zera, Gregory S. Farnell

2026 Faculty Bibliography

College students often maintain poor dietary habits, notably low fruit and vegetable intake. Commonbarriers include limited time, cost, and lack of nutritional knowledge. This study examined dietary behaviors, barriers, and factors influencing Healthy Eating Scores (HES) amongcollege students. Participants (N = 224; age = 20.3 ± 2.5 years, BMI = 23.9 ± 4.1 kg/m2, 78.9% female, and 91.3% white) completed an online survey. Results indicate meat overconsumption with underconsumption of water, fruits, and vegetables. Limited time and healthy options were the primary perceived barriers. Tests of between-subject effects identified gender (F = 4.38, p = 0.04) and living situation (F …

The Effect Of Sleep Environment On Sleep Quality And Behavior In Firefighters: A Cross-Sectional Study, Jacquelyn N. Zera, Erica Esper, Anna Peluso Simonson, Ashley N. Clausen, Serena Paterno

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Firefighters face high-stress occupational demands and irregular shift work that negatively impact sleep quality, which is intrinsically linked to long-term physical and psychological health. This cross-sectional study examines how the physical sleep environment (home vs. work) and station sleeping arrangements (bunk-style vs. individual dorm-style quarters) influence subjective sleep quality in this population. Sixty-six career firefighters (Age = 40.89 ± 11.05 years), completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess their sleep in both home and fire station environments, with data analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed Ranks and Mann–Whitney U tests. The results reveal significant differences (p < 0.001), with sleep duration, efficiency, subjective quality, and global PSQI scores all performing significantly better at home than at work. Notably, no significant differences were found between bunk-style and dorm-style sleeping quarters at the station. These findings suggest that firefighters experience poorer sleep while on duty regardless of room design, indicating that operational stressors like call volume and nocturnal arousal may be more influential on sleep quality than the physical arrangement of sleeping quarters, and could inform organizational policies and wellness programs aimed at reducing occupational fatigue.

A Field Test Of The Role Of Biofluorescence In Territorial Salamanders, Kasey Watterson, Cari-Ann M. Hickerson, Carl Anthony

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Biofluorescence is recognized as an important form of visual communication, yet its function remains largely untested in many terrestrial species. In Eastern Red-Backed Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus), fluorescence of the postcloacal gland is a sexually dimorphic trait most strongly expressed in males. Because fluorescence can be displayed during territorial contests, we hypothesized that fluorescence in male P. cinereus would be positively related to resource holding potential (RHP) of territorial residents in the field. To test this hypothesis, we examined the relationship between fluorescence and two separate variables: body condition (as a proxy for RHP) and territory quality (the expected payoff from …

Growing A Partnership: Developing Inclusive Educator Preparation Programs, Leigh Ann Prugh, Sara Kersten-Parrish, Deborah Kuchey, Lisa M. Shoaf, Kathleen G. Winterman

2026 Faculty Bibliography

This paper describes a collaborative initiative between Xavier University and John Carroll University to develop an innovative dual licensure program in Primary Education and Special Education. Critical teacher shortages now impacts Ohio, this cross-institutional partnership leverages each university’s strengths: Xavier’s expertise in Special Education and John Carroll’s foundation in Primary Education. The partnership is rooted in the principles of Ignatian spirituality, promoting social justice by responding to the pressing need for inclusive, equity-focused teacher preparation programs. Through coordinated curriculum redesign, joint field placements, and administrative alignment, the institutions developed a sustainable model for inclusive educator preparation. A structured advisory board, …

The Red Hands Of Ulster, Philip Metres

2026 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Translating Writing Studies Into Institutional Practice: Embedding Rhetorical Pedagogy In A Jesuit Core Curriculum, Tom Pace

2026 Faculty Bibliography

This article provides an account of how John Carroll University redesigned the role of writing in its core curriculum to embed rhetorical pedagogy across all four years of a student’s academic career. Rather than viewing general education changes as a bureaucratic hurdle, this study demonstrates how writing program administrators can align an institution’s local identity, in this case the Jesuit traditions of purposeful communication (eloquentia perfecta) and holistic care (cura personalis), with contemporary writing stud- ies research to inspire cross-disciplinary faculty ownership. Moving beyond a basic description of requirements, I present a narrative of rhetorical advo- cacy that operates across …

Interfaith Transposed: Interfaithlessness In The Age Of Religious Exit, Kristen Tobey

2026 Faculty Bibliography

This article examines so-called interfaithless initiatives in the United States, in which exes from different high-demand religious groups participate together as they navigate the difficult process of religious exit. Sustained attention is focused on an Interfaithless Beach Party held regularly between 2014 and 2022. I argue that associating interfaithlessness with interfaith becomes legible by thinking of interfaithlessness not as peripheral to but rather as a transposition of interfaith. Indeed, these are examples of interfaith encounter at its best, showing not just proximity between exes from different religions, but meaningful interreligious exchange that complicates assumptions about the growing nonreligious population in …

The Hierarchy Of Humanization: A Theory Of Victim Visibility In News Narratives, Maurice Emelu, Chika Nwugo, Regina Tuma, Sean Sims, Mariah Moulds, Elijah Williams, Felipe Covarrubias

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Journalism frames events and distributes human recognition in public discourse, yet little is known about how narrative attention is allocated among individuals within the same event. This study introduces Victim Visibility Theory (VVT), conceptualizing news stories as systems of narrative allocation in which victims receive unequal levels of humanization. Drawing on a content analysis of 433 articles from four U.S. elite newspapers covering 52 victims across four mass shootings, it examines how identity cues, symbolic capital, and structural narrative prominence shape representation. The findings show that humanization is allocated at two levels: first between events, where whole tragedies are humanized …

Exploratory Data Analysis On Stress In America: The Impact Of Health, Age, And Employment, Liv E. Bookhammer, Olivia Turkal, Rebecca Fang

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Over the past few decades, stress levels in America have increased significantly. This study explores the relationship between stress and key demographic and health-related variables using the 2018 Stress in America survey data. The research aims to examine how age, employment status, physical health, mental health, and mental health treatment influence average stress levels in the U.S. Previous studies have highlighted that younger adults, particularly those aged 18-34, experience higher levels of stress, while individuals with employment tend to report greater stress than those without. Furthermore, stress is known to be linked to physical and mental health, with severe stress …

Ben-Porath Dd, Mekhel V, Mekhel R, Ghanem M, Akouri C, Yost Jh. A Cross-Temporal Comparison Of Depression Stigma Among College Students: Gen X Versus Gen Z. J Am Coll Health. 2026, Denise Ben-Porath, Veronica Mekhel, Rebecca Mekhel, Mohammed Ghanem, Celine Akouri, John H. Yost

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether undergraduate students today (i.e., Gen Z; born: 1997–2012), exhibited the same level of mental health related stigma when compared with college students, studied approximately two decades ago (i.e., Gen X [born 1965–1980]).

Participants: 379 undergraduate students from a private midwestern university participated in the experiment.

Method: Participants were randomly assigned to read one of four vignettes about a fictitious student, “Tom” who either (a) was depressed and sought treatment, (b) was depressed and did not seek treatment, (c) suffered a back injury and sought treatment, or (d) suffered a back …

Comprehensive Psychometric Evaluation Of The Child/Adult And Family Quality Of Life Scale : Third Edition, Thomas Frazier, Nissa Van Etten, Richard M. Kubina Jr, Ben Knaebel, Allison Frazier, Yagnesh Vadgama, Lacey Chetcuti, Mirko Uljarevic

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Purpose Quality of life (QoL) has become a key concept for understanding the impact of neurodevelopmental conditions and for monitoring intervention progress. Existing QoL measures often focus on health-related QoL in neurotypical populations or were developed specifically for autism. The CFQL was designed to bridge this gap. The present study describes evaluation of the second revision of the CFQL - the CFQL-3/AFQL-3.

Methods Psychometric evaluation was conducted in two samples: a large validation sample and a clinical intervention sample.

Results Results indicated a clear factor structure, measurement invariance across demographic and clinical factors, good scale and conditional reliability, adequate or …

Fundamentals Of Speech, Steelman Library, David Yates

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Role Of Mrna Structure In Translation Control Of Human Cancer-Related Mrnas, Arnab Sengupta

Academic Affairs

Cells normally shut down protein synthesis under stress. Cancer cells do not. Most mRNAs are translated only after the cell recognizes a cap at one end, but cancer mRNAs can be translated without it. How they do this is unclear. We tested the idea that these mRNAs fold into RNA structures that recruit the ribosome directly. This project examined RPA2, a cancer mRNA switched on by DNA damage.

Relationship Of Gait Asymmetry And Lower Back Pain In Unilateral Prosthetic Patients, Austin Parks

Academic Affairs

Prosthetic devices are designed to mimic function of healthy limbs; however, investigations have demonstrated significant gait asymmetries in unilateral prosthetic patients. It is unclear to what extent these asymmetries could lead to other conditions such as chronic low back pain (CLBP). The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of gait asymmetries and CLBP in unilateral prosthetic patients. 10 subjects with a lower body prosthetic and 10 healthy controls will be recruited for this study. The subjects’ gait kinetics and kinematics will be analyzed over 4 walking trials. The patients will be asked to complete a questionnaire to …

Effectiveness Of Talcum Powder In Reducing Swelling Potential And Enhancing Strength Of Expansive Soil, Hesham E. Eleraky, Ashraf K. Nazir, Wasiem R. Azzam, Mohamed A. Sakr

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Expansive soils are clayey soils that undergo large volume changes as a result of moisture content variations. These soils have the potential to make foundations and other structures unstable and require costly repairs. This study examined the impact of adding talcum powder as a new stabilizing component to the matrix of an expansive soil in order to enhance the swelling pressure, Atterberg limits, modified Proctor, unconfined compressive strength at different periods of curing, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were all used in a series of laboratory tests to examine how adding talcum powder to expansive soil affected the soil's …

Principles Of Geographic Information Science (Gep 205 And Gep 505), Fall 2026 Syllabus, Shokran Rahiminezhad

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus is for Principles of Geographic Information Science (GEP 205 and GEP 505) at Lehman College. The course introduces geographic information science, spatial data management, cartography, coordinate systems and projections, tabular and spatial queries, vector and raster analysis, geoprocessing, and introductory geospatial programming using ArcGIS Pro. Students complete laboratory activities and a semester-long project addressing a real-world geographic problem. The syllabus includes differentiated expectations for undergraduate and graduate students and incorporates open and freely available instructional materials.

The Global Onboard Training Programme (Gobt) : A Comprehensive Review, World Maritime University

Reports

A stable supply of qualified seafarers is a critical component of the global maritime logistics industry, which relies heavily on maritime transportation. According to the 2021 BIMCO Manpower Report, an additional 89,510 officers will be needed by 2026. In 2021 alone, there was already a deficit of 26,240 STCW-certified officers, clearly indicating that demand continues to outpace supply. The report also noted a 45.8% increase in the number of female seafarers since 2015, although they still represent only a small share of the overall workforce. Maritime Education and Training (MET) institutions around the world continue to provide training to develop …

Spanish Flu Hits New York City In 1918, Eric C. Cimino Ph.D.

History and Political Science: Faculty Publications

A look at how the city and one of its hospitals, Willard Parker Hospital for contagious diseases, responded to the pandemic.

From Classroom To Career: Use Of Digital Collaboration Tools To Bridge Theory & Practice, Della Clark, Kristina Kaufman, Sphurti Sewak, Peter Kaufman, Rick Valentin, Hulda Black

Faculty Publications – Marketing

Teamwork and project management skills, from in-person to remote interactions, remain central to marketing graduates’ career readiness, yet students often complete team projects with limited guidance on how to organize work, especially in hybrid and technology‑mediated environments. This study explores a pilot of integrating Miro, a widely used digital collaboration whiteboard, into classroom student projects. A pre- and post-survey design was implemented across two undergraduate marketing courses at a large Midwestern U.S. university to explore if Miro can improve students’ team‑project experience and perceived preparedness for working with emerging technologies. Students completed a questionnaire at the beginning of the semester …