Digital Commons Network^™

Opening Space For Joy: Play As A Pathway In Dance/Movement Therapy With Adults In Addiction Recovery, Brittany M. Walsh

Expressive Therapies Theses

This literature review examines the cultivation of joy through play in dance/movement therapy (DMT) for adults in addiction treatment. Substance use disorders (SUDs) and addictive behaviors are complex, multifaceted conditions influenced by biological, psychological, social, and systemic factors; however, treatment approaches often prioritize symptom reduction and traditional talk-based models. Although necessary, these approaches often fail to honor the whole person, and can inadvertently reinforce shame, stigma, isolation, and dehumanization. Drawing on trauma-informed, neurobiological, relational, and decolonizing frameworks, this review positions joy as a fundamental aspect of human experience and an affirmation of dignity. Playful processes in DMT have the potential …

Arts-Based Violence Prevention For Youth: A Literature Review, Amber Lynn Isaac

Expressive Therapies Theses

This narrative literature review examines arts-based approaches to violence prevention and trauma-related support among school-aged children and adolescents in school and community settings. Violence is conceptualized as both interpersonal and structural, encompassing physical, emotional, relational, and systemic harms that arise through unequal access to safety, opportunity, and resources. The review then explores how these conditions increase vulnerability to trauma exposure, particularly among youth in marginalized and underserved communities, and considers the psychological impacts of violence on youth development. Centering the resilience of children and adolescents through relational strengths, adaptive coping strategies, and creative capacities, this review then examines the benefits …

Exploring Immigration-Related Trauma With Trauma-Informed, Culturally Relevant Creative Processes, Alexandra Gadway

Expressive Therapies Theses

The Latinx population is one of the fastest growing racial and ethnic groups in the United States, yet there is still a great need for culturally appropriate training tools and screenings to support folks experiencing immigration-related trauma. This study explores ways art therapy can foster connection and empowerment for a Latinx child impacted by immigration-related post-traumatic stress, if only the field considers expanding its culturally relevant and trauma-informed creative-based processes. Newer literature in trauma-informed expressive therapies suggests a bottom-up approach, wherein tapping into the kinesthetic and sensory levels of the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) allows us to process through movement, …

From Worry To Invention: Developing The Lunch Bunch As A Multimodal Expressive Arts Model For Regulation, Collaboration, And Peer Connection In Elementary Schools, Pascale Lauren Mimran-Ugbabe

Expressive Therapies Theses

This thesis documents the development of the Multimodal Expressive Arts Lunch Bunch, a small group intervention for elementary students delivered during the school lunch period at a public elementary school in Boston, Massachusetts. Grounded in multimodal expressive arts therapy, intermodal transfer theory, polyvagal-informed co-regulation, and principles of externalization, the intervention was designed as a low-barrier creative support group accessible regardless of diagnosis, referral status, or family pursuit of clinical services. Two cohorts of teacher-nominated students, one group of fourth-grade girls and one mixed-gender third-grade group, participated in a sequenced arc moving from worry externalization through collaborative invention, prototype construction, and …

Finding Direction: Using Trauma Stewardship And Drama Therapy To Support Nurses In Hospital Settings, Julianne Kusmierczyk

Expressive Therapies Theses

Compassion fatigue and burnout, post-COVID-19 pandemic, are still significant factors in the departure of nurses from the healthcare profession. Despite the identification of the causes of burnout and compassion fatigue in the workplace, and the identification of mental health practices that would support healthcare workers like nurses, healthcare organizations are doing little to provide the necessary resources. Drama therapy would provide a therapeutic framework to develop trauma stewardship, the practice in which individuals and organizations tend to the hardships and trauma faced in today’s world. Only a few studies exist that identify the benefits of using drama therapy to support …

Glp-1 Receptor Agonists: Their Role In Alzheimer’S & Other Memory Disorders, Grace Terhark

Physician Assistant

Research Question

What is the potential role of GLP-1 receptor agonists in Alzheimer’s and other memory disorders?

Significance

• Current drug treatments focus on targeting one pathologic feature of the disease (Aβ plaque accumulation), which has resulted in limited efficacy in clinical trials.13A treatment to manage Alzheimer’s and other memory disorders needs to focus not just on managing symptoms but slowing the progression of the disease.
• The goal of this project is to investigate the potential role of GLP-1 receptor agonists in Alzheimer’s and other memory disorders and to educate providers on beneficial treatment options to offer their patients.

Imagining Karbala: ʿAshura Symbolism In The Iranian Feminist Literary Imagination, 1969-1988, Brock E. Quant

Honors Projects

This paper explores the evolution of Battle of Karbala symbolism in the literary imagination of Iranian feminist writers from the late 1960s through the 1980s - or in other words, across a society-altering revolution and the establishment of an authoritarian theocratic regime in Iran. I begin my analysis by considering Simin Daneshvar’s Savushun, a cornerstone feminist novel which makes heavy use of Karbala symbolism to encapsulate both nationalist and feminist hopes of liberation in the pre-revolutionary period. I continue my analysis by considering a selected poem from each of a pairing of prominent Iranian writers: Simin Behbahani and Tahereh Saffarzadeh. …

Rhythms Of Hippocampal Function And Memory After Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure, Lilliana May Sanchez

Psychology ETDs

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders involve morphologic and neurobiological abnormalities in offspring subjected to prenatal alcohol exposure. Although not as well studied as high exposure, moderate prenatal alcohol exposure represents the most common and undetected form in humans. While learning and memory deficits have been well characterized at the behavioral level in humans with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and in animal models of moderate prenatal alcohol exposure, few studies have determined the circuit or systems level mechanisms of the behavioral deficits. A complete understanding of the neural bases of memory deficits after moderate prenatal alcohol exposure is needed to ultimately identify …

The Pastoral Implications Of John Calvin's Genevan Psalter For Church Music Ministry In Hong Kong, Sze Man Symantha Leung

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

The aim of this thesis is to interpret the pastoral meaning and function of Calvin’s Genevan Psalter and to illustrate how it can be applied to Hong Kong church music ministry today. Through the Genevan Psalter, Calvin advocates congregational and vernacular psalm‑singing in Reformed worship. He emphasizes piety, Scripture, congregational participation, and the shaping of daily spirituality beyond Sunday worship. The pastoral insights drawn from the use of the Genevan Psalter in Reformed worship offer five valuable implications for music ministry in Hong Kong today: Spirituality, Unity of the Church in Faith, Theological Education, Liturgical‑Musical Interrelationship, and Inclusiveness.

In addition …

"Oh That I Had A Dozen Voices": Accessible Music For Volunteer Church Choirs, Nicholas D. Klemetson

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted church music ministries across the United States. In an era during which church attendance and interest in organized religion are declining, churches were forced to shut their doors, which only deepened the worsening issues in the US and internationally. Most houses of worship in the United States are modest in size but contain a small but enthusiastic group of volunteers who find great fulfillment in sharing their musical gifts to express God’s love. Despite these churches being the majority, mainstream music publishers’ offerings cater overwhelmingly to larger music ministries with sufficient participation to present SATB …

When You Consider The Radiance: Sergii Bulgakov, Beauty, Personhood, Daniel Adam Lightsey

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation’s primary interlocutor is Sergii Bulgakov (1871-1944), the prominent Marxist economist later turned Idealist religious philosopher and finally Russian Orthodox priest and dogmatician who was forcibly exiled from his homeland in 1922 never to return. The thesis this manuscript pursues is that Bulgakov’s theology of beauty and metaphysics of personhood are inextricably enmeshed. Chapter 1 begins with beauty, specifically the problem or “tragedy of beauty,” a thematic to which Bulgakov consistently draws attention regarding the religious experience of postlapsarian persons. Chapter 2 assays Bulgakov’s chief rudiments of personhood as such, providing a kind of grammar for his metaphysical structuring …

Synecdoche: Archiving Violence In Schools, Jillian Whitney

Art Theses and Dissertations

K-12 Educators often find themselves thrust into a swamp of politics they never asked to enter. It is in this swamp that educators strive to meet students’ social, emotional, and educational needs. However, issues such as school shootings, racism, and gender inequality all make it difficult for schools to be what they should be: an equalizing, safe place where children can learn. These problems weaken the school system and harm public interest while leading to teacher burnout.

Synecdoche: Archiving Violence in Schools is a body of paintings and experimental artist books that responds to the everyday experiences of the educators …

What Is Mine, Yours And Ours: Bodily Metaphor And Neuropsychology, Alicia K.E Parham

Art Theses and Dissertations

Mapping the landscape of the brain has taken human lifetimes to navigate, both structurally to understand how our biological functions interact and functionally as our thoughts and emotions shape our existence. Neurological stimulus and response inform our reality, shape our thinking, and affect our bodies in profound physiological ways. Our nervous system acts as a bridge from what we experience physically to what we feel emotionally, through the sending of electrical signals to all parts of our body.

My art practice explores the interactions of neuroscience with outside stimuli. It is rooted in the personal: learning that a neurological condition …

Quiero Ver Dónde Dejé Mi Ombligo (I Want To See Where I Left My Belly Button), Karina Ramirez

Art Theses and Dissertations

My MFA thesis investigates the emotional and material bonds between the places I have visited and those I call home through painting. Family histories, cultural inheritances, and personal memories connect me to each location, transforming landscapes into repositories of lived experiences. Through careful observation and the gathering of materials influenced by local architecture, landscapes, and changing atmospheres, my work aims to understand how places are felt, remembered, and carried through time.

My work centers around places I have lived and visited, including Los Angeles, California, USA; Dallas, Texas, USA; and San Juan del Río Durango, Mexico. Throughout my life, I …

Exemplars Of Faith: The Biblical Legacy Of Women In Chaplaincy, April M. Knoke

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

Abstract This dissertation argues that women in Scripture are not marginal figures but foundational to both the theological understanding and practical expression of chaplaincy. By integrating biblical exegesis, historical theology, socio-cultural analysis, womanist interpretation, and pastoral theology, the study identifies a consistent divine pattern of inclusion and empowerment. This pattern affirms the essential role of women in providing spiritual care within contemporary institutional settings.

Chapter 2 examines four Old Testament figures, Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, and Abigail, highlighting their leadership within patriarchal contexts through prophetic, judicial, diplomatic, and intercessory roles. Chapter 3 turns to the New Testament and explores the ministries …

On Thursdays, We Wiggle, Beth Evers

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

Churches of all stripes, including Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant, and non-denominational churches, have early childhood learning centers (sometimes called daycares, preschools, or child development centers) as part of their ministry profiles. Many of these churches are missing an important opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ by not intentionally ministering with the children and adults of their early learning centers.

In September 2019, University United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, began a worship gathering specifically designed for the infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and adults of their Child Development Center. While the specifics of University UMC’s decision to begin Wiggle …

Incorporating Principles And Wisdom From Hospital Chaplaincy And Pastoral Ministry To Create A Ministry Model To Address Social Isolation And Loneliness In Black Churches, Albert A. Kemp

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

To address the growing and widespread epidemic of social isolation and loneliness, with special focus on Black churches, this dissertation developed a program with the following areas of application: 1) how healthcare trained chaplains can coordinate with churches to positively impact individuals identified as lonely and socially isolated with better social and physical health, 2) how principles of chaplaincy and pastoral care can mitigate and intervene competently when such people are identified, and 3) how the project’s model can be organized, taught, and incorporated into existing arenas of church ministry.

The purpose of the project was to create a ministry …

A Hospital Spiritual Care Volunteer Program: Embodying Vocation And Decreasing Social Isolation And Loneliness In Adults Sixty-Five And Older, Stacy L. Auld

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

Social isolation and loneliness have become familiar terms since the COVID-19 pandemic, but the problem did not start there. We have seen a steady rise in the number of people who face social isolation and loneliness over the past fifty years, and now research shows that this problem is impacting people’s health, especially in adults sixty-five and older. These social diagnoses are being addressed by public policy and in health care settings, but they should also be addressed by United Methodist clergy in their care for their parishioners. Therefore, I am writing this dissertation to my clergy colleagues to raise …

The Church As Provider Of Pastoral Care: Relational Presence, Narrative Listening, Preaching, And Advocacy In African American Missionary Baptist Churches In Southside Fort Worth, Texas, Michael R. Timberlake

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

Abstract

Michael R. Timberlake, Sr.

May 1, 2026

THE CHURCH AS PROVIDER OF PASTORAL CARE: RELATIONAL PRESENCE, NARRATIVE LISTENING, PREACHING, AND ADVOCACY IN AFRICAN AMERICAN MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCHES IN SOUTHSIDE FORT WORTH, TEXAS

The purpose of this research project is to restore and maintain the resiliency in the African American Missionary Baptist churches in the Southside of Fort Worth, Texas. The research identified a high level of importance for African American churches in Fort Worth to resemble the historic legacy of spiritual leadership, communal care, and social advocacy while ministering within contexts marked by racial and economic marginalization. Enabling practical …

Essays On Development Economics, Environmental Economics, And Political Economy, Weihong Li

Economics Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1 explores the strategic behavior of provincial leaders in China in response to visits by central government leaders. I find that such behavior is correlated with provincial leaders’ personal characteristics and their connections with the visitors. Meanwhile, acting strategically during these visits has a positive and significant effect on overall promotions, but a positive and insignificant effect on promotions to the most important positions in the Politburo.

Chapter 2 examines the impact of the Confucian norms on the spatial heterogeneity of fertility rates and sex-selective abortions in contemporary China. To overcome the challenge of quantifying cultural norms, I construct …

Predictive Natural Language Metrics Of Alzheimer's Disease And Cognitive Decline Trend Analysis, Zerui Ma

Computer Science and Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Inspired by Dr. David Snowden's Nun Study, which linked early-life Propositional Idea Density (PID) to later-life Alzheimer's disease, this thesis investigates two questions: whether fine-tuned Transformer-based large language models (LLM) can detect cognitive decline from patient speech transcripts with meaningful feature attribution, and whether longitudinal PID trends are observable across large-scale internet and academic text corpora. We evaluate dementia prediction on the DementiaBank Pitt Corpus and conduct an exploratory longitudinal PID analysis across seven diverse datasets spanning up to 29 years and over 12.6 million documents. This work suggests that linguistic ability metrics, traditional PID metrics and novel LLM-based analysis, …

Machine Learning And Formal Methods In Quantum Chemistry: Theory And Application, Ishna Satyarth

Computer Science and Engineering Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the progress in inter-disciplinary application of machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) have truly transformed various fields, from weather forecasting and drug development to medical diagnostics, energy, and sustainability. Computational chemistry uses computational tools to model, predict, analyze, and explain chemical phenomena, while the Quantum chemistry specifically uses techniques based on quantum mechanics (as opposed to classical mechanics or empirical models). Quantum chemistry or Computational chemistry has also observed a momentum in application of ML techniques over the past decade significantly accelerating results and providing valuable insights into vast datasets, often surpassing traditional methods.

This dissertation explores …

Torá: A Description Of A Dormant Chapacuran Language From Legacy Materials, Akasha Synclair

Linguistics ETDs

Torá, an Amazonian language of the Chapacuran family, went dormant as the Torá people survived colonization. Yet, in the early 1920’s, over 600 Torá words, phrases, and sentences were documented. Despite interest by today’s Torá community in language revitalization, no comprehensive analysis of the data has been undertaken. This project used methods of linguistic reconstitution, cross linguistic comparison, and the creation of an open-access database to produce a phonological and morphosyntactic analysis of Torá. Phonological findings of particular interest include evidence for vowel harmony and variable oralization of nasals. In structure, Torá is very similar to related languages, displaying a …

Three Essays In Applied Gender Economics, Ayus Mitra

Economics Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contributes to intersection of applied microeconomics and economics of gender. Each chapter attempts to examine how natural experiments as well as endogenous selection processes impact overall outcomes in gender violence, women empowerment as well as mobility and work decisions. It also highlights the role of gender-specific attitudes and norms in shaping outcomes. The first chapter investigates the relationship between the rise in popularity of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2013 and reported crimes against women in India. The analysis utilizes state-panel data from 2009–2016, employing difference-in-differences and event study estimation strategies. The findings indicate that reported incidents …

Bayesian Spatiotemporal Model For Counterfactual Estimation In Socioeconomic Studies, Duwani W. Gonzalez

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

Impact evaluations of regional development programs often require estimating counterfactual outcomes for a small number of treated regions using survey-based areal data. In practice, evaluators typically rely on two-group quasi-experimental methods such as propensity score matching (PSM) and Difference-in-Differences (DiD). These approaches perform poorly when only a few regions receive treatment, and when the set of observed covariates is limited or only partially relevant. Moreover, they typically do not explicitly exploit the spatial and temporal dependence present in survey-based areal data such as in ACS (American Community Survey). This dissertation develops a family of Bayesian spatial predictive models for directly …

Advanced Finite Element Modeling And Design Enhancement Of Slender Square Concrete-Filled Double-Skin Steel Tubular Columns, Mahmoud T. Nawar, Ayman El-Zohairy, Mohamed Emara, Raghda I. Halima

Faculty Publications

Limited research exists on the behavior of square CFDST slender columns, especially under the consideration of the relation global buckling and confinement effect. This study evaluates square concrete-filled double-skin steel tubular (CFDST) columns using nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) to simulate structural behavior under axial and eccentric loads until failure. Parametric analyses of extensive specimens of square CFDST pinended columns evaluate various parameters, providing design insights for engineering applications. The study was conducted over a wide range of slenderness ratios. Four concrete varieties with compressive strengths were tested: normal concrete (NC), engineered cementitious composites (ECCs), high-strength concrete (HSC), and ultra-high-strength …

Characterizing A Potential Cbp/P300 Histone Acetyltransferase Homolog In Tardigrade Germline Specification And Development, Brittney Michelle Hartshorn

Honors Projects

Germline specification is a fundamental process that ensures the proper development of germ cells. Germline specification occurs either through germ cell determinants maternally inherited through the mechanism of preformation or through induction, where cell interaction and epigenetic modifications direct specification. Determining how these mechanisms evolved and diverged remains an important question in developmental biology. Despite research on germline regulation in model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans or Drosophila melanogaster, such regulation remains poorly understood in many other animal groups. Tardigrades are an emerging model system for investigating developmental mechanisms due to their phylogenetic placement and experimentally tractable embryos. CBP/P300 is …

Women's, Gender, And Sexuality Studies At 25 And 50, Rebecca Fitzsimmons

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Session abstract:
The histories of our institutions, spaces, collections, and communities come to life through the stories we tell with exhibits. As a tried and true way to promote collections, facilitate collection development, and engage users, the best exhibits go far beyond strategic goals and informational value. Exhibits have the power to connect people. As technology changes and our audiences evolve, exhibit strategies and impacts evolve, too. This session explores four recent case studies of exhibits, both physical and digital, pop-up and longer term, that support a range of outreach, deep collaboration, and collection development opportunities. Projects from the Ohio …

Fueling Reactions: Three Empirical Essays On Behavioral Responses, Economic Shocks, And Energy Markets, Euclides Coelho De Medeiros Correia

Economics Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how shocks in energy and commodity markets propagate through local economies and reshape human behavior, spanning three empirical essays that connect energy markets to electoral behavior, commodity price dynamics, and criminal violence.

Where Is Home: Finding Belonging In God Through Expressive And Drama Therapy Processes Among Chinese Diaspora International Students, Minmin Pan

Expressive Therapies Theses

Being an international student for 12 years in the United States, this research engages with personal reflection and literature around international student identity formation situated in the current social and political context of increasing visa and employment uncertainty. International students’ ongoing movement across cultural spaces, limited representation of cross-cultural narratives and supportive spaces in academic settings, can contribute to fragmentation in experiences and identity that are shaped by dominant narratives and social positioning, thus further leading to disconnection from self and surroundings.

Relational spirituality literature suggests that one’s relational experience with God can deeply impact their interpretation of experiences, social …