Digital Commons Network^™

Death Alley, Romari Jennings

The Prairie Light Review

No abstract provided.

The Miseducation... Of Me, Ciara Houzell

The Prairie Light Review

No abstract provided.

Night Walk, Tania Blanco

The Prairie Light Review

No abstract provided.

Totem Ring, Matt Hanson

The Prairie Light Review

No abstract provided.

Examining Social And Academic Integration Of International Students From Saudi Arabia And Mexico Attending Universities In The United States, Faisal Alqadiri

Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the problems and challenges of social and academic integration in U.S. higher education institutions for Saudi Arabian and Mexican undergraduate international students. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive, and causal-comparative study was to examine the relationship among (a) demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, education, marital status, nationality, and previous academic performance), (b) academic integration, (c) social integration, and (d) intent to drop out among Saudi and Mexican students studying at U.S. colleges and universities. In addition, the study compared whether Saudi and Mexican female students were less integrated academically and socially than their male counterparts. Previous …

Exploration Of Teachers’ Opinions Regarding The Instructional And Extracurricular Activities To Develop Transformational Leadership Qualities In Middle And Secondary School Students In Saudi Arabia, Mona Alkathiri

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. The purpose of the current study was to examine the opinions of KSA teachers regarding the appropriate instructional, extra-curricular, and understanding activities that pertain to the development of leadership, social skills, and personal traits of KSA secondary school students.

Research Methods. This study employed a qualitative, case study research design as an exploratory method of analyzing how transformational leadership principles could be the central organizing principle reorganizing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) public school system by 2030. A purposive sample of 18 active secondary school participants were recruited from a population of teachers in middle and secondary …

Esg Performance And Firm Risk In The U.S. Financial Firms, Jooh Lee, Rachel Koh

Rohrer College of Business Departmental Research

This study examines the association between the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and firm risk in U.S. financial firms. We find a significant negative association between the composite ESG performance and total, idiosyncratic, and systematic risks after controlling for firm and year fixed effects and other risk predictors. We also examine the effect of each pillar of ESG on this relationship and find that “S” and “G” exhibit a significant negative relationship with both systematic and idiosyncratic risks of firms, while “E” is only associated with systematic risk. Lastly, we demonstrate that ESG performance is negatively associated with the …

Cultures Represented In Everyday Life: Japanese And American Values And Culture, Andrea Korbel

University Honors College

Culture is an important factor in a country because of how it displays the values of the people within it. Japan is a homogenous society that has been around since 600 B.C., the culture created since early in age. While only having been officially founded in 1776, America has also grown to have a culture of its own, heavily due to it being a vast melting pot of a country. Both countries hold aspects of culture and their values within society that are similar and different. This paper examines parts of everyday life that the culture and values of the …

Women In Weights: Contraindications Of Cycle Syncing In Osteosarcopenia, Erin Underwood

University Honors College

The purpose of this scientific research was to examine the holistic health practice of women’s cycle syncing utilizing an in-depth analysis scope of non-pharmacological practices to prevent osteosarcopenia. Osteosarcopenia is the duplicate diagnosis of osteoporosis, low bone mineral density, and sarcopenia, low muscle mass, co-existing together. Cycle syncing is a media-popularized women’ reproductive health practice promoting to balance and regulate hormonal cycles holistically. This practice causes concern for fitness professionals because each menstrual cycle phase is treated differently regarding exercise and nutrition intake, which directly impacts energy levels, hormonal peaks, and overall bodily function in women. The focus of this …

Mental Health And Traumatic Occupational Exposure In Wildland Fire Dispatchers, Robin M. Verble, Rachel Granberg, Seth Pearson, Charlene Rogers, Roman Watson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Wildland Fire Dispatchers Play a Key Role in Wildland Fire Management and Response Organization; However, to Date, Wildland Fire Studies Have Largely Focused on the Physical Hazards And, to a Lesser Extent, Mental Health Hazards of Wildland Firefighting Operational Personnel, and Dispatcher Studies Have Primarily Focused on 911 and Police Dispatchers. Studies of Other Dispatchers Have Provided Some Limited Insight into Potential Strains Impacting This Workforce, Including Work-Related Fatigue, Burnout, and Traumatic Exposure. However, the Specific Job Hazards that Are Faced by Wildland Fire Dispatchers Are Poorly Understood. in 2023, We Conducted a Cross-Sectional Survey of 510 Wildland Fire Dispatchers …

Queering Storytelling: Challenging Normative Storytelling Methodology And Building A Queer Approach To Documentary Filmmaking, Ruben Schneiderman

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Honors Projects

As representations of queer people on screen grow, so too has the violence for queer folks at the margins. This project looks at four documentaries that cover key moments in LGBTQ history to see how filmmaking methodologies and choices can further the harms of institutional violence. Key themes include homonormative and assimilationist representations in film, the formation of a reductive cultural memory of queer politics, and the obscuring of the global crises of AIDS. Through an analysis of these films, I argue for the formation of queer documentary methodologies that are grounded in the ideas put forward by queer theorists …

Theater As An Experiential Destination: Exploration Of Themed Entertainment Design Techniques For Theatrical Productions, Yunzhu Chen

Theatre and Dance Honors Projects

The paper investigates the integration of methods used in theme parks into theater productions to create experiences that foster returning patrons. Through examining their existing presence and other possible applications in theatrical performances, the research demonstrates how themed pre- and post-show environments, dynamic audience mobility, and techniques such as detailing and focusing can enhance narrative immersion in ways that traditional theater may not, potentially increasing reoccurring attendance. Additionally, the creative component of the project illustrates the implementation of these methods in staging the classic short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman as an immersive theatrical production.

Effectiveness Of Marine Species At Risk Conservation Within The Unep Regional Seas Programme: Taking Stock And Charting Future Courses, Olga Koubrak

PhD Dissertations

The impending biodiversity crises demands urgent, effective action. The transboundary nature of many marine species at risk makes international law a necessary tool in this endeavour. The United Nations Environment Programme and its Regional Seas Programme consists of 18 individual progammes spanning the globe and bringing together 143 countries in regional collaborations. This research project evaluates potential effectiveness of four programmes within the Regional Seas Programme relative to each other on twelve elements looking at legal and institutional structure, as well as regional implementation. The four case studies cover the North-East Atlantic, Mediterranean, East Africa, and Caribbean regions. These programmes …

From Generative Ai To Generative Internet Of Things: Fundamentals, Framework, And Outlooks, Jinbo Wen, Jiangtian Nie, Jiawen Kang, Dusit Niyato, Hongyang Du, Yang Zhang, Mohsen Guizani

Machine Learning Faculty Publications

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) possesses the capabilities of generating realistic data and facilitating advanced decision-making. By integrating GAI into modern Internet of Things (IoT), Generative Internet of Things (GIoT) is emerging and holds immense potential to revolutionize various aspects of society, enabling more efficient and intelligent IoT applications, such as smart surveillance and voice assistants. In this article, we present the concept of GIoT and conduct an exploration of its potential prospects. Specifically, we first overview four GAI techniques and investigate promising GIoT applications. Then, we elaborate on the main challenges in enabling GIoT and propose a general GAI-based secure …

Latency-Aware Placement Of Vehicular Metaverses Using Virtual Network Functions, Fatima A. Alkhoori, Latif U. Khan, Mohsen Guizani, Martin Takac

Machine Learning Faculty Publications

Recent unprecedented trend towards novel vehicular network applications (e.g., lane change assistance, collision avoidance, accident reporting, and infotainment) led to research activities towards the novel design of vehicular networks. Such a novel design can leverage metaverse architecture among various possible schemes. However, enabling the metaverse for a vehicular network requires careful placement of meta spaces (i.e., virtual network functions based on virtual machines running a virtual model of the actual network) at the network edge. Furthermore, virtual network functions will use additional entities (e.g., memory storage) to better implement meta spaces. Therefore, in this work, we consider the efficient placement …

An Energy-Efficient Wireless Blockchain Sharding Scheme For Pbft Consensus, Haoxiang Luo, Gang Sun, Hongfang Yu, Bo Lei, Mohsen Guizani

Machine Learning Faculty Publications

Blockchain technology has gained considerable attention in wireless network scenarios due to its security features. However, the complex workflow of blockchain consensus negotiation often results in high energy consumption. This may cause nodes to run out of energy quickly and go offline, especially in wireless networks with limited node battery capacity. To improve this issue, we propose a sharding scheme named Green Sharding (GS), which minimizes the energy consumption for Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) consensus. The GS assigns nodes in a wireless blockchain network to specific shards based on their geographical location, thereby avoiding their participation in a global …

Is2n: Intent-Driven Security Software-Defined Network With Blockchain, Yanbo Song, Tao Feng, Chungang Yang, Xinru Mi, Shanqing Jiang, Mohsen Guizani

Machine Learning Faculty Publications

Software-defined network (SDN) is characterized by its programmability, flexibility, and the separation of control and data planes. However, SDN still have many challenges, particularly concerning the security of network information synchronization and network element registration. Blockchain and intent-driven networks are recent technologies to establish secure and intelligent SDN. This article investigates the blockchain-based architecture and intent-driven mechanisms to implement intent-driven security software-defined networks (IS2N). Specifically, we propose a novel four-layer architecture of the IS2N with security capabilities. We integrate an intent-driven security management mechanism in the IS2N to achieve automate network security management. Finally, we develop an IS2N platform with …

A Delphi Study Of The Characteristics Of School Counselor Leaders Who Have Overcome Adversity, Anita Shirley

Dissertations

Purpose: This Delphi study aimed to identify essential qualities school counselor leaders need to navigate role confusion, drawing from Maxwell’s (2021) Leading in Tough Times strategies. The Delphi panel identified the following strategies: connecting their roles to the organization’s vision or big picture, promoting their roles through organizational teamwork, and making good choices or strategic organizational decisions which would assist them in meeting and exceeding their professional school counseling standards.

Methodology: A mixed methods Delphi multivariable research design was utilized to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. This approach aimed to gather consensus from 20 current or former school counselors …

Hr Newsletter: A Newsletter From The Office Of Human Resources At Minnesota State University Moohread, Minnesota State University Moorhead

HR Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Conflicting Ethe In _Anna Karenina_: A Reexamination Of Tolstoy’S Complex Female Protagonist, Hannah Diles

Honors Theses

Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina depicts the world as an endless array of choices and experiences to which one assigns meaning to. His characters, like real people, must navigate their world of complex ethical systems using their own moral ethos. Readers and critics alike critique Anna as a heroine for living out her moral ethos, pitting it against the social and feminist ethos of late 19th century upper class Russian society. Anna’s story is either interpreted as a cautionary tale or Anna is portrayed as a feminist heroine who tragically died for love. Throughout this paper, I argue that Anna is …

Emotional Experiences Of Black U.S. Computer Science And Engineering Students Amid Faculty-Student Interactions, Kyle Shanachilubwa

Honors Theses

Black students encounter unique challenges in computer science and engineering education. Chief among these is a disconnect with faculty due to a lack of mentorship and difficulties in interactions with faculty. Despite these challenges, Black students bring many engineering and computer science assets. This study aims to understand the emotional experiences of Black students in computer science and engineering education. We present an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to answer the questions: (1) How do Black students experience faculty-student interactions in computer science and engineering education? (2) How do Black students experience professional shame in these interactions? To answer these research …

Little Cricket On The Hearth: The Quiet Feminism Of _Little Women_, Caroline Anderson Klein

Honors Theses

Since the advent of the cult of domesticity, the stakes for female characters in domestic literature have been notoriously high. There was no room for flaws, rebellious decisions, and certainly no room for mistakes—whether of the woman’s own accord, or simply as collateral damage of a male character’s immorality. In this shallowly Calvinist domain, women were never more than one broken guardrail away from social ruin or death. In writing Little Women, Louisa May Alcott breaks these molds through unflinching kindness to her female characters from childhood to adulthood, even unto death. Alcott achieves this quietly feminist feat by …

Effectiveness Of Student-Corrected Pretests To Increase Spelling Test Scores Of Students With Adhd And Low Working Memory, Melissa J. Johnson

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research study investigated the efficacy of student corrected pretests as a part of spelling instruction especially as it affects learners with ADHD or low working memory in a 3rd and 4th grade classroom. After pre-tests were implemented in the classroom, spelling tests scores were compared to previous test scores when pre-tests were not implemented. Findings showed that spelling pre-tests had a moderately significant effect on final test scores.

The Benefits Of Using Open-Note Assessments, Logan Schaefers

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research study investigated the impact of open-note assessments on student learning as measured by the student’s overall score on unit assessments inside of a 9th grade Algebra 1 classroom. This study included 332 freshmen: an experimental group (open-note assessments) of 72 students and a control group of 260 students. Findings of this study did not show a statistically significant increase in the scores of students using open-note assessments. However, when looking at the different quartiles of test scores, the overwhelming evidence by the researcher revealed the benefits that open-note assessments had on student’s academic performance resulting in better …

Implementing A Multi-Tiered System Of Supports, Hayley Vander Wal

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research project examined the implementation of a multi-tiered system of supports in a math classroom at a private, Christian suburban school in central Iowa. The researcher utilized the four essential indicators of MTSS to support a small group of four students who were the participants in her study. The intervention targeted the seventh grade math skills of simplifying expressions and solving equations using various methods. Analysis of the triangulated data showed growth in each of the students at varied amounts. Findings of the study suggest that students need consistent, protected Tier 2 intervention to make the most significant …

Mysticism As Spiritual Consciousness Of God’S Presence In Bernard Mcginn’S History Of Western Christian Mysticism, Michael Nguyen Phuoc Bao Dai Loi

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

This thesis explores the concept of mysticism as a spiritual consciousness of God's presence, drawing on Bernard McGinn's multi-volume work, The Presence of God. Chapter One delves into McGinn's definition of mysticism, emphasizing "consciousness" over "experience" to capture the immediacy and ongoing nature of this awareness. It explores the themes of God's absent presence, mysticism as a process, and its role within religion and broader contexts. Chapter Two examines the roots of Christian mysticism in Jewish traditions, Greek philosophy, the life of Jesus, and early church practices. It then investigates the role of scripture, particularly through Origen's approach, and the …

Looking For Hope In America: Catholic Voices Pilgrimaging Across The Secular Void, Brendan G. Coffey

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

Secular forces have thoroughly altered the conditions for belief. This thesis explores how three American Catholic novels astutely and soberly reflect how these secularizing forces shape us while offering a hopeful response grounded in Christian wisdom. Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, Walker Percy’s Love in the Ruins, and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, each depicting desperate souls seeking hope on the roads of a pilgrimage, move from loss to discovery, from sin to redemption, from the dying gray ash-heap to life guided by the light of new fires. When read together, their voices share strikingly similar concerns even as they offer …

Enabling More Efficient Solar Thermal Energy Production And Storage, Allan Wilson

Poster Presentations

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) stores & transfers energy using a Thermal Energy Storage Fluid (EIA AEO 2022)

The Lead, End-Of-Spring 2024, Lindenwood University

The Lead

The Lead is an electronic newsletter produced by the Lindenwood College of Education & Human Services.

An Exploratory Study Investigating The Potential Application Of Coping Strategies For Pain Used By Athletes And Their Potential Application To Patients Dealing With Chronic Pain, Joseph D. Harrington, Bs, Erika L. Manning, Phd, Md, Mph, Robert J. Diecidue, Dmd, Md, Mba, Msph

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Posters

Abstract

• High-level athletes often have elevated tolerance for experimental pain methods.¹
• Research has not focused on the specific mechanisms behind this.
• The current study was designed to assess the potential role of coping strategies in this elevated pain tolerance - Phase 2 will examine if they can be taught to chronic orofacial pain patients.
• During Phase 1, the Coping Strategies Questionnaire² was modified for athletes and was distributed to 50 athletes to assess how athletes dealt with pain.
• In comparison to TMD patients, more of the athletes reported that they chose to ignore or reinterpret the pain, or …