Digital Commons Network^™

Development And Validation Of The Contemporary Sexual Violence Scale, Corey Frederick Doremus

Theses and Dissertations

College students face an increased risk of sexual violence victimization and perpetration compared to the general population. Although sexual violence experiences within this population have received substantial attention by researchers, studies typically focus on male perpetrators and female victims. Although a number of measures have been developed to assess male sexual violence perpetration, comparatively few have been developed to measure other types of SV such as female perpetration. The current project aimed to develop an empirically supported measure of sexual violence perpetration which assesses the frequency and severity of engagement in discrete sexual violence behaviors and tactics among individuals of …

Case Study: Reading Multicultural Literature To An Emergent Reader In The Home, Kiyna Twisdale

Theses and Dissertations

This case study was conducted to find what happens when a parent reads multicultural books to their young child at home. The qualitative data collected was used to determine the child’s reactions to the similarities and differences between them and the characters, as well as how multicultural books can be used to address sensitive topics and complex themes in the home. A caregiver, the researcher, collected data from read aloud sessions with her five-year old daughter. After reading seven multicultural books together, the research found that the child was able to make simple and concrete connections with the physical appearance …

Ambivalence, Sexism, And Sexual Decision-Making Among Heterosexual College Students, Alexandra Nicoletti

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual ambivalence is defined as having both favorable and unfavorable thoughts toward sexual activity in any given sexual situation (Muehlenhard & Rodgers, 1998). Most sexually active people will experience feelings of ambivalence at some point in their lives and ultimately decide to engage in sexual activity (Muehlenhard & Peterson, 2005; Peterson & Muehlenhard, 2007). Based on previous research and guided by sexual script theory Simon & Gagnon, 1986), we hypothesized that gender, hostile, and benevolent sexism would moderate the association of prior experience with a partner/activity and engaging in sexual activity despite ambivalence. A total of 457 heterosexual college students …

Understanding The Association Between Well-Being And College Continuation: A Mixed Methods Case Study, Ariella S. Panek

Theses and Dissertations

Well-being is a catchphrase that is pervasive in higher education. Many institutions claim to be investigating well-being so that students are supported in more comprehensive ways. Few studies, however, examine well-being via a multidimensional perspective that views the student as multifaceted with complex well-being relationships, nor within the community college setting where there are diverse students with increased challenges and fewer resources. This mixed methods case study examined how the concept of well-being is associated with college continuation and sought to understand how the presence of well-being is related to retention and persistence. The findings concluded that students generally lacked …

An Examination Of High School Students' Experiences As Anti-Defamation League Peer Trainers: A Case Study, David G. Knecht

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine students experiences as Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Peer Trainers at a predominately White, suburban high school in New Jersey, including in what ways students' experiences reflected transformative learning and empowered them as social justice allies. In addition, the study explored in what ways students' experiences could inform social justice education at their high school. The findings indicate that within this context, many participants experienced at least the beginning of perspective transformation, resulting in a shift from an exclusive to an inclusive perspective and an orientation toward social justice. Further, the findings …

The Oppressive Ranking System: Issues For Black Undergraduate Students & Hbcus, Lynn Oberkehr

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study aims to address two areas related to the current research on Black college student experiences and college rankings. First, data obtained from surveys distributed from the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) will be analyzed in order to obtain information related to the engagement of Black undergraduate students on two specific college campuses, Kentucky State University, a historically black college or university (HBCU) and Rowan University, a predominantly white institution (PWI). Second, after this data is analyzed, it will be utilized to determine which of the two campuses provided their Black students with a more positive student …

Community College Students' Sense Of Belonging And Care During Covid-19: A Grounded Theory Study, Lisa A. Dougherty

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative constructivist grounded theory research study was to understand and develop a theory about the experiences of community college students accessing online student support services, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when colleges were forced to close their in-person services. Interviews with seventeen students and a review of 57 email communications from the College yielded the data to construct a theory that extends the theories of sense of belonging and ethic of care to virtual student services – the Virtual Caring Campus Theory.

In the absence of a physical campus, colleges can create a virtual caring campus by …

Social-Emotional Beliefs And Competencies Of High School Teachers In A High Need District: Relationship With Teacher Self-Efficacy, Deborah Ann Goodman

Theses and Dissertations

Social-emotional learning (SEL) research has focused more on SEL programming and outcomes in students, and little is known about SEL in teachers especially among high school teachers. This cross-sectional quantitative research study was undertaken to gather baseline information about SEL among 240 high school teachers from a high need district with the following hypotheses: 1) teachers’ SEL beliefs and competencies significantly vary by years of teaching, educational attainment, and professional development, 2) teachers’ SEL beliefs and competencies of school significantly vary by classroom setting, school type, and grade level teaching. and school type, and 3) teachers’ SEL beliefs and competencies …

Thinking For You, Thinking For Two: Uncovering Student-Parent Experiences In Higher Education, Brandi Blanton

Theses and Dissertations

The literature addressing non-traditional students in higher education is broadening, nevertheless, the experiences of non-traditional, adult students who are raising children (i.e., student-parents) in academia continue to be inadequately explored. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the lived experiences of student-parents pursuing a college degree while raising children. The use of a qualitative approach in this research study presented the opportunity to gather rich data to help explain the phenomenon (Creswell, 2007, Denzin & Lincoln, 2013). Specifically applying a hermeneutic phenomenological research design allowed adult non-traditional student-parents to explain their college experience in their own words through …

"The Least Of These?" The Origins And Evolution Of A Misunderstood Group In Matthew 25, Christine Marie Downing

Theses and Dissertations

The intention of this paper is to analyze and explore the different aspects of Matthew 25:31-46. This research briefly examines how modern Biblical scholars and theologians have approached and interpreted Matthew 25. Further, I will place Jesus' announcement of the "coming of the Son of Man" within its historical context and explore how this announcement would have fit within and against First Century Israelite beliefs. By extension, I will attempt to examine the textual relationship of Matthew 25 to Jewish, non-Jewish and Early Christian texts. Finally, I will conclude with how Matthew 25 was interpreted and influential in both the …

Developing Critical Consciousness In Traditionally White Fraternities In Higher Education, Jason J. Artrip

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the experiences of fraternity members within the higher education system in New Jersey. One major goal of this study was to analyze the level of critical consciousness developed through involvement in a fraternity. While research exists on the fraternity experience in relation to race, and whiteness, not much has been examined to understand the experience of fraternity members in relation to these issues. By expanding this research, fraternity and sorority affairs professionals, student affairs professionals and fraternity national office staff can better understand the fraternity experience in relation to racial injustice …

Resident Assistants And Title Ix: The Hypocrisy Of Compelled Disclosure, Samantha Contrini

Theses and Dissertations

Resident Assistants juggle various roles as student staff members to ensure residents are supported and safe. Yet, RAs are widely considered to be some of the most under-trained and ill-prepared employees on college campuses (Letarte, 2012). At many institutions, RAs are considered Responsible Employees under Title IX which means they are required to report instances of sexual misconduct when they are made aware of them. Often times, this is done against the will of the survivor; a phenomenon referred to as compelled disclosure (Holland et al., 2018). The purpose of this study was to explore the potential harm caused to …

Searching For New Analgesics Without Addiction Risks, Mohammad Atiqur Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

Opioids are widely used to treat acute and chronic pain. But opioid addiction to these compounds can cause social and life-threatening health problems, including the risk of overdose. In this thesis, I evaluated IBNtxA (3-iodobenzoyl naltrexamine), a novel mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonist structurally related to the classical MOR antagonist naltrexone, in drug discrimination studies in order to better understand its subjective effects and more thoroughly its abuse liability. IBNtxA represents an intriguing lead compound for preclinical drug development specifically targeting MOR splice variants, potentially creating effective analgesics with reduced side effects. These results indicate that IBNtxA produces potent antinociception …

The Role Of Coping Behaviors And Intoxication In Trauma Symptomology Subsequent To Sexual Victimization, Danika Martine Charles

Theses and Dissertations

College women are at an elevated risk for sexual victimization compared to the general population. One possible reason for the increase risk of sexual victimization on college campuses is that college is inherent with greater freedom and less supervision. This unsupervised environment may encourage students to explore alcohol and other drug use and abuse and engage in risky sexual behavior, which are risk factors for sexual victimization. Sexual victimization is defined as unwanted behaviors and tactics that range from oral, anal, vaginal contact or penetration where the perpetrator uses force, intimidation, or coercion. Sexual victimization is often conceptualized in terms …

The Forgotten Voices: African American Male Adult Learners And Their Experiences In Higher Education, Ajeenah H. Nuriddin-Little

Theses and Dissertations

This narrative inquiry research explored the lived experiences of six African American male adult learners enrolled at a four-year public research institution in an urban area located in the northeastern United States. The following questions guided the study: (a) How do African American male adult learners at a four-year research institution describe their experiences? (b) What environmental factors do African American male adult learners feel have shaped their academic success or non-academic success in college? (c) How does the double consciousness framework help to explain or make sense of the narrative of the African American male adult learner? This study …

Emotion Recognition Using Facial Feature Extraction, Demiyan Smirnov

Theses and Dissertations

Computerized emotion recognition systems can be powerful tools to help solve problems in a wide range of fields including education, healthcare, and marketing. Existing systems use digital images or live video to track facial expressions on a person's face and deduce that person's emotional state. The research presented in this thesis explores combinations of several facial feature extraction techniques with different classifier algorithms. Namely, the feature extraction techniques used in this research were Discrete Cosine/Sine Transforms, Fast Walsh-Hadamard Transform, Principle Component Analysis, and a novel method called XPoint. Features were extracted from both global (using the entire facial image) and …

Medications Development For Drug Addiction And Other Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ariful Islam

Theses and Dissertations

Drug addiction and abuse especially opiate and psychostimulant abuse is a national and global crisis. IBNtxA (3-iodobenzoyl naltrexamine) is a novel mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonist, a naloxone derivative, structurally related to the classical MOR antagonist naltrexone. Recent studies suggest IBNtxA preferentially signals through truncated MOR splice variants, producing a unique pharmacological profile resulting in potent analgesia with reduced side effects. It has been found that M. vaccae has immunoregulatory effects that can prevent stress-induced exaggeration of neuroinflammation in the brain. The purpose of our pilot study is to develop medication for addiction and neuropsychiatric disorders. According to our purpose, …

Understanding Alternative Education Student Self-Efficacy Related To Experiential And Organizational Factors, Megan Maczonis Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The need for a high school diploma or equivalent is a social justice concern as the consequences of not earning a diploma or equivalent degree are lower income, higher crime rates, and poorer health (McClatchy, 2013; NCES, 2015; NCES, 2017; Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007; Thrane, 2006). The median earnings of young adults with a high school diploma and young adults with a bachelor's degree were 22 and 100 percent higher respectively than those of young adults without a high school diploma. Additionally, lower levels of educational attainment are related to higher rates of arrests and incarceration (Eby, 2013). Lower levels …

Sex Offender Perceptions: Investigating Social Supports As Buffers To The Consequences Of Megan's Law, Melissa D. Colson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify supports and whether supports perceived as helpful lessen negative experiences with job difficulty, housing difficulty, vigilantism, and isolation. Additionally, registrants' perceptions of hopelessness and sex offender registration and community notification laws (SORN) as a public safety measure were examined to determine whether more helpful supports positively impacted their attitudes. Another aspect of this study explored differences with males and females since females have rarely been examined. Narratives were compiled to further describe offender experiences and perceptions. This study used a survey to collect data on sex offenders, including offender demographics and victim …

Race To The Top: An Investigation Of The Challenges African American Males Face In Higher Education, Samuel W. Jay

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to better understand the struggles African American males encounter in higher education. A secondary purpose was to analyze the social and academic struggle African American males face at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. This study also looked at the past, present and future of the African American males selected to participate in this study. Convenience sampling was used to select participants. Selection criteria included male African American undergraduate students, who have sufficient grades and enrolled full time at Rowan University during the 2015-2016 school year. A total of 376 surveys were distributed …

An Evaluation Of Dating Violence Risk Factors For Division Iii Student-Athletes, Nicole Cantor

Theses and Dissertations

College students are at particular risk for dating violence (DV) perpetration and victimization. One group of college students who may be at increased risk is college student-athletes. Currently, no information exists on the dating and relationship behaviors of both male and female Division III student-athletes. The current study looks to identify both the frequency of DV perpetration and victimization among men and women along with specific risk factors for DV perpetration and victimization. We hypothesize that hazardous drinking and hostile sexism may be risk factors for DV perpetration and victimization among men and women. Among men, both hostile sexism and …

Faculty Attitudes Of Diversity And Cultural Awareness In Higher Education, Daniel G. Banks

Theses and Dissertations

The primary goal of this study was to uncover the attitudes and opinions of full-time faculty members and teaching administrators about diversity and cultural awareness at community college located in the northeast region. The study viewed faculty's level of cultural sensitivity, as well as their experience and opinion about cultural competency and incorporating diversity in the classroom. Faculty were also asked their opinion about training and professional development programs they were interested in participating in, and their opinion about whether they felt that programs celebrating diversity added value to the educational experience the institution provides for students. A total population …

The Impact Of Hip-Hop Culture On Freshman Student Identity, David Shanks

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation is to explore the impact that hip-hop has on the identity of freshman students at Rowan University during the spring 2017 semester. The survey questions were geared toward answering the primary focus. The survey has 34 items, the first five questions were used to collect demographic information from the students including Gender, GPA, Ethnicity, Class rank, and Age. The next 29 questions divided into three factor groupings, these groups were used to investigate the identity of select freshman, what students believe about their knowledge of hip-hop culture, how committed these students are to hip-hop culture, …

Impact Of Sexual Violence Prevention Programming At Rowan University, Emily Kofman

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to explore the impact of sexual violence prevention programming on the main Rowan University campus. This study focused primarily on the Take Back the Night event on April 4, 2017. The study evaluated the impact of the event on those who attended as well as looking at Social Norm Theory. A total population of 167 Rowan students were surveyed at the event with the instrument Take Back the Night Survey. Results of the data revealed that students positively benefitted from attending the event and were able to increase their knowledge of the subject. …

Examining The Involvement Patterns Of International Graduate Students At Rowan University, Amanjot Kaur

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the involvement patterns of selected international graduate students at Rowan University. This study focused on the involvement patterns of international graduate students associated with their overall college experience, interactions with students and faculty, and the use of campus services designed to promote student satisfaction. This was a total population study since there were 39 international graduate students enrolled at the Rowan University Glassboro, NJ campus during the spring 2017 semester. Quantitative research, through the use of an online survey, was used to collect data. Quantitative data analysis confirmed findings from previous studies …

The Effectiveness Of The Flipped Classroom For Students With Learning Disabilities In An Algebra I Resource Setting, Ashley Butterick

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was: (a) to examine the effectiveness of using the flipped classroom model to improve the academic scores of students with a specific learning disabilities (SLD), (b) to examine the effectiveness of using the flipped classroom to improve rates of homework completion by students with a SLD and (c) to evaluate student satisfaction and perception of the flipped classroom intervention. Five high school students, four males and one female, with a SLD participated in the study. A single subject ABAB design was used. During the baseline phases, students received Algebra I instruction through a traditional classroom …

Examining The Complexity Of Educational Attainment For Black Males In An Educational Opportunity Fund Program At A Community College, Lavon Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to describe the lived experience of Black males in an Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) program at a community college. According to research, community colleges are the first option for many Black male students who are underprepared academically and come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This phenomenological study examines the lived experience of Black males in an EOF program because of its ability to provide access, equality, and resources to students. Ten face-to-face interviews were conducted in order to describe the essence of this phenomenon. The findings from this study revealed that there are five themes …

Interrupting The Silence: An Action Research Study To Transform A Juvenile Justice Culture For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Intersex (Lgbtqi) Youth, Dawn N. Mcrae

Theses and Dissertations

This action research (AR) study explored practitioners’ knowledge of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI) youth issues in a juvenile justice setting. A research and service approach was employed to develop a LGBTQI policy and training. This study was motivated by three research questions. Does sensitivity training increase practitioner knowledge concerning LGBTQI youth in juvenile justice? What are the attitudes of juvenile justice practitioners concerning the stigmatization of LGBTQI youth in a juvenile correctional setting? How can the findings of this study improve support networks for LGBTQI youth in a juvenile correctional setting? To examine these questions, pre-test …

Principals' Outlooks On Suspension Based On Socioeconomic Status, Gender, Years Of Experience, And School Type, Jennifer Ohara

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore socioeconomic status within a school district, the years of experience, school type, and gender of a principal, supervisor, or disciplinarian and the effect that these variables would have on their attitude toward suspension. According to previous research done by Dr. Russell Skiba of Indiana University, high rates of suspension have been due to racial identity. Even after controlling for poverty status, racial disparities do not disappear (Skiba, Michael, & Nardo, 2000). After wanting to understand more on suspension and its future in schools, this study explored the attitudes that principals, supervisors, and …

Sexism And How It Mediates The Relationship Between Gender And Rape Myth Acceptance, Caroline Feinberg

Theses and Dissertations

Rape is a significant social and health problem in the United States with around 17.7 million women being forcibly raped at some time in their lives. While a rape-supportive culture and victim blame are concepts that aid in explaining rape, understanding societal held ideas about rape and traditional gender role beliefs can explain. Therefore, the present study focuses on how ambivalent sexist belief structures mediate the relationship between gender and rape myth acceptance. It was hypothesized that ambivalent sexism (AS) when divided into its four separate concepts: hostile (HS), protective paternalism (PP), complementary gender differentiation (CGD), and heterosexual intimacy (HI), …