Digital Commons Network^™

Home Care Work Of Caregivers For Mexican American Adults With Dementia: A Culturally Informed Model Integrating Work System Analyses And Health Disparities Research Framework, Laura Cristina Tovar Felix

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Dementia is an umbrella term for different diseases such as Alzheimer's, vascular dementia, Lewy body, frontotemporal, and mixed dementias. Dementia is caused by a variety of diseases that cause damage to brain cells interfering with the ability of brain cells to communicate between each other. Dementia is associated with different types of brain cell damage in a specific region of the brain (What Is Dementia?, 2024).Dementia affects 55 million people worldwide, where the most affected population is the low-income and the middle-income countries. (Greenblat, 2023). Every 20 years the number almost double, and by 2039 is estimated to reach 78 …

Haiga In The Borderland: Sociolinguistic Perception And Variable Production Among Bilinguals In El Paso, Elyana Amparan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The linguistic variant haiga in the Ciudad Juárez, Mexico – El Paso, Texas border region is often a stigmatized feature within the bilingual community. This non-standard form, derived from haya (the present subjunctive of haber “to be” in Spanish) carries negative social connotations and is often perceived as incorrect. Our aim was to investigate the use and attitudes towards haiga in the bilingual population at the U. S. – Mexico border. A text infilling task was employed to elicit the use of haiga and an attitude elicitation task using memes was used to investigate the participants attitudes towards the form. …

Rural Education Revitalized: Investigating And Resolving Specific Challenges In Rural Schools, Alexis Jane Barker

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis paper investigates the multifaceted challenges and the potential solutions to the issues afflicting rural education. Despite being often marginalized in educational policy discussions, rural schools confront a plethora of unique issues that significantly impact the educational experiences of students and the overall well-being of their communities. This paper explores the elusive concept of “rurality”, emphasizing that rural communities are diverse and dynamic, shaped by different historical, cultural, and socioeconomic factors.

The review of the literature includes a historical analysis tracing the evolution of rural education, highlighting key turning points, legislation, and social forces that have contributed to rural …

Music And Dyslexia: Systemic Inequities And Educational Best Practices, Natalie Bonelli

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Chicanas' Experiences In An Educational Leadership Doctoral Program Within The Context Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jazmin Carrera-Blas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to our society on a global scale. While the is literature that alludes to the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on Ed.D. students, women, and people of color, research focusing on Chicana or Mexican-American female scholar-practitioners is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study is to explore, highlight, and add to the literature on the experiences of Chicana or Mexican-American female scholar-practitioners who were involved in any of the dissertation stages, such as capstone, dissertation research, or dissertation writing during the COVID-19 pandemic.This qualitative research employed a testimonio methodology guided by the Chicana …

Using Causal Inference To Understand Public Perception Towards Electric Vehicle Adoption, Jesus Alejandro Gutierrez Araiza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Why despite all efforts to promote Electric Vehicles (EVs) as an alternative transportation method through strategies such as tax credits on unit purchasing or long-term environmental benefits communication, its market penetration has not reached the expected goals in the United States? Even though there have been important advancements in the EV technical perspective and financial EV purchasing incentives, the final EV customers still face barriers on their scenarios that do not allow them to purchase this type of contemporary transportation means. Not understanding their local barriers could be a mistake that could reduce EVA expectations in the country and keep, …

Decision-Making In Rats: Effects Of Drug Abuse, Safa Binte Hossain

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Decision-making is a critical cognitive function, often impaired by substance abuse. Understanding the underlying mechanisms in both human and animal models is essential for developing effective treatments. This thesis aims to study approach-avoid decision-making in rats and focuses on the impacts of oxycodone self-administration and alcohol abuse on approach-avoid decision-making.We hypothesize that oxycodone self-administration will alter decision-making in female rats, revealing sex differences and distinct psychometric functions, alcohol habituation will similarly affect decision-making in male rats. The study involved 23 Long Evans rats (11 males and 12 females) for decision-making behavioral study connecting multiple levels of rewards and costs combinations. …

La Viuda Del Panamá -- A Sixteenth-Century Novel, Maria Cecilia Herrera Astua

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

La Viuda del Panamá es una novela histórica acerca de Sir Francis Drake y su amante, María Isabel Domínguez--una viuda mestiza de quien él se enamora cuando ella lo salva de una muerte segura. Isabel oculta su ascendencia india porque, en el pueblito Nombre de Dios, esa circunstancia es un pecado social. Mas al corregidor don Pedro—un viudo quien ha tenido un matrimonio infernal—no le interesa la pureza de sangre. Nacido en un hogar judeo-musulmán, don Pedro se enamora de Isabel desde el día en que ella lo atiende en la posada La Costeña y decide ofrecerle un futuro impensable …

Don't Get Too Close, It Hurts: Inclusion-Of-Other-In-The-Self And Biased Evaluations Of Romantic Partners And Their Behaviors, Jacqueline Lechuga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This investigation tested how inclusion-of-other-in-the-self (IOS) – the experience of closeness as overlapping selves – increases maladaptive biases toward romantic partners and their behaviors. Study 1 tested how the level of IOS is associated with disregarding signs that indicate that a romantic partner might be unhealthy for one’s emotional and physical well-being. Participants who were single (N = 77) reviewed four online dating profiles. Each profile was created to elicit high or low IOS and reveal a transgression committed by the potential romantic partner. Then, participants evaluated the potential romantic partner in suitability and the transgression on negativity. Study 2 …

Thieves Like Us: The Effectiveness Of A Positive Psychology Intervention On Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, And The Loss Of Compassion Satisfaction Among Peer Support Specialists, Eugene Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Two common phenomena of helping professions are compassion fatigue (CF), and decreased compassion satisfaction (CS). Literature on CF and decreased CS focuses on professionals with extensive education, training, and higher compensation. Peer Support Specialists (PSS) are helping professionals providing comparable support to clients while in recovery, and may be more susceptible to CF, decreased CS, and a return to substance use. Methods to impact these outcomes, including positive psychology interventions (PPIs), are worth investigating as they are generally inexpensive, can be tailored, and may reduce turnover and absences. The current study used the PPI, Using Signature Strengths in a New …

The Additive Effect Of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation On Resistance Training Induced Adaptations In Glycemic Control, Muscle Mass And Muscular Strength, Gabriel Narvaez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Most adults do not reach the physical activity guidelines set by ACSM (>75%). Resistance training is well known to improve muscle mass, strength, and glycemic control. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is a mode of inducing involuntary muscle contractions. Previously, we have shown neuromuscular electrical stimulation is able to improve glycemic control. However, the effects of superimposing NMES while resistance training on glycemic control, substrate utilization and resting energy expenditure (REE) is unknown. Purpose: To investigate the effects of 8 weeks of superimposed NMES on resistance training compared to resistance training for glycemic control, substrate utilization, REE, muscle mass …

Advancing Understanding Of Opinions, Perceptions, And Knowledge In Underrepresented Communities In The El Paso Region To Promote Electric Vehicles And Electrified Infrastructure Use To Reduce Environmental Impacts, Liliana Lozada-Medellin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As the transportation and automotive industries continue growing, environmental and human health impacts remain a growing concern for planners, policy-makers, constructors, and the public as well (Krause et al., 2013; Larson et al., 2014). Although Electric Vehicles (EVs) are entering the market as a green technology solution to counteract greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), there are still barriers that need to be overcome for widespread diffusion and adoption as the best solution. These include disseminating basic information about the technology for public awareness, considering equity concerns, and ensuring equitable access to infrastructure for all (L. …

Prelimbic Cortex Neuronal Assemblies In Behaviors Predictive Of Drug-Seeking Before And After Cocaine Self-Administration, Karla J. Galvan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Literature has established that there are certain behaviors that are predictive of drug seeking and relapse such as impulsivity, distress tolerance (DT), Pavlovian conditioned approach (PCA), anxiety, and sensation-seeking. However, few studies have examined the behavioral interactions among these tasks and drug-seeking, and none have examined the neural interactions in the prelimbic cortex, which has an essential role in drug-seeking and is implicated in each of the aforementioned behaviors of interest.We therefore hypothesized that certain behaviors including high impulsivity, low distress tolerance, high anxiety, and high locomotor activity would predict high cocaine-seeking. We further hypothesized that the neuronal activity in …

Effect Of Patient Specific Blood Biomarkers On Nanoparticle - Cell Interactions, Veronica Gabriela Contreras

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Nanoparticles are currently known to be a promising material class for bio-applications in drug delivery and vaccine development. Using gold nanoparticles of varied sizes, in this case 45 and 100 nanometers as a model nanomaterial system, we investigated how patients' blood physiology and chemistry (such as solute, protein, lipid levels) affect the biological response to bionanomaterials. When nanoparticles are injected into the body, biomolecules in the blood adsorb to the nanoparticle's surface to form a biomolecular corona that is specific to the patient's unique blood composition. This biomolecular corona is important because it affects the in vivo fate and biodistribution …

Building Positive Gender Expressions Among Mexican-American College Students, Nezahualcóyotl Paniagua-Jiménez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the need for college programs to nurture and support positive gender expressions among Mexican-American college students. It does so through a historical and cultural analysis of gender identities and expressions within the Mexican community and how they impact the lives of Mexican-American college students. Additionally, it offers an exploration of potential practices and programs that support the development of positive identity and gender expressions, with a lens of intersectionality, to ensure students are allowed to critically explore and develop gender identities that move away from domination/subservience power structures and that are founded on their unique cultural background.

Iron Curtains: A Novel Of Germany, 1989, John G. Dodson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A work of fiction. A story of Love, Treachery, and Freedom on the East German border in 1989. Iron Curtains is a story of four individuals in East and West Germany brought together by an espionage investigation and the revolution in East Germany which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain on November 9, 1989. Their stories ultimately intersect as the year passes and culminate in an escape through a tunnel underneath the East German border. There are four main characters and several secondary characters who help drive the story forward by their interaction with the …

Talking About Sex: The Relationship Between Cultural Constructs And Sexual Behaviors Among Latina Emerging Adults, Ariana Cervantes-Borges

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Emerging adults account for a significant portion of yearly STI cases with Latinxs living in border regions often being disproportionally affected. Moreover, Latinas may hold much of the responsibility for sexual health when compared to their male counterparts; however, culture may serve as both a protective and risk factor for deleterious sexual behaviors. These disparities highlight the importance of assessing Latina sexual risk and to a further extent, perceptions of sexual and reproductive health services. The present study assessed how cultural constructs were associated with sexual risk and STI testing views among Latinas and how these associations may be moderated …

Workplace Bullying In K-12 Education, Lorena Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Workplace bullying within K-12 education settings has become an increasingly recognized concern, with potentially profound implications for educators' well-being. This quantitative research study aims to explore the phenomenon of workplace bullying among teachers and administrators in K-12 educational institutions. Findings from this study will contribute to the existing literature by shedding light on the prevalence and manifestations of workplace bullying in K-12 education, as well as its implications for individual well-being, organizational culture, and educational outcomes. The study aims to inform the development of targeted interventions and policies to prevent and address workplace bullying, thereby fostering healthier and more supportive …

Exploring The Barriers To Mental Health Treatment Among Justice-Involved Women Living In The U.S.-México Border Region, Rebekah Ruth Adair-Russell

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For women in the criminal justice system, mental illness is a complicated and prevalent factor, with rates ranging from 49.2% to 67.9% (Bronson & Berzofsky, 2017). To address the mental health care that justice-involved women need, scholars have called for a closer examination of barriers that hinder access to mental health and substance use treatment among this population (Winham et al., 2015; Wilfong et al., 2021). Barriers to treatment can be attitudinal (i.e., stigma and fear) or structural (i.e., transportation, cost of treatment), yet few, if any, studies have examined how these barriers present in a group of justice-involved women …

Sense Of Belonging Of Undergraduate African American Students At Pwis, Kate Jefferson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Bilingual Comprehension Of Accented Speech And Spoken Code Switches, Liam John Gleason

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Across three experiments, the current study explored how accented speech and coarticulation impact how bilingual listeners comprehend code-switches in speech. Eye-tracking methodology was used to compare responses to single-language and code-switched sentences. Experiment 1 observed how accented speech influenced the costs involved in comprehending code-switches by comparing responses to speakers that had North American English accents to speakers with Juarez/El Paso Spanish accents when speaking English. Experiment 2 compared responses to English speech produced by speakers with North American English, Flemish, and Bulgarian accented speakers. To examine coarticulation as a cue to an upcoming code-switch, Experiment 3 compared naturally produced …

Promoting Social Sustainability: Implementing A Dynamic Stem Driven Framework To Empower Underrepresented Communities In West Texas Schools, Raquel Haggerty

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores how environmental engineering can utilize STEM education as a strategic tool, enhancing social sustainability and thereby empowering underserved Hispanic communities in West Texas. Responding to significant educational and resource disparities, this research introduces an innovative interdisciplinary framework that combines instruction-initiated resource activation (I2RA), culturally attuned parent engagement (CAPE), and community- centered STEM education (CCSE). This approach uniquely addresses the challenges faced by these communities, integrating environmental solutions with educational advancements to forge a path toward equitable STEM access and achievement.

Additionally, the "Elevate and Empower" case study exemplifies the practical application of this comprehensive framework, demonstrating its …

My Little Poetic/Prose Book Of Words, Sayings, And Stories In Broken Spanish And A Little Bit Of German / Mi Libro Chiquito De Poética / Prosa De Palabras, Dichos, Y Historias Español Fracturado Y Un Poquetito Alemán, Sharon Ann Lucero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank Jonathan Taylor and Sarah Thompson for the wonderful job they did in providing me with feedback. I took into consideration all their comments. Their comments aligned with Dr. Powers, and I really took a deeper look into my Spanish/English translations on whether I should have them or not. I found a happy medium for all of it. I also went back and looked at the rest of the class’s comments and made sure that I did not miss any of the details that were pointed out to me the first time …

The Daughters Of La Malinche: A Heideggerian Analysis Of The Pazian Archetypal Masks Portrayed In Art, At-Ziry Aileen Torres

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this thesis, I present a Heideggerian phenomenological analysis of the Pazian archetypal masks present in The Labyrinth of Solitude, such as El Macho, La Llorona, La Mala Mujer, La Chingada, and La Malinche, and how these masks are represented and depicted by women in art. I analyze the authentic or inauthentic identity and conditions expressed by Mexican women in art through a mimetic lens and extend that analysis to gendered concerns that have emerged in the past fifty or so years in Mexico and the U.S. Mexico border. Such issues include the pervasive machismo culture and the alarming increase …

Risk And Protective Factors Associated With The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Alcohol Expectancies In Latina College Students, Andrea Rodriguez Crespo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Alcohol use among college students is a public health concern, with rates increasing in recent years. Several constructs have been studied in past research to assess alcohol use, alcohol consequences, and motives to drinking. However, to the authorâ??s knowledge, no study has assessed risk and protective factors that may influence the relationship between alcohol expectancies and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) among Latina college students living on the U.S/Mexico border. The present study assessed the relationship between ACEs and positive and negative alcohol expectancies, as well as the impact of risk and protective moderating factors on the relationship. Latina college students …

Will Consumer-Generated Reviews And Electronic Word-Of-Mouth Communications Affect Subjective Norm Perceptions, Attitudes Toward Social Commerce, And Social Shopping Intensions Among Gen Z Consumers?, Adebusola Azeezat Adewale

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Social commerce has become a global phenomenon in recent years. Its convenience and accessibility have revolutionized how consumers shop and interact with brands and merchants. Gen Z consumers make up the majority (55.5%) of social buyers, and they are likely to be influenced by consumer-generated reviews (CGRs) and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on social media. This thesis draws on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and employs a quantitative online questionnaire to determine whether CGRs and eWOM influence subjective norms (SN) perceptions, attitudes toward social commerce (ASC), and social shopping intention (SSI) of Gen Z consumers. The theoretical framework also included …

Cultivating Honor: How Indigenous Students Harness Resilience And Cultural Wealth To Thrive At A Borderlands University, Lourdes Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study sheds light on students' lived experiences regarding Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) at Borderlands University (BU), a Hispanic-serving institution on the U.S.-Mexico border where First Peoples lived for thousands of years. This study supports Indigenous students whose dismal national college graduation rates must be addressed. It recognizes studentsâ?? cultural wealth and richness (Yosso, 2005) and is grounded by the Peoplehood Matrix (Holm, 2003; Tachine, Cabrera, and Yellow Bird, 2017). This study was consistent with previous studies revealing that prioritizing student support raises equity and improves the overall academic experiences for all students in higher education (Tachine …

Examining The Relationships Between Social Media Use Constructs And Mental And Sleep Health In Hispanic University Emerging Adults, Miguel Andres Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The number of social media users and platforms have increased dramatically in recent years. Several different social media use constructs have developed from past research to assess social media engagement, including overall social media use, nighttime in-bed social media use, social media addiction, social media self-control failure, and emotional investment in social media. Such constructs are distinct from each other and may adversely impact mental and sleep health, especially during emerging adulthood. This study investigated the relationships between such social media use constructs and mental and sleep health in Hispanic university emerging adults through a framework of Uses and Gratifications …

The Lack Of Representation Of Mexican Women In Films, Lizbeth Garcia Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Representation in film lacks the meaningful exposure of Mexican women, the lack of roles available tend to rely on the stereotypes of Mexicans therefore excluding room for Mexican women to be represented authentically. In this paper I discuss the lack of representation that Mexican women have in films, identifying that in roles of superheroes, especially women of color do not compare to the many white superhero films. To discuss representation of Mexicans in film, I used The Perfect Game (2009) and McFarland, USA (2015), films that share meaningful representation of Mexicans. While also using examples of representation in superhero films …

Nationwide Practices And Perspectives On Early Literacy Activities In Daycare, Analaura Amador

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.