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Power, Privilege, And Perceptions: A Critical Case Study Of Ffa And Gsa Members’ High School Experiences In A Southern Rural High School, Eric Moser, Stacy Vincent, Rebekah Epps

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

There is an urgent need to address the rampant homophobic and transphobic systems and rhetoric in the United States. School cultures reflect the systemic privileging of heterosexual and cisgender identities, which places queer students at an increased risk of victimization and harassment. Rural schools have been found to uphold heteronormative and cisnormative cultures more than suburban and urban schools, which increases safety concerns for rural queer students. Rural schools commonly offer school-based agricultural education (SBAE) and FFA programs, which have been found to struggle in their inclusion of racial minority students. To combat hostile school cultures, many schools offer a …

Beyond The Bathroom: Systemic Barriers To Trans Student Success, Andrew Leclair

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

At the intersection of educational inequity and systemic marginalization, transgender youth face some of their greatest obstacles upon walking through the schoolhouse door—ranging from legislative attacks and gender negation to denied facility access and pervasive bullying. In rural K-12 public schools—where populations are often smaller, more demographically homogenous, and vie for more socially conservative policies—trans youth are particularly vulnerable. Within this context, this piece centers the experiences of transgender students in rural K-12 public schools—highlighting the sociocultural dynamics and systemic barriers that continue to marginalize them within the United States education system today. Through a blend of literature synthesis and …

"What Are They Going To Do? Fire Me?" The Paradoxical Empowerment Of Nonbinary Teachers In Rural South Carolina, Chris Cyan Divens, Jonathan M. Coker

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Nonbinary teachers are seldom the focus of teacher studies, particularly in challenging places such as the rural Southeastern United States. Through a critical ethnographic case study, we explored the stories of two nonbinary teachers who grew up and worked in rural South Carolina. We examined their cultural contexts, including legislative factors, school policies, and school cultures, and we highlighted how these systems created a hostile environment for queer and trans* individuals. Our participants shared how their lived experiences as queer and gender-diverse individuals provided them with an insider perspective about rural South Carolina culture and its limitations. We also found …

Reading About Gender Identity In A Rural Community: Discourse Around Young Adult Literature And Social Justice, Ashley S. Boyd, Rachael R. Wolney

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This study explores how a rural adult book club engaged with gender identity through young adult literature (YAL), focusing on Mason Deaver’s I Wish You All the Best. Facilitated by two teacher educators, the club brought together local residents and a guest speaker from a regional support organization to discuss gender, pronouns, and the experiences of nonbinary youth. Using critical discourse analysis and thematic coding, the authors examine how participants, cisgender adults, navigated unfamiliar concepts, reflected on their own beliefs, and considered implications for their personal and professional lives. Findings highlight the power of YAL to serve as a …

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: Personifying The South In Rural Queer Collegians’ Stories, Miranda N. Rutan, Leia K. Cain

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

In this study, we explore the complex interplay between queer identity and Southern cultural narratives among rural college students in the U.S. Bible Belt. We integrated narrative inquiry and arts-based research to examine how participants personify the South within their own stories, revealing nuanced understandings of belonging and identity. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant-created artwork, and discussions about these artworks. Our findings illustrate a dynamic representation of the South as both a source of support and a site of conflict, highlighting the dual roles of community and marginalization in shaping rural queer Southern identities. This research contributes to …

Rural Geographies, Queer Youth And Metronormativity, Fenton Litwiller

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

In 1995 Weston articulated an oft recited story where queers move from persecutory rural geographies to the more accepting city. While Weston interrogated this spatial binary and demonstrated failed promise of the metropolis to deliver, particularly across intersections of gender, the urban flight narrative persists. Jack Halberstam (2005) used the term ‘metronormativity’ to illustrate the power of this narrative that influences a research focus on urban queers. This study contributes insights on how queer youth who live in remote Canadian geographies navigate and express gender and sexuality. Eight participants (12 – 24) attended an informal educational space, a genderplay workshop, …

“I’Ve Already Invested So Much Time, Effort, And Money Into This, So I Stay For Me”: A Case Study Of Paulina A First-Generation Trans Latina Rural Community College Student, Ángel De Jesus Gonzalez

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

While research continues to emerge on queer and/or trans (QT) experiences in higher-education, a paucity remains on the nuanced realities of those who exist at the intersections of identities, institutional, and regional contexts. Guided by jotería identity-and-consciousness, this intrinsic case study focuses on Paulina, a first-generation trans Latina rural community college student via queer pláticas. She informs ways that trans Latina students in rural community colleges exists and resists hostile ecological educational environments and in doing so generate queer futurities of rurality. Paulina’s jota-historia disrupts notions of QTs communities presence in rural spaces, rural spaces as synonymous with white, …

Rotating Along The Borderlands: Contextualizing Border Rurality Among Queer Transfronterizxs College Students, Carlos A. Fitch

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Queer Transfronterizx students at rural higher education institutions experience an array of systemic and racialized inequities related to Queerphobia, residential nativism, and immigration challenges. Through a Critical Race Feminista Methodology (CRFM), seven Queer Transfronterizx college students engaged in testimonios and a Queer plática to shed light into the navigation of their rural higher education contexts and lived experiences. The findings note the collaborators’ experience of (1) endangered educational oases, (2) the dual identity isolation pertaining to Queer and Latinx belongings, (3) transborder hypervigilance emerged from border- crossings practices, and (4) a rural border flexibility that provides Queer privileges. Recommendations for …

A Trans Youth’S Encounters With Queerness In Puerto Rico, Gabriel T. Acevedo

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This article explores the lived experiences of Pedro, a transgender youth from rural Puerto Rico, to examine how queer and trans identities are negotiated within contexts shaped by colonialism, Catholic traditions, machismo, and rural community life. Drawing on queer theory, Latinx studies, rural education research, and narrative inquiry, the study highlights Pedro’s voice through interviews, self-narratives, and reflections, positioning youth as knowledge creators rather than passive subjects. Findings reveal three interconnected themes: (1) the importance of educational relationships in fostering belonging and dialogue, (2) the disruption of normative expectations around adolescence, queerness, and urban migration, and (3) the expression of …

Our Man In Vietnam Gallery Guide, Sara Pezzoni, Darryl Ward, University Of Texas At Arlington

2026 - Our Man in Vietnam

Gallery guide for an exhibition from the Bob Schieffer Vietnam War Collection, 2026. Curated by Sara Pezzoni, exhibit and gallery guide design by Darryl Ward and Sara Pezzoni.

Racial Identity, Student Engagement, Student Satisfaction, And Persistence In African American Students Attending Predominately White Institutions, Antoinette Drakeford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American college students attending predominantly White institutions (PWIs), such as Old Dominion University, face challenges, including experiences with microaggressions and limited engagement opportunities, which may affect their persistence. The purpose of this study was to examine whether racial identity and microaggressions moderate the relationship between student engagement, satisfaction, and persistence among African American students at a PWI. Cross’s theory of nigrescence served as the theoretical framework for understanding African American racial identity development. A quantitative, non-experimental design was employed. Data were collected from 50 African American undergraduate students using standardized instruments measuring racial identity, microaggressions, engagement, satisfaction, and persistence. …

More Women, More Voices As Lindenwood Offers Rise And Run Workshop, Mackenzie Cameron

Lindenlink (2012- )

No abstract provided.

Underrepresented And Understudied: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of African American Women In Policing, Brenda Goss Andrews

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American women are underrepresented in policing and understudied in the research. Grounded in Collins’ Black feminist thought, whose theme seeks to empower Black women to speak in their authentic voices, this qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 12 African American female officers from Midwest departments. It examined how the intersection of race and gender shaped their workplace realities. The purpose of the study was to gain perspectives from the participants on strategies to recruit and retain African American female officers. Historically, policing has been a gendered and hypermasculine profession, making it difficult for African American female officers …

Five Poets From Five Countries, Tom Marshall

Ontario Review

TOM MARSHALL, poetry editor of The Canadian Forum, has published books on A. M . Klein and D. H . Lawrence. His third collection of poetry, The Earth-Book, was published last fall by Oberon Press. He teaches at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

From Desire To Decision (A Syllabic Synopsis Of A Short Story), Ken Stange

Ontario Review

KEN STANGE, a psychology lab instructor in North Bay, Ontario, edits Nebula Magazine and has poems published or forthcoming in The Canadian Forum, The Dalhousie Review, Event, Waves, and elsewhere.

Is Don Juan Alive And Well?, Arnold J. Mandell M.D.

Ontario Review

ARNOLD J. MANDELL, M.D. is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine. His innumerable publications include such items as "A Psychiatric Personality Typology Replaced by One from the NFL - The Acceptability Rather than the Perfectability of Man" in The Saturday Rev iew/ World (1974); and "Redundant Macromolecular Mechanisms in Central Synaptic Regulation" in New Concepts in Neurotransmitter Regulation (1973) . He has served or is serving on numerous state and national committees, and is on the editorial boards of seven professional journals.

The Role Music Plays In Facilitating Transformation And Self-Actualization In Israeli Music Students Impacted By Trauma, Adina Feldman

Educational Studies Dissertations

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the role music plays in facilitating transformation and self-actualization among Israeli undergraduate and alumni music students who have experienced trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder. Guided by social constructivist and humanistic-existential frameworks, this research employs a narrative methodology to examine how music operates as a medium for meaning-making, resilience, and growth in non-clinical contexts. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observations, and the analysis of musical compositions and artifacts from two singer-songwriters who transformed personal adversity into creative expression. The findings reveal that although trauma leaves lasting psychological and emotional effects, engagement with music enables …

Sociolooking: A Theory Of Looking Together And Choreographing Looking Experiences, Avigail Shimshoni

Educational Studies Dissertations

Abstract

This dissertation addresses gaps in understandings of looking in research and practice by creating and defining sociolooking. Sociolooking is a theory of looking together and choreographing looking experiences. Researchers, educators, and practitioners across many fields value close looking and have offered step-by-step strategies for facilitating looking. While these strategies and related research are instrumental in understanding discrete aspects of looking and learning to look, they do not fully acknowledge or explore the underlying social and dynamic ways people engage in looking in everyday situations. This leads to the creation of one-dimensional, potentially inaccessible, or ineffective experiences. On the …

La Créativité Et Ses Fonctions Sociales Face À L’Usage De L’Ia Générative, Caroline Rossi, Perrine Schumacher

Al-Kīmiyā

This article asks whether creativity will still be a key skill for translators in the future, as we move towards ubiquitous and more diversified uses of generative AI. The focus is primarily on creativity in translation. Instead, creativity is here conceptualised as a soft skill, crucially linked with a number of social functions. We hypothesise that if the development of creative skills is linked to technical skills and accompanied by critical reflection on the latter, it could be one of the cornerstones of training programmes aimed at future proofing translators faced with rapidly changing professional environments.
The research presented here …

Investigating Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction To Boost Islamic Mobile Banking Adoption In Indonesia, Abdurrahman Abdurrahman, Mohamad Anton Athaillah, Yadi Janwari, Asti Meiza

Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics

This study examines the factors influencing the adoption of Islamic Mobile Banking (IMB) in Indonesia, focusing on technological, innovative, reputational, and Sharīʿah compliance dimensions. Using a quantitative approach with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), data were collected from 312 IMB users to assess both direct and mediating relationships among the variables. The findings reveal that perceived usefulness, firm reputation, innovation, and Sharīʿah compliance significantly and positively influence customer satisfaction, with Sharīʿah compliance emerging as the most dominant factor. Conversely, ease of use, though positively associated, does not significantly affect satisfaction, suggesting that functionality, trust, and ethical conformity outweigh …

Teaching The Abolition Of Man, Joel Heck, Robert Koons, Josiah Peterson

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

The authors also hope that this article will help readers better understand The Abolition of Man and raise the level of interest in teaching this important book in schools, churches, and in many other venues and that many will find here helpful practical ideas for such teaching.

C. S. Lewis And The Argument From Reason, Elijah Mcclanahan

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

This essay surveys and demonstrates that the "argument from reason" is a dominant methodological theme in the apologetics of C. S. Lewis.

C. S. Lewis And Artificial Intelligence: An Ai Ethics Problem, Justin E. Edgerly

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

This paper demonstrates that the quest for safe and ethical AI is undermined by much of the philosophy, implicit and explicit, in AI literature and undergirding AI research and development. C. S. Lewis’s writings provide a prescient and penetrating critique of this philosophy and point toward a “regenerate science” that addresses the present need for wisdom in AI development. This paper contributes to the field of AI ethics by presenting several Lewisian concerns about the nature, application, and undergirding philosophy of current and future AI technologies, as well as a Lewisian perspective on the requirements for safe and ethical AI.

Literary Criticism And Its Drawing From The Humanities. An Academic Study Of Moroccan Criticism As A Model, Miloud Arniba

SOROUD: The journal of Literacy Criticism

This research seeks to examine the relationship between literary criticism and the humanities, focusing on the relevance, limitations, and implications of this relationship. It does so through two academic studies by Moroccan critics: Hamid Lahmdani's engagement with sociology and Hassan Al-Moudan's with psychology. The aim is to understand how each critic approached this relationship, the extent to which they benefited from the disciplines they drew upon, the conscious nature of their engagement, and the degree to which this approach proved productive and beneficial in the development of literary criticism. Our hypothesis is that the experience of these two critics in …

Scientific Foundations And Their Manifestations In Literary Criticism, Hamid Lahmidani

SOROUD: The journal of Literacy Criticism

The present study seeks to demonstrate the strong relationship between the various sciences and the practice of literary criticism, and to contribute to the shaping and development of critical programs. This occurs in parallel with the treatment of literary texts, the assimilation of their structural nature, and the subsequent uncovering of their allegorical and symbolic connotations. It has therefore been necessary to attend to the ways in which scientific disciplines contribute to the development of the mechanisms of literary criticism. Among these fertile sciences are mathematics, logic, and empirical forms of knowledge, followed by the human sciences such as history, …

Editorial (English), Chouaib Halifi

SOROUD: The journal of Literacy Criticism

No abstract provided.

The Crucible Of Marriage: Faith, Formation, And Spiritual Autonomy In Jane Eyre, Diana Pitsch

Masters Theses

This thesis treats marriage in Jane Eyre as the crucible of Jane's unique, experiential, and individually crafted faith. It examines marriage as the primary arena in which Jane's faith is shaped, tested, and, ultimately, fulfilled. Situated within Victorian Evangelical culture and restrictive gender ideology, the study examines how Jane’s spirituality is shaped through personal discernment rather than submission to institutional authority. Through close readings of Gateshead, Lowood, and Jane’s encounters with Rochester and St. John Rivers, the thesis demonstrates how Jane’s faith is tested against both passionate attachment and prescribed religious duty. Her refusal of both proposals reveals a developing …

Bridging Traditions: An Exploration Of Orchestral And Contemporary Bass Clarinet Performance Practice, Patrick Burke

Research Theses

This thesis presents a practice-led investigation into bass clarinet performance, examining how orchestral and contemporary traditions may be explored as an integrated artistic practice. Grounded in a reflective, semi-autoethnographic methodology, the research traces the evolution of my performance practice through exploration of repertoire, modes of collaboration and critical reflection. Rather than seeking prescriptive models or definitive outcomes, the study embraces the exploratory nature of artistic research, allowing insights to emerge through practice and experience.

Situated within my ongoing work as a professional clarinettist, the research is informed by active engagement across orchestral, solo, chamber, and collaborative contexts. The thesis demonstrates …

A Thank-You Gift To My Dad: Illustrations Based On Olaf Stapledon’S Star Maker, Alex Combs

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This essay reflects on a series of etchings created as a personal tribute to my father, Allan Leslie Combs, and inspired by Olaf Stapledon’s Star Maker. Blending memoir, art, and cosmological imagination, the article explores creative gratitude, spiritual vision in science fiction, and the connection between art and consciousness.

Keywords: Allan Leslie Combs, Olaf Stapledon, Star Maker, consciousness and creativity

Resilient Leadership In Action: The Rhetoric And Relationships Of Abraham Lincoln For Today’S Public Administration, Wayne Morris Baker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Public administration faces growing volatility and complexity, requiring leadership models that extend beyond traditional management paradigms. This qualitative, historical-explanatory case study introduces and tests a multidimensional theory of resilient leadership in public administration through the rhetoric and relationships of Abraham Lincoln during his presidency. Guided by one central and four sub-research questions, the study analyzes fifty-six of Lincoln’s letters, speeches, and memoranda alongside fifteen diary entries by Navy Secretary Gideon Welles. Using a dual framework that integrates the Four-Factor Leadership Model and the proposed five-dimensional resilient leadership model: adaptability and learning, ethical decision-making and integrity, collaborative governance and stakeholder engagement, …