Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Client Intake Efficiency In The Removal Defense Program: A Nursing-Led Quality Improvement Initiative, Johnny Linares, Julia Tran Ngo, Daniel Orea, Atheana Yadira Lopez

Master's Projects and Capstones

This quality improvement project focuses on optimizing the intake process for the Removal Defense Program at a nonprofit immigration legal office serving asylum-seeking clients. The existing intake relied on unstructured, phone-call-based intake interviews that gathered incomplete information, leading to inconsistent documentation, reduced efficiency, and significant client processing delays. A structured, multilingual, and multiplatform new-client admission protocol coupled with the implementation of a client-facing resource guide for waitlist clients were co-developed and implemented using the Lippitt Change Theory framework. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, the study involved staff interviews and observational assessments with staff members from the program. Baseline intake process …

The Effectiveness Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports (Pbis) In Title I Secondary Schools, Robyn Rush-Grace

Theses and Dissertations

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is grounded in behaviorist theories, particularly Skinner's operant conditioning, which suggests that positive reinforcement can shape behavior over time. PBIS uses a tiered system to address student behavior, providing universal support for all students (Tier 1), targeted interventions for students who need more support (Tier 2), and intensive, individualized interventions for the few students who exhibit the most significant behavioral challenges (Tier 3). The literature on PBIS generally supports its effectiveness in reducing office discipline referrals, suspensions, and expulsions, as well as improving student behavior and overall school climate. Research specific to Title 1 …

Snap Benefits In A Recession: Mountain West State Projections, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet presents data on simulated recession impacts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the Mountain West. The Urban Institute’s “How Would a State Cost Share Affect SNAP in a Recession?” report provides recession projections based on the current SNAP policy – which allows SNAP to automatically expand in the event of a recession – as well as a 10% cost share scenario, for all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. This fact sheet focuses on recession projections for the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Births In The Mountain West, 2023, Lara Karaalp, Yashesvi Sharma, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet details data from a National Vital Statistics report on the number of births within the Mountain West in 2023. This report, offered through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), includes data on the race/ethnic demographics of mothers of American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, white, and Hispanic descent. This fact sheet explores birth data for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, by the mother’s place of residence.

Investigating The Nexus Of Political, Economic, And Social Constraints On The Budgetary Process: A Multimethod Approach To Unraveling The Impact On Low To Median-Income Families In Richmond, Virginia, Lauren D. Mallory

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this applied study was to explore the intricate relationship between political, economic, and social constraints on the budgetary process and their consequential impact on low to median-income families in Richmond, Virginia. Utilizing a multimethod approach, the research objective was to combine quantitative analysis of fiscal allocations, economic indicators, and demographic data with qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews with policymakers, financial experts, and the affected families. Through a sequential exploratory design, the study aimed to employ qualitative data to understand contextual and nuanced impacts of budgetary decisions. These insights informed the quantitative phase, where statistical analysis elucidated patterns …

The Impact Of The Mcgirt Supreme Court Decision On Federal Water Policy Within Shared Watersheds, Travis Alexander Younce

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation explored the following research question: What are the public policy implications of the McGirt Supreme Court decision on federal water policy and regulations governing shared watersheds between state, tribes, and federal control? Specifically, this study examined the changing freshwater availability within Oklahoma and Montana. Oklahoma is one of the nation’s most diverse water management lands, with over 85% of its water within tribal boundaries. Eleven lakes and reservoirs in central Oklahoma provide water to the increasingly urbanized population. This dissertation aimed to identify integrated regulations regarding water policy and impacts by examining requirements, use, clarity, and climatological data …

Beyond The Individual: Community Socioecological Correlates Of Mass Shootings In A Cross-Sectional Analysis, Barbara (Basia) E. Lopez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mass shootings represent an urgent and persistent threat to public safety in the United States, yet most research has focused on individual-level characteristics, leaving community-level socioecological conditions comparatively underexamined. This study addressed this gap in knowledge through an examination of the statistical correlations between community-level characteristics and mass shooting incidence using Ostrom’s social-ecological systems theory as a guiding framework. A cross-sectional quantitative design was employed using secondary data from The Violence Project, the U.S. Census Bureau, Neighborhood Atlas National Data Archive, and publicly available law enforcement and policy records. Multiple regression analysis was performed to test both main and interaction …

Barriers In Trauma-Responsive School Implementation: A Study Exploring And Comparing Rural, Suburban, And Urban Districts In Indiana, Allison L. Makowski

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Trauma responsive practices are a type of educational practice currently being utilized in our schools. Our students come to school every day with some type of trauma which is a negative event that a child experiences. Types of traumatic experiences could be in the form of a natural disaster, car accident, or some type of abuse. The current study examined barriers that schools experience when implementing trauma responsive practices. The schools were examined further to investigate whether or not there were differences in barriers in rural, suburban, and urban school districts in the state of Indiana.

Criminogenic Risk Factors For Delinquency In Relation To The Custodial Parent: Incorporating Parent-Child Gender Dyads, Behavioral Control, And Support, Niko Noel Piña-Anastasiadis

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Juvenile delinquency tends to be higher in single-parent households (Kroese et al., 2021). Research investigating this phenomenon has found conflicting results on whether a juvenile has lower rates of delinquency with a custodial father (paternal hypothesis), custodial mother (maternal hypothesis), or whether gender is secondary to other factors. Similarly, some studies found that the interaction of the juvenile living with a same-gendered parent was associated with lower levels of delinquency. Further complications include how parental variables, such as behavioral control and support levels, may interact with the juvenile and custodial parent gender (Hoeve et al., 2009). The current study utilizes …

The Impact Of Black Faculty On First-Year Black Student Retention, Sense Of Belonging, And Racial Identity At Historically And Predominantly White Institutions, D'Andrea L. Williams

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The presence and engagement of Black faculty members in higher education can significantly impact Black students' college experience in their first year, especially at historically and predominantly White institutions. Emphasizing the importance of representation mentorship and relationship building, this study stresses the importance of Black faculty in fostering a sense of belonging, strengthening racial identity development, and contributing to the retention rates of Black college students during their freshmen year. On campus, Black students face the challenges of a campus climate plagued by racism, unfair expectations, mistreatment, microaggressions, and discrimination. Representation matters, and the sharing and affirming of those experiences …

Hurricane Helene And Impacts On Georgia Libraries, Wilhelmina Randtke, Melissa Johnson, Kathy Davies, Erin Prentiss, Brad Warren, Emily Rogers, Emily Harris, Will Petty

Georgia Library Quarterly

In late September 2024, Hurricane Helene moved from Florida up the east coast of the United States. The hurricane struck land in the Florida panhandle, and moved north up through North Carolina. It passed over much of Georgia. The hurricane made landfall at around 11pm in Perry, Florida on Thursday, September 26. That night, it moved up through Georgia, and through to North Carolina. Governor Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency for Georgia, and later a state of emergency for 41 counties in Georgia. This article shares the experiences of librarians in Georgia in responding to and living through …

Empowerment Through The Sisters Lifting As We Climb Network: Examining The Organization’S Impact On Black Women, Sharnay Hearn Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological case study examines the role of empowerment within the “Sisters Lifting as We Climb Network” through the experiences of Black women participants in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Utilizing in-depth semi-structured interviews, the research investigates the organization's origins, evolution, and social support mechanisms that foster empowerment, as well as participants' experiences with programs and activities over the past nine years. Additionally, the study identifies areas for organizational improvement to further enhance participant empowerment.

The findings of this research support the empowerment theory framework by clarifying the preconditions, processes, and outcomes of empowerment within the Network, which fosters sisterhood and enhances participants' …

Resilience Of Interdependent Transportation And Healthcare Systems: A Simulation-Driven Framework Incorporating Social Equity And Facility Optimization, S. Yasaman Ahmadi

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The overarching goal of this dissertation is to develop an integrated, simulation-driven framework to assess and enhance the resilience of interdependent transportation and healthcare systems before, during, and after natural hazards. By examining how spatial disruptions, social vulnerability, operational constraints, and infrastructure interdependencies affect access to and functionality of hospitals, this research offers a multifaceted evaluation of system performance under stress. This dissertation examines the impact of natural hazards, particularly floods, on the interdependent transportation and healthcare systems. The proposed approach combines and advances GIS-based network analysis, graph-theoretical modeling, and discrete-event simulation to evaluate system performance under different scenarios. The …

Cultivating Care And Resilience: The Contributions And Challenges Of Women Farmers In Hawaii’S Agricultural Landscape, Olivia Manley

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation examines the multifaceted experiences of women farmers in Hawaii, focusing on their motivations, community contributions, and engagement with agricultural programs. Using a semi-grounded theory approach and drawing on feminist political ecology and care work lenses, this study centers on the lived realities of women farming in Maui County. Through in-depth interviews, it explores how these farmers navigate challenges, build resilient food systems, and uphold cultural and environmental stewardship. Findings reveal that women farm not solely for economic gain but as an expression of care for ʻāina (land), family, and community. Their work makes a significant contribution to …

Three Essays On Mental Health Courts, Taylor E. Le Moal

All Dissertations

Mental illness in the criminal justice system is a major issue, with 2 in 5 incarcerated people in the US having a serious mental illness (Criminalization of People with Mental Illness, n.d.). Prisons have turned into “de facto” mental health facilities when these facilities are not equipped to do so. This means once individuals are released from incarceration, they are often ill-equipped to return to regular life and may get caught up in the cycle of recidivism (Slate, 2017). One method that policymakers have used to solve this problem is mental health courts (MHCs), which are pre-trial diversion …

Framing The Problem To Meet The Policy Solution: An Embedded Mixed Methods Case Study Of The 2017 Michigan Opioid Laws, Leandra Hawkins Burke

Dissertations

The opioid crisis presents a wicked problem for public administration. Hundreds of thousands of people have died from opioid overdoses in the United States, and countless others have experienced severe opioid-related physical, psychological, and socioeconomic harms. Countering the opioid crisis has been difficult due to interdependencies across different drugs and multiple pathways for abuse and dependence. Many scholars, health providers, and politicians have called for a broad public health approach to combat the opioid crisis, but the full expanse of what that would entail has not yet been realized. What has been demonstrated is that interactions targeting a single aspect …

Flooding: Risk Assessment And Its Interaction With Population & Environmental Health, Shivendra Srivastava

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Flood events have significant implications for both population and environmental health. This dissertation aims to explore flood risk and its interaction with humans and the environment. The key questions addressed in this dissertation include improving the existing flood risk framework to better assess population vulnerability and associated risk. Additionally, it explores how interactions among risk components vary across spatial scales and regions, and how these variations influence overall flood risk. The dissertation also investigates how to design a vulnerability component specific to flooding within flood risk estimation. Finally, it answers whether flood-specific vulnerability differs for a population compared to vulnerability …

Reproductive Redlining: Unraveling Historical Disparities And Facility Placement In Distance To Licensed Childcare Facilities, Reproductive Health Clinics, & Crisis Pregnancy Centers For Women In The Southern Region Of The United States, Mackenzie A. Kibler

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how historical and structural inequalities shape contemporary access to reproductive health services, licensed childcare facilities, and crisis pregnancy centers across Mississippi, Virginia, and Maryland. Using feminist geography, reproductive justice theory, and historical trauma theory, this research develops the concept of reproductive redlining to explore how race, policy, and space intersect to produce health disparities. By combining GIS mapping with multivariate statistical analysis and redlining data from the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC), the study evaluates spatial distributions and demographic correlates of facility access before and after the Dobbs decision. Findings reveal enduring spatial inequities that disproportionately impact …

Link Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Parenting Styles Of African American Fathers, Tatianna P. Johnson

Dissertations

African American fathers may be more susceptible than fathers of other races to having a negative parenting style due to their high levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs are traumatic experiences during childhood that can affect a person’s mental and physical health, income and adult parenting style. African American adults tend to have experienced multiple levels of ACEs at a higher rate than White and Asian adults (Maguire-Jack et al., 2021). ACEs can lead to adults experiencing higher levels of alcoholism, depression, health-related issues, mental illness, substance use, and academic problems. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to …

Readiness Of Universitas Indonesia To Be An Inclusive Campus For People With Disabilities, Dumilah Ayuningtyas, Tri Auri Putri Ayuningtyas, Anita Pebrina Lubis, Anindya Naila Sabahat, Ratih Oktarina, Afaf Jauhar

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

Ensuring equal education rights remains a challenge in Indonesia, despite constitutional mandates and the global commitment to “no one left behind.” The Disability Participation Rate remains low; in 2023, only 21.03% of individuals aged 19–23 were included. This reflects, among other factors, the limited preparedness of educational institutions. This study evaluates Universitas Indonesia’s readiness to develop inclusive education for persons with physical, sensory, mental, and intellectual disabilities. Using the capability approach, it assesses whether institutional resources can be translated into capability-enhancing conditions for students with disabilities. The study draws on literature review, targeted document searches, SWOT analysis, IFE-EFE matrices, and …

Exploring Commuter Cyclists' Experiences Commuting In And Around Clemson University, Trevor S. Romans

All Theses

Climate change is a global issue, and high rates of automobile usage contribute to substantial social, environmental, and economic issues. One potential partial solution is creating bicycle-friendly communities. Research suggests that bicycle use leads to benefits in physical health, environmental sustainability, economic savings, and social justice. Research supports the roles of infrastructure development, safety policies, and other transportation planning initiatives in increasing bicycling, but less research has been completed about what is needed to develop bicycle-friendly communities. While physical infrastructure affects willingness to commute by bicycle, research suggests that understanding psychological factors and other behavioral aspects is also important for …

Promoting Understanding Of Soft Power Theory : A Case Study Of Confucius Institutes Along The Belt And Road, Dan Yang

Lingnan Theses (Doctoral degree)

This dissertation explores the function of Confucius Institutes (CI) as key tools within China’s soft power approach, particularly in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It provides a detailed and empirically based analysis of how these institutes operate within various national contexts. Drawing upon Joseph Nye’s soft power theory and supported by literature on public diplomacy, this study assesses the ways in which CIs translate cultural, linguistic, and educational assets into international influence. Despite the rapid expansion of CIs globally, their actual effectiveness in achieving cultural diplomacy and tangible soft power outcomes remains uncertain. Advocates emphasize the …

From Storm To Strength: Katrina's Legacy Of Health, Healing, And Hope, Lsu Health Sciences Center - New Orleans

LSUHSC Hurricane Katrina Archive: Reports & Presentations

This is the schedule for "From Storm to Strength" Katrina Symposium organized by LSU Health New Orleans to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

A speaker panel session was held each day from Monday, August 24, 2025 to Thursday, August 28, 2025 for LSU Health faculty, staff and guests to share their remembrances of the hurricane and its impact on the school, on the City, and on their lives.

Black Women Policymakers And Black Feminist Approaches In United States Gender-Based Violence Policies: Analyzing Policy Making, Institutional, And Social Media Discourse Through The Narrative Policy Framework, Gugu Selela

All Dissertations

This research study examines how gender-based violence (GBV) policy in the United States marginalizes Black women through race-neutral language and punitive frameworks. Despite facing disproportionate violence, Black women are often excluded from policy narratives, debates, and institutional priorities. Grounded in Black Feminist Thought and the Narrative Policy Framework, this study investigates how exclusion operates across legislative, digital, and institutional domains, and how Black women in public service resist and reshape GBV policy through care-centered, survivor-informed practices. Focusing on the U.S. South, the study uses a qualitative, multi-method design. It analyzes ninety-three Senate committee transcripts from South Carolina, North Carolina, and …

The Employment Situation Of Veterans: August 2025, Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

The August 2025 Employment Situation Report highlights largely stable labor trends for veterans, with overall veteran unemployment rising slightly to 3.1 percent. Post‑9/11 veterans saw a small decline to 3.0 percent. Unemployment varied by age, with noticeable increases among veterans aged 18–24 and 35–44, while rates declined for those 55–64. Female veteran unemployment remained unchanged at 4.4 percent, and male veteran unemployment increased slightly to 2.9 percent. Across most demographic groups, veterans continued to experience lower unemployment rates than their nonveteran peers, though monthly fluctuations remained common.

Front And Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

The Trouble With Community Engagement: From Power Sharing To Power Shifting Through The Community Bill Of Rights, Jessica Lee, Patrick Mcneal, Malikah Garner, Katya Fels Smyth, Tanya Tucker, Shemekka Stewart Isaacs, Jasmaine Shaphon Henry, Miranda Rabuck

The Foundation Review

Reflecting a growing consensus that meaningful change doesn’t come without the involvement of those most impacted, funders have signed on to efforts to “listen,” “get proximate,” and “empower.”

In this article, the authors draw on their lived expertise and research to describe how even well-intentioned community engagement efforts can become extractive, tokenizing, and undermine existing community assets. As a meaningful alternative, the authors suggest “centering community” as an orientation to all philanthropic work and the Community Bill of Rights (CBR) as a tool to guide the required change (Black et al., 2022).

Drawing on case examples from healthcare, urban planning, …

Funder Listening To Shift Power: Definitions And Context, Melinda Tuan, Rick Moyers, Gita Gulati-Partee

The Foundation Review

Listening in the context of philanthropy is a common colloquial term that can have many definitions, ranging from everyday conversations that inform foundation work to more formal opportunities for community engagement. Most foundations say they listen, but all forms of listening are not equally beneficial, and listening alone does not inherently advance equity. Listening, done poorly, can be performative and extractive. Listening well, in ways that advance equity, is done in partnership, requires a response from the listener to acknowledge what’s been heard and what will be done as a result, and ultimately shifts power to the community.

Fund for …

A New Opportunity For Funder-Nonprofit Partnership: Advancing Shared Listening Efforts To Learn From Community, Valerie Threlfall

The Foundation Review

Funders lack scalable tools and processes for advancing their community listening efforts. As foundations explore this work, there is an opportunity to leverage the nonprofit sector’s experience in listening and to partner more actively with grantees to learn from community.

Nonprofits have embraced community listening more rapidly than funders over the past 10 years. Over 40,000 organizations have affirmatively described their listening practices via How We Listen, a feedback self-assessment that is part of Candid and Charity Navigator’s nonprofit profiles, and approximately 1,400 organizations have participated in Listen4Good’s capacity-building programs. This momentum has enabled the development of tools such as …

Listening And Responding Lead To Better Outcomes: Building The Evidence Base For High-Quality Listening Practice, Penelope Huang

The Foundation Review

In 2019, Fund for Shared Insight made grants to six research teams to test the hypothesis that if direct-service organizations gain a deeper understanding of how well their programs are serving clients by listening and actively responding to client feedback, they can increase the likelihood of positive outcomes. This body of research explores the case for incorporating participant voice to improve program effectiveness.

As philanthropy seeks to become more responsive to the people and communities most impacted by their decisions, this research has important implications for philanthropic practice, including the selection of grantees, learning in partnership with grantees and community, …