Digital Commons Network^™

How Police Investigators View Credibility Of Victims Of Sexual Assault Crimes, Lakesha Richele Boone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual assault is a sensitive topic, and research has become increasingly popular. Most literature focuses on stigma, attitudes, and perceptions that victims and law enforcement have about each other. Law enforcement officers are responsible for making charging decisions based on their investigations and ways by which they determine credibility and reliability of victims. It was unclear what criteria law enforcement officers use to ascertain relevant flaws in victim character and credibility. The purpose of this study was to explore how law enforcement officers evaluate credibility of sexual assault victims during investigations. The feminist legal, just world, and rape myth acceptance …

Homophobia In Jamaica And Its Impact On The Victimization Of Homosexual Adult Males In Montego Bay, St. James, Dr. Shahila D. Edwards-Grey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractJamaica has been listed among the most unfriendly nations for homosexual males. Previous research indicated that due to the biopolitical and sociocultural norms of the Jamaican society, homosexual males continued to be targets of various forms of discrimination based on their sexual orientation. However, research reflecting the lived experiences of homosexual males in Jamaica is sparse. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to provide details on the encounters of victimization due to homophobia of adult homosexual males in the parish of St. James, Jamaica. Data were collected through observations and in-depth interviews with eight men who identified as …

A Context-Sensitive Approach To The Implementation Of Performance Measurement Systems, Wisdom Eyoh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPerformance measurement systems (PMS) exist to help public managers assess and improve decision-making related to programs, policies, processes, and personnel. However, challenges in implementing PMS have resulted in underutilization in the public sector. While critical success factors for successful implementation are known, little research exists on how public organizations can successfully implement PMS in individual organizations. This qualitative case study aimed to explore participants' experiences dealing with PMS, using contingency and goal-setting theories to analyze the influence of organizational contexts on PMS design, adoption, and implementation. Data were collected from five staff and top-level management at a large state agency …

The Social Construction Of Performance Enhancing Steroid Policies And Their Impact On U.S. Army Service Members, Trevor Scott Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States military has seen a continued rise in the use of illicit performance enhancing substances, particularly androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS), by service members in highly demanding occupational specialties. Despite these rising trends, there remains a lack of understanding of how U.S. Army substance abuse policy impacts service members’ motivations to use banned performance enhancing drugs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the motivations of service members who use performance enhancing AAS, as well as the impacts of substance abuse policies on those individuals. This study’s questions asked how social constructs and Army policy impacted service …

The Linear Evolution Of Local Emergency Management Training In Response To Domestic Terrorism, Jeffrey Januchowski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThis paper presents a research study in the field of emergency management. The study aims to identify training or educational needs for the emergency manager at the local level of government to effectively handle disasters. The study uses phenomenon theory with semi-structured interviews that gather data from emergency managers that have experience with major disasters and training requirements. Participants were experts in the emergency management profession with the ability to speak appropriately about the phenomenon. Research questions identified the training methods that produce the best results along with the specific hazards emergency managers may encounter. The research design used questionnaires …

Puerto Rican Retired Teachers’ Perceptions About Their Financial Sufficiency, Rossana López León

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Puerto Rico, the Teachers’ Retirement System, which has a membership of around 36,000 retired public-school teachers, is currently facing major restructuring and budget cuts, as part of a larger restructuring of all government agencies to meet the economic emergency they were facing. The recent retirement system reforms were focused mainly on cutting benefits, such as medications, Christmas and summer bonuses, and the cost-of-living adjustment. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of retired teachers regarding their financial sufficiency, and to identify their attitudes, beliefs, and opinions/feelings in light of their socioeconomic profile. The research question focused …

Exploring Black Parents’ Perception Of Armed Teachers In School Settings, Iris Mathis-Spellman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The prevalence of mass school shootings in K–12 classrooms has ignited ongoing conversations about arming teachers in school settings to prevent future tragedies and provide a safe learning environment for students. This research study aimed to understand Black parents’ perception of armed teachers in school settings. Critical race theory provided the framework to explore the impact of race and implicit bias on teacher–student social interactions when policies permit teachers to carry firearms. Accordingly, the research questions explored Black parents’ perceptions of policies allowing armed teachers in school settings. A basic qualitative design was utilized with a purposeful and snowball sample …

Assessing Fire Station Response And Coverage Ability In A Pennsylvania Town, Timothy Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThere was a gap in fire station response times in a Pennsylvania township. Although there were two fire stations located in the township, one area was contractually serviced by a nearby borough. Stations are staffed by volunteers, which creates problems with coverage and timely responses. The “nine-minute-90%-of-the-time” National Fire Protection Association standard was not always achieved. The purpose of the study was to determine what gaps in fire station response times or coverage existed. A risk-based methodology was used to develop a baseline in standards of coverage. Using a risk methodology with historical data helped in informing issue identification. This …

Community Advocate Perspectives On Addressing Equity Gaps In Florida’S Gifted Programs, Ashley Phelps

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem for this study addressed the lack of community advocate perspectives related to efforts being made to improve bureaucratic representation for minority students who were underserved by gifted programs in Florida. The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptions of community advocates about efforts to improve bureaucratic representation for students underserved by gifted programs in Florida. The study was conceptually framed around Kingsley’s theory of representative bureaucracy. The research questions focused on community advocates’ perceptions related to diversity in Florida’s public school gifted programs and their current efforts to improve representation of minority students in gifted education …

Juvenile Delinquency: The Effectiveness Of The Juvenile Direct File Law, Kimberlee Nicole Taggart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The juvenile direct file law stands firm among Florida laws despite lacking research to show its effectiveness in the prevention of juvenile delinquency. In Florida, juvenile delinquency and the juvenile direct file law cause significant concern due to the uncertainty surrounding the law. The Florida juvenile justice system fosters a vital position in the lives of many children, young adults, and families. Florida’s direct file law has a negative impact on the health, mental health, education, and brain development of juveniles and their ability to separate from a criminal lifestyle. Identifying the direct file law’s effects on the future of …

An Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Special Education Teachers Engaged In Mentoring Programs For Novice Teachers, Donna M. Sowerby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract Beginning special education teachers often leave the field within the first 3–5 years of employment. There is ample research available on mentoring programs for beginning teachers. However, limited research exists on mentoring programs for beginning special education teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of novice special education teachers in urban schools to broaden the current understanding regarding their perceptions of mentoring. Self-determination theory was the conceptual framework for examining the mentoring relationships and the participants’ perceptions. Using a phenomenological approach, in-depth face-to-face interviews were used with a purposeful sample of 10 novice …

Forest Bathing Increases Adolescent Mental Well-Being And Connection To Nature: A Transformative Mixed Methods Study, Jennifer Keller

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Previous research has demonstrated that practicing forest bathing has significant positive effects on well-being. However, few studies have investigated whether forest bathing increases adolescent well-being despite the growing adolescent mental health crisis in the United States. Similarly, few studies have explored forest bathing’s impacts on connectedness to nature. Considering the ongoing environmental crisis, determining if forest bathing increases connectedness to nature is a critical expansion of forest bathing research, as connectedness to nature is linked to environmental care and concern. This study investigated the possibility that forest bathing, a nature-based mindfulness practice, could increase adolescent mental well-being and connectedness to …

Higher Education, Neoliberalism, And Conflict: A Case Of The University Of Balochistan In Pakistan, Syed Amir Shah

Dissertations

The current study focuses on the role of peacebuilding in the higher education sector of Pakistan’s conflict-affected region of Balochistan. The research is an extended case study of the University of Balochistan. It addresses how the institution’s peacebuilding agency has evolved in the face of ethnic conflict and the neoliberal reforms pursued by the state during the past two decades. The research is based on the study of policy documents, official reports, and individual and focus group interviews with various educational actors.

The peacebuilding agency of the institution is theorized according to the 4Rs (Novelli et al., 2019; Novelli et …

Public Opinion Concerning The Siting Of Vertiports, David C. Ison

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

This study sought a better understanding of public opinion about the siting of vertiports to support Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). An online survey was used to collect the necessary data. The survey was divided into seven sections: personal impacts, community impacts, acceptable proximity, benefits and concerns, flight operations, open-ended comments, and demographics. The findings for personal impacts suggested a slightly positive outlook. Community impacts were assessed, and data also indicated a marginally positive outlook. The survey revealed that a tolerable average distance between the home of the respondent and a vertiport was between one to two miles. Opinions about the …

Trauma Exposure And Transdiagnostic Distress: Examining Shared And Ptsd-Specific Associations, Michael L. Crowe, Sage E. Hawn, Erika J. Wolf, Terence M. Keane, Brian P. Marx

Psychology Faculty Publications

Dimensional models of psychopathology suggest that the causes and consequences of psychopathology are attributable to a combination of syndrome specific and transdiagnostic features. There is considerable evidence that trauma exposure confers risk for a wide range of psychiatric conditions, yet no previous work has specifically examined the higher-order effects of trauma exposure within a structural model. We examined transdiagnostic and PTSD-specific associations with multiple forms of trauma exposure within a nation-wide sample (N = 1,649; 50% female) of military Veterans over-selected for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A higher-order Distress variable was estimated using PTSD, major depressive disorder (MDD), and generalized …

Navigating Identity Uncertainty: Identity Distress During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alan Meca, Kelsie K. Allison, Julia Passini, Taryn Veniegas, Bethany Cruz, Linda G. Castillo, Seth J. Schwartz, Byron L. Zamboanga, Minas Michikyan, Melissa Bessaha, Pamela C. Regan, Kaveri Subrahmanyam, John Bartholomew, Brandy Piña-Watson, Miguel Ángel Cano, Charles R. Martinez Jr.

Psychology Faculty Publications

The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have only recently begun to be explored. Among college students, who were faced with sudden and unprecedented changes and challenges, it is likely that COVID-19 detrimentally impacted the establishment of a sense of self, a key developmental task of the college years. However, no research has examined the relationships among COVID-19 related worries, identity distress, and psychological and academic adjustment. To address these gaps in the current study, we examined the prevalence of identity distress, the relationship between COVID-19 related worries and identity distress, and the direct and indirect associations between COVID-19 related …

Ptsd And Alcohol Use Disorders Predict The Pace Of Cellular Aging, Sage E. Hawn, Xiang Zhao, Mark W. Miller, Sara Wallander, Christine Govan, Anjanette Stone, Steven A. Schichman, Mark W. Logue, Erika J. Wolf

Psychology Faculty Publications

Advanced epigenetic age is associated with psychopathology and may help to explain the link between psychopathology and physical health morbidity and mortality. Using a longitudinal sample of 171 trauma-exposed Veterans, we modeled the rate of change in epigenetic age across two time points (averaging 5.58 years apart) using two epigenetic age algorithms (GrimAge and Horvath) and tested associations with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol use disorder (AUD), and depression. Results showed that PTSD (β = .199) and AUD (β = .186) were associated with a quickened pace of epigenetic aging over time (ps < .021). Results replicate and extend prior work and offer foundational support for identifying interventions that slow the pace of biological aging among those with psychopathology.

The Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic Experiences On College Drinking Via Mental Distress: Cross-Sectional Mediation Moderated By Race, Abby L. Braitman, Rachel Ayala Guzman, Megan Strowger, Jennifer L. Shipley, Douglas J. Glenn, Emily Junkin, Alina Whiteside, Cathy Lau-Barraco

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to stress, anxiety, and depression among college students, with heightened distress tied to greater drinking for some individuals. Emerging research suggests that these associations may differ across race, but few studies use adequate samples to examine this, particularly among college students, an at-risk population for both heavy drinking and mental distress. Specifically, pandemic-related stressors and mental distress may be higher among Black students than White students. The current study examined: (1) whether mental distress cross-sectionally mediates the association between pandemic-specific stressors and drinking and (2) whether race (Black or White) moderates these associations. …

Evacuation Behavior Of Households Facing Compound Hurricane-Pandemic Threats, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Jennifer L. Whytlaw, Nicole Hutton, Taiwo Olanrewaju-Lasisi, Bridget Giles, Kaleen Lawsure, Joshua Behr, Rafael Diaz, George Mcleod

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

This study examines households' prospective evacuation behavior during a hurricane-pandemic compound threat. Data from a 2020 survey of coastal Virginia households help answer two questions: (1) What factors associated with the threat and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and hurricanes influence prospective evacuation behavior of households during a compound hurricane-pandemic event? (2) What are the equity implications for emergency management policies and practices to support evacuation and sheltering during a compound hurricane-pandemic event? Households in the sample were split between those who stated they would evacuate away from the at-risk region and who would stay. Greater household vulnerability to hurricanes …

Obfuscating Systemic Racism: A Critical Policy Discourse Analysis On The Operation Of Neoliberal Ideas In Media Representation Of A School District State Takeover, Trish A. Lopez, Holly Sheppard Riesco, Christian Z. Goering

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

Education reform in the United States has unwisely focused attention on standards and accountability to the state as determined by standardized testing (Berliner & Biddle, 1995; Mehta, 2013). Stemming from the emphasis on standards-based accountability are the ideas of rapid school turnaround and the state’s role in this process (Peck & Reitzug, 2014; VanGronigen & Meyers, 2019). The current study employed critical policy discourse analysis to examine the media’s portrayal of the 2019 determination to continue or terminate state control of the Little Rock School District. The analysis highlights two argumentative frames—one that emphasized neoliberal values in support of continued …

Identities Of Women In Indian Art And History, Nalini Rao

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

The stereotypical image of Indian women portrayed in the art of stone sculpture is often interpreted as images of beauty that are sensuous, religious as well depict social life. There are historical reasons for depicting her as such. This paper inquires into the changing depiction and social forces that influenced feminine imagery. This paper examines the portrayal of beauty through idealization of female body which has evolved over the centuries in India. It also aims to understand their changing status and explores issues of feminine identity, status, and empowerment largely in ancient and medieval India. It also provides a brief …

Assessing The Relationships Between Direct And Vicarious Exposure To Healthcare Discrimination And Erasure, Mistrust In Healthcare, And The Healthcare Utilization Behaviors Among Transgender And Gender Independent Individuals, Kyle L. Mason

Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare inaccessibility through direct exposure (i.e., personal) to myriad forms of gender identity-related discrimination and erasure among the Transgender and Gender Independent (TGI) population has been documented by prior studies. The myriad barriers that individuals who embody TGI identities encounter to accessing healthcare are associated with the underutilization of healthcare, which may further exacerbate the health disparities that exist between this population and cisgender individuals in the United States (U.S.). Although the impacts of the harm that direct exposure to healthcare discrimination and erasure may have on TGI individuals are known, their exposure to such harm vicariously (i.e., through observation …

Carnivore And Ungulate Occurrence In A Fire-Prone Region, Sara J. Moriarty-Graves

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Increasing fire size and severity in the western United States causes changes to ecosystems, species’ habitat use, and interspecific interactions. Wide-ranging carnivore and ungulate mammalian species and their interactions may be influenced by an increase in fire activity in northern California. Depending on the fire characteristics, ungulates may benefit from burned habitat due to an increase in forage availability, while carnivore species may be differentially impacted, but ultimately driven by bottom-up processes from a shift in prey availability. I used a three-step approach to estimate the single-species occupancy of four large mammal species: mountain lion (Puma concolor), coyote …

Computational Decision Support For Socio-Technical Awareness Of Land-Use Planning Under Complexity—A Dam Resilience Planning Case Study, Andreas Tolk, Jennifer A. Richkus, F. Leron Shults, Wesley J. Wildman

VMASC Publications

Land-use planning for modern societies requires technical competence as well as social competence. We therefore propose an integrative solution enabling better land-use planning and management through better-informed decision-making. We adapt a method developed for cross-disciplinary team building to identify the stakeholders and their various objectives and value systems. We use these results to populate artificial societies embedded into a dynamic data analytics framework as a tool to identify, explore, and visualize the challenges resulting from the different objectives and value systems in land-use planning and management. To prove the feasibility of the proposed solution, we present two use cases from …

Building Belonging Into The System, Kristin Herman, Michelle Gill

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This design case documents how a K-12 district took steps to systemically support virtual student wellness and belonging. Plans for course design to support social-emotional-academic learning (SEAL) competencies, increase perception of belonging, and create safe, predictable learning environments characteristic of a trauma-informed approach to teaching and learning are shared. The assumption virtual learners are not looking to experience belonging and cannot be successful unless they already have strong SEAL skills is challenged. Rather, the positioning of SEAL competencies as learning objectives rather than necessary prerequisites to access online learning proved to contribute to more equitable learning opportunities.

Racially Motivated Police Brutality Is A Community Public Health Issue In The United States, Darrell Norman Burrell, Sharon L. Burton, Grace E. Mcgrath

Publications

Ongoing global protests against police violence and racism were heightened in 2020 after the deaths of Breana Taylor and George Floyd, whose deaths made headlines worldwide and raised awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement, which targets structural racism and violence against Black people in the USA and abroad. There are many documented links between policing and health-related outcomes, including but not limited to fatal injuries that increase population-specific mortality rates, adverse physiological responses that increase morbidity, psychological stress, arrests, incarcerations, and legal, medical, and funeral bills that cause socioeconomic deprivation, poor school performance, incomplete high-school education and not entering …

Socioeconomic Status, Cultural Values, And Elderly Care: An Examination Of Elderly Care Preference In Oecd Countries, Fang Fang, Xiao Yang

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background

With the rapid growing of the older population around the world, care for older adults is becoming a pressing public health issue. To find the optimum and sustainable balance of informal and formal involvement in senior care is urgently important. However, it is still unclear how older adults’ preferences for senior care are shaped by a range of factors at individual and country levels. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the roles of socioeconomic status (SES) and culture values in old adults’ attitude toward senior care.

Methods

The data from the International Social Survey Program 2012: Changing Family …

With Liberty And Justice For All: Psychological And Functional Consequences For Service Members Acquitted Of Sexual Assault, Jamie Leavey

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Policy makers are tasked with changing laws and improving systemic processes in response to evolving moral standards. As societal outrage grew regarding sexual assault in the military, those in power sought to balance what was perceived as a system that ignored, retaliated against, or unfairly burdened victims. However, as the pendulum swung toward victims’ rights and privileges, those accused of this crime inherited the burden of an imbalanced system. In the military context, the experience of the accused is impacted by the lack of separation between functional domains of life (e.g., work, home, community), multiple roles of military commanders (e.g., …

Learning From The Courageous Actions Of War And Post-War Time Teachers: A Bricolage Of Bosnian Educators, Elana Micahl Haviv

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify the preconditions that inspire courageous action through exploration of the choices made by four classroom teachers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Each educator had made the decision not only to teach during or after the 1992–1995 war and genocide in their country, but to do so in ways that went against official post-war teaching guidelines. Although there are a vast number of studies on courage in literature, there is little research that includes teachers who remained in their classrooms during wartime or chose to enter their classrooms in transitional societies after their communities …

Technology Adoption Of Computer-Aided Instruction In Healthcare: A Structured Review, Queenie Kate Cabanilla, Frevy Teofilo-Orencia, Rentor Cafino, Armando T. Isla Jr., Jehan Grace Maglaya, Xavier-Lewis Palmer, Lucas Potter, Dave E. Marcial, Lemuel Clark Velasco

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) is one of the interactive teaching methods that electronically presents instructional resources and enhances learner performance. In health settings, using CAI is one of the important ways to improve learners' knowledge and usefulness in their healthcare specialization yet there is still a lack of research that offers a comprehensive synthesis of investigating into the adoption of CAI in healthcare. This research aims to provide a comprehensive review of related literatures on the enablers and barriers for technology adoption of CAI in healthcare. 31 journals were analyzed and revealed that several studies were utilizing the Unified Theory of …