Digital Commons Network^™

Interview With Orca Winner John Hibbing, Political Science; How Political Attitudes Correlate With Physiological Traits, Mark A. Griep, John Hibbing

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Dr. John Hibbing was awarded the ORCA in 1993. John was born in 1953 in Paullina, Iowa. He earned a bachelor's in secondary education from Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, but then realized that teaching high school wasn't for him. Instead, he attended the University of Iowa, where he earned a master's and doctorate in political science. In 1981, he joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as an assistant professor of political science and rose quickly through the ranks. Initially, he studied the reasons that members of the U.S. Congress retire. This led to a longer-term collaboration with Kevin Smith and …

Altered But Adaptive: Network Integration In Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Survivors A Diffusion Mri Graph Theory Analysis, Amanda Cook

ETDs from 2020-2029

Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors face treatment-related risk for late-emerging cognitive difficulties. Chemotherapy can disrupt white-matter structure leading survivors to experience subtle but persistent challenges with processing speed, working memory, and executive functioning. However, cognitive outcomes vary widely even among survivors with similar treatment exposures. To better understand this variability, this study examines how the brain adapts after treatment and how that adaptation is shaped by the environment. This study used diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) connectomics to characterize white matter network organization in 18 pediatric ALL survivors compared with 20 typically developing controls (ages 10-18). Structural connectomes were …

Reading Between The Lines: An Exploration Of Censorship In United States Public School Libraries, Sally Anne Perz

ETDs from 2020-2029

Between 2021 and 2025, PEN America documented over 22,000 book bans across the United States (US). Yet, with only 451 districts banning out of over 13,000, 97% of US school districts are not engaging in banning. The 451 banning districts represent only 3% of US school districts. While most research examines individual stakeholders, such as librarians and teachers, this study focused on district and community data which do not change as fast as microsystem variables. Since banning occurs at the district level, understanding school district demographics and values may help situate the sociopolitical context of school board decisions to ban …

Sustainable Evidence Synthesis Services: Have We Figured It Out?, John J. Meier, Anne E. Rauh, Amy Van Epps

Librarian Publications

No abstract provided.

Innovations In Financial Services For Low-Wage Workers, Mathieu Despard, Stephen Roll

Center for Social Development Research

The financial services landscape in the United States has shifted dramatically in recent years, with technology driving profound changes. New products and services are emerging in a competitive digital marketplace to meet the basic banking, savings, and short-term credit needs of workers. This brief presents findings from the Workforce Economic Inclusion and Mobility (WEIM) project on the employment and financial circumstances of low-wage workers in the United States and on their use of financial services.

From Crip Time To Care Time: How Library Administrators Can Support Professional Development Of Disabled Employees, Leah T. Dudak, Rhys Dreeszen Bowman Dr.

School of Information Studies - Post-doc and Student Scholarship

Building on our 2025 In the Library with the Lead Pipe article "Cripping Conferences", this piece moves from naming the problem to offering solutions to library administrators. Disabled library workers face significant barriers to professional development, including the financial cost of attendance, the physical and mental toll of navigating inaccessible spaces, and the conflict between crip time and the neoliberal clock time that governs academic and library culture. While accommodations are needed, they are not enough; we need to interrogate the systems that exclude disabled employees. Written by two disabled LIS scholars, this piece offers library administrators practical guidance, from …

Essential Employer Benefits For Low-Wage Workers, Mathieu Despard, Stephen Roll

Center for Social Development Research

Employer benefits are important for supporting employees’ financial well-being, but are they accessible to low-wage workers? This brief presents findings from a survey conducted for the Workforce Economic Inclusion and Mobility (WEIM) project with low-wage workers in the United States. The findings reveal information on respondents’ access to employer benefits, including health insurance, paid sick leave, a retirement plan, and financial-wellness benefits.

When Getting Ahead Means Falling Behind: Work And Savings Disincentives In Public Benefits, Stephen Roll, Mathieu Despard

Center for Social Development Research

Public benefits help millions of workers meet basic needs such as food, health care, housing, and childcare. But for many low-wage workers, these programs can also create a difficult trade-off: Earning more or saving more can sometimes mean losing the benefits they need to keep their family afloat. This brief summarizes key findings from a survey conducted for the Workforce Economic Inclusion and Mobility (WEIM) project with a nationally representative sample of low-wage U.S. workers. The findings suggest elements of a public benefits system that could protect families from economic risk while supporting work, savings, and long-term mobility.

How Shale Boom-Era Municipal Debt Could Undermine Community Resilience During The Energy Transition, Brandon Charles

Center for Policy Research

Local governments in oil and gas-producing regions took on significant municipal debt during the U.S. shale boom to build schools, water systems, and other infrastructure to accommodate rapid population growth. This brief uses Mergent municipal bond issuance data and interviews with local government officials to describe debt accumulation in shale boom communities (N=2,519 counties; 2004–2015) and its implications for the energy transition. The author finds that shale boom communities accumulated approximately $782 more in municipal debt per capita than comparable communities, a 26% increase totaling $1.9 billion across 58 shale boom counties. If production declines and newer residents leave, the …

Evaluation Of A Sleep Health Composite: Changes In Sleep Over The Menarcheal Transition Among Girls, Julianna Adornetti

Master's Theses

Sleep undergoes a shift during puberty, increasing the risk for psychological and insomnia symptoms, particularly among girls. However, little research has examined how the onset of menarche may contribute to vulnerability in sleep and psychological functioning. The Sleep Health framework provides a standardized, multidimensional way to conceptualize sleep health (RU-SATED: satisfaction, alertness, timing, efficiency, duration, and regularity). Although prior studies have provided proof-of-concept for assessing sleep health using a composite score (SHc), its measurement properties have yet to be explored. The primary aims of this longitudinal study were to (1) evaluate the factor structure of a sleep health composite, (2) …

Surviving And Thriving: The Indigenous Migrant, Danna Guzman-Rodriguez

Honors Theses

This literature and cultural study highlights the generation of children of indigenous immigrants and the relationship with their indigenous identity and culture. This unique experience is complex and encapsulates issues such as indigenous cultural survival, homogeneity, globalization, and lack of cultural identity. Exploring the Totonac community in La Chaca, Veracruz in Mexico, allows for a deeper explanation of this experience. Speakers of Totonac and other indigenous languages often migrate to countries such as the United States and carry such cultural ties with them. What happens to these ties after moving to a Western-dominated country where globalization favors English and Western …

Reality Tv & Social Media Impact On The Psyche Of Adult Women Who Experience Physical Image Discomfort, Tierra James

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to examine the perception of adult women regarding the role of reality television and social media in influencing body image, self-worth, and mental health. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on 15 women aged between 18 and 50 years, who lived in the United States and actively used reality TV and social media, and reported body-image distress, which was indicative of body dysmorphic trait. Data interpretation was done in an ideographical manner and followed by pattern analysis across cases. The results suggested that idealized and edited media images were popularly identified by the participants as …

A Qualitative Study Of Gratitude Practice Among Won Buddhist Older Adults And Implications For Gerontological Social Work, Sungsim Lee

Dissertations

Although gratitude has been widely studied in social science, existing scholarship has largely relied on Western worldviews and quantitative research frameworks, limiting understanding of lived gratitude experiences within diverse spiritual and cultural contexts, including Eastern spiritual traditions. In Won Buddhism, originating in South Korea, gratitude holds a central place in spiritual life and is understood as an essential practice. This qualitative study explores the views of Won Buddhist older adult practitioners regarding their experiences, benefits, and challenges of engaging in spiritually grounded gratitude practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 practitioners aged 65 and older from English-speaking Won Buddhist communities. …

“Being An Arab Is Like Fighting For Your Joy”: Exploring Bicultural Identity, Racialization, And Psychological Well-Being Among Us-Born Arab Americans, Hisham Nsier

Master's Theses

Bicultural identity development in Arab Americans, who must manage sometimes conflicting cultural expectations, is understudied. Even less is known about Arab Americans born in the United States (US-born AA), who are American by birth yet are alienated from society due to differences between their ‘white’ racialization and their cultural identities. The current study aimed to examine the relationship between bicultural identity, racialization, and psychological well-being at the intersection of US-born AA’s co-existing identities. Eight adult US-born AAs (Mage = 28 years, SD = 4) were recruited from professional Listservs and WhatsApp affinity groups. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed …

Counting Your Chickens Before They Hatch: Understanding Anticipatory Savoring And How And Why People Approach Or Avoid The Anticipation Of Future Positive Events, Asura Louise Osborne

Master's Theses

In this study, discretion between the styles used to anticipate positive events is the focus of a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) conducted on the Index of Anticipatory Styles (IAS). The IAS is a 45-item survey used to measure types of savoring in response to future positive events. This work expands the savoring literature to examine approach- and avoidant-type anticipatory savoring. Approach-type anticipatory savoring discriminates between Enjoyment, Coping, Control, Recalled Anticipation, and Downplaying. Avoidant-type savoring parses between Avoidance of anticipation because events may not occur, Avoidance of anticipation because events may fail to live up to expectations, Jinxing, and Counterproductivity. CFA …

Growing Through Systemic Adversity: Evaluation Of Developmental Trauma Assessment Among Black And/Or Latiné Adolescents With Adhd, Victoria Grant O'Daniel

Master's Theses

Black and Latiné youth are disproportionately impacted by targeted harm and trauma exposure, which is further exacerbated by stigma, biases, and punitive actions towards youth with attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD). This presents an urgent public health concern, as frequent exposure to trauma across development can lead to difficulties with behavior regulation, interpersonal relationships, impulse control, emotion regulation, and attention and cognition. Developmental trauma disorder (DTD) was proposed to capture the adverse developmental outcomes experienced by youth exposed to chronic trauma; however, there is a dearth of research on how to assess DTD. Thus, the current study aimed to establish support …

The 1778 Fort Pitt Treaty: U.S. Relations With The Lenni-Lenape Nation And The Unraveling Of Early Promises, Veronica E. Riddle

Masters Theses

This study examines the Treaty of Fort Pitt (1778), signed in present-day Pittsburgh, as the first formal diplomatic agreement between the United States and the Lenape (Delaware) Nation during the American Revolutionary War. Formed amid the military and political instability of the Revolution, the treaty promised mutual military assistance, recognition of Lenape sovereignty west of the Alleghenies, protection from settler encroachment, and the unprecedented possibility of Native representation within the emerging American confederation. However, following the deaths of key Lenape leaders, escalating frontier violence, and the failure of the Continental Congress to ratify or uphold critical provisions, the treaty rapidly …

Barriers And Beliefs: Narratives Of Mental Health Help-Seeking Among First-Generation Latino/Hispanic College Students, Karina L. Alba Lockhart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Mental health challenges among college students in the United States have increased in recent years, yet first-generation Latino/Hispanic college students continue to underutilize available services while facing unique cultural and structural barriers to care. This qualitative narrative study explored how first-generation Latino/Hispanic college students made meaning of mental health help-seeking in relation to perceived barriers, perceived benefits, and cultural values such as familismo and stigma. Guided by the health belief model and cross-cultural psychology, this study recruited 15 participants from four-year institutions in the United States and collected data through an online asynchronous questionnaire. Thematic and narrative analysis revealed that …

The Prevalence Of Moral Injury Among Veterans Diagnosed With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd): Analyses By Combat Exposure, Gender, Age Group, And Military Service, Carl B. Forkner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, and the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, heralded in a new concept affecting our combat and support military personnel. This concept is known today as moral injury. Military personnel were already familiar with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), whether from personal experience or from reading and training on the subject, but no training addresses the prevalence or effects of moral injury. The term moral injury (MI) was first coined by psychiatrist Jonathan Shay and his colleagues based on feedback from military and veteran patients in 1998; however, it remains that …

The Lived Experience Of Inconsistent Legal Recognition: A Phenomenological Study Of Job Burnout And Moral Injury In Florida Correctional Officers, Jeffrey A. Snipes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative transcendental phenomenological study investigates the lived experiences of Florida correctional officers (FCOs) regarding inconsistent legal recognition and the divergence between functional mandates and legislative definitions. Utilizing Dr. Jonathan Shay’s moral injury framework, this research explores how statutory marginalization functions as a precursor to burnout. A transcendental phenomenological research design was employed; 21 officers were screened using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-HSS) followed by semi-structured interviews with a nine-participant subsample.

Data analysis followed Creswell’s spiral procedures to identify themes describing the essence of these experiences. Findings suggest that inconsistent recognition as first responders catalyzes moral injury, exacerbating burnout and …

Predicting Employee Attitudes Toward Artificial Intelligence Technology: The Roles Of Job Embeddedness & Grit On Military Veterans In The U.S. Workforce, Ajay Joseph Koovackal

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) technology demands are growing rapidly to aid organizations in innovation, improving efficiency, increasing profits, and staying competitive within their respective markets. However, the irresponsible implementation of AI tools may cause organizations to suffer significantly by negatively affecting employee attitudes, perseverance, affiliation, and retention. This research is a cross-sectional quantitative study investigating the relationship between attitudes toward artificial intelligence (ATAI), job embeddedness (JE), and grit (GT). The study participants are 132 adult military veterans employed full-time in the United States. The researcher collected data through a self-report survey deployed on the SurveyMonkey online platform. After which, the …

Strengthening The Mind: Evaluating Emotional Intelligence As A Tool To Combat Anxiety In Youth Soccer, John P. Hill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Competitive anxiety is a significant challenge for adolescent soccer players, contributing to psychological distress and early sport withdrawal, and approximately 70% of youth athletes quit organized sport by age 14. Emotional intelligence, the capacity to recognize, understand, and regulate emotions, represents a promising and trainable intervention target, yet few studies have examined structured EI programs with youth soccer populations using rigorous experimental designs that include a parallel control group. This quantitative intervention study examined the effect of an emotional intelligence intervention on competitive anxiety among youth soccer players, including whether individual emotional profiles and gender moderated outcomes.

A randomized controlled …

Veteran Reintegration: A Strategic Approach To Success, Stephanie Irene Hennessy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A critical gap exists in non-clinical support programs for military service members transitioning to civilian life, especially in addressing purpose, personal narrative, and community reintegration. This study examined how a reintegration program addressed this gap through a unified conceptual framework—Purpose, Narrative, and Community (PNC)—which guided program design and delivery. The program was delivered through the Surf Brigade Foundation, a veteran initiative specializing in surf immersion located on Florida’s Emerald Coast. Using a quantitative pretest-posttest case study design, this research evaluated changes in well-being, purpose identification, and social connectedness among participants. Outcomes were measured using the Integration of Stressful Life Experiences …

The Impact Of Workplace Wellness Programs On Workers’ Compensation Claims And Absenteeism: A Quantitative Study In Public Administration, Stephen Michael Douglas Coy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Employee absenteeism is detrimental to organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Workers’ compensation claims are a potential liability to government organizations, as claims filed by employees for work-related injuries or illnesses may impact insurance premiums based on the number and severity of claims filed. Identifying and implementing solutions to mitigate the effects of absenteeism and workers’ compensation claims are critical to organizational sustainability. This quantitative study seeks to determine if workplace health and wellness programs decrease absenteeism and reduce workers’ compensation claims levels among public sector employees. Post-positivism and functionalism provide this study with a theoretical underpinning. The variables of interest were …

How Are Depression And Anxiety In Biracial Black–White Adults Related To Monoracial Familial Connectedness Throughout Life?, Cary M. Steffey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The multiracial population is the fastest-growing minority group in the United States, yet their mental health and familial experiences are insufficiently studied. Due to their complex racial backgrounds, unique life experiences, and diverse social connections, multiracial individuals endure mental health issues that differ from those of many other populations, including their family relationships. Some of these differences include how these relationships affect life experiences and mental health status. This quantitative study examined psychological well-being among multiracial individuals, with a focus on relationships with monoracial family members. This study hypothesized that greater familial support predicts improved mental health outcomes. The study …

Evaluating Some Effects Of Exposure To Prompt Topographies On Intraverbal Acquisition Rates And Choice For Prompt Topographies, Isabella Zaccor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

People with developmental disabilities often have communication deficits, which create challenges with functioning in everyday life, making it more difficult for these people to foster meaningful relationships and live an independent life. People with developmental disabilities may need a more structured approach to learning important skills such as communication and social skills, such as learning with prompt topographies. By replicating Roncati et al. 2019, which evaluated exposure to prompt topographies and the effect on acquisition rates, we evaluated an adapted alternating treatments design within a multiple baseline across participants design to examine whether exposure to a specific prompt topography changed …

Discourse Production And Its Relationship To Cognition In Mild Aphasia, Marcy D. Edwards

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Objective:Standardized assessments such as the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised do not reliably detect subtle language impairments in mild aphasia (Dalton & Richardson, 2015). Discourse tasks may provide a more sensitive measure of impairment. Although discourse tasks differ in cognitive demands (Kim & Kintz, 2024), variation in discourse performance across tasks and the influence of cognition remains unclear. Therefore, this study examined (1) whether discourse performance differs across different discourse elicitation tasks, and (2) the extent to which cognition influences discourse performance in individuals with mild aphasia.

Participants & Methods: Fifteen participants with mild aphasia participated (mean age = 62.7 years). Discourse …

Exploring Menstrual Cycle Experiences And Well-Being In Young Women With Type 1 Diabetes, Yolanda Rotzinger Ballesteros

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Young women with type 1 diabetes (T1D) navigate complex physical, emotional, and social challenges, being at a higher risk for mental health concerns (e.g., depression), as well as physical (e.g., fatigue) and cognitive (e.g., focus) symptoms related to the management of their chronic health condition (Dantzer et al., 2003; Northam et al., 2005). About one-third of young women with T1D experience some form of menstrual dysfunction (Griffin et al., 1994; Schweiger et al., 2011), which is associated with lower quality of life across several domains, including the educational setting (Knox et al., 2015). Nevertheless, there is a gap in the …

The Impact Of Leadership Style On Cohesion And Trust Within Remote Teams, Grace E. Choi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological study explored how leadership approaches affected the development of trust and team cohesion within remote teams in the post-pandemic workplace. The pandemic transformed daily work interactions so that relationship focused leadership has become essential for distributed employees. This study examined how employees experience leader behaviors that either supported or hindered unity and trust through the lens of Leader-Member Exchange and transformational/transactional leadership theories. Through purposive sampling, nine adults who have spent at least one year working remotely in team-based roles in the United States were recruited for semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 45-60 minutes. Interviews were audio recorded …

The Relationship Between Estimated Vo2max And Poor Mental Health: A Study Of Brfss Data, Angelina Somadina Oputa

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Mental health conditions are one of the leading contributors to the global burden of disease. Despite advancements in mental health therapies and psychiatric medications, significant numbers of patients continue to struggle with mental illness. Despite these challenges, exercise can serve as a powerful tool to address mental health concerns. Current literature has referenced the value of physical fitness to support mental health, however there is limited large-scale research assessing the estimated maximal oxygen uptake (VO2Max) as a predictor of poor mental health days. In response, this quantitative secondary analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between estimated VO2Max and poor …