Digital Commons Network^™

A Phenomenological Study On Korean Christian Immigrants’ Searching For Wholeness, Hyunjin Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Wholeness is a way of living that integrates life’s paradoxes into a cohesive whole, and biblically it is living in harmony with God, others, and oneself. While both scientific and biblical perspectives affirm spirituality and virtues as central to wholeness, existing empirical models often fall short of capturing its full scope within Christian and cultural contexts. This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to gain deeper insights into the common essence of Christian wholeness by exploring the lived experiences of wholeness among Korean Christians living in the United States of America. Twelve participants engaged in in-depth interviews and focus groups, and data …

From Belongingness Deficits To Self-Harm: Examining Internalized Shame, Self-Esteem, And The Moderating Roles Of Resilience, Social Support, And Religious Coping, Yulissa Bochey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Belongingness is a fundamental human need, and its absence can contribute to profound emotional and behavioral consequences. When individuals experience prolonged social exclusion, they often internalize rejection, resulting in shame, diminished self-worth, and, in some cases, self-harming behaviors. Despite a growing body of research on social exclusion and emotional distress, there is little known regarding how internalized shame, self-harm, and religious coping relate with belongingness deficits. This study investigated the relationship between belongingness deficits and internalized shame, with particular attention to the moderating roles of resilience, perceived social support, and religious coping, as well as the mediating role of self-esteem. …

Literacy Nonprofits And Social Media: Advancing An Understanding Of Message Functions And Communication Flows In Online Stakeholder Engagement, Diane M. Goodman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Countless nonprofit organizations in the United States have worked diligently to increase adequate access to literature and to improve child literacy rates through supplemental programming. Revenue growth in a nonprofit depends largely on the relationships between the organization and the public, yet nonprofits face additional obstacles to achieving strategic organizational goals in comparison with their for-profit counterparts (McGee & Donoghue, 2009). Although the majority of nonprofit organizations have been addressing societal issues at a grassroots level (Carter et al., 2019), most community-based nonprofits have faced challenges expanding to other communities and difficulties in replicating effective stakeholder engagement strategies (Nardini et …

Power Of Connection: How Communication Between Leaders And Employees Impacts Job Satisfaction, Keaira G. Turner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Direct communication in the workplace plays a critical role in shaping employees’ perceptions of leadership and the organization. This study examines the impact of Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) on understanding the relationship between leaders and employees, with particular attention to how effective communication practices influence that relationship. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 27 participants, who were invited to share their workplace experiences with their supervisors. Using a hybrid coding approach, the data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns and themes across participants' responses. Five key themes emerged, including (1) trust through communication, (2) transparency and …

Legal Administrators’ Perceived Impact Of Coaching On Job Satisfaction And Commitment: A Phenomenological Study, Michael Francis Hayes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Executive coaching has emerged as a leadership development tool that can influence how professionals interpret their work experiences within organizations. This qualitative phenomenological study explored how legal administrators within the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAGC) described their lived experiences with executive coaching and how those experiences influenced their perceptions of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 active-duty legal administrators. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns within the collective experiences described by the participants. The analysis revealed several themes that characterized how legal administrators experienced coaching and its …

Leading Like Christ: A Phenomenological Study Of The Biblical Shepherd Motif In Christian Parachurch Executive Leadership, Alex Sefton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Christian nonprofit parachurch organization executive leaders in southeastern Indiana (i.e., Decatur County and its adjacent counties). For the purpose of this study, executive leaders was defined as those who hold a top-level leadership position at an organization, and Christian nonprofit parachurch organization was defined as an organization designated under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) that advances biblical principles and social welfare. Shepherd-like leadership was generally defined as a leadership style that demonstrates relational care, personal guidance, and protection of well-being, as seen in Psalm …

Enhancing Students’ Self-Disclosure Through Assertive Training: Evidence From A Group Counseling Intervention, Abu Yazid Abu Bakar, Khairul Bariyyah, Santy Andrianie, Setyorini Setyorini, Restu Dwi Ariyanto, Laily Tiarani Soejanto, Dzata Inasah Bil Humaydah

Buletin Konseling Inovatif

Self disclosure is a critical component of students’ social and emotional development; however, many students experience difficulties in expressing their thoughts and feelings openly, which may hinder interpersonal relationships and psychological well-being. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of group counseling using assertive training techniques in enhancing students’ self-disclosure. A quantitative approach with a pre-experimental one-group pre-test–post-test design was employed. The participants consisted of five junior high school students identified as having low self-disclosure levels through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a self-disclosure scale and analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired samples t-test, effect size (Cohen’s d), Wilcoxon signed-rank …

We’Ve Been Dying From Trying: Taylor Swift, Earnestness, And The Collective Repudiation Of Cool., Kathryn J. Lively

The Manuscript: Journal of Taylor Swift Studies

This essay argues that cool operates not as an aesthetic preference but as a feeling rule—a socially enforced constraint on which emotions are permissible in public life. Drawing on Thornton's concept of subcultural capital, Goffman's dramaturgical framework, and Hochschild's theory of feeling rules, the paper identifies three structural requirements of cool: distinction in the mode of appreciation, performative concealment of effort, and emotional constraint. Taylor Swift violates all three. Through analysis of the Eras Tour, Swift's songwriting, her public persona, and the ritual practices of her fandom, the essay demonstrates that Swift's cultural significance lies not in her popularity but …

Taylor Swift, Gender, And Feminism: What Do The Data Say?, Maxine Lewis

The Manuscript: Journal of Taylor Swift Studies

In the world of Swiftian scholarship, several scholars have credited Taylor Swift with feminist impact, while others have criticized both her type of feminism and claims to be a feminist. Many arguments rest on a narrow group of protest songs (“The Man”, “You Need To Calm Down”, and “Only The Young”) and a short period of Swift’s career in which she made many paratextual political gestures (2019-2020). However, claims about a songwriter’s feminism (or lack thereof) will be more accurate, robust, and nuanced if they draw on data from her whole career.

This article provides the first systematic survey of …

Latine Financial Wellness Content Creators: Rhetorical Strategies And Approaches, Ariana Bribiesca

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

The following paper explores Latine popular culture through the lens of Latine Instagram content creators who focus on financial literacy and wellness. First, “Viv” from Overcoming Generational Poverty provides a free budget template and money resources. She is the first in her family to build generational wealth while simultaneously supporting her family financially. Second, Giovanna González, a financial educator and award-winning author of Cultura & Cash: Lessons from the First Gen Mentor for Managing Finances & Cultural Expectations, explores the intersection of culture and finances. Finally, Hip Latina’s “Finances Section” explores content with financial resources as part of their larger …

What Are Elementary Phenomena? An Introduction To A Lacanian Conceptualization, Derek Hook Ph.D.

Middle Voices

What do Lacanians mean when they refer to the notion of elementary phenomena? This idea, crucial to Lacan’s (1993) theorizations of psychosis in Seminar III, refers back to the psychiatric conceptualizations of the late 19th and early 20th century. However, even while citing the influence of others when utilizing the concept, Lacan—characteristically enough— described the concept in his own distinctively psychoanalytic way. The term is particularly important to Lacan in terms of how he thinks about the development of delusions and related psychotic symptoms in relation to the initial onset of psychosis. In this short paper, I aim simply to …

Covid Minds: A Thematic Review Of The Pandemic On Neural Mechanisms And Political Polarization, Madison Jeffries

Honors Projects

This paper analyzes how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced political polarization in the United States by examining the interactions between social system disruption, psychological stress, and underlying neurological behaviors. While previous research has extensively discussed pandemic's influence on public health and societal breakdowns, studies fail to examine how these disruptions shaped political divisions. This study synthesizes interdisciplinary literature on pandemic-induced stressors and analyzes factors, including institutional mistrust and social isolation, and how these experiences shape political behavior and perspectives. Applying research from psychology and neuroscience, the paper argues that prolonged exposure to pandemic-related stressors changed neurological and behavioral patterns in response …

Psycho-Pathology And Links Between Neurosis And Psychosis, B. Mason Judy, John Dall'aglio

Middle Voices

Commentary

The Secretary Of Alienation: Metaphor And Metapsychology, Anna Kreienberg

Middle Voices

Commentary

Sociology 250: Racial And Ethnic Communities In The United States Syllabus, Minglei Zhang

Open Educational Resources

This Open Educational Resources (OER) syllabus for SOC 250: Racial and Ethnic Communities in the United States provides a no-cost, adaptable framework for examining the sociological dimensions of race, ethnicity, and power in American society. The course is organized thematically across four modules, progressing from foundational concepts of race as a social construct through analyses of institutions, inequality, and historical movements for social change. Drawing on diverse theoretical perspectives including intersectionality, critical race theory, and racial formation theory, this OER syllabus emphasizes critical thinking, analytical writing, and evidence-based inquiry. All course materials, including academic readings, documentaries, podcasts, and digital resources, …

Cognition Is Not Content: A Structural Account Of Processing Conditions, Griselda Poe

Publications and Research

Human cognition has been described in terms of content. This description becomes insufficient once artificial systems make output observable apart from subject attribution, intention, and relational context. Under this contrast condition, what becomes visible is a layered structure in which output, reconstruction, evaluation, and termination do not necessarily coincide. The same input may register as complete under one processing condition while remaining unresolved under another. This separability means that content-based description does not merely omit an additional variable: it can mislocate a processing difference as a difference in meaning, personality, intention, ability, or attitude. This is not a proposal for …

Three Essays In Political Economy, Thomas Ryan Johnson

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Markets, institutions, and borders shape political behavior. Geography influences why markets form, how institutions flourish, and where nations draw borders. As a consequence, empirical studies of political behavior frequently struggle to disentangle spatial effects from quantities of interest. This dissertation makes a methodological advancement in this problem area and conducts a spatial study with these concerns in mind. The dissertation studies bias in spatial regressions, how natural disasters impact political participation, and the political economy of espionage. It introduces a flexible machine learning methodology to mitigate bias in spatial regressions, it identifies spatial and demographic factors associated with changes to …

Beyond Symptoms: A Narrative Counseling Interpretation Of First-Year Student Anxiety In Indonesian Higher Education, Azizah Abdullah, Rizky Andana Pohan, Ramtia Darma Putri, Triyono Triyono, Marimbun Marimbun, Rahmi Dwi Febriani

Buletin Konseling Inovatif

The transition to higher education is a critical period in which first-year students face new academic demands, financial pressures, social adjustment challenges, and uncertainty about the future. However, limited research has examined how freshmen make sense of and narrate their anxiety, particularly in the Indonesian context. This study aimed to explore the main domains of anxiety among first-semester students in Indonesian public universities and to interpret these experiences through a narrative counseling lens. The study employed a qualitative online survey design with an interpretivist orientation. Data were collected from 199 first-semester students through open-ended questions addressing anxiety-provoking situations, sources of …

Where India Sits In International Political Economy, Sophia Usmani

Bates College Journal of Political Studies

This paper observes the scholarship of international political economy regarding the involvement and consideration of the Global South, focusing on India. It focuses on India's historic involvement in the global economy, and how that role has changed and adapted over time. This paper aims to bring India into the foreground of discussions on international political economy, and address the historic contributions and major political and economic events in the country.

Understanding And Evaluating The Impact Of Pathway Programs, Benjamin Boer

Reports, Analyses, and other Publications

A brief by Educatoin Systems Center (EdSystems) on the outcomes and lessons learned from the data collection processes and analysis for the Accelerated Model Pathways for Information Technology (AMP-IT) initiative, including an overview of the scaling of IT college and career pathways in the participating school districts, an understanding of the “milestones” that students meet prior to graduation, and how these milestones can be used to evaluate the program and assess longer-term outcomes. Additionally, the summary explores the challenges faced in collecting data and how EdSystems is adapting its data collection and analysis approach to improve understanding and evaluation of …

Global Institutions In The Colonial Conquest Of Palestine, Zeeshan Uddin

Student Scholarship

Spring 2026 SOCI 232: Social Policy and Global Issues course.

Research questions:

Question 1: How has Western imperialism historically and contemporarily dominated global policy?

Question 2: How have global institutions (ie. the League of Nations, UN, ICJ, IMF, etc.) shaped and contributed to the ongoing colonialist/imperialist project in Palestine?

A Daily Assessment Of Food And Alcohol Disturbance And Alcohol Intoxication As Predictors Of Sexual Violence Victimization, Amanda Elizabeth Baildon

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

Alcohol-involved sexual violence (SV) is a common and detrimental experience for young adult women. To supplement SV prevention strategies aimed at perpetrators, who are fully responsible for the occurrence of SV, risk reduction programs that target women’s drinking have been implemented with limited efficacy. To improve these programs, research must examine novel predictors like food and alcohol disturbance (FAD) that contribute to SV risk. FAD refers to compensatory behaviors (e.g., restricted eating, excessive exercise) to offset alcohol’s calories or enhance intoxication. Approximately 45% of young adult women engage in FAD, a practice that likely heightens SV risk by facilitating rapid …

Service Providers’ Perceptions Of Mckinney-Vento Implementation: Supporting Academic Performance And Attendance In K-12 Students’ Experiencing Homelessness, Darci Mcrae

Honors Projects

In Wood, Lucas, and Ottawa County, Ohio, approximately 2,508 students or 2.6% of total enrollment experience homelessness. The McKinney-Vento Act (MVA, 1987) aims to reduce educational barriers for these students by ensuring access to transportation, school enrollment, school supplies, and additional educational support. Despite these provisions, the effectiveness of MVA implementation varies among school districts due to differences in staff training, funding, procedures, and the diverse needs of students experiencing homelessness. This study examines service providers’ perceptions of how the MVA is implemented in public school districts and how it affects attendance and academic performance among K–12 students’ experiencing homelessness. …

A Trauma Psychology Approach To Space Psychology And Long-Duration Space Travel In Consideration Of Isolation, Resource Scarcity, And Group Dynamics., Alden Nicoll

Honors Projects

As modern societies research and prepare for long-duration deep space travel, psychological research becomes increasingly prevalent into understanding the effects of trauma on the psyche. This present study looks at the current research outcomes of “Team Dynamics”, “Social Isolation”, and “Resource Scarcity” within the literature of Space Psychology. Current research on social isolation is taken from past missions in outer space and analog missions in Antarctica, at sea, and prison research. While research is vast on social isolation, it doesn’t consider how trauma could be intensified with both time and duration in space. Next, when considering team dynamics and how …

The Influence Of The Japanese Language On Gender Perceptions, Jasmine Bishara

Honors Projects

This study aimed to understand the how the Japanese language impacted people’s gender perceptions of women. Previous research showed that there are words and phrases in the Japanese language that are devaluing towards women, and that there are different societal expectations of women in their speech style. There are also different expectations of women’s behavior, which has impacted them in the workplace. Due to a lack of participants, no conclusions can be drawn about how language and social expectations impact how women are perceived in society. However, based on previous research it can be assumed that these issues still remain …

"Principle Before Party": Samuel "Golden Rule" Jones And The 1899 Ohio Gubernatorial Election, Connor Hand

Honors Projects

As partisan loyalty declined and resentment grew against American social, political, and economic conditions at the end of the nineteenth century, political reformers saw an opportunity to spread their ideals for a better society. Most reformers opted against running for office, and those who did often used standard or newly formed political parties. Mayor of Toledo and progressive businessman Samuel Jones differed from the standard reformer by seeking office while embracing a non-partisan ideology. By analyzing Jones’ writings, the partisan response to his movement, and contextualizing him amongst reformers, this essay explores how Jones stood out from the standard political …

Motivation Vs. Negative Feelings Among Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Social Anxiety​, Jakob Carver, Eden Ordyna

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

This study examines how motivation relates to negative emotional experiences across three groups: individuals with autism, individuals with social anxiety, and a control group. As shown in Figure 1, higher motivation is associated with lower levels of negative feelings across all groups, indicating a consistent inverse relationship.

Baseline differences are evident, with individuals with social anxiety reporting the highest negative feelings, followed by those with autism, and the control group reporting the lowest. While all groups show similar downward trends as motivation increases, the reduction appears most pronounced in the control group. In contrast, individuals with autism and social anxiety …

Lived Experiences Of Husbands Of Deployed Military Spouses, Timothy Lee Heath

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The focus of this study was to explore the lived experiences of civilian husbands during the deployment of their active-duty spouses. Although there is plenty of information concerning the negative and demanding impacts of deployment on female spouses and children, more is needed to understand the lived experiences of husbands of deployed soldiers. Research has confirmed that husbands of deployed soldiers have distinctive gender-specific needs that have been inadequately addressed, leading to adverse psychosocial effects. The couple adaptation to traumatic stress model and gender role theory served as the frameworks for this study to identify the psychosocial issues faced by …

‘Taking Out The Trash’: Domestic Care & Women’S Immigration, Mari Arrieta

Student Scholarship

Spring 2026 SOCI 232: Social Policy and Global Issues course.

Research questions:

2.1. Private Childcare

Why is childcare in the United States treated as a private responsibility rather than a public good?

2.2. Immigrant Women & Childcare

In what ways does the U.S. childcare system rely on and reproduce immigrant women’s labor through labor regulations?

Improving Drought Science Communication And Accessibility, Lindsay Erin Johnson

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

Effective drought management depends not only on the accuracy of scientific data, but also on how that information is communicated and understood by diverse audiences. This dissertation examines drought communication through the lens of science communication, with a focus on improving readability, accessibility, understandability, and usability of drought information. Using a manuscript-style format, three studies investigate how drought information is written, delivered, and applied. Chapter 1 provides a brief overview and outline of this dissertation. Chapter 2 evaluates the readability of the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) national narratives over almost 8 years. Results show that these narratives are consistently written …