Digital Commons Network^™

Invisible Transitions: A Phenomenological Study On The Lived Experiences Of Christian Working Women Navigating Perimenopause, Rebekah S. Willis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Perimenopause is a significant life transition that can affect how women experience their bodies, relationships, work, and sense of self. However, the experiences of working women during this transition, specifically women of faith, remain underrepresented in existing literature. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of Christian working women navigating perimenopause, with attention to how they understood changes in daily life, professional identity, personal coping, workplace experiences, and faith. Eight women participated in semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Five major themes emerged from the findings: the disruption of a previously …

The Social Construction Of Firearm Meaning In 2022 Hollywood Films: A Qualitative Content Analysis, Anthony L. Paduano

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study investigated how meaning was socially constructed around firearms in mainstream American cinema. The study used Berger and Luckmann’s (1966) social construction of reality as the primary framework, with semiotic analysis and Bandura’s (1977, 1986) social learning theory as supporting lenses, treating firearms as culturally loaded signs whose meanings were encoded and stabilized through narrative convention. A qualitative content analysis of 50 films, 2022 Hollywood films in which firearms were prominent enough to meet the study’s inclusion criteria, was conducted using a two-pool design that combined purposive selection with random selection from a bounded pool of commercially prominent …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Men Who Voluntarily Remain Childless, Sylvia Joan Muglia

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe men’s experiences choosing to remain childless in Southeast (Detroit) Michigan. The theory guiding this study was Blackstone’s Theoretical Framework on Voluntary Childlessness. Rich, descriptive data were collected using a short demographic questionnaire and twelve semi-structured interviews that answered three research questions guiding this study: (1) How do men in Southeast (Detroit) Michigan describe experiences choosing to remain childless? (2) How do men in Southeast (Detroit) Michigan recount any impact from adverse childhood experiences which contribute to their decision to remain childless? (3) How do men in Southeast (Detroit) Michigan explain the …

Resilient Ethical Governance By Design: Building Resilience For Future-Ready Smart Cities Against Emerging Technology Disruptions In Public Sector – A Case Study Of Dallas Smart City, Emmanuel Asamoah Asare

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines how Dallas’s smart city strategic policies foster resilience against disruptions associated with emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and Internet of Things systems. Using a convergent mixed-methods comparative case study, Dallas serves as the primary case, Austin serves as a U.S. municipal comparator, and Barcelona serves as a qualitative benchmark for ethical and trust-centered smart city governance. The study integrates document analysis, broadband and digital equity indicators, stakeholder engagement evidence, and exploratory quantitative comparisons to assess how governance adaptability, preparedness, functionality, equity, and stakeholder trust shape resilience outcomes.

The findings provide partial support for the study’s hypotheses. Dallas …

The Impact Of Direct Democracy On Policy Formation, Tricia Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As political polarization and distrust in elected representatives increases in American politics, voters are turning to direct democracy as a mechanism to drive policy making. Proponents of both legislative mechanisms and the use of direct democracy argue that their means of policy making is the most democratic. The Founding Fathers chose a representative system to limit the influence of faction and try and prevent Tocqueville’s tyranny of the majority. This study examines both direct democracy and legislative outcomes at the state level through the lens of adult use cannabis sales policy. Adult use cannabis sales were first legalized in the …

The Impact Of Technology On Church Revitalization In South Florida Post-Pandemic: A Quantitative Analysis, Pericles Tima

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled numerous churches to adopt digital technology rapidly; nonetheless, a substantial deficiency in empirical study exists concerning their effects on church revitalization. This study seeks to address this deficiency and significantly contribute to the field by analyzing the impact of digital outreach strategies, such as social media engagement, online services, and virtual community building, on critical indicators of revitalization, including church attendance, member engagement, and financial stability. The research used a quantitative research design to gather data via surveys administered to church leaders and parishioners within Haitian churches in South Florida. The survey utilized stratified random sampling …

Male Birth Trauma Amidst The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Mary Rose Mceachern

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The year 2020 was characterized by the sudden onslaught of the COVID-19 virus, which resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic led to increased use of healthcare resources and healthcare professionals were overwhelmed with the additional responsibilities and necessary measures to protect themselves and patients. Hospital protocols were restrictive during the pandemic and these restrictions led to changes in patient care, heightened anxiety and fear of contracting this illness, and limited hospital visitation. The pandemic may have led to increased gynecological interventions during pregnancy and birth, leading to birth-related trauma. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study is to explore …

The Effects Of Home Virtual Reality (Vr) Firearms Systems On Self-Efficacy, Gun Attitude, And Stress, Raffi R. Stambultsyan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Advanced virtual reality (VR) firearms training systems have demonstrated benefits for military and law enforcement personnel; however, limited research has examined the psychological effects of commercially available home-based VR firearms systems. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to investigate the immediate effects of the GAIM and AceXR home VR dry-fire training systems on general self-efficacy, leadership self-efficacy, perceived stress, and gun attitude among firearms-trained military and law enforcement veterans. A total of 128 participants completed validated pretest and posttest measures following participation in a VR training session using either the GAIM or AceXR platform. A one-way multivariate analysis …

Mandated Reporting Experiences And Professional Quality Of Life Among Missouri K-12 Mandated Reporters, Kristina L. Gregory

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Child maltreatment is associated with significant developmental, psychological, and behavioral consequences for children. Educators often serve as frontline identifiers of suspected abuse and neglect and are legally required to report concerns to the state’s child welfare agency. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational study was to examine relationships among mandated reporting exposure, perceived reporting ambiguity, trust in Missouri’s Children’s Division, and professional quality of life among Missouri K–12 school-based mandated reporters. Professional quality of life was measured through compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. This study brings these factors together to better understand how educators’ reporting experiences and …

The Effect Of Mental Health Check-Ins On Stigma And Symptoms Of Anxiety, Depression, And Post-Traumatic Stress, Benjamin Joseph Boeke

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This applied quantitative study examined whether participation in structured mental health check-ins was associated with self-stigma toward seeking psychological help and reported symptoms of anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and depression among law enforcement officers. Using a cross-sectional, nonexperimental comparative design, anonymous survey data were collected from 130 active sworn officers across 10 small and mid-sized Iowa law enforcement agencies. The agencies included those with and without mandatory check-in policies; primary comparisons were based on officers’ reported participation in at least one check-in. Measures included the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. …

The Effect Of Job Enlargement Programs On The Wellbeing Of United States Air Force Personnel, Joseph Earl Stone

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between job enlargement programs and overall wellbeing among active-duty United States Air Force personnel using a mixed method, convergent parallel approach. Utilizing a sample of 125 active-duty personnel, these two variables were examined for a predictive relationship while controlling for eight covariates utilizing multiple regression analysis (quantitative) and assessed for contextual purposes using thematic analysis (qualitative), employing survey data from all participants. The study was framed by self-determination theory (SDT), which posits that the wellbeing of individuals is affected by three core needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Quantitatively, no …

Leadership Technology Acceptance In Nonprofit Organizations, Nathan Ogle

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The lack of technology acceptance in substance use and recovery nonprofit organizations creates operational barriers and limits leaders’ ability to align mission, governance, service delivery, and sustainability with digital change. This qualitative, flexible design multiple case organization study examined leadership technology acceptance in California nonprofit substance use and recovery organizations and the effects on operational performance. Grounded in pragmatism and framed by adaptive leadership theory and the technology acceptance model, the study linked technology innovation, financial stability, governance, leadership barriers, and organizational life to technology acceptance, operational barriers, strategy, and leadership behaviors. Data came from interviews, surveys, field notes, and …

Strength Of No-Cash Bail Policies And Jail Population Outcomes: A Quantitative Study, Charles Lincoln Tucker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study assessed the impact of no-cash bail reforms on local jail populations in various U.S. states. The no-cash bail policies, also known as "cashless bail," are criminal justice reforms that reduce or eliminate the need for defendants to pay money to secure release from jail while awaiting trial. The goal is to base pretrial detention on safety risks, not financial status. These systems use non-monetary conditions to ensure court appearances instead of wealth-based detention. This study aimed to address a critical gap in scholarly understanding of statewide implementation policies carried out at the local level. The data were …

From Broken To Becoming: A Phenomenological Study Of Life Purpose Among Christian Adult Survivors Of Childhood Trauma, Chenel M. Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Childhood trauma often disrupts an individual’s sense of meaning, identity, and direction, leaving lasting effects that extend beyond psychological symptoms into how life’s purpose is understood and lived. While existing research has examined trauma, coping, and meaning in life, less is known about how survivors themselves experience and construct life purpose following traumatic experiences. This qualitative phenomenological study explored how Christian adult survivors of childhood trauma describe their lived experiences of trauma and healing, and the development of life purpose in adulthood. Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven Christian adults who self-identified as having experienced childhood trauma and healing and …

Animal-Assisted Therapy: An Exploration Of The Utilization Of Animal-Assisted Therapy, Ashleigh R. Perry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has been increasingly incorporated into professional counseling practice, yet limited research has examined the factors associated with counselors’ reported utilization of animal-assisted interventions (AAI). Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior-informed framework, this quantitative, nonexperimental correlational study examined whether subjective norms predicted counselors’ reported AAI utilization, with attitudes and perceived behavioral control included as covariates. Multicultural competence was examined first as an overall mediator and then through the parallel mediating pathways of multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. Following data screening, 28 participant responses were retained for the primary analysis. Multiple regression and mediation analyses using PROCESS Model …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Family Dynamics And Juvenile Delinquency: A Qualitative Case Study With Probation Officers, Sevoca Glass Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Beqo et al. (2017) discuss the correlation between juvenile delinquency and upbringing in dysfunctional and fragmented homes. The point of this study is to investigate the link between family structure and dynamics while also figuring out how likely it is that someone will commit a crime (Mwangangi, 2019). Large amounts of empirical research have clearly shown that teens who grow up in bad homes are more likely to become juvenile offenders than their peers who grow up in loving homes. The main aim of this qualitative case study is to examine the views of federal probation officials regarding the possible …

Refereed Research - Indispensable Yet Not Fully Legitimate: Street Markets As Invisible Subsistence Infrastructure, Raji Srinivasan, Maria C. Merino

Subsistence Marketplaces

Street markets are key provisioning systems across the Global South, supplying fresh food, employment, and retail access absent formal infrastructure. Yet despite street markets’ functional indispensability to millions of low-income consumers, their legitimacy is chronically contested, affirmed by vendors and communities yet challenged by planners, developers, and state authorities who apply formal-economy criteria in evaluating them. We theorize this as a legitimacy paradox and ask what structural mechanisms sustain it? Using composite vignettes grounded in fieldwork, we theorize three mechanisms. First, visibility without recognition: street markets are hyper-visible yet excluded from cognitive templates of legitimate, formal retail. Second, asymmetric essentiality: …

Response To Reviewers — Emancipations Symposium On Profit And Power, Ronen Palan

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Hope In The Shadow Of Impasse: Analytic Logic Vs The Rhetoric Of Optimism In Ian Shapiro’S After The Fall, Albena Azmanova

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Eviscerating The State: An Update, Jean L. Cohen

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

A year after the publication of her article “Eviscerating the State: The New Oligarchic and Authoritarian Project to Undermine American Constitutional Democracy (Emancipations, Vol.4: Iss.2, July 2025) Jean Cohen looks again at the threats to American constitutional democracy posed by new oligarchic and authoritarian actors in the economy, the state, and society.

Uneven And Combined Fascism: A Postapocalyptic Perspective, Daniel Loick

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

This essay develops the concept of “uneven and combined fascism” as an alternative to dominant liberal approaches that understand fascism primarily as a future rupture or return of the European past. Analogizing the crisis of democracy with environmental crisis, it argues that fascism, like ecological catastrophe, should be understood as an ongoing and differentially distributed condition: already present for some while remaining latent or emergent for others. The essay develops this claim by consulting approaches of "postapocalyptic environmentalism" as well as thinkers and activists from the Black Radical Tradition, particularly the analyses of Aimé Césaire and the Civil Rights Congress’s …

Lsab Minutes September 2026, Shawna Battle, Maryke H. Barber

WRL Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Predictors Of Psychological Strain In College Students In The Context Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Randy M. Ludwig

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic exacerbated the traditional challenges of being a college student. This study examined the factors associated with the mental health difficulties many college students faced during the pandemic. Factor analysis was used to uncover a latent variable called psychological strain, which was composed of mental instability, mental health strain, sadness, anxiety, and unhappiness. An exploratory path model was created to determine which factors most closely related to psychological strain. Of the 14 factors considered, 11 were significant predictors. Overall, the most important risk factor was found to be social isolation (total effects = .437), while …

Virtual Lunch And Learn: Efficient Database Translation, Stefanie Lapka

TMC Library Newsletter (2015-)

Searching across multiple databases is an important part of a comprehensive literature search—but translating a search strategy from one database to another takes more than simply copying and pasting.

Join us for September's Lunch & Learn to explore database translation. Register to attend this virtual session.

Resources Feature: Explore Public Opinion Data With Roper Ipoll, Joanne Romano

TMC Library Newsletter (2015-)

Looking for public opinion or survey data? Roper iPoll, available through the TMC Library, provides access to nearly one million survey and poll questions and responses covering decades of public opinion research.

Explore Roper iPoll through the TMC Library’s A–Z Databases: https://bit.ly/4rixZFk

History Of Medicine Seminar Returns For Fall 2026, Alice Sherwood

TMC Library Newsletter (2015-)

The History of Medicine Seminar is back for the Fall 2026 semester! This longstanding collaborative series brings together the TMC community for conversations exploring the history of medicine, archival collections, philosophy, and morally relevant questions in medicine.

View the Fall 2026 History of Medicine Seminar schedule

Black Existential–Spiritual Counseling: A Content Analysis, Miles Matise

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Black American existential–spiritual counseling integrates existential philosophy with the unique cultural, historical, and spiritual contexts of Black Americans to address their psychological and spiritual needs. Rooted in the lived experience of systemic oppression, alienation, and the quest for identity and freedom, this counseling approach emphasizes meaning-making, personal responsibility, and authentic living. It acknowledges the interconnectedness of spirituality and psychology, recognizing the importance of the Black church, music, and communal values in fostering resilience and empowerment. Drawing on existential themes, such as mortality, freedom, loneliness, and purpose, this approach supports clients in navigating sociocultural stressors and generational trauma through a spiritually …

The Current - Volume 37 Issue 02, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Archives As Activism: Using Cuny Archives To Examine And Analyze Social Change, Marci Littlefield

Open Educational Resources

Archives as Activism uses CUNY archival materials to help students examine the relationship between activism, social issues and social change. Students will analyze primary sources such as flyers, newsletters, photographs, student newspapers, and institutional documents and connect them to contemporary social issues. CUNY’s history of activism around, race, gender, educational access, women’s organizing and institutional power provides students with an opportunity to investigate questions about power, collective action, intersectionality and social change.

Click, Listen, Reflect: Implementing Discord In Critical Listening Courses, Kenny Shania Lestari R, Metaria Metaria, Siti Nurhalimah

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

Critical listening requires learners not only to comprehend spoken information but also to interpret and evaluate its meaning. Digital learning environments may support these processes by providing opportunities for repeated access to spoken input, interaction, and collaborative discussion. This study explored how Discord was implemented in a Critical Listening course and how students perceived and experienced its use in supporting their critical listening learning. The study employed a qualitative descriptive design involving 20 students from the International Class Program at Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University of Malang. Data were collected through classroom observation checklists, field notes, and focus group …