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Conceptual Concerns Regarding The Content Validity Of The Construct Of Gender Dysphoria In The Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision, Waverley Vesely

Theses and Dissertations

The diagnostic classification of gender dysphoria in the DSM-5-TR elicits a number of clinical, political, and philosophical concerns, ranging from those that are diagnostic and taxonomical in nature to those that fall within the domains of ontology, phenomenology, and hermeneutics. Part of the reason for the complexity of studying the diagnostic and nosological validity of gender dysphoria as an extant diagnostic classification is that, unlike many disorders, gender dysphoria is inextricably tethered to identity. While the recent change from gender identity disorder to gender dysphoria has nominally removed the status of disorder, in practice, both clinicians and the general population …

Survivors Of Historical Intergenerational And Familial Trauma Scale For Black American Descendants Of Enslaved People: A Development And Initial Validation Study, Loryn Chás Kimbrough

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Despite extensive research documenting cultural and racialized trauma, no validated assessment tool had previously captured the intrafamilial mechanisms of trauma transmission specific to the BADEP population, whose trauma lineage is rooted in slavery. The present study addresses this gap through the development and initial validation of the Survivors of Historical Intergenerational and Familial Trauma Scale (SHIFTS), a culturally grounded instrument designed to measure the transmission of historical trauma (HT) and ongoing intergenerational trauma (IGT) among Black American Descendants of Enslaved People (BADEPs). The SHIFTS examines how HT gives rise to the continued transmission of two interrelated legacies: survival-based and trauma-rooted …

Cultural Adaptation As A Catalyst For Creativity: The Role Of Immigrant Generation And Bicultural Identity, Milena Demario

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examined the relationship between bicultural identity and creative thinking among first-, 1.5-, and second-generation immigrants across a broad range of skill levels. Creativity was assessed using the Alternate Uses Task, with fluency, flexibility, and originality combined into a composite score. Results indicated that biculturalism was a strong predictor of creativity, with both cultural distance and cultural conflict positively associated with creative performance. Cultural distance showed the strongest effect, suggesting that maintaining differentiated cultural frameworks enhances divergent thinking. Mediation analyses provided partial support for biculturalism as a mechanism linking immigrant generation to creativity, primarily among second-generation immigrants. Moderation analyses …

Neutralization Mechanisms In Protest-Related Vandalism: Implications For Psycholinguistic Crisis Communication, M. Agung Lyndardi

Jurnal Kriminologi Indonesia

Protest-related vandalism has become a recurring phenomenon in Indonesia’s democratic landscape, particularly during large-scale demonstrations involving students, labor groups, and civil society coalitions. Conventional legal approaches that define vandalism as a public-order violation are insufficient to explain why such actions persist, why they concentrate on symbolic state targets, and why participants frequently deny moral wrongdoing. This article analyzes protest-related vandalism in Indonesia through the framework of neutralization theory (Sykes & Matza, 1957), integrating perspectives from criminology, moral disengagement theory, collective action, political legitimacy, and public psycholinguistics. Using a structured literature review of international and Indonesian scholarship published between 1957 and …

Analyzing Modern Scam Typologies: From Pig-Butchering And Nigerian Advance-Fee Fraud To Crypto Airdrop Schemes, Katalin Parti, Sinyong Choi, Thomas Dearden

International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime

Rapid advancements in digital infrastructure and decentralized networks have fundamentally altered the nature of contemporary cybercrime, making comprehensive empirical and technical analysis more crucial than ever. To address these challenges, this editorial summarizes the research contributions featured in this issue of the International Jour nal of Cybersecurity Intelligence and Cybercrime. The included papers examine the structural on-chain dynamics of sanctioned pig-butchering operations, the representational production and AI-driven evolution of the “Nigerian scam” label, the critical transaction-authorization factors driving losses in crypto airdrop schemes, and the optimization of sentence-transformer models for automated Host Intrusion Detection System (HIDS) alert enrichment. Together, these …

Attribution Post ‘Aura’ Loss: A Qualitative Discourse Analysis Of The Nigerian Scam Label And Fraud Attribution, Emaediong Akpan

International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime

In this essay, I employ qualitative discourse analysis of eleven purposively selected literature to examine how “Nigerian scam” became an established yet detached signifier of advance-fee fraud in global discourse. I do not treat this association as a reflection of offender identity or national inclination. Instead, the analysis traces how attribution is produced through representational repetition, institu tional uptake, and the circulation of familiar narrative cues. Using qualitative discourse analysis and an interpretive approach, this paper distinguishes among the socio-technical conditions that enable fraud, the institutional processes that stabilize attribution, and the semiotic dynamics through which national categories acquire durability. …

The Impacts Of Technology-Based Student-Centered Learning On Students’ Perception Of Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning (French, Spanish, And Chinese), Gideon Yeboah

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study investigates the perceptions of 21 university students enrolled in first- and second-year foreign language courses - French 102 & 202, Spanish 102 & 202, and Chinese 102 & 202 - regarding the effectiveness of technology-based learning tools in vocabulary acquisition compared to traditional methods. Data were collected through an online survey questionnaire voluntarily completed by participants across three courses taught by four instructors. Findings indicate a generally positive view of digital tools such as flashcards, language apps, and online platforms, valued for enabling self-paced learning, interactive engagement, immediate feedback, and increased motivation, which enhanced vocabulary retention. Traditional methods …

Building Trust Through Partnership: A Community Advisory Board Self-Evaluation Within A Blackfeet Nation Community-Based Participatory Research Collaboration, Lauren Dupuis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Community Advisory Boards (CABs) are frequently used within community-based participatory research (CBPR) to promote community engagement, shared decision-making, and cultural responsiveness. Although CABs are widely utilized in Indigenous research partnerships, relatively few studies have evaluated CAB function from the perspectives of Indigenous community members. Our study describes the development of a CAB established through a collaborative partnership between the University of Montana and the Blackfeet Nation and evaluates the quality and impact of the partnership from the perspectives of CAB members. We conducted a mixed-methods partnership self-evaluation with members of a CAB supporting an Indigenous healthcare research initiative. Three of …

East To West: Cultural Attitudes And The Perceptions Of Death, Hannah F. Ahmed

UROP Posters

Death is a universal human experience, but cultures teach people to interpret it in different ways. These interpretations influence how individuals understand dying, how they cope with loss, what support looks like, and what meaning death makes in their lives. Eastern, spiritual, and religious traditions emphasize death as a natural transition or return to divinity rather than an endpoint, and as something one must prepare for. In these contexts, people often grow up hearing stories, prayers, and teachings that situate death within a broader journey. Because of this, death becomes something familiar and speakable rather than distant or frightening (Naderi-Afif …

The Limits Of Daca: Affordability- And Access-Related Barriers To Health Professions Education, Nicole Perez, Laura Hirshfield

Journal of College Access

The U.S. is currently facing a shortage of health professionals from underrepresented backgrounds. One potential pathway to decrease this shortage is through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a policy that provides temporary relief from deportation for individuals who migrated to the U.S. before age 16. This study, using 15 life-history narrative interviews, investigates the experiences of Latinx young adults who were pursuing health professions education or working as health professionals. Nine of the participants were DACA recipients, while the remaining six were second-generation (i.e., children of immigrants). An iterative, inductive approach to data analysis was used to …

Gaining Voice, Creating Opportunity: An Exploration Of Non-Native English-Speaking Students’ Sources Of Self-Efficacy In U.S. College Public Speaking Classrooms, Desiree M M Flores-Molina

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This qualitative dissertation explores the sources of public speaking self-efficacy among non-native English-speaking international students enrolled in U.S. college public speaking courses. The study applies Bandura's social cognitive theory to examine how students describe the experiences that shape their confidence and perceived ability to succeed, with attention to mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological and affective states. It also considers how classroom practices and instructor support contribute to or constrain students' confidence.

Data were collected through semi-structured student interviews, guided reflection artifacts connected to major speech assignments, and key-informant interviews with public speaking instructors. Thematic analysis was used …

“I Call For The Resurgence And Reclamation Of Our Indigenous Ways”: Institutional Landscapes, Resistance, And The Experiences Of Mmir Advocates, Sara Tehrani

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island experience disproportionately high rates of violence and homicide compared to other racial groups. Rooted in coloniality and sustained by Western institutions, this epidemic is recognized as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) crisis. In response, Indigenous women have mobilized the MMIR Movement to raise awareness and advocate for institutional change. Although scholarship on MMIR has expanded, limited research has explored the experiences of MMIR advocates. This study interrogates the institutional landscapes that shape MMIR advocacy and explores the resistance strategies advocates employ to address the crisis. Using reflexive thematic analysis, this study examines semi-structured …

It Makes You Nervous When You Start Talking About Racism: Shining Light On Teacher Educators’ Experiences Of Anti-Racist Pedagogy In Australian Teacher Education, Sasha Janes

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Teacher educators have a significant responsibility in promoting anti-racist pedagogy and guiding preservice teachers to engage in critical self-examination regarding dominant narratives. However, many teacher education programmes fall short of adequately equipping aspiring teachers for diverse classrooms as they often perpetuate a predominantly white system and curricula. Informed by Critical Pedagogy and underpinned by a lens of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies, this paper discusses the experiences of teacher educators facilitating anti-racist pedagogy within teacher education programmes at Australian universities. Semi-structured interviews were held with 23 experienced teacher educators employed at universities across Australia. Data reveal teacher educators’ efforts to promote anti-racist …

When The Panic Sets In: Ai-Proofing As Pedagogical Violence In Social Work Education, Norah Hosken, Susan Bailey

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Universities’ rushed responses to generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) constitute pedagogical violence against students and educators in social work programs. Drawing on Matusov and Sullivan’s pedagogical violence framework and Bourdieu’s symbolic violence, we examine how institutional mandates to ‘AI-proof’ assessments contradict core social work values while inflicting systematic harm. AI-proofing policies impose time-limited assessments disadvantaging disabled students and those with caring responsibilities, deploy surveillance technologies that discriminate against non-native English speakers, demand unsustainable workload increases from burned-out educators, and dismantle scaffolded pedagogy aligned with how social workers learn to practise. Using collaborative autoethnography, we document our experiences across Australian universities and …

Women Are Discriminated Against On The Basis Of Sex: Anti-Trans Epistemologies In Australian Universities, Emily M. Gray, Jacqueline Ullman, Mindy Blaise

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article offers an analysis of qualitative data from a multi-phased project entitled Understanding and Addressing Everyday Sexisms in Australian Universities. The project’s key aim was to improve the ways in which gender-based discrimination is understood and addressed in Australian universities. It achieved this aim through adopting a situated, intersectional, and creative approach to data generation and analysis. The authors examine data from phase three of the project, a large-scale survey that was distributed across 12 of Australia’s 39 public universities, yielding 1257 responses. The survey was designed to encourage academic staff of all genders to participate and aimed to …

Christianity As Coping Mechanisms For Migrants With Mental Health Challenges In Australia: Social Work Implications, Obed Adonteng-Kissi, Nnaemeka Meribe, Kathomi Gatwiri, Lillian Mwanri, Agness Tembo, Frank Darkwa Baffour, Edith N. Botchway-Commey, Aunty Kerrie Doyle, David Chisanga, Ahmed A. Moustafa, Uchechukwu Levi Osuagwu

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Christian religion may be a powerful resource that can serve as a coping mechanism to resolve challenges and provide comfort to African migrants confronted with mental health challenges. We aimed to explore the coping strategies among African migrants in Australia. We undertook semi-structured interviews online with 11 participants with African backgrounds, comprising six mental health clinicians and five migrant service users living in Australia for at least the past 12 months. Literature exploring religious coping mechanisms, social support and acculturation was drawn on. The interviews were undertaken online via Teams, WhatsApp call, and zoom with participants whom we recruited through …

Accessing Campus Mental Health Services In A Nigerian Southwestern University: Barriers To Academic Success, Caroline Dada

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental health disorders are a significant health concern among higher education institutions in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria. A substantial treatment gap exists in the Nigerian healthcare system, and this gap is further worsened by cultural and religious barriers, which reinforce stigma that discourages students from seeking professional help. This qualitative narrative inquiry explored the barriers students encountered when accessing mental health services at a university in Southwestern Nigeria, to increase service access. Qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted with seven professional mental health providers at a university counseling center between March and April 2025. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify …

Associating Emotional Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, And Inclusive Leadership: A Correlational Study Of Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors And Church Leaders In Canada, Damson Anim Oppong

Dissertations

Problem

In an increasingly polarized world, church leaders are expected to foster inclusion, belonging, and unity within diverse congregations. Inclusive leadership (IL), supported by emotional intelligence (EQ) and cultural intelligence (CQ), may offer a relational leadership posture well-suited to this challenge. Growing evidence suggests that relational qualities such as EQ and CQ help leaders develop inclusive communities, foster belonging, and bridge differences (Thomas & Inkson, 2017; Wise, 2022). Emotional and cultural intelligence are studied increasingly in organizational settings, but little is known about how they affect inclusive leadership in faith-based institutions, such as among pastors and church leaders in the …

Against Audiepistemic Injustice: Claiming Deaf Futurity, Pamela R. Conley

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation proposes a new theoretical framework: Audiepistemic Injustice (AEI). Expanding upon existing theories of epistemic injustice (EI), I identify AEI as the systemic marginalization and dismissal of deaf ways of knowing. AEI is a multidimensional phenomenon rooted in the nineteenth century, when auditory and linguistic biases became codified across education, law, and literature. This interdisciplinary study interrogates three nineteenth-century literary narratives as primary case studies to examine AEI: (1) Ivan Turgenev’s “Mumu,” (2) Guy de Maupassant’s “The Deaf Mute,” and (3) Abigail Bradley Hyde’s “The Deaf and Dumb Child: A True Narrative.” I synthesize these literary works with legal …

Exploring The Impact Of Pre-Assessment Rapport-Building On Children’S Evaluation Outcomes, Alyssa N. Springstead Knutz

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Psychological assessment with children is vulnerable to inequities that arise from cultural mismatch, situational anxiety, and the interpretive nature of examiner judgement. This pilot study examined whether a brief, standardized pre-assessment sandtray activity could enhance children’s assessment experience and observational richness by supporting rapport prior to testing. Using a within-subjects, counterbalanced crossover design, 10 children (ages 7-10) completed two assessment sessions on separate days: one session included a 20-minute guided sandtray task immediately before testing and one session proceeded directly to testing. Quantitative outcomes included state anxiety (SAI-CH-6), general self-efficacy (GSE), and performance on brief standardized tasks (WJ-IV Math Fluency …

Provoking Generative Ai Futures: Merging Theory And Praxis, Regina M. Luttrell Ph.D., Nick Bowman

Media Studies - All Scholarship

An accessible exploration of the myriad applications and challenges of generative AI for media and communication students, scholars, and practitioners alike.

The latest emergence of increasingly low-cost and scalable AI technologies presents a point of both celebration and concern for the contemporary media and information ecosystem. To this end, this edited volume gathers media and communications scholars and practitioners to engage in discussions and exchange ideas about current trends and developments in the field. Questions this volume asks include: What are the essentials of generative AI from a media and communication perspective? How has generative AI influenced research and scholarship? …

Critical Feminist Editorial Praxis: My Tenure As The First Journal Editor Of Color Of Communication Monographs, Srivi Ramasubramanian

Media Studies - All Scholarship

In this essay I theorize about Critical Feminist Editorial Praxis, which envisions journal editing as a site for scholar-activism. I use the term activism because to counter the hegemonic whiteness and coloniality of Communication knowledge requires active efforts to go against the taken-for-granted processes and practices. Journal editing is a significant location for interventions because this is often where we learn what is considered cutting-edge scholarship within our discipline. This significance is especially clear when the journal in question is a flagship publication of a leading professional organization. As I end my tenure as the first editor of color of …

“He Will Always Love Me”: Authentic Romance And Reciprocal Love In Otome Games, Elena Yifei Zhao, Nick Bowman

Media Studies - All Scholarship

This study investigates how players construct and articulate emotionally meaningful relationships in otome games. Drawing from 293 open-ended responses from Chinese players, a thematic analysis identified six recurring themes: authentic romance, companionship, shared experience, integration into daily life, game features, and personal growth. The most dominant theme, authentic romance, reveals that players often describe otome boyfriends as emotionally responsive partners who provide validation, support, and affection. Functional descriptions of gameplay mechanics were notably disconnected from other themes (primarily emotional engagement themes). A follow-up analysis of the most popular otome games in the same …

David John Farmer: A Scholarly Biography And Bibliography, Yali Pang, David John Farmer, Rosemary L. Farmer

VCU University History Books

This brief biography introduces Dr. David John Farmer, one of public administration’s most influential and imaginative thinkers. It traces his journey from student to scholar, showing how his groundbreaking work challenged the field to move beyond rigid traditions and embrace creativity, ethics, and reflection in public service. Written for both scholars and general readers, the biography reveals that Dr. Farmer’s career represents more than the accomplishments of a distinguished academic—it embodies the larger idea that public administration must move beyond technique to become a field grounded in imaginization, reflection, and humanity.

Amplifying Counterstories And Testimonios About Latine Rural Youth: A Case Study Of The Educational Experience Of Oaxacan-American Youth In Rural Humboldt County, Lorena Cortez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

As the Latine community has increased in rural Humboldt County and in rural regions across the country, educators and researchers have struggled to address the needs of this student population. These challenges are reinforced by deficit perspectives that frame multicultural and multilingual student populations as “culturally lacking” or as “English learners”. Such narratives continue to drive policy in the K-12 education system and contribute to persistent inequities; Latine students represent the lowest educational attainment across other rural student populations (Sansone, 2023, p.60). To challenge these deficit narratives, this research applies a LatCrit methodological framework to create testimonios, a form of …

The Reconfiguration Of Institutional Trust In The Church In Ukraine During The Full-Scale Russian–Ukrainian War, Nataliia Ishchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the transformation of institutional trust in the Church in Ukraine under the conditions of the full-scale Russian–Ukrainian war. The phenomenon of trust is interpreted as an interdisciplinary concept that makes it possible to combine theological, anthropological, and social approaches to its comprehension. Trust in God and trust in the Church belong to different levels of religious experience: the former has an existential character, while the latter functions as a form of institutional legitimacy. Based on sociological survey data from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) and the Razumkov Centre, it is demonstrated that throughout all the …

The Reformation And The Formation Of A Ukrainian Model Of Theological Education: From The Ostroh Academy To The Present, Vitalii Leonidovich Khromets Dr.

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article traces the institutional history of theological education in Ukraine from the Ostroh Academy (1576) to the present, proposing a typological framework of four models. The Ostroh Academy is interpreted as a proto-university synthesising Orthodox confessional formation, humanist learning, and civic responsibility. The Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (1632/1701) is read as a paradoxical Counter-Reformation continuation of the same logic, appropriating the Jesuit collegium model as an instrument of resistance to Polonisation and Latinisation. The eighteenth-century network of collegia — Chernihiv, Pereiaslav-Khmelnytsky, Kharkiv, and the Poltava Slavonic Seminary — is treated as a mature networked form integrating theological education with Pietist influences …

Imperial Islam And Colonial Control: The Orenburg Muslim Spiritual Assembly As A Mediator Of Russian Rule In The Kazakh Frontier, Zharas Akhan

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Examination of the strategic role of the Orenburg Muslim Spiritual Assembly (OMSA) as a pivotal instrument of imperial governance in the Kazakh Steppe during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The study investigates how the Russian Tsarist administration instrumentalized Islamic institutions to exercise political control and facilitate the integration of nomadic Kazakh society into the imperial hierarchy. Drawing on extensive archival evidence, the author analyzes the institutional evolution of the Muftiate, its involvement in diplomatic and intelligence operations, and the intermediary agency of Tatar mullahs who bridged the gap between the Kazakh aristocracy and the Russian bureaucracy. The paper identifies …

The Romanian Orthodox Church And Ukrainian Refugees: Humanitarian Response And Ecclesial Solidarity, Damian Buchiu

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Romanian Orthodox Church’s public response to Ukrainian displacement combined emergency assistance with forms of solidarity that became increasingly connected to ecclesial life. A purposive corpus of twenty-four English-language items published by the Basilica News Agency, the official news agency of the Romanian Patriarchate, between February 2022 and December 2025 forms the principal source base. These materials record humanitarian and pastoral activity while also showing how the Church publicly interpreted its response. The early response relied heavily on structures already present in dioceses and local communities, which could be redirected quickly toward …

Belief, Religious Practice, And Religious Self-Description: A Comparative Analysis Of World Values Survey Wave 7 Data From Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, And Uzbekistan, Margulan Alpysbay, Dinara Utebayeva, Asset Kuranbek

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Although religiosity may appear straightforward to measure empirically, no single survey item captures it fully. This limitation is particularly evident in societies where belief in God is widespread: belief may not correspond to religious attendance, prayer frequency, or self- description as a religious person. Treating these differences as merely methodological would obscure important variation in how religiosity is expressed. A comparison of five empirical indicators of religiosity in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. It examines how belief in God, the importance of God in life, religious attendance, prayer frequency, and religious self-description converge or diverge. The analysis uses World Values Survey …