Digital Commons Network^™

How Do Governments Combat Jihad Online?, Noah Cook

Honors College Theses

Since the September 11th, 2001 attacks, jihadist groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, and al-Shabaab have used the internet as a tool for recruitment, radicalization, and propaganda dissemination. Since then, governments, non-governmental organizations, and private companies have developed strategies to combat jihadism on the internet. This paper examines how these actors have worked to mitigate the digital jihadist footprint and its effects by analyzing three main approaches to countering violent Islamist extremism on the internet: counter narrative initiatives, awareness-raising programs, and content removals. This paper finds that each of these methods has its own strengths and weaknesses. Counter narrative campaigns show the …

Revictimization Of Female Sexual Assault Survivors During Cross-Examination From The Perspective Of Criminal Prosecutors, Robyn Fuchs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual assault is a heinous crime that remains one of the most underreported crimes. Victims of sexual assault face scrutiny for reporting and may be revictimized by the process. The intent of this study was to examine how cross-examination has the potential to revictimize female sexual assault survivors from the perspective of criminal prosecutors. This study may provide insight on whether defense attorneys intentionally cause harm to victims or if there is an automatic level of trauma in testifying. Ten interviews were conducted with criminal prosecutors across the United States. After the interviews, the transcripts were manually analyzed to identify …

The Impact Of Inclusive Leadership And Leader Cultural Intelligence On The Work Engagement Of Migrant Employees, Dena Semonia Whittle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the rise of globalization and the growing demand for skilled workers, the number of foreign-born employees in the American workforce has grown significantly over the last 20 years. These numbers continue to grow, as the upward trend of foreign-born employees has been even more significant over the last 5 years. However, despite having a now more diverse workforce, there are still signs of discrimination and unequal treatment of migrants in the workplace. Such mistreatment has been linked to health-related, occupational, and psychological consequences and has been negatively associated with work engagement. The purpose of this quantitative study was to …

Investigation Of Patients' Use Of Non-Pharmacological Substances In Dental Pain Management, Neslihan Yılmaz Çırakoğlu, Özgenur Kaya

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Background: Dental pain is a complex condition influenced by biological, biochemical, environmental, and psychological factors. Before seeking professional care, many patients attempt to relieve dental pain using self-administered, non-medical agents. This study aimed to investigate patients’ use of non-pharmacological substances in dental pain management and to identify factors influencing these practices.

Methods: The questionnaire consisted of four sections addressing demographic characteristics, oral hygiene habits, pain characteristics, and pain-relief agents. Categorical variables were analyzed using Pearson’s chi-square test. Categorical data are presented as frequencies and percentages, while continuous data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation and median values. …

Waves Of Exhaustion, Currents Of Renewal: An Autoethnography Of Academic Emotional Burnout And Recovery, Rofiza Aboo Bakar

The Qualitative Report

This autoethnography explores my experience of academic burnout and emotional recovery as a mid-career female educator in a Malaysian public university. Drawing from reflective journals, memory work, and embodied recollections between 2023 and 2025, I trace a personal journey through three experiential phases: the weight of expectations, burnout and emotional rupture, and embodied recovery through open sea swimming. The narrative is guided by Chang’s (2016) thematic structuring approach and interpreted through Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. My story reveals how burnout was not the result of overwork, but of institutional erasure. As I navigated the …

A Post-Positivist Perspective On The Varieties Of Qualitative Research: The Foris Framework, Marius Bytautas

The Qualitative Report

With the aim of bringing clarity to the realm of qualitative research—and offering a transition from tradition to methodological rationale—I employ Millian and Popperian inductive analysis methods to build a post-positivist account regarding the diversity of qualitative research varieties. I am responding to the problem that common labels in qualitative research often obscure the epistemic reasoning through which a study approaches its object. A brief set of working definitions is introduced to support the framework, but the main contribution is the conceptualization of research approach in five dimensions: focus, orientation, relation to the object, researcher intrusiveness, and scale (FORIS). By …

Community-Based Research: Key Considerations For Researchers And Community Partners When Collaborating, Bothwell Piason, Kathleen A. Fox

The Qualitative Report

Community-based research (CBR) is a research orientation that emphasizes equitable engagement in the process of knowledge production, though researchers and community partners may navigate collaborative partnerships with differing expectations, priorities, and understandings of success. Extant research has demonstrated that successful CBR partnerships can benefit both researchers and community partners, yet little is known about how both groups simultaneously conceptualize successful collaboration across diverse partnership contexts. In this study, we ask: What considerations do researchers and community partners identify as important when engaging in community-based research partnerships? Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 10 university researchers and 10 community partners engaged in …

The Lived Spirituality Experiences Of Adult Diabetes Patients In Adhering To Treatment, Dwight Mahaputera Marulitua Hutapea

The Qualitative Report

This descriptive phenomenological study explored the lived spirituality experiences of adult patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in adhering to treatment. Prior research has indicated that spirituality may influence attitudes toward and adherence to chronic disease management; however, empirical evidence addressing the spiritual dimension among people with diabetes remains limited. Guided by Colaizzi's (1978) phenomenological method, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 purposively selected participants, equally distributed among Christians and Muslims. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to rigorous phenomenological analysis. Seven themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) spirituality strengthens relationships; (b) spirituality affects choices and outcomes; …

Relational-Developmental Autoethnography: A Method Of Qualitative Inquiry That Fosters Personal Growth, Chris Wells

The Qualitative Report

This paper introduces relational–developmental autoethnography (RDA), a qualitative method for exploring psychological growth through personal writing and reflection. Developed through lived experience, RDA traces psychological development through sustained, recursive engagement with personal writing. Drawing on an archive of my journals, letters, clinical records, and correspondence spanning more than 30 years, I show how writing and reflection were first tools for my survival, and later became catalysts for insight, healing, and transformation. RDA is grounded in two developmental frameworks: Dąbrowski’s theory of positive disintegration, which views emotional intensity and inner conflict as signs of developmental potential, and relational-cultural theory, which …

Principals’ Experiences With Implementation Practices For School Board Policies In An Urban School District, Andrea J. Richardson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Effective policy implementation is crucial for improving educational outcomes and ensuring equitable learning environments. While existing literature has shown that policy implementation is influenced by factors such as leadership capacity, stakeholder engagement, communication, resource availability, organization context, and accountability, there is little known about how K-12 urban principals narrate, interpret, and make meaning of their experiences to implementing board-mandated policies. This study addressed this gap by exploring how principals in an urban school district in Ohio navigated the complexities of implementing school board policies amid resource limitations, stakeholder resistance, and accountability pressures. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study …

Lanthorn, Vol. 61, No. 02, August 31, 2026, Grand Valley State University

Volume 61, August 10, 2026 – current

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Comm 11 Fundamentals Of Interpersonal Communication Textbook, Teresa A. Fisher

Open Educational Resources

A survey of interpersonal communication.

Representasi Identitas Dan Gastronomi Budaya Kuliner Jawa Dalam Lima Lagu Karya Ki Narto Sabdo, Aditya Pratama, Darmoko -, Ari Prasetiyo, Dwi Woro Retno Mastuti

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Culinary is not just food and drink, but has transformed into a study of culinary gastronomy which focuses on aspects of history, values, philosophy, taste and components. The study of the problems discussed in this research is related to the cultural identity of Javanese culinary gastronomy in the five songs by Ki Narto Sabdo. Descriptive qualitative research methods with an objective approach were applied in this research. This research uses Santich's culinary gastronomy theory and Stuart Hall's theory of cultural identity representation with a constructionist approach. As a result, the representation of Javanese culinary gastronomic cultural identity is built on …

Level Of Discrimination Experienced By Gender In Athletic Trainers And Professional Athletic Training Students, Emily Ghaussy, Seungyeon Kim, Jennifer Xu, Emily Madrak

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Context: Although women make up the majority of the athletic training field, gender-based discrimination continues to exist in the profession. Previous research exists; however, more current research on gender discrimination in the workplace is limited. This cross-sectional study examined level of perceived gender-based discrimination experienced by credentialed women athletic trainers and athletic training students in comparison to men athletic trainers and athletic training students. Four hundred forty-six cisgender men and women athletic trainers and athletic training students participated in our study. The median age was 28 years among cisgender women and 35 years among cisgender men.

Methods: Participants completed a …

Nihilistic Violence Aesthetics In Public Online Communication, Heath Nicholas Landress

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Public online communication has increasingly included violence-related content that is meme-based, ironic, visually stylized, multimodal, and only partially ideological. This comprehensive literature review synthesized research on online extremism, extremist memes, toxic multimodal content, dehumanizing digital communication, nihilistic violent extremism, warning behaviors, platform affordances, and youth-facing online environments. The purpose was to clarify what the literature had established; identify where the scholarship remained fragmented; and map research domains relevant to social, behavioral, public safety, and human services scholarship. The review used a structured, comprehensive literature review strategy supported by integrative synthesis procedures. The final corpus contained 34 scholarly sources, including 32 …

With Students, As A Student: Using Reflexive Autoethnography To Make Sense Of Navigating Student–Researcher Liminality In A Ph.D., Melody Bishop

The Qualitative Report

Postgraduate researchers (PGRs) are increasingly encouraged to practice reflexivity. But there is a lack of PGR-authored literature about what it means to negotiate multiple identities, particularly for student–researchers doing research with students. This paper explores challenges experienced during a longitudinal Ph.D. project involving undergraduate students with long-term health conditions. I present outcomes of a reflexive autoethnographic analysis of a diary kept making sense of research challenges, including holding dual positions as a student–researcher at the same institution. Drawing on the notion of liminality, I argue that the boundaries between my student–researcher identities, and between myself and participants, have been consistently …

Resilience Ain’T Free: Surviving And Resisting While Navigating Well-Being As Black School Social Workers In California’S Bay Area, Ashley Lynnette Bonton

Doctoral Dissertations

The well-being of school-based mental health professionals is critical to the functioning of educational systems, yet the experiences of Black school social workers remain largely absent from existing research. Black school social workers often navigate complex professional demands while also confronting racialized expectations, systemic inequities, and emotional labor within predominantly white educational institutions. This qualitative study examines how Black school social workers in the San Francisco Bay Area navigate their personal and professional well-being within these conditions. Guided by Ecological Systems Theory and Critical Race Theory, this study explores how multiple environmental contexts and racialized institutional dynamics shape their experiences. …

Unveiling Racism: A Systematic Review Of Racism Survey Measures In Education, Wendy Castillo, Juan Cruz, Rachel Renbarger, Christen Priddie, Brein Mosely, Sasha Mejia-Bradford

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Education policy research aimed at eliminating racism necessitates methodological innovation that fosters both racial equity–centered approaches and robust empirical analysis of the systemic and structural nature of racism. Most quantitative research in educational psychology does not account for racism in its modeling, thereby obscuring the racialized environments in which students learn (DeCuir-Gunby & Schutz, 2014; Strunk & Andrzejewski, 2023). Drawing from Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and the ethos of QuantCrit, this study evaluates various scales to highlight gaps and challenges in measuring racism within school settings. This review aims to uplift measures for researchers to use in their work and …

“When I’M Not Heard, I Feel Like I Don’T Matter”: Advancing Equity In Disability Policy Through Critical Participatory Action Research With People With Intellectual Disability, Cris Marchionne

Student Theses

People with intellectual disability deserve a system that offers flexible, timely, and person-centered support — one that is innovative, sustainable, and holistic in enabling them to live fulfilling lives. This qualitative study, grounded in Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR), examines how people with intellectual disability experience participation in decision-making within New York State's disability service system. By centering lived experience, the study identifies factors that facilitate or hinder participation in decision-making and examines structural, social, and policy-related barriers that limit agency. Through six focus groups and a Photovoice project with self-advocates receiving OPWDD services, participants described systemic barriers that limited …

Scrolling, Following, Deciding: The Hidden Power Of Digital Influence On Wise Financial Decision, Nur Fatihah Muhamad Irwan, Wan Rasyidah Wan Nawang

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

The effect of social media and digital influencers on financial behaviours has been well documented, but there is yet any solid evidence of their role in driving wise financial decision-making among Malaysians in particular. This study hence sets out to examine the impact of social media engagement and parasocial interaction in shaping financial attitudes, and the influence of financial attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on the intention to practice wise financial decision-making. The mediating role of financial attitude was also studied, specifically in the link between social media engagement, parasocial interaction, and intention. A total of 250 Malaysian …

Impact Of Environmental, Social, And Governance (Esg) Practices On The Stability And Profitability Of Financial Institutions In Malaysia, Sharifah Najihah Syed Ishar, Sharifah Fairuz Syed Mohamad, Nurul Sima Mohamad Shariff, Mazlynda Md Yusuf

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

This study examines how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) activities affect the stability and profitability of Malaysian financial institutions, in light of the country's growing emphasis on sustainable finance. Using annual data from 2014 to 2024, the study focuses on three main objectives: assessing whether stronger ESG practices enhance financial stability, identifying the most influential ESG pillar among environmental, social, and governance components, and evaluating whether ESG performance affects profitability. This study employs random-effects panel regression with robust standard errors, yielding empirical evidence relevant to Malaysia’s dual banking landscape. The results show that stronger ESG performance raises the stability of …

"Why Do Students Save Less?” A Study Of The Determinants Of Saving Intentions And Behaviours Among Undergraduate Students, Rna Hamza Ahmed Eissa, Chi Hau Tan, Ben Hou

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

Despite the issue of low savings being a serious concern, limited research has been conducted on students’ saving behaviour in Malaysia, especially when it comes to private universities. This research focuses on examining factors that affect saving behaviour among undergraduate students at a private university in Malaysia, in reference to the Theory of Planned Behaviour. A mixed-method design was applied. Quantitative research was conducted, in which 122 valid responses were collected via an online survey and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). In addition, qualitative research with 11 respondents was conducted, and the data were analysed using …

What Drives Consumers To Use Insurtech Apps? The Role Of Insurance Literacy, Jia Chun Chia, Hui Shan Lee, Bik Kai Sia

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

Although financial technology has spread worldwide, the adoption of InsurTech in Malaysia is still low because of the knowledge-action gap, in which people continue to use traditional agents. This study examines the factors that determine behavioral intention to use InsurTech apps by incorporating the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and including a novel insurance literacy factor. A cross-sectional quantitative research design was adopted, and 406 valid responses were gathered from 406 Malaysian Generation Z individuals and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that the model explains 58% of the variance …

A Systematic Review Of Factors Influencing The Adoption Of Artificial Intelligence For Training And Development In The Nigerian Banking Sector, Adekanye Fareedah Oyelola, Arnifa Asmawi, Rathimala Kannan

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising human resource management through automation, data-driven decisions, personalised learning, and improved skills-gap detection. Nevertheless, AI adoption in training and development (T&D) programs in the Nigerian banking sector remains low. Therefore, this situation has become a barrier to the development of human capital and to digital transformation. This systematic literature review aims to identify the factors influencing AI adoption in T&D within Nigerian banks and then to analyse the interrelationship among the constructs. This review also examines the mediating role of T&D-AI Fit between influencing factors and AI adoption in T&D. The study uses the Task–Technology …

Understanding Trust As A Mediating Mechanism In Ai-Based Medical Tools And Clinical Decision Processes, Shanthi Isparan, Seow Ai Na, Chang Jing Jing, Hew Jun Jie

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

The growing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare has transformed clinical decision-making. Nevertheless, doctors’ engagement with AI-based tools remains hindered, particularly due to trust-related concerns. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing doctors’ engagement with AI-based medical tools, with a focus on the mediating role of trust within the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Data were collected from 197 doctors in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur through a structured survey and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4 software. The findings reveal that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, …

Analysis Of The Determinants Of Buy-Now-Pay-Later Payment Mode Among Malaysians In Klang Valley, Wai Zhi Tay, Chi Hau Tan

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service has become increasingly popular in Malaysia in recent years, especially in the Klang Valley. The BNPL service offers consumers a more convenient payment method and access to credit, raising concerns about increased household debt and financial vulnerability. In this study, this paper used financial literacy, perceived risk, credit attitude, and economic vulnerability to examine which factors influence the intention to use the BNPL payment mode. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is used to explain the factors influencing consumers’ intention to use BNPL services. This study adopts a quantitative research design and collects …

A Visual Analysis Of The Color Variety In Pekalongan Hand-Drawn Batik From 1910 To 2015, Christophera Ratnasari Lucius, Yanuar Ramadhan, Ahmad Fuad

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

UNESCO has recognized Indonesian Batik's variety of designs and colors as an intangible cultural asset. Pekalongan batik, which is categorized as batik pesisir and is distinguished by its varied and expressive color combination, is one prominent example. Cultural acculturation influenced by China, Japan, India, and the Netherlands has created its visual identity. In order to create a culture-based color reference, this study will map the color variations of sixty hand-drawn Pekalongan batik pieces created between 1910 and 2015. Contemporary batik from current workshops and museum collections are among the research subjects. Digital photography was used for visual documentation, and Adobe …

From Digital Readiness To Employability: Mediating Role Of Artificial Intelligence Competence And The Moderating Influence Of Policy Support Among Malaysian Graduates, Fraz Arshed Butt, Abdelhak Senadjki, Hui Nee Au Yong

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) emphasises the demand for graduates with both digital readiness and artificial intelligence (AI) skills, which are aligned with labour market demands. Although prior studies link digital skills to employability, empirical evidence is scarce, and there is little research on how digital readiness translates into employment outcomes in AI-driven, particularly developing, economies. Hence, considering AI competence as a mediating mechanism and government policy support as a moderator, this study investigates the effects of digital literacy, technological self-efficacy, and digital learning engagement on graduate employability. Grounded in human capital theory, social cognitive theory, and institutional theory, this …

Bridging The Abyss: Reclaiming Spirituality In Academic Knowledge Production, Neil Boland

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Over recent decades, Western academia has shown a growing interest in spirituality, accompanied by methodological innovations and epistemological expansion. Nevertheless, spiritual inquiry continues to be subtly subordinated to scientific rationalism, with Western science often presiding as gatekeeper over what is considered legitimate knowledge. Drawing on Boaventura de Sousa Santos’ concept of abyssal thinking, this article argues that spiritual and experiential forms of knowing remain largely relegated to the far side of an epistemic divide, valued only insofar as they can be reframed within scientific norms. Despite increasing institutional recognition of spirituality in fields such as education, psychology, and medicine, …

To Heal Or To Harm: Scripture’S Use As Poison Or Medicine For Abuse Survivors, Felicia Cindyana

Salubritas: International Journal of Spirit-Empowered Counseling

No abstract provided.