Digital Commons Network^™

Review Of Supernatural: A History Of Television’S Unearthly Road Trip By Erin Giannini, Duane Ebesu

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

No abstract (book review)

Effectiveness And Ethics Of Biometrics In Homeland Security, Aaron Akintayo Akindiya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homeland security agencies increasingly deploy biometric technologies, including facial recognition and fingerprint scanning, to enhance identity verification and threat detection at airports and borders. However, these technologies raise ethical concerns regarding privacy, algorithmic bias, data protection, and civil liberties. Limited research captures the perspectives of frontline professionals who implement these systems. This study explored how homeland security professionals perceive the balance between effectiveness and ethics. Guided by the technological determinism theory, semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 professionals from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Thematic analysis revealed four themes: effectiveness in enhancing …

Understanding The Perceptions Of Racial Socialization As A Protective Factor Influencing Resiliency Adaptation Among Black Males Who Matriculated To College In Northeastern Florida When They Were Aged 18 – 24 And Who Had A History Of Criminogenic Risk Factors Or Criminal Justice System Contact, C. Darnell Stroble

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study aimed to explore the perceptions of racial socialization (“RS”) as a protective factor that leads to resiliency adaptations among Black males who matriculated to college in Northeastern Florida when they were aged 18 – 24 and who had a history of criminogenic risk factors or criminal justice system contact. Grounded in Unnever and Gabbidon’s (2011) Theory of African American Offending (“TAAO”), the study used a qualitative phenomenological case study research design to explore participants’ understanding of RS messages from their parents and their resiliency adaptations in response to those messages. Two research questions guided the study: (1) How …

Beyond The Classroom: Five Considerations For Actualizing Social Justice In Practicum Education, Priscila Llamosa

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

Social justice, a core tenet of social work, is variably integrated into education programs' explicit curricula, leaving students with a limited conceptual understanding. Practicum[1] education, crucial for theory-practice integration, offers opportunities for developing social work skills while upholding social justice principles. This paper addresses how practicum instructors can nurture students’ social justice-oriented practice by presenting a framework for practicum education and examining its five components. Drawing from theory, empirical literature, and practice experience, the author suggests ways for practicum instructors to engage each component. Incorporating these into practicum education can enable students to actualize ADEI values in practice and …

Evaluating The Authentic Family Engagement And Strengthening Approach, Morgan E. Cooley, Vaughn J. Crichlow, Gabriel T. Cesar, Marianna L. Colvin, Corey B. Best, Kristin Smyth, Robin Jimenez-Bean

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

Persistent racial disproportionality of Black and brown families in the child welfare system across decades and generations highlights the need for a comprehensive understanding of the consequences of child removal and the urgency of authentic family engagement initiatives. The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether a group of child protective investigators who received (1) specialized training and (2) monthly family engagement and antiracism coaching during supervision sessions demonstrated fewer monthly removals of children from families compared to a group of investigators in the same service area who did not receive specialized training or coaching. The secondary purpose …

God > Grit: A Phenomenological Analysis Of Intrinsic And Extrinsic Motivating Factors For Black Male Students Previously Labeled “At-Risk”, Marcia J. Watson-Vandiver

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

This phenomenological study examines the intersections of faith, learning, and racialized experiences in K-12 schooling. In doing so, this research explores the experiences of Black[1] males in U.S. public schools who were once labeled academically or behaviorally “at risk.” Here, at-risk is a term that typically applies to students “in jeopardy of progressing academically due to circumstances that may impact educational performance” (MSDE, 2018). While the purview of academic, school discipline, and behavior discourse are saturated with conversations on racial disparities, the exigent problem still remains. As such, this research provides a nuanced probe into intrinsic and extrinsic motivating …

Illuminating Sanja Matsuri: Lived Religion And Festival Practice In Asakusa, Caleb R. Merckle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Sanja Matsuri, a major Shintō and Buddhist festival in Asakusa, Tokyo, through the lenses of lived religion, participant observation, autoethnography, and anthropology. Departing from institution-centered approaches, it foregrounds the experiential dimensions of festival participation, showing how physical devotion, collective movement, and festive intensity function as expressions of spiritual meaning. Ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2023 and 2025 included participant observation, informal interviews with local and foreign participants, and Reflexive Discourse Analysis of fieldnotes and bilingual transcripts. Analysis reveals a dynamic interplay between formal sacralization strategies — such as mitama-ire rituals and structured processions — and spontaneous, informal participant …

Notes From The Field - Conference Proceedings, Summer Fellows 2025, Center For Latin American, Caribbean, And Latino Studies (Clacls)

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

CLACLS presents proceedings papers from the third CLACLS Summer Fellows Showcase Conference, held on November 12, 2025.

The daylong event showcased the research endeavors of fourteen Summer Fellows, who offered succinct presentations on their projects funded by the CLACLS Summer fellowship. The included three panels: “Feminist and Queer Critical Perspectives”, “Language, Archive and Power”, “Social Movements and Political Imaginations.”

Female Resistance To Patriarchal Norms: A Study Of Identity And Self-Determination In The Film Enola Holmes (2020), Mikkial Muna, Eli Nofriati, Zuraini Zuraini

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study examines the representation of women's resistance to patriarchy through identity formation and self-determination in the film Enola Holmes (2020). Set in the Victorian era, the film portrays a patriarchal society that limits women's rights, educational opportunities, and freedom to determine their own lives. This study employed a descriptive qualitative design with a grounded theory approach. The primary data were collected through repeated observation of the film, focusing on relevant scenes, dialogues, character actions, and visual elements, and were analyzed using thematic analysis interpreted through the perspectives of patriarchy and liberal feminism. The findings reveal that patriarchy is represented …

Perceptions Of African American Males Regarding Legal Risks Of Alcohol Misuse, Tylisha Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alcohol misuse among young adults leads to legal, social, and behavioral consequences in the United States. The justice system unequally impacts young African American males. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand perceptions of legal risks of alcohol misuse among African American young adult males who were formerly adjudicated or nonadjudicated. The research question involved African American young adult males and legal risks associated with misuse of alcohol. The differential association theory guided this study in terms of its emphasis on decision-making and learned social behaviors. Data for this study were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight …

Topic Identification And Evolution Analysis Of Studies On The Yellow River Basin In China Based On Sbert, Zhiwei Fu, Xianfeng Xu

Journal of Scientific Information Research

[Purpose/significance] By constructing an SBERT deep learning model to quantitatively evaluate research results in the Yellow River Basin, this study aims to more scientifically and comprehensively reveal research hotspots and evolutionary trends in the Yellow River Basin, providing reference for regional resource development and policy optimization. [Method/process] Taking 5 131 literature from CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang Chinese databases in the past 15 years as the research object, based on semantic vectorization, dimensionality reduction, and topic clustering, incorporating temporal sorting and evolutionary context, normalizing calculation to determine hot and cold topics, and exploring future development trends from multiple perspectives. [Result/conclusion] 24 …

Potential And Promotion Strategies Of “Wisata Alam Ndeso” In Kubu Raya Regency, Siti Fatimah, Fahmi Fahmi, Muhammad Dhafa Ardilinata

Journal of Indonesian Tourism and Policy Studies

The development of tourism based on local potential is a key strategy for promoting regional economic growth, including in Kubu Raya Regency. “Wisata Alam Ndeso”, as a nature- and culture-based tourism destination, has considerable potential; however, it still faces various limitations in terms of management and promotion. This study aims to analyze the tourism potential and promotional strategies employed in the development of “Wisata Alam Ndeso”. This research adopts a descriptive qualitative approach, with data collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation. The informants consist of the owner and a staff member who are directly involved in the management of …

Racial Profiling In Traffic Enforcement: A Qualitative Exploration Of Police Chiefs' Perspectives On Traffic Stop Data Analysis, Peter J. Didomenica

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Racial profiling of people of color by police departments as part of traffic enforcement practices is a pervasive practice in the United States. The practice is a form of systemic racism, the conceptual framework for this study, that has resulted in people and communities of color suffering its deleterious effects. Although statistical analysis of traffic stop data is most effective in uncovering racial profiling in traffic enforcement, most police departments fail to conduct such analysis, and for those departments that do so, there is no uniform judicially accepted method. The purpose of this study was to understand the reasons most …

Examining Inmate Labor In Emergency Management: Contributions, Challenges, And Ethical Considerations, Boris Eugene Valiance

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Incarcerated individuals remain inconsistently engaged in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, creating both an operational gap and an ethical challenge regarding labor equity, safety, voluntariness, and human dignity. Guided by RBT and EMT, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how incarcerated individuals are utilized in emergency management and to examine stakeholder perceptions of the operational, ethical, and policy implications of inmate labor programs. The research questions examined current utilization patterns, stakeholder-perceived benefits and drawbacks, and ethical concerns influencing participation decisions. Data were collected through semi structured interviews with purposefully sampled emergency management professionals, policymakers, and correctional …

Undermining The Responsibility For Climate Change: An Overview And Forecast, Robert Agnew, Jennifer Agnew

International Journal on Responsibility

This paper first examines the extent to which individuals feel responsible for addressing climate change. It next provides an overview of the factors undermining responsibility. Such factors include the efforts of the fossil fuel industry and its allies to deny climate change, the political division surrounding climate change, a range of structural and social constraints, certain features of climate change, and selected individual values and traits. The core part of the paper then asks whether the responsibility for addressing climate change will increase as the effects of climate change become more common and severe. While there is some reason to …

Recommendations For Conducting Ethical Network Research, Francisca Ortiz Ruiz, Paola Tubaro, José Luis Molina, Jennifer Watling Neal, Raffaele Vacca, Jana Diesner, Jimi Adams, Michelle Birkett, Jenny Godley, Juniper Lovato, Michael Schönhuth, Laura Teves, Michael Zimmer

Faculty Publications

Ethical considerations in social network studies are grounded in the general principles of human subjects’ research, including avoidance of harm, promotion of justice, equitable distribution of burdens and benefits, respect for human dignity, and protection of confidentiality. To help navigate these challenges, this article presents recommendations for conducting ethical network research, developed by a multi-disciplinary and multi-national working group. The article is divided in three main sections where there are certain recommendations identified for each one of them: data collections, use, and availability. Discovering how others addressed and solved problems can be a way for all of us to improve …

Hindu Poetry And The Project Of An Inter-Spiritual Catholic Theology, Francis X. Clooney

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article engages the work of the Indian south Indian Tamil-language Vaiṣṇava poet saints known as the Alvārs. The article specifically focuses the First HundredHoly Linked verses of Poykai Ālvār to argue for inter-spiritual learning between Catholics and Hindus. The article concludes with personal reflections on this encounter within the context of the global Catholic Church

Overview And Acknowledgments, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

An overview and introduction to the present issue on Inter-Spiritual Dialogue.

Using Needs Assessments To Hear The Voices Of Extension Non-Clients, Odunayo O. Omotilewa, Omolola A. Adedokun

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Using data from the University of Kentucky (UK) Extension statewide community needs assessment, this study uncovers the Extension education needs of Kentuckians who are not familiar with the Extension program. Typically, the Extension program development and evaluation model begins with a needs assessment to identify and prioritize community needs, issues, and/or opportunities that can be addressed through targeted educational programming/outreach. As such, needs assessments amplify and empower the voices of community members, especially those who may not be familiar with Extension, and uncover their self-reported need for practical education and assistance. This study investigates differences in Extension education needs between …

Financial Wisdom Across Political Identities: Exploring Insights From A Convenience Sample Of Participants During The Global Pandemic, Miguel Quiñones, Virginia Zuiker, Yiting Li, Hanna Yu

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a global economic crisis that magnified financial hardships and revealed how political affiliation shapes financial behavior. This study examined how U.S. residents with differing political orientations navigated financial uncertainty, drawing on open-ended survey responses collected in fall 2020. Results show both commonalities and nuanced differences across political lines. Across groups, participants emphasized saving for emergencies, living within their means, seeking financial support, and building skills to increase income—underscoring the universality of core financial principles during crises. However, distinctions also emerged: Republican participants more frequently emphasized self-sufficiency, often seeking additional jobs or withdrawing from retirement funds; Independents …

Tales Of The Empathic Support Provider: How Emerging Adult Women Make Sense Of Providing Empathic Support To Female Friends, Emma R. Eslinger

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current study explored the stories and reflections of 33 emerging adult women who made sense of their empathic support provider (ESP) identity in the context of female friendships. From the standpoint of the retrospective storytelling heuristic, within communicated narrative sense-making theory, participants told stories about their ESP identity, including how they provide support to others and reflect on the benefits of drawbacks of serving in this role (CNSM, Koenig Kellas, 2022). Under Proposition 1 of CNSM theory, meanings, values, and beliefs (MVBs) that ESP women expressed in this role were depicted as key takeaways gathered. Findings illuminated how ESP …

Investigating And Re-Imagining Contemporary Religious Leadership, Amy Lawton, Feyza Akova

Sociology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Sociologists, anthropologists, cognitive scientists, and others have shown that religion is a feature of life in every known human society (Bellah 2011). While the cultural contexts, organizing principles, and values of each religion differ greatly – so much so that “religion” is a problematic universal category (Asad 1993) – many religions do share certain characteristics. One of those characteristics – shared among most social groups regardless of their purpose – is leadership, variously defined. Spiritual and religious groups, gatherings, and collectives have specific individuals that they turn to for wisdom, spiritual or moral guidance, fostering community, and/or ritual facilitation. We …

Demographic Trends And Far-Right Party Support In Europe: The Role Of The Cordon Sanitaire, Maxwell Curry

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examines whether cordons sanitaires, institutional exclusionary arrangements common in Western and Central Europe on the part of mainstream political actors aimed to prevent far-right political parties perceived as posing a threat to liberal democratic order from entering into governing coalitions or otherwise participating in mainstream political life, condition the relationship between immigration-related demographic change and support for far-right political parties. Contemporary scholarship has extensively examined the relationship between immigration and support for far-right political parties, but comparatively little research has examined the institutional factors that potentially condition such a relationship. In an analysis of parliamentary election data …

Sustainable Rural Development Under Ecological Civilization: Two Mountains Theory, “Green Rural Revival”, And Post-Productivist Transition In Zhejiang, Qian Forrest Zhang, Jianzhang Luo, Li Zhou

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Existing studies of China’s overarching ideological framework for national development, “Ecological Civilization”, have focused narrowly on environmental governance; how it reshapes sustainable rural development remains underexplored. This paper pursues two analytically distinct tasks. First, it reconstructs the policy history of how President Xi Jinping’s “Two Mountains” theory was incorporated into the Eco-civilization framework and how Zhejiang Province’s “Green Rural Revival” (GRR) program, as a lived example of Eco-civilization, was elevated as the national template for rural development in 2024. Second, drawing on three cases from a sample of 21 villages in Zhejiang, it identifies three core practices of GRR and …

Personal Goal Facilitation, Burnout And Work Engagement: The Role Of Self-Discrepancy, Jacinth Jia Xin Tan, Bek Wuay Tang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Employees who perceive greater personal goal facilitation through work (PGFW) experience lower burnout and higher work engagement. This research examined whether self-discrepancies and emotional experiences explain these relationships across two cross-sectional studies involving a nationally representative sample of working adults (Study 1; N = 889) and a sample of public school teachers (Study 2; N = 228) in Singapore. Participants listed personal goals and rated how much their jobs facilitated these goals, alongside measures of self-discrepancy, emotions, burnout, and engagement. Across both samples, higher PGFW predicted lower burnout and greater engagement. These associations were consistently explained by lower ideal self-discrepancy …

A 10-Minute Walk From The Mrt. But For Whom?, Paulin Tay Straughan, Yi Wen (Chen Yiwen) Tan, Wensi Lim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

They highlighted that as people age, mobility naturally declines, adding that the convenient shorthand such as a “10-minute walk” to define accessibility is ultimately a social construct – one that must be grounded in lived realities and evidence. They noted that ageing in place is not just the ability to remain at home as one transitions into later life – it is about living in an environment that fosters attachment, continuity and well-being, which requires both the built and social environments to be supportive. Responses must be guided by solid evidence – through ongoing conversations with those whose needs we …

"I Don’T Know That You Can Do That Anywhere Else": The Role Rural College Towns Play In The Formation Of Queer Identity, Amy Mcdowell, Ryan J. Parsons, Julia Kraus

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Challenging dominant narratives suggesting that rural spaces are inhospitable to LGBTQ+ identities, this study examines how queer individuals navigate space, rurality, and queerness in Oxford, Mississippi, a historically conservative college town. Drawing on oral histories from the Queer Mississippi digital archive, we argue that rural institutions of higher learning (rural IHLs) and the college towns they are embedded in serve as critical sites of queer identity formation. The rural college town provides a unique space where LGBTQ+ individuals from both within and outside the South navigate self-discovery, social networks, and belonging. We highlight the transformative role of these spaces in …

The Psychology Of Diplomacy In The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: The Role Of Emotions And Perceptions In Peace Negotiations, Tomy Octavian, Linda Noviyana

Journal Of Middle East and Islamic Studies

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains one of the major challenges in building sustainable peace through diplomacy. This study analyzes the role of emotions and perceptions in Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations through the perspective of diplomacy psychology. Using an integrative literature review and an integrated theory approach that combines psychological theories and international relations theories, this study synthesizes empirical and conceptual findings on the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiation process. The results of the analysis show that negative emotions such as fear, hatred, and anger worsen diplomatic relations and hinder peace deals. Distorted perceptions of the other side's intentions and identities, as well as conflicting …

Expanding The Cognitive Attentional Standards Platform Through Artificial Influence Assessment (Aia): Rationale, Development, And Measurement Design, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

Artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping how individuals access information, make decisions, and interact with digital environments. The Cognitive Attentional Standards Platform (C.A.S.) was developed to assess attention related harms, cognitive safety, digital autonomy, and platform influence across digital systems (Clark, 2026). However, the growth of generative AI, conversational agents, and algorithmic decision support technologies has introduced new forms of influence that may not be fully captured by existing assessment domains. This paper proposes the Artificial Influence Assessment (AIA) as an expansion of the C.A.S. framework designed to measure AI mediated influence on cognition, behavior, autonomy, and information processing. Drawing on …

Governing Algorithmic Attention: Attention Safeguard Models And The Cognitive Attentional Standard As System Level Interventions In Human Computer Interaction, Behavioral Economics, And Artificial Intelligence, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

Algorithmic recommendation systems and interface designs shape attention by combining visually salient cues with uncertain reward timing and low friction interaction. These conditions can sustain anticipatory checking, extend time on task, and reduce natural disengagement points through patterns such as infinite scrolling and autoplay. This paper synthesizes research across neuroscience, human computer interaction, behavioral economics, and artificial intelligence to argue that attention capture is a predictable outcome of incentive driven design rather than an individual failure of self regulation. It advances the Attention Safeguard Models and the Cognitive Attentional Standard as system level interventions that regulate exposure conditions, pacing, and …