Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Assessing Knowledge Levels And Learning Preferences Among Organic Grain Farmers And Professionals; The Experience Of The University Of Wisconsin Ograin Program, Lauren Asprooth, Claire G Stedden, Evelyn Hammond, Ayse Okur, Erin Silva

Journal of Extension

With lagging domestic supplies of organic grains, transitioning from conventional to organic grain production is needed, but can be a daunting challenge for farmers. The OGRAIN program began at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2015 to support increased organic grain production in the Midwest. We surveyed 429 OGRAIN participants to assess the most accessed resources, areas of knowledge change, and areas for program improvement. Participants highlighted the importance of networking and the need for additional marketing resources. Differences were found in programming preferences by organic farming experience. These results can improve our understanding of how to best support organic grain …

Mandatory Arrest Laws: Breaking The Cycle Of Violence In Colorado And Nebraska, Ryann Lavata Livingstone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Overview And Acknowledgments, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

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

Affirming Farmer Assets And Visions: Results From A Pilot Appreciative-Inquiry-Based Asset-Mapping Workshop, Andrew R. Smolski, Elisabeth Ramsey, Cathy Royal, Michael Schulman

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Cooperative Extension Services and non-profit farm advocacy organizations assist farmers through network development and resource referrals to access information and services needed to operate resilient farms. One method for building networks and assessing existing resources is through participatory asset-mapping tools to document community strengths. In this research brief, we describe the results of a pilot study to test, evaluate, and refine an asset-mapping tool based on Appreciative Inquiry principles. Our goal in the pilot project was to assist the assembled farmers in identifying objectives for a sustainable future and understanding the existing set of resources that would empower them toward …

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 …

A Holistic Christian Perspective On Wellness For College Students - A Qualitative Analysis, Shari L. Jurgens, Deb Majewski, Jessica Clevering

Movement and Being: The Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies

Aim: This study sought to explore the impact of a Christ-centered, holistic wellness course on college-aged students’ understanding of key wellness principles. The goal was to gain insight into how students comprehend and apply these principles considering their spiritual and personal development.

Background: Wellness education for undergraduate students is both timely and essential, especially within Christian higher education, where nurturing the whole person is a core value. A common misconception is that wellness pertains only to physical and mental health. However, Scripture affirms that human flourishing involves a harmony of body, mind, and spirit. A holistic, biblically informed approach to …

The Virtue Of Hope In Sports Through Spe Salvi And Its Role In Faith, Resilience, And Character Formation In Student-Athletes, Hansson G. Labisig, Arvin D. Eballo

Movement and Being: The Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies

Pope Benedict XVI, in Spe Salvi, presents hope as a transformative and redemptive virtue that enables believers to live and suffer differently, rooted in faith in God. He writes, “The one who has hope lives differently.” This study develops a theological-pastoral framework for integrating the virtue of hope into the faith formation of student-athletes within Catholic educational institutions, positioning sport as a genuine locus theologicus for Religious Education and evangelization. Employing the See–Judge–Act methodology, it draws from Spe Salvi, Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae, and the Vatican document Giving the Best of Yourself, in dialogue with C. R. Snyder’s psychological theory …

Impact Of Baseline Cognition On Dual-Task Performance: Tracking Verbal Accuracy And Fluency In Adults At Risk For Alzheimer’S Disease, Rebecca Nicole Frederichs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is increasing in prevalence as life expectancy continues to rise, highlighting the need for sensitive measures to detect early cognitive changes. This study examined the effects of baseline cognitive status on dual-task performance over time, in terms of dual-task cost, verbal fluency, and verbal accuracy in older adults at risk for AD. This study utilized a quantitative secondary analysis of the longitudinal dataset, the Digital, Cognitive, Multi-Domain Alzheimer Risk Velocity (DC-MARVel) study (Gray et al., 2022). Participants were categorized into low, medium, or high cognitive tertiles based on baseline Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status …

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 …

Gender Differences In The Prevalence Of Anxiety And Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder And Associated Factors Among Adults In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Basil Masinza, Amina Abubakar, Joy Mukubuyi, Patrick Mwangala

Institute for Human Development, East Africa

Background: Sex and gender equity in research has a growing focus, but there are gaps in fully integrating it in mental health research, limiting adoption of sex and gender-sensitive interventions. This review adopted a gendered perspective to synthesize prevalence and associated factors contributing to differences in anxiety and PTSD in SSA.

Methodology: Electronic search was conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science databases. Empirical studies conducted in SSA, targeting adults >18 years and having gender-disaggregated anxiety and PTSD prevalence and factors were included. Meta-analysis of proportions stratified by sex was done, and narrative synthesis of the …

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 …

Influence Of Self-Reported Maternal Mental Health Diagnosis And Parenting Practice On Child Externalizing Behavior, Caitlin E. Smith

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maternal psychopathology generally has been associated with greater likelihood of childhood pathology (e.g., Bellina et al., 2020) which is likely due to both genetic (e.g. heritability of mental health diagnoses) and environmental (e.g., parenting) influences. ADHD, in particular, is a disorder with a high heritability rate (Kuja-Halkola et al., 2015). Other parent mental health difficulties, such as anxiety or depression, can also influence parenting behavior as well as child behavior. Broadly, maternal psychiatric history is related to child ADHD symptom severity (López Seco et al., 2015). Positive parenting may be especially important when parenting a child with ADHD as positive …

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 …

When Neighborhoods Change, So Do Schools: Gentrification’S Influence On Public Education, Diego Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Neighborhood change is a common feature in urban life; however, gentrification is a distinct form of urban transformation characterized by rising property values, reinvestment, and shifts in neighborhood socioeconomic makeup. This literature review investigates the mechanisms through which gentrification reshapes public education and argues that gentrification has a direct impact on public schools, as these institutions reflect the socioeconomic communities around them. As neighborhoods gentrify and class demographics shift, education systems struggle to meet the demands of changing student populations, leading to unequal educational experiences. Specifically, this literature review demonstrates how gentrification reshapes public education through changes in school enrollment, …

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 …

Thinking Silence Otherwise: Toward A “Research Other” In Qualitative Research, Rosa Vázquez Recio

The Qualitative Report

Why ask about silence when it comes to research? This paper explores and analyzes how silence, unlike words and verbal expression, has received little attention in the data production process. Despite its different manifestations and meanings in social interactions and knowledge production, silence tends to be overlooked, ignored, or silenced. We focus on analyzing how we relate silence to evidence-based research to describe the “non-places” of silence in qualitative research, addressing controversies and issues. We propose a “research other,” grounded in decolonial approaches and Southern and feminist epistemologies, to argue for the inclusion of silence in the research process. …

A Multi-Stakeholder Perception Model Of Study Tour Resources: A Grounded Theory Study, Zhao Junming, Diana Mohamad

The Qualitative Report

Understanding stakeholders’ perceptions of study tour resources is essential for improving resource planning, enhancing program quality, and fostering more sustainable tourism practices. In this study, "study tour resources" refers to the educational, cultural, natural, and service elements, among others, that support experiential learning during organized study tour activities. This study addresses the research question: What are the key dimensions of stakeholders’ perceptions of study tour resources, and how do these dimensions interact to form a coherent perception model? Our study endeavors to construct a comprehensive perception model of stakeholders regarding study tour resources. To achieve this end, guided by constructivist …

L3) Drawing, Religious Experience And The Pilgrim’S Mind, Stephen F. Haller

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

While some tourism activities can be a positive obstacle to awareness and connection, other tourism activities, like drawing, can lead to inner development, wonder, and a heightened experience. A traveller’s activity of sketching and drawing is a meditative exercise in concentration and focus that can transform one’s experience and enhance their perception. It often facilitates the experience of connection to the place being drawn; to nature; and to a community. If developed as a frequent habit, drawing can be a character-building activity with virtues that continue even after the act of drawing is over. It is a method of altering …

L2) More Than Faith: Self-Fulfilment As A Key Driver Of Memorable Religious Tourism, Sau Ying Pamela Ho, Jing (Bill) Xu

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

While traditional perspectives on religious tourism often emphasize faith as the primary motivator, this study challenges that assumption, revealing that the pursuit of self-fulfilment is a more powerful and significant driver of memorable visitor experiences. This research delves into the psychological underpinnings of pilgrimage, seeking to understand what transforms a simple visit into a profoundly impactful journey that enhances a visitor’s sense of self-worth.

To investigate these dynamics, the study adopted the ABC Model of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). This framework posits that an Activating event (visiting a religious attraction) triggers an individual’s internal Belief system (religiosity and self-fulfilment), …

H3) "Between Paths And Beliefs: Religious Tourism As A Tool For Cultural Understanding And Social Transformation", Maria Angelica Alvarez Orozco, Silvia Aulet

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

From the beginning of humanity, walking has been the way humankind has regained its equilibrium, creating a natural connection towards the path and what it represents. Pilgrimage was the first form of tourism to emerge thousands of years ago; in fact, the development of tourism cannot be understood without understanding the practice of pilgrimage since ancient times.

Therefore, this ongoing research, entitled "Between Paths and Beliefs: Religious tourism as a tool for cultural understanding and social transformation," aims to delve into the understanding of pilgrimage as a religious tourism itinerary that contributes to the transformation of individuals through travel. Through …

G2) Pilgrimage As Biographical Resource: A Process-Based Typology Of Camino De Santiago Pilgrims, Andreas Braun

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Research on the Camino de Santiago has predominantly classified pilgrims along single dimensions: by motivation before departure, by the type of experience encountered on the road, or by the meaning derived from the journey (Cohen, 1979; Brumec et al., 2023a). What has rarely been attempted is a typological approach that treats the full biographical trajectory from departure through experience and change to return as an integrated unit of analysis.

This article develops such a process-based typology. Drawing on qualitative content analysis of 588 open-ended written responses from German-speaking Camino pilgrims, it reconstructs six ideal-typical biographical configurations following the method of …

Older Recent Widows’ Physical Activity Before And After Spouses’ Deaths A Qualitative Investigation Of The Impact Of Duration And Intensity Of Care Work And Social Support, Mary Theresa Pagan

Dissertations - ALL

Abstract This study investigates and expands understanding of how care work, widowhood, social support, and physical activity intersect in the lives of older recent widows. The study addresses three primary research questions examining the duration and intensity of care work, pre- and post-death social support, and factors that influenced widows’ physical activity before and after the death of their spouses. Thirty semi-structured, face-to-face interviews conducted with heterosexual widows aged 60 and older residing in Upstate New York who were widowed within 6–24 months prior to interview. Interviews explored care work experiences, social support, widowhood transitions, and both structured and non-structured …

Degrees And Certificates Awarded To Native American Students In Nevada, 2010-2022, Devin Streuter, Kevin Yang, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet presents data on certificates and degrees awarded to Native Americans from the Nevada System of Higher Education’s (NSHE) teaching institutions —College of Southern Nevada (CSN), Great Basin College (GBC), Nevada State University (NSU), Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), and Western Nevada College (WNC)— from 2010 to 2022. Additionally, the fact sheet reports data on degree type, gender, and the most common majors pursued by Native American certificate and degree earners in Nevada. The data are derived from the Nevada P-20 Workforce Research (NPWR) Data System.

Understanding The Perspectives Of Refugee Youth On Education And Freedom In Malaysia, Seok Wun (Shiila) Au Yong

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines how refugee youth in Malaysia understand, experience, and reimagine education and freedom within a socio-political context that denies them legal recognition, mobility, access to public education, opportunities for legal employment, and affordable healthcare. As Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, refugees are not formally recognized by the state. Situating itself within refugee education scholarship and drawing on transnational feminism, critical refugee studies, critical disability studies, and queer theory, this study centers refugee youth as knowledge producers, interrogates dominant narratives of refugee youth, and challenges the conventional approaches to refugee education in order to …

Press To End Nightmare: Technology, Disfigured Labor, And Retail Grocery Work, Katherine Mott

Dissertations - ALL

This study attends to the lived experiences of retail grocery customer service workers to examine how economic forces, namely the growth of online retail and technological advancements in information systems and data collection, are reshaping retail work. It draws upon in-depth interviews, content analysis, and eight months of participant observation working alongside predominantly college-educated customer service workers at Whole Foods Market, an upscale retail grocery chain with hundreds of locations across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Prior to the 2010s, Whole Foods Market’s decentralized management structure successfully deployed a hegemonic “post-industrial work ethic” rooted in environmentalism, organic …

"That Has Been My Entire Life Of Being Invalidated," Lgbtq+ And Poor: Experiences Of Cis-Heteronormativity And Neoliberal Poverty Governance In Cities In Upstate New York, Dustin J. Satterfield

Dissertations - ALL

Social welfare provision in the United States is neoliberal, punitive, and more about controlling people than alleviating poverty. Poor people are highly regulated by the state through welfare provision, with social welfare supports reserved for “the deserving poor” (Soss et al. 2011; Katz 2013; Hughes 2019; Purser and Hennigan 2019). Poverty is viewed as a personal moral failing and those seeking benefits must demonstrate their deservedness to be approved. Simultaneously, LGBTQ+ individuals in the US are at higher risk of experiencing poverty than the general US population (DeFilippis 2016; Badgett 2018; James 2016). Queer and trans people are more likely …