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Public Defenders’ Challenges Representing Erroneous Prosecution Cases In The Black Community, Kayla Kristine Stephens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public defenders in a southern state continue to face significant challenges when representing Black individuals in the criminal justice system, particularly in cases involving erroneous prosecution. These challenges are intensified by high caseloads, limited funding, and systemic inequities, which can be stressors affecting the prosecutors wellbeing and hinder the provision of adequate legal representation. Public defenders, appointed to represent indigent defendants, frequently navigate complex legal and social circumstances that intersect with racial disparities in the justice system. For this qualitative study the research question was, how do public defenders perceive and manage any stresses representing erroneous prosecution cases in the …

How Racial Bias And Job-Related Stressors Impact The Prospect Of Police Misconduct, Jean Emmanuel Brutus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police use of excessive force is an enduring challenge for criminal justice institutions and the public, particularly, affecting minority communities. This has contributed to diminished public confidence in U.S. policing institutions. Prior empirical studies among law enforcement officers, indicate that Black minorities have been discriminated by police officers. Stress research links social stress to mental health and identifies police brutality as an anticipatory stressor for minority groups. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify factors, including job-related stressors, and racial bias, that contribute to officers using excessive force, so to fill the gap in research, and develop …

Contradiction And Critical Consciousness: Engaging Canadian University Students In Racial Dialogue On Anti-Chinese Racism, Dan Cui

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This study examines how Canadian university students perceived and engaged with anti-Chinese racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on grounded theory and interviews and written reflections from 28 undergraduates at a predominantly White university, the study analyzes students’ contradictory understandings of racism shaped by media, national narratives, and prior educational experiences. Informed by Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, it conceptualizes these tensions as a contradictory racialized habitus, in which awareness and denial, empathy and distancing, coexist. Three themes emerged: contradictory orientations toward anti-Chinese racism, the transnational influence of U.S. political discourse, and the limited transformative impact of a social justice course. …

Family Religious Socialization Index: Development And Preliminary Validation, Kaelie Rene Crockett

Theses and Dissertations

A key area of interest for religious scholars is how religious beliefs are passed across generations, or religious socialization. To expand this field of study, a theoretically grounded, validated measure of this construct is needed. This article describes the development and validation of the Family Religious Socialization Index (FRSI), a multi-informant, multidimensional assessment of the processes through which parents socialize religion and faith in their children. Based on Social Cognitive Theory and through a rigorous development and validation process, three subscales were developed to represent the primary processes of religious socialization. The FRSI consists of two parallel scales, a parent …

Identifying The Brain Circuits Involved In Religious Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Kiana Bunnell

Theses and Dissertations

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an often-debilitating psychiatric disorder involving a pattern of obsessive thoughts and compensatory compulsions. Symptoms tend to be chronic, leading to substantial emotional burden and significant impairment across multiple domains of daily functioning. Previous research has identified some consistency in the brain regions implicated in OCD. In particular, cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuitry has been linked to behavioral features commonly observed in OCD. Moreover, some studies suggest that distinct patterns of brain activation and functional connectivity may be associated with different OCD symptom dimensions, though findings have not been consistent. One symptom dimension of OCD (scrupulosity) is characterized by …

Is “No Change” Really No Change?: A Qualitative Analysis Of Clients With “No Change” On Routine Outcome Monitoring Who Report Improving In Therapy, Audrey Louise Stewart Parker

Theses and Dissertations

Routine outcome monitoring (ROM), the practice of tracking client progress in therapy by administering regular questionnaires to assess functioning, has demonstrated a significant positive effect on psychotherapy outcomes, especially for clients are who not improving as expected. However, some researchers argue the symptom-based measures and outcome classification criteria commonly used in ROM may not represent a complete picture of client change. A recent body of mixed-methods research has investigated these ROM-determined outcome categories to gain insight into client experiences and whether the category and client perception of therapy outcome align. In this investigation, researchers have found significant variety within outcome …

Las Voces Olvidadas Del Territorio: Infancias Mayas Ante El Conflicto Socioambiental En Ixil, Cielo María Ávila López, Myriam Montserrat Baca Canché, José Israel Herrera

Journal of Maya Heritage

Resumen: En la península de Yucatán, en el sureste de México, la comunidad maya de Ixil resiste ante los diversos intentos de implementación de megaproyectos en su territorio. En el marco de estas disputas territoriales, las voces de las infancias adquieren un matiz clave en el análisis de las dinámicas de desterritorialización y las respuestas de resistencia que devienen del contexto del conflicto socioambiental. Es así como, a partir de la ecología política y metodologías que favorecen el acercamiento a las voces de las infancias, emergieron los significados construidos en torno a dichos sucesos, lo que reveló que más allá …

Gender Disparities In Sheltered Status And Systemic Drivers Of Homelessness In Johnson City, Tennessee, Preet Patel, Dr. Opal Frye-Clark

Journal of Appalachian Health

The article examines the homelessness crisis in Johnson City, Tennessee, a mid-sized Appalachian city. First, analysis of Point-in-Time (PIT) counts from 2023 to 2025, conducted in 2025, showed persistently high unsheltered rates (35.88% – 47.17%), with men comprising 60 – 65% of the unhoused population. Men experiencing homelessness also had approximately half the odds of being counted as sheltered compared with women, indicating a gender disparity in sheltered status. Second, an interview with an experienced public health practitioner from the Appalachian Region contextualized these findings by identifying systemic drivers, including the regional housing crisis and policy restrictions, and supporting equitable …

Deaths Of Despair Among Cancer Survivors In Rural/Urban Appalachia (2000-2022), Jason Semprini, Anders Erickson, Nosa Osazuwa-Peters

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Rising deaths of despair (premature deaths from suicide, overdose, alcohol, and violence) in adults under age 65 persist across the United States, especially in Appalachia. People diagnosed with cancer may face elevated risks of such deaths due to pain, psychosocial distress, and financial hardship.

Purpose: Deaths of despair trends were compared among adults with cancer across Appalachian and non-Appalachian regions, stratified by sex and rurality.

Methods: Analyzing SEER-21 Incidence-Based Mortality data (2000–2022), deaths caused by suicide, cirrhosis of the liver, or accidents (includes overdose) were identified among adults aged 20–64 years. Annual mortality rates per 100,000 total population were …

Corruption In The Service Of The Common Good: The Legitimation Of Traditional Practitioners In Cameroon, Victorine Oyane Ossah

Journal of Law and Public Policy

This article shows how health law and public policy, in seeking to regulate traditional medicine, without fully recognising it, paradoxically end up producing the very social conditions for the corruption that they are supposed to combat. The aim is to identify, based on the experience of traditional healers, the various factors that contribute to establishing corruption not as a moral choice, but as a pragmatic strategy for preserving their knowledge, resources, and place in the healthcare system. The analysis presented is based on a qualitative survey of 30 traditional medicine practitioners in Yaoundé and Douala between 2021 and 2026, in …

Bridging Fiscal Sustainability And Health Equity: A Policy Analysis Of California’S Healthcare Coverage Safeguards, Guadalupe Castaneda Martinez

Master's Projects and Capstones

Without structural policy intervention, approximately 4.6 million Californians remain at risk of being uninsured by 2030, worsening racial and ethnic health disparities and hospital uncompensated care burdens. This policy analysis advocates for a hybrid universal coverage model combining sliding-scale subsidies (California Senate Bill 78) with full-scope Medi-Cal expansion for all income-eligible residents regardless of legal status (California Assembly Bill 133). The framework relies on existing funding mechanisms, including the Managed Care Organization tax and the Health Care Affordability Reserve Fund. Comparative analysis indicates that market-only subsidies leave severe equity gaps, whereas immediate single-payer transitions pose substantial fiscal and administrative risks. …

Race And Trauma: An Analysis Of Trauma Symptomology Across Diverse Youth Populations, Mara J. Niccoli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The adverse effects of trauma, particularly among youth who identify as Black, is a critical issue. This study investigated the relationship between race and trauma symptomology among children and adolescents who received weekly trauma therapy. With the use of clinical assessment data, this study sought to determine whether Black youth presented to treatment with higher trauma acuity than non-Black youth and if there were disparate outcomes in symptomology after treatment. The results indicated that on average, Black youth presented to treatment with lower trauma acuity than non-Black youth, and there were disparate outcomes in trauma symptomology between the two racial …

Zeus Network And The Commercialization Of Conflict: A Critical Analysis Of Exploitation, Representation, And Reality Television, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

This study examines Zeus Network as a prominent example of the commercialization of conflict within contemporary digital media. Through reality based programming that frequently emphasizes confrontation, public humiliation, emotional volatility, and interpersonal disputes, the network has cultivated a profitable entertainment model built upon spectacle and controversy. Drawing upon conflict theory, critical race theory, and media sociology, this paper investigates whether Zeus functions as a platform for cultural representation and economic opportunity or as a system that monetizes dysfunction for audience consumption. Particular attention is given to the portrayal of Black women and Black communities, whose experiences often become central to …

Sociology Of Mind Trap In Nepal, Makar Bahadur Sarki

Transformations

Nepali society is multilingual, culturally and ethnically diverse. It holds great potential for development and thought. However, the existing mental traps in society are creating obstacles to fulfilling those potentials. Mental entrapment is a problem in which people follow someone's words with complete faith, just like someone who runs after a crow without touching their own ears after hearing that it has ears. This forces people to live in illusion. This leads to individuals mistrusting their own abilities and pushing society towards inaction. This situation is not only due to individual thinking, but is the combined result of social structural …

Media Emotion Regulation And Executive Function In Childhood: Associations With Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia, Lara M. Almeida

Theses and Dissertations

Media emotion regulation (MER), or the use of media to help children manage emotions, may influence children's development by shaping opportunities for practicing self-regulatory skills. Guided by the Dynamic, Relational, Ecological Approach to Media Effects Research (DREAMER) model, this study examined longitudinal associations between MER and executive functioning (EF) in early childhood and explored whether respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a physiological index of regulation, predicted developmental changes. Participants included 175 parent-child dyads assessed across two annual waves when children were approximately 4 and 5 years old. Structural equation modeling was used to test bidirectional associations between MER and EF while …

A Systematic Review Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Hispanic Immigrants In The United States, Rashel Acireale

Theses and Dissertations

This study systematically reviews the literature on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Hispanic immigrants in the United States, a population exposed to cumulative trauma across the migration process. Stressors may occur before, during, and after migration and include violence, family separation, dangerous travel conditions, discrimination, and fear of deportation. Despite these risks, findings on PTSD prevalence remain mixed, and Hispanic immigrants are underrepresented in clinical research and culturally informed interventions. This review examines sample representation, types and timing of trauma, PTSD measurement approaches, and the inclusion of cultural and contextual factors such as acculturation and immigration-related stress. It also evaluates …

Translating English‑Language Cosmetic Catalogues Into Persian: A Thematic And Content Analysis Of Health Information And Product Marketing Across Cultural Contexts, Afshin Soori, Laleh Khojasteh, Sanaz Mojarrad, Sedigheh Shakib Kotamjani

The Qualitative Report

The translation of English-to-Persian cosmetic catalogues presents unique challenges due to their hybrid nature, combining health communication with marketing language. These challenges, including linguistic inaccuracies, cultural misalignment, and functional inadequacies, can compromise consumer safety and trust. This study investigates the root causes of these issues and proposes strategies to enhance translation practices. A qualitative design was employed, analyzing 100 English-to-Persian cosmetic catalogue translations and incorporating feedback from 10 experts in TESL, translation studies, and health communication. The analysis revealed recurring issues such as misinterpretations of technical terms, omissions of safety warnings, and inconsistent terminology use. These issues were primarily attributed …

Rethinking Methodological Frameworks In Qualitative Comparative Migration Policy Research, Afag Javadova

The Qualitative Report

Capturing the nuanced dynamics of sub-national migration policy requires methodological frameworks that integrate multiple sources of evidence while remaining attentive to context-specific processes. Such approaches are well-suited to tracing interactions among policy actors and institutions within evolving, locally embedded systems of comparative policymaking. This study examines why municipalities operating under similar macro-level conditions pursue divergent policy trajectories in migration governance and demonstrates the analytical rigor and explanatory power of qualitative thematic analysis in accounting for this variation. Drawing on policy documents, archival records, and media sources from Toronto, San Francisco, and Wellington, it employs a hybrid inductive–deductive coding approach to …

A Poetic Call For And A Reflection And Commentary On Clarity, Understanding, Hope, Courage, And Compassion, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

Finding a published poem I had written as a teenager, titled “The Heavens Weep.” this article uses that poem as the basis for a commentary that reflects on the state of the world today (2026),  As a commentary, the article uses the poetic and metaphoric words in the poem as a relevant "reality check" for what is still going on today.  In essence, the commentary is about a call for Clarity, Understanding, Hope, Courage, and Compassion, or what I call Archetypal Energies, Higher Vibrational Energies that operate deep within our individual and collective psyches to creatively urge us to "see" …

Reimagining Photovoice: Leveraging Ai For Inclusive And Equitable Engagement In Refugee Research, Areej Al-Hamad, Kateryna Metersky, Yasin M. Yasin, Victoria Hayrabedian, Rezwana Rahman

The Qualitative Report

This methodology paper reimagines photovoice, a visual research method, by integrating artificial intelligence (AI), thereby expanding methodological options for both researchers and participants to foster more inclusive and equitable engagement in refugee research. Using AI-generated images, metaphors, and photocollage, displaced Ukrainian women in Canada co-created symbolic visuals to express complex emotions and experiences that may be difficult to capture through traditional photography. This approach addresses limitations of conventional photovoice by reducing technological and linguistic barriers, enhancing emotional expression, and supporting diverse representations of displacement and resettlement. Rather than replacing existing methods, this AI-assisted approach expands the methodological options available to …

History Repeats Itself – A Discourse Analysis Exploring The Voices Of School Shooting Survivors, Public Perception, And Governmental Response For The Sake Of A Shooting-Free, Nicolette Tran, Frank Gorritz

The Qualitative Report

School and public shootings have been an increasing epidemic in the United States over the last 20 years. We used discourse analysis to provide insights into the conversations, attitudes, and perceptions of public shootings through the analysis of news coverage, magazines, and social media. We found themes associated with growing public despair around governmental lack of response and inevitability of gun violence everywhere, racial and gender disparities of gun violence, and the widespread impact of trauma to gun violence. The results of this discourse analysis indicate how problematic discourse still perpetuates gun violence and trauma in the United States. Implications …

The Legend Of The Bear Lake Monster, Melissa Anderson Asay

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

The Bear Lake Monster is a legend that has persisted for centuries. This monster is rooted in Shoshone oral traditions and hold the potential to be based off of fossils found in the Shoshone territory. This living legend was later amplified by Mormon settlers. One settler in particular, Joseph C. Rich, played a significant role in shaping its narrative. Though he eventually admitted to fabricating sightings to encourage settlement, belief in the creature remains alive today. The serpent’s presence in local lore has undeniably influenced the Bear Lake region, shaping both its identity and tourism industry. This legend serves as …

Sex Buying, Sex Trafficking, And Organized Crime: Introduction To A Special Issue, Marcel Van Der Watt, John A. Winterdyk

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Shifting Faith Among Indigenous People In Arunachal Pradesh, India: Revisiting Greenfeld's Civilizational Framework, M. Amin Khan

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper examines changing religious demography in Arunachal Pradesh through Liah Greenfeld's theory of civilization as a self-generating and self-reproducing symbolic reality. Using decadal Census data (1971–2011), it traces the demographic decline of Indigenous/Tribal religions classified under “Other Religions and Persuasions” (ORP) alongside the widespread growth of Christianity and the more limited growth of Hinduism. The analysis argues that these demographic shifts reflect more than religious conversion; they reveal differential capacities for cultural reproduction. Whereas civilizations endowed with codified first principles and enduring institutions sustain continuity across generations, Arunachal Pradesh's largely localized and orally transmitted indigenous traditions have proven less …

Using Photovoice And Life Course Theory To Understand The Lived Experiences Of Filipino Teenage Parents, Nina Linly D. Capulong, Liane Peña Alampay, Bernice Landoy Mamauag, Jennel Drezza Fe C. Reyes

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

Teenage parents face the unique challenge of simultaneously navigating adolescence and parenthood. Rising adolescent pregnancy rates in the Philippines necessitate urgent efforts to better understand and support them. Using Photovoice, Filipino teenage parents captured their lived experiences through photographs, resulting in eight themes: (1) Managing stresses and conflicts in partner relationships, (2) Peers as a source of emotional support, (3) Support and strain in family relationships, (4) Shifts in normative adolescent experiences and priorities, (5) Strain and agency in balancing roles, (6) Desire to enhance parenting knowledge and skills, (7) Environmental drivers of early sexual exposure, (8) Sexual knowledge from …

End Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Towards The Systematic Cross-Civilizational Comparison: How Civilizations Work Case 3: The Chinese Case, Tiantian Wu

Comparative Civilizations Review

Drawing on Liah Greenfeld’s (2024) framework of Systematic Cross-Civilizational Comparison, this study examines Chinese civilization as an enduring and culturally autonomous system shaped by its unique first principles, “the Great Unity”, which integrates Confucian orthodoxy, political legitimacy, and cultural tradition into a coherent worldview. Historically, this framework justified dynastic rule through moral virtue and the Mandate of Heaven, forming a durable model of statecraft that incorporated Taoist, Legalist, and Buddhist influences. Expressed and perpetuated through the Chinese language, these principles have systematically shaped the civilization’s modes of thought, ethics, and emotional patterns. Although the Opium War and subsequent “Century of …

A Historical Inquiry Into The Cpc’S Century-Long Evaluation Of Confucianism And Its Return To The “Great Unity” Cultural Tradition, Ye Liu

Comparative Civilizations Review

Since its founding, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has undergone a complex trajectory in its attitude toward Confucius and Confucianism — from fierce critique to rational inheritance, and then to confident promotion. This century-long evolution profoundly reflects shifts in the CPC’s revolutionary tasks and ideological orientations at different historical stages, and it also mirrors the continuity and transformation of the Chinese civilization’s “Great Unity” (大一统) cultural tradition within a modern political context. This evolution can be divided into four stages: the revolutionary period, the Mao Zedong period after the founding of the PRC, the reform and openingup period, and …

Temporal Legitimacy And Civilizational Logic: A Sociological Perspective On The Foundational Principles Of Chinese Civilization, Yuk Man Cheung

Comparative Civilizations Review

This article departs from the recent social-scientific analytical framework for comparative civilizations proposed by the sociologist Liah Greenfeld (2024a, 2024b, 2025) and puts forward several basic conjectures regarding the analysis of the characteristics of Chinese civilization, with the aim of assisting our understanding, execution, and integration of empirical studies. Precisely because these are conjectures, they differ from conventional academic research–especially the case-study-oriented research style dominant in contemporary Anglophone academia. Accordingly, this article can only be regarded as an attempt that, starting from sociological theory, offers preliminary conjectures and tentatively constructs a theoretical framework within which specialists from different fields may …

The “Original Spirit” Of Chinese Civilization: Wang Huning And The Indigenization Of Reform In Post-Mao China, Chandler Rosenberger

Comparative Civilizations Review

For several centuries, modernizing intellectuals in China have struggled with the question of how to move their country forward against the inertia of a large peasant population rooted in millennia-old traditions. The Communist Party of Mao Zedong tried to fill that peasantry with revolutionary fervor, but grew fearful as chaos quickly destroyed traditions and reforms alike. In the last three decades, however, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seems to have found a way to engage the population in modernizing within their own familiar cultural framework. Guided by chief ideologist Wang Huning, the CCP has embraced a civilizational approach to reform …