Digital Commons Network^™

Who's At Home?: Individual-And Family-Level Sociodemographic Characteristics Associated With Stay-At-Home Motherhood, Deegan Minchey

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I assess the relationship between various types of demographic variables, including individual, partner, and family-level information, and the likelihood of mothers staying at home. Using nationally representative data from the 2019,2021, and 2023 waves of the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey to account for differences across the COVID-19 pandemic, this analysis examines the likelihood of becoming a stay-at-home mother (SAHM) across three separate regression models. From the variables analyzed, I find that various individual, family, and partner demographic characteristics are significantly associated with the likelihood of becoming a SAHM. These results …

An Implementation Study Of A Brief, Online Sexual Mindfulness Intervention At The Individual Partner Level: The Impact Of Prompting Practice On Implementation, Alexyss Lange

Theses and Dissertations

Prior research suggests frequent, scheduled, non-interactive text support enhances psychological outcomes and increases adherence to psychological interventions (Agyapong et al., 2020; Shalaby et al., 2022; Shim et al., 2017). Using a hybrid III implementation model, we recruited individuals in romantic relationships to test whether weekly reminders improved engagement with a sexual mindfulness intervention. We found no evidence that additional support increased intervention implementation. Although we aimed to assess acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, and feasibility as separate implementation outcomes, factor analysis indicated these variables cluster into two broader constructs: Readiness and motivation and discomfort and uncertainty. These factors did not differ between …

Why Real Impact Stories Of Forest-Dependent Communities Are Essential In Carbon Marketing, Andrew Mwape

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

As the global carbon market matures, the pressure on companies and project developers to prove the integrity and social value of their carbon offset initiatives has never been greater. At the heart of this growing scrutiny lies a key opportunity: to move beyond metrics and tell authentic, human-centered stories that reflect the real impact of carbon projects; especially those rooted in forest landscapes.

Unraveling The Relationship Between Sexual Shame And Father-Child Sex Communication, Hannah Mireya Brundage

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to understand the relationship between father’s sexual shame and children’s sexual shame. Parents play a role in shaping their children’s behaviors and perceptions in regard to sexuality. Most of this research analyzed data from the viewpoint of the mother, missing the potentially unique perspective and influence of fathers. Using longitudinal survey data from 361 fathers-adolescent dyads, I proposed to study the relations between father sexual shame and child sexual shame, and the possible mediating role of father-child sex communication. I predicted that quality of sex communication, including controlling and open communication, would mediate father sexual shame and …

Assessing Vulnerabilities Associated With High-Risk Dams In Utah, Courtney Flint Dr., Michael Englert, Upmanu Lall Dr.

I-GUIDE Forum

Across the United States, the age of dam infrastructure presents a substantial threat. The potential for structural failure associated with these aging dams is exacerbated by increased climate uncertainty and the threat of dam overtopping due to extreme and prolonged precipitation events. These compound threats place downstream areas at pronounced risk. These downstream areas vary widely. Some are relatively free of vulnerable elements, while others have a complex mix of infrastructure, populations, and ecologically important elements. This paper highlights the risk situation associated with aging dams and hydroclimatic extremes, the methodological and geospatial challenges and opportunities associated with mapping the …

Research Proposal: Complex Relationship Of Religious Community, Psychological Health, And Socioeconomic Status Of Spanish Speaking Residents Ages 18-50 In Lynchburg, Va, Faith Park

NEXUS: The Liberty Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

Previous research has shown a clear quantitative correlation between socioeconomic status and religious gatherings as well as psychological health and religious gatherings. However, there have been few studies on the interconnectedness of mental health, socioeconomic stability, and religious identity and gathering. Research thus has not addressed the personal implications and the benefits of individual perspectives that can be offered through a qualitative methodology. Thus, this research proposes an ethnographic methodology which may provide insights that do not limit the subjectivity of mental health, religious experiences, and socioeconomic struggles.Through an integration of psychology, anthropology, and sociology, the proposed research hopes to …

Increasing Community Members' Engagement In Cancer Research: The Making Research Clear Program, Rebecca J. Melillo, Christiane J. El Khoury, Joshua Blanding-Godbolt, Q. Greene, Karen M. Bussard, Amy Leader

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Despite the importance of engaging community members in research, multiple barriers from the perspective of the investigator and community member exist. The Making Research CLEAR (Community Learning and Experience about Research) Program aims to bridge the gap between research conducted at an NCI-designated cancer center and the community.

METHODS: Community members and a cancer center investigator were paired for a 6-month immersive research experience. Community members had at least one research experience per month with their investigator, while also attending cancer center activities such as Institutional Review Board (IRB) meetings, research lectures, protocol review meetings, and community outreach events. …

Balancing Care And Challenge: Integrating Trauma-Informed Learning And Desirable Difficulty, Cerise L. Glenn, Katie Lind, Jessica D. Mccall

Feminist Pedagogy

Amid changing landscapes of campus culture (e.g., new technologies, increasing accommodations requests, program reviews), we utilize pedagogical strategies to expand feminist frontiers in ways that re-energize and promote an inclusive culture of feminist pedagogy. By implementing “desirable difficulty,” we seek collaborative learning environments that address the changing needs of students and teachers while fostering learning effectiveness. Combining aspects of trauma-informed learning with desirable difficulty helps balance these demands with a culture of care, created through approaches designed to promote learning opportunities and meet student needs without overwhelming faculty.

Beyond "Thanks For Your Service": Navigating The Challenges Of Memorializing The Global War On Terrorism, James Craig

Dissertations

As objects of public commemoration, the American public expects our national war and veteran memorials to draw coherent narratives from diverse, often contradictory, experiences. In return, our society bestows these places with extraordinary authority, allowing them to define the essence of events from years ago. This dissertation explores that phenomenon in the context of the national Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) Memorial, which has been approved for placement in the National Mall and is in its design phase. As its framework, this dissertation uses the four truth framework developed by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. With a focus …

Parameters Summer 2025, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Summer 2025 issue of Parameters. This issue consists of an In Focus special commentary, three forums (Indo-Pacific Challenges, Russia-Ukraine Issues, and Historical Studies).

A More Perfect Peace: Can The Russia-Ukraine War End Justly?, Nathaniel B. Davis, Marlon A. Thomas

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that thinking creatively about war termination, both philosophically and politically, utilizing jus post bellum principles and counterintuitive political trade-offs, reveals an opportunity to achieve a sustainable peace that approximates justice. The article surveys how war aims among belligerents have changed, indicating that further change is possible, particularly at the point of war termination. Next, the article examines jus post bellum principles and their application to the Russia-Ukraine War. Finally, the article contends that Ukraine relinquishing Crimea and the Donbas in exchange for NATO membership might be the key to achieving a durable peace that addresses long-term security.

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Strategic Narratives To Counter Global Threats, Jerry E. Landrum, Chase Metcalf, Michael M. Posey

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that the current National Security Strategy lacks the necessary coherence and fidelity to mobilize collective action against the emerging Russia-China axis. It merges multiple theoretical concepts to assert that the “rules-based order” theme is insufficient for mobilizing public support. Using textual analysis of the strategy compared with publicly available polling to determine levels of popular resonance, the authors find that the “rules-based order emphasis” does not resonate. This study’s conclusions will assist practitioners as they develop an updated National Security Strategy in the new presidential administration.

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Summer 2025 issue of Parameters. This issue consists of an In Focus special commentary, three forums (Indo-Pacific Challenges, Russia-Ukraine Issues, and Historical Studies).

China’S Role In A Future Korean War, Jake Rinaldi

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that China’s intervention in a Korean conflict will hinge more on North Korea’s ability to hold territory than on bilateral ties. Rather than treat Chinese intervention as a yes-or-no proposition, this study models three scenarios—full intervention, sustained support, and limited support—based on North Korean resilience. Using Chinese-language sources and scenario-based analysis, it assesses how each model would shape key functional areas such as ISR, cyber, materiel, and force posture. The findings offer US defense planners a framework for anticipating variable People’s Liberation Army involvement in a future Korea contingency.

The Next National Defense Strategy: Mission-Based Force Planning, Frank G. Hoffman

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The Pentagon needs to embrace a new methodology called mission-based planning to size and shape the defense enterprise properly. This article critiques several proposals for reestablishing the long-standing two major theater war construct in the face of ongoing shifts in the strategic environment, including the nation’s $36 trillion debt and prospects of annual interest payments beyond $1 trillion. It presents a mission priority alternative focused on strategic prioritization based on the authors’ four decades of experience in strategy/force planning at the service, the department, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense levels. Strategic-level service planners and students of Joint …

A Tragedy Of Incommensurability: Indigenous Rights And The Limits Of Human Rights Law, Zeina Ali

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the tragedy of incommensurability between indigenous rights and international human rights law. Despite the emergence of frameworks like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), indigenous calls for sovereignty remain fundamentally unintelligible within a liberal order structured to preserve settler-state legitimacy. Tracing the historical and theoretical evolution of indigenous advocacy, this study critiques the strategic shift from demands for self-determination to claims of cultural rights. It argues that this shift offers no real alternative: self-determination and cultural rights are functionally equivalent, as both are ultimately filtered through legal and political frameworks that cannot …

Photographic Truth: Civilian Manipulation And Reality Under Stalinism, Reese Finnigan

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

Nepaliness As Assemblage: Diasporic Belonging, Colorism, And Caste In The Associational Life Of Nepali Migrants In Florida, Shuvechha Ghimire Sharma

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The research fundamentally challenges romanticized ideas of migration—shedding older inequalities, idealizing “leveling up,” and being a part of “unified diasporic communities”—and unmasks a rather uneasy, far more intricate reality: the preexisting sociocultural and political structures and identities are not shed, rather actively reproduced and rigorously, often consciously, reconfigured within the transnational diasporic spaces. As such, the research reveals that Nepali diasporic associations in Florida play a vital role in perpetuating and reshaping social inequalities and contested national identities, significantly impacting transnational dynamics. The work contends that caste hierarchies persist in structuring associational life, influencing participation and resource distribution. Concurrently, colorism …

The Social Standing Versus The Mind Standing Of Older Adults In Egypt: Cross-Sectional Analysis Of The Relationship Between Social Capital And Cognitive Functions, Shaza H. Shinaishen Dr

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Egypt's population, much like that of other countries, is expected to age considerably over the course of the coming decades. Although biological and socioeconomic predictors of cognitive function have been studied widely, personal level social capital remains unexplored, especially in LMICs.

Purpose: This study primarily investigates the relationship between individual social capital and cognitive functioning among older adults aged 65 years and older in Egypt using the structural and cognitive components of social capital, including group membership, civic engagements, and caregiving roles.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey on 363 older individuals in different geographical and demographic segments of Egypt using …

Ways Of Living And Knowing, Reem El Hassan Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

After decades of sedentarization, the Muzeina tribe in South Sinai now has new generations born into sedentary lifestyles, never experiencing nomadism like their ancestors once did. This shift has impacted their knowledge system, traditionally shaped by interactions and kinship with nature. Exposure to social media is influencing younger generations' ways of living, raising the older generations’ concerns about their Bedouin identity. Despite being one of the largest tribes in South Sinai, the Muzeina are rarely represented in literature.

This ethnography explores the impact of sedentarization and contextual developments on the Muzeina's knowledge system, inherited from their ancestors. Muzeina’s relationship, and …

Finding Meaning In Loss: The Role Of Attachment Styles, Coping Strategies, And Resilience, Salma Seyam

Theses and Dissertations

Grief is a deeply personal yet universal experience impacted by personal, social, and cultural factors. The present study examines how attachment styles, coping mechanisms, and resilience impact both grief intensity and the ability to find meaning after a loss, within an Egyptian sample. While previous studies have explored the experience of grief, few have looked at these factors within a Middle Eastern cultural context. A total of 140 bereaved Egyptians who experienced the loss of a loved one within the past three years completed standardized measures assessing grief intensity (Prolonged Grief Disorder-Revised; PG-13-R), coping strategies (Brief COPE), meaning-making (Grief and …

“Redefining The Fortress” Migrant Experiences, Adaptation And Connection Within Serbian Borderlands, Nicholas J. Leone

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract This thesis seeks to examine migrant experiences due to Serbia's geopolitical significance along the so-called Balkan route, and how this is specifically exemplified in the northern autonomous region of Vojvodina. Serbia’s position outside the external border of the European Union has caused it to be a strategic transit point for migrants en route to desired destinations, typically within Western and Northern Europe. However, the European Union’s externalization policies in partnership with Serbian authorities have played an extensive role in migration mobility patterns and humanitarian conditions for migrants traversing within the Serbian borderlands, specifically along the border with Hungary. The …

Growing Pains: Relations Between Racial Discrimination And Body Esteem With Ethnic-Racial Identity By Pubertal Timing For Female Adolescents Of Color, Emily J. Takamasa

Theses and Dissertations

Puberty is a near-universal experience among adolescents, and yet rarely have researchers considered the racialized contexts and salience it has, for girls of color. Using the phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST), this study examines the relation between pubertal timing, body esteem, racial discrimination and ethnic racial identity (ERI) components (affirmation, exploration, resolution) among adolescent girls of color (n = 218, Mage = 15.7, U.S. sample). Results showed that higher body esteem predicted greater ERI exploration and resolution, particularly for girls with average or late pubertal timing. Additionally, racial discrimination was linked to higher ERI exploration and resolution only …

Beyond Diversity Initiatives: Building A Community Of Care In Scientific Societies, Richelle L. Tanner, Kathryn Wilsterman

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

"In this Professional Biologist article, we present one such reframing that centers individualized care through structural changes. We argue that psychological and sociological motivations of belonging and social capital in the academy are funda- mental challenges contributing to the cultural problems within STEM fields and are particularly present within professional scientific societies. In support of this argument, we present survey- based data alongside significant literature from the humanities. In this reframing supported by existing organizational culture literature and our survey results, we suggest that scientific societies are uniquely positioned to promote significant cultural change within STEM by focusing on building …

College Health Services Should Implement Trauma-Informed Design To Reduce The Negative Health Effects Of Sexual Misconduct, Emilie Whitehouse, Meena Wilwerding, Tara Richards, Lane Kirkland Gillespie

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Sexual misconduct victimization including sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating/domestic violence, and stalking is widespread among U.S. college students. While survivors often experience negative mental health impacts such as depression and anxiety, positive disclosure experiences and supportive services can reduce these effects. One way to help increase service utilization is to use trauma-informed design (TID), which creates supportive physical and emotional environments for survivors and service providers. Here we provide case examples of how TID has been adopted in campus health centers and argue that TID is an underutilized strategy for ensuring that college student survivors are supported rather than revictimized. …

Self-Initiated Police Activity, Crime, And Complaints Against Police, Vincent Joseph Schaan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This quantitative study aimed to examine the statistical relationship between self-initiated police activity, citizen complaints against police officers, sustained findings of misconduct, and crime within three police agencies located in the southwest United States. Prevailing law enforcement perception fueled by protests and riots infers that reducing proactive policing will decrease complaints. Using chi-square and binary logistic regression, this study analyzed 53,585 police and public contacts to answer three core questions. The statistical tests found a statistically significant inverse relationship between self-initiated police activity and complaints against police, with an odds ratio of 2.386 (95% CI: 1.62,3.50; p<.001). The findings indicate that officers who engage in self-initiated police activity have a 35.95% lower statistical probability of facing a citizen complaint. This study also found no statistically significant relationship between actual police misconduct and self-initiated police activity. The findings advocate for evidence-based decision-making based on statistical data, which found a reduced probability of complaints when law enforcement officers initiate public and police interactions. These findings contribute to positive social change by providing critical knowledge and information, and creating the potential for law enforcement officers and agencies to improve their relationships with the public by reducing complaints. Increasing self-initiated police activity provides a gateway to a reduction in crime and fewer complaints against police; therefore, data and information may motivate agencies and officers to increase self-initiated police activity to help reduce complaints and reduce crime.

Election Performance In The Mountain West, 2008-2020, Monserrat Cristando-Romo, Maryam Raja, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Elections & Governance

This fact sheet presents data on the Election Performance Index (EPI) and voter turnout in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah for the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections, as originally reported by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Election Data & Science Lab in their Elections Performance Index.

Editor’S Introduction, Michael D. Pante

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Genome: The Racialized Exposome, Flourishing, And Stress Biology In African Americans, A Non-Exhaustive Review, Enye Washington

University Honors Theses

Racial health disparities remain an enduring challenge in the United States, disproportionately impacting African American communities through higher rates of chronic disease and premature mortality. This non-exhaustive literature explores how the racialized exposome - a term denoting the totality of social, environmental, and structural stressors rooted in systemic racism - biologically embeds itself via stress-responsive pathways. Specifically, it examines the interaction between racial stress, flourishing, and key biological markers, including allostatic load and telomere length, considering the gut-brain axis. The review highlights robust evidence that chronic exposure to racial discrimination and structural adversity contributes to multisystem dysregulation and accelerated cellular …