Digital Commons Network^™

Ctrl + Alt + Inner Speech: A Verbal–Cognitive Scaffold (Vcs) Model Of Pathways To Computational Thinking, Daisuke Akiba

Publications and Research

This theoretical paper introduces the Verbal–Cognitive Scaffold (VCS) Model, a cognitively inclusive framework which proposes the cognitive architectures underlying computational thinking (CT). Moving beyond monolithic theories of cognition (e.g., executive-function and metacognitive control models), the VCS Model posits inner speech (InSp) as the predominant cognitive pathway supporting CT operations in neurotypical populations. Synthesizing interdisciplinary scholarship across cognitive science, computational theory, neurodiversity research, and others, this framework articulates distinct mechanisms through which InSp supports CT. The model specifies four primary pathways linking InSp to CT components: verbal working memory supporting decomposition, symbolic representation facilitating pattern recognition and abstraction, sequential processing enabling …

Understanding Mental Health Crisis Response Through The Lens Of First Responders, Ella Gibson

Student Theses

Responses to mental health crises are becoming an increasingly contentious topic as cases of extreme police violence or fatality during a crisis are publicized in the media. Although first responders’ experiences with mental health crisis response have been explored in prior literature, there remains a lack of research that gathers data from multiple first responder roles and compares their experiences across groups. There is also a significant gap in research examining the perspectives of co-response teams. This study sought to gather qualitative data on the experiences of police officers, EMTs/paramedics, and co-response team members, and to explore their perceptions of …

Eyewitness Consent To Be Video Recorded: Implications For Identification Accuracy And Confidence, Sarah Argüelles

Student Theses

Recently, a recommendation has emerged for law enforcement to record the full eyewitness identification procedure, recognizing the critical role eyewitness testimony plays in the justice system (Wells et al., 2020). However, in some states, such as New York, law enforcement is required to seek consent from witnesses before recording (Municipal Police Training Council & Division of Criminal Justice Services, 2017). Since this practice is relatively new, there has been limited research on how obtaining consent may affect eyewitness accuracy. It was hypothesized that obtaining consent to video record could be linked to a witness’s confidence in their identification, with higher …

Rhetorical Analysis Essay, Reema A. Rao

Open Educational Resources

This assignment is a rhetorical analysis essay typically assigned as part of the English 110 course during the summer semester. For this assignment, students apply their understanding of rhetorical appeals and devices to read a chosen text closely and analyze how the author constructs meaning and purpose. A variety of resources are provided to students, each accompanied by a brief overview, and students may select a topic of personal interest from these options. They then conduct a rhetorical analysis of their chosen source and write an essay based on that analysis.

Students are supported with a wide range of , …

Lessons From Tiktok: Using Popular Social Media Platforms To Engage Gen Z, Debra Bernstein

Urban Library Journal

This study looks at how academic libraries in the New York City metropolitan area are using TikTok to engage with their communities, particularly students. It analyzes the most popular videos from five active library accounts, categorizing content types and measuring engagement through TikTok’s built-in metrics. Results indicate that humorous and lighthearted content consistently receives the highest engagement, while instructional or “how-to” videos tend to underperform. These findings suggest that while TikTok may not be the most effective platform for instructional outreach, it holds potential as a tool for visibility, community engagement, and humanizing the library’s presence. As students increasingly turn …

Dimensions Of Queens Culture / The Personality Of Queens, Claudia Brumbaugh

Open Educational Resources

1. Description of the resource: This assignment will be given early in the semester, and will be due near the end of the semester, scaffolded into steps over the semester:
   1. Via descriptive writing, define one of five, cultural dimensions / Big 5 traits. Then, define the dimension / trait in terms of the local conditions in Queens (e.g., what it means more specifically in the context of Queens).* You can pick the level of analysis for “Queens”. It could be QC, or neighborhood, or the entire borough. Next, place your level of Queens analysis into historical context, describing past movements/events, and …

Queens Mindscapes: A Digital Field Research Project, Shonelle George

Open Educational Resources

This Open Educational Resource (OER) is designed for an undergraduate Introduction to General Psychology course at Queens College, CUNY. Titled “Queens Mindscapes: A Digital Field Research Project,” this assignment is part of a module that engages students in real-world psychological research grounded in the diverse communities of Queens, New York. Drawing from the Noba module from the course textbook, “Conducting Psychology Research in the Real World”, this resource emphasizes experiential learning through ethical, place-based inquiry.

Students will select a Queens neighborhood undergoing social, economic, or cultural change and use real-world research methods such as diary entries, experience sampling, or oral …

Analysis Of Libraries’ Onboarding Documentation At A Metropolitan University Consortium, Sonali Sugrim, Eric Silberberg

Urban Library Journal

This study investigates the extent to which onboarding documentation for academic librarians prioritizes long-term employee success. The authors applied content analysis to the onboarding documents from a consortium of libraries in a major metropolitan area in the United States. Study findings reveal that the onboarding documents prioritize introducing new hires to organizational structure rather than integrating them into the workplace culture. Most documents are checklists; however, some libraries provide comprehensive manuals, particularly regarding the tenure process. Notably, only half of the libraries include information about mentorship programs. Based on these findings, this study offers recommendations for improving onboarding documentation, including …

Writing Workshop Journal: A Student-Centered Guide For College Composition, Tanya Zhelezcheva

Open Educational Resources

This comprehensive OER workbook supports ENGL 101 (Composition) students through a structured journal-based writing system. The resource combines Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles with post-process pedagogy to offer diverse pathways for student learning and writing development.

The workbook features:

- 4-component journal entry structure (exercises, reflection, next steps)

- 40+ writing exercises across four categories (Foundation Skills, Reading Logs, Drafting, Growth Mindset)

- Extensive planning and organizational tools (weekly/monthly calendars, goal-setting frameworks)

- Metacognitive reflection exercises that build writing awareness - Backward planning and time management strategies

- Evidence-based approaches to developing thesis statements, integrating sources, and crafting arguments …

Rape Myth Acceptance, Pretrial Publicity, And Decision-Making: An Examination Of Perceptions Of Victim Credibility And Perpetrator Guilt In A Real-World Sexual Assault Case, Lindsey Strouse

Student Theses

This study explores how the media narratives and political perspective of pretrial publicity (PTP) can influence jurors’ perceptions in sexual assault cases, raising significant concerns about justice in courtrooms. Specifically, it examines whether media framing of a real-life sexual assault case — through varying media narratives, with media that either challenges or endorses rape myths, and media source (liberal vs. conservative) — affects mock jurors’ rape myth acceptance (RMA), views of victim credibility, and judgements of perpetrator guilt. Participants first completed a RMA scale, then read mock news articles varying in media narrative and political affiliations (media source), followed by …

Engagement By Design: Belongingness, Cultural Value Orientations, And Pathways Into Emerging Technologies, Daisuke Akiba, Michael Perrone, Caterina Almendral, Rebecca Garte

Publications and Research

This theoretical article examines how belongingness, defined as the sense that one’s participation is legitimate and valued, interacts with cultural value orientations to help explain persistent disparities in U.S. technology engagement, including emerging technologies, across racial and ethnic groups. While structural barriers (e.g., racism, poverty, linguistic bias, etc.) remain essential to understanding such inequity, we argue that engagement patterns in technology also reflect how different cultural communities may define and experience belongingness in relation to digital domains. Drawing on Triandis and Gelfand’s framework, and focusing specifically on educational contexts, we propose the Belongingness through Cultural Value Alignment (BCVA) model, whereby …

Covid-19 Asian American Oral History Project: Reflecting On Identity And Oral History At A Community College, Thomas Cleary

Publications and Research

In this article, I share narrators’ stories from the Covid-19 Asian American Oral History Project based at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, to illustrate how Covid-19 and increased anti-Asian hate during the pandemic shaped Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) identities in Queens, New York. Narrators’ stories shed light on how Black Lives Matter impacted their own understanding of race and racialization, particularly as AAPI identity and race relate to the Model Minority Myth. This project also laid the groundwork to develop a broader oral history culture at the college, developing faculty pedagogy to incorporate oral history interviews and interviewing into …

Feminist Scholarly Editing: A Provocation, Marlowe Daly-Galeano, Melissa J. Homestead, Claudia Stokes, Leila Walker

Publications and Research

This essay examines the feminist challenges posed by the protocols and history of scholarly editing. Prompted by the recent revival of bibliographical studies, the essay seeks to instigate a similar reconsideration of scholarly editing, bibliography’s counterpart in textual criticism. Scholarly editing has a vexed history with regard to women and gender: women writers were seldom the beneficiaries of editorial attention, but editors regularly used gendered metaphors to describe their work and often relied on the unacknowledged labor of women. This essay examines the history of sexism within the field of scholarly editing, illustrates the challenges and promises of editing women’s …

From Summer Institute To Action: Advancing Equity And Inclusion In Stem Classrooms, Sandie Han, Nadia Kennedy, Malgorzata Marciniak, Diana Samaroo

Publications and Research

This Editor’s Note provides background on the CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy Summer Institute for Equitable and Inclusive STEM Teaching and Learning and introduces the articles featured in this special issue.

Cross-Cultural Validity Of The Ppi-R In U.S. College Students, Cassidy Liang

Student Theses

Psychopathy has traditionally been studied using Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) but self-report measures like the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) have gained popularity due to comparative ease, speed of administration, and its broader applicability to the general population. However, the validity of the PPI-R across cultures has produced mixed results, particularly in non-Western and non-English speaking participants. This study examined racial/ethnic and gender differences in the PPI-R in a diverse sample of 536 college students. The internal and external validity of the PPI-R was good. The PPI-R correlated with the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM), as well as trait anxiety, and empathy …

Professional Development Workshops For Faculty On Addressing Implicit Bias In Computer Science Education, Sandie Han, Diana Samaroo, Janet Liou-Mark, Boyan Kostadinov, Johann Thiel, Suhua Zeng

Publications and Research

The "Understanding Implicit Bias" workshops were offered to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) faculty at an urban minority-serving undergraduate institution with a focus on addressing the gender gap in computer science. The workshops aimed to raise awareness of implicit (unconscious) biases and provide practical strategies for addressing them, fostering a more inclusive classroom environment. Analysis of pre- and post-survey responses indicated an increase in participants' awareness of implicit biases in their discipline and a greater openness to taking steps to address them, suggesting the workshops' potential impact on promoting inclusive teaching practices.

Theory Comparison, Chen Li

Open Educational Resources

This assignment invites students to critically compare two developmental theorists (the professor can choose which two theorists), reflecting on their similarities, differences, and personal evaluations. Students will explore where they agree or disagree with each theorist and connect their reflections to contemporary contexts, cultural perspectives, or personal experiences. The assignment also includes peer engagement, with thoughtful responses to two classmates to deepen discussion and understanding.

Personal Introduction & Learning Profile, Chen Li

Open Educational Resources

This assignment asks students to introduce themselves through a brief personal narrative that highlights key experiences, early influences, and goals for the course. Using any creative format, students reflect on how their background shapes their approach to learning and what they hope to gain moving forward. Students also engage with two peers’ introductions to help build a collaborative learning community.

Fundamentals Of Business Communication Eco 21660 - Unit 2, Assignment 3: Key Concept Report, Catherine M. Young

Open Educational Resources

The Business Communications Key Concept Report assignment prompts students to "compose a business report using the analytical, indirect strategy business writing style." Students select a concept based on their interests and define it. They then select a company and discuss their concept within the context of the company. Students must access three outside resources for their report. A holistic rubric describes A-range, B-range, and C-range work. The assignment provides the foundation of Unit 2's oral presentation curriculum.

Freshman Comp Ii Eng 24xx, Joao M. Da Silva

Open Educational Resources

This course uses a memoir to elicit themes related to addiction, family and interpersonal relationships. Additionally, it invites students to develop their own voices as they engage with academic discourse in the disciplines of psychology and addiction studies.

Foundations In Bilingual Education, Eln123, Fall 2025: Syllabus, Bede Mccormack

Open Educational Resources

Foundations of Bilingual Education (ELN123) is a writing intensive course that requires students to be engaged in several high and low stakes writing activities throughout the semester. This requirement will be fulfilled through several informal written assignments and a formal written assignment. Course topics include cultural, psychological, socioeconomic, linguistic, cognitive and curricular factors that affect the academic achievement of emergent bilingual students. It introduces the philosophical, legal, and sociological aspects of bilingual education, and prepares reflective educators through the use of a teacher education ePortfolio. It also satisfies the Urban Studies requirement at LaGuardia. This course is equivalent to a …

Tutoring Online During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Use Of Critical Incidents To Improve Practice, A.E. Dreyfuss, Jose Armando Sanchez Diaz, Barakat Adigun, Helen Baraki, Thalyia Thompson

Publications and Research

Developing expertise in the practice of online tutoring is presented by peer tutors who provided support to students with synchronous sessions with the onset of COVID-19. The experiences and learning of peer tutors were probed through the use of critical incidents (Flanagan, 1954), and how weekly training meetings provided support to them, creating a collaboration among the tutors and the training manager.

Syllabus: Ssw Field Instruction 3, Katrina Hannan

Open Educational Resources

Designed to integrate social work knowledge, skills, and values, these courses utilize ecosystems and strengths perspectives alongside a cultural competence model to develop foundational practice competencies for entry-level social work practice. As core elements of the educational program, they bridge academic learning with practical application, enabling students to apply classroom knowledge in real-world settings. The practicum experience emphasizes strategies for engaging with diverse populations, advocating for human rights, and promoting social and economic justice. This hands-on experience fosters the development of practice skills that enhance social well-being and prepare students for effective, ethical social work across micro, mezzo, and macro …

Eco 4000 – Statistical Analysis For Economics And Finance [Syllabus], Dmytro Dushko

Open Educational Resources

The course introduces econometric techniques that are useful for conducting empirical analyses in economics and finance. Its purpose is to enable students to master these concepts and successfully complete an independent empirical project. The course will be structured into three roughly equal parts: the first part will cover probability and sets, providing a foundation for statistical reasoning; the second part will focus on statistics, delving into quantitative methods for analyzing economic data; and the third part will introduce econometrics, emphasizing linear models that establish relationships between two or more variables of interest. We will explore linear models from both theoretical …

A Few Millimeters Of Bone: How Male Supremacists Leverage Scientific Sexism To Reinforce Misogynistic Ideologies, Robin O'Hanlon

Publications and Research

In recent years, male supremacist actors have reinforced their misogynistic worldviews by using narrative strategies centered on authoritative “common sense” and scientific “fact.” This paper presents a thematic narrative analysis of The Incel Wiki and the Wiki4Men, representing the first formal analysis of the wiki for the men’s rights organization A Voice for Men. The analysis indicates male supremacists use techniques including misappropriation of scientific information, manipulation of statistics, and leveraging pseudoscientific information to develop their narrative strategies of supremacy. The most consistent narrative strategies of scientific sexism on the wikis are male victimhood, denial of inequality between men and …

Mediating Role Of Defense Mechanisms Between Parenting Styles And The Development Of Pathological Narcissism, Jared C. Cordero

Student Theses

The present study examines the relationship between perceived parental styles, grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism, and defense mechanisms with the aim of replicating the Imamgolu & Batigun (2020) research findings. A cross-sectional design was used. Covariates such as sex, age, parental dynamics in youth, and household dynamics in youth. To do this, 150 participants between the ages of 18-65 and residing in the United States were recruited via Prolific. Regarding sex, 66.7% of the participants were female, 32.7% were male, and 0.7% were intersex. Upon recruitment, participants completed a battery consisting of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory, Narcissistic Personality Inventory-16, Perceived Parental …

Disaster Resilience And Normalization: Facing Facts, Naomi Zack Phd

Publications and Research

Disaster resilience requires acknowledgment and preparation to be normalized or integrated into normal life. But denial without preparation normalizes disaster by  leaving it out of normal life. In Disaster Resilience and Normalization: Facing Facts, Naomi Zack explores the normative and factual dimensions of a Climate Change Paradigm, through a global scope. Apart from the normative issues of who is responsible and who should pay for mitigation, the facts of Rising Average Earth Temperatures and more Intense and Frequent Disasters must still be faced.

But facing those facts has always been voluntary for powerful signatories to the 2015 Paris Climate …

Edce 32204_How Children Learn Math_Syllabus, Colleen O. Oppenzato

Open Educational Resources

This course described by this syllabus will focus on the mathematical development and growth of children from birth through Grade 2, with an emphasis on preschool, kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2.

Introduction To Sociology: Groups And Organizations, Marcia Morrison Ph.D.

Open Educational Resources

Abstract:

This comprehensive analysis explores the dynamics of social groups and bureaucratic organizations, drawing on foundational theories and empirical studies to illuminate how structure, identity, and informal culture shape collective behavior. The paper examines the essential elements of group dynamics—regular interaction, defined roles, shared norms, and collective identity—alongside the four stages of group decision-making that guide consensus and effectiveness. It distinguishes between primary and secondary groups, emphasizing their respective influences on personal identity and social cohesion, and discusses the pivotal role of reference groups in identity formation.

Further, the discussion extends to the mechanisms of group survival, analyzing concepts such …

Understanding Why Individuals Maltreated As Children Do Not Retrospectively Self-Report, Kristin S. Lynch

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Individuals with documented histories of childhood maltreatment who do not retrospectively self-report these childhood experiences demonstrate better emotional and psychological outcomes in adulthood. Understanding why these individuals do not retrospectively self-report is important for the development of effective interventions focused on mitigating the long-term consequences of maltreatment. The current study compared maltreated individuals who did not retrospectively self-report (O-R group) to those who did retrospectively self-report (O+R group) to examine theoretical explanations related to intentional nondisclosure (i.e., social desirability and discomfort during the interview) and memory processes (i.e. infantile amnesia, use of mental health services, avoidant coping …