Digital Commons Network^™

Essential Caretaking For Artists With Disabilities: Exploring The Overlooked Histories Of Hazel Knapp And Grandma Moses, Bryan P. Martin

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the intersection of disability studies and art history, addressing the underrepresentation of disability in scholarship, especially concerning medical sociology and caretaking. Focusing on two early-twentieth-century self-taught American artists, Hazel Knapp (1908–95), who fell into obscurity, and Anna Mary Robertson Moses (1860–1961), best known as Grandma Moses, this is a comparative analysis of how disability influenced their artistic practices and shaped their divergent career outcomes. Knapp was born with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a neurodegenerative disorder, and fell into obscurity due to a lack of support for her condition, but experienced a promising start to her career that included patronage …

Minds, Made Up Or Malleable? Covert Commands At The Eclipse Of Vaccine Communications, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

Abstract: Although millions have died from SARS-CoV-2 illness, COVID vaccines are credited with stemming the tide. Vaccinations and boosters significantly decrease the incidence of severe illness and death (even if they don’t usually prevent COVID-19 infection). Despite the success of global vaccination efforts, frequent reports of vaccine hesitance and refusal suggest that public health communications need improvement.

The chapter begins by acknowledging adverse events associated with COVID vaccination, including rare cases of anaphylaxis, GBS, and myocarditis. An inoculation-theoretic rationale is offered for this admission of vaccine risks: just as immune defenses mount when organisms are exposed to pathogens, so too …

Oer Faculty Fellowship, Leila Walker

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Cultural Relativism: Addressing Diversity And Expression Of Culture Through Dress, Robert L. Woods, Maureen Archer-Festa, Rachel Raskin, Alyssa Dana Dana Adomaitis

Publications and Research

As America becomes more diverse, so do postsecondary institutions. While they also reflect the world's political, social, and economic climate, institutions of higher learning continuously seek newer and inventive ways to include better culturally diverse students in their programs and campus life. Multicultural education is a set of educational strategies developed to teach students about diverse groups' histories, cultures, and contributions. Moreover, Multiculturalism has become a way of teaching that promotes inclusion, diversity, and democratic learning. If left unaddressed, however, it can breed biases that isolate students, manifest hate crimes, and increase a school's retention rates (Gruman, 2016). Having received …

Active Learning Seminar Assignment: Broken Windows Perusall Activity, Penny Geyer

Open Educational Resources

This collaborative reading assignment created by Professor Penny Geyer was created as part of a seminar on Active Learning using OERs in 2025. The assignment uses the social annotation tool, Perusall, to transform a traditional reading assignment into an active learning exercise that encourages close reading, peer engagement and structured discussion of the foundational text, "Broken Windows" by James Wilson and George Kelling.

Does Performance Change Budgets? Punctuated Equilibrium, Performance, And The Budget For Juvenile Justice In An American State, Elaine Yi Lu, Robert Hines, Katherine Willoughby

Publications and Research

How performance informs budgeting and budgets is contentious and unclear. Applying punctuated equilibrium theory, this research seeks to understand if performance information once placed on the media and macropolitical agendas can lead to long term budgetary shifts. This research highlights how the accumulation of performance information punctuated the funding scheme and created a new equilibrium over time.

This research uses mixed methods to study the impact of performance on Florida’s (USA) Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) over a 20-year period. First, we conduct a media review of 400 randomly sampled newspaper articles to characterize the media discourse around the DJJ …

Repressed Memories And The Body Keeps The Score: Public Perceptions And Prevalence, Kris-Ann S. Anderson, Quincy C. Miller, Deryn Strange, Kamala London

Publications and Research

The “memory wars” resurgence has renewed debates over the validity of repressed memories. This revival appears linked to factors such as changing statutes of limitations, confusion about repression, and unchallenged social media content. In a nationally representative online survey of American adults (N = 1581), we examined (a) beliefs in repression and the body keeps the score, (b) the prevalence of recovered memory claims, and (c) the impact of question phrasing on recovered memory reporting. An overwhelming 94% of respondents expressed belief in repressed memory, and 77% endorsed the idea that the body keeps the score. Additionally, 3.6% (n = …

A Battle Of The Chatbots: An Exploratory Comparison Of Chatgpt, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Perplexity And Huggingchat, Karen Okamoto

Publications and Research

This exploratory study compares the output of the free versions of six generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots—ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Perplexity and HuggingChat. Five questions were submitted to all of the chatbots and examined according to the length of the response, tone of the response, and any additional features provided by the chatbots such as citations, web links, and helpful follow-up questions. This comparison found that Perplexity excelled at responding to all of the questions though others provided strong outputs as well, pointing to the possible importance of using multiple chatbot for answers and for continually examining different chatbots given …

Assessing The Predictive Validity Of The Network Inventory Of Risk, Victories, And Needs Assessment (Nirvana) For Youth Receiving Prevention Services., Michael T. Baglivio, Kevin T. Wolff, Katherine Jackowski

Publications and Research

The current study assesses the predictive validity of a newly-developed holistic risk/needs assessment for youth receiving prevention services. Employing a multiyear statewide sample of over 17,000 prevention youth, multivariate and Area Under Curve techniques are used to examine predictive validity in predicting future formal juvenile justice system involvement (new law violations) across sex, race/ethnicity, and multiple youth age ranges. Furthermore, predictive validity across the severity of the subsequent offense type (misdemeanor, non-violent felony, violent felony) was examined. Findings demonstrate large effect sizes for static risk only, dynamic risk only, and total risk plus protective scores on future offending. Sex and …

Understanding Violence In Juvenile Correctional Facilities: A National Study Of Victim-Offender Overlap In The United States, Tzu-Ying Lo, Yu-Hsuan Liu, Amy Adamczyk

Publications and Research

The phenomenon of victim-offender overlap within juvenile correctional facilities is an underexplored area in criminological research. This study examines the prevalence and correlates of victim-offender overlap using data from two collections of the National Survey of Youth in Custody conducted in 2008–2009 and 2012. Our findings reveal that the victim-offender overlap group constitutes a significant proportion of incarcerated youth. Multinomial logistic regression analysis indicates that institutional factors, such as correctional officer legitimacy, in-facility gang membership, fear of inmate assault, experience of filing complaints against staff, and time served, significantly differentiate victim-offenders from the three other groups: victims-only, offenders-only, and those …

Victim-Offender Overlap Among Incarcerated Youth In The United States: A Bivariate Probit Analysis Using National Data, Tzu-Ying Lo, Yu-Hsuan Liu, Amy Adamczyk

Publications and Research

For many crimes, people who are the perpetrators may also be the victims. While several studies have investigated the victim-offender overlap, very few have examined the relationship for incarcerated youth where institutional conditions can exacerbate the overlap. Drawing on ideas from routine activities theory, this study explores the victim-offender overlap among incarcerated American youth using data from the 2008–2009 National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC-1, N = 8,625) and the 2012 National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC-2, N = 8,125). Findings from a bivariate probit regression indicate that younger age, higher facility populations, negative perceptions of officer legitimacy, …

Processing Of Verbal Versus Adjectival Agreement: Implications For Syntax And Psycholinguistics, Zuzanna Fuchs, Olga Parshina, Irina A. Sekerina, Maria Polinsky

Publications and Research

Linguistic theories distinguish between external and internal agreement (e.g., noun-verb agreement vs. noun-modifier agreement, the latter also known as concord) and model them using different mechanisms. While this distinction has garnered considerable attention in syntactic theory, it remains largely unexplored in experimental work. In an effort to address this gap, we conducted two studies of external/internal agreement in Russian using self-paced reading and eye-tracking while reading. We measured the response to violations generated when native speakers encounter a noun that mismatches the features on an earlier element inflected for agreement (verb, modifying adjective, and predicative adjective). Both experimental studies found …

Reply [To Burnout Reflections: Musings On Bianchi And Schonfeld’S Five Focal Areas], Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Contrary to what one might assume, the burnout construct did not emerge from systematic research. The definition of burnout was formulated in the 1970s based on prenotions and anecdotal evidence. No sound empirical studies, no in-depth theoretical reflections, not even a review of the stress literature underpinned the introduction of the construct. It is thus unsurprising that some observers regard the edifice of burnout research with scepticism. The pioneers of burnout research neglected basic scientific standards and, by overlooking the abundant work of contemporary stress researchers, deprived themselves of important safeguards against illusions of novelty making big claims based on …

Problematic Behavior In Urban Public Libraries: Are Library Policies And Rules Keeping Staff And Patrons Safe?, Jessica Jackson

Urban Library Journal

Public librarians often encounter problematic patron behaviors that put staff and other patrons at risk of physical and psychological harm. A comparison of the user behavior policies at urban public libraries is a useful starting point for developing evidence-based best practices for ensuring that public libraries are safe spaces for all and can fulfill their missions to their communities.

“Baking Inclusion Into Everything”: Internal Communication And Black And Latina Women’S Stories Of Intersectionality, Natalie Martell-Concepcion

Student Theses and Dissertations

Internal communications play a major role in creating diverse and inclusive workplace cultures. This study explores the lived experiences of Black and Latina women who work in internal communications, offering unique insights into how their identities intersect with workplace culture and strategic communication. Through a qualitative approach, six intersectional women, three Black and three Latina, were interviewed to examine how gender, racial and ethnic identities influence their work experiences and contributions. The results indicate that while Black and Latina women are treated differently at work compared to other groups, they use their differences to positively contribute to their companies’ internal …

Reputation Management: Branding A Higher Education Graduate Program To Increase Visibility, Vanderbilt Artaxerxes Brabson Iv

Student Theses and Dissertations

This capstone project offers a comprehensive training tool for non-communication professionals working in higher education programs. Its main goals are to give users (1) a summary of valuable research on higher education reputation management, branding, and strategic communication, and (2) an online toolkit for non-communication professionals to boost the visibility and impact of their educational initiatives. By providing practical, actionable resources, these tools help higher education professionals effectively handle the challenges of strategic communication management. The toolkit is especially useful because it delivers evidence-based strategies and methods that can be directly applied to improve communication efforts in higher education. It …

Building Bridges An Inclusive Practices Toolkit To Empower Neurodivergent Adults In The Workplace, Gloria Saldana

Student Theses and Dissertations

In this toolkit, designed for managers of neurodivergent employees, we will dig into the complexities of neurodivergence, specifically of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This toolkit aims to promote inclusivity within the workplace. We need to bridge the gap in improving neurodivergence education by understanding characteristics and communication differences, identifying cues, stigma, and consequences of actions ( e.g., bullying). Prioritizing each person's needs allows neurodivergent individuals and employers to discover natural talents and thrive within a diverse society. Through interactive sessions and practical exercises, managers will learn strategies for clear and concise communication, facilitating smoother collaboration, and initiating changes in the …

Coding With Those Who Show Up: Two Methodologies On Technical Committee Work, Mark E. Eaton

Publications and Research

This paper considers our library’s attempt at applying a “laissez-faire leadership” model to technical committee work. Since its introduction in the 1990s, scholarship on laissez-faire leadership has historically viewed the concept very negatively. However, we argue here that many of these perspectives are straw man arguments that do not adequately consider the possibilities of a laissez-faire model. Following some dissenting voices in the literature, we would like to reclaim the laissez-faire model as a way to facilitate library technical work under certain very specific circumstances. This paper will describe the organizational context where these laissez-faire methods worked for us. Our …

Testing Routine Activity Theory: Behavioural Pathways Linking Temperature To Crime, Christopher Thomas, Jinuk Jeong, Kevin T. Wolff

Publications and Research

This study examines direct observations of outdoor routine activities to investigate the pathways through which temperatures shape crime. Daily administrative records of crime, weather, and outdoor activity were assembled from 2015 to 2019 in New York City. Mediation analysis (with bootstrapped standard errors) reveals that alterations in routine activities account for a statistically significant, yet modest, proportion of temperature’s relationship with homicides, shootings, assaults, larceny, and public consumption violations. The comparable mediation effects across violent and nonviolent crimes support routine activity theory as an explanatory framework for understanding temperature's impact on crime. The measures introduced here offer a novel approach …

Falling Victim To The Beauty Algorithm, Niti Majethia

Capstones

As life on the internet becomes the new normal, the impact of social media becomes more pervasive and relentless. This story delves into how platforms like Instagram and TikTok can amplify the societal pressures on women to live up to an impossible beauty standard. Various experts weigh in on how this pressure affects women of all ages — from little girls to grown-up, established influencers. This timely narrative underscores the steep cost of society’s obsession with beauty as a measure of value and whether there is an escape to it at all.

Calls Grow To Give New York's Ccrb More Power, Despite Police Resistance, Stephen Wentzell, Anastasia Tomkin, Moses Bustos, Olivia Graffeo

Capstones

This group capstone project, which was completed in the Criminal Justice Reporting Lab, is an investigative article exploring the current state of New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB). Through more than a dozen interviews with complainants, board members, politicians, law enforcement, and others, the article highlights the push for the CCRB to have the authority to enforce disciplinary measures against police who are found to have engaged in misconduct. The article is accompanied by a video, with captions available in English and Spanish, that features bodycam footage from an incident involving police and our central compelling character who …

Ni Reprimir, Ni Rezar, Ni Traducir: Latinos En Nueva York Piden Cuidados De Salud Mental Incluyentes, Laura Rojas Aponte

Capstones

In New York City, only three out of ten Latinos diagnosed with depression receive treatment, compared to over half of white adults with the same condition, according to the latest Department of Health report. Despite the clear need for mental health care, access remains limited, with a lack of culturally competent services further widening the gap.

While mental health has become a more open topic in recent years, many Latinos still face significant barriers to therapy, including high costs, limited insurance coverage, cultural stigma, and disconnects between patients and providers. However, there are ongoing efforts to address these challenges, ranging …

The Evidence Is In: Breast Implants Are Making People Sick Increasingly Women Find When They Have Their Implants Removed, Their Symptoms Improve—Or Disappear., Pamela J. Appea

Capstones

Over the years, breast implants have been associated with a wide range of health issues, including cancer and autoimmune diseases, but surprisingly these issues are not well known to the public. In 1992, health concerns led the FDA to halt the use of silicone gel breast implants for cosmetic surgeries, although implants containing saline remained available (it was during this period that the Oprah segment that Gmitro remembered ran on TV). In 2006, after more research, which some experts believe was insufficient, the FDA re-approved the use of silicone implants. In 2019, a novel “textured” breast implant manufactured …

Peloton Tries To Pedal Its Way Back To The Top And Appoints New Ceo, Diana X. Escamilla Fuentes

Capstones

This is a corporate strategy on Peloton's CEOs and their strategies to return the company to their pandemic success.

https://github.com/descamillafuentes28/capstone

On Food And Restaurants, Liya Cui

Capstones

This portfolio contains a collection of stories about New York City restaurants and broader food culture, including reported features, a profile and criticism. Food is literally inescapable; even if you believe you don’t care about what you eat, every bite is a choice. This subject deserves critical thought and exploration as it influences our lives in myriad ways and reveals cultural trends that can tell us so much about who we are right now.

https://medium.com/@LiyaC/capstone-portfolio-on-food-and-restaurants-bc4c18c7f2a9

Maleta De Sueños: Cargando Los Retos De Un Artista Internacional En Nueva York, Max Martinez Villalobos

Capstones

"Suitcase of Dreams: Next Stop New York!" was a cabaret concert that was performed at the Green Room 42 in New York City on December 6, the day after the U.S. elections. This piece explores what's it like to be an international performer in New York, and the requirements some of these artists need to satisfy in order to keep performing.

https://medium.com/@mrmaxmv/maleta-de-sue%C3%B1os-cargando-los-retos-de-un-artista-internacional-en-nueva-york-e242ef54876b

Is Sexyy Red Minstrelsy, Or Are We Overreacting?, Malik Brizan-Reed

Capstones

This criticism piece explores the controversial female rapper Sexyy Red. It challenges negative perspectives about her persona, primarily based on respectability politics. It highlights Sexyy Red's ability to capitalize on a moment and business savviness. The article has themes of racial double standards and classism. Sexyy Red is more than the "ghetto Black girl," aesthetic. She's a mother and entrepreneur who is authentic to herself.

Always Tracy, Meron Tebeje

Capstones

After defending herself against her abusive husband, Tracy McCarter navigates the complexities of survival, systemic injustice, and the fight for her freedom.

Adapting For Accessibility: How Secondary Humanities Teachers Modify Open Educational Resources Using The Universal Design For Learning Framework, Christine Nick

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how secondary humanities teachers modify Open Educational Resources (OERs) to align with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. Originally developed to democratize access to educational content, OERs have become widely used across K–12 settings in the U.S., particularly following initiatives such as the Common Core standards and the U.S. Department of Education’s #GoOpen Project. Despite the growing adoption of OERs, limited research has addressed how teachers adapt these materials to meet the diverse needs of their students, especially through the lens of accessibility and inclusivity. Using the UDL framework, this descriptive …

Bringing The Library Into Brightspace, Stephen Francoeur, Rebecca Hyams, John Delooper, Robin Naughton, Eric Silberberg

Publications and Research

This panel presentation highlights collaboration among CUNY libraries and LMS administrators to automate integration of library course reserves, research guides and other web-based services into Brightspace. The presentation begins discussing how learning tools interoperability (LTI) integration provides library resources to students at their point of need. It then describes the technical requirements to automate and customize the Springshare LTI library platform within Brightspace. The panel concludes with examples from several campuses demonstrating what this integration looks like.