Digital Commons Network^™

The Decline Of Union Membership And The Resulting Conflicts, Cynthia Cushman

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine how private-sector union members and union leaders viewed the changes in organized labor in the United States over the past ten years. This study explored the impact of union membership decline in the United States labor force through the perceptions of union members and union leaders. There were four macro-level factors examined in this study: a move in dominant occupations from manufacturing to service-orientated work; changes in federal and state regulation; the ability, flexibility, and success of union leadership; and the aggressive counter-union moves of business management. This study was constructed …

Cause For Complaint: A Case Study Exploring Office For Civil Rights Complaints And Resolutions Related To Digital Accessibility At Public Colleges And Universities, Helen Gema Muñiz Bermudez

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

As the number of students with disabilities pursuing postsecondary opportunities continues to grow, along with an increase in digital educational content and technology, the issue of digital accessibility becomes increasingly urgent - both as a matter of equity and access for disabled students and as a matter of social and fiscal responsibility for postsecondary institutions. When postsecondary institutions fail to meet the requirements of disability legislation, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is the federal entity responsible for enforcement and complaint investigations, handling hundreds of complaints related to digital accessibility at postsecondary institutions since 2013. There …

The Challenges And Transformative Experiences Of Promoting Nonkilling With Anti-Nuclear Weapon Activists And Realists, Roland Joseph

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Decades ago, Glenn D. Paige questioned killing and violence in politics, presenting nonkilling political science as an alternative. Activists and researchers from other disciplines have joined the movement by considering this new paradigm in their disciplines. Since then, some scholars analyzed the experience of activists promoting notions related to nonkilling, including peace and nonviolence. However, no previous research focuses specifically on the experience of scholars promoting nonkilling to anti-nuclear weapon activists and realists. To fill this gap and give voice to nonkilling and nuclear weapon risks, a qualitative phenomenological study using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was conducted to answer the …

Learning From The Lived Experiences Of African American Senior Executives In Fortune 500 Organizations: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Black Corporate Trailblazers, Otis G. Jarvis

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

African American Senior Executives (AASE) exist as a group of American citizens who hold senior management roles in Fortune 500 organizations. AASE members are responsible for decision-making in a diverse number of industries but represent a small group of leaders in Fortune 500 organizations. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of AASE in a Fortune 500 organization in the United States. The qualitative study examined through semi-structured interviews the experiences of eleven senior executives in Fortune 500 organizations in the United States. This phenomenological study examined how the lived experience of each …

Medical Imaging Professionals Experiencing Workplace Interprofessional Conflict: A Phenomenological Study, Robert Carroll Moody

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Workplace interprofessional conflict in hospitals presented serious concerns regardingpatient care delivery and hospital efficiency at the systemic level. Literature evaluating conflict in hospitals inconsistently defined interprofessional conflict and oversampled nurses and physicians in research studies. An unknown systemic factor was likely influencing interprofessional conflict between healthcare professionals. Complex systems theory, the theory of professions, and social conflict theories were utilized to organize the literature review and guide research design targeting allied health professionals and their lived experiences with interprofessional conflict. Medical imaging professionals were selected as a purposeful sample within the larger population of allied health. Interpretive phenomenology was used …

Strength In Numbers: An Exploratory Case Study On The Impact Of Conflict In Multi-Institutional Higher Education Collaborations, Michele Robyn Dinicola

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The higher education landscape is changing. Students seeking access to college are increasinglydiverse, geographically dispersed, socioeconomically challenged, and will require higher education administrators to closely examine their models to ensure they are well-suited to serve the needs of these students. Responding to these shifts will require higher education administrators to shed traditional approaches in favor of innovative, cost-effective, flexible models of education delivery. Many institutions address this challenge through a reliance on higher education consortia and collaborations. In Maryland, one approach to collaboration takes the form of multi-institutional Regional Higher Education Centers (RHEC) like the largest of them, the Universities …

An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Lived Experiences Of Graduate-Level Peace Educators: Voices For Sustained Peace, Kwasi David Ansong

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Peace education is arguably one of the underappreciated areas of study within the social sciences. Many lifelong, dedicated peace education professionals often feel undervalued by the military-industrial complex apparatus. Influential individuals and corporations that thrive in chaotic and conflicting environments every so often underestimate the relevance of peace educators. Educators find among academic and professional students an intensified urgency to learn the skills necessary to address real-world conflict; however, these courageous individuals are seemingly battling powerful forces with wealth and power. Although such happenings can be demoralizing, it is slowly galvanizing dedicated peace educators to evolve by altering their skill …

A Confluence Of Identity, Skepticism, And Acculturation: A Grounded Theory Study On Voter Engagement Among Registered Latin American Immigrant Voters, Oscar De Tuya

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

One of the most important characteristics of a democracy is the ability of its citizens to directly elect many of their government representatives. Unfortunately, since only citizens are traditionally eligible to vote in the United States, the group of voters that ultimately influences government is smaller than the overall population. That excludes immigrants from full participation in government and contributes to conflict, which can be analyzed through various theoretical lenses, such as structural violence, basic human needs theory, and social cohesion. These realities underscore the importance of elections and of ensuring that an engaged and informed electorate is active in …

Piney Point Cascading Disaster And Environmental Conflict: An Explanatory Case Study, Ketti Davison

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this explanatory case study is to understand the sense that community members made of how and why environmental conflict manifested in the wake of the Piney Point cascading disaster. It found that intentional avoidance of local news caused community members to be unaware of the risks beforehand, of the responses in the aftermath, and of the threats that remain. The study leverages a unique opportunity to fill a gap in the research by examining a contemporary cascading disaster as it generated environmental conflict. This dissertation centers on the perceptions of directly affected community members in the Tampa …

The Challenges And Transformative Experiences Of Promoting Nonkilling With Anti-Nuclear Weapon Activists And Realists, Roland Joseph

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Decades ago, Glenn D. Paige questioned killing and violence in politics, presenting nonkilling political science as an alternative. Activists and researchers from other disciplines have joined the movement by considering this new paradigm in their disciplines. Since then, some scholars analyzed the experience of activists promoting notions related to nonkilling, including peace and nonviolence. However, no previous research focuses specifically on the experience of scholars promoting nonkilling to anti-nuclear weapon activists and realists. To fill this gap and give voice to nonkilling and nuclear weapon risks, a qualitative phenomenological study using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was conducted to answer the …

The Digital Footprint Effect: A Grounded Theory On The Influence Of Social Media On Human Resource Managers’ Hiring Decisions, Tanya Pawlowski

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

For over a decade, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has reported the increasing practice of hiring managers accessing social media profiles to screen job applicants (Bates, 2008). This qualitative research study investigated the role of social media in organizational hiring practices and what factors may influence human resource hiring managers’ decisions. A grounded theory methodology was applied to interview 21 human resource hiring managers with open-ended structured questions. Based on the researcher’s data collection and grounded theory data analysis, the findings showed that social media profiles play a crucial role in organizational hiring decisions when a human resource …

Examining The Cultural Adjustment Experiences Of International Students In Writing Dissertations In A Uk Campus, Mukhlash Abrar, Amirul Mukminin, Nur Fitriani, Failasofah Failasofah, Nunung Fajaryani, Hadiyanto Hadiyanto, Rafiza Abdul Razak, Herri Mulyono, Sri Kusuma Ningsih

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative study drew on a larger study which was to explore and understand the experiences of non-native speaker postgraduate students in writing dissertations at one university in the United Kingdom. In this qualitative study, we interviewed four international students from different countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan. We identified two main themes pertaining to the challenges in writing dissertations. The first included student-related challenges (technical writing matters, thinking in English, identifying research topics, writing literature review, lack of communicative competence and boredom) and the second focused on s-related challenges (meeting supervisor). To cope with those challenges, the participants …

A Pcl-R, Pai, And Rorschach Study Of Women Who Murder, Jason M. Smith, Carl B. Gacono, Ted B. Cunliffe

Archives of Assessment Psychology

Murder is antithetical to any traditional conceptualization of femininity or the nurturer role. Women do, however, commit murder, as well as a plethora of other heinous offenses. Understanding the personality of women who murder is of both clinical and scientific interest. In this study, we present the PCL-R, PAI, and Rorschach data of 24 incarcerated women who have murdered. We explored the interpersonal, affective, cognitive, and self-concept vulnerabilities that contributed to this behavior within the female offender model. The results were placed within societal contexts (i.e., media) as well as providing recommendations for assessment and treatment of this population.

The Bulgarian And Greek Versions Of The Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale In University Students: In Search Of A Factor Structure, Stanislava Stoyanova, Vaitsa Giannouli

Archives of Assessment Psychology

University students face test anxiety regardless of their country of origin. Therefore, it is necessary to use psychometric measures with identified factor structures. The Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS) has been used in different countries to measure the cognitive aspect of test anxiety. Although the CTAS has been used widely, its factor structure is a topic of debate. In this study, we focused on concurrent data collection in two adjacent countries (Bulgaria and Greece), with two aims: a) to establish for the first time the factor structure for the Bulgarian and Greek versions of the CTAS, and b) to investigate …

The Lived Experience And Perceived Challenges Of Child Protective Investigators Who Place Children In Foster Care, Elizabeth Presume

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation examined the difficulties and coping mechanisms associated with child welfare professionals’ interactions with vulnerable children who provide vulnerable populations with emotional, physical, mental, and psychological support. This responsibility impacts their personal life and professional performance since their regular involvement with the children and the following aspects, such as case resolution, in-depth discussions about trauma, and home visits, are emotionally and mentally taxing. The researcher conducted a phenomenological study with nine child protective investigators via an asynchronous online focus group on the Google Groups platform. The participants were all employed in the United States child welfare department, held …

A Qualitative Case Study On Perceived Readiness For The Diffusion Of Blended Learning In Tvet Institutions In Jamaica, Roxanne M. Hinds

Theses and Dissertations

Blended learning is seen as a promising innovative instructional approach for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to reduce costs, increase flexibility, and reach marginalized learners in developing countries. However, lack of understanding about how key stakeholders who are expected to adopt and implement the innovation perceive readiness for the innovation can make it difficult for institutions to maximize its benefits. This qualitative case study sought to understand the perceptions of students, instructors, and administrators about the readiness of the key stakeholder groups, institutions, and the organization for blended learning and the role of readiness in the diffusion process. …

On The Outside Looking In: Difficulties In Obtaining The Opinions Of Muslim Religious Leaders’ Views On Domestic Violence Experienced By Married Muslim Women, Muhammed Suleman Dr

The Qualitative Report

In this paper I discuss the difficulties I faced in getting access to respondents in a qualitative study on the opinions of Muslim religious leaders on domestic violence experienced by Muslim married women. This in turn highlighted the need for me to reflect carefully on my own assumptions about my insider status and take into account how prospective participants identify me as a researcher. For the study on which I am reflecting, I chose an interpretive research paradigm which falls under the umbrella of qualitative research. This research paradigm was necessary as it places emphasis on context and nuanced meanings …

How Doctoral Students With Low Gre Scores Succeed: A Grounded Theory Study, Dea Mulolli, June E. Gothberg

The Qualitative Report

Most U.S. graduate schools rely on the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) to predict readiness for graduate degree programs and differentiate between applicants in verbal and quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills. Many times, low GRE scores create a barrier to entry into U.S. graduate programs despite research showing that selecting graduate applicants based solely on academic metric thresholds does not guarantee graduate student performance and many low scorers still attain a graduate degree on time (Miller et al., 2019b; Pacheco et al., 2017; Petersen et al., 2018; Wang et al, 2013). In this study, we used a constructivist …

Cultural Diversity In Education: Examining The Challenges And Issues Of Lgbtq Students Enrolled In A Tertiary Education Institution In The Bahamas, Terry Laverne Rolle

Theses and Dissertations

This research study examined the challenges and issues faced by LGBTQ students attending a tertiary education institution in The Bahamas. Utilizing a phenomenological analytical process, seven individuals gave information regarding their lived experiences in a tertiary institution in The Bahamas. Data for this research study were collected through two 60-minute in-depth interview sessions. This qualitative study was guided by the theoretical frameworks of the planned approach to change and the theory of resilience, both of which were used to inform the elements of the research. Many research studies have been conducted in regard to the experiences faced by LGBTQ students …

Living A Nightmare: A Study On The Reluctance Of Native American Women To Report Violent Crimes To Police, Misty Marie Neal

Theses and Dissertations

To address this problem, this study will explore, if at all, the differences and relationships between Native American women’s reluctance to report a violent crime to the police with their perception of police, previous interactions with police, prior victimization, tribal affiliation, and specific demographic factors. The population for this research will be Native American women from federally recognized tribes between 18 and 55 years of age. In addition, the participant's marital status, sexual affiliation, religion, level of education, and geographic location will be examined. From this population, a sample size of 500 - 600 participants will be constructed for this …

Human Trafficking: The Impact Of Covid-19 On Labor Trafficking In The Us, Anthony A. Mottola

Theses and Dissertations

Human trafficking is a global phenomenon where traffickers prey upon their victims without discriminating against age, gender, ethnic background, or nationality. The United States (US) is not immune to the human rights violations of human trafficking. The victims of human trafficking are coerced into a life of exploitation through forced labor or sexual exploitation. Many victims are migrants from disadvantaged countries that travel to the US seeking employment but end up the victims of abuse, both physically and mentally, at the hands of traffickers. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the global economy, forcing quarantines, travel bans, and social distancing. …

Evaluating Higher Education In Prison Effectiveness By Modality Through Student Success And Retention Rates In California Community Colleges, Peter Michael Fulks

Theses and Dissertations

There is a strident body of empirical research evidence that Higher Education in Prison (HEP) has a direct impact on reducing recidivism. Additionally for participants, it also increases the economic mobility and employability post-release. However, the ability to conduct randomly controlled trials with a distal measurement of recidivism is hindered due to the inconsistent industry definitions of recidivism. Considering the implementation of credit bearing college programs from California Community Colleges since Senate Bill 1391 in 2014, the study conducts statistical analysis through independent and paired t tests to determine which modality of delivery, face-to-face (F2F) or correspondence (COR), to provide …

Preferred Practices To Retain Black Female Caseworkers Employed In Child Welfare, Anna Koehle

Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed by this study was that the turnover rate among social workers has been highest for Black female child-welfare caseworkers. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the experiences of Black female child-welfare caseworkers and effective strategies for retention. Ten experienced Black female caseworkers in child welfare were interviewed; participants represented five U.S. states. Participants were asked about mentorship programs, preservice training, financial incentives, major concerns related to retention, and recommendations for retention initiatives to specifically address the needs of Black female caseworkers. Themes emerged related to Black female caseworkers in child welfare. Mentorship programs …

Teachers’ Experiences In Implementing Primary School Physical Education Curriculum In Ghana And The United States, Patrick Collins Frempong

Theses and Dissertations

Barriers to implementing a full physical education curriculum presented challenges to teaching students about healthy lifestyles and supporting them through effective lessons. This mixed-methods study aimed to explore and compare primary school teachers’ experiences in rural Ghana and the United States in implementing the physical education curriculum. The present study addresses gaps in the literature by connecting teacher concerns when implementing a curriculum with fidelity. The mixed-methods study helped explore and compare primary school teachers’ experiences in rural (town populations of less than 5,000) Ghana and rural towns of the southern United States in implementing the physical education curriculum.

This …

Haitian Immigrants Lived Experiences With Police In South Florida, Christie Laroche

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a qualitative phenomenological exploration of the interactions between Haitian immigrants residing in South Florida and law enforcement. Despite existing research on the experiences of Blacks with the police, there is a noticeable gap concerning the unique encounters of Haitian immigrants, who bring distinct cultural, historical, and linguistic backgrounds to their interactions with law enforcement. Given the increasing population of Haitian immigrants in the United States, this study sought to comprehensively examine their encounters, treatment, and experiences with the police, including aspects such as demeanor, contact handling, and the resultant impact on their perceptions. Through in-depth interviews with …

Racism And Resilience: Counter-Narratives Of Asian International College Students In The Age Of Covid-19, Katrina Liu, Richard Miller, Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola, Lei Ping

The Qualitative Report

Using Asian Critical Race Theory and Resilience Theory, this qualitative study explores how Asian international college students experienced racism before and after the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and how they developed and used resilience to counteract that racism. Eleven Asian participants shared their counter-narratives through semi-structured interviews. Results reveal that, before the pandemic, participants were regularly subjected to racist acts and attitudes grounded in a deficit view of Asians that treated them as inscrutable foreigners, blamed them as individuals for perceived shortcomings in their home countries, dismissed their expertise outside of technical STEM fields, and failed to recognize their …

Whatsapp? Opportunities And Challenges In The Use Of A Messaging App As A Qualitative Research Tool, Rocio Bueno-Roldán Ma., Antje Röder Prof. Dr.

The Qualitative Report

This article evaluates the use of the popular Mobile Messaging App (MMA) WhatsApp as a way to conduct qualitative research with geographically dispersed samples. Through the use of a case study of Latino expat-wives around the globe, we show how traditional methods of qualitative interviewing were adapted and evolved through the use of this application. Findings suggest that WhatsApp is a valuable tool for conducting qualitative research with specific advantages over other MMAs and VoIPs due to its familiarity amongst the target group and its flexible blending of video, audio, and written forms of communication. Particularly its use on smartphones …

Hiv-Seropositive Patients’ Experiences With Social Workers: A South African Hiv+ Social Worker’S Reflective Log, Delarise Maud Mulqueeny

The Qualitative Report

Social workers play a pivotal role in HIV-seropositive patients’ treatment and care within South African public antiretroviral treatment (ART) programs. This article is a reflective log of an HIV-seropositive social worker’s observations and reflections on her positionality during a study on HIV-seropositive patients’ experiences of the public ART program in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The primary investigator (PI) utilized various tools and techniques including reflexive bracketing, participatory action research and a reflexive diary to navigate a sensitive study. This was while being cognizant of the fluidity of her insider/outsider positionality. The disclosure of the PI’s HIV-seropositive status culminated in all …

Fictional Escapism And Identity Formation: A Duoethnographic Exploration Of Stories And Adolescent Development, Cammie J. Lawton, Leia K. Cain

The Qualitative Report

Young Adult Literature has often been utilized to explore reader responses especially in attention to how fiction provides space to explore identity and one’s place within a larger societal context. In this duoethnography, we explored the importance of children and young adult literature’s influence on our own identity development. We share our primary findings that highlight the ways reading stories has provided escape, space for self-discovery and questioning, as well as pathways of learning to cultivate empathy and work towards social justice. We agree with Ellis’s (2014) argument that storytellers must share stories in a way that makes lessons or …

Can A Combined Agriculture And Nutrition Behaviour Change Intervention Improve Women’S Empowerment? A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study In Rural Bangladesh, Elizabeth K. Kirkwood, Michael J. Dibley, Wajiha Khatun, Gulshan Ara, Mansura Khanam, Anowarul Bokshi, Mu Li, Neeloy Ashraful Alam

The Qualitative Report

Many agricultural and home gardening interventions aim to improve the nutritional status of women and children in low- and middle-income countries by focusing on women as the recipients of the intervention and make assumptions that women will be empowered as a result. This paper examines the potential impact of an intervention study that combined home garden training and support, and nutrition behaviour change communication, with a social safety net payment, on women’s empowerment in rural Bangladesh. We assessed the implementation of this study in terms of feasibility, acceptability, and practical application. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with randomly selected women …