Digital Commons Network^™

Ghanaian Men's Experiences With The Police In The United States, Martin Gbadago

Research Papers

While previous research has examined the police encounters of various immigrant populations and the general U.S. population, the specific experiences of Ghanaian men remain largely unknown. This study explored the police experiences of Ghanaian men in the United States. Using in-depth interviews, conducted via Zoom, with fifteen Ghanaian men, aged 27 to 48, this study investigated their encounters with U.S. police, perceptions of law enforcement, experiences of racial profiling, mistreatment, and violence, and the impact of their immigrant status on their encounters with the police.  Analysis of interview data shows that Ghanaian men’s experiences with U.S. police vary based on …

Progressivism, Democracy, And Education: A Comparative Study Of John Dewey And Mohammad Iqbal's Philosophy Of Education, Abdul Khaliq Aboya, Asad Shahzad

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

Critiquing Class And Caste On Three Continents: Dewey, Ambedkar, And Mosca On Social Endomosis, Emerson Bodde

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

Environmental Ethics And The (Dis)Continuity Of Meaning In Experience And Nature, Harrison S. Jackson

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

Factors That Contribute To Unemployment In The School-To-Work Transition, Brittany Verrette

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

This paper explores the problem of unemployment for Black or African American high school graduates as well as Latinx graduates. As college increasingly becomes a risk of return on investment, more young adults intend to enter the workforce immediately after high school graduation; however, many Black and Latinx graduates experience difficulty in transitioning from school to work. Using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, this paper explores the contributing factors that make gainful employment difficult for high school graduates of color.

Keywords: unemployment, school-to-work transition, high school graduates, career education, K-12, workforce development

Embracing Neurodiversity In The Workplace: Strategies For Human Resource Management To Foster Inclusion And Enhance Employee Well-Being, Sameer Ahmed

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Abstract

Objective: This literature review examines strategies for fostering the inclusion of neurodivergent individuals in the workplace with a focus on the role of Human Resource Management (HRM). Background: Neurodiversity refers to variations in neurological functioning and includes conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and others. Recognizing neurodiversity as a valuable form of human diversity can enhance workplace innovation and performance. Method: A comprehensive review of the recent literature on neurodiversity in the workplace was conducted by employing qualitative analysis techniques, including thematic coding, comparative analysis, and critical reflection. Results: Key findings encompass the …

Transgender Representation In Fictional Media: A Content Analysis, Valerius A. Greenlaw

Honors Theses

Transgender (trans) representation in media continues to be an understudied subject. Most previous studies have focused on analyzing media without including transgender perspectives, making studies with trans participants scarce. In order to determine current perceptions of trans representation in fictional media, this cyber-ethnography collected discussion posts from r/asktransgender on Reddit to determine what trans people perceive as supportive and harmful representations. This study is guided by a novel theoretical integration of transgender theory and labeling theory. Trans theory and labeling theory suggest that the way characters are portrayed may reinforce or subvert current societal norms and impact the way trans …

Autism In Real Life: Performance As Pedagogy And Advocacy, Paula Horton

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how autoethnographic performance can function simultaneously as public pedagogy and disability advocacy through the analysis of Autism in Real Life, a solo performance created and staged at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Drawing from performance studies, psychology, sociology, and disability studies, the project explores how embodied storytelling communicates autistic lived experience to audiences unfamiliar with autism. The performance combines narrative, humor, direct audience address, visual media, and accessibility-centered theatrical design to move beyond clinical representations of autism and toward a relational understanding grounded in neurodiversity and the social model of disability.

Using an autoethnographic performance methodology, this thesis …

Performing (For The) Guru: A Performance Studies Approach To The Study Of Cults, Todd M. Brown

Dissertations

This project approaches a long-term experience of living in a cult through a performance studies lens. Utilizing autoethnographic methods, it explores personal insights and observations from years within the inner-circle of a coercive religious environment under tyrannical leadership. A variety of systems and relationships are narrated and analyzed according to three categories: ritualization, deployability, and occupation. Ritualization explains how a body becomes imbued with the rhythms and mantras of a cultic milieu. Deployability describes how this body is put into action at the service of the leadership. Occupation, as a metaphor, illuminates how a cultic subject becomes filled with the …

College Student Coping And Experiences During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Trinka Peer Pape

Dissertations

The isolation experienced by college students during the COVID-19 pandemic led to numerous issues and increased stress. The purpose of this study was to examine the coping mechanisms that college students utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore the impact of the pandemic on how these students coped and their overall lived experiences. Participants were juniors and seniors graduating between May 2023 and May 2024 from a university in the southern Midwest. The researcher employed a mixed methodology approach, consisting of a quantitative survey, followed by qualitative interviews with students who completed the survey. Based on the results of the …

Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Equitable Post Disaster Resource Allocation Incorporating Social Vulnerability, Trevor John Mogaka

Theses

Prior Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approaches frame post‑disaster recovery as a sequential decision-making problem over infrastructure elements, using graph-based system models and resilience-oriented rewards. This thesis builds on an existing DRL framework by introducing a modified CDC Social Vulnerability Index (mCDC-SVI), developed using Max-min scaling, to quantify social vulnerability.A synthetic interdependent infrastructure testbed is divided into four socio‑economic regions using federal poverty and SNAP eligibility guidelines. The DRL simulation and Deep Q‑Network architecture are retrained under a multi-objective reward function that is efficiency-equity weighted (α:β). Agents are evaluated across unconstrained and constrained budget scenarios to examine how varying α and …

Understanding Disinformation, Propaganda And Media Literacy In Moldova, Adriana Bzovii

Research Papers

This research paper describes the landscape of disinformation, propaganda and media literacy in Moldova from the perspectives of journalists, higher education and civil society representatives, as well as the general population. In this context, the literature review refers to concepts of media literacy, disinformation, and propaganda, relationship between them, as well as the potential Russian contribution to manipulating public opinion in post-Soviet countries, focusing explicitly on the Moldovan case. To study the specific features of disinformation and propaganda, this paper addresses the following research question: How disinformation, propaganda and media literacy are currently perceived and connected in Moldova? By adopting …

A Longitudinal Study Of Workforce Trends And Challenges In The Construction Industry Of A Rural State: A Case Study Of Wyoming, John Annor, Francois Jacobs

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Wyoming’s construction sector, while often eclipsed by extractive industries, plays a vital role in supporting statewide economic activity and infrastructure development. This study investigates key labor force trends in the sector from 2010 to 2024, focusing on employment patterns, age-based workforce composition, and wage trajectories. Drawing on monthly data from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, the analysis employs descriptive statistics, time series modeling, and cross-variable analysis to explore sectoral vulnerabilities. Findings reveal a cyclical employment structure marked by seasonal peaks and troughs, with a notable disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The workforce is aging rapidly, with workers …

Three Deweyan Ideas For Education In The Age Of Diasporas: Social Center, Activity Curriculum, And Teacher Education Laboratory, Leonard J. Waks

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

The Teacher As Investigator: Improving The Education Of Migrant Students, Giuseppe Spadafora

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

A Deweyan Account Of Extrinsic Value And Its Relevance For The Anthropocene, Laurent Riou

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

Education As An Intrument For Peace And Democracy: Dewey's Perspective On The Rise Of Nationalism, Chuck Howlett, Audrey Cohan

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

Will Whatever It Takes Be Enough? Dewey, The Crisis Of The Eu, And The Need For An (Inter)Nationalizing Of Education, Stefano Oliverio

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

John Dewey's Pragmatic Philosophy As A Critique Of Economic Discourse, Maciej Kassner

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

Research Note: Project Initiated In China To Translate And Research The Philosophical Writings Of William James, Wang Chengbing

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

Taking It To The People: Translating Empirical Findings About Black Men And Black Families Through A Black Public Philosophy, Tommy J. Curry, Gwenetta D. Curry

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

Pragmatizing Critical Theory's Province, Roberto Frega

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

The Mind Is Not The Brain: John Dewey, Neuroscience, And Avoiding The Mereological Fallacy, Deron Boyles

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

The "Dewey Lippman Debate" And The Role Of Democratic Communication On The Trump Age, Lance E. Mason

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

John Dewey And Albert C. Barnes: A Deep And Mutually Rewarding Relationship, George E. Hein

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Dewey Studies, Jim Garrison

Dewey Studies

No abstract provided.

Harmony Or Anarchy? Punk’S Legacy In Protest Music, Keen Simpson

Legacy

No abstract provided.

Trauma, Memory, And Familial Dynamics In Octavia Butler’S Kindred, Itzel Campos

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

A Crappy Job: Understanding Septic System Engagement In Rural Great Lakes Communities, Amanda Buday

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

This study analyzes survey data from three eastern Lake Michigan watersheds to understand how rural homeowners engage in onsite wastewater treatment system (OWTS) maintenance. Responses about awareness and use of best management practices (BMPs), knowledge of system age, and barriers to recommended maintenance were used to develop a behavioral typology of homeowner engagement, with profiles ranging from proactive maintenance to passive noncompliance. This typology was then used to examine how management styles vary across geographic context, sociodemographic factors, and support for policy tools to promote proactive system care. While many homeowners report following recommended OWTS practices – even when facing …

Factors Affecting Risk Perceptions About The Human Health Effects Resulting From Harmful Algal Bloom Exposure, Alexandra Benitez Gonzalez, Heather A. Triezenberg, Diane Doberneck, Abigail Bennett, Mark Rey

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

In the Great Lakes region, harmful algal blooms (HABs) are known cyanobacterial blooms that pose significant public health, environmental, and socio-economic risks. Risk information related to HABs is primarily communicated through state and local government agencies; however, the effectiveness of these communication strategies and how local stakeholders are learning about such risks remains unclear. The objective of this study is to examine how to effectively communicate HABs risks and understand public risk perceptions of HABs-related risks during recreational lake use in Michigan. Guided by the social amplification of risk framework, this qualitative study conducted fieldwork in 2021, including 27 semi-structured …