Digital Commons Network^™

Breaking Point: An Examination Of The Factors And Motivators That Determine Whether A Teacher Will Stay In The Classroom Or Choose To Leave The Profession, Katherine Treloar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are quitting the profession in droves, leaving classrooms empty or overcrowded. As a result, students are receiving a sub-par education from unexperienced or underqualified teachers (Watling et al, 2010). Retaining teachers for more than five years is no small feat. Teachers face unrealistic expectations, chronic high stress, and mental and physical health problems that lead to widespread burnout. However, some teachers are able to overcome these obstacles and stay in the profession for long periods of time (Buric & Penzic, 2019). This study identifies the internal motivations and external factors that influence teacher job satisfaction and describes how those …

Childhood Discipline Disparities For African American And Latinx Students, Cierra Townsend

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African American and Latinx students are disproportionality impacted by punitive discipline models including suspensions, detention, and expulsions. This disproportionality removes students from the education setting creating adverse social emotional, academic, and economic outcomes. Students who are suspended and expelled are more likely to have contact with the juvenile justice system and or to be pushed out of school into alternative settings. Therefore, punitive discipline leads to increased school-based pathways to the juvenile justice system (SPJJ), also known as the school the prison pipeline (STPP). Despite knowledge of these adverse outcomes, schools continue to utilize punitive discipline practices. School psychologists are …

The Use Of Regularization To Detect Racial Inequities In Pay Equity Studies: An Empirical Study And Reflections On Regulation Methods, Christopher M. Peña

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the late 1970s, multiple linear regression has been the preferred method for identifying discrimination in pay. An empirical study on this topic was conducted using quantitative critical methods. A literature review first examined conflicting views on using multiple linear regression in pay equity studies. The review found that multiple linear regression is used so prevalently in pay equity studies because the courts and practitioners have widely accepted it and because of its simplicity and ability to parse multiple sources of variance simultaneously. Commentaries in the literature cautioned about errors in model specification, the use of tainted variables, and the …

Representing The Mixed Plate: Involving Descendant Communities And Kānaka Maoli In Hawai’I Plantation Museums, Amanda Ku’Ualohalanileimakamae Lane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the ways that the involvement of diverse stakeholders at Hawai’i plantation museums affects representations of Hawai’i’s plantation history. Plantations in Hawai’i had a direct colonizing effect on Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians), displacing them from their lands, replacing them with immigrant laborers, and putting into motion the chain of events that led to Hawai’i’s annexation in 1898. The current-day population in Hawai’i continues to reflect these significant changes in the society and culture of the islands. Hawai’i’s plantation museums traverse topics of labor, immigration, indentured servitude, and colonization. Simultaneously, these museums advance stories of perseverance, celebration, and multiculturalism. …

Seeking Sisterhood: An Exploratory Qualitative Inquiry Into The Sorority Rejection Experiences Of Black Women, Jasmine Michelle Pulce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In response to a call to fill the gap left by previous studies on collegiate sorority rejection, this study explored the meaning Black women ascribe to experiences of rejection from historically Black sororities. Using Black feminist thought and sista circle methodology, this study introduced narratives from five Black women who came together to comprise a collective standpoint. To better understand this phenomenon, study participants completed individual interviews, two Sista Circles, and one reflection survey. Three main findings were the interconnectedness of Black Greek-letter organizations and Black subcommunities at predominantly white institutions, the nonlinear nature of the Black sorority rejection experience, …

An Empowerment Evaluation Of Colorado Mountain College’S Mountain Scholars Program Via Latino Alumni Aspirational Goals And Outcomes, Laura Anne Bruch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative inquiry evaluated Colorado Mountain College’s (CMC) in-house Mountain Scholars Program (MSP) via semi-structured interviews with five of its Latino alumni. This study’s assets-based social justice/transformative philosophical framework included David Fetterman’s methodological empowerment evaluation and Tara Yosso’s conceptual community cultural wealth (CCW) theory. This dissertation in practice examined the gap in literature with regards to an in-house student support services program evaluation that partners with the community and focuses on Latinos’ aspirations and aspirational outcomes. I wanted to be a worthy witness to the student demographic group at CMC, as well as at most American postsecondary institutions, considered the …

Historical Narrative In The Music Of Sid Meier’S Civilization Vi, Alec Larner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is a 2016 strategy video game in which the player leads a historical civilization from 4000 BC to the present. The Civilization series is the subject of much scholarly writing, especially its representation of history and non- Western cultures. My work builds on Karen Cook’s research (2014) on the technological progress and American hegemonic identity signaled by Civilization IV’s soundtrack. I argue that the music in Civilization VI contributes to a Eurocentric teleological progress narrative of history inherent in the structure of the game: the idea that history is a story of inevitable and positive …

The Treasury Of Stories: Policy Narratives Of Anti-Illicit Finance, Paul Christopher Kemp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how the US government identifies and responds to the problem of illicit finance, specifically, why the US Treasury utilizes certain approaches over others. I employ a comparative case study of three relatively recent, non-traditional approaches in the Treasury’s anti-illicit finance repertoire: targeted financial sanctions (a case of strong policy action), anti-money laundering in real estate (a case of tentative policy action), and the proposed demonetization of high denomination notes (a case of policy inaction). While considering a wide range of plausible explanations for this variation in policy action, I argue that the Treasury’s decision to either …

Enhancing Employee Voice In Government: Transparency, Trust, And Cognitive Empowerment, Jomarie Phelan Honcoop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For organizational change to take root, develop, and realize the desired goals and benefits, employees are increasingly asked to be an integral part of the change process, to speak up and use their voice to point out areas to improve and ways to be more efficient. Organizations and managers must create a climate where this employee voice, a multidimensional construct comprised of promotive and prohibitive voice, is encouraged and heard, and where the employee is empowered to effect change and make improvements. Both types of voice are potent mechanisms for improving public services, and government organizations in particular, as compared …

Choosing Sides: Military Behavior In Severely Polarized Democracies, Timothy W. Ford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why does severe polarization result in military intervention in some cases but not others? I argue that the organizational culture unique to a particular military plays a critical role in influencing behavioral outcomes in severely polarized democracies. When faced with sovereign power disputes that arise as a result of severe polarization, military organizations are most likely to develop new strategies of action from the dominant practices, norms, and ideas of military leaders. Severe polarization presents a unique threat to civil-military relations and provides the type of unsettled social periods in which cultural ideologies express an observable influence on military behavior. …

International Doctoral Student Experiences In Educational Administration Programs In The United States: A Phenomenological Study, Ping Robert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: In recent years, more international students are enrolling in Educational Administration (EA) programs in the United States. While EA programs wish to recruit and retain international students, more research is needed on supporting international graduate students in graduate education programs and EA programs specifically. Purpose: The present phenomenological study aims to understand the experience of international doctoral students in U.S. EA programs. The present research was guided by the question: “What is the essence of international postgraduate student experiences in EA programs in the United States?” Methodology: The present study used hermeneutic phenomenology to describe and interpret data from …

Exploring Collective Impact: A Developmental Program Evaluation Of A College Access Program, Diana C. Zakhem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Partnership was established in 2015 when the Arbor Glen School District, Brook Heights Community College, and Remarkable Outcomes rallied around their common priorities of increasing college matriculation rates in their community. The Partnership created programming that promotes the preparation and transition of students into postsecondary education and the completion of a postsecondary credential. The COVID-19 global pandemic directly impacted The Partnership, including the loss of grant funding, changes in data reporting systems, changes in the delivery method of its services to students, and significant staff turnover. The combination of these factors caused The Partnership’s organizational structure, measurement systems, activities, …

Older Women’S Stories Of Covid-19 Loss: Communicated Narrative Sense-Making Through Photography, Anne Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The diverse array of challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic make it difficult to assess the full impact of this global health crisis. More than 300,000 older Americans died, leaving a nation of grieving survivors in their absence. This profound loss of life will undoubtedly inform the field’s understanding of grief and grieving for many years to come. Pre-pandemic, older women in the United States understood grief to be part of their life stage; COVID-19 amplified the grief experience through both cumulative losses and the isolation particular to the novel coronavirus response. However, few qualitative studies explore older women’s grief, …

Investing In Your Employees: Understanding The Impact Organizational Commitment Has On Staff Retention, Vanessa Lynne Mcwhirt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High employee turnover in higher education has been an issue for decades, and successfully integrating newly hired staff (NHS) into their new job and the organization can be challenging for human resources and leadership. New employee orientation and onboarding programs can assist NHS. The author of this paper conducted a Utilization-Focused evaluation of the Thriving at DU program at the University of Denver (DU) to improve the program. The study examined the perceptions of how 12 student and academic affairs professionals made meaning of organizational commitment in the workplace throughout their onboarding experience.

The major findings of this evaluation aligned …

Liberation And Inclusion Through The Voices Of Trans Youth: A Phenomenological Approach, Klaudia Neufeld

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary aim of this phenomenological study is to elevate trans youth voice to understand the essence of their individual and shared lived experiences within school systems designed for them to be silenced, excluded, and erased. In alignment with Eve Tuck’s desire-based research, this study is designed to counter deficit narratives of trans youth. Participants include six racially and ethnically diverse trans youth, ages 13−17 in the U.S. state of Colorado. Analyses revealed four themes: a gender-identity transition journey; navigating geography; safety and the impact of school culture; creating belonging through a coalition of community and friendship; and youth lessons …

Fostering An Inclusive Learning Environment Through Course Development: A Program Evaluation, Rachel K. Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This evaluation was chosen to address the desire of students to see themselves and their lived experiences in their coursework at University College, the location of this study. The purpose was to complete a utilization-focused evaluation that assessed first, the formal and informal practices involved in the course development process within an academic department at University College, University of Denver, and second to determine the extent to which the course development process contributes to an inclusive learning environment. Data were collected using qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders in the course development process, observations of weekly course development …

A Qualitative Inquiry Of Research Administrator Perceptions Of Job Satisfaction In A Central Research Administration Unit At The University Of Denver, Noelle L. Strom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) team provides critical research administration services for the research community at the University of Denver. As research funding continues to rise at the University of Denver, retention of research administrators is critically important. Job satisfaction is key to employee engagement and retention. Higher job satisfaction contributes to several positive outcomes for institutions, including lower turnover, higher productivity, lower costs, and employee loyalty. The need to retain experienced research administration professionals is highlighted by the fact that few formal educational routes exist that prepare employees for a career in research administration; rather, developing expertise takes a …

A Phenomenological Study Of Women Principals Who Resigned During The Pandemic, Jessica A. Urbaniak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is well established that principal turnover is of grave concern in the U.S. (Goldring & Taie, 2018; Levin et al., 2020) and may have been exacerbated due to the pandemic (Steiner et al., 2022). This transcendental phenomenological study explored the experience of women principals at P-12 schools in the U.S. who voluntarily left their roles during the pandemic. Data was collected from five participants through two semi-structured interviews and a visual representation of their experience. The essence of this phenomenon was: the pandemic allowed for reflection which intensified the need for women principals to feel in harmony with their …

Why Democracies And Autocracies Go To War: Comparing The Cases Of Iraq And Ukraine, Ketevan Chincharadze

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

History shows that both democratic and nondemocratic countries wage wars to advance their strategic interests. This study has comparatively analyzed two conflicts – the 2003-2011 U.S. invasion of Iraq and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine – to identify the trends that motivate both democratic and autocratic leaders to behave similarly by launching an invasion. The interpretive research of various memoirs, books, interviews, academic articles, news reports, and speeches, has uncovered that personal biases, particularly confirmation biases, play a significant role in motivating leaders to start a war. Leaders’ confirmation biases are often shaped by three prominent factors – historical memory, …

Something Wicked: Witches And Rhetorics Of Resistance, K. Scarlett Harrington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project joins other academic conversations regarding the dynamics of power, modernity, witchcraft, and magic within the contexts of Western hegemony. Occasioned by kairotic cultural events and the reinforcement of ideologies like those found in the Dobbs decision, QAnon conspiracy, and rise of Christian Nationalism, this project contends that evaluating the potential political power residing in witchery is necessary in understanding some of the nuances of hegemonic control and resistance to oppressive authority. Predominantly following rhetorical evaluations of magic found in the works of Gunn and Covino, I maintain a non-universal methodological practice that works to understand the various instrumentality …

Gender And Disability: An Exploration Of Reflective Practice For Protection And Access Amid Complex Emergencies, Lindsey A. Mandolini

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender and Disability: An Exploration of Reflective Practice for Protection and Access Amid Complex Emergencies is a qualitative research project exploring under what conditions and in what ways disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) effectively protect and provide access to women and girls with disabilities amid complex emergencies. The study upheld a participatory approach and rights-based framework, emphasizing that authentic inclusion requires centering disabled voices in research. Drawing on extant research, grey literature, and data collected from online practitioner questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, the study conducted a multi-phased reflexive thematic analysis. The research findings culminate in a composite narrative that brings to …

What’S Good: Sharing Food And Meaning-Making Among Commensals, Lucor Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To explore how systems of meaning are formed and reformed over an individual’s lifetime in the context of food, meals, and commensality, this research applies a critical phenomenological lens to food-centered life histories centered on the life experiences of childhood, adulthood and the diffusion of food knowledge within a food centric community between individuals within age cohorts and across generations. Through reflective interviewing community members within Denver metropolitan area anti-hunger organization, this research is able to provide insight into several secondary questions, including: Is childhood a formative space for the cementation of these systems of meaning and value and do …

Rethinking Bibliotherapy: Portraits Of Gifted Adult Readers, Jervaise M. Pileggi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gifted individuals have unique socioemotional needs due to their sensitivity and intensities. Bibliotherapy is often recommended to gifted persons to help them understand themselves and others and to address affective needs. However, bibliotherapy’s roots are embedded within a clinical background, thus requiring an element of discussion. Instead, I argue that gifted adults use metacognition to replace the need for discussion. Portraits of gifted adult readers (N=7) in their 30s-50s illustrate that metacognition has occurred over their lifespan regarding their reading, with only one participant actively engaging in discussion, and book selection meets the socioemotional needs of the reader. The findings …

Legitimacy In Conflict Contexts: Shifting Rebel Engagement In Sierra Leone And The Presence Of Private Contractors, Anne Lauder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The growth of non-state actors has significantly changed the nature of conflict. Rebel groups increasingly challenge state rule while private military and security companies (PMSCs) increasingly enter conflict spaces on behalf of a variety of actors, including states seeking to suppress insurgencies. This case study of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) during Sierra Leone’s civil war between 1991-2002 contributes to emerging work on rebel behavior by examining how rebel’s legitimacy-seeking behavior might evolve when PMSCs enter a conflict context. I explore the ways that PMSCs can shift perceived incentive structures surrounding insurgents’ interpretations of and engagements with legitimacy during conflict, …

The Vigor Of Creative Materialism: Making The Hidden Stories Of Underrepresented Engineering Students Visible, Katherine A. Robert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite decades of initiatives, engineering education continues to lack diversity. The proportion of women, BIPOC, LGBTQA+, low-income, first-generation, and disabled students in engineering education remains below national population levels. The culture of engineering is a barrier to increasing participation in engineering for students from these communities. The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore the experiences of underrepresented engineering students as they are socialized into the culture of engineering. I theorized a novel conceptual framework called creative materialism that combines culturally responsive methodologies, new materialist theory, and arts-based research methods. Two research questions were used to guide the study. …

A New Era Of Distilling: How Dynamic Capabilities Drive Transformation In The Distilling Industry, Sean M. Scally Sr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The distilling industry has a rich history, starting from when people realized that by adding water, sugar, and starch together, they could develop a drink with alcohol that was safer to drink than the water all around them. Over several centuries, this discovery has grown into a significant industry worldwide. In the United States, the distilling industry went from a farm-based barter system to a multi-billion-dollar industry in 2020 (Schwarz, 2021). The sector has faced changes in regulations and other external factors that challenge how distilleries maintain market share, status, and internal challenges due to operational capabilities and market demands. …

Ceo, Cfo, And Audit Partner Gender, And Accounting Conservatism, Ceara Hintz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I examine the association between CEO, CFO, and audit partner gender and accounting conservatism using a unique sample that encompasses hand-collected data. While accounting conservatism reflects less risky accounting choices, risk aversion theory indicates that females are more risk averse than males. I apply risk aversion theory to accounting conservatism and investigate two research questions: (i) Does the CEO or CFO and audit partner gender influence accounting conservatism? (ii) Does a female audit partner influence the relationship between a male CEO or CFO and accounting conservatism? Using skewness as a proxy of accounting conservatism, I test three hypotheses. The results …

“We All Fly Together, We All Fall Together”: A Fourth Generation Evaluation Of The Experiences Of Students Of Color In A Strengths-Based Postsecondary Access Program, Allyson Gunn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the most persistent barriers within the education system preventing students of color from accessing and persisting in higher education is the deficit lens that the education system uses to judge college-worthy students. To combat this deficit lens, strengths-based programming has shown promise in validating the strengths and students bring to their postsecondary journey. This fourth-generation program evaluation amplifies the experiences of students of color within a strength-based postsecondary access program in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. Through interviews and focus groups, students, and alums of color in the Cornerstone program shared the experience that was most meaningful to them, and …

Study Abroad And The Global Public Good: A Developmental Evaluation Of The International Business Major, Sara Barbier Bularzik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Study abroad, for any length of time and in any location, is widely recognized in higher education as a positive educational activity. While individual benefits of study abroad have been explored for decades, recent research has pushed the field to consider benefits for the local and global community. This program evaluation contributes to this line of inquiry by asking international business majors about the influences on their study abroad program choice process and the involvement of the university’s mission to positively impact the public good. Using developmental program evaluation and UNESCO’s global citizenship education theory, this study found that students …

Expanding The Network Evaluation Toolkit: Combining Social Network Analysis & Qualitative Comparative Analysis, Debbie Gowensmith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collective action networks are complex systems of interrelated individuals or groups that come together for a common social change purpose (Ernstson, 2011). Researchers have used social network analysis (SNA) to examine the relationship structures and characteristics of collective action networks. However, determining whether collective action networking produces outcomes has been challenging because networks are complex, affected by context, and produce interdependent data. I addressed these challenges by pairing SNA with qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), a configurational comparative method. Using QCA, researchers can tease out which conditions are necessary or sufficient to produce an outcome. I analyzed a collective action network …