Digital Commons Network^™

Congolese Refugee Narratives Of Belonging, Grief, And Cultural Continuity In Appalachia, Kayla Davis

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the communicative challenges that Congolese refugees face after resettlement, particularly as they strive to reconstruct a sense of belonging in the United States that reflects their experiences in either their home country or secondary countries where they endured protracted displacement in refugee camps. Narrative qualitative research methods were used to conduct interviews with five Congolese refugees in Appalachia. Through qualitative thematic and lexical analysis derived from the interviews, the study reveals patterns of linguistic isolation, community continuity, and emotional displacement. A key finding is that participants often conceptualize community not as a geographic entity, but as an …

Predicting Social Media Addiction: The Influence Of Paralinguistic Digital Affordances And Cognitive Processes On Social Media Use, Dakota Krebs

Theses and Dissertations

Social media has become an increasing staple in everyday life for numerous people. Yet, excessive and repetitive social media usage may become problematic, to the extent that the behavior takes the form of a psychological addiction. The primary objective of this study was to explore prospective factors that could predict the psychological dependency on social media applications, characterized as social media addiction (SMA). Paralinguistic Digital Affordances (PDAs) are “likes” one receives on social media and may predict SMA via the expected gratification attained when a PDA is received. Cognitive processes, assessed with a general executive functioning index and the n-back …

Accessibility Of Higher Education: Supporting Student Self-Advocacy, Morgan Diane Halliday

Occupational Therapy Capstones

As of the 2020-2021 academic year, 1 in 5 undergraduate students reported having a disability (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.). College students with disabilities (CSWD) face social and physical environmental barriers to higher education due to exclusive policies, procedures, and designs. In turn, occupational engagement is decreased, inhibiting participation in education. A college education can support career opportunities, financial stability, and personal development (Plotner & May, 2019). Therefore, it is essential that CSWD have equitable access. Despite efforts from college campuses to become more accessible, gaps remain that require CSWD to be self-advocates. The purpose of this project was …

A Guide To Occupational Therapy Intervention Planning For Individuals With Migraines In Rural Communities, Angelina M. Caron

Occupational Therapy Capstones

One in ten individuals in the world experience migraines (Amari et al., 2022). Migraines are a debilitating condition that presents with symptoms of intense head pain, aura, and nausea (American Migraine Foundation, 2018; Mayo Clinic, 2023). These symptoms have a global effect on an individual’s life and affect the meaningful and necessary tasks they do each day including work, school, family and social life, and their emotional health and cognitive functioning (Buse et al., 2019; Estave et al., 2021). Occupational therapy (OT) can be used with individuals with migraine by addressing factors such as routines, migraine self-management, cognitive strategies, and …

Coming To Your Senses: A Guide For Sensory Considerations In Higher Education, Aspen D. Delano

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Background: Sensory stimuli bombard humans at every point during their day. Senses are the avenue through which humanity interacts with its world. Individuals have varying thresholds of sensory stimuli. When people face more stimuli than they can cope with, they struggle to interact with the world around them. This can pose a significant challenge for graduate-level college students due to the already strenuous mental load required for formal education. The association between sensory processing and stress has strengthened in recent years, with individuals reporting a positive feedback loop between these constructs (Harrold et al., 2024). Stress leads to greater sensory …

Journey To Understanding — An Introduction To North Dakota Tribes (2025), Cheryl Ann Kary Née Red Eagle, Sunshine Archambault-Carlow, Emma Jean Blue Earth, Carol Davis, Linda Gourneau, Oliver Gourd, Eugene Hale, David Henderson, Marilyn Hudson, Angeline Fourth Iron Road, Demus Mcdonald, Jt Shining One Side, Scott Simpson, Sharla Steever, Nicholas Asbury, Sashay Schettler, Lucy Fredericks, Native American Training Institute, United Tribes Technical College

North Dakota Tribal History and Culture Series

Journey to Understanding: An Introduction to North Dakota Tribes is an introductory booklet intended to give a quick overview of Indigenous culture in North Dakota. It is a starting point for the rest of the North Dakota Tribal History & Culture series. The booklet explains the names and backgrounds of the nations that share geography with North Dakota. It also teaches basic cultural competency to facilitate interaction for people from a different background. The content is presented in the form of self-quizzes with provided answers. Journey to Understanding was originally used within the North Dakota Department of Human Services (NDDHS) …

Facilitating Engagement In Meaningful Occupations Through Nature-Based Experiences, Sydney Johnson

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Background: Many children, especially those living in urban areas, are spending less time in nature than ever before which is decreasing their engagement in meaningful occupations such as sleep, play, education, social participation, and activities of daily living. Interacting with nature can improve children’s emotional regulation, development, attention span, mental health, and overall well-being. It is important that children have access to nature and its benefits to ensure they are reaching their full potential in life. One method to improve children’s access to nature is providing them with nature-based activities that can be modified or adapted for those living in …

Investigation In Using Kinesthetic Learning Of Electricity And Magnetism In Scale-Up, Joseph Charley Langenwalter

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the effectiveness of incorporating kinesthetic learning activities into a SCALE-UP (Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies) physics course to improve students' conceptual understanding of electricity and magnetism. This study aims to explore the effects of adding kinesthetic activities to a first-year 2nd semester physics course on student learning that included 92 students in three groups, traditional, scale-up control, scale-up activity classrooms. Nine active learning activities were designed to promote learning. A unique pre-post instrument was used to gauge student learning. Three questions from an instrument showed statistically significant improvement in student scores from the semester that …

Creating Equitable Employment Practices For Adjunct Faculty: Perceptions Of Academic Administrators At Public Institutions In A Great Plains State, Constance Mciver

Theses and Dissertations

Adjunct faculty are a substantial feature of the higher education classroom. Their increased prevalence has contributed to elevated concerns regarding the employment practices of these part-time faculty. While numerous published accounts of adjunct faculty experiences are available, recorded perceptions of academic administrators are less prevalent. Eighty-six academic administrators from six public universities in a Great Plains state participated in a researcher-developed survey to determine the expectations placed upon and compensation practices for adjunct faculty, as well as perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the adjunct system and the feasibility of providing more equitable compensation. Survey findings suggest there is …

Exploring The Experiences Of First-Year Pre-Nursing Students’ Sense Of Belonging In A Living-Learning Community And First-Year Seminar, Robyn Bancroft

Theses and Dissertations

Many factors may influence how a student experiences their first year adjusting to college life. The University of North Dakota, a public research institution located in Grand Forks, ND, recently implemented a nursing living-learning community (LLC) comprised of first-year, pre-nursing students, which also required the students to take a one-credit first-year seminar (FYS) together, known as UNIV 101 – Introduction to University Life. A total of 10 participants who resided within this living-learning community for a minimum of one academic year and were enrolled in the same section of UNIV 101 during their first semester submitted reflection papers. Additionally, eight …

Exploring Refugee Students’ Experiences In Midwest Higher Education Environments: Culturally Responsive Practices For Educators, Rohana De Silva

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the teaching and learning strategies used by highereducation faculty to support refugee students at a Midwestern university. Recognizing that refugee students bring diverse cultural, linguistic, and experiential backgrounds to academic environments, this research examined how instructional practices can either promote or hinder their educational success. Traditional teaching methods often fall short in addressing the complex needs of this student population. Using Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth Framework, Bourdieu’s Theory of Cultural Capital, and Resilience Theory, this study analyzed the narratives of refugee students to uncover how their lived experiences influenced their educational journeys. Findings revealed that refugee …

Stem Professors’ Motivation To Engage In A College Teaching Certificate, Justin Craig Alexander

Theses and Dissertations

Despite an expanded focus on educating students in STEM disciplines, nearly half of U.S. college students who enroll in these degree programs fail to graduate (Hamm et al., 2020, p. 623). Critics sometimes blame pedagogically untrained faculty (e.g., Kahn, 2022). This Dissertation in Practice (DiP) focused on STEM university faculty's motivation for teaching and whether professors are motivated to enroll in pedagogy courses. Via the lens of self-determination theory (SDT), this DiP examined to what extent STEM faculty at a major research university in the upper Midwest could devote additional time to pedagogy by enrolling in a college teaching graduate …

Strengthening Traffic Safety Laws On The Crow Indian Reservation, Darcy Merchant

Theses and Dissertations

The Crow Indian reservation is located in south-central Montana. The reservation is one of the largest land-based tribes in Montana, encompassing an area of over three thousand square miles. The reservation borders the state of Wyoming to the south and the Northern Cheyenne Indian reservation to the east. The reservation features a comprehensive transportation system that encompasses tribal, county, state, and federal roadways. Drivers and passengers who travel on these roadways are at higher risk for fatal and severe injury-related motor vehicle crashes than those in other reservations. This situation largely stems from the critical absence of targeted traffic safety …

Doctoral Student Mentoring: A Quantitative Analysis Of Faculty And Student Perceptions And Expectations, Laura Margaret Look

Theses and Dissertations

Doctoral student success is heavily influenced by the quality of mentoring and advising relationships with graduate faculty, yet doctoral student completion rates remain at a low rate of around 50%. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the mentoring relationships of doctoral students by surveying doctoral students and graduate faculty who mentor graduate students to identify their expectations for the mentor and mentee in the mentoring relationship. Data were collected from 155 students and 68 faculty in the spring 2024 semester at the University of North Dakota, a Midwest R2 institution. Nonparametric statistical analysis revealed several misalignments between …

Mindfulness And Modification Therapy (Mmt) Group Feasibility And Acceptability Among Prison Residents With Dysregulated Behaviors, Leslie Unger

Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness and Modification Therapy (MMT; Wupperman, 2019) is a transdiagnostic therapy that systematically integrates aspects of six empirically supported treatments for impulsive and dysregulated behavior. As such, MMT may offer an efficient approach to addressing a variety of dysregulated behaviors, thereby supporting increased safety within carceral settings and enhancing goals of rehabilitation. To date, MMT has demonstrated positive results in community settings when treating substance misuse and anger/aggression, but it has not yet been examined in a prison setting. The present research examines the feasibility and acceptability of using a 14-session version of group MMT as a voluntary treatment option …

Military Recruitment And Retention: A Policy And Practice Analysis, Orly Naum

Theses and Dissertations

The ongoing decline in United States military recruitment and retention presents a growing challenge to sustaining an effective All-Volunteer Force (AVF), particularly within the United States Coast Guard, a branch that has historically been underrepresented in academic research, and across the Department of Defense (DoD). This convergent mixed methods study examined how generational cohorts and individual motivations influence recruitment and retention, integrating quantitative data from the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) and qualitative survey responses from a veteran-rich collegiate population. The quantitative analysis revealed statistically significant differences in Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) scores between Generation Z (GenZ) and Generation …

Which University Faculty Are Successful Researchers? Developing And Testing Measures Of Research Competence To Predict Faculty Research Motivation And Success, Muhammad Salahuddin

Theses and Dissertations

University faculty play a pivotal role in producing research that leads to positive social change through the creation of new knowledge, enhancement of higher education quality, and improved university rankings. Faculty produce more when they feel competent, autonomously motivated, and acknowledged. Past studies have measured faculty research competencies using self-report scales that may contain biases, potentially leading to significant discrepancies in research outcomes. My program of research – a three-article dissertation – aimed to develop and validate the test-based measures of faculty research competence that can more reliably predict faculty research success. The three studies provide an enhanced understanding of …

Visible, Invisible: (Levantine) Arab American Men On Mental Health, Nesreen Jaber

Theses and Dissertations

To address the dearth in psychological research and practice in regards to Arab American men, this study examined the lived experiences of seven Levantine (Belad Al Sham) Arab American men with origins in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq. Semi-structured interviews, Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), and a Liberation Psychology framework were utilized to explore their definitions of mental health, their experiences of stigma, their experiences with mental health therapy, and their attitudes towards psychology and therapy. A total of seven superordinate themes emerged that highlighted the roles of gendered stigma, cultural incongruence in therapeutic praxis, Eurocentric norms in psychology, and conceptualizations of …

Mental Health Stigma Among Latiné Adolescents: Help-Seeking Intentions And Recommendations, Brenda D. Barragan

Theses and Dissertations

Latiné adolescents in the United States face increasing mental health challenges, including elevated rates of depression, suicidal ideation, and emotional distress, particularly in underserved regions such as the Midwest. Despite these needs, Latiné adolescents remain underrepresented in mental health research, particularly with respect to how cultural values and intersecting identities—such as gender, immigrant status, and perceived socioeconomic status—influence stigma and help-seeking behaviors. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study explored how mental health stigma and cultural factors shape help-seeking intentions and recommendations among 95 self-identified Latiné adolescents in North Dakota and Minnesota. The study examined two primary …

Beyond All Possible Doubt? The Shifting Of A Juror’S Conviction Threshold In Criminal Cases Based On Charge, Sentence, And Evidence, Sophie Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

In criminal trials, jurors must make a decision that will forever change the defendant’s life (Couloute & Kopf, 2018), during which jurors may consider the impact that not convicting a guilty person may have (i.e., Type II error) or if the charge is worth the crime regardless of the defendant’s guilt (i.e., Type I error). Jurors may raise their conviction thresholds if they feel a type II error is favorable to a type I error. Researchers have discovered that in cases where charge severity (e.g., Kerr, 1978) or the perceived sentence (e.g., Kaplan & Krupa, 1986) is higher, jurors shift …

Investigating The Role Of Keratin 6 And Sox2 In Regulating Growth, Stemness, Basal/Squamous Expression, And Chemotherapy Response In Muscle-Invasive Urothelial Carcinoma, Nelofar Nargis

Theses and Dissertations

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is a prevalent and aggressive malignancy arising in urothelial cells, with arsenic exposure recognized as a significant environmental risk factor. It is categorized into two primary subtypes based on the extent of cancer progression beyond the bladder’s muscle wall: non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma (NMIUC) and muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma (MIUC). While NMIUC is associated with a relatively favorable prognosis, progression to MIUC is more aggressive and leads to significantly worse outcomes, including poor treatment response and increased metastasis. Squamous differentiation (SD) in UC is an emerging hallmark of aggressive UC, with patients often having poor prognoses and developing chemoresistance, …

From Emily To Loralei To Rory: A Qualitative Textual Analysis Of Scripts From Gilmore Girls For Real-World Application, Erin Mccann

Theses and Dissertations

In the realm of interpersonal communication and intrafamilial research, one dynamic, the mother and daughter pairing, is especially poignant in exploring the ties of closeness, the openness of communication and the potential for long-term impact on a daughter’s development. When studying the mother and daughter dynamic through a work of fiction, patterns can be observed without bias, allowing for evaluation of the strength of relationship and identification of broader implication to the discipline of family communication. In this study, a textual analysis was conducted evaluating 21 exemplary episodes of the 2000s television show Gilmore Girls focused entirely on the interactions …

The Wicked Problem Of Moral Distress: Exploring The Experiences Of Rural Clinic Nurses, Sydney Rae Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Moral distress is an occupational hazard for nurses that can negatively impact nurses, patients, and the healthcare system. Moral distress has been well documented in high-risk care environments. Each nursing care environment has its own unique triggers for moral distress, but these triggers are unknown in rural clinic nurses. Design and Purpose: This convergent mixed methods study sought to gain a broader understanding of moral distress in nurses working in rural clinic settings.

Methods: Convergent mixed methodology was used to gain a broader understanding of moral distress in nurses working in rural clinic settings. Following ethical approvals, informed by …

The Weapon Focus Effect On Memory For Male And Female Perpetrators, Faith Christel Aasen

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research on the weapon focus effect suggests that weapon presence causes reduced memory accuracy for perpetrator details due to weapons being surprising and unexpected. The unusualness hypothesis suggests that a stronger weapon focus effect should occur when the perpetrator defies typical gender stereotypes, such as a woman holding a gun. The current study sought to examine how the weapon focus effect impacts eyewitness memory for male and female perpetrators, specifically exploring the magnitude of the effect on female perpetrators. The current study further investigated whether the own gender bias attenuates the weapon focus effect on memory for female perpetrators. …

Spatial And Temporal Assessment Of Meteorological Drought Using The Standardized Precipitation Index (Spi) And Its Effect On Crop Yield Over The Corn Belt Region Of The United States From 2000 To 2023, Victor Araya

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change and global warming have contributed to extreme weather events and patterns, including severe flooding, earthquakes, wildfires, and drought. Drought happens to be the deadliest catastrophic event around the world. Drought's impact on ecosystems and local communities has been increasing in many parts of the world, including the United States and, most importantly, the corn Belt, which also happens to be the country's food basket. Understanding drought prediction and mitigation can be investigated through drought indices. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is considered the most reliable in this study. It is used in this study to present the critical …

Applying The 4d Model Of The Country Image To Explore The Relationship Between Saudi Arabia’S Sport Diplomacy And Its Perceived Image Among American Adults, Ibrahim Bin Jaman

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between Saudi Arabia’s sports diplomacy and strategy of hosting major international sports events and its image among American adults. Notably, the Saudi government’s strategic use of hosting sports events aligns with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, fostering economic diversification and promoting tourism. The conducted study examined American adults’ exposure to international sports events held in Saudi Arabian, this exposure’s correlation with the image of the country, and potential differences in the perception of Saudi Arabian between American adults who have been exposed to sports events in Saudi Arabia and those who have not. A …

Gender-Based Perceptions Of Confronting Prejudice In The Classroom, Mary Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

Disparities exist between men and women in academia at the faculty and student level. Academically, women are judged as being weaker and inferior, and many describe experiences of sexism, often within the classroom setting. Few studies have investigated the impact of an instructor confronting sexism in the classroom. The current study examined the effects of an instructor’s gender, student’s gender, and instructor’s confrontation decision on students’ perceptions of the instructor, classroom environment, and the moderating effect of self-reported sexism. Participants read one of four vignettes describing an act of sexism in the classroom where a male (or female) instructor confronts …

Gender And Family Differences In Faculty Motivation, Allyssa Jean Baumbach

Theses and Dissertations

This three-article dissertation examines gender and family differences in faculty motivation. Faculty motivation has primarily been studied in the context of development but has only recently begun to focus on productivity and success. Further, studies of faculty motivation do not provide in depth analysis of gender and family differences. Therefore, the current program of research uses the Self-Determination Theory to examine gender and family differences in faculty motivation and considers how traditional gender norms may contribute to these differences. The first study explored if gender difference existed. Data from a small sample of faculty (N=118) from two universities in the …

Attributions Of Blame In Cases Of Stealthing, Shane William Knutson

Theses and Dissertations

Nonconsensual condom removal (NCCR), also known as “stealthing”, is a form of sexual abuse where an individual removes the condom without their sexual partner’s knowledge. While research regarding prevalence of NCCR has been conducted over the past decade, there are still aspects of previous research on other forms of sexual abuse that did not account for cases of NCCR. One such gap in the current literature are studies that investigate how individuals attribute blame to the victims of NCCR. Previous research has shown that there are differences in how individuals attribute blame towards victims of sexual abuse based on different …

Great Expectations: How Gender Assigned At Birth Shapes Viewpoint Based Perceptual Disparities In Gender-Diverse People, Adelyn Emter

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine disparities between personal beliefs and perceived societal ideologies about earning gendered traits and maintaining masculinity and femininity, with a focus on gender-diverse perspectives and the influence of gender identity on responses to social research. The current study recruited 334 gender-diverse participants to compare Viewpoint and Gendered Trait based on participant Gender Assigned at Birth, using twelve statements about earning and maintaining masculinity and femininity. The Traditional Egalitarian Sex Role (TESR) Inventory and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) Scale were used as covariates which significantly contributed to the model. As expected, societal belief scores …