Digital Commons Network^™

Planning An Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In Norfolk Virginia, Matthew A. Cline

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Provides an overview of Norfolk’s emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem and challenges associated with its disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Presents policy recommendations in creating more equitable environment for these small business ventures.

Residential Fire Impacts On Richmond, Virginia: A Plan For Identifying And Educating Our Most Vulnerable Communities, Jennifer L. Tillett

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

In 2017, 1.3 million fires in the U.S. caused 3,400 deaths, 14,600 injuries, and $23 billion in loss. Vulnerable populations are less resilient due to their lack of adequate access to financial, medical, and community resources as well as their propensity to reside in substandard housing. This plan studies the impacts of Richmond’s residential fires (2015-2017) on vulnerable communities within the city. Its purpose is to provide an understanding of where fires occurred in vulnerable communities and to recommend actions for prevention education.

The plan is divided into six sections: Introduction, Background, Methodology, Findings, Recommendations, and Implementation. A Social Vulnerability …

Impacts Of Gender-Based Violence And Harassment On Graduate Student Academic Functioning, Jennifer W. Underwood

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers and practitioners have increasingly focused on institutional responses to campus gender-based violence/harassment, yet they have paid far less attention to graduate student experiences than to undergraduate student experiences. Graduate students operate in a different context from undergraduates, and therefore specific knowledge of gender-based violence/harassment in the lives of graduate students is needed. The purpose of this exploratory, nonexperimental study was to better understand the prevalence of adult gender-based violence/harassment and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among graduate students, as well as to understand the relationship between those experiences and participants’ mental health and academic functioning. The study’s theoretical framework combined …

Critical Race Examination Of Educator Perceptions Of Discipline And School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports, Michael J. Massey

Theses and Dissertations

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is a school disciplinary framework seen as an effective tool to replace school disciplinary practices that contribute to the school to prison pipeline (STPP). While evidence suggests that SWPBIS can help improve school discipline and lower suspension/expulsion rates, it has not been shown to consistently decrease racial disciplinary disparities. This study thematically analyzed semi-structured interviews of educational staff at one high school at the outset of SWPBIS implementation to understand their perceptions of school discipline and the potential for SWPBIS to address root causes of racial disciplinary disproportionality. Using a critical race theory …

Lifetime, Emily E. Kuchenbecker

Theses and Dissertations

Time is my bully. Time marks the start of something, as well as the end. We are all carrying out the inexorable passing of time as it relates to our impending mortalities.

I do not fear death.

The awareness of my body’s impermanence employs me to feel that much more connected to the vessel containing that of which I am.

But what am I? Am I my body- or is it much deeper?

Through the work executed during my graduate research, I have attempted to quantify my existence through the archiving my time and body. This document ushers you through …

The Efficacy Of A Group Visual Art Bereavement Intervention With Older Adults, Rachel E. Weiskittle

Theses and Dissertations

Research on expressive art interventions for bereavement has burgeoned in recent years. Studies have supported their effectiveness in facilitating participants’ adjustment to loss (e.g., Rosner, Kruse, & Hagl, 2010; Uttley, 2015) and have revealed the frequency with which they are clinically implemented (Thompson & Neimeyer, 2014). Clinicians and recipients of expressive art interventions advocate for their helpfulness in grief processing (e.g., Gamino, 2015). Publications have highlighted particular visual art modules that facilitate adaptive adjustment to loss by providing avenues for self-expression, meaning making and continuing bonds with the deceased (Neimeyer, 2016), but few studies have quantitatively investigated whether they improve …

Training Future Mental Health Professionals In An Evidence-Informed System Of Care, Julia R. Cox

Theses and Dissertations

High quality mental health services do not reach the youth who need them, leading to efforts to implement effective treatments more broadly. One focus of these efforts concerns training the mental health workforce, of which master’s-level social workers represent a large proportion. However, the curricula of master’s in social work (MSW) programs do not often emphasize evidence-based approaches. One possible solution is Managing and Adapting Practice (MAP; PracticeWise, LLC), a system that allows clinicians to (1) identify clinically indicated evidence-based programs by searching a growing evidence-base of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and (2) build individualized evidence-informed treatment plans by focusing …

Factors That Influence Mental Health Services Utilization By Children Who Have Experienced Adversity, Mary B. Stebbins

Theses and Dissertations

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to increased mental health problems in children, but their association with mental health services utilization is not well known. This secondary analysis used 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health data from two samples: children aged 6-17-years-old with a mental or behavioral condition in need of treatment or counseling (N = 5,723); and a subsample of children who experienced at least one ACE (n = 3,812). Multiple logistic regression and latent class analysis (LCA) were performed to examine the association between ACEs and mental health services utilization. Multiple logistic regressions also examined the …

Determining Success Factors In Interprofessional Practice With Dynamic Teams, Danah Alsane

Theses and Dissertations

Background: The interprofessional healthcare team is dynamic to cope with complex issues and needs existing in the healthcare environment. Understanding the important factors that predict dynamic team effectiveness helps health educators to establish team training models that focus on improving collaborative student performance that facilitates their transition to practice and helps to improve the health and system outcomes.

Objectives:1) Assess the impact of a practice-based interprofessional education (IPE) model on student attitudes and knowledge toward interprofessional teamwork.2) Evaluate predictors associated with team effectiveness among dynamic student teams participating in a practice-based IPE setting.

Methods: This was an exploratory cross-sectional …

Undergraduate Students' Attitudes About The Collection, Use, And Privacy Of Search Data In Academic Libraries, Laura W. Gariepy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand undergraduate students’ attitudes about search data privacy in academic libraries and their preferences for how librarians should handle information about what students search for, borrow, and download. This is an important area of study due to the increasingly data-driven nature of evaluation, accountability, and improvement in higher education, along with libraries’ professional commitment to privacy, which has historically limited the amount of data collected about student use. Using a qualitative approach through the lens of interpretive description, I used the constant comparative method of data collection and analysis to conduct semi-structured interviews …

Motivational Interviewing In A Team-Based Wellness Clinic: Perceptions And Fidelity, Jodi M. Winship

Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidenced based counseling style to elicit health behavior change. Team-based student clinics are an ideal climate for students to learn and practice team-based care, yet little is understood as to how client-centered communication styles such as MI are implemented in a team setting.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct an exploratory study using mixed methods to better understand how an MI training translates to team-based communication with clients, the factors impacting team-based implementation of MI, and how team-based MI impacts clients’ perceived autonomy at a student-led, interprofessional, team-based wellness clinic for …

Mindfulness Training For Healthcare Professional Students: A Waitlist Controlled Pilot Study On Psychological And Work-Relevant Outcomes, Sarah Braun

Theses and Dissertations

Burnout in healthcare professionals (HCPs) can negatively affect HCPs’ health and the overall functioning of the healthcare system. Of great concern is the negative effect of HCP burnout on psychological, cognitive, and work-relevant functioning. Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to decrease burnout in HCPs and preliminary evidence suggests they may improve work-relevant outcomes. However, the literature is limited by methodological issues and generalizability concerns. The current pragmatic trial investigated feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of Mindfulness for Interdisciplinary Healthcare Professionals (MIHP) using a partially randomized, waitlist-controlled, crossover design [intention-to-treat sample: 22 in the mindfulness group (MG), 26 in the control group …

Leaf-Ing A Legacy, Susan R. Whiteland

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

Leaf-ing a Legacy is the story of a university art education class that joined with an elementary classroom and residents in a long term health/rehabilitative center through a service-learning project that utilized digital technology and art making in a problem-based learning format to explore the concept of legacy. Evidence was found that the experience promoted socio-emotional learning and fostered the building of socio-emotional capital for the participants involved.

Editorial, Pamela H. Lawton

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

No abstract provided.

International Journal Of Lifelong Learning In Art Education 2018 Full Issue, Pamela H. Lawton

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

No abstract provided.

Commonwealth Times 2018-11-07

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Vol 5 #1 Full Issue, Ginger Walker

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry Vol 5 No 1 Full Issue PDF

The Conduits And Barriers To Reentry For Formerly Incarcerated Individuals In San Bernardino, Annika Anderson, Noe J. Nava, Patricia Cortez

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

Numerous scholars have noted that the majority of prisoners will be reincarcerated within three years of their release. However, while there has been extensive research on recidivism, much less attention has been paid to the reentry process in the sociological and criminological literature. Given the high rates of former prisoners reentering society with struggles that may affect their friends, family members, and communities, policymakers and practitioners should understand the successful methods for their reintegration. In this paper, we explore the conduits and barriers to reentry for a sample of San Bernardino county callers using United Way’s 211 Reentry Call Center …

Commonwealth Times 2018-04-02

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Commonwealth Times 2018-03-26

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Commonwealth Times 2018-02-19

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Countering The Norm, (Re)Authoring Our Lives: The Promise Counterstorytelling Holds As A Research Methodology With Lgbtq Youth And Beyond, M. Alex Wagaman, Rae Caballero Obejero, James S. Gregory

Social Work Publications

Counterstorytelling, a methodology that is rooted in critical race theory, is undergirded by principles that are beneficial to understanding the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identified (LGBTQ) young people from an intersectional perspective. Counterstorytelling holds promise as a method that creates opportunities for individual transformation and resistance to dominant narratives among young people facing systemic oppression. This article outlines the design and implementation of a counterstorytelling study with LGBTQ youth and reflects on the value and associated challenges of counterstorytelling as a participatory research method.

Hip Hop Pedagogy As Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, Melanie L. Buffington, Jolie Day

The Melanie Buffington Papers

This paper argues that Hip Hop Pedagogy is a version of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and should be a part of art education. Further, we believe that when exploring Hip Hop Pedagogy, teachers need to reference the work of Black female and non-binary artists. After an overview of Hip Hop Pedagogy and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, we argue that these approaches should be a consistent part of art education. Through the work of contemporary visual artist and DJ, Rozeal, we offer suggestions for art educators about how they might transition their practice to embrace some aspects of Hip Hop Pedagogy. Specifically, through …

Virginia Commonwealth University Fall Commencement Program [2018], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Is Counseling Integral To Buprenorphine-Assisted Opioid Addiction Treatment? Examining Counseling Participation And Treatment Retention At A Richmond, Virginia Clinic, John R. Gyourko, Hilary Colin King

Social Work Student Works

Treatment providers in Virginia are required by law to offer counseling or referrals to all clients receiving medication-assisted opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2016; Medical Society of Virginia, 2018). Prescribing physicians widely regard counseling as a critical component of medication-assisted OUD treatment (Lin, Lofwall, Walsh, & Knudsen, 2019), and clients perceive counseling to be among the most important factors promoting recovery from opioid dependence (Hay, Huhn, Tompkins, & Dunn, 2019). Research investigating the efficacy of counseling as an OUD treatment component, however, has been equivocal to date (Brown, 2018; Dugosh et al., 2016). The current …

Virginia Commonwealth University Courses [2018], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of courses for the 2018-2019 year.

Virginia Commonwealth University Commencement Program [2018], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Virginia Commonwealth University Professional Bulletin [2018], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Professional programs bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2018-2019. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for graduate programs.

Ram Essential, The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute At Virginia Commonwealth University, Sompop Bencharit, Cait Burns, Kristen Caldwell, Muthoni Imungi, Matt Lovisa, Magdalena Morgan, Bert Waters

The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute Publications

The underlying causes of food insecurity are complex and often intertwined with related issues that affect a student’s ability to meet even basic needs, such as housing, employment and health care, forcing them to choose between their well-being and their education. The latest Hunger in America report finds that about 10 percent of Feed America’s 46.5 million adult clients are college students. That equates to 2 million full-time college students. “Of those surveyed by the emergency food services network, roughly 30.5 percent of students reported that they were forced to choose between food and educational expenses at some point over …

Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate Bulletin [2018], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Graduate bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2018-2019. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for graduate programs.