Digital Commons Network^™

A Primary Care Randomized Controlled Trial Investigating The Efficacy Of A Caregiver-Focused Prevention Program For Child Sexual Abuse, Cassandra Dukes

Dissertations

Child sexual abuse (CSA) affects 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys before the age of 18, resulting in significant long-term physical, emotional, and social consequences. Caregivers play a crucial role in preventing CSA by engaging in preventative behaviors with their children. Primary care settings may be an avenue through which to educate caregivers on their role in prevention of CSA. The present study used a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design to investigate the efficacy of a caregiver-focused educational program to prevent CSA, provided via integrated behavioral health (IBH) in a pediatric primary care setting. Participants (n=56) were …

Bridging The Gap: Action-Oriented Vs. Community-Minded Mentalities And Behaviors In Cold Case Investigation Units, Samantha Strine

Dissertations

One key group in policing that has seen an increase in public and media attention but not research is the cold case investigation unit. These units tend to be more “bureaucratic”, focusing on communication, community-engagement skills, and “desk work”. Thus, this is a potential area for learning techniques and policies that shift the mentalities within police culture to be more accepting of new community focused policies. This study also seeks to address a gap in current research related to studying specialized police units.

The purpose of this study is to describe the organizational dynamics and officers’ tactics, perceptions, and interactions …

Praise That Empowers: Training Preschool Teachers To Linguistically Adapt Behavior-Specific Praise For Hispanic Students, Claudia Abril Ochoa

Dissertations

Children’s engagement in early ages is critical for promoting behavioral, academic, and social-emotional outcomes. However, engagement in classroom activities may be difficult for young children who have not mastered the primary language used in early childhood education settings (i.e., English). Research regarding engagement in English Language Learners (ELLs) in preschool settings, as well as cultural and/or linguistic adaptations of classroom interventions to serve this population is limited. Behavior-specific praise (BSP) has been an effective strategy to improve behavior in preschool classrooms. The current study used a multiple-baseline design across three Head-Start teachers to test the efficacy of in situ training …

Exploring Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy Among Newly Graduated Nurses In The Labor And Delivery Unit After The Use Of Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice For Obstetric Emergencies, Amber L. Hulsey

Dissertations

Background: The average turnover rate among newly graduated nurses (NGNs) in the United States is 25-30% within their first year, with increased rates in high-stress units like obstetrics and critical care. Many risk factors contribute to the high turnover rate of NGNs, but one modifiable factor is feelings of self-efficacy. Studies have shown that simulation training can increase self-efficacy in obstetric emergencies. This study was conducted to explore feelings of self-efficacy among NGNs working in the labor and delivery unit after a rapid cycle deliberate practice (RCDP) simulation of an OB emergency.

Methods: The study used a descriptive …

The Use Of A Sepsis Escape Room Simulation To Enhance Undergraduate Nursing Student's Clinical Judgment, Alaina Peterson

Dissertations

Background: Less than 10% of new graduate registered nurses meet practice-ready expectations for clinical judgment competencies, and 52% of critical care nurses are unable to adequately define sepsis. Traditional clinical rotations offer inconsistent exposure to high-acuity, low-frequency events such as sepsis, leaving new graduates unprepared for independent practice. Escape room simulations use the proven effectiveness of high-fidelity simulations with gamification to develop clinical judgment through active learning, teamwork and problem-solving.

Objective: The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of a sepsis escape room simulation to improve perceived clinical judgment skills of undergraduate nursing students. The intervention was …

Supports And Challenges For Esns In Higher Education: A State University Qualitative Study, Dilkash Ahmed

Dissertations

Although extensive support needs students (ESNS) benefit from access to inclusive higher education opportunities, research shows that navigating college settings has been challenging for these students. This study examined the supports available to ESNS enrolled in college classes and the challenges they encounter within a university setting. Using a State University as the research site, this qualitative study collected data through semi-structured interviews, observations, and reflection responses to capture the experiences of ESNS, faculty, and peer mentors in higher education. The study examined ESNS experiences in classes through the perspectives of faculty on teaching ESNS, peer mentors’ (who support students …

Addressing The Lack Of Representation Of Hijab-Wearing Teachers Of Color In Education, Feroza Solaiman

Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of hijab-wearing teachers of color in TK–12 public schools in Northern California. Six participants shared perspectives on representation, inclusion, exclusion, and moments of joy within their school communities. The findings highlight that increased representation of teachers of color strengthens educators’ sense of belonging, supports students’ self-esteem, and enhances both teacher and student engagement. Participants emphasized the need for greater awareness of Muslim women’s diverse cultures, languages, celebrations, dietary practices, and professional attire, as well as the importance of challenging single-story narratives through dialogue, understanding, and upstander practices. Inclusive school environments were found to …

Examining Beliefs Of State Department Of Education Directors Of Assessment Regarding Standardized Testing, Sara L. Kendallen

Dissertations

Directors of assessment in state departments of education are tasked with the planning and oversight, including development, field-testing, validation, and operationalization of statewide assessments. At the state level, directors of assessment are pivotal to a department of education’s ability to meet state and federal testing requirements. Directors of assessment hold their own opinions and beliefs, which may or may not be aligned with current adopted policies. The beliefs of those in state level educational bureaucracies about standardized testing has not been well-researched. It is hoped that this research will add to the greater understanding of statewide assessment. The goal of …

Ensuring Effective, Efficient, And Equitable Libraries In A Post-Pandemic Community College Environment, Jeffery M. Sundquist

Dissertations

Using a case study model, this dissertation investigated student needs regarding library support in a post-pandemic community college environment, using data from student focus group interviews. These needs were juxtaposed with perceived student needs using library employee survey data. Based on the interpretation of data grounded in a critical librarianship framework, the author created action items for college library leaders. To provide effective, efficient, and equitable onsite libraries and library services, the author recommends (a) designing for psychological safety and belonging, (b) embedding visible human support, and (c) conducting equity-oriented space audits. To provide effective, efficient, and equitable online libraries …

Multiple Perspectives On Inclusion In Science For Students Receiving Support From The Learning Center (Tlc) Program, Jeremy C. Adams

Dissertations

Almaden Country Day School (ACDS) is a small, independent private school located in the Almaden Valley neighborhood of south San Jose, California. Currently serving over 400 students, the school has been in operation for over 43 years. Nan Hunter, its founder, set out to build a school community that could “discover the gifts in every child.” As part of this mission, the school sought to support neurodiverse students with accommodations as part of its general education program. In September of 2017, the school’s leaders committed more deeply to this aspect of the school’s mission when they opened The Learning Center …

"A Door To The Future." A Case Study In Exploratory And Culturally Sustaining Theater Curriculum, Verónica Meza

Dissertations

This study addresses the persistent inequities in access to quality arts education for Latino immigrant and linguistically diverse communities in California. Despite progressive initiatives such as Proposition 28 (The Arts and Music in Schools Act) and the California Arts Council's Racial Equity Statement, systemic barriers prevent Latino and immigrant students from benefiting equitably from the arts. The central objective of this project is to understand how an exploratory, culturally sustaining theater curriculum can serve as a transformative and healing vehicle for adult immigrant Latino students, providing emotional protection, cultural affirmation, and language preservation within a U.S. educational context. This qualitative …

An Untouched Gem: Understanding Parental Perceptions On Community College Attendance, Harshdeep Singh Nanda

Dissertations

Community colleges serve as critical entry points into higher education, yet they continue to carry stigma, particularly within affluent communities where four-year institutions are often positioned as the expected pathway. While existing research has examined student and public perceptions, little attention has been given to how parents in affluent regions shape and transmit these narratives. This study investigated how parents in an affluent region of the San Francisco Bay Area perceive community college as a starting point for their children’s academic careers and how parents may contribute to shifting those perceptions. Using a convergent parallel mixed methods design, survey data …

Breaking The Glass Ceiling From The Ground Floor: Bipoc Women Classified Professionals’ Journey In California Community Colleges, Lusyna Kim Narvaez

Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined how women in classified professional positions navigate institutional barriers and access professional development within California community colleges. Using Critical Liberatory Feminist Pedagogy, Critical Race Feminist Theory, and Challenging Leadership Theory as analytical frameworks, the study explored the lived experiences of 18 participants across five Northern California community colleges through individual interviews and focus groups. Findings revealed three central themes: strategic communication as a survival mechanism, institutionalized exhaustion, and professional development as gatekeeping. Participants described employing calculated communication strategies to navigate workplace dynamics while minimizing personal and professional risk. The study illuminated how institutional structures create systemic …

Guru Shishya Parampara: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Character Development Through Immersion, Shilpan Sheth

Dissertations

Processes that support the intentional effort to manifest virtue remain an under-described and poorly understood area of education research. In the literature, it is identified that immersion - a state of deep affective or cognitive engagement with one’s environment - holds implications for character development. Exploring the guru shishya parampara ((गुरुिश� पर�रा), a pedagogical tradition with roots in Vedic culture, through the lived experiences of an expert musician, this study relates immersive experiences to personal transformation. Data from interviews, lectures, and articles were analyzed. From the data, immersive experiences of the guru shishya tradition are understood to be embodied, intrinsic, …

Toward An Integrated Framework For Character Education: A Comparative Analysis Of Character.Org’S 11 Principles, The Jubilee Centre Character Education Framework For Schools, And Primed For Character Education, Liliana Borrero

Dissertations

Abstract

Character education is widely recognized as an essential component of schooling; however, it lacks a coherent framework that draws on the shared conceptual ground underlying the current dominant frameworks. This qualitative study systematically compared three influential character education frameworks: Character.org’s 11 Principles for Schools, the Jubilee Centre’s Framework for Character Education in Schools, and PRIMED for Character Education. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which these frameworks converge and diverge in their conceptualizations of effective character education and to assess the feasibility of integrating their cross-cutting elements into an integrated framework. Using thematic analysis …

Effect Of Virtual Reality Intervention Of Postoperative Pain In Pediatric Surgical Patients, Tara L. Kempker

Dissertations

Problem: Pediatric surgical procedures are associated with preoperative anxiety. Preoperative anxiety is associated with higher postoperative pain. Multiple studies have found that decreasing preoperative anxiety using Virtual Reality (VR) Intervention also decreases postoperative pain scores and use of rescue analgesics in postoperative care units (PACU). However, there is no standardized protocol for use of VR interventions and in our institution, VR was not utilized at all.

Methods: This quality improvement (QI) initiative utilized a quasi-experimental design and convenience sampling. Quantitative data was collected during visits for scheduled operative visits for pediatric surgical patients ages seven to 18 years …

Sleep Disturbances Affect Sleep Quality Of Hospitalized Adults, Tonjia Hardesty

Dissertations

Abstract

Background: Sleep disturbances affect the quality of sleep hospitalized adults experience, possibly extending patient recovery time. Treatment of insomnia frequently includes pharmacological interventions exposing patients to potential side effects, leading to negative patient outcomes.  The purpose of this project was to determine if a sleep hygiene toolkit including eye masks, earplugs, advocacy cards, and removal of nicotine patches at bedtime would improve patient sleep quality without use of pharmacological interventions.

Methods: A descriptive observational design was used in this quality improvement (QI) project. A convenience sample of 37 (N =37) participants over the age of 18 years and …

Psychotropic Medication Use In Older Adults In A Long-Term Care Facility: Implications For Screening Tool, Callie M. Johnson

Dissertations

Psychotropic medication use in older adults aged 65 years and older residing in the long-term care facility has a complex issue in the high use of psychotropic medications. Older adults residing  in long-term care (LTC) facilities are affected and prescribed at least one psychotropic or antidepressant medication.

Enhancing Well-Being: Implementing Weekly Social Interventions For Older Adults In Independent Living, Rosa Huang

Dissertations

Loneliness and social isolation significantly impact the physical and mental well-being of older adults. This quality improvement project implemented an eight-week social intervention designed to reduce loneliness and enhance well-being through weekly sessions incorporating mindfulness exercises, gratitude journaling, and structured socialization activities. The intervention was delivered by nursing students to a sample of residents in a Midwestern independent living community. While most standardized measures of loneliness and mood did not show statistically significant changes, the project resulted in a statistically significant increase in social network engagement as measured by the Lubben Social Network Scale-6 (LSNS-6). The findings suggest that group-based …

America The Monstrous: The Birth Of American Horror Fiction In The Long Nineteenth Century, Rachel Kietzman

Dissertations

American gothic works that center the affect of horror explore themes of abjection, inhumanity, and monstrosity that impede a coherent expression of American identity. By approaching these works through the lens of horror rather than only as Gothic works, a picture ofa visceral, embodied becoming takes shape: America is a monstrous birth in the most literal sense of the word, a sign and demonstration that unity and uniformity are not the same, that wholeness does not require conformity, and that political choices are paid for in flesh. In short, American horror fiction is the head of Medusa, an apotropaic sign …

The Mental Health Of Athletes: Channeling Frustration, Aggression, Internal/External Behaviors In The Real World To Improve Performance, Jabari Johnson

Dissertations

This qualitative study examined how college athletes, 18 years and older, experience and interpret internalizing behaviors and externalizing behaviors within contact and non-contact sports, and how those experiences are shaped by gender, racial/ethnic background, and socioeconomic status. The study addressed a gap in the literature by centering athletes’ own perspectives on how emotions, coping, identity, and performance intersect within collegiate sport contexts. A purposive sample of 12 athletes completed a demographic questionnaire and participated in semi-structured interviews conducted in person between December 2025 and February 2026. Interview transcripts were deidentified and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s …

Toward Intentional Praxis: A Design Thinking Multi-Case Study Of Cognitive-Constructive Toolkit Implementation In An Elementary Professional Learning Community, Azam Nathaniel

Dissertations

Among several learning theories that were dynamic and constantly evolving with time, cognitive and constructive theories were predominant in the field of education. However, these theories often included overlapping and contrasting concepts, contributing to confusion in terminology among teachers and limited explicit use in instructional practice. Within the context of K-12 education, teachers demonstrated conceptual awareness of cognitive and constructive learning theories; however, the theories were not a part of day-to-day conversations and were minimally identified in practice. Instead, the theories were implicitly applied as teachers balanced competing professional responsibilities, including daily routines, syllabus requirements, district standards, new initiatives, differentiated …

Neural Correlates Of Anger Rumination To A Personal Event And Subsequent Changes In Working Memory, Mairin Claire Madison Cotter

Dissertations

Rumination is a maladaptive coping strategy that is associated with the emergence and maintenance of several psychological disorders and related symptomatology and thus has been proposed as a transdiagnostic risk factor. Recent work has focused on patterns of brain activation during rumination to sadness; however, less is known about brain activation patterns in response to anger-inducing events and how anger rumination may influence working memory. This study sought to identify potential neurophysiological correlates (through electroencephalography; EEG) of anger rumination, examine how anger rumination subsequently impacts working memory performance, and determine whether neurophysiological correlates of anger rumination are associated with working …

An Untapped Resource: Exploring The Role Of Spirituality In The Psychological Healing Of African Asylum-Seekers From A Counselor’S Perspective, Brittany A. Duncan

Dissertations

This qualitative study explored how counselors perceive and integrate spirituality into the psychological healing of African asylum-seekers, a population facing compounded cultural, legal, and existential challenges. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, the study examined the lived experiences of eight counselors working with this population. Findings revealed that counselors’ personal sense of religion influenced their comfort and approach in broaching spiritual topics, with both positive (e.g., spirituality as a source of support and community) and negative (e.g., religion as a source of suffering) associations shaping clinical engagement. Many participants reported limited access to trainings geared towards increasing their cultural competence related to …

Don't Force Me To Explain: Rethinking Access Outside Of Compulsory Transparency, Rhea Ienni

Dissertations

My dissertation is concerned with better understanding the barriers disabled people encounter while attempting to procure access both at the institutional level, and in their everyday lives. Within disability and accessibility literature, there are many discourses on what disability is and what access means. However, there are few people who explore the harmful consequences of disabled people being forced to “prove” they are disabled to an ableist world to get their basic needs met, and my dissertation intervenes in this gap. Within current US policy, if a disabled person requires access support at the institutional level, they must provide medical …

A Qualitative Study Of Gratitude Practice Among Won Buddhist Older Adults And Implications For Gerontological Social Work, Sungsim Lee

Dissertations

Although gratitude has been widely studied in social science, existing scholarship has largely relied on Western worldviews and quantitative research frameworks, limiting understanding of lived gratitude experiences within diverse spiritual and cultural contexts, including Eastern spiritual traditions. In Won Buddhism, originating in South Korea, gratitude holds a central place in spiritual life and is understood as an essential practice. This qualitative study explores the views of Won Buddhist older adult practitioners regarding their experiences, benefits, and challenges of engaging in spiritually grounded gratitude practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 practitioners aged 65 and older from English-speaking Won Buddhist communities. …

Being Desi At School: Exploring The Racialized School Experiences Of South Asian American Youth, Prabha Kaundinya

Dissertations

Schools in America have been central areas for racialization, and as an immigrant, racial-ethnic minority population, South Asian American (SAA) students have been subjected to a variety of racialization processes (S. J. Lee et al., 2017; Rice, 2017, 2019; Subedi, 2013). However, what is known about SAA educational experiences is often based on celebratory stereotypes that proclaim their uniform success while neglecting attention towards the diversity of their needs (including academic, social-emotional, or mental health needs; Saran, 2015; Ngo & Lee, 2007; P. Patel & Patel, 2017; Pedraza & Guillaume, 2023; N. Sharma et al., 2020). This dissertation uses a …

Responsive Rigor And Strategic Care: Faculty Praxis For Holistic Student Success In The Community College, Jennifer Elizabeth Kelley

Dissertations

This qualitative study examines how community college faculty conceptualize, communicate, and enact academic rigor and care in their teaching practice. While post-pandemic debates have positioned rigor and care as opposing forces—evident in the "Rigor Wars" that framed care as performative laxity and rigor as gatekeeping—community college faculty successfully integrate these practices to support holistic student success. This research addresses critical gaps in higher education scholarship, which has studied rigor and care separately, focused primarily on four-year institutions, and overlooked faculty perspectives on how integration occurs in practice. Drawing on a single-case study of 38 faculty members at a large Midwestern …

Jesus-Centered Preaching: A Christocentric Approach Based On The Hermeneutical Implications Of The Gospels As Βίοι., Mark Palmer

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to discover the implied hermeneutic of the Gospels as βίοι and to propose a congruent homiletic. The study addressed the following research questions: What is the genre of the Gospels and the resulting hermeneutic? Does current Christ-centered preaching account for his hermeneutic? Does Christological research account for intrinsic characteristics? What is the intrinsic Christology of Mark’s Gospel? What homiletical process is needed to align with the genre-based hermeneutic of the Gospels? The methodology of this study followed a four-step process: Genre research confirming the Gospels as βίοι, Christological research including the development of an …

Using Design Thinking To Support Teacher Confidence In Delivering Culturally Relevant Literacy Instruction To Address Literacy Achievement Gaps, Amy Winters

Dissertations

Despite comprehensive efforts over the years, literacy rates in the United States continued to decline, particularly among students from disadvantaged populations. The literacy achievement gap was driven by socioeconomic disparities, inadequate teacher preparation, and a lack of access to evidence-based, culturally relevant materials. In the Main School District (MSD), the scholar practitioner identified while interventions existed, inconsistencies in literacy instruction and a lack of teacher confidence in delivering culturally responsive instruction hindered student progress. The dissertation in practice focused on addressing issues in literacy instruction and achievement while highlighting ways to meet teachers’ needs and provide means to engage all …