Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Type Of Recall On Memory Accuracy In An Eyewitness Case Vignette, Ketura Mccroy

Dissertations

Memory and recall play an essential role in determining convictions in cases of eyewitness testimony. Eyewitnesses can appear confident in their statements, yet one’s memory and recall of a witnessed event can become distorted or manipulated in the process given that it is highly susceptible to various errors, biases, and misleading information such as suggestive questions. The purpose of this study was to further examine how two types of recall (i.e., cued and free) effect eyewitness testimony. In this study, 43 participants read a hypothetical case vignette of a murder crime scene; they were then randomly put into either a …

Culturally Adapted Multiphasic Treatment Program: A Proposed Model For Increasing Successful Community Reintegration For Sex-Trafficked Black Teens, Shayla A. Wright

Dissertations

The commercial sex trafficking industry is a silent epidemic that has been sweeping across nations for centuries. Within the United States, Black teen girls make up the largest demographic of commercially sexually exploited children. Despite efforts, most treatment interventions and programs have limited success in preventing or reintegrating Black teen girls into their respective communities. Even more alarming, most treatment interventions do not consider the impact of culture and other lived experiences. This critical literature review identified and evaluated effective treatment modalities and programs for Black teens and discussed key components that
have been found for community reintegration. The research …

Impact Of Covid-19 On Latinx And Black Communities, Carolina Zuluaga

Dissertations

This critical literature review project explored the impact of COVID-19 on Latinx and Black communities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of September 28, 2022, around 16% of COVID-19 cases in the United States were among Latinx people, and 14% of cases were among Black people (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). Since COVID-19 began, clinicians have become more conscious of the effects of health disparities within racial and ethnic minorities, which has warranted increased advocacy by educating health and mental health providers and creating and providing resources to these communities and clinicians. The review …

Assessing The Risk, Addressing The Need: A Mixed Method Approach To Designing A Strengths-Based, Post-Incarceration, Correctional Assessment For Women, Rashonda Johnson

Dissertations

Women are the fastest-growing segment of the incarcerated population, steadily increasing since 1985 (ACLU, n.d.). More than one million women are behind bars or have some involvement with the criminal justice system. The rapid growth of incarceration among women has led scholars and researchers to address the growing needs and risk levels that lead to increased recidivism rates. The creation of assessment tools specifically focused on female populations began in 1999. However, before this time, instruments were historically designed for men within the criminal justice system, and addendums were added to these tools to be used with female populations (Voorhis …

Heal The Hood: An Exploration Of Community And Organizational Assets In Chicago's Twentieth Ward, Jasmine James

Dissertations

This study seeks to expand upon Empowerment Theory (Rappaport, 1984) by utilizing Asset Based Community Development to better understand what community members and organizations deem as current strengths and needs of Chicago’s twentieth ward. The questions that this dissertation explores are What strengths exist in Chicago's 20th ward that can lead to empowerment for the community and What are community members' perspectives on what is needed in the 20th ward for community members to thrive? In order to explore these questions, this dissertation moves away from the terminology of “community needs assessment” and chooses to rather focus on Asset Based …

Ai Approaches To Understand Human Deceptions, Perceptions, And Perspectives In Social Media, Chih-Yuan Li

Dissertations

Social media platforms have created virtual space for sharing user generated information, connecting, and interacting among users. However, there are research and societal challenges: 1) The users are generating and sharing the disinformation 2) It is difficult to understand citizens' perceptions or opinions expressed on wide variety of topics; and 3) There are overloaded information and echo chamber problems without overall understanding of the different perspectives taken by different people or groups.

This dissertation addresses these three research challenges with advanced AI and Machine Learning approaches. To address the fake news, as deceptions on the facts, this dissertation presents Machine …

Pbm And Dem Simulations Of Large-Scale Closed-Circuit Continuous Ball Mill Of Cement Clinker, Nontawat Muanpaopong

Dissertations

Cement milling is known to be inefficient and energy-intensive. Thus, even small improvements in cement milling's performance could significantly reduce operation costs. This dissertation aims to develop a simulation tool for dry milling and generate a fundamental process understanding, which enables process optimization. To this end, a true unsteady-state simulator (TUSSIM) for continuous dry milling is developed and applied to model various processes: (a) open circuit continuous mills, (b) closed-circuit continuous mills, and (c) vertical roller mills. TUSSIM is based on the solution of the cell-based population balance model (PBM) for continuous milling, which consists of a set of differential …

Development Of Novel Nanocarbon Based Materials And Membranes With Enhanced Biocidal Capabilities For Clean Water Generation, Indrani Gupta

Dissertations

Water scarcity is one of the major challenges facing humanity today, driven by population growth, economic development, and dietary shifts towards more water-intensive animal products. To address this issue, efficient water resource management and recycling of wastewater are essential. However, around 80% of wastewater globally is discharged into water bodies without treatment, posing a risk to ecosystems and human health. Pathogens, or harmful microorganisms, are a primary cause of water impairment and the transmission of waterborne diseases, leading to increased mortality rates. Traditional methods of treating pathogens involve the use of radiation or chemical disinfectants. Nonetheless, these methods have drawbacks, …

Male Nursing Students In The Community College And The Struggle To Completion, Geri Brewer

Dissertations

Despite significant contributions to healthcare made by male nurses throughout the centuries, nursing is a female-dominated profession, creating challenges for male nursing students. The problem addressed in this study was that male nursing students experience challenges that impede their success toward completing their urban Midwest community college nursing program. Guided by the nursing undergraduate retention and success model, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore male nursing students' perceptions of the challenges they face that impede their success and their recommendations for the supports they need to overcome these challenges within two urban Midwest community college nursing …

Nurse Practitioner's Perspectives On Human Trafficking In The Emergency Department; A Narrative Inquiry, Ann Gerhart

Dissertations

Background: Human trafficking (HT) is a global and domestic concern that impacts individuals, families, and communities. Over the last ten years, HT has become a significant public health concern intersecting with the health care community in various settings. HT abuse and oppression have both short- and long-term health consequences. Approximately 50 to 88% of trafficked individuals visit a health care provider, and 63% of those visits are evaluated in the emergency department (ED). Nurse practitioners (NPs) working in the ED interact with HT individuals but have not been represented in recent research scholarship.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative …

Mantram For Mamas: A Pilot Study For Postpartum Women, Ritamarie Smedile

Dissertations

Objective: This pilot study launched an online Mantram Repetition Program (oMRP) using a virtual health portal that aimed to explore online portal accessibility, oMRP acceptance, and overall interface satisfaction among a sample of postpartum women.

Background: Postpartum depression remains one of the most common and severe childbirth complications, affecting more than 13% of women during the first three months after childbirth. Cognitive or behavioral talk therapy sessions and medication are the most frequently recommended treatments to alleviate symptoms. Although effective, women tend not to enroll or adhere to these modalities, suggesting they need alternative treatment plans. A possible alternative, mirroring …

Anxiety And Agitation In Adult Patients Admitted To An Emergency Room During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Doris L. Asombrado

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective correlational study was to identify the relationship between COVID-19 status and the prevalence of anxiety-agitation with select sociodemographic and clinical characteristics in adults admitted to the ED during the pandemic (03/01/2020 through 12/31/2020).

Background: COVID-19 infections combined with the WHO and CDC recommendations to mitigate spread have had deleterious psychosocial and economic outcomes with the risk of subsequent COVID-19 related mental illness. Studies indicate one in three adults experience anxiety or depression.

Methods: This retrospective correlational study reviewed 2,572 psychiatric admissions from a Southern California ED during the pandemic from March 1, 2020 through …

Relationship Between Social Support And Stress In Accelerated Nursing Students, Karen L. Bravo

Dissertations

Nursing program attrition rates and retention rates in the first year of professional practice are excessive due to stress. Investigating through this quantitative, correlative research study is due to the lack of information related to accelerated students and stress. Theories framing this study, the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, and Triadic Reciprocal Determinism Theory, posit that the environment, whether internal or external, affects stress reactions. The research questions included relationships of Significant Other Support, Family Support, and Friend Support to Perceived Stress Score in a two-part online survey of 116 United States participants.

The Influence Of Childhood Familial Dysfunction On Emotional Well-Being And Substance Use Behaviors In Young Adults, Margaret Bullerjahn

Dissertations

Problematic substance use in young adulthood can lead to a variety of societal and individual consequences; therefore, it is important to understand risk factors contributing to its development. Although several individual and environmental factors can contribute to the development of substance misuse, the relationship between family dysfunction and emotional functioning in the prediction of substance use has been relatively understudied within this developmental period. The current study aimed to further understand how childhood family dysfunction, emotion regulation, and emotion reactivity aid in the development of young adult substance misuse. 405 young adults were surveyed about their childhood family experiences, current …

Nursing Students' Intention To Work With The Elderly After Graduation: A Qualitative Study, Terri Murabito

Dissertations

America's population is aging. More than one in five Americans will be over 65 by 2030. These numbers are expected to challenge existing healthcare systems. The recruitment and retention of qualified, competent registered nurses (RNs) to care for this vulnerable population have become urgent. However, undergraduate baccalaureate nurses consistently report geriatric nursing as the least preferred clinical area to in work after graduation. To understand how graduating nurses discern their career intentions, a basic qualitative study was undertaken using Ajzen's theory of planned behavior as an underlying theoretical framework. The purpose of the study was to understand and interpret nursing …

The Experience Of "Doing Well" In Older Nursing Home Residents: Bringing The Past To The Present, Ronald J. Walent

Dissertations

Though discussions of well-being and quality of life for older adults in American nursing homes have flourished over the past decade, relatively few studies have explored these notions from the perspective of older residents themselves. The purpose of this research is to understand experiences and perceptions of "doing well" in older nursing home residents.

Racism Without Race: The Racialization Of Middle Eastern And North African Students At U.S. Colleges, Hannah Mesouani

Dissertations

Although a growing body of literature covers the experiences of international students at U.S. colleges, the stories of those who do not fit into the U.S. racial schema remain untold. This study examined how Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) students understood their racial identities given the United States’ tense history with Islam and the MENA world. Using foundational texts on critical race theory, current scholarship on Arab Americans and foreign-born students, and facets of the Ethnic Identity Scale (EIS), this study examined the experiences of MENA students who study amid a national backdrop of xenophobia and racialized Islamophobia. This …

The Journeys Of Women In Local Elected Office: From Community Engagement To Making Meaningful Contributions, Andrea Marr

Dissertations

Women remain underrepresented across every level of elected office in the United States. More than 30 years after the supposed “Year of the Woman,” women hold less than 30% of the elected positions in local, state, and federal office. In the past, researchers attributed the paucity of women in office to structural barriers, including sexism in the electorate, fundraising difficulties, and discrimination by party gate keepers. A growing body of research, however, attributes the dearth of female politicians to a lack of political ambition among women and to gender socialization that prevents women from seeing themselves as political leaders.

The …

Special Education: Inclusion And Exclusion In The K-12 U.S. Educational System, Erik Brault

Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Education defines students with disabilities as those having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities. Previous research has found that students with disabilities placed in inclusive environments perform better academically and socially compared to students with disabilities who are placed in segregated environments. Yet, we know that inclusion in K-12 general education classrooms across the country is not consistently implemented.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the effects, if any, of general education high school teachers’ personal and professional experiences and knowledge on their attitudes toward educating …

Queering Healthcare Equity: Exploring How Two Community Health Centers That Specialize In Lgbtq Healthcare Frame Cultural Competence, Tommy Royston

Dissertations

Despite increased advocacy and funding, significant inequities in healthcare access, quality of care, and health outcomes have continued to persist for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ) communities. Intersecting marginalized identities such as race, gender, and disability compound health inequities faced by LGBTQ folx. These inequities are not random; rather, they result from deeply embedded homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and racism that pervade the U.S. healthcare system. An exploratory comparative case study was completed using qualitative data collection methods (i.e., key informant interviews, focus groups, and document analysis) to investigate how two California-based Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) that specialize in …

Safeguarding From Scrutiny: Toward A Critical Consciousness Of Organizational Culture In Humanitarian Ngos, Andrew Henck

Dissertations

Humanitarian nongovernmental organizations (HNGOs) face a moment of reckoning brought on by decades of operational complexity and conceptual tensions between self-espoused values and external pressures as social change movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter demand organizational accountability. Humanitarian aid is being questioned systematically as most HNGOs continue reconciling with their colonialist origin stories from the Global North. Alongside a shrinking British foreign aid budget, and mounting pressures for proving value for money, HNGOs face a record number of natural disasters, energy crises, armed conflicts, and other major emergencies to respond to across the globe.

As the British aid sector …

Resistencia Indocumentada: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Higher Education Undocumented Students In The San Diego-Tijuana Border Region, Adan Escobedo Sanchez

Dissertations

Undocumented students face myriad obstacles while attending higher education institutions that would deter them from completing their academic journeys. Furthermore, they are placed with a dual narrative that labels them as either dangerous or exceptional. This study explored the lived experiences of undocumented students in college in the San Diego-Tijuana border region to consider what factors have led to resilience and resistance in their academic journey. By understanding these factors, the research aimed to tackle the dual narrative that burdens undocumented students from the illegality as a master status they possess.

This study used narrative inquiry and a literature review …

Covid-19 Pandemic: Lived Experiences Of Teachers Supporting Students’ Socialemotional Learning Needs Upon Returning To Face-To-Face Instruction, Valerie Cover

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of San Bernardino County elementary school teachers in supporting students' social-emotional learning needs upon returning to face-to-face instruction after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methodology: This phenomenological study identified and described San Bernardino County elementary school teachers' experiences supporting students' social-emotional needs upon returning to face-to-face instruction after the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were purposively chosen based on specific criteria of working in a public kindergarten through sixth grade setting within San Bernardino County. The participants answered 15 semi-structured questions. The transcribed data collected by the researcher during the …

Nursing Education In Complementary Alternative Modalities: A Case Study, Deborah Bird

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this embedded case study was to describe the preparation for and utilization of complimentary alternative modality (CAM) interventions by an experienced Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) prepared nurse practitioner (NP) working in an outpatient setting.

Background: Given the widespread use of CAM by the American public and the potential complications involved in combining CAM and standard medical care, a lack of educational preparation in CAM interventions by NPs delivering primary care in outpatient health care settings represents both a potential risk and a missed opportunity to provide holistic patient care. Such a lack of knowledge also …

Relationship Of Vulnerability To Coercive Control And Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv) Among Latinas, Susan D. Watson

Dissertations

IPV is the most common cause of violence-related injury to women in the United States and greater than one-third of all female homicide victims in the U.S. were killed by the victims' husband or partner. Nationally, intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a public health issue, and internationally gender inequality is the number one human rights issue. In addition to risk factors identified among multicultural samples, characteristics that increase Latina vulnerability to IPV may relate to the specific cultural scripts between partners that are expected and supported within Latino culture.

From Childhood Through Adulthood To Godhood: Trodding The African Ancestral Path To Become A Shining Star Of Ourstory, Salim Kenyatta

Dissertations

This autoethnographic narrative examines the importance of conceiving and sharing liberating stories, and participating in independent communal training processes that advance young African American males' psychosocial and mental development. To bring my analyses to light, I applied the foundational frameworks of African Worldview and Critical Race Theory to my research to uncover many of the influences that helped me evolve from boyhood (nescient) to manhood (laborer) and later to Godhood (master who is in union with all).

Employing the autoethnographic methodology enabled me to share key points in my educational journey, which propelled my transformation. This contemplative engagement was a …

Growth Mindset: Exploration Of Career Development, Employee Engagement, And Disparity Among Working Professionals, Dillon Harper

Dissertations

A large body of literature has explored the beneficial impact of adopting a growth mindset and its relationship with academic performance. While the literature has provided many valuable findings as it pertains to academic settings, there is a gap in understanding growth mindset’s influence in the workplace as well as understanding if growth mindset’s effect is different for individuals who come from marginalized communities. This study aimed to close the gap by investigating if growth mindset is a predictor of higher work engagement in working professionals. Findings indicated that growth mindset is not a predictor of work engagement among working …

Post-Racism As Ideology: Character Construction And Placement, & Narrative Structure In Dear White People, Mphatso Kaufulu

Dissertations

My project looks at post-racism as ideology. Through my chosen text – the Netflix streamed television series called Dear White People – I examine the ways in which post-racism is persists through representational abstractions which reformulate race as largely sets of interpersonal and intercultural, person-to-person social problems rather that a more general condition rooted in institutional or structural social, political and economic arrangements which organize society and produce its cultural dispensation.

To do this, I applied some of Stuart Hall’s ideas – on identity, ideology and commodification – and Bonilla-Silva – specifically in the area of obfuscations or abstractions of …

An Examination Of Organizational Influences On Coach Decision Making, Arien Elizabeth Faucett

Dissertations

Sport coaching occurs in an ambiguous, complex, and dynamic environment bounded by rules, structures, and traditions unique to the context in which it occurs (ICCE et al., 2013; Jones & Wallace, 2005; Nash & Collins, 2006). Coaching is therefore not only pedagogical in nature but also features social and political elements (Abraham & Collins, 2011) focused on athlete development within a specific social and organizational context (ICCE et al., 2013). At the heart of this coaching practice is a constant process of decision-making (Abraham et al., 2006; Lyle & Vergeer, 2013; Vergeer & Lyle, 2009). However, research on the decision-making …

Social Media Usage And Self-Esteem: The Moderating Role Of Media Literacy, Comparison Tendency, And User Motivation, Feng Li

Dissertations

Studies on Facebook and Twitter have shown that social media usage negatively influences individuals’ self-esteem. Many scholars believe media literacy could help reduce this negative impact. Social comparison tendencies and user motivations may also influence this dynamic. The current study is designed to test the moderation effects of media literacy, comparison tendency, and user motivation influencing WeChat Moments usage on individuals’ self-esteem. A group of Chinese college students (N= 299) participated in an online survey. Results show no negative association between WeChat Moments usage and self-esteem. Media literacy only negatively moderates this effect among those who reported having 20-50 friends. …