Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluating The Active Learning Experience Of Prelicensure Nursing Students By Role And Level In Simulation, Delisa Flynn

Dissertations

As the complexity of healthcare continues to grow, it is essential that nursing graduates enter the workforce with strong clinical judgment, confidence, and practice readiness. Simulation is an active learning strategy that creates a realistic, hands-on experiences for learners. Despite its widespread use, the impact of simulation roles within a simulated experience (participant versus observer) on student engagement remains unclear, particularly across different levels of nursing education. This study investigated differences in active learning engagement among sophomore and senior prelicensure nursing students (N = 161) based on their assigned role in a high-fidelity simulation scenario. Grounded in Kolb’s Experiential Learning …

Adolescent Social Media Use And Complete Mental Health: Examining The Intersections Of Identity, Social-Emotional Skills, And Social Support, Reese Hyzer

Dissertations

Social media and technology use have become ubiquitous for today’s adolescents. With the rise in technology use, mental health disorder diagnoses have also increased. Despite the increase in concern for both adolescent social media use and mental health, many schools, parents, and youth service clinicians do not have the knowledge or resources to intervene effectively. The current study explores two research questions. The first is to evaluate the moderating effect of social-emotional skills and social support on the relationship between social media use and mental health through structural equation modeling (SEM). The second research question is to explore whether this …

The Effects Of Targeted Interventions On Student Engagement With Feedback: A Meta-Analysis, Andy A. Accettola

Dissertations

ABSTRACT This meta-analysis examines the effects of classroom interventions aimed at enhancing student engagement with feedback in K–12 and higher education settings. Drawing on the framework developed by Winstone et al. (2017), interventions were categorized into four major feedback engagement categories and 14 subcomponents. A systematic review identified eligible experimental studies published between 2014 and 2023, each reporting outcomes relevant to student feedback engagement. Effect sizes were calculated using standardized mean differences, and subgroup analyses explored the relative influence of intervention categories, subcomponents, and moderators. Findings from this meta-analysis indicate that targeted interventions to enhance student engagement with feedback generally …

Competency Alignment And Competency-Based Education In Higher Education: Institutional Perspectives From Illinois’ Early Childhood Workforce Initiatives, Erika Gustafson Dietz

Dissertations

Competency-based education (CBE) has gained attention as a model for expanding access to postsecondary education and aligning workforce preparation with industry needs. In Illinois, state-supported initiatives have sought to integrate competency alignment into professional development and higher education programs for the early childhood workforce. This mixed-methods study examines how postsecondary ECE programs in Illinois are implementing CBE, the extent to which competency alignment influences program design, and how institutional leaders and faculty perceive CBE adoption. Findings indicate that while state-supported initiatives have increased institutional engagement with competency alignment, CBE adoption remains partial and selective rather than fully transformative. Programs are …

Perverse Convergences: Aelred Of Rievaulx And The Queerness Of Waiting, Zaccary A. Haney

Dissertations

ABSTRACT Using Aelred of Rievaulx’s (1110-1167) treatise Spiritual Friendship and his fundamental insight, “God is friendship,” this dissertation seeks to understand how the divine arrives woven into the dynamics of human relationships. I bring together social media research, critical theories of language, queer phenomenology, queer temporalities, and liberation theologies into a cross-temporal erotic narrative between Aelred and me. The first part establishes the imaginative distemporal space of Sodom, based on a shared homosexual identity. It critiques historical and theological disciplines as familiarizing discourses that compel arrivals of the other through structures authentication and the social magic of professionalization. In the …

The Influence Of Defects: Oxidation Of Non-Planar Transition Metal Model Catalysts, Maxwell Gillum

Dissertations

Metal-catalyzed oxidation reactions are a major application of heterogeneous catalysis and are a widely applied synthetic route for the production of chemicals and reagents essential to modern society. However, as the intricacies of heterogeneous surface catalysis are slowly being unraveled, minute details of the catalytic environment have been revealed to play outsized roles in the catalytic activity of the surface. The experiments herein further investigate the interplay between surface geometry and the formation oxygen-induced surface structures. Understanding how defects influence surface reactivity is a necessary step in gaining the ability to accurately model heterogeneous catalytic environments. Two different aspects of …

Special Education Disproportionality In Illinois: What Are We Doing?, Kaelyn Chanel Green

Dissertations

This mixed-methods study examined special education disproportionality in Illinois to determine current trends, root causes, and responses to significant disproportionality as reflected in Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS) plans. Quantitatively, repeated measures analyses of risk ratios over a five-year span revealed that although many districts had reduced overall risk ratios, racial and disability-based disparities persisted. Qualitatively, inductive content analysis of 32 CCEIS plans identified four primary root causes—deficiencies in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Response to Intervention (RTI), inadequate Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) supports, cultural and linguistic barriers, and vague or misaligned problem statements. Most action plans …

How School Psychologists Narrow The Socioeconomic Opportunity Gap: The Practices And Beliefs Of School Psychologists In High-Performing, High-Poverty Schools, Nora Durgin

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the practices and beliefs of school psychologists working in high-performing, high-poverty (HP/HP) schools in order to make recommendations for how their practices can be replicated in other high-poverty schools to help narrow the socioeconomic opportunity gap. Results indicate that school psychologists engage in the major professional activities of school psychology practice to a similar degree as is documented in the existing literature. Despite relatively lower levels of engagement in delivering mental and behavioral health services, school psychologists view the practice to be highly impactful on students’ academic achievement. The school-wide activities commonly …

Philosophical Purification As Liberation And Transformation, Lachanda C. Davis

Dissertations

This study utilizes Plato’s conception of purification as a diagnostic tool to examine contemporary issues of police brutality and political violence. Within this context, I aim to treat the multiple tensions that arise with the question of living a good life. What does it mean to live and what does it mean to live a good life within constraints that magnify fear, anxiety, and despair? I argue that philosophical purification involves ‘aporia’ (perplexity; difficulty; confusion; loss; or puzzlement) in both a literal and generative sense. Moreover, the multiple aporias that arise cannot be reconciled by merely performing a religious rite …

The Development And Validation Of The Measure Of Critical Reflection, Yea Jin Chang

Dissertations

Critical reflection, a component of critical consciousness, is defined as a metacognitive ability that is engaged when identifying, critiquing, and transforming social oppression. This study developed and validated the Measure of Critical Reflection, with items that assess participants’ cognitive ability to critically reflect and are framed to be generalizable across time and social contexts. Items were generated through literature review and interviews with critical consciousness educators and data was collected across two samples for factor structure analysis (N = 300) and replication and validation (N = 286). Results confirmed that a unidimensional model was most appropriate to represent the data …

Investigating Queer Asians' Accultrative Resilience And Wellbeing, Yiyu Cheng

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role of resilience factors in moderating the effects of acculturative stress on the well-being of queer Asian Americans. A total of 181 survey responses were collected from queer-identified Asian Americans over the age of 18 residing in the United States. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, this study explores three models incorporating two identity resilience factors (ethnic identity salience and queer identity salience), two community resilience factors (ethnic community support and queer community support), and two intersectional resilience factors (queer Asian identity salience and queer Asian community support). Well-being was assessed through life satisfaction, negative affect, and …

“Buying Time Or Doing Harm?”: Tracing Contestation And Consensus In Debates On Puberty Blockers For Trans Youth, Dana R. Lavergne

Dissertations

The use of hormone blockers and other forms of gender affirming medical care for trans youth has emerged as a site of medical and political contestation, with 26 states passing legislation outlawing their use (Movement Advancement Project, 2024). Drawing from a multiple-methods approach, this dissertation examines the ways in which this contestation emerged and has been framed both in political case law and digital spaces, which a specific attunement toward how medical discourse is used to support arguments calling for either the allowance or ban of hormone blockers. This dissertation highlights the ways in which the families of trans youth …

Drawing The Curtain: A Grounded Theory Analysis Of The Conceptualizations Of Culture, Ethnicity And Race In Professional Training Materials For Child Life Certification, Kia Lee Ferrer

Dissertations

Objectives: Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) are pediatric healthcare professionals primarily working in hospital settings to support children and families in navigating the developmental challenges of hospitalization, illness, and enduring medical treatment. Recognizing the presence of racial and ethnic health disparities, coupled with the field’s notable lack of diversity (98% White female), the child life workforce is increasingly acknowledging the undeniable evidence that discriminatory behaviors adversely affect a child’s life and well-being. As advances in the social sciences increasingly reveal that discrimination functions as a "socially transmitted disease" in a child's life, I predict that the failure of child life …

The Beloved Disciple In Performance, Eric Christian Zito

Dissertations

This project aims to reconsider the Fourth Gospel’s Beloved Disciple from the standpoint of biblical performance criticism, an approach that takes seriously the likelihood that most first-century audiences would have encountered the Fourth Gospel by means of performance rather than private reading. The dissertation considers: 1) what difference the medium makes in a first-century reception of John’s Gospel, and 2) how early audiences would have been shaped by the discipleship model portrayed by the unnamed Beloved Disciple in a performance setting. Against the current of mainstream scholarship, I argue that the Beloved Disciple is a developing character who epitomizes Johannine …

Parental Autonomy Support And Children’S Affect As Predictors Of Children’S Stem Engagement In An Informal Educational Context, Bianca Martins Aldrich

Dissertations

In this project, we examined relations between parental talk and children’s affect on children’s STEM talk during an engineering-related activity (i.e., tinkering) in a local children’s museum. We characterized children’s affect in terms of valence (positive or negative) and activation (activating or deactivating), and parental talk was characterized as autonomy supportive or directive, as well as STEM-related or not. Parents and their 4- to 10-year-old children were recruited at the entrance of the Tinkering Lab exhibit at Chicago Children’s Museum. Parents and children were video and audio recorded during the activity. We coded parents’ and children’s behaviors using a time-sampling …

Fear Of Victimization, Trust, Security, And Public Spaces In Guatemala, Keyla Navarrete

Dissertations

This dissertation explores fear of victimization, personal encounters with crime, perceptions of institutional trust, support for informal justice practices, and avoidance of spaces in Guatemala. Institutional trust—understood as individuals’ confidence in the police, judiciary, and correctional systems, particularly their fairness and effectiveness—is vital for democratic governance and social stability. High levels of trust in legal institutions can foster civic engagement, reduce social fragmentation, and encourage public cooperation in crime prevention. In contrast, diminished trust may lead individuals to withdraw from formal systems of justice, limiting the state's capacity to function effectively. Utilizing nationally representative data from the National Survey of …

Forgive As We Are Forgiven: Reframing A Trinitarian Model Of Forgiveness In A Post-Genocide Rwanda, Deogratias Mbonyumugenzi

Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to develop a theological model of forgiveness rooted in a relational conception of the Trinity. The central argument of this dissertation is that the model of forgiveness practiced in post-genocide Rwanda and the forgiveness modeled by Jesus, and testified to in the New Testament and developed in the Christian tradition, are good, but not sufficient to address the kind of trauma and human disrepair, as well as the devastation of communities, inflicted by genocide. Rather, a theology of forgiveness modeled on a relational conception of the Trinity and its practical implications for a Trinitarian ecclesiology and anthropology …

Youth And Parent Knowledge And Perceptions Of Spina Bifida: Associations With Neurocognitive Factors, Self-Management, And Quality Of Life, Olivia Emery Clark

Dissertations

Spina bifida (SB) is a common congenital birth defect with multiple and varied medical, physical, and psychological impacts. The objective of these studies is to examine youth and parent condition-related knowledge in the context of SB and associations with executive function, quality of life, and medical self-management. Collectively, these studies examine both qualitative and quantitative multi-informant data from youth with SB, their parents, and their teachers. The first study used growth analyses to examine changes in condition-related knowledge over time, predicted by executive dysfunction and inattention, and predictive of medical self-management skills. The second study used qualitative coding methods to …

Effectiveness Of A Classroom-Based Stress Awareness And Coping Skills Program Among Adolescents From Diverse Backgrounds, Adriane Van Zwoll

Dissertations

The ongoing youth mental health crisis in the United States, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, has highlighted the urgent need for accessible and effective school-based interventions. This dissertation evaluates the effectiveness of Stress Less: Resilience for Success™, a single-session, classroom-based stress awareness and coping skills program implemented by NAMI Metro Suburban in diverse middle and high schools in the western suburbs of Chicago from 2018 to 2024. Using the CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation, this study analyzes secondary data from 7,225 pre-test and post-test surveys and is complemented by qualitative informational interviews with current and former NAMI staff and volunteers …

Situational Safety: Exploring The Relationship Of Environmental Change & Sense Of Belonging For Gsm Students In Academic-Required Internships, Nancy Goldberger

Dissertations

This research focused on recently enrolled undergraduates in programs including an academically required internship that bridges the transition between being a student at an IHE to being a professional in the field. Students who identify as LGBTQIA+ comprise a group referred to as Gender and Sexual Minorities (GSM) (Smalley, et al., 2018). The purpose of this research is to explore differences in the sense of belonging between students who identify as GSM their IHE versus experiences during their internship. The conceptual framework for this study draws on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943), Chickering’s seven vectors of student development (1969), and …

Appearance Over Function - The Impact Of Long-Term Oral Contraceptive Use On Brain Development, Breast Tissue Composition, And Future Lactation Outcomes, Fiona M. Wang

Dissertations

This integrative review examines the long-term effects of combined oral contraceptive (COC) use beginning in puberty on brain development, breast tissue composition, and future breastfeeding outcomes. Puberty is a critical developmental stage during which hormonal changes significantly impact the neurological and reproductive systems. The introduction of synthetic estrogen and progestin through COC use during this time may disrupt natural hormonal pathways, potentially altering neuroendocrine signaling and breast tissue maturation. Such changes may have lasting consequences, including impaired milk production, a weakened milk ejection reflex, disrupted maternal-infant bonding, and reduced overall breastfeeding success. The review synthesizes findings from endocrinology, neuroscience, and …

Challenges In Providing Equitable Education For Primary School Students With Learning Disabilities In Zimbabwe: Teachers’ Experiences., Joyce Madzinga

Dissertations

This study examines the challenges primary school teachers in Zimbabwe face when supporting students with learning disabilities (LDs). Many learners with LDs are excluded from adequate classroom support due to systemic, cultural, and resource limitations. Learning disabilities are often under-recognized as compared to other disabilities because they are invisible. Raising awareness and empowering educators are crucial steps toward addressing these hidden needs and ensuring they are recognized and met. Six teachers were interviewed using a qualitative ethnographic approach. Findings reveal obstacles, including insufficient training in special education, limited teaching resources, high pupil-teacher ratios, negative societal attitudes, and poverty-related constraints. Additional …

The Global Phase Space Of The Three-Vortex Interaction System And Its Application To Vortex-Dipole Scattering, Atul Anurag

Dissertations

This dissertation presents a global reduction of the classical three-vortex problem that is free from coordinate singularities, enabling a comprehensive analysis of the system's dynamics across all circulation regimes.

To achieve this, a two-step symplectic reduction procedure is developed. The first step introduces Jacobi coordinates adapted to the symplectic structure of the vortex system, and the second applies a Lie-Poisson reduction to the resulting system. This formulation eliminates the non-physical singularities associated with collinear vortex configurations and facilitates a global phase space analysis, including a detailed and novel investigation of bifurcations.

Within this reduced framework, all relative fixed points are …

Robust Ai Solutions For Financial Markets Through Generative Modeling, Dynamic Graph Learning, And Reinforcement-Based Portfolio Optimization, Jingyi Gu

Dissertations

Financial markets are inherently uncertain and dynamic, driven by complex factors such as macroeconomic signals, investor sentiment, and evolving inter-asset relationships. While machine learning has advanced financial modeling, existing approaches often fall short in addressing the real-world intricacies of finance. This dissertation confronts two critical challenges, human-driven stochasticity and risk-intensive decision-making under real-world trading constraints, while seizing a pivotal opportunity, the structural dynamics of evolving financial systems. These elements are foundational to advancing robust and practical financial intelligence.

To this end, this dissertation develops a unified framework for robust financial modeling and decision-making. The framework is architected as a progressive, …

Large-Scale Graph Algorithms And Applications With An Emphasis On Fintech Data, Fuhuan Li

Dissertations

Graph algorithms are essential analytical tools with applications spanning cybersecurity, biology, social media, and increasingly, financial technology (FinTech). The complex and interconnected nature of financial data, particularly in cryptocurrency networks, presents unique opportunities for graph-based analysis in fraud detection and anomaly identification.

This dissertation presents the design and implementation of scalable graph algorithms tailored for large-scale networks, with particular emphasis on FinTech applications. The primary contributions include: (1) novel cover-edge based triangle counting algorithms that significantly reduce computational overhead through breadth-first search preprocessing, achieving substantial speedups over traditional methods and dramatic communication reduction in distributed settings, (2) optimized parallel implementations …

Bodipy-Based Photocages For The Controlled Release Of Hydrogen Sulfide And Persulfides, Yanmei Li

Dissertations

Reactive sulfur species (RSS) such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and hydropersulfides (RSSH) are crucial mediators in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Their regulatory roles span from maintaining cellular redox balance to influencing signaling pathways critical for homeostasis and stress responses. This dissertation investigates H2S and RSSH as biologically important molecules and explores the development of boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY)-based photocages for its controlled, light-triggered release. Given H2S and RSSH's critical role in redox regulation and cellular protection, achieving spatiotemporal control over its delivery is essential for both therapeutic and research applications. BODIPY scaffolds offer favorable photophysical properties, including visible-light activation …

Reduced Order Models Of Hydrodynamically Interacting Flapping Wings, Jose Pabon

Dissertations

Fish schools exhibit a collective behavior and self-organization that is mediated by hydrodynamic interactions between individual fish. However, the long-time evolution of hydrodynamically interacting collectives is challenging to investigate due to the persistent influence of long-lived vortical structures, and the high-resolution requirements of direct numerical simulation at large Reynolds numbers. Reduced-order models have therefore played an important role in theoretical investigations of collectives of swimming bodies. The main results detailed herein are several new reduced-order models of swimmers that self-propel by flapping, i.e., by executing a prescribed periodic rigid body motion. The models are extensions of a discrete-time dynamical system …

Harnessing Graphs For Knowledge Representation In Natural Language Processing, Uras Varolgunes

Dissertations

This work proposes innovative methods for integrating domain-specific knowledge into natural language processing tasks through the use of graphs, aiming to enhance the performance of models across various domains, including finance and healthcare. Several novel approaches are proposed that fuse graph structures with modern deep learning techniques, addressing the challenges of missing word embeddings, label prediction, and graph representation learning for large language models.

First, a powerful embedding method built on top of the recent advances in latent graph learning is introduced to address the critical problem of word embedding imputation. Second, a graph-enhanced label attention model designed for medical …

Optimizing Hip And Knee Assistance For Walking And Sit-To-Stand Transitions: An Intrinsic Muscle Mechanics Based Predictive Approach, Neethan Ratnakumar

Dissertations

As the global population ages, the demand for wearable assistive technologies continues to rise, driven by their potential to enhance mobility and independence in older adults. Effectively designed controllers for lower-limb exoskeletons to assist sit-to-stand (STS) and walking are crucial for delivering efficient, safe, and comfortable assistance during daily activities. Traditionally, controller optimization involves biomechanical modeling and user-specific customization. Musculoskeletal simulations play a central role in this process by providing insights into human-exoskeleton interaction dynamics, thereby informing and refining control strategies.

This work presents a simulation-driven approach for developing exoskeleton controllers for walking and STS using two distinct methods: optimal …

Development And Implementation Of Novel Mass Spectrometric Methods For Metabolism Studies In Drug Discoveries, Huifang Yao

Dissertations

The field of drug discovery has evolved significantly over the past few decades, with a growing emphasis on understanding the metabolic pathways and biotransformation processes that influence the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drug candidates. Novel mass spectrometric methods have emerged as powerful tools in this domain, facilitating the comprehensive analysis of metabolic profiles and enabling the identification of metabolites with implications for safety, efficacy, and overall drug development. However, challenges remain in quantifying metabolic flux—an essential aspect of understanding drug action—particularly due to the limitations of traditional isotope kinetic assays, which often involve lengthy sample preparation and the use of …