Digital Commons Network^™

Discrimination Against Veiled Women In The West: Social Isolation, Amina M. Abdallah

Dissertations and Theses

This research examines the discriminatory practices faced by veiled women in the West that impede their integration into their local communities or lead them to feel socially isolated. Societal prejudice and, in some cases, the laws of the land often solidify this isolation of Muslim women and girls from the rest of the world. These victims of social oppression face discrimination based on multiple factors, such as their religion, race, and sex.

This study analyses preconceived notions regarding veiled women, incorporating evidence from seventeen qualitative interviews done with veiled Muslim women residing in the West, particularly the United States, United …

Joint Laughter Between Patient And Therapist: Exploring The Function Of These Moments And Their Relationship To The Working Alliance In Short-Term Psychotherapy, Molly Rappaport

Dissertations and Theses

Laughter emerges in infancy and reflects mutually aroused and regulated positive affect within the caregiver-infant relationship and repeated cycles of shared, co-regulated positive arousal have been shown to play a critical role in fueling secure attachment bond formation and laying the groundwork for the infant’s capacity for affect regulation (Schore, 2003). Throughout life, laughter continues to function as an attachment behavior with the possibility of promoting interpersonal closeness or creating distance. Attitudes toward the role of laughter in psychotherapy vary among psychodynamically-oriented clinicians and research has mostly focused on the kinds of humor and interventions that provoke laughter rather than …

Holistic Treatment: A Qualitative Study Of The Integration Of Chinese Medicine With Psychoanalysis In China, I. Wang

Dissertations and Theses

With its fundamental principle of body-mind unity, Chinese medicine has long been regarded as one of the most influential bedrocks of holistic treatment. Given its prevalence in China, Chinese medicine (CM) is a culturally appropriate way for therapists in China to integrate with psychoanalysis. This qualitative study investigates how Chinese psychotherapists in China with Western psychanalytic backgrounds synthesize the principles and methods of CM into their practice. Further, the barriers and facilitators to the integration are also examined. With a sample of twelve Chinese psychotherapists in China primarily trained at The China American Psychoanalytic Alliance, through semi-structured interviews, therapists' integration …

The Enduring Role Of Conflict In The Perpetuation Of Famine: Advancing 'The Right To Adequate Food' For Sustainable Peace, Robert M. Bane

Dissertations and Theses

The present thesis evaluates developments and trends in global conflict dynamics, global systems of governance, and global hunger. Together, the thesis investigates and upholds the notion that famine is a ‘man-made’ phenomenon and explains how famine persists in a world abundant with food. Through analysis and research the following is found: the occurrence of global conflict is accelerating alongside an increase in the severity of organized violence dynamics; global authoritarianism is expanding presenting a threat to global freedoms and liberal democracy; as these trends are occurring, world hunger is steadily on the rise reflecting a significant backsliding of progress achieved …

Ego-Feeling And Ego-Boundaries: An Examination Of The Work And Legacy Of Paul Federn, Samuel Selinger

Dissertations and Theses

Paul Federn was an important figure in the early development of psychoanalysis. He was, besides Sigmund Freud himself, the only founding member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society who was still a member when the society was disbanded by the Nazis in 1938. He was also an early pioneer in the use of psychoanalysis toward the understanding and treatment of psychosis, and was among the very first to consider the importance of the ego to psychoanalytic understanding of the mind and mental illness. This dissertation examines Federn’s key ideas-- ego-feeling and ego-boundaries-- their influence on later psychoanalytic formulations by Winnicott, Lewin, …

The Relationship Between Discrimination And Alcohol Use Among Latinx College Students In The Context Of Covid-19, Mahtab Tuba

Dissertations and Theses

Latinx are the largest minority group in the United States. Ethnic discrimination is a common experience among this population—especially among young adults. Prior work has suggested an association between discrimination, psychological well-being, and alcohol use. Research has also highlighted that social support may buffer the impact of discrimination upon Latinx mental well- being and alcohol use. The present study investigated the relation between the appraisal of discrimination and alcohol-related outcomes (i.e. frequency of use, binge drinking, alcohol- related consequences and risky behavior) of Latinx college students in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated social support as a moderator …

Effective Mental Health Accommodations For Occupational Therapy Students And Practitioners, Allison Jo Naber

Dissertations and Theses

The process of transitioning from high school to higher education and from academic programs outside of the health sciences to the workplace is documented; however, the transitional experiences of those in the health professions and occupational therapy specifically are less understood. This dissertation research aimed to identify the formal accommodations and informal adaptations occupational therapy students and entry-level practitioners have employed to address their mental health needs as they transition from the classroom to fieldwork or capstone and entry-level practice. The link between empirical literature, theories surrounding transitions, and the Occupational Adaptation Model provided the foundation for this research. This …

The Inclusion Of Rape And Other Non-Consensual Sexual Acts In Self-Insert Fanfiction, Diana Rose Humble

Dissertations and Theses

As the internet grew in popularity, fanfiction followed suit. As of April 2022, there are over 9,188,000 works posted on Archive of Our Own, one of the internet’s most popular fanfiction hosting sites. A large number of the stories posted on this site feature a concept known as self-insert, where an author chooses to write themselves into their own story as a central character. Instead of naming their self-insert characters, many authors will use the tag y/n—meaning “your name”—to expand the fantasy to include all readers. Curiously, a subsect of self-insert fanfiction features rape or non-consensual sexual acts perpetrated against …

Identifying The Impact Of Online Toolkit Training On Paraprofessionals In Two Rural States, Kyle William Laughlin

Dissertations and Theses

The need for more paraprofessionals is growing due to the increasing number of students who are qualifying for specialized educational support. In addition, paraprofessionals have been called upon to provide support in the general education setting in schools. This research study was designed to determine the impact of online paraprofessional training on paraprofessionals’ knowledge and perceived knowledge around supporting students with disabilities. The paraprofessional toolkit was first developed by using survey data and feedback from districts and building administrators, special education and general education teachers, and paraprofessionals. This study helped identify what numerous content areas that resulted in paraprofessionals knowledge …

Biodiversity In Residential Yards For Sustainability In Small Cities: Understanding Public Attitudes, Opportunities And Limitations In Vermillion, Sd, Rina Thapa

Dissertations and Theses

As urban areas are expanding with the growing size of human population, it is increasingly important to understand the role that residential yards can play in biodiversity conservation because they often comprise a large proportion of green spaces in cities. Most of the research performed to date on the role of residential yards in biodiversity conservation has been conducted in large cities. The role of residential yards in biodiversity conservation in small cities is still largely unknown. In this research, I discuss the relationship between biodiversity and the structure of green space, public attitudes towards the presence of wildlife, public …

Antipsychotic Medication Administration In Oregon Assisted Living/Residential Care Settings: Analyzing An Action Situation, Sarah Dys

Dissertations and Theses

Antipsychotic medication use (APU) in assisted living and residential care (AL/RC) settings is an under-studied and controversial health policy issue. APU in older adults with dementia is associated with an increased risk of falls, hospitalizations, and early mortality. I operationalize the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework using a situational analysis approach, an extension of grounded theory methods, to explore the APU in Oregon AL/RC settings. Regulatory deficiency citations, Oregon AL/RC population data, and semi-structured interviews suggest that staff role clarity, organizational characteristics, and perceived agency influence decision-making around APU. AL/RC providers and caregivers are forced to simultaneously balance and prioritize …

An Examination Of Nurses' Schedule Characteristics, Recovery From Work, And Well-Being, Sarah Elizabeth Van Dyck

Dissertations and Theses

Recovery from work refers to the replenishment of energetic and affective resources depleted while meeting job demands, predominately conceptualized as a process that unfolds throughout the day. This study examined the shift work schedule demands presented by round-the-clock patient care needs on health care providers, and potential recovery opportunities during mid-shift meal and rest breaks. The cross-sectional data were collected via electronic questionnaire among registered nurses (N = 134) working in direct patient care roles in 24-hour healthcare organizations in the Northwestern United States (91.0% female-identified; mean age = 45.3 years). The main effects of adverse scheduling characteristics common …

Emotional Intelligence And Resonant Leadership: Investigating School Principals' Preparation And Professional Development In Response To Covid-19 And Other Challenges, Ashlie Kaye Miller

Dissertations and Theses

Research has shown that high levels of emotional intelligence and resonant leadership can reduce workplace stress and increase the health, wellness, satisfaction, and performance of employees. Many K-12 principals face a myriad of challenges that tend to produce chronic stress, including the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, it is unclear how the preparation and professional development (PPD) programs available to principals incorporate and encourage resonant leadership practices that are needed to effectively cope with these challenges. This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to examine the perceptions of K-12 principals in Oregon regarding: (a) their needs and challenges, especially …

Parenting And Children's Academic Coping As A Dynamic System: Feedforward, Feedback, And Mediators Of Changes Across The School Year, Kristen Elizabeth Raine

Dissertations and Theses

Using a motivational framework based in self-determination theory, the present study investigated the dynamic system between parenting and children's coping, defined as the ways they handle the everyday difficulties they encounter in school, using a sample of 1,020 students in grades three through six drawn from a larger cohort-sequential study. Three overarching research questions were examined using multiple regression that concerned 1) feedforward effects from parents' initial provision of motivational support (i.e., involvement, structure, and autonomy support) to changes in children's academic coping across the school year, 2) feedback effects from children's initial coping to changes in the same parenting …

Sustaining Boys' Motivation Over The Transition To Middle School: Can Interpersonal Resources Protect Boys From Engagement Declines Across Sixth Grade?, Brandy Anne Brennan

Dissertations and Theses

Recent research has highlighted the challenges boys face in school. Boys are overrepresented on indicators of negative academic outcomes, such as detention, suspension, and dropout, as well as underperformance on state and national tests. Moreover, these effects may be long lasting: Compared to females, male students are less likely to graduate high school, enroll in college, and complete a college degree, and they may be particularly vulnerable in middle school. As students enter middle school, their motivation and engagement normatively decline, and these losses may be especially problematic for boys. Nevertheless, research documents the importance of close relationships with parents, …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Professional Development: A Narrative Inquiry Examining Insights From Middle School Teachers, Julie Hatling

Dissertations and Theses

Throughout their careers, teachers seek professional growth opportunities to continually improve their craft. This quest has resulted in various learning experiences for teachers that have impacted their practice in differing ways. Bayar (2014) writes that schools traditionally provide training for teachers, professional development (PD), to help in-service teachers grow as professionals. To gain further insight into the topic of teacher PD, this narrative inquiry sought to obtain a better understanding of PD based on teachers’ perceptions of their past PD experiences and how those experiences impacted their professional practice. This study was guided by a central question and sub-questions. The …

Online Learning In Graduate Health Programs: Andragogy, Lecture Preference, And The Effectiveness Of Synchronous And Asynchronous Participation, Adam Ladwig

Dissertations and Theses

Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, graduate health programs have undertaken greater utilization of online learning, employing synchronous and asynchronous online lectures as a replacement for traditional face-to-face instruction. Although supported in previous literature as a method at least equally effective to traditional learning, online learning has been a source of frustration for students and instructors expecting face-to-face instruction. This dissertation project seeks to explore (1) the ways in which principles of andragogy have been implemented in graduate health programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) the factors that contribute to preference for online method of lecture participation (synchronous or …

Mental Fatigue On Landing Performance, Madison Marie Gaffney

Dissertations and Theses

Mental fatigue has been shown to impair physical performance, especially for endurance-based sports. However, little research has been done regarding the impacts of mental fatigue on shorter maximal effort movements during a common sport related activity such as the depth jump. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mental fatigue on short maximal performance efforts and predisposing biomechanical variables for non-contact ACL tears during depth-jumps in 18 Division I female soccer players. Each participant completed five depth jumps, followed by a 30-minute Stroop task to induce mental fatigue, and then completed five more depth jumps. Multiple …

Modulation Of Stress-Induced Behaviors Through Orexinergic Signaling In The Basolateral Amygdala, Jazmine D W Yaeger

Dissertations and Theses

Stress initiates behavioral disturbances, which are often seen as symptoms of psychiatric disorders, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. While stress is involved in the formation of disordered states, only certain individuals are vulnerable to, and therefore experience, these outcomes. Further, females are more likely to be diagnosed with stress-induced psychiatric disorders. Elements within stress neurocircuitry offer insight into differential behavioral outcomes associated with stressful experiences; and the basolateral amygdala (BLA), where pro- and anti-stress signals are integrated, is likely an important mediator in phenotype development. The orexin system, too, while being strongly associated with sleep, motivation, and …

Restorative Practice In Secondary Schools: A Case Study On Leadership, Implementation, And Challenges, Sarah M. Gross

Dissertations and Theses

Students who receive exclusionary discipline (discipline that removes them from the classroom) are less likely to graduate from high school. It has long been documented that students of color, special education students, and boys are more likely to be assigned suspensions and miss classroom instruction. Discipline matrices have been in place across the country and disparities still exist in consequences assigned to individual students. To alter this current reality, school professionals have looked for alternatives. One possibility lies in restorative practices. Restorative practices are strategies that value the whole child and consider not only an act of harm, but also …

(R)-2,5-Dimethoxy-4-Iodoamphetamine [(R)-Doi] Influences Coping Strategies To An Escapable Social Stress, Kevin Thomas Krupp

Dissertations and Theses

Depressive mood disorders are a leading cause of disability worldwide and pharmacological treatments for these disorders are inadequate, requiring new compounds with greater efficacy be investigated. The etiology of depression is heterogeneous; however, it is well established that stress exposure, and the proinflammatory effects of stress have a major role. Psychedelic compounds have rapid and long-lasting anxiolytic and antidepressive effects in humans and animal models of stress induced affective behavior. However, it is not completely understood how these compounds produce such rapid effects. We investigated whether the psychedelic compound (R)-2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine [(R)-DOI], a selective 5-HT2A partial agonist with potent anti-inflammatory properties, …

Relation Of Emotion Regulation Difficulties, Self-Compassion, And Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Emily Anne Kalantar

Dissertations and Theses

Exposure to potentially traumatic events is associated with high emotion regulation difficulties, development of posttraumatic stress disorder, and elevated healthcare expenditures. Emotion regulation difficulties are related to worse clinical and sub-clinical posttraumatic stress symptomology relative to use of effective emotion regulation strategies. Yet, significant variance in posttraumatic stress symptom severity remains unexplained after accounting for emotion regulation difficulties, suggesting identification of additional explanatory variables is warranted. Considerable research suggests high (vs. low) self-compassion, which entails extending kindness to oneself, is related to more effective emotion regulation and low posttraumatic stress symptom severity. As such, self-compassion may be one variable that …

Cue Recognition Development Among Undergraduate Nursing Students, Michelle Lynn Lichtenberg

Dissertations and Theses

Clinical judgment among nurses is imperative to assure quality, safe healthcare to all. The licensure exam for registered nurses has been criticized for not adequately measuring the clinical judgment needed by entry-level nurses. The National Board of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) responded to this criticism by developing a new Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (CJMM) with measurable cognitive processes, including cue recognition, to be used as a framework for item development on the new licensure exam. Nursing programs must evaluate current teaching and evaluation modalities for alignment with the new CJMM measurable cognitive processes to prepare entry-level nurses for successful …

The Role Of Emotional Attention Regulation In High Psychopathy Incarcerated Males, Michael K. Webb

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the role of emotional attention regulation in men (N = 60) currently incarcerated in a Midwestern prison. Modern conceptualizations define psychopathy as a multifaceted and dimensional construct that includes atypical experience of affect, interpersonal problems, and remarkable social deviance. Attentional differences and deficient emotional experience have been shown to predict psychopathy and other outcomes related to the construct. However, attentional and emotional functioning in individuals high in psychopathy is complex and results have been shown to vary across discrete emotion states and experimental paradigms. The negative preception hypothesis (Kosson et al. 2018) suggests that these differences may …

Reducing Transphobic Attitudes: A Cross-National Investigation Of College Students In Japan And The United States, Kazusa Seko

Dissertations and Theses

Transgender people routinely experience discrimination and mistreatment. Although transphobic attitudes vary from country to country, a more in-depth understanding of these attitudes is needed. Using a semi-structured online survey, this study investigates college students' attitudes toward transgender people in Japan and the United States, a cross-national comparison that aims to deepen our understanding of how transphobic attitudes are shaped and what opportunities exist to reduce transphobia amongst college students. Results show that Japanese students express more transphobic attitudes than U.S. students do; and that U.S. students had more experience with gender-based educational content and were more likely to know someone …

"It's Not By Accident": Examining Leadership Efforts To Disrupt Oregon's Segregated K-12 Education System, Michael Eric Salitore

Dissertations and Theses

The American education system systematically and persistently excludes students from the general education setting based on (dis)ability. Disproportionate segregation of students with Intellectual Disability (ID) is a form of prejudice that is acceptable today and allowable by current laws. Fully segregated education settings for students with ID are harmful to students with disabilities, to their neurotypical peers, and to civilized society as a whole. For many students with ID, ableist systems, deficit thinking, and special education rules allow for segregated placements to persist, impacting their pathway to accessing the general education curriculum.

Improving inclusive practices as a research-based practice for …

Mothers' Drinking Motives, Sheila Kathleen Umemoto

Dissertations and Theses

Increases in women's excessive alcohol use are leading to concerns about a developing public health problem since, for women, it takes fewer years and lower doses to develop a range of alcohol-induced health problems. Maternal status is generally considered protective against alcohol use; however, this effect is weakened by multiple social role strain, leading to higher stress and negative affect, and subsequent coping-related alcohol use. Given that the majority of mothers with young children are working or looking for work (72.3%; BLS, 2021), it is likely that the combination of competing demands and expectations associated with multiple roles of parent, …

Creativity In Science, Engineering, And The Arts: A Study Of Undergraduate Students' Perceptions, Dildora F. Beaulieu

Dissertations and Theses

Creativity is widely recognized as being invaluable for human development and a crucial 21^st century talent. Preparing students for an uncertain and complex world requires that higher education promote students' imagination, originality, curiosity, and flexibility and build their capacity to take risks to try new approaches to problem-posing and problem-solving. However, little is known about how undergraduates enrolled in different disciplines view creativity. This quantitative study at a university in the northwestern United States assessed how undergraduate students in different academic disciplines responded to an instrument on creativity measurement developed by Dlouhy (2012). The study asked: How do undergraduates …

Investigating Values In Discourse: Ideals And Social Plans, Luke Edward Hanst

Dissertations and Theses

Social scientists argue that values enable group coordination. I explore two theories of values before turning to evidence provided by Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem, "The Hill We Climb." First, the paradigm of Shalom Schwartz describes values as transsituational goals which enable groups to coordinate action and evaluate the world. I argue the Schwartz paradigm zooms out from values into categories while I need a means to zoom in to understand values in discourse. I turn to the Pragmatic Prospection paradigm to elaborate the cognitive ontology of goals and to understand the function of language. I argue that values are shared …

The Longitudinal Effects Of A Family And Sleep Supportive Intervention On Service Member Anger And Resilience, Shalene Joyce Allen

Dissertations and Theses

The vast majority of workplace intervention research on employee anger and resilience primarily focuses on individual-level strategies for mitigating employee anger and resilience outcomes in the workplace, with no studies having examined these outcomes with tangible occupational health interventions utilizing organizational-level techniques. Thus, the current study extends the literature on how to provide improvements in employee anger and resilience using higher system and organizational change mechanisms by providing evidence-based support for the effectiveness of a Total Worker Health® intervention, referred to as the Family and Sleep Supportive Intervention Training (FaSST). This approach employs both health protection and health promotion strategies …