Digital Commons Network^™

God-Talk In Catholic High Schools: Theology Teachers Doing Theological Education For And With Religiously Diverse Student Populations, David Michael Avram Gregory

Dissertations and Theses

High school students deserve educations that honor and respect their cultural positionalities, of which religious beliefs are frequently an integral part. Almost 25% of students in Catholic high schools identify as non-Catholic, but the U.S. Catholic bishops have mandated that Catholic secondary theological education (through their 2008 Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework for the Development of Catechetical Materials for Young People of High School Age) be catechetical. In writing and promulgating this document, the bishops presupposed that Catholic schools' students are Catholic, or (should) desire to become Catholic. For decades, scholars have critiqued catechesis as an inappropriate mode …

Guarding Against Strain: The Moderating Role Of Nonwork Experiences In The Relationship Between Work-Related Hypervigilance And Strain In Correctional Officers, Samantha Getzen

Dissertations and Theses

Correctional officers (COs) are expected to remain alert in order to maintain safety within the potentially hostile prison environment. As a result, COs experience high levels of work-related hypervigilance (WHV), which has been associated with negative health and wellbeing outcomes for COs. This study examines nonwork experiences as potential boundary conditions for the relationship between WHV and strain outcomes. It was hypothesized that nonwork experiences (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery experiences, and exercise) would weaken the relationship between WHV and strain outcomes (emotional exhaustion, physical symptoms and impaired sleep). Data were analyzed from 166 COs in Oregon. A series of hierarchical …

Online Activism And Real Life Environmentalism, Emily Grace Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

Past and present human activities have created and accelerated an array of environmental catastrophes and various systems in the environment remain under threat as a result of human behavior. In hopes of mitigating environmental consequences, a social movement has arisen to encourage people to behave in ways that are more environmentally sustainable. Research shows that individual behavior choices impact the environment, and this influence can be used to positively affect the environment through engagement in pro-environmental behavior. Like with many other social movements, the internet has been a tool in spreading awareness of a cause and allowing people the opportunity …

Regionalist Romance: "America Eats" And The Culinary Myth-Making Of The Federal Writers' Project, Icarus J. Smith

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis expands upon food historian Camille Bégin's assertion that the "America Eats" manuscript of the New Deal's Federal Writers' Project was "in tune with the interwar revival of regionalism" in the United States. Using archival material associated with the project and regionalist literature of the period, this study explores the dichotomies inherent in the broader regionalist movement of the Depression Era -- particularly using the project's treatment of the American West. Using foodways as the topic and regionalism as the intellectual framework, the FWP employees sought to document what they believed was the authentic culinary character of the nation …

The Worth Of Risk: Political Participation And Risk Perceptions, Siri Grubb

Dissertations and Theses

This study draws on concepts from political and risk communication to inform our understanding of what motivates people to be politically active. Inspired by concerns that traditional models of participation do not perform as well among younger and more diverse populations, alternate variables are considered including risk perceptions surrounding policy issues and political parties. Results show that established political variables such as political interest and civic duty remain strongly associated with participation, while offering support for several new variables of interest from the risk communication literature. In the present study, threat and efficacy perceptions explained additional variance in political participation …

My Mountain, Your Mountain, Our Mountain: Incorporating Emotional And Sensory Experiences In Mapping Sense Of Place In Mount Hood National Forest, Alicia Ranae Milligan

Dissertations and Theses

Understanding the complex connections humans have with landscapes is necessary for successful land management and planning practices. Only within the last few decades has mapping the values of forest users been used to produce data that can be incorporated into forest planning as a means to better understand social and environmental dynamics. This research used sense of place web mapping coupled with interviews to understand forest users' emotional and sensory experiences within the Mount Hood National Forest and to improve future sense of place mapping research. Two objectives were addressed in this research: 1) develop a typology of individuals' emotions …

School-Based Sex Education In The United States And Its Association With Sexual And Reproductive Health Outcomes, 2000-2020, Priscilla M. Lopez

Dissertations and Theses

Background: There are significant sexual and reproductive health disparities in the United States (US). A significant proportion of sexual health disparities among adolescents is likely due in-part to inadequate school-based sex education. Sex education encourages sustainable and informed sexual behavior and has the potential reach adolescents prior to sexual debut and throughout the years at highest risk for adverse sexual health outcomes. However, the way in which sex education is defined and operationalized, as described in the literature, varies substantially, which may lead to wide variation in implementation in schools and this might explain the disparities seen. State-level sex …

Black Children's Development Of Self-Regulation Within Stressful Contexts Of Parenting: Investigating Potential Buffering Effects Of A Kindergarten Social-Emotional Learning Program, Eli Labinger

Dissertations and Theses

Children living in poverty are at an elevated risk for experiencing academic, social-emotional, and behavioral difficulties when beginning kindergarten, and early educational achievement gaps between economically disadvantaged and advantaged children are known to persist and widen over time. Black children face additional challenges related to racism, marginalization, minoritization, and oppression--processes which may, like poverty, impact their development by affording them fewer of the high-quality experiences that are critical for early learning. Fortunately, evidence-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs offer tools to promote the social-emotional and behavioral competencies that support children's school readiness and early learning, and may counteract the adverse impacts …

Opportunities And Challenges In The Collection And Use Of Socio-Spatial Data In National Forest Planning, Diane Trechsel Besser

Dissertations and Theses

Understanding human-environment connections to places is an important component of land-use management. Tools for collecting geographically referenced public values-based data (defined as socio-spatial data) for use in natural resource planning have been reported in academic journals for decades. The utility of socio-spatial data is in making public values tangible and potentially actionable in land-use analyses and decision processes. However, there is a lack of comprehensive documentation on the ways in which socio-spatial data is perceived, collected, interpreted and applied at a practical level. A better understanding of these factors allows planners to mitigate barriers and leverage opportunities to more …

"Like I Was An Actual Researcher": Participation And Identity Trajectories Of Underrepresented Minority And First-Generation Stem Students In Research Training Communities Of Practice, Jennifer Lynn Lindwall

Dissertations and Theses

Although calls for a more diverse workforce in biomedical fields have been widespread, racial and ethnic gaps in biomedical degree attainment remain. Contextualist perspectives seek to understand persistent STEM inequities by examining person-in-context experiences and how systemic factors filter into students' proximal contexts shaping their participation and science identity trajectories. Research training communities of practice aim to offer underrepresented minority and first-generation students support, guidance, and opportunities to learn the practices of science and construct their science identity. However, many students still choose to leave these programs. There is limited research on these students' science identity construction process and their …

Does Experiencing Spousal Support And Strain Impact The Quality Of Family-Based Support That Supervisors Provide To Employees?, Joseph Alvin Sherwood

Dissertations and Theses

Relying on previously collected data from the Work, Family and Health Study (WFHS), and drawing from a sample of 75 supervisors working in the extended healthcare industry, this research investigation empirically tested propositions of the Work-Home Resources Model to explore antecedents of family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB). To explore these relationships a longitudinal, multi-level structural equation model (MSEM) was used to examine how supervisor contextual resources (spousal support) and demands (spousal strain) in the home domain impacted employee perceptions of these supervisors' FSSB through gains in personal resources (psychological distress) across three time points. Results from the MSEM model confirmed one …

An Exploratory Study Of Adjunct Faculty Professional Growth Experiences, Bethany Ann Potts

Dissertations and Theses

Part-time non-tenure track faculty, also referred to as adjunct faculty, are the fastest growing instructional group in higher education, but they are provided minimal professional support from their employing institution(s). This lack of support is a problem because working conditions shape instructors' investment and efficacy of performance in their professional practice. Well established in the literature are inquiries into adjunct faculty working conditions that prioritize analysis of the organization over the lived experiences of the faculty. However, the lived experiences of adjunct faculty offer a unique and important lens from which to interrogate the impact of institutional policies and practices …

'There Are No Bathrooms Available!': How Older Adults Experiencing Houselessness Manage Their Daily Activities, Ellis Jourdan Hews

Dissertations and Theses

Older adults living unhoused encounter limitations and challenges that drastically decrease their wellbeing and quality of life. The purpose of my study was to understand how experiencing houselessness impacted older adults' ability to conduct their activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) within their communities. I conducted phone interviews with older adults aged 50 and older who experienced houselessness in the Portland metro area. The participants described the persons and places that shaped their community life when they were living unhoused, and they described how those entities intervened to alleviate barriers to daily activities. The …

Drug Conviction And Employment Restriction: Experiences Of Employees With Drug-Related Criminal Histories, Liana Bernard

Dissertations and Theses

It has been established that there are numerous barriers to obtaining and maintaining employment following a criminal conviction, including background checks, which occur as part of most selection processes. Barriers to obtaining and maintaining employment may be higher for individuals with drug-related criminal histories as they may face particularly severe negative stereotypes. This study examines the experiences of individuals with drug-related criminal histories' integration into the workplace and society. Additionally, because stereotypes about individuals with drug-related criminal histories are contradictory to those of individuals with stable employment, I examine how these individuals are impacted by reductions in the stigma that …

Anti-Muslim Bias: Investigating Individual Differences, Threat Perceptions, And Emotions In Islamophobic Policy Support, Aeleah M. Granger

Dissertations and Theses

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Muslims in the United States were victims of increased surveillance by law enforcement on the basis of their religious identity, often resulting in mistreatment and unjustified imprisonment. These biases against Muslims and subsequent policy shifts have been pervasive and have had negative impacts on the growing number of Muslims in the United States. The current study focuses on individual differences that predict Islamophobia, including Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), Right-wing Authoritarianism (RWA), and Nationalism, as well as the specific types of intergroup threat perceptions (i.e., realistic, symbolic, terroristic) and subsequent emotional reactions (e.g., anger, fear) …

Ancillary Data For Refining Computer Adaptive Algorithms For The Assessment Of Anomia, Emily Kathryn Tudorache

Dissertations and Theses

Computer adaptive testing formats, based in item response theory (IRT), are becoming an increasingly popular approach to testing in healthcare because they offer numerous psychometric and practical advantages to assessment when compared to static tests that rely on classical test theory. Fergadiotis and colleagues (2015) have developed computer adaptive versions of the Philadelphia Naming Test (PNT) short-forms, which have demonstrated acceptable precision and standard error of measurement when compared to the static short-forms and original full-length assessment. This study sought to use synthetic data simulations using the catIrt R package (Nydik, 2014) to investigate possible advantages of the use of …

Incarceration And Suicide: Do The Risk Factors Differ For Civilians And Veterans?, Rheannon Gail Ramsey

Dissertations and Theses

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in United States jails and prisons. Many researchers have looked at suicides in prisons and what can potentially cause suicidal ideation but there are conflicting findings among civilian incarcerated populations and United States military veteran incarcerated populations.

The intent of this study is to examine which risk factors are most prevalent among adults in custody, with a focus on mental health and substance use or abuse and how these risk factors differ between incarcerated civilians and incarcerated veterans. Using survey data from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails conducted …

Spread Like Wildfire: Assessing The Utility Of Local Facebook Groups To Inspire Citizen Communication During A Disaster, Colby Riehl

Dissertations and Theses

As traditional sources of local news and information decline, community-oriented social media services (e.g. Nextdoor, Facebook groups) are expanding (Masden, Grevet, Grinter, Gilbert, and Edwards, 2014). Thus far, community-oriented social media use remains relatively understudied. Not only do we not understand how citizens utilize these resources, we are also generally unaware of the content that they create and access using them. A survey of residents of Oregon City, OR and its environs, which were impacted by the Oregon wildfires of 2020, was conducted to assess the differences among citizens who use a local Facebook group & those who do not. …

Transformative Health Care: Integrating The Perspectives And Lived Experiences Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Patients Into Health Care Education And Delivery, Shammarie Raquel Mathis

Dissertations and Theses

Prior research studies have found transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) patients at increased risk for poor physical and mental health as a result of disparities in health care access and treatment. Research has shown that perioperative patient education can improve patient outcomes, as well as promote increased knowledge, preparedness, and recovery post-surgery. For TGNC patients, gender affirming perioperative education classes are especially important for prospective patients as they not only provide comprehensive information about perioperative topics but also serve as a mechanism to promote personal empowerment through knowledge acquisition. The Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Transgender Health Program (THP) …

The Revenue Operations (Revops) Framework: A Qualitative Study Of Industry Practitioners., Oliviero Mottola

Dissertations and Theses

In recent years Revenue Operations or RevOps has emerged in professional circles as a new approach to manage Sales, Marketing and Customer Success teams in the context of b2b sales. In practitioner circles, RevOps definitions range from the increased collaboration of the three job functions to an all-out creation of job function within organizations. While the subject of interdepartmental alignment has been covered extensively in academia (albeit not exhaustively), RevOps as a term and set of practices has received no attention and industry practitioners struggle to find a unified set of best practices that isn’t coming from organizations trying to …

Diffusion Of Innovation: Investigations Of Technology Advances On A University Campus, Melissa Shaquid Pirie

Dissertations and Theses

This multi paper format dissertation contains three separate but related papers. The three papers focus on the Diffusion of Innovation (Moore, 2014) through investigations of technological advances on a university campus. Each of the three papers highlights the work of faculty and staff who received internal university grant funding aimed at increasing innovation in technology use. The first paper covers a program built to address academic integrity issues through the regular and highly structured use of small group video conferencing as a requirement for all courses. The second paper recounts the process of creating an ePortfolio culture on campus through …

E(Raced): Race And Use Of Self Amongst Bipoc Social Workers, Anita Reinette Gooding

Dissertations and Theses

Use of self is defined as the social worker's instrument, and involves an intentional engagement of one's personhood in ways that facilitate client change (Heyt & Sherman, 2005). This dissertation argues that race is one component of the social worker's self that is visible, and that can affect how Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) social workers use self in their practice. Using Critical Race Theory, Social Identity Theory and an Interpretive Description methodology, this dissertation engages 27 BIPOC field instructors in semi-structured interviews in order to answer the following research questions: a) What are the components of use …

Can Racial Disparities In Poor Birth Outcomes Be Partially Attributed To Stress: A Mendellian Randomization Study, Madeline Travers

Dissertations and Theses

In the United States, low birth weight (LBW) is a leading cause of infant death overall, and the leading cause of death for Black infants. Understanding and preventing adverse birth outcomes is a major public health priority. Observationally, there is some evidence to support the hypothesis that maternal stress may be associated with LBW. To clarify the effect of maternal stress exposure on LBW, I conducted three separate-sample instrumental variable analyses with genetic instruments (Mendelian randomization) based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), from genome wide association studies, strongly (p-value < 5 × 10⁻⁶) and independently associated with neuroendocrine, vascular, and immune measures …

Neoliberalism, Civic Identity, And Resistance: An Ethnographic Case Study Of A Community Development Organization, Erin Layne Elliott

Dissertations and Theses

Research on the marketization of the nonprofit sector and how it has come to operate in more business-like ways has been well documented in recent years. This research has largely focused on how marketization has pervaded the nonprofit sector, yet little research has been done on how business-like values and modes of acting are manifesting in nonprofits. Even less understood are the impacts marketization may have on foundational civic values in the nonprofit sector. As marketized discourses proliferate, concerns have been raised about threats to nonprofit autonomy and the sector's important civic role. This dissertation aims to fill this gap …

Exposure Characterization And Assessment Of Airborne Chemicals And Sars-Cov-2 Transmission In New York City Nail Salons, Amelia P. H. Watkins

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Currently, there are 156,000 people employed as manicurists or pedicurists in the United States. Employment in this sector is expected to grow by 10% over the next decade. Exposure assessments have revealed that salon workers are chronically exposed to a variety of substances that cause respiratory sensitization, developmental problems, contact dermatitis, blood, liver, and kidney issues, as well as nervous system impacts. Most recently, the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic has raised the issue of the vulnerability of nail salon workers to airborne infectious diseases as well. This dissertation aims to characterize and assess the chemical exposures that nail salon workers …

Assessing Hiv Risk, Syndemics, Resilience And Engagement In Care In A Large National Cohort Of Gay, Bisexual And Other Men Who Have Sex With Men In The United States, Javier Lopez-Rios

Dissertations and Theses

Background: HIV continues to be a pervasive public health issue in the United States with more than 1.2 million people living with HIV (PLWHIV) across the nation. Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBM) account for over two-thirds of all new HIV diagnoses with racial and ethnic minorities shouldering a large proportion of the burden of disease. Although HIV transmission is predominantly driven by sexual behaviors, there are underlying complex individual, behavioral, and structural factors that contribute to high rates of sexual behavior and subsequent HIV acquisition. Moreover, difficulties remain in maximizing linkage to care …

Claiming Miscommunication To Justify Rape: The Role Of Liking The Perpetrator, Alyssa Marie Glace Maryn

Dissertations and Theses

In this dissertation, four experiments tested whether sharing an ingroup with a sexual violence perpetrator (vs not sharing an ingroup) makes individuals more likely to view the survivor's consent refusal as insufficient. Although most people communicate sexual consent indirectly and nonverbally, individuals often report that indirect and nonverbal consent refusals are an insufficient form of non-consent. These claims of consent miscommunication might be used to justify instances of sexual violence when an individual is motivated to do so. I hypothesize that sharing an ingroup identity with a perpetrator might motivate individuals to justify sexual violence, leading them to report that …

Urban Lakes: Ecosystem Services And Management, Laura Costadone

Dissertations and Theses

Lakes provide a variety of ecosystem services and benefits that greatly contribute to urban sustainability. Despite the growing interest in integrating freshwater systems into management and policy decisions, urban lakes are often overlooked in land-use planning. Nutrient and pollutant runoff from the surrounding urbanized watershed result in water quality deterioration that negatively impact the lake ecological functions and related ecosystem services. The vulnerability and degradation of these urban ecosystems should be a matter of concern, especially considering that, in rapidly growing metropolitan areas, the demand for aesthetic and recreational services provided by urban lakes is increasing. The overall goal of …

Preventing Sexual Violence Through Understanding Perceptions Of Sexual Offenders, Judith G. Zatkin

Dissertations and Theses

In this dissertation, I present three complete manuscripts. I utilize social and community psychological theory, as well as criminological theory to better understand those who perpetrate sexual violence in two domains: child sexual abuse and college campus sexual assault. All three studies are conducted with an eye toward the prevention of sexual violence. In the first study, I conduct a complete psychometric analysis of the Modus Operandi Questionnaire, a comprehensive quantitative tool that examines offending patterns and tactics of those who commit child sexual abuse (Chapter II). An updated factor structure for this tool is presented, as well as recommendations …

Exploring The Relationships Between Community Experiences And Well-Being Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness, Katricia Stewart

Dissertations and Theses

The current dissertation presents two published empirical studies and one new study informed by the findings and recommendations of the first two. The first study investigated how intrapersonal factors (self-esteem, psychological distress, and optimism) and social-contextual factors (social support, sense of community, and empowerment) relate to the psychological well-being of 100 youth experiencing homelessness. The results indicated that all six variables were significantly related to well-being, but the intrapersonal factors had a stronger association with psychological well-being than the social-contextual factors. The second manuscript is a qualitative study investigating what community means to youth experiencing homelessness, what communities they are …