Digital Commons Network^™

Job Satisfaction And Stressors: The Direct Support Professional's Experience, Saralynn Emery

Master's Theses

The current service system for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities is provided in the form of community-based support. This support is carried out by Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who provide one-on-one services to individuals in their homes, workplaces, and communities. The current system is undergoing a turnover crisis and there is an enormous need for a quality and reliable workforce of DSPs to continue to carry out services. Previous research has explored factors that contribute to DSP burnout and ultimately turnover. By researching the DSP role from the DSP experience directly, this study examines other factors that contribute to …

The Role Of Nations-State In Protecting And Supporting Internally Displaced Persons, Daisy Byers

Master's Theses

The rising increase of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has become a global problem. There are over 40 million internally displaced people globally, and 15.9 million are displaced in Africa. These displacements come into place due to war/conflict, corruption, massive human rights violations, natural disasters, urban renewal projects (at the hands of powerful nations such as America, China, France, UK, etc.), and large-scale development projects. According to UNHCR, refugees are people who have international cross-border. In contrast, internally displaced persons must stay within their own country and stay under the protection of their government, even if the government is the reason …

Police Union Membership And Lethal Use Of Force, Scott Barger

Master's Theses

I examine the Fraternal Order of Police union presence in cities as an explanation for the lethal use of violence. Using a novel dataset of FOP union presence, I utilize a simple log OLS linear model to explore the relationships between FOP unions and lethal use of force. I find robust evidence that FOP unions have higher incidences of death at the hands of police, compared to cities without a FOP union. Exposure to FOP leads to an increase in baseline risk of death by police by 17%. This effect increases for larger cities.

Misogynoir: Undergraduate Experiences By Black Women, Briettny Curtner

Master's Theses

The Black female voice whispers within literature because of the limited focus on their lived experiences, specifically of undergraduate Black women. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how Black women in pursuit of a baccalaureate degree navigate racism and sexism. Additionally, this study explored participant resonance with the characteristics and perceived conflicts of the Strong Black Women (SBW) schema. Six Black women from a comprehensive public university in the West participated in a qualitative interview and member checking. The following are emergent themes found as a result of this study: oppositional framing, navigation of intergroup comparisons, inferiority …

Lived Experiences Of College Football Fans In The Southeast United States: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Rosemarie Rachel Pacitto

Master's Theses

While a number of sport-related studies have explored sport fandom and its effects quantitatively, there is a lack of research that exists surrounding the lived experiences of fans, and thus any potential health-related benefits derived through fandom. The present study qualitatively explored the lived experiences of college football fans in the Southeast United States with aims to identify any potential health related benefits derived through fandom experiences. Eight participants were interviewed utilizing semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analyzed via interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results are discussed within the context of positive psychology and identity theory and suggest that participants experienced phycological and …

'Disembodied Bones': Recovering The Poetry And Prose Of Elinor Wylie 2021, Sarah R. Bullock

Master's Theses

Picking a book to read is like diving for a pearl, writes Elinor Wylie, a 20th Century American poet, novelist, essayist and prominent magazine literary editor. In her essay "The Pearl Diver", she writes that it is the diver that risks the unknown- unaided by diving equipment in the form of library indexes-who gains the greatest joy, Wylie states (Fugitive Prose, 869). Wylie explains:

I venture to perceive an analogy between the rebellious pearl diver and myself, in my slight experience with public libraries...how much more delightful, how much more stimulating, to abandon the paraphernalia of card indexes and mahogany …

Women In The Outdoors: Navigating Fear And Creating Space For Spiritual Inspiration 2021, Morgan Costello

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between fear and spiritual inspiration for women in the outdoors. Specifically, this study looked at participants from SUNY Cortland’s Outdoor Education Practicum, a core course in the Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Studies Department that culminates with a two-week outdoor experience, with the goals of teaching outdoor skills and building community. This was a mixed-method study, with quantitative data collected according to pre(mid)post design and qualitative data coming from journal entries over a 5-day period. Testing was conducted using the Outdoor Situational Fear Inventory to measure fear, and the Nature Relatedness …

Remaking Divinity In Aldous Huxley’S Brave New World 2021, Sebastian Vignone

Master's Theses

Humanity is an experience. Shaped through both individual and collective encounters, we understand the self and the world around us as an amalgamation of interactions over the course of our lives. Arguably, one of the most common experiential archetypes is religion, and more specifically the relationship one has with a divine being as it has been framed by a religious institution. While the United States does not have an official religion, there is a host of people who refer to the U.S. as a “Christian nation,” and it is therefore irresponsible to elide the panoply of inequities that run through …

Warm Or Chilly? An Assessment Of The Relationships Between Campus Climate And Gender Identity Among Transgender And Nonbinary College Students, Emma Allen-Morgan

Master's Theses

This research is a mixed-methods analysis of the relationship between campus climate and gender identity for transgender and nonbinary college students. Snowball and convenience sampling were used to obtain a sample of trans and nonbinary college students. Thirty surveys and six interviews were completed. I applied Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and Risman’s gender structure theory to analyze how macrosystems, microsystems, and the chronosystem (time) affected trans students’ gender identity, whether positively or negatively. Participants were ambivalent about the effects of college on their gender identity; on one hand, college gives trans students freedom from their previous environments. However, participants described a …

Honor Crimes: A Question Of Honor, Culture, And Humanity, Nadia N. Almusleh

Master's Theses

Honor crimes, femicide, domestic abuse and violence are widely prevalent in patriarchal societies. Middle Eastern cultures deeply value protecting the chastity and honor of women. The traditional images of women and the notions of honor and shame are consistently used as justifications for violence and killings. This is not attributable to a single culture or religion. It is rather a manifestation of societal norms around gender-based violence. Feminist activism against honor crimes in the Middle East within the last decade has increasingly received social media attention. However, the impact of this social media activism on government intervention has yet to …

An Interdisciplinary Approach: Schizophrenia Derails Heteronormative Expectations In Psychological Narratives 2021, Bobbie Jo Weaver

Master's Theses

Required introductory psychology courses teach students a general and oversimplified version of the immense number of subfields within Psychology studies, much like introductory literature classes compress different genera throughout history into a miniscule number of “representative” texts. Nevertheless, these footholds generate an entryway into a whole new world of (specialized) exploration. Reading a text such as The Quiet Room: A Journey out of the Torment of Madness by Lori Schiller and Amanda Bennett provides a window for many students to crawl into one of Psychology’s darkest shadows, the field of abnormal psychology. Schiller’s non-fictional memoir, The Quiet Room, tells readers …

Found Media: Interactivity And Community In Online Horror Media 2021, Jax Mello

Master's Theses

Being isolated is a common fear. The fear can take many forms, from the fear of being the last one alive in a horrific situation to being completely deserted by everyone you love. This is a fear that has been showcased many different times in movies, novels, and every other piece of media imaginable. Although not always tied to the horror genre, the fear of being isolated is tightly intertwined with many horror stories. Therefore, it is interesting when a horror production goes out of their way to encourage interactivity within its audience. This goes beyond an artist’s desire for …

Of The Wide-Eyed In Uncertain Times: The Education Of Girls During The Third Reich, Ingmar D. Clausing

Master's Theses

The aim of this thesis is to describe how both the state school system and the Hitler Youth educated girls during the Third Reich. Conventional theories have suggested a number of ideological suppositions regarding the overall curricular emphasis, but this study contends that such simplistic determinations do not capture the full spread of the educational experience. This thesis asks if girls in Nazi Germany were truly just indoctrinated or if schooling had legitimate academic purposes. Based on actual textbooks that were studied by girls for every subject area, at different grade levels, and in different types of schools, as well …

Andrews University Communication Under The Covid-19 Pandemic: Feedback Analysis Of International Students, Brice B. Eboule

Master's Theses

This research is an informative analysis of international students’ feedback on the Andrews University (AU) crisis communication during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Participants were 21 years or older, on student visas, living on-campus or in student communities and had attended AU for at least 2 years. The theory informing this study is situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). The SCCT argues that the severity of the crisis defines which communicational crisis strategy will be more effective in minimizing attributions and adverse press while both maintaining and enhancing the organization's credibility. The findings of this study indicated that 84 percent of …

The Effect Of Virtual Learning On Parents During Covid-19, Sheila Reeves

Master's Theses

Parents were affected in numerous ways by the sudden shut down of schools and switch to virtual learning in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these ways included use of technology, income, race, time, mental health, family life and parent insecurities. This study investigates parents' perspectives of some ways they were affected in regards to the virtual learning of their child(ren). All parents with children enrolled at Madison Campus Elementary School were invited to participate in the study, as they had at least one year's experience with their child(ren) in virtual learning.

Data was collected using a …

Anti-Unionism And The Chicago Teachers Union, Paul Stromberg

Master's Theses

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is one of the most influential political organizations in Illinois. Like other political organizations, the CTU influences policy through activism, advocacy, and endorsements. Unlike most political organizations, however, the CTU's 20,000 members are responsible for carrying out policy decisions through their roles as teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). In response to this influence, anti-unionists have become increasingly adept at criticizing the CTU, using anti-union rhetoric to malign unionized teachers. Simultaneously, anti-unionists have utilized anti-union litigation to disable teacher unions, stripping them of guaranteed protections. Assisted by conflict theory, this study examines …

Examining Organizational Factors And Their Impact On Older Adults In Life Plan Communities, Ajla Basic

Master's Theses

Aging in America continues to reveal multi-faceted concerns for both the industry and retirees; insufficient retirement savings, loneliness, and a high influx of older adults entering the retirement scene. It is expected that by 2030, 18% of the nation's population, the baby boomers, will have turned 65 (Cohn & Taylor, 2010). This demographic reality has led to increased research seeking answers to questions which emerge about the retirement age population. The Age Well Study is a longitudinal study looking at the impact of residing in a Life Plan Community. The data is collected through self-report measures by residents in the …

Stigmatization Of In Transit Migration And The Devaluation Of Humanitarian Aid Resource Labor, Gabriela Perez Laurent

Master's Theses

This analysis aims to gain insight into migrant stigmatization and the devaluation of humanitarian aid labor. Building off previous feminist scholarship on unpaid labor, this thesis seeks to add to our understanding of the dynamics of gendered devaluation of not only humanitarian volunteer labor, but also humanitarian aid support to stigmatized populations. The analysis expands on the production of illegalization and highlights the effects of stigmatization highlights the effects of stigmatization upon in transit populations on Tohono O'odham lands. Erin Hatton's framework of devaluation is applied to humanitarian aid distribution to analyze the devaluation of their labor due to proximity …

Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Lithium-Ion Batteries Operating In California's Electrical Grid In 2019, Peter J. Hilkene

Master's Theses

This work examines the impact on greenhouse gas emissions of energy storage devices operating on the California electrical grid during the year 2019. As solar power gains a greater share in California’s energy production, tools for storing the intermittent energy produced from solar and other variable generation sources become important in continuing their growth. In this study, the impact of the deployment of energy storage capacity in California was determined using three charging and discharging strategies. The first, meeting peak net-demand with solar, looked at battery charging when solar production was highest and discharging when net-demand is highest. The second …

Deported Veterans: The Unintended Consequences Of “Good Moral Character”, Jonathan Deras

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research is to argue that U.S. immigration policy, specifically the 1996 IIRIRA (also known as IIRAIRA), needs to change regarding the legal treatment of immigrant U.S. military veteran deportees due to the following concepts. The first concept is to articulate how the criminalization of immigration, and how the military system intersects to facilitate the Deportation of U.S veterans. A key concept in this analysis is the standard of “good moral character” set by the U.S. government that enlistees need to meet to be accepted into the military; this standard is also used against immigrant veterans during …

Minority Student Food Insecurity In Higher Education, Joe Sevillano

Master's Theses

The minority student population in higher education has been affected by food insecurity at a disproportionate rate. Several studies have captured some of the issues associated with the material deficit but fail to identify more in-depth contributing factors. Using the theoretical framework of intersectionality, the researcher examines the experience, interpretation, and navigation of food insecurity in a medium-sized university located in a major city on the west coast. The researcher interviewed three students that self-identified as having multiple minority identities and experiencing some level of food insecurity while pursuing a degree. Findings from three rounds of interviews gave further context …

Dignity And Respect In The Salsa Dance Classroom: Fostering Healthy Self-Esteem To Promote Compassion, Diana Sanchez

Master's Theses

Many students that have attempted to take salsa dance classes often express their disillusionment in the way in which they are treated by salsa dance instructors. Salsa dance classes have the possibility to function to awaken in the student greater integration with the society in which people live, while stimulating actions, improving self-esteem, and self-confidence, improving vocabulary, awakening sensitivity, attenuating shyness, as well as increasing communicative and social skills. If the content of a course is well designed and delivered with an intentional student-centered approach, it can positively contribute to greater and more sincere learning. In this sense, the objective …

Facilitating The Acculturation Of Children Among Russian Immigrant Mothers, Anna Goncharova

Master's Theses

While biculturalism is considered the preferred strategy of acculturation for most, the existing research does not address the degree to which immigrant mothers support bicultural acculturation of their children and how these mothers enact biculturalism. Although existing research demonstrates that parental involvement and social capital of immigrant parents are important for the success of their children, studies do not delineate the personal meanings and the process of maternal involvement in the acculturation of their children into American society. This research addresses these questions and describes maternal goals towards acculturation and depicts how Russian immigrant mothers facilitate acculturation of their children …

Desire And The Power Of Practice: Queer Sexual Perspectives, Philip W. Kemp

Master's Theses

This research provides a theoretical analysis of the lived experiences of 17 queer individuals, ages 19 to 66, regarding their sexual desires and practices. Queer Theory is incorporated to inform on sex, gender performance and sexuality as social constructs, to inform grounded theoretical concepts, and to identify expressed social behavior by each participant. Social Exchange Theory is used to analyze participant responses. Modified grounded theory is incorporated to posit a particular social exchange that I refer to as the queer exchange; in which particular costs/benefits are considered before queer individuals engage in social exchanges due to their potentially (un)perceived queerness. …

Korngold's Dream States: An Analysis Of Transitional Passages In Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Opera "Die Tote Stadt", Tyler Brandon

Master's Theses

This thesis aims to compare Korngold’s treatment of altered states of reality in his 1920 opera Die tote Stadt to that of other composers and apply a theoretical approach to explain the transitions between the diegetic realms, or multiple narrative levels, that the work is contained within. These are outlined by William Cheng in his article entitled “Opera ‘en abyme’: The prodigious ritual of Korngold’s ‘Die tote Stadt.’” An overview of Cheng’s article is provided, recounting the claims that he posits and the analyses that he uses to explain the transitions between these diegetic realms. Next, other instances of altered …

Navigating Hate: The Public Deliberation Of Matthew Shepard And Hate Crime Legislation, Abigail Barnes

Master's Theses

Since Matthew Shepard’s murder in 1998, his narrative has been recirculated to justify a federal hate crime statute and Shepard has been used as a symbol for the demand for hate crime legislation. This study seeks to evaluate how Shepard is used in public deliberation, the role of private organizations in the public deliberation of hate crime legislation, and the discursive history of the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act of 2009. Through a rhetorical criticism, this study finds that the nuances of Shepard’s narrative are abandoned in order to construct him as a “permissible” symbol for LGBTQ+ protections. However, if …

Professional Development For Student Employees Of Color, Monica Duran

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to conduct a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project with undergraduate student employees at a large research institution in order to reimagine the career and leadership development programs so that they are responsive to, and supportive of, students who identify as people of color. This would be done using a framework of Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth theory (2005). The participants of this study were five undergraduate student employees who worked within a single department in a division of Student Affairs. The methodology used was Participatory Action Research, which is a methodology in which the researcher …

Exposing Evil: My Lai, The Media, And American Atrocities In Asia, 1941-1975, Joshua Caleb Greer

Master's Theses

In both the Pacific War against Japan from 1941 to 1945 and the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, United States combat troops—emboldened by a combat culture of dehumanization through racism and a military that enacted policies of attrition— committed atrocities against Asian soldiers and civilians. This trend continued into the Vietnam War unabated beginning in 1965. Incidents of atrocities committed by American troops overseas were not publicly discussed until the My Lai Massacre of 1968 was revealed to the American people in 1969. Once the massacre became a national news story published in outlets all over the country, American …

Inducing The Overview Effect Using Virtual Reality, Nhat Quang Le

Master's Theses

Astronauts who return from space missions have reported and demonstrated a significant increase in their feelings of connection to humanity and the planet. This shift towards a more humanistic, global perspective in astronauts was termed the “overview effect” by White (2014). There is a lack of research on the overview effect despite the significant, positive changes in those who have experienced it. This study aims to provide empirical evidence of and a possible induction method for the overview effect. We hypothesized that it might be possible to induce the overview effect using virtual reality (VR). In the current study, 81 …

Exploring Experiences With Social Disorganization In Denver Communities, Tiffanie Pham

Master's Theses

Social disorganization theory states that individuals residing in disadvantaged communities are more likely to engage in delinquency and criminality due to the elements the individuals experience (Shaw & McKay, 1969). More specifically, social disorganization theory refers to the failure of the community to fully understand and acknowledge the common goals or solve any issues that the community might be experiencing (Kubrin & Weitzer, 2003). Utilizing social disorganization theory, specifically, the family disruption and poverty elements, the current literature focuses on individuals who reside in disadvantaged communities in Denver, Colorado. By using the qualitative approach, this study relied on in-depth interviews …