Digital Commons Network^™

Managing & Disclosing Technical Debt In Firms: A Case Of The P&C Industry, Peter Ijomah

Open Access Dissertations

Technical Debt or Tech Debt (TD) was coined over three decades ago as a concept that impedes a firm’s operations. In the years since then, firms’ operations have evolved through Industry 4.0 technologies, digital transformations, and even a global pandemic. In the wake of these factors, newer TD types and tools have emerged. However, management inertia persists with TD management (TDM). As a result, there have been several costly TD failures in firms that have affected firm profitability. Firm shareholders usually find out after an issue has occurred, mainly because there is little to no disclosure of TDM activities in …

House Of Horrors: Shirley Jackson And The Perils Of The Domestic In American Literature, 1945-1965, Annmarie Demichiel

Open Access Dissertations

Recent years have seen a slight rise in academic and popular interest in the works of author Shirley Jackson (1916-1965). Jackson’s novella The Haunting of Hill House (1959) was adapted into a Netflix series in 2018, while Ruth Franklin’s 2016 biography of Jackson brought previously unknown or overlooked details of Jackson’s life to the attention of scholars and general readers alike. Scholarly treatments of Jackson’s work are steadily increasing, and the focus of such treatments remains consistent and somewhat narrow: interpretations include attention to homosocial and possible homosexual relationships in Jackson’s fiction; her fiction’s placement in the lineage of gothic …

Inclusion Of Curriculum In Higher Education Targeting Stigma For Working With Stigmatized Populations, Caitlin Nash

Open Access Dissertations

Background: Healthcare professionals often lack sufficient training to work with stigmatized populations such as persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and individuals with substance use disorders (SUD), leading to poorer healthcare and health outcomes. Understanding and addressing stigmas surrounding these groups is crucial to inform the development of competency in student curricula. This study aimed to (1) examine predictors of faculty’s inclusion of HIV/AIDS and SUD curriculum and related stigmas, and (2) examine predictors of HIV/AIDS-stigma, SUD-stigma, and knowledge of these stigmas among undergraduate students.

Methods: Survey data were collected from undergraduate students (n=1,039) and faculty (n=123) at a …

Translanguaging Through Experiencing: The Lived Experiences Of Multilingual Learners Studying Chinese, Jiangping Cai

Open Access Dissertations

Although the United States has a population with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, multilingual education has been greatly influenced by monolingual and raciolinguistic ideologies (Flores & Rosa, 2019; García, 2014; Ruiz, 1984). With world language enrollment continuing to decline (Lusin et al., 2023), investigation of the lived experiences of diverse groups of multilingual learners (MLLs) would help to understand language learning from a sociocultural perspective, and better support multilingual education and planning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the Chinese learning experiences of native English multilingual students studying Chinese at a U.S. public university language program. The …

From Woke-Washing To Authentic Brand Activism: Essays On Its Impact On Consumer Identity, Brand Morality And Brand Responses, Priscilla Yamilet Peña

Open Access Dissertations

Brand activism, in which a brand publicly takes a political or social justice stance, has gained momentum, positioning brands as agents of societal change. However, accusations of inauthentic brand activism or "woke washing" present a significant challenge. Understanding the basis for these accusations and their effects on consumer identity, particularly among stigmatized groups, requires further exploration. This dissertation aims to shed light on consumers' perspectives of inauthentic brand activism and proposes effective brand messaging strategies. The first manuscript explores consumer accusations of woke-washing using the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET), uncovering emerging themes, and assessing the damage to identity within …

Implementation And Evaluation Of A Nutriton-Focused Steam Summer Program For Urban Youth, Jacquelyn Potvin

Open Access Dissertations

Background: Youth from low-income, racially and ethnically diverse families are at increased risk for academic challenges and nutritionally inadequate diets. Summer programs offer an opportunity to foster interest and engage students in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) education while addressing summer learning loss. Nutrition education early in life can help youth develop healthy dietary behaviors that they carry into adulthood. Project stRIde: Science and Technology Reinforced by Innovative Dietary Education was a summer program for 4-6th grade youth from racially and ethnically diverse and low-income families. The goal of the program was to engage youth in nutrition-centered …

Developing A Transition Program For College Students On The Autism Spectrum, Katharine Musella

Open Access Dissertations

The diagnosis of individuals on the autism spectrum (AS) has received international attention in recent years. This is partly due to the potentially distressing and challenging barriers individuals and their families face as well as a rise in prevalence rates (Weiss & Rohland, 2014). Research has indicated an increase in individuals on the AS, making it one of the fastest-growing diagnosed disabilities in children (Hartley-McAndrew et al., 2014). Current estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) place the diagnostic rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at approximately 1 in 36 children (Maenner et al., 2023). Paralleling this reported …

Strategies To Stress Less: A Meta-Analytic Review Of The Effects Of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (Mbsr) On Self-Reported Stress, Gregory J. Champion

Open Access Dissertations

Introduction: Stress negatively impacts health, well-being, and productivity. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) interventions are a promising strategy to reduce stress, but they are not covered by most health insurance policies in the United States (US). A recent Delphi process gathered feedback from key stakeholders, such as clinicians, MBSR instructors and students, policymakers, healthcare administrators, and health insurance company leaders. The results indicated synthesizing the existing evidence of the impact of MBSR interventions on stress was the 2nd highest priority out of 43 options evaluated. Past research has indicated MBSR interventions may be as effective as active controls at reducing …

Valuation’S Role In The Investment Decisions Process A Mixed Method Study, Joseph D. Foresi

Open Access Dissertations

The inspiration for this dissertation began as a practitioner. As a Wall Street equity analyst, I calculated the valuation of various types of stocks using relative and intrinsic valuation methods on a daily basis. I noticed an interesting phenomenon while performing these calculations. The estimated stock prices were often largely disconnected from the actual stock market price leading me to wonder what the role of estimated valuations was in the overall investment process.

I believe there is a separation between a stock’s market price and fundamental value consistent with the “Noise” Trader Model (NTM). If this is true, a researcher …

Early Childhood Educators’ Values, Behaviors, And Perceived Barriers Of Stem Education, Kelly Houle

Open Access Dissertations

The National Association of Education for Young Children (NAEYC) and the Fred Rogers Center Joint Position Statement on Technology and Interactive Media in the Early Childhood Programs (2012) calls for early childhood educators to intentionally and appropriately integrate technology into their teaching practice. Intentional and appropriate integration not only requires educators to find reputable resources but also necessitates new pedagogical approaches to teaching media literacy. Digital tools have the potential to enhance the educational experiences for students and provide opportunities for our youngest learners to feel empowered and develop agency in their communities. Early childhood educators lack professional learning opportunities …

From Page To Stage: Enlightenment Common Sense & The Semiotics Of The Body, 1660–1820, Nilton X. Gomes

Open Access Dissertations

How did eighteenth-century audience members or novel readers come to see beyond the facades of literary characters and narrators? By looking into moments of bodily concealment in the eighteenth-century novel and theater, this dissertation examines how authors and playwrights in this period wrote with subtly and force to make the body as and in many instances more legible to their readers as the words on the page or the dialogues on the stage in attempts to suture the gap that lies between what a writer intends and what a reader grasps in a literary work. It also stresses the body’s …

Burden Among Caregivers Of Youth With Psychotic Disorders And Clinical High Risk For Psychosis, Devon Carroll

Open Access Dissertations

Schizophrenia ranks among the most debilitating psychiatric disorders across the lifespan, leading to poor recovery outcomes, high mortality rates, and a surge in comorbid health conditions (Charlson et al., 2018). When psychotic illness strikes before age 18, it follows a more complex clinical course, presents with more severe negative psychotic symptoms, and carries a greater genetic vulnerability (Armando et al., 2018; Lin et al, 2016). Children categorized with “clinical high risk for psychosis” (CHR-P), a term used to describe a prodromal phase characterized by a gradual onset and presentation of sub-threshold psychotic symptoms, experience high rates of suicidal behavior and …

Executing Advanced Algorithms To Extrapolate Unique Electric Vehicle Users’ Charging Behaviors, Mehrsa Khaleghikarahrodi

Open Access Dissertations

Policymakers have structured legislation and targets to increase the adoption of electric vehicles and the deployment of charging stations. As questions arise on how to expand the electric vehicle infrastructure, advanced computational models are attempting to quantify the future placement of charging stations. These models, however, do not necessarily incorporate the variability of user behavior, as a subgroup of consumer behavior, as this information is not well-understood. This research aims to execute advanced algorithms and statistical analysis to explore the users’ charging behaviors that are insinuated in the existing literature. The results support the user-centric design of public charging infrastructure, …

Resisting Arrest: An (Auto-Theoretical) Essay On Prison Literature, James A. Ferry

Open Access Dissertations

All philosophy, according to Nietzsche, amounts essentially to “the confession of its originator, and a species of involuntary and unconscious autobiography.” Wayne Booth, author of The Rhetoric of Fiction, maintains that the creative writer is never ideologically disinterested, that “there is always some deeper value” at the core of the text. The current project explores the intersection of these two assertions; the degree to which the theoretician betrays his ideology is in dialectical tension with the idea that the life-writer is a latent ideologue. This project employs an auto-theoretical approach: an integration of theory and philosophy with autobiography. A …

The Immigrant Experience Of Latina Mothers From A Strengths Perspective: A Focused Ethnography, Esperanza Gutierrez

Open Access Dissertations

Latina mothers are part of a rapidly growing ethnic minority group in the United States (U.S.). Researchers have largely illuminated their challenges and problems in their immigration process. A problem-oriented approach leads to labeling of the individual based on vulnerabilities, pathologies, and deficits. Nursing needs a greater emphasis on the strengths perspective, empirical studies, and a broader culturally based conception of strengths, including Latina mothers who immigrate to the U.S. A strengths perspective would be beneficial in encompassing Latina mothers’ capabilities and potentialities.

Focused ethnography was used to identify and describe the strengths of Latina mothers who immigrated to the …

Associations Between Stress, Intuitive Eating, And Adiposity In A Cohort Of Midlife Women, Bridget A. Owens

Open Access Dissertations

Stress and eating behaviors can influence the health of midlife women, a population at risk for weight gain and redistribution of fat to the abdominal area related to shifts in reproductive hormones and aging. Higher stress is associated with negative health outcomes such as increased abdominal adiposity, depression, and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Women report higher stress and more emotional and physical side effects from stress than men and are more likely than men to engage in emotional eating in response to stress. Further, the desire to lose weight and the prevalence of body dissatisfaction is high among …

Hypoglycemia Screening In Term Normal Birth Weight Newborns: A Retrospective Electronic Health Record Review, Michelle G. Palmer

Open Access Dissertations

A gap in the evidence exists regarding screening of term normal birth weight newborns without identified risk factors for the presence of hypoglycemia. The purpose of this retrospective electronic health record review was to examine factors leading to and results associated with blood glucose screening of term normal birth weight newborns without previously identified risk factors for hypoglycemia.

The specific aims of this study were to: (a) determine if there were statistically significant differences between screened and unscreened full term, normal birth weight newborns without pre-existing identified risk factors for hypoglycemia by: gender, race, delayed cord clamping, skin-to-skin initiation and …

Acculturative Stress, Mental Health Concerns, And Service Utilization Among Latino Immigrants, Elaine Ruiz

Open Access Dissertations

To better serve the needs of Latino immigrants, we must investigate risk factors for mental health concerns, such as acculturative stress, unauthorized immigration status, and barriers to mental health services (MHS). The purpose of the present study was to: (1) explore the relationship between risk factors and mental health outcomes in a sample of Latino immigrants, (2) examine differences across legal immigration status in mental health outcomes and acculturative stress, (3) assess the mediating effect of anxiety sensitivity, psychological inflexibility, and avoidant coping strategies on the relationship between acculturative stress and anxiety, and (4) examine barriers for MHS utilization among …

Examining Bidirectional Relations Between Interpersonal Trauma And Substance Use Among Army Soldiers, Shannon Forkus

Open Access Dissertations

Introduction. Interpersonal trauma (IPT) and substance use are particularly prevalent and problematic concerns among military personnel. Theoretical and empirical findings suggest that IPT and substance use are highly interconnected. Elucidating the developmental trajectory between IPT and substance use is necessary for identifying prominent pathways for intervention. Purpose. The current study examined IPT and substance use longitudinally, from pre- to post-deployment, among a large military sample. Method. This study utilized a sample of 4,645 military service members who were administered self-report questionnaires at four separate timepoints (one pre-deployment and three post-deployment). Results. Cross-lagged panel models were estimated …

The Outsider Within: The Experiences Of Black Francophone African Students In Higer Education, Safietou Sagna

Open Access Dissertations

The research focuses on Black Francophone African international (BFAI) students in the United States. Research on international students is dominated by studies focused on Asian international students. Moreover, the participants in several major studies related to African international students are primarily from Anglophone countries. As a result, the educational experiences of BFAI students are not adequately represented in the bigger narrative about African international students. This multiple case study centers the voices of four BFAI students (3 men and one woman) to gain a better understanding of the factors that positively and negatively affect their educational journeys. The results of …

How Does Practicing Mindfulness Relate To Consumer Willingness To Attend Events Post-Pandemic?, Gillian N. Palmer

Open Access Dissertations

A TWO ESSAY DISSERTATION EXAMINING MINDFULNESS IN THE EVENTS INDUSTRY

The restrictions and social concerns that limited social interaction during the first eighteen months of the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the multi-trillion-dollar event industry, which includes large hallmark events like festivals and concerts and business events like trade shows. In addition to the impact made to the events industry, there was a social and mental wellness impact on consumers as they learned how to live a "new norm" lifestyle. As vaccines and reductions in social distancing guidelines opened a path to return to physical, in-person events, event …

The Effects Of Nudges In Acquiring New Clients In A Wealth Management Firm, Howard J. Holmes

Open Access Dissertations

Financial Advisors typically have strong backgrounds in finance, investments, and financial planning, but not marketing. Financial Advisors often need help in acquiring new clients and investment assets. To meet this need, businesses have evolved in lead generation and digital marketing, but they fail because they do not relate to the psychological needs of the investor. It is estimated that only 29% (Dickler, 2019; Godbout, 2021) of all investors have a Financial Advisor. This study researches two issues: the psychological impediments to an investor not seeking a Financial Advisor and Behavioral Economic tools such as Nudge to measure the impact of …

Diagnostic Brains, Experiential Minds And Metamodernism: Mcewan, Self, And Mccarthy As Case Studies, Mohamed Anis Ferchichi

Open Access Dissertations

In the wake of critical stances encompassing both modernism and postmodernism, we witness a theoretical preoccupation with how recent literary innovations position today's British fiction within the legacy of the novel form. On the one hand, postmodernism disrupted modernism's experiential phenomenology of interiority, subject, and character (what I call an experiential inflexion in critical comprehension of the form). On the other hand, what was declared "the decade of the brain" shifted some narrativization to exteriority, syndromic specifics, and reductive somaticism (what I see as a diagnostic inflexion in critical comprehension of the form). In considering today's British fiction within the …

Race And Sex Assigned At Birth As Moderators Of Harm Reduction Pharmacobehavioral Treatment Outcomes For Alcohol Use Disorder Among People Experiencing Homelessness, Silvi C. Goldstein

Open Access Dissertations

Among populations experiencing homelessness, alcohol use disorder (AUD) precipitates high rates of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity. Within this population, minoritized race, ethnicity, and sex assigned at birth populations experience disproportionate alcohol-related harm. A four-arm randomized control trial (RCT) of Harm Reduction Treatment with Pharmacotherapy (HaRP) tested the efficacy of harm reduction treatment with extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX; VIVITROL®) among urban-dwelling adults experiencing homelessness and AUD. The HaRP study included three treatment arms (harm reduction counseling [HRC], XR-NTX + HRC, Placebo + HRC) and a services-as-usual control group. The present secondary study 1) used a mixed methods approach to assess perceptions and …

Executive Functioning Interventions For Individuals With Adhd: A Systematic Review, Lauren Thompson

Open Access Dissertations

Ongoing research regarding interventions for executive functions (EFs), the top-down cognitive processes that guide planning and decision-making behaviors, aims to determine whether intervention programs result in significant improvements in EFs for both neurotypical and neurodivergent populations (Diamond & Ling, 2016). EFs are critical because they predict performance in other daily living domains, including physical health, quality of life, and job performance (Cristofori et al., 2019; Diamond, 2013). Research has found that individuals with a variety of mental health disorders as well as neurodegenerative disease often perform poorly on EF tasks. Particular attention has been devoted to the study of EF …

The Impact Of Peer Specialists On Client Outcomes: An Examination Of Mediational Factors, Esther Maria Quiroz Santos

Open Access Dissertations

Research demonstrates a positive impact of Peer Based Recovery Support Services (PBRSS) facilitated by peer leaders with lived experience of a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and/or mental health problems, and who are in stable recovery. The purpose of this study was to investigate PBRSS, their impact on client outcomes (e.g., substance use, health), and the factors (e.g., self-efficacy, perceived relationship with and helpfulness of peer leader) which mediate the relationship between these services and outcomes while controlling for important socio-demographic information (e.g., age). Data were collected across 58 sites within 25 agencies that provide PBRSS delivered by certified peer leaders …

A Group Respite Intervention For Family Caregivers Of Children Living With Special Needs, Christine Mcgrane

Open Access Dissertations

Family caregiver stress is a growing healthcare concern as more and more families are providing a large portion of care at home. As a family caregiver, parents of children living with special needs are taking on this role as a lifelong journey with their child. Due to the provision of continuous caregiving, these parents are at higher risk for exhaustion, stress, and social isolation, and the challenges can impact both the child and family’s physical and emotional well-being. The demands of caregiving can impact their physical, mental, social, and financial health. As a society, the importance of caring for the …

Sickle Cell Disease Self-Management Among Late Adolescents And Their Families In Saudi Arabia: A Mixed-Method Study, Ebtesam Mohd Abdulshakoor

Open Access Dissertations

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary blood disorder that affects millions globally. In Saudi Arabia, it manifests in severe or moderate forms, affecting 24 of 10,000 children and adolescents. This places a substantial burden on families, necessitating intricate care. While existing literature has primarily focused on medical management and quality of life, there is a gap in understanding Saudi adolescents’ experiences living with SCD and their self-management behaviors. Given the cultural emphasis on family in Saudi Arabia, this study was guided by the Individual and Family Self-management Theory (IFSMT), emphasizing collaborative efforts involving individuals and their families. …

Study Of The Factor Structure Of Commonly Used Measures Of Adhd, Anxiety, And Depression Among College Students, Emily Shepard

Open Access Dissertations

The present study aimed to examine the factor structure of three commonly used assessment methods, the ADHD Rating Scale (ADHD-RS), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), among a sample of college students with and without ADHD with the goal of identifying a potential common inattention factor among the three measures. Additionally, the influences of race and sex on the factor structure was assessed. Participants were recruited from nine different universities in the eastern United States study (N = 456, n_ADHD =228). Each measure was analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with comparison across ADHD …

Waiting Too Long To Move At Green Lights, Michael Landreth

Open Access Dissertations

A literary critique of the American working-class experience must be accessible to working-class readers if it hopes to impact or perform any service to its intended audience. Due to its ability to interrogate forms of institutional control that maintain the social hierarchy under which working-class Americans live, a formally experimental literary approach proves likely to be the best approach for critiquing the American working-class experience. Unfortunately, because formally experimental literature requires access to the time and resources needed for training in and exposure to a tradition of artistic experimentation, most working-class readers find formally experimental literature inaccessible. The work in …