Digital Commons Network^™

Facets Of Self-Efficacy As Potential Mediators Of Interpersonal Relationships And Job Satisfaction With Teachers In Vietnam, Justin Meas Lazu

Theses and Dissertations

Job satisfaction is a critical factor influencing teacher retention, well-being, and self-efficacy. Interpersonal relationships within the workplace—including those with students, colleagues, and principals—have been shown to be key contributors to job satisfaction. Although research has extensively explored job satisfaction in a Western educational context, few studies have examined its predictors in a Southeast Asian context, particularly in Vietnam. Given Vietnam’s collectivist culture and Confucian-influenced education system, where workplace harmony and hierarchical relationships are emphasized over individual autonomy, the factors influencing teacher job satisfaction may differ significantly from those in Western contexts. Further, the mechanisms through which workplace relationships influence job …

Gastronomy At The Heart Of Communication: A Locus Of Human Conviviality, Victoria M. O’Keefe

Theses and Dissertations

The significance of food over time is central to humanity and can aid in making people humane in a myriad of ways. This study seeks to (a) define the role of food in communication across sectors of global society and in the media realm (b) by analyzing a data set of all food related publications of the flagship magazine of UNESCO, The Courier, (c) through ethnographic study and inductive coding, I draw themes and trends that alter food communication from a multinational organization and pass the content through a theoretical lens and Large Language Model tool, to (d) illuminate implications …

The Psychometric Properties Of A Spanish Version Of The Attitudes And Beliefs Scale-2 Short Form In A Mexican Sample, Verónica Compeán

Theses and Dissertations

The Attitudes and Beliefs Scale 2-Short Form (ABS2-SF) is one of the most widely used measures of irrational and rational beliefs central to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). While evidence supports its reliability and validity in English-speaking populations, little is known about its applicability across cultural and linguistic groups. This study investigated the psychometric properties and cultural validity of the Spanish version of the ABS2-SF in a Mexican sample (n = 579) collected from undergraduate students in Tampico, Mexico, and compared them with English-speaking American non-clinical samples (n = 1,167). Using a bifactor multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA), I examined …

Breath, Body, And The Blank Page: An Autoethnographic Approach To Embodied Writing Practices In First-Year Writing, Kristen Garramone Hoffman

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how somatic awareness and trauma-informed pedagogies can be integrated into the teaching of writing. Drawing from autoethnography and pedagogical theory, it proposes that writing is not a purely cognitive act but a deeply embodied process, one shaped by the physiological and psychological dimensions of lived experience. Using autoethnography as both method and praxis, the study centers the author’s experiences of trauma, grief, and healing to investigate how body-based practices such as breathwork, visualization, and mindfulness can support writing, particularly for students navigating stress, anxiety, or disconnection from their academic identities. Chapter One situates the research within literature …

Recognizing Speculative Literature: Conceiving Identity In The Archives Of Enslavement, Gabriella Greco

Theses and Dissertations

One of the key problems of the archive of enslavement, borne out of the violent erasure of enslaved identities, is the struggle to reconstruct and honor those lost identities. Recognizing Speculative Literature: Conceiving Identity in the Archives of Enslavement investigates postcolonial archival processes and the resulting documents to identify a spectrum of speculative literary genres that can be used to supplement traumatic archival erasures, often of female voices and identities, to further understand the power dynamics. To clarify, I use the term ‘speculative literature’ here to refer to a mode of literature that relies on the few fragments that may …

Polarization And Civil Discourse In America: A Case Study Of Respectful Dialogue As A Moderating Influence On Generation Z, Liane Weintraub

Theses and Dissertations

Animosity between opposing political parties is longstanding, but the phenomenon is now acutely pervasive and dangerous. Today, polarization is further fueled by social media algorithms that create echo chambers, limiting discourse about diverse viewpoints. Consequently, polarization has become pernicious and threatens the founding principles of American democracy. This dissertation considers the roles of free speech, civility, and social capital in the US polarization problem. Through an exploration of historical scholarship on virtue, ethics, and civility, the study seeks to identify actionable tools for promoting civil discourse. The dissertation investigates Generation Z (Gen Z), focusing on intergenerational differences, the role of …

Assessing The “Plateaus” Vertical Development Model With A New Likert Scale Instrument, Mark Divine

Theses and Dissertations

This research project will focus on the assessment of the Five Plateaus (Plateaus) vertical leadership development model with a newly constructed Likert Scale instrument. Part one of the research project was a pilot study to create a simple, internet-based instrument. The scale, comprised of 100 questions and completed in 30 minutes, assesses participants' self- perceived stage of development as presented in the Plateaus vertical development model. The instrument was designed to capture the experience of participants and to overcome limitations of existing assessments by mitigating the subjectivity of sentence completion instruments, as well as to enhance efficiency and reliability. The …

Leading Organizational Learning Through Stories In U.S. “Big Technology” Companies, Stephanie R. Voss

Theses and Dissertations

Storytelling is becoming increasingly influential across various domains, particularly in executive education and leadership development, where it plays a crucial role in the concept of leadership as performance (Gonzalez & Chakraborty, 2012). Storytelling in the classroom setting provides an opportunity for learners to embed elements of narrative and identity in classroom pedagogy (Edwards et al., 2013). In the professional context, employees construct meaning in their workplace by hearing and/or participating in stories (Echeverria et al., 2017).

This qualitative exploratory study investigates the influence of storytelling in driving organizational learning. The research focuses on the U.S. Big Technology (Tech) sector, home …

When Purpose Isn’T Enough: Adapting For-Profit Retention Practices To Support Early-Career Professionals In Youth- Serving Nonprofits, Brittany Erway Soto

Theses and Dissertations

This comparative qualitative study explored how nonprofit and for-profit organizations approach the retention and development of early-career professionals aged 18 to 25. Drawing on Jay Galbraith’s (1995) STAR model of organizational design—encompassing strategy, structure, process, people, and rewards—the study investigated what practices are currently in place and which strategies nonprofits might adopt from for-profit organizations to improve employee engagement and retention. Data were collected through 10 semi-structured interviews with senior leaders from five large, youth-serving nonprofit organizations and five for-profit companies with strong employee retention reputations. The findings revealed six core differences between sectors, with for-profit organizations demonstrating more consistent …

Implications For Clinical Practice When Working With Latino Families Affected By Pediatric Cancer: An Integrative Systematic Review, Karla Rodas

Theses and Dissertations

The high mortality rates within the Latino population due to childhood cancer and the psychosocial challenges that come with the disease warrants attention from mental health professionals to provide support and address the distress experienced by affected families. The purpose of this integrative systematic review was to identify the psychosocial challenges faced by Latino families navigating childhood cancer, explore the role of cultural resiliency as a coping mechanism, and examine culturally adapted clinical interventions that integrate cultural resilience, promote psychosocial well-being, and improve treatment engagement. A PRISMA flow diagram was used to illustrate the systematic review process, which included 11 …

Cultural Matching And Treatment Utilization And Outcomes In Asian Americans: A Systematic Review, Ryan Lim

Theses and Dissertations

Research regarding cultural matching in clinician and client dyads as a means of improving care for underserved populations has become less prevalent over the past two decades. This review sought to examine and synthesize the existing literature on the relationship between three forms of cultural matching (i.e., racial matching, ethnic matching, and language matching) and mental health treatment utilization and outcomes for Asian Americans. Following an extensive database search process, we identified a total of 10 peer-reviewed studies as relevant to the review's topic. Overall, results from the studies suggest that ethnic and language matching were associated with an increased …

Reflection & Reciprocity: The Role Of Community In The Career Decision-Making Processes Of Indigenous & Non-Indigenous College Students, Amanda M. Langhorst

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the complex role of community in the career decision-making of college students. Our career decisions impact our life in many ways; individualistic cognitive models provide some insight but miss the important relationships and interaction we have with our communities and the role of culture. Through 45 interviews across a primary sample and two contrast samples with public university college students and student service professionals, this research revealed two key processes in how we utilize community in our career decision-making, reflection & reciprocity. The data resulted in a Community-Embedded Career Decision-Making Model showcasing the process of “how” we …

The Efficacy Of Trauma-Informed Treatment For Undocumented Latinx Immigrants With Manifestation Of Trauma Symptoms: A Systematic Review, Daniel Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

This systematic review provides a narrative synthesis of the trauma symptom manifestation in the undocumented Latinx immigrant population, how acculturation impacts trauma symptom manifestation, and what interventions have been shown to be effective in treating trauma symptoms with this population. Using specific search terms, the PsycINFO and Scopus databases were searched. After a review of the full-text, a total of 26 articles met the inclusion criteria. Results indicated that undocumented Latinx immigrants present with trauma symptoms associated with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), somatic symptoms, and symptoms associated with …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of School Spending And Academic Proficiency In A U.S. Charter High School, Jacques-Michel Endené

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the much-debated issues of school spending effectiveness, or lack thereof, set in a representational charter high school on the West Coast of the United States. The study employs a phenomenological approach, with a qualitative data analysis to examine the processes and outcomes of school spending policies and programs.

The research initially embarks on an exploration of the historical context surrounding the controversies born from a congressional policy initiative that ignited the firestorm, to understand the unfolding of this national debate. Examining diverse school leaders’ first-hand observers’ take, race-sensitive Academic Gap inklings, socioeconomic-based disparities, and comprehensive review processes, …

Cross-Cultural Narratives: A Comparative Analysis Of "Yo Soy Betty, La Fea" And "Ugly Betty", Marcos Falck Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the cross-cultural adaptation of the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea (1999–2001) into the American dramedy Ugly Betty (2006–2010), by analyzing how the latter reimagined the original narrative to address U.S.-specific cultural dynamics. Through qualitative analysis and literature review of the narrative structure, this study shows how “Ugly Betty” expanded its predecessor’s critique of beauty standards to explore Latino identity, multiculturalism, and workplace diversity in America. While both series center on an unconventional protagonist navigating the fashion industry, “Ugly Betty” uniquely foregrounds the experiences of a Mexican American family, offering nuanced depictions of immigration, cultural assimilation, …

To Be Loved Is To Be Seen: Gazing As A Form Of Interpretation In The Turn Of The Screw, Yasmin Mezayek

Theses and Dissertations

The heated discourse that would follow Henry James’s novella “The Turn of the Screw” centered on whether the ghosts were real or not. With Shoshana Felman’s groundbreaking article “Turning the Screw of Interpretation” a new-found focus on the ambiguities, as opposed to finding a singular, definitive meaning of the novella would usurp the Freudian and anti-Freudian arguments. With the governess’s sight being the main source of debate, reading the novella through the Lacanian lens of the Gaze, the Imaginary, and the Symbolic offer unprecedented explanations and arguments for the governess’s behavior. Given the contemporary shift to discussing the ambiguities of …

Exploring The Stem Career Identity Development Of Black Women Across Their Lifespan, Veronica Hurd

Theses and Dissertations

Although STEM is the fastest-growing career sector, Black women are grossly underrepresented as they account for 2.5% of the workforce. Research highlights that this underrepresentation is due to racialized structures in K-12, postsecondary, and career settings that restrict Black girls’ and women’s STEM opportunities. While macrosystems such as hegemonic ideologies, attitudes, and social conditions shape Black girls’ and women’s opportunities in STEM, they continue to persist and achieve their career goals. To explore these barriers and Black women’s persistence in this industry, this study draws from the autobiographical memories of 10 Black women in the field or formerly in the …

Navigating Acculturation: Opportunities, Challenges, And Community Support For African Immigrants In The U.S., Sharitah Nalule

Theses and Dissertations

African immigrants in the United States encounter complex acculturation challenges that are often shaped by systemic barriers such as language exclusion, financial insecurity, limited employment access, and time-restricted support services. This qualitative study explores how African immigrants experience the acculturation process and how community-based programs support or fall short in supporting their acculturation. Semi-structured individual interviews with Somali immigrants and community practitioners in the Midwest. While most African immigrant narratives reflect the experiences of Somali immigrants, practitioners provide insight into the broader African immigrant population based on their work with diverse African immigrant clients. Findings revealed three central themes: (1) …

Voices From Within: Employees' Sensemaking Of Corporate Volunteerism, Janet Laadi Anani

Theses and Dissertations

Corporate volunteerism is a key component of the philanthropic pillar of CSR, shaping employee engagement and organizational identity. This study employed the social exchange and sensemaking theories to explore how employees make meaning of their experiences in corporate volunteer initiatives and how their experiences influence their perceptions of their organizations. Data was gathered from in-depth interviews with employees with varied corporate volunteer experiences across multiple organizations. The findings show that despite employees’ strong motivations to engage in corporate volunteerism, they face challenges such as time and workload constraints and limited variety of volunteer opportunities. The study also found that employees’ …

Skin And Bones: Transgenerational Trauma, Experimental Storytelling, And The Texture Of Hope, A Creative Dissertation, Janine Blue

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation theorizes and enacts experimental storytelling as a method for engaging transgenerational trauma, highlighting how form shapes the ways histories are remembered, embodied, and reimagined across generations. Grounded in hope rehearsal as both a theoretical and creative framework, this project examines how BIPOC writers use experimental writing techniques to navigate the afterlives of historical trauma and reclaim storytelling as an act of meaning-making, communal care, and futurity. The dissertation begins with a critical chapter that explores these experimental techniques as strategies for recovery and resistance. The dissertations’ creative chapter, Andre Lyle: Skin and Bones, expands on these ideas …

Influence, Confidence, And Interest In Mathematics: The Route To Increasing Female Participation In Stem, Lisa Galbreath Neaton Black

Theses and Dissertations

Women are underrepresented in STEM professions despite initiatives to encourage young women to pursue these financially rewarding careers. Studies show this divide is not due to inability or lack of female participation in higher education, as women tend to outscore their male counterparts on standardized tests and make up approximately 59% of the postsecondary student population. Rather, the disconnect in the high school-to-college STEM pipeline for young women seems to center on mathematics. In response, this action research study focused on addressing societal influence and mathematical confidence and interest using a constructivist approach in an honors Algebra 2 class.Hands-on activities, …

“Digital Shame Shift”: From Telling The Pain To Recording The Truth — Black Maternal Health And Digital Counter-Narrative Storytelling On Tiktok, Odera Covenant Ezenna

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how digital storytelling on TikTok is used to challenge medical racism, with a particular focus on Black maternal health. Guided by Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis (CTDA), the study examines how TikTok users—ranging from Black mothers to healthcare professionals—create and circulate counter-narratives through two prominent campaigns: #BlackMaternalHealthWeek and #BlackMamasMatter. These digital stories serve as acts of resistance, disrupting dominant medical discourse and amplifying the lived experiences of Black birthing individuals. The research analyzes over 2900 TikTok videos posted between 2021 and 2024, identifying key themes, storytelling strategies, and rhetorical shifts over time. The …

Therapy-Induced Senescence In Cancer: Developing Senolytic-Based Combination Strategies To Delay Re-Emergence Of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Eesha Chakraborty

Theses and Dissertations

Therapy-induce senescence (TIS) represents a major biological outcome of many anticancer treatments and is increasingly recognized as a strategic vulnerability in triple negative breast cancer, which is a highly aggressive subtype with limited therapeutic options and frequent relapse. Here, we probed TIS as a primary cellular response that may ultimately compromise long-term outcomes using standard chemotherapeutic agents in TNBC as well as the antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan (SG). Both chemotherapy and SG reliably induced pronounced senescence across TNBC models, yielding durable growth arrest, however, also generating a persistent reservoir of viable tumor cells capable of eventual proliferative recovery, a hallmark …

Existing In The Context: A Conjunctural Analysis Of Kamala Harris Memes, Amaya Mcneal

Theses and Dissertations

Political memes have become a common way for people to express their political views online, helping politics reach young adults who weren’t previously interested. Consequently, politicians have begun sharing and creating memes themselves. The memeification of American politics has diminished debate about ideas, ideals, issues, and people’s vital interests, debasing voters by treating them not as citizens but as passive “consumers” and “spectators” of mediated politics. This paper helps make sense of this crisis, focusing on the example of former Vice President Kamala Harris. Vice President Kamala Harris' memeified presidential campaign during the 2024 U.S. election targeted voters through a …

Hyperreality Ain’T Really Real: Postmodernity, Social Media, & Blackness, Micah White

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the interplay between postmodernity, social media, and African American identity formation through focus group analysis and Grounded Theory methodology. The research investigates how social media’s postmodern features—fragmentation, hyperreality, commodification, and context collapse—shape identity development among African Americans, who historically navigate cultural disruption and systemic racism. Data from semi-structured interviews with two generational focus groups revealed that participants engaged in sophisticated identity curation to balance authenticity and protection in racially charged digital spaces. Key findings highlight the tension between empowerment and marginalization, as social media served as both a platform for racial affirmation and a source of …

Teacher Perception On The Implementation Of A Culturally Responsive Ela Curriculum, Erica Tate Dial

Theses and Dissertations

While the principles of culturally responsive and culturally relevant teaching hold transformative potential, they can only be fully realized if educators are genuinely equipped and empowered to implement them. This qualitative study examined teacher perceptions of an English Language Arts curriculum through the lens of culturally relevant and culturally responsive teaching. A diverse group of teachers, varying in experience, age, gender, and race, were interviewed to gather a range of perspectives on the implementation of this curriculum. The study focused on addressing the following research questions: 1. What are teachers’ perceptions of culturally responsive and culturally relevant instruction and academic …

Legislative Impacts On K-12 Social Studies Teacher Identity, Curricular Decision-Making, And Receptiveness To Professional Development, Staci Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation examines how K-12 public school social studies teachers are navigating their instructional decision-making regarding content about marginalized groups in response to state legislation. Quantitative data were collected through an online Likert-scale survey to measure teachers’ reported agreement on how state legislation has impacted their instructional decision-making, job satisfaction connected to their professional and personal identities, inclusion of instructional materials, and receptiveness to professional development.

Following data collection, the researchers analyzed whether factors of district political context and teachers’ personal and professional identity characteristics predicted their responses. Survey results showed most teachers reported feeling that state legislation has …

Breaching The Screen: A Digital Technofeminist Methodology For Virtual And Augmented Realities, Frank Macarthy

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation provides a methodological framework that seeks to further scholarly and pedagogical inquiry at the intersections of feminist rhetorical studies, digital rhetoric, and cultural studies. More specifically, drawing upon theories of technofeminism (relationships among technology and feminism) and cyberfeminism (relationships among the internet and feminism), this dissertation proposes a digital technofeminist methodology to study the complex relationships between virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies, bodies, and rhetoric. This framework aims to help digital rhetoric scholar-teachers to critically investigate digital technologies that blur the distinction between virtuality, material bodies, and realities.

Building on digital rhetoric and technofeminist scholarship, this dissertation …

I Am Not A Dictator; I Am A Defender: The Rhetoric Of Coup D’État In Francophone Africa, Isaac Asare Kwakye

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the rhetorical strategies used by coup leaders in Francophone Africa to authorize their actions and garner public support. Focusing on recent military takeovers in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger since 2020, I investigate how coup leaders construct narratives of legitimacy within the context of contemporary geopolitical dynamics. I utilize Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to analyze speeches by three key coup leaders: Colonel Assimi Goïta, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, and General Abdourahamane Tchiani. My analysis reveals four interconnected rhetorical frameworks: framing interventions as emergency measures, cultivating savior personas, weaponizing anti-colonial grievances, and deploying anti-corruption narratives. A comparative analysis of …

A New Theater For Age-Old Social Patterns: An Exploratory Study Of Interpersonal Dynamics And The Overlay Of Gender Within Ai Companionship, Miriam Wolff

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) companions fundamentally shifts the landscape of interpersonal communication, introducing artificial entities as relational partners rather than mere facilitators of human-to-human interaction. This exploratory study examines the interplay of machine gendering, self-disclosure, perceived partner responsiveness (PPR), and interpersonal satisfaction within human-AI interactions. Participants engaged in conversations with gendered AI companions through the program Replika, completed structured surveys, and participated in qualitative interviews. Findings indicate that users' willingness to self-disclose was influenced by their perceptions of AI responsiveness, while gendered characteristics of AI significantly shaped user expectations and communication patterns. Specifically, users often attributed distinct personality …