Digital Commons Network^™

Navigating Cognitive Dissonance Among Lgbtq+ Filipino Americans, Aj Laxa

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study explored how LGBTQ+ Filipino Americans experience and navigate cognitive dissonance related to their intersecting identities, with particular attention to Filipino cultural values, religious beliefs, and family dynamics. Using pakikipagkuwentuhan as a methodology, six LGBTQ+ Filipino American participants engaged in narrative interviews. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis. Three major themes, along with subthemes, emerged: (1) religion as a source of cognitive dissonance, (2) secular Filipino values intensifying cognitive dissonance, and (3) strategies for navigating cognitive dissonance. Participants described navigating conflicts between LGBTQ+ identity and religious teachings, as well as balancing authenticity with relational …

A Qualitative Exploration Of The Attitudes And Perceptions Of Female Immigrants Of Chinese Descent Regarding Access To Mental Health Services, Ming Wai Myra Kan

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the lived experiences and meaning-making of Chinese immigrants’ attitudes and perceptions of mental disorders and mental health-seeking behaviors in the US. This study also explored the cultural and structural barriers to mental health services in the US. A total of six participants were interviewed in this study, and the interviews were conducted in English and Cantonese. Eligible participants identified as being of Chinese descent who immigrated to the US from Hong Kong or Mainland China and were over the age of 18. IPA analysis revealed seven themes: Cultural Identity, Post-Migration Adjustment …

The Association Between The Number Of Languages Spoken, Working Memory, And Emotional Regulation In Monolingual English Speakers And Fluent Multilingual English And Non-English Speakers, Eun-Sung Chang

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the growing linguistic diversity of the population in the United States, multilingual individuals remain underrepresented in psychological research and often experience disparities in access to culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health care. Using a cross-sectional design and quantitative methods, the present study examined the relationships among the number of languages spoken, working memory, and emotional regulation. A total of 94 participants (30 monolingual English speakers and 64 multilingual speakers who spoke English and at least one other language fluently) completed the Working Memory Index (WMI) of the WAIS-IV and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Results revealed no …

Familismo: Exploring A Culturally Sensitive Correlation Between Parentification And Relationship Satisfaction Amongst First Generation Mexican-American Adults Through An Attachment Theory Lens, Ana K. Perez

Dissertations

Parentification refers to the role reversal of children who take on adult responsibility to care for family members. This role is often filled by Mexican-American children as a result of immigration and assimilation. This study explored the relationship between parentification and adult romantic relationship satisfaction among first-generation Mexican-American adults, with particular attention to the moderating roles of attachment styles and perceived unfairness. While earlier research has linked parentification to mental health challenges, few studies have examined its long-term impact on intimate relationships, including relationship satisfaction and experiences of intimate partner violence. A total of 132 participants completed an online survey …

Analyzing Environmental Education In Northern Mississippi And Its Impact On Student Outcomes, Vishnu S. Gadepalli

Honors Theses

This thesis examines environmental education in public high schools in northern Mississippi, investigating how educators describe its presence, delivery, and institutional support in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harm. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with high school teachers across four northern Mississippi schools, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed through iterative thematic coding under Institutional Review Board approval. Five themes emerged: opportunistic curricular integration, time and standards as overriding structural constraints, passive institutional support, student receptivity tempered by limited awareness, and significant variation across school contexts with one magnet school as a clear outlier. The study concludes that environmental education in these …

Bridging Research And Practice: A Mixed Methods Study Of Principals' Use Of Implementation Driver Strategies To Support The Adoption Of Evidence-Based Literacy Practices In Minnesota K-12 Public Schools, Jamie L. Nord

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Despite a substantial research base identifying effective reading instruction, some schools continue to struggle to translate evidence-based literacy practices into consistent classroom use. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study examined the relationship between Minnesota K–12 public school principals’ self-reported use of implementation driver strategies and their self-reported adoption of evidence-based literacy practices, while also exploring how principals perceived implementation within their school contexts. Guided by the Implementation Drivers framework, the study included a statewide survey of 138 principals using the researcher-developed Leadership for Literacy Implementation Scale, followed by two focus groups with 10 participants. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive, …

Reflecting On Psychotherapy In Adolescence: A Qualitative Analysis Of Processes Of Change, John Parigger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a sharp increase in anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescence, and many forms of psychotherapy are shown to be effective. However, most research has examined average effects for manualized treatments that address multiple areas of functioning, which makes it difficult to determine how psychotherapy causes positive change. Process-based therapy postulates that all psychotherapies work through promoting adaptive biopsychosocial patterns of behavior (i.e., processes of change). Research has increasingly focused on the process-based therapy model, and there is a need for qualitative studies to incorporate lived experience into our understanding of change processes. The current study utilized the process-based …

The Effect Of Resilience: Exploring The Link Between Depression And Cognitive Performance In A Memory Disorder Clinic Population, Amanda Capriglione

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Research has consistently shown that depressive symptoms are associated with cognitive impairments, namely in memory, attention, and executive functioning (for a review, see Rock et al., 2014), particularly in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). As MCI is often a precursor to dementia, understanding and addressing modifiable factors that influence this trajectory is essential for prevention and intervention efforts. Resilience, defined as the capacity to adapt positively to adversity, has been identified as a potential protective factor against age-related cognitive decline. Prior studies (e.g., Laird et al., 2019b; Miller et al., 2023) suggest that resilience buffers against the cognitive …

What Types Of Uncertainty Emerge In Instructional Aviation Incidents?, Abigail Henson

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study utilized narrative reports from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) database to examine the types of uncertainty present in near-miss instructional aviation incidents occurring within the United States between 2015 and 2025. The final dataset consisted of 86 reports, with each report containing a set of narrative accounts from both the student pilot and the flight instructor operating under Part 91 regulations. Each instructional event was classified using a combined framework incorporating uncertainty categorizations and the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS). Results indicate that epistemological uncertainty was the most common …

Artificial Intelligence And Translation: Exploring Current Applications, Limitations And Future Potential Of Language Models Through Japanese-English Translation, Loklin Elias Nord

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis highlights the recent improvements and capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs), specifically their ability to produce translations between different languages. The continued up-scaling of model sizes has led to breakthroughs in the level of their observed intelligence, allowing them to produce translations that are similar in quality to highly skilled human translators. However, to facilitate the reasoning processes that LLMs now possess, their demand for computational power and the supporting hardware and resources has increased proportionally. Considering the impacts of this technology on the environment, energy resources, and its accessibility, my research explores the possibilities of smaller, highly …

Undefined By Design: The Fragmented Public Understanding Of Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion (Dei) By Americans, Caroline Umphlet

Theses and Dissertations

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies have become a contentious issue in contemporary United States public discourse, yet a critical question remains as to whether the public shares a common foundational understanding of these terms. While DEI as a concept has developed and evolved significantly since the 1960s, public understanding remains ardently fragmented.

This thesis aims to answer the research questions: how does the 60+ age group in the US define and understand diversity, equity, and inclusion and DEI policies? The 60+ age group was specifically chosen because their definitions give insight into the publics’ understanding of policy topics when …

Sufism At The Service Of Ḥadīth Commentary: Re-Framing Al-Kalābādhī'S Baḥr Al-FawāʾId In Fourth-Tenth Century Transoxiana, Fadhil Yunus Alsagoff

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Abū Bakr al-Kalābādhī’s (d. 380/990) understudied ḥadīth commentary, the Baḥr al-fawāʾid al-mashhūr bi-maʿānī al-akhbār. The first Anglophone study of the text as a whole, this thesis situates itself within the emergent literature on ḥadīth commentaries and challenges the prevailing scholarly tendency to reduce Sufi-authored commentarial texts to the ishārī method of interpretation and to treat them solely as repositories of Sufi themes. This thesis argues that, contrary to current perceptions of the text as primarily a work of Sufism, the Baḥr al-fawaʾid is first and foremost a work of ḥadīth commentary, its main intent being to …

Between The Lens And The Gaze: Reflections Of Femininity In Film, Noureen Sakr

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the male gaze’s construction of femininity through the use of glass and reflective surfaces, particularly mirrors, windows, glasses, and cameras in film. Reflections and depictions of women are recurring motifs in cinema, often symbolizing dynamics of perception and power. This thesis mobilizes related psychoanalytic and feminist conceptions to examine and compare the recurring visual motifs in the following films: Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951) and Rear Window (1954), Paul Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct (1992), & Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (2010). This thesis employs a qualitative, interdisciplinary methodology that integrates psychoanalytic theory, feminist film theory, literary criticism …

Hell Reimagined: Dante’S Inferno And The Secular Afterlives Of Divine Punishment, Yara Mohamed El Hashimi

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines contrapasso and how it changes across different media and different sources of moral authority. In Chapter One, I examine four different cantos of Dante’s Inferno and rely on Teodolinda Barolini’s work to examine textual contrapasso. Chapter One also discusses how Dante’s work shows the sinner’s moral condition and makes it visible through the punishment inflicted. Additionally, Dante’s Inferno presents punishment as part of a divinely authorized moral order, which becomes important in Chapter Two when I examine how William Blake visually interprets and questions that system. In Chapter Two, I examine the works of Blake that correspond …

How Can Egypt’S Technical And Vocational Education System Be Adapted To Improve The Employability Of Autistic Youth And Adults?, Miriam A. Menkarious

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides original qualitative evidence on autism, employability, and TVET in an LMIC context, focusing on Egypt’s ongoing TVET reforms. The research investigated barriers and facilitators to employment for autistic youth and adults in Egypt, with a particular focus on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) as a potential pathway into work, and explored stakeholder perspectives on the potential, barriers, and conditions for adapting the Egyptian TVET system to improve their employability. Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework, this qualitative study relied on 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews with autistic youth and adults, parents …

“The Light Of Certain Belief” – Orthodoxy Versus Innovation According To Abū Ḥāmid Al-Ghazālī’S Al-Risāla Al-Qudsiyyah, Thomas Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the question of Islamic orthodoxy in the thought of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī, with particular attention to his Risāla al-Qudsiyya and its place within his wider intellectual and reformative project. It begins by exploring concepts of orthodoxy and heterodoxy across the Christian and Islamic traditions, arguing that orthodoxy emerges through processes of interpretation, doctrinal conflict, boundary formation, and communal consensus. Islamic orthodoxy is understood as the historically consolidated mainstream of belief rooted in the Qurʾān, the Sunnah, the authority of the early community, and the scholarly tradition.

The central argument of the thesis is that al-Ghazālī conceives of …

Threaded Belonging: Strengthening Cultural Identity Through Armenian Embroidery In The Diaspora, Krysten A. Lee

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

The current study examined the impact of an Armenian textile arts workshop on cultural identity among members of the Armenian diaspora in the Bay Area of California (n = 25). Grounded in relational-cultural theory, it explored how culturally grounded, community-based, traditional art practices may strengthen cultural identity and reduce cultural disconnection resulting from forced displacement following the Armenian Genocide of 1915. A mixed-methods, arts-based design was implemented where participants engaged in an embroidery workshop centered on traditional Armenian textile practices. Data was collected through pre- and post-intervention Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) scale (Aron, Aron, & Smollan, 1992) …

Loneliness And Social Isolation: Finding Connection Through Art, Elijah K. Wong

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study explored whether creativity might help alleviate feelings of loneliness and social isolation. The COVID-19 pandemic was an extraordinary event that significantly impacted people's emotional, physical, psychological, and social health globally. To gain insight into these impacts, the research focused on participants’ creative activities and their experiences of loneliness during and after the pandemic. The aim was to find possible links between making and viewing art and reducing feelings of loneliness and loneliness-related experiences. Ten participants were surveyed and asked about their artistry, their time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their sense of belonging to a community. This investigation …

Evaluating Suicidal Ideation Measures: A Comparative Review Of Characteristics And Accessibility, Eliza Hope Laves

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family:Arial; mso-ansi-language:EN;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:11.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:Arial; mso-hansi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-font-kerning:0pt; mso-ligatures:none; mso-ansi-language:EN;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; line-height:115%;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}

Measures of suicidal ideation have been included within both research and clinical settings to help medical and mental health professionals alike address and prevent suicide related deaths, especially since the rise of suicide as one of the leading causes of death in the United States. However, many people across different …

How Traditional And Social Media Shapes Public Perception Of United States Surpeme Court Decisions On Civil Liberties, Leila P. Martin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This study examines how traditional and social medai shape public perception of U.S. Supreme Court decisions on Civil liberties, focusing on four landmark cases: Dobbs v. Jackson, District of Columbia v. Heller, Materpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and Obergfell v. Hodges. Using Entmans framing theory, the research analyzes how tone, language, emphasis, and ideological slant differ across media platofrms and how these frames infleunce public attitudes, insitutional trust, and civic understanding. A mixed-methods design combines archival media analysis, national polling data from Pew Rsearch Center and gallup, and an independent survery to asses how media narratives, rather than …

Grievability Of The Abject As Narrated By Exiles, Sylvia Azmy

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes two novels: Inaam Kachachi’s Sawaqi al-Qulub (2005) and Shady Lewis’s ʿAla Khatt Grinitsh (2019), to understand the relationships between figures of migration, as the exile narrates his encounters with refugees. It uses Julia Kristeva’s Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980) and Judith Butler’s Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable? (2009) as theoretical frameworks to examine the deaths of refugees and their corpses (utmost of abjection) in the two novels. Scholars have argued that the literature of forced migration is becoming more inclusive than migration narratives, a term that has focused on student travelers, exilic …

Self-Reflecting On 30 Years Of Liberational Praxis: A Pluri-Epistemic Journey Embracing The Relational Indigenous Research Paradigm To Expand The Emancipatory Aims Of The Psychology Of Liberation., Adriana Fernand Salazar Ms

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis asks how embracing Relational Epistemology, through accountable Pluri-Epistemic Dialogue, expands the Emancipatory aims of the Psychology of Liberation and deepens Liberational Praxis. Grounded in thirty years of Liberational Praxis, it brings the Psychology of Liberation into accountable encounter with Indigenous and Postcolonial Relational Epistemologies, without claiming Indigenous identity, authority, ceremony, or ownership. Within this situated encounter, Pensar Bonito (Tidy Thinking) illuminates movements from Martín-Baró’s Historical Memory toward Territorial and Ancestral Memory, from Freirean Dialogue toward walking the Word, from Fals Borda’s sentipensante toward Body-Nature and Body-Us, and from decolonial critique toward practices of Care and Subversion. Through a …

The Relationship Between Acculturative Stress, Body Dissatisfaction, And Disordered Eating Behavior Among Latina Women In The United States, Emily Lillian Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

The majority of research on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors focuses predominantly on the experiences of white women, neglecting the significant impact of acculturative stress on these issues, especially among understudied groups like Latina women. The present study seeks to address the gap in the literature by obtaining data that explores the extent to which acculturative stress, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating behavior have a relationships. Additionally, it investigates the roles of cultural values and ethnic identification in protecting against body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behavior within this population. To determine whether acculturative stress is predictive of body dissatisfaction …

Beyond Symptoms: Examining Perinatal Mental Health Care Among Black, Indigenous And People Of Color With Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, Vinaya Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are as a public health concern in the United States. Individuals from minoritized racial/ethnic groups face a significantly elevated risk of maternal morbidity, mortality, mental health disorders, and associated adverse outcomes. Emerging studies also reveal a higher likelihood of experiencing perinatal mental health concerns in individuals with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), currently known as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS). People who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC) face unique healthcare challenges given the added structural and social burdens. This online survey study aimed to 1) understand the relationship between PMOS …

Integrating Student-Mined Data In Youth Computer Science Learning: An Investigation Of Learning Outcomes And Educational Strategies, Alex Acquah

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As data increasingly shapes participation in society, there is growing emphasis on preparing youth to engage with data through computer science education. Existing K-12 computing and data science curricula have expanded opportunities for learners to analyze and interpret data; however, many learning experiences continue to rely on datasets and inquiry structures designed by others, limiting authentic engagement, personal relevance, and learner agency. This dissertation investigates the integration of student-mined data in youth computer science learning and examines its influence on computational thinking, epistemic agency, and learning experiences among high school students. Using a qualitative approach, data collected from youths of …

Differences In Sustained Attentional Engagement With Emotional Targets In Individuals Reporting High And Low Worry, Jinu J. Mathew

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Attention bias towards emotionally salient or threatening information has been well documented across various populations, and it has been thought to contribute to the development and maintenance of anxiety. While previous research has identified early-stage attentional differences in individuals reporting elevated anxiety symptoms, less is known about how worry might impact later-stage processes involving sustained attentional engagement and visual working memory. The present study examined behavioral and electrophysiological indices of attentional processing during a modified visual search task in individuals reporting high compared to low levels of worry. Sixty-eight participants were recruited and classified into high and low worry groups …

High School Teachers' Experiences Working With Latino Immigrant Students Who Have Experienced Trauma, Collette Marie Jiménez Serra

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Latino immigrant students in U.S. public high schools are disproportionately exposed to trauma related to migration experiences, family separation, poverty, and acculturative stress, yet many teachers report feeling underprepared to address students’ trauma-related needs in culturally responsive ways. Limited research has examined high school teachers’ lived experiences implementing trauma-informed practices with Latino immigrant students, particularly from teachers’ own perspectives. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore high school teachers’ lived experiences implementing trauma-informed practices with Latino immigrant students, including their perceptions of preparedness and the factors influencing implementation. Guided by principles of trauma-informed care (TIC) and relational-cultural …

Urban Secondary Teachers’ Perspectives On Their Experiences With Ai-Generated Lesson Plans To Support Instructional Practices, Jennifer Amend

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Urban secondary schools are increasingly encouraged to integrate AI tools into instructional planning. The problem many teachers remain uncertain about the effectiveness of AI-generated lesson plans. Grounded in Hall and Hord’s concerns-based adoption model, the purpose of this project study was to explore urban secondary teachers’ perspectives of their successes, challenges, and resource needs related to the use of AI-generated lesson plans to support instructional practices at PUHS. For this basic qualitative design, data were collected through semistructured interviews with 11 secondary teachers and analyzed using first-cycle coding and second-cycle pattern coding. Six themes emerged: AI as an Efficiency and …

Sanctified Rhythms Of Rest: Reclaiming Sabbath And Spiritual Retreat For Pastoral Renewal And Burnout Mitigation In The Georgia Assemblies Of God, Philip Sosebee

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

“Sanctified Rhythms of Rest: Reclaiming Sabbath and Spiritual Retreat for Pastoral Renewal and Burnout Mitigation in the Georgia Assemblies of God” explored how intentional rhythms of Sabbath observance, solitude and silence, and spiritual retreat shaped the lived experiences of credentialed ministers within the Georgia District of the Assemblies of God. Pastoral burnout, emotional exhaustion, and unsustainable ministry expectations continue to affect ministers across denominational contexts, raising questions regarding the role of biblically grounded rhythms of rest in fostering pastoral renewal and sustainability. Using a six-month longitudinal hermeneutic phenomenological design, twenty-nine credentialed ministers participated in the intentional practice of weekly Sabbath …

Servingness In Solidarity: How Filipina/X/O American Student Organizations Cultivate Belonging, Clarissa Mae Lico Calimbas

Dissertations

Filipina/x/o American college students represent one of the largest Asian ethnic subgroups in the United States, yet their educational experiences remain underexamined within institutional research and higher education scholarship. Aggregated under the broader Asian American category, Filipina/x/o American students are rendered invisible by data practices that obscure the distinct colonial histories, socioeconomic realities, and identity negotiations. This qualitative study examined how Filipina/x/o American students at Pacific State University (PSU) describe their involvement in Filipina/x/o American Student Organizations (FASOs) and how that involvement shapes their sense of belonging, cultural identity development, and academic persistence. Guided by a critical race phenomenological framework …