Digital Commons Network^™

"Intonations Of Their Own Language": An Analysis Of Leadership And Resonance In Two Progressive Young-Adult-Filled Congregations In The Pacific Northwest., D. Bethan Theunissen

Dissertations

Christendom in Canada and the United States is in decline, and young adults are leaving the church in considerable numbers. This exodus is especially noticeable in mainstream religious denominations, although evangelical groups are beginning to experience a similar waning. The fastest-growing “religious” group consists of those who identify with no religion.

Simultaneously, young adults are experiencing a far longer entry process into adulthood after adolescence than those who went before them. They also experience the world as unstable and impermanent. Their needs and the church’s needs could converge but instead seem to be antithetical to each other in ways that …

Campus Mental Health Practices And The Stigma Of Mental Illness: A Quantitative Analysis Of Student Affairs Professionals, Megan Krone

Dissertations

Around half of undergraduate college students will experience mental illness to some extent during their academic careers, yet a low percentage of students experiencing signs and symptoms of mental illness will seek help despite the availability of proven, effective treatments. The field of higher education has demonstrated a genuine concern for individuals with mental illnesses and mental health care on campuses, yet implementation of practices that connect students to treatment is inconsistent and effectiveness is uncertain.

This study searched for associations between campus practices and campus culture regarding mental illness. While institutions of higher education are using both traditional and …

School Nurse Perceptions And Decisions About Children Self-Carrying Inhalers In School, Lisa Anne Dominguez Jaurigue

Dissertations

Every state in the United States has passed legislation allowing students to self-carry rescue inhalers in the school setting. Many organizations are stakeholders in respiratory issues, school health issues, and pediatric issues, recommending the support of this practice. Students’ ability to self-carrying rescue inhalers in the school setting has been impacted by school nurse perceptions and decision-making. This study addressed the questions: (a) What are school nurse perceptions and attitudes in regard to children self-carrying inhalers in the school setting? (b) How do school nurses decide whether children can self-carry inhalers in the school setting? and, (c) Are school districts …

Avoiding Hospital-Acquired Conditions: A Qualitative Analysis Of Early Top Performers, Tammy Doolittle

Dissertations

Preventable medical errors in hospitals cost our nation an estimated 180,000 annual deaths and tens of billions of dollars. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandated improvements in quality and patient safety. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, acting on these imperatives initiated legislation-mandated programs halting reimbursement to hospitals for specific hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) coined as Never Events. To date, studies have focused on quantifying incidence of specific HAC and assessing policy impact without correlating findings to actual outcome performance. The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of organizational, contextual, process, and other factors occurring …

Spinning Straw Into Gold: A Study Of Resource Creation, Flow, And Conversion In A Nonprofit Collaboration, Elizabeth A. Castillo

Dissertations

Throughout history people have joined together to improve their individual lives. In the modern era, organizations often work cooperatively to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness. Collaborating organizations in the nonprofit sector are increasingly expected to produce system-level change as well. This collective impact approach is under-theorized and therefore not consistently actionable. A central puzzle is how formal nonprofit collaborations acquire resource inputs and transform them into outputs, outcomes, and impact while producing financial returns to sustain the backbone organization. Resource dependence theory is sometimes proposed as an explanatory framework, yet it does not explain the generation of a double bottom …

Exploring The Lived Experience Of Male-To-Female Transgender Youth Accessing Trans-Related Healthcare In Los Angeles, Marcel Fomotar

Dissertations

Background: According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2015), LGBTI individuals delay healthcare treatment because they fear stigmatization or because they believe many healthcare professionals lack knowledge and experience working with LGBTI individuals. The phenomenon of living as a transgender person and accessing trans-related healthcare is understudied.

Aim: To explore the perceived meaning of accessing transgender-related healthcare among transgender youth.

Method: A phenomenological qualitative design grounded on Husserl’s descriptive phenomenology was used to explore the ascribed meaning associated to accessing trans-related healthcare services among transyouth as they experienced and perceived it. A purposive and thematic sample of Male-to-Female transyouth …

A Mixed Methods Exploration Of Minority Resource Eligibility For Half White Multiracial College Students, Nicholas Reyes Franco

Dissertations

Over the last several decades, multiracial populations have received increased attention in academic literature, particularly regarding identity development and psychological health and wellness. Less attention has been given to individuals with one minority and one white parent (i.e., half white individuals) in the context of affirmative action and higher education. Existing quantitative studies on this topic suggest, on the one hand, that half white individuals are likely to be considered members of racial minorities, yet, on the other hand, less of a minority—and less deserving of affirmative action benefits—than monoracial individuals or multiracial individuals with multiple minority identities. College students’ …

Meaning-Making In Student Conduct Administration: A Developmental Perspective, Sean Robert Horrigan

Dissertations

The field of student conduct administration (SCA) in higher education has grown more complex. Researchers and practitioners have noted the tension for conduct officers between managing legal and policy compliance focused on the adjudication of cases and serving as restorative justice minded educators oriented towards student growth and learning. As a result, the knowledge required and the skills practiced by conduct officers are broad and varied. An overlooked dimension of SCA is how conduct officer development, especially as it relates to meaning-making, influences their experiences, knowledge, and skills. This study, utilizing a developmental theory known as “action logics,” explores how …

Clients As Voting Board Members: A Mixed Methods Examination Of San Diego County Nonprofit Human Services Organizations, Elaine Marie Lewis

Dissertations

The literature suggests that thoughtful board composition generates more strategic and thoughtful policymaking. This study examined one aspect of board composition that is frequently cited as a source of more strategic and thoughtful policymaking: clients as voting members.

This study used descriptive and inferential statistics to examine the prevalence of, and the factors associated with clients participating as board members of human services nonprofit organizations in San Diego County. Through a review of the most recent 12 months of board meeting notes, this study also explored the level of participation of two clients on the board of directors of one …

Transitions To Assisted Living Within A Continuing Care Retirement Community, Judith H. Scott

Dissertations

Purpose/Aims: The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of older single women who moved from their independent homes to the assisted living setting, both situated within a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC).

Rationale: Anecdotally, CCRC transitions have been viewed as either one dreaded possible step toward the end of life or a supportive place to open a new chapter in older adults’ lives. However, no studies have actually examined this experience among older single women, who comprise a large proportion of people making this transition.

Background: Older adults move to assisted living within a CCRC when …

A Grounded Theory Approach To Healthy Work Environment: Its Impact On Nurses, Patient Safety, And Significance In Healthcare Settings, Nicole Sevilla-Zeigen

Dissertations

A healthy working environment has been an area of interest for occupation health providers. There is anticipation that a safe working environment improves patient safety, which is associated with reduction in clinical nurse errors. Issues with medication errors and poor working environment pose a greater risk to patient safety. The aim of this qualitative study was to provide a broad understanding on nurses’ perceptions on the processes that influence a healthy working environment and the impacts of a healthy working environment on patient safety. An interpretive grounded theory methodology was used in this study to evaluate nurses’ perceptions in acute …

The Effect Of Organizational Commitment, Organizational Based Self Esteem And Work Engagement On Nurses' Perception Of Medication Errors, Vanessa V. Wertheim

Dissertations

Background: Organizations rely on the accurate reporting of medication errors or omissions by bedside nurses to improve the medication delivery system in order to prevent further errors from occurring in the future. In a time where nurses are managing more complex patients with shorter lengths of stay, full engagement in the role is essential. Literature from other disciplines suggests that many factors can influence work engagement (Chughtai & Buckley, 2011; Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá & Bakker, 2002; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003). Two of these factors include organizational commitment and organizational-based self-esteem (Allen & Meyer, 1990; Bowling, Eschleman, Wang, Kirkendall & Alarcon, …

Symptom Experience And Influenza-Like Illness In A Military Population, Monique Bouvier

Dissertations

AIMS: The primary objective of this study was to identify if symptom presentation expressed over the course of an influenza-like illness (ILI) can predict virus type by use of unsupervised machine learning. The secondary objective was to describe clinical characteristics of strain specific coronavirus. Finally, examine the psychometric properties of the Canadian Acute Respiratory Illness and Flu Scale (CARIFS).

BACKGROUND: ILI outbreaks have been a significant source of non-battle injury among military personnel. Many different viruses cause ILI, and it is difficult to determine which virus is causing the illness. Recent studies have examined the etiology and epidemiology of ILIs. …

Exploring The Intersection Of Fat+Wom*N+Leadership: An Action Research Study, Jessica Jamese Williams

Dissertations

Cultural propaganda promotes an ever-changing feminine ideal which is parasitically reliant on women preoccupying themselves—ourselves—with our physical aesthetic. For women that identify as fat, most spaces openly neglect or are simply intolerant of her and even the stores meant for her are riddled with products meant to bind, reshape and essentially change her body. Fat women embody the paradox of being both conspicuous and unseen. Within systems, fat women are often silenced by shame, bias and discrimination; the unwanted and soiled identity hold us at the margins and serving as a barrier to effectively connect with others and practice leadership. …

The Word Outside And The Pictures In Our Heads: Contingent Framing Effects Of Labels On Health Policy Preferences By Political Ideology, Sungjong Roh, Jeff Niederdeppe

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study uses data from systematic Web image search results and two randomized survey experiments to analyze how frames commonly used in public debates about health issues, oper- ationalized here as alternative word choices, influence public support for health policy reforms. In Study 1, analyses of Bing (N = 1,719), Google (N = 1,872), and Yahoo Images (N = 1,657) search results suggest that the images returned from the search query “sugar-sweetened beverage” are more likely to evoke health-related concepts than images returned from a search query about “soda.” In contrast, “soda” search queries were more likely to incorporate brand-related …

Discrimination By Customers, Katharine T. Bartlett, Mitu Gulati

Faculty Scholarship

Customers discriminate by race and gender, with considerable negative consequences for female and minority workers and business owners. Yet anti-discrimination laws apply only to discrimination by firms, not by customers. We examine efficacy and privacy reasons for why this may be so, as well as changing features of the market that, by blurring the line between firms and customers, make current law increasingly irrelevant. We conclude that, while there are reasons to be cautious about regulating customer behavior, those reasons do not justify acceding to customer discrimination altogether. To open a discussion of the regulatory options that take account of …

Race, Class, And Access To Civil Justice, Sara Sternberg Greene

Faculty Scholarship

After many years of inattention, policymakers are now focused on troubling statistics indicating that members of poor and minority groups are less likely than their higher-income counterparts to seek help when they experience a civil justice problem. Indeed, roughly three-quarters of the poor do not seek legal help when they experience a civil justice problem, and inaction is even more pronounced among poor blacks. Past work on access to civil justice largely relies on unconfirmed assumptions about the behavior patterns and needs of those experiencing civil justice problems. At a time when increased attention and resources are being devoted to …

The Rise Of Bank Prosecutions, Brandon L. Garrett

Faculty Scholarship

Before 2008, prosecutions of banks had been quite rare in the federal courts, and the criminal liability of banks and bankers was not a topic that received much public or scholarly attention. In the wake of the last financial crisis, however, critics have begun to ask whether prosecutors adequately held banks and bankers accountable for their crimes. In this Essay, I describe the remarkable rise in the number of bank prosecutions in recent years, as well as the still steeper rise in criminal penalties imposed on banks. 2015 was the year that bank prosecutions finally came into their own, both …

Missing Data In Clinical Trial: A Critical Look At The Proportionality Of Mnar And Mar Assumptions For Multiple Imputation, Theophile B. Dipita

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Randomized control trial is a gold standard of research studies. Randomization helps reduce bias and infer causality. One constraint of these studies is that it depends on participants to obtain the desired data. Whatever the researcher can do, there is a possibility to end up with incomplete data. The problem is more relevant in clinical trials when missing data can be related to the condition under study. The benefits of randomization is compromised by missing data. Multiple imputation is a valid method of treating missing data under the assumption of MAR. Unfortunately this is an unverified assumptions. Current practice advise …

Rare As Hens' Teeth: The New Geography Of The American Death Penalty, Brandon L. Garrett

Faculty Scholarship

Today, only a few dozen scattered counties actually impose death sentences, supporting the death penalty’s arbitrariness.

(Mis)Recognizing Polygamy, Kerry Abrams

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Rethink Gv Landscape, Chantelle Ash, Ashley Brecken, Matthew Jolman

Environmental and Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Projects

No abstract provided.

Farming The Future, Andrijka Holton, Brittany Jacobs, Cassie Swanson, Hannah Swanson, Taylor Young

Environmental and Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Projects

No abstract provided.

Privatizing Public Litigation, Margaret H. Lemos

Faculty Scholarship

Government litigators increasingly use private resources—human and financial—to support their efforts in court. In some cases, government entities hire private lawyers to perform legal work on behalf of the government; in others, they draw on private donations to fund litigation; and in some cases they do both, relying on privately funded private lawyers to litigate cases in the government’s name. These mergers of public and private can be understood as part of broader trends toward the privatization of government services. This Article uses lessons from the privatization debates to illuminate the likely costs and benefits of bringing private actors into …

Patent Institutions: Shifting Interactions Between Legal Actors, Arti K. Rai

Faculty Scholarship

This contribution to the Research Handbook on Economics of Intellectual Property Rights (Vol. 1 Theory) addresses interactions between the principal legal institutions of the U.S. patent system. It considers legal, strategic, and normative perspectives on these interactions as they have evolved over the last 35 years. Early centralization of power by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, newly created in 1982, established a regime dominated by the appellate court's bright-line rules. More recently, aggressive Supreme Court and Congressional intervention have respectively reinvigorated patent law standards and led to significant devolution of power to inferior tribunals, including newly …

Neighborhoods By Assessment: An Analysis Of Non-Ad Valorem Financing In California, Mathew D. Mccubbins, Ellen C. Seljan

Faculty Scholarship

Non-ad valorem assessments on property are a fiscal innovation born from financial stress. Unable to raise property taxes due to limitations, many localities have turned to these charges as an alternative method to fund local services. In this paper, we seek to explain differential levels of non-ad valorem assessment financing through the analysis of property tax records of a large and diverse set of single family homes in California. We theorize that assessments, as opposed to other forms of taxation, will be used when residents hold anti-redistributive preferences. We show that assessment financing is most common in cities with high …

Towards A New International Law Of The Atmosphere?, Peter H. Sand, Jonathan B. Wiener

Faculty Scholarship

Inclusion of the topic ‘protection of the atmosphere’ in the current work programme of the UN International Law Commission (ILC) reflects the long overdue recognition of the fact that the scope of contemporary international law for the Earth’s atmosphere extends far beyond the traditional discipline of ‘air law’ as a synonym for airspace and air navigation law. Instead, the atmospheric commons are regulated by a ‘regime complex’ comprising a multitude of economic uses including global communications, pollutant emissions and diffusion, in different geographical sectors and vertical zones, in the face of different categories of risks, and addressed by a wide …

Criminal Adjudication, Error Correction, And Hindsight Blind Spots, Lisa Kern Griffin

Faculty Scholarship

Concerns about hindsight in the law typically arise with regard to the bias that outcome knowledge can produce. But a more difficult problem than the clear view that hindsight appears to provide is the blind spot that it actually has. Because of the conventional wisdom about error review, there is a missed opportunity to ensure meaningful scrutiny. Beyond the confirmation biases that make convictions seem inevitable lies the question whether courts can see what they are meant to assess when they do look closely for error. Standards that require a retrospective showing of materiality, prejudice, or harm turn on what …

The Effects Of Injunctive And Descriptive Normative Influence On Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward Individuals With Mental Illness, Erin E. Lawson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

People often stigmatize individuals with mental illness (Corrigan, 2003; Weiss, 1994). The stigmatization of mental illness may be facilitated by socialization tools, such as the media, which send messages to the public that individuals with mental illness are fundamentally different and therefore should be excluded from the social majority (Klin & Lemish, 2008; Signorielli, 1989; Stout, Villegas, & Jennings, 2004). Understanding mental illness stigma as a social process may broaden theoretical understanding of how mental illness stigma develops and how it may be reduced. Theories regarding injunctive and descriptive norms may provide such insight. It is known that injunctive norms …

Keynote Address, Regulating Corporate Governance In The Public Interest: The Case Of Systemic Risk, Steven L. Schwarcz

Faculty Scholarship

There’s long been a debate whether corporate governance law should require some duty to the public. The accepted wisdom is not to require such a duty—that corporate profit maximization provides jobs and other public benefits that exceed any harm. This is especially true, the argument goes, because imposing specific regulatory requirements and making certain actions illegal or tortious can mitigate the harm without unduly impairing corporate wealth production. Whether that is true in other contexts, this paper—delivered as the keynote address at the June 2016 National Business Law Scholars Conference at The University of Chicago Law School—questions if it’s true …