Digital Commons Network^™

Towards Establishing Parenthood By Agreement In Jewish Law, Yehezkel Hezi Margalit

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Risky Sexual Behavior -- The "Broken Windows" Of Sexual Assault: A Proposal For Universities To Incorporate Targeted Intervention To Bridge The Gap Between Sexual Assault Prevention And Response, Dominic Angiollo

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Faculty Perceptions Of What Makes A Student Successful In The Mathematical Sciences, Casey E. George, Lisa Skultety, Randi Congleton

Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Faculty members play a key role in facilitating student outcome, including their learning, persistence, and degree completion. Through analyses of online survey data, this study investigates the views of faculty mentors involved in a nationwide mentoring program that aims to support underrepresented students' transition from undergraduate to graduate studies in the mathematical sciences. Specifically, faculty member's perceptions of what factors contribute to students' success or lack of success in mathematics, statistics, and biostatistics are examined. Reasons for success cited by faculty are highly individualized, such as innate ability, motivation, and dedication, yet some contextual and structural factors, including research opportunities …

Representations Of Health And Wellness In Children's Literature, Emily Kate Murphy

Honors Program Theses

The term health is multifaceted. Health can refer to one’s physical, spiritual, or mental state, among other things. The goal of this study was to determine how educators can use children’s literature to support students being introduced to healthy habits regarding these aspects at a young age, through children’s literature. A content analysis was conducted over a selection of 16 children’s literature texts. It was organized by thematic categories matching the aforementioned facets of health and assessed through a Likert scale. This analysis resulted in the development of a website intended to serve as a tool for teachers to implement …

African American Pentecostal Clergy Members’ Perceptions Of Mental Health And Their Subsequent Referral Practices, Jasmine Harris

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

African Americans do not seek or receive mental health services as much as their Caucasian counterparts. There is a myriad of factors that influence the reasons why many African Americans are not seeking services, including, stigma, mistrust, affordability, accessibility, and availability of services. Because of these factors, many African Americans tend to seek psychological help from their religious advisors. Pentecostal Christians’ religious views may directly conflict with seeking services from a mental health professional. This study’s aim was to explore African American clergy members’ perceptions of mental health and to determine how those perceptions influence their subsequent referral practices to …

The Influence Of Quality Of Education On A Regression-Based Method Of Premorbid Estimated Intelligence, Elizabet Santana Marmon-Halm

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The physical, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional sequelae of brain injury have been shown to exert a substantial negative impact on everyday work-related and social functioning. Accordingly, accurate measurement of any associated cognitive decline is of paramount importance, and clinicians often face the challenge of estimating the patient’s level of intellectual functioning prior to the brain pathology. This study examined the influence of environmental factors, such as education quality on a demographically based formula for estimating premorbid intelligence and focused primarily on an adjusted variable (reading level vs. years of education). The results showed that for the entire sample of the …

The Relationship Between Stress, Social Problem Solving, And Psychological Distress In Mothers Of Daughters With Eating Disorders, Sarah M. Hittinger

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Mothers of daughters with eating disorders are at risk for experiencing high levels of psychological distress, which can have negative implications for mothers themselves and the children under their care. Coping strategies that effectively manage the stress of the caregiving role have been found to reduce psychological distress, but the literature does not clearly define the type of coping that is best indicated for this population of caregivers. Coping via social problem solving has been found to predict less psychological distress and moderate the stressdistress relationship in many caregiver populations. The relationship between stress, coping via social problem solving, and …

The Impact Of An Endorsement Of Free Will Versus Determinism On Judgment Of Weight Management Behaviors, Jarrett W. Henderson

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between an endorsement of either free will or determinism and judgment of others’ weight management behaviors in a general population. Participants completed the Free Will and Determinism – Plus (FAD-Plus) to assess their beliefs in free will or determinism. Two groups were compared for analysis: determinism, which includes both scientific and fatalistic variants, and free will, which includes randomness. After completing the FAD-Plus, participants answered questions regarding their judgment of weight management behaviors on one of two case vignettes designed by the investigator that depict different weight management behaviors and outcomes. Participants then answered questions …

Our Veterans In The Criminal Justice System: What Is Being Done To Decrease Their Involvement?, Tiffinee Hamlin

Research Papers

As the number of United States military veterans reaches above 20 million, the number of serious mental and emotional problem diagnoses, substance use disorders, as well as personal issues are also on the rise. With these diagnoses and struggles, the probability of veterans being involved in the criminal justice system increases. Currently United States veterans account for 9% of the United States population, while also accounting for 8% of the prison and 7% of the jail population.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has several programs and services available to veterans, programs established to promote overall well-being and to serve veterans …

Navigating Identities In The Classroom: International Graduate Teaching Assistants' Perspectives, Crystle Lacroix

Research Papers

In this project, I centerr the narratives and experiences of international graduate teaching assistants (IGTAs) to explore how the triumphs and challenges that they experience may create pedagogical im(possibilities). My work is guided by two primary research questions: 1) how do international Graduate Teaching Assistants communicate about their identities in the classroom? And 2) how am I, as a U.S. American, white instructor, able to practice critical communication pedagogy in ways that differ from international GTAs?

The Impact Of False Positive Mammography Results On Breast Cancer Screening Intention Among Black Women, Deeonna E. Farr

Theses and Dissertations

Extensive research indicates that false-positive mammograms (FPM) have been associated with negative psychosocial and cancer-related beliefs, but only a handful of studies examine Black women’s reactions to this experience. Additionally, these studies do not investigate how organizational and provider-level factors in concert with individual patient characteristics shape Black women’s experiences and reactions to FPM results. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of organizational, provider, and individual-level factors on the processes and outcomes associated with FPM results in Black women. This study had two specific aims:

1) To describe, using a mixed methods approach, the organizational and …

From Worldviews To Classrooms: Framing Evolution Acceptance In Pre-Service Science Teachers In The Southeastern United States, Amanda Glaze

Georgia Educational Researcher

Research demonstrates that teachers' acceptance or rejection of evolution impacts whether they teach evolution in their classrooms. Furthermore, factors such as religiosity and nature of science understanding impact acceptance or rejection. What is absent from the literature is an exploration of experiences that inform choices made regarding acceptance or rejection, experiences that illuminate the counter-intuitive relationships demonstrated in quantitative studies. For this reason, we explore the lived experiences that inform the worldviews of Pre-Service Secondary Science Teachers (PSSTs) and how those worldviews might inform their acceptance or rejection of evolution. Coding and pattern analysis informed themes within the data explaining …

2018 Program, University Of Missouri-St. Louis

Undergraduate Research Symposium

University of Missouri-St. Louis Undergraduate Research Symposium Program

Sustaining Evidence-Based Substance Use Prevention Interventions: A Five-And-A-Half Year Follow-Up Study, Tara Kenworthy

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, extensive monetary resources are dedicated annually to support drug use prevention programs, but the sustainability of these interventions over time is often a neglected area of research. This study examines the moderating effect of capacity factors on the relationship between motivation factors and years interventions were sustained. We retained a sample of 29 evidence-based substance use prevention interventions implemented in 14 community coalitions as part of the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG) in Tennessee. Primary data were collected through interviews about each intervention conducted five-and-a-half years after SPF SIG funding ended. These interviews …

Beyond The Grade: Bonding Faculty Behaviors Predicting Community College Student Commitment To Learning, Lucia D. Heddleson

Student Scholarship

This study investigated factors influencing community college student academic retention\, specifically a student’s commitment to learn. Data was obtained from two local community colleges\, and the study’s proposed model was evaluated using structural equation modelling. Student Identity Capital and Relational Climate functioned as mediating factors influencing academic retention as they relate to supportive faculty behaviors. Direct effects of supportive bonding faculty behaviors on academic retention were also considered. Results supported mediation from student identity capital to academic retention\, and relational climate was found to be insignificant. Finally\, supportive faculty behaviors proved to be a significant factor overall in the evaluation …

Minimal Hearing Loss In School-Age Children: Prevalence And Relationship To Reading Impairment, Laura Peek

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The two-fold purpose of this study was to determine if a) students with reading impairments fail hearing screenings at higher rates than students without reading impairments and b) if the pattern of simple view of reading classification differs across hearing screening results.

Method: This project included 19 students with reading impairments and 17 students with typically reading skills in grades 2 through 11. Each participant completed a hearing screening and a complete battery of language and literacy tests to determine their hearing screen status and simple view classification.

Results: Results of a chi square test comparing reading status and …

Solving Dynamic Addition Math Word Problems Using The Start-Change-Result Strategy, Deborah S. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to examine the impact the Start-Change-Result strategy had on the ability level of first-grade students working to solve dynamic addition math word problems. During an eight-week period, a class of 15 first-grade students from a high poverty setting participated in this study. These students struggled with correctly answering dynamic addition math word problems in which the unknown could be in any of three positions: the start, the change, or the result even though they had the computational skills to answer these questions accurately. All of these students had mastered solving basic addition …

A Narrative Study Of Black Males Sense Of Belonging In Graduate Counseling Programs, Justin Adams

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this narrative study was to understand the experiences of Black males in doctoral counselor education programs. The study aimed to build a dialogue based on participant’s experiences growing up as Black males, and how they experienced sense of belonging in their counselor education programs. This narrative study utilized a purposive and homogenous sampling selection. Black males who were selected to participate in this study attended Predominantly White Institutions and were in the process of earning their doctoral degrees in counselor education. Each male was a full-time student, in either their second, third or fourth year of their …

Open Innovation In Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises: Executive And Employee Perception Of Processes And Receptiveness, Bethany A. Davidson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explored open innovation activities in small and medium-sized enterprises. Most open innovation research to date has focused on large organizations; however, how large organizations engage in open innovation is very different from that of small and medium-size enterprises. The embedded design, mixed methods study utilized a survey delivered to owners or other organizational executives and employees of small and medium-size enterprises to solicit information regarding whether small and medium-size enterprises are actively engaging in inbound open innovation activities, their motivation for engaging in open innovation, and the sources they are utilizing to obtain new ideas for products and …

Sibling Survivors Of Suicide: A Retrospective Exploration Of Familial Attachment During Bereavement, Mark Macor

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The following qualitative study retrospectively explored the adolescent experiences and reactions of adult survivors to their loss of a sibling to suicide. The study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to inform subsequent interpretation of interview data collected from a sample of five adult sibling survivors of suicide. Criteria for an individual’s participation included being of at least 25 years old at the time of the interview and that they experienced the loss of a sibling to suicide while they themselves were between the ages of 12 and 21 years old. Participant responses to an attachment self-report measure—Attachment Style Questionnaire (Feeney, …

Smallholder Farmers, Environmental Change And Adaptation In A Human-Dominated Landscape In The Northern Highlands Of Rwanda, Apollinaire William

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Climate change and crop intensification are key challenges to the livelihoods and wellbeing of the majority of rural smallholder farmers in developing countries, particularly in human-dominated, climate-sensitive landscapes such as the northern highlands of Rwanda where issues of fluvial floods, soil erosion pose serious threats to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. In this mixed methods study conducted between August and December 2015, I explored smallholder farmers’ perceptions by examining what barriers might hinder the process of agroforestry adoption by smallholder farmers, what socio-economic and physical factors and attitudes influence crop choices, motivations for smallholder farmers’ willingness to plant trees within …

The Experience Of “Cool”: A Qualitative Exploration, Kristen Lauer

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study explored the phenomenological experience of cool as retrospectively reported. I proposed cool as a phenomenological concept and advocate for the consideration of cool as relevant to clinical psychology through first, a literature review of related academic research and second, by identifying the information gap around cool as it intersects with clinical psychology. I utilized Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to inform analysis and exploration of participant narrative responses collected through an online survey. Participants consisted of 25 individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 who endorsed having experienced cool at some point in their life. In sharing …

Emotional Self-Regulation And Management Of Disruptive Behaviors In Schools, Erin Hopkins

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study investigated the relationship between teachers’ emotional regulation skills and their management of students’ disruptive behaviors. Teaching is an emotionally demanding job made significantly more stressful by the time and resources required to handle dysregulated and non-compliant students in the classroom. Unfortunately, the current disciplinary practices in many schools fail to support teachers in more effectively managing problematic behaviors. While some teachers appear to be skilled at diffusing an escalating classroom conflict, little is known about what distinguishes them from their more overwhelmed peers. This study sought to determine if there was a relationship between the teacher’s own capacity …

Perceptions Of Students, Faculty, And Staff Concerning Visitation Dogs On College Campuses, Brieanna Hughes

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

No abstract provided.

Limited Inalienability Rules, Ariel Porat, Stephen D. Sugarman

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

Most people’s entitlements are protected by a property rule, which means that their holders can sell them for a price. But some important entitlements are protected by an inalienability rule, and hence cannot be sold under any circumstances. For example, people cannot sell their organs. In most jurisdictions, women cannot be surrogate mothers for a fee (only for reimbursement of costs). People cannot sell their right not to be exposed to highly life-threatening conditions. Most constitutional rights are not transferrable. People cannot reassign their legal entitlements to social benefits provided by the government. Tort victims in many jurisdictions cannot sell …

Judging Judicial Foreclosure, Brian D. Feinstein

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

For the third time in the last several decades, policymakers are contemplating an overhaul of mortgage-finance regulations. Despite the considerable attention paid to how ex ante regulations affect the availability of credit and the appropriateness of the mortgage products that lenders offer, however, our understanding of how the legal framework governing foreclosures---a form of ex post borrower protection---affects mortgage lending is incomplete. Leveraging data on loan applicants that are geographically proximate and subject to the same federal mortgage-finance regulations and nearly identical state foreclosure regimes---but for the presence or absence of a judicial foreclosure requirement---this analysis enables the identification of …

Rethinking The Boundaries Of “Criminal Justice", Benjamin Levin

Scholarship@WashULaw

This review of The New Criminal Justice Thinking (Sharon Dolovich & Alexandra Natapoff, eds.) tracks the shifting and uncertain contours of “criminal justice” as an object of study and critique. Specifically, I trace two themes in the book: (1) the uncertain boundaries of the “criminal justice system” as a web of laws, actors, and institutions; and (2) the uncertain boundaries of “criminal justice thinking” as a universe of interdisciplinary scholarship, policy discourse, and public engagement. I argue that these two themes speak to critically important questions about the nature of criminal justice scholarship and reform efforts. Without a firm understanding …

Faculty Publications 2017, Lsu Health Sciences Center New Orleans

Historical Faculty Publications

This Faculty bibliography contains 947 publications.

Criminal Employment Law, Benjamin Levin

Scholarship@WashULaw

This Article diagnoses a phenomenon, “criminal employment law,” which exists at the nexus of employment law and the criminal justice system. Courts and legislatures discourage employers from hiring workers with criminal records and encourage employers to discipline workers for non-work-related criminal misconduct. In analyzing this phenomenon, my goals are threefold: (1) to examine how criminal employment law works; (2) to hypothesize why criminal employment law has proliferated; and (3) to assess what is wrong with criminal employment law. This Article examines the ways in which the laws that govern the workplace create incentives for employers not to hire individuals with …

Mfa 2018, Sam Fox School Of Design & Visual Arts And Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum

MFA Exhibition Catalogs

This catalog displays the work of the MFA Class of 2018 from the Sam Fox School at Washington University in St. Louis.