Digital Commons Network^™

A Culturally And Structurally Sensitive Approach To Working With Suicidal Latinx Individuals: Recommendations For Clinicians, Jessa Navidé

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Latinx individuals are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the U.S. and confront numerous challenges living in the U.S. that can impact their mental health. While their overall suicide rates are relatively low compared to non-Hispanic Whites, it is concerning to note suicide rates of Latinx individuals living in the U.S. are significantly higher compared to most countries in Latin America. The predominant approaches to treating suicidal individuals often fail to consider the sociopolitical climate and systemic challenges that exacerbate mental health concerns for Latinx individuals. This paper examines cultural considerations, racial and ethnic identity models, and unique protective and …

“Soldiers Of The Same Struggle”: A Comparison Of Attachment And Personality Between Justice-Involved Youth In Gangs And Not In Gangs, Lyndsey Keyte

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Risk factors for juvenile delinquency and gang membership are essentially identical, although only a certain subset of justice-involved youth join gangs. In an attempt to identify factors that differentiate justice-involved youth in gangs from justice-involved youth not in gangs, the present study compared attachment styles and personality traits of 406 detained justice-involved youth, 154 of whom were gang-involved and 252 of whom were not. Results showed no significant differences in personality traits or attachment styles between justice-involved youth in gangs and not in gangs. However, results demonstrated attachment styles and personality traits characteristic of both groups of justice-involved youth.

Defining Antisemitism, Mark Goldfeder

Scholarly Works

Antisemitic harassment is illegal, but without a standard definition of what ‘antisemitism’ includes, that idea is almost meaningless. That is why state legislatures and university administrators across the country are debating enacting policies that adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. This Article will illustrate precisely how a state bill or a university policy utilizing the IHRA definition for assessing motivation when analyzing discriminatory conduct claims would actually function, so that critics can no longer vaguely claim that such policies would somehow offend the First Amendment. It will also explain the difference between protected political speech and …

Othering Across Borders, Steven Arrigg Koh

Faculty Scholarship

Our contemporary moment of reckoning presents an opportunity to evaluate racial subordination and structural inequality throughout our three-tiered domestic, transnational, and international criminal law system. In particular, this Essay exposes a pernicious racial dynamic in contemporary U.S. global criminal justice policy, which I call othering across borders. First, this othering may occur when race emboldens political and prosecutorial actors to prosecute foreign defendants. Second, racial animus may undermine U.S. engagement with international criminal legal institutions, specifically the International Criminal Court. This Essay concludes with measures to mitigate such othering.

The Meaning Of Matheteusate In The Broader Context Of The Gospel Of Matthew, Lindsay D. Arthur

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Immitatio Ezechielis : The Irregular Grammar Of Revelation Reconsidered, Garret E. Best

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Need For A Strong And Stable Federal Public Health Agency Independent From Politicians, Jacqueline Salwa, Christopher Robertson

Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the precariousness of federal public health institutions in the United States, and how disastrously things can go when those institutions are undermined by political forces. Such institutions can be disbanded, underfunded, populated with incompetent political hacks, manipulated, or sidelined. As a field, public health in particular needs some political space, given that it requires deep scientific expertise and needs to communicate to the public clearly, reliably, and with authority to engender trust. Key public health agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in particular, should be buttressed against future political encroachment, …

Deficit Frame Dangers, Jonathan Feingold

Faculty Scholarship

Civil rights advocates have long viewed litigation as an essential, if insufficient, catalyst of social change. In part, it is. But in critical respects that remain underexplored in legal scholarship, civil rights litigation can hinder short- and long-term projects of racial justice.

Specifically, certain civil rights doctrines reward plaintiffs for emphasizing community deficits—or what I term a “deficit frame.” Legal doctrine, in other words, invites legal narratives that track, activate, and reinforce pernicious racial stereotypes. This dynamic, even in the context of well-intended litigation, risks entrenching conditions that drive racial inequality—including the conditions that litigation is often intended to address. …

The Covid-19 Pandemic And The Technology Trust Gap, Johanna Gunawan, David Choffnes, Woodrow Hartzog, Christo Wilson

Faculty Scholarship

Industry and government tried to use information technologies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, but using the internet as a tool for disease surveillance, public health messaging, and testing logistics turned out to be a disappointment. Why weren’t these efforts more effective? This Essay argues that industry and government efforts to leverage technology were doomed to fail because tech platforms have failed over the past few decades to make their tools trustworthy, and lawmakers have done little to hold these companies accountable. People cannot trust the interfaces they interact with, the devices they use, and the systems that power tech …

Understanding University Fee Litigation: A Few Lessons About The Perils Of Imprudence For Higher Ed Plan Sponsors, Maria O'Brien, Calvin Utter

Faculty Scholarship

Beginning in August 2016, a series of class action lawsuits were filed on behalf of participants and beneficiaries of 403(b) employee retirement plans sponsored by major American colleges and universities. These plans are regulated by the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), which sets minimum standards to protect the participants and beneficiaries of voluntarily established retirement and health plans. The allegations in the several lawsuits have centered primarily around breaches of fiduciary duties by those charged with administering the plan.

These cases are all class action lawsuits brought on behalf of the participants and beneficiaries of the plans in …

The Transparency Of Quantitative Empirical Legal Research (2018–2020), Jason Chin, Kathryn Zeiler, Natali Dilevski, Alexander Holcombe, Rosemary Gatfield- Jeffries, Ruby Bishop, Simine Vazire, Sarah Schiavone

Faculty Scholarship

Scientists are increasingly concerned with making their work easy to verify and build upon. Associated practices include sharing data, materials, and analytic scripts, and preregistering protocols. This has been referred to as a “credibility revolution”. The credibility of empirical legal research has been questioned in the past due to its distinctive peer review system and because the legal background of its researchers means that many often are not trained in study design or statistics. Still, there has been no systematic study of transparency and credibilityrelated characteristics of published empirical legal research. To fill this gap and provide an estimate of …

Road To Reform: The Case For Removing Police From Traffic Regulation, Aaron R. Megar

Vanderbilt Law Review

No abstract provided.

Global Impact Of Physical Inactivity And Implications For Public Health Nursing, Elizabeth A. Moxley, Kashica Webber-Ritchey, Laura Hayman

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Physical inactivity has been a public health problem worldwide for more than a decade. Of those who are physically active, a substantial percentage engage solely in low or very low physical activity (PA) levels. In the last 3 decades, the prevalence of PA in the United States has decreased with approximately 80% of adults not meeting the recommended guidelines for aerobic and muscle strengthening PA. The PA levels of youth have dramatically decreasedwith 85% of adolescents reporting no PA. Regular PA participation can aid in preventing chronic diseases. A strong inverse dose-response relationship exists between PA and the incidence of …

Impact Of Covid-19 On The Health And Well-Being Of Informal Caregivers Of People With Dementia: A Rapid Systematic Review, M. Courtney Hughes, Yujun Liu, Abby Baumbach

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Background: In December 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), or COVID-19, raised worldwide concern. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively influenced health and wellness across the globe and caused nearly three million deaths. This study focuses on informal caregivers of people with dementia, a disease that affects about 50 million older adults worldwide and requires much caregiving support.

Objective: Examine the current literature on the impact of COVID-19 on the health and well-being of informal caregivers for people with dementia.

Method: This rapid review was conducted across five electronic databases for quantitative and qualitative articles published …

Understanding Middle School Students’ Enrollment Choice For A Fully Online Educational Environment During The Fall Of 2020 Covid-19 National Health Emergency: A Mixed Methods Study, Wendy Maltais Duvall

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

Students’ choice in enrolling in a distance learning environment was examined in a mixed methods study in the fall of 2020 during the COVID-19 national health emergency of that same year. After state mandated school closures in the spring 2020, students statewide were forced into a fully online learning situation until the end of that semester. In the fall, the district that was the study site offered families the choice of either hybrid or fully distance learning environments where students could attend school during the national health crisis that had persisted. That choice would be in force for the full …

Fostering A Sense Of Community Among Teachers Via A Community Of Practice: A Mixed-Methods Action Research Study, Apryl Clark Moore

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Communities of Practice (CoPs) are learning communities that can improve the skills and knowledge of teachers and improve a sense of community. CoPs are designed to cultivate relationships among teachers and develop professional practices that increase a sense of community and knowledge attainment. This study examined the use an online CoP to increase teachers’ sense of community during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Teachers joined a private online community and shared resources about classroom management strategies.

A mixed-methods action research approach was adopted for this research study. Quantitative data was captured from pre- and post-intervention surveys that collected information about teachers’ …

Adverse Childhood Experience And Undergraduate Student Success: A Longitudinal Investigation Into The Relationship Between Childhood Stress And Success In Higher Education, Sarah E. Cprek

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Institutions of higher education have long worked to understand factors that influence or predict student success and degree completion. Childhood experiences including potential exposure to toxic stress have been found to impact student success in K-12 schools yet have rarely been evaluated among undergraduates. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and undergraduate degree completion among a random sample of 1,894 students at a state-funded university in the US. Participants completed a web-based survey assessing ACEs in spring 2015. Results from the survey were linked to student academic records for each …

Helping The Have-Nots: Examining The Relationship Between Rehabilitation Adherence And Self-Efficacy Beliefs In Acl Reconstructed Naia And Ncaa Dii And Diii Female Athletes, Myles Tutin Englis

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Anterior cruciate ligament injuries are among the most common and traumatic sport-related injuries, and often negatively impact one’s quality of life during and post-rehabilitation. For many NCAA Division I and professional female athletes, rehabilitation is streamlined with a multidisciplinary team, including sport psychology. For others (e.g., NAIA, NCAA Division II, III athletes) this may not always be the case, as many of these athletic programs may not have the resources to meet the various needs of injured and rehabilitating female student-athletes. In these instances, rehabilitation motivation, adherence, and success may be more dependent on the athletes’ individual resources and personalities, …

Examination Of Sex- And Limb-Specific Fatigue During Unilateral, Isometric Forearm Exercise, Caleb Christian Voskuil

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of unilateral, isometric handgrip holds to failure for the dominant (Dm) and non-dominant (NDm) limb on ipsilateral ([IPS] exercised side) and contralateral ([CON] non-exercised side) performance fatigability. Twenty individuals participated in this study (Men [n =10]; Women [n = 10; Composite Demographics: Age: 22.2 years; Height: 174.4 cm; Body Mass: 75.0 kg) and completed three visits. Two, 6 s maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVICs) for the Dm and NDm limb were performed during visit 1, followed by a familiarization of the fatigue test. Visits 2 and 3 included an isometric, …

High Performance: Exploratory Study Into The High Performance Model And Qualitative Secondary Analysis Of Elite Sport Management In The United States, Jon Gregory Hill

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation examines the area of high performance in elite sport through high performance professionals’ perspectives in the United States Olympic and Paralympic National Governing Bodies. The study’s purpose was to establish a shared meaning of the high performance sport management model by its elements in the athletic arena. Interviews with 16 high performance directors and managers were conducted to establish definitions, backgrounds, and anatomy of high performance in sport: high performance, high performance sport, high performance management, high performance model.

A qualitative secondary analysis was conducted to examine the high performance model in the U.S. and explore the job …

Leading In The Digital Age: A Multi-Case Study Of Leading Digital Citizenship, Ryan C. Schubart

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This study explored how school leaders make sense of and address digital citizenship as defined by Ribble (2011), and investigated what successes and challenges school leaders experienced while implementing digital citizenship programs in large Southeastern technology-rich schools. This bounded cross-case study, undergirded by Weick’s (1995) Theory of Sensemaking, is also designed to explore how school leaders implement digital citizenship programs at technology-rich schools in a large. 1:1, Southeastern public-school district, and how they view their role as producers of digital citizens.

Findings indicated that an influx of computer technology caused school leaders to make sense of digital citizenship and address …

Leadership Storytelling Of Rural School Superintendents Engaged In Change And Innovation, Tony Barrett

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation examined the leadership storytelling uses and practices by rural, public school superintendents in North Georgia who are engaged in change and innovation through agreements with the state in exchange for flexibility waivers from Title 20 of the Georgia Code. This study was the result of the participation of five rural, Appalachian superintendents in semi-structured interviews. Two of the districts were Strategic Waivers School Systems (SWSS) and three of them were Charter Systems. The context of this study was framed by Georgia’s broad flexibility waivers which encourage school districts to promote and pursue innovative approaches in K-12 education. The …

Is What Works Working? Thinking Evaluatively About The What Works Clearinghouse, Andrew A. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Since the mid-twentieth century, the U.S. Department of Education has drafted and enacted policies to bridge the research-practice gap—that is, the gap between “what works” according to educational research and what is actually practiced by teachers and their administrators (e.g., Dirkx, 2006; Joyce & Cartwright, 2019; Tseng, 2012). One of the latest manifestations of this “what works” political legacy is the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), which took shape as part of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in 2002. The WWC’s mission is to be a “central and trusted source of scientific evidence for what works in education” (WWC, 2020d, …

Proctoring And Apps In College Algebra, Cynthia M. Shelton

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The pandemic forced more instructors and students to move to online learning. For the first time, many experienced a loosening of the reigns and were forced to allow students to submit non-proctored work. Many may have questioned what students really learned in the year 2020. Many college math course competencies emphasize procedures. Now that apps can do that for students, where does that leave math instructors? Additionally, online instruction has exploded over the last decade and has challenged the teaching of college mathematics. While online instruction opens the door to access, it does beg the question of whether students complete …

Important Attributes Of A Behaviorally-Based Coaching Culture, Sarah M. Eustice

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Professional coaching is still considered an emerging field. Over the past 30 years, professional coaches and researchers have worked to further this profession by developing coaching competencies, exploring the nuances between various coaching modalities, and developing models to explain the role of coaching in organizations. There remains, however, a dearth of literature on coaching culture, including limited agreement on what it is and how it should look in an organization.

This study aims to establish agreement by investigating the confluence of coaching culture definitions and models present in industry and scholarly literature, and garnering input from a sample of professionals …

Exploring The Food Environment In Youth Recreation Facilities, Mallory Farris Brown

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Childhood obesity continues to be a worldwide problem and is associated with multiple poor health outcomes including diabetes, cancer, and hyperlipidemia. Youth who are overweight or obese also experience greater instances of depression, low self-esteem, and emotional and behavioral disorders. Given the negative impact of childhood obesity, there is a need to gain a clearer understanding of the issue by identifying causes and solutions. To curb the development and perpetuation of this disease, the root causes must be well-understood. The physical environment has often been described as contributing to childhood obesity, including schools, neighborhoods, and the home. Less known, however, …

Teacher Perceptions Of School Climate: A New Instrument And Validity Study, Rui Jin

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The United States government has growingly emphasized school climate, as it has been involved as an accountability indicator in the Every Student Succeeds Act. However, there remains considerable debate on both conceptualizing and measuring school climate. Moreover, teachers, a critical informant of school climate, have been ignored because most previous studies have paid attention to the students.

To better inform the research and practice related to the teacher perceptions of school climate and its measurement, this dissertation first identified the related instruments in the literature. The results showed only one survey measured three domains of school climate (academic climate, community, …

The Relationship Between Spatial Ability And The Conservation Of Matter In Middle School, Merryn Cole, Jennifer Wilhelm, Briana Marie-Mcknight Vaught, Corinne Fish, Hailey Fish

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Faculty Publications

Research has shown that spatial ability plays a key role in understanding STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) content, including chemistry. Conservation of Matter (CoM) is an essential but challenging topic for chemistry students of all ages to grasp; it is often taught in a way where students memorize it but do not learn what it means conceptually. This research explored the relationship between understanding spatial ability and conceptual understanding of CoM in middle school students. CoM was examined in two ways using the Conservation of Matter Assessment (CoMA): through questions on conservation of atoms and the conservation of mass. …

Utilizing A Theory Of Change Process To Establish Framework For A Student Success Course, Sy Bridenbaugh

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

The student success course has become a staple of the college experience. As the academic and social environment continues to shift with each new incoming cohort, having a designed and evaluated framework to utilize during student success course development can be a useful tool. Research surrounding student success in college is abundant. Having a framework that draws on this research for setting learning objectives and determining high impact practices for a student success course could assist in current and future curriculum development.

This study focuses on a student success course offered through the College of Education at the University of …

Orienting New International College Students During A Global Pandemic: Spatiality’S Contributions To Staff Work Practices, Thomas W. Teague Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

U.S. colleges must increasingly respond to a wide range of complex forces and simultaneously fulfill their missions and support students. To address many of these forces, some have turned to internationalization efforts like recruiting and enrolling international students. In light of these efforts, critics have called for institutions to better, more appropriately support these students, given their challenges and needs. This call has amplified during the recent COVID-19 global health pandemic.

Traditional student support services tend to center around Tinto’s Theory of Student Departure. Examples of support programming are frequently shared, yet rarely detail how institutional staff actually perform them …