Digital Commons Network^™

Spare The Rod: African American Students’ Experience Of Postsecondary Student Conduct Processes, Melissa Sanders

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Although African Americans enroll at postsecondary institutions at similar rates as other ethnic groups, consistently, they lag in degree completion. This has led to lower wages, fewer employment opportunities, and higher health disparities among African Americans. Consequently, the literature is full of studies attempting to increase Black student degree attainment. This includes their perception of campus climates, academic preparedness, and sense of belonging. However, other opportunities to promote and encourage African American scholastic success, such as the disciplinary process, are understudied. To address this gap, I utilized a phenomenological qualitative study to examine the way African Americans perceived the impact …

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, December 1, 2022, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - November 3, 2022
• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee (Chad Simon)
• Academic Standards Subcommittee (Renee Galliher)
• General Education Subcommittee (Matt Sanders)
• Other Business
• Adjourn:

Framing Contexts And Immersion: The Functionality Of Trpg Frames In Dimension 20’S Fantasy High Series, Lyndsey Clark

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper uses a form of rhetorical criticism known as frame analysis to analyze the perspective frames within the context of tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs). The three frames of interest in this study include the person frame, the player frame, and the character frame. These frames are used to contextualize certain person, player, and character interactions and immersion contexts within the first season of Dimension 20’s actual play podcast, Fantasy High. Through these three frames, we can see the breakdown of the person, player, and character mindset, as well as the overlap of thought, emotions, and ideas between …

Student And Teacher Perspectives On Asynchronous Learning During The Covid Pandemic, Michele Ehrhart

Education Doctorate Dissertations

The COVID Pandemic shut down schools across the country, leaving K-12 schools unprepared for virtual learning. In this mixed methods study, I examined data gathered from my 8th-grade science classes to assess the effectiveness of asynchronous instruction. My original research question was: How much if at all, did learning outcomes differ as a function of how the lessons were taught (uninterrupted instructional video versus interrupted/interactive Edpuzzle video)? Based on a preliminary examination of data, my study expanded into how self-regulated learning affected students’ comprehension, interest, and motivation. Study results showed no statistical differences in students’ comprehension based on how lessons …

Bridgewater Review, Vol. 40, No. 2, December 2022

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Philosophers Of Catastrophe: Early 20th Century Jewish Proponents And Opponents Of Objectivity In Science, Steven Gimbel, Stephen J. Stern

Philosophy Faculty Publications

The Second World War ended with the exposure of the Nazi death camps and the threat of global nuclear annihilation. The former disclosed the depths of human depravity and the latter warned us about the severity of the consequences that could await us as a result. The grimness of each, much less both, had the effect of shielding from our collective consciousness the equally dire warnings from the First World War that had occurred only a couple of decades earlier. [excerpt]

The Role Of Female Offenders In Sex Trafficking Rings, Caroline Johnson

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examines the role of female offenders in sex trafficking rings. Using the Human Trafficking Study database, I found 502 cases that had clear information coded about convictions, sentences, and genders. It was hypothesized that women typically receive a lower sentence than men do. Bivariate analysis revealed that to be true. In addition, I compared conviction rates between the two genders, finding that women are more likely to plead guilty in comparison to men.

Using a smaller sample with additional information, I also isolated the roles that women play in a sex trafficking ring. I found that 48% were …

Human Trafficking: Physical And Non-Physical Force Factors And Their Links To Victim Industry, Mary Caroline Kerr

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper examines the occurrence of different types of physical and non-physical force factors with two distinct human trafficking industries: sex trafficking and labor trafficking. This research’s main goal is to identify if there are specific uses of force that are more likely to be used in either sex or labor trafficking. The Human Trafficking Study, a database housed at the University of Arkansas, is used as a sample for this study. Two-sided, two sample proportion tests were conducted to establish if there is a statistical significance between the amount of physical force used in sex trafficking and the amount …

Full Issue: 14(5s) 2022: Emerging Scholars Issue

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Examining Effective And Realized Healthcare Access In The West South Central Division., Katherine Cameron

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores realized and effective access domains outlined by Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. Exploring other domains of access is critical to understanding how the healthcare system functions (Kirby & Yabroff, 2020). This study evaluates rural-urban and racial/ethnic differences in access to care using two underresearched domains of healthcare access. It also allows for exploring access disparities within rural communities amongst minority populations. This dissertation is divided into five chapters. Chapter One provides an overview of health disparities and inequities and a brief overview of the study. Chapter Two details a high-level history of racism and its …

Reaching Syrians In Need: An Analysis Of Humanitarian Aid In The 21st Century., James Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation is two-fold. One is to critically consider humanitarian aid delivery to and through Syria via a lens that combines the humanities and social sciences. The fields of anthropology, political science and postcolonialism are employed to accomplish this. The second is to investigate the process involved in this delivery amid the country’s ongoing conflict. Combining these two facets provides a view of humanitarian aid as it relates to the conflict in Syria while applying a liberal arts-humanities approach. The introduction establishes the basis to discuss the existence of aid providers and those in need of aid …

A New Direction For Public Understanding Of Science: Toward A Participant-Centered Model Of Science Engagement., Christopher Rickels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Engaging the public with science is not an easy task. When presented, scientific findings, public health recommendations, and other scientific information filter through the personal values, beliefs, and biases of members of the public. Science communicators must contend with these differences in order to be effective in cultivating a public understanding of science. Given the importance of scientific understanding for living well in a complex world, increasing science understanding through science engagement is imperative. The field of public engagement with science is dichotomized by a public information deficit approach and a contextualist approach. The deficit approach prizes the factual content …

Investigating The Income Academic Achievement Gap: An Exploration Of The Roles Of Mindfulness And Self-Concept Clarity In Low-Income College Students., Natalie Burke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine whether linguistic patterns previously associated with trait mindfulness and self-concept clarity in low-income college students’ application essays are associated with academic performance and psychosocial variables. The aims of the study were as follows: 1) Explore relations between linguistic markers that have been previously associated with higher mindfulness/self-concept clarity and GPA and 2) Explore relations between linguistic markers that have been previously associated with higher mindfulness/self-concept clarity and anxiety/depression. Participants were 54 undergraduate students in the Cardinal Covenant program (a scholarship program for students from low-income families) who began college in the …

"The Lady Took Me To The End Of The World!": The Life Of Mrs. N.A. Courtright., Marcus Walker

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Nellie Almee Courtright was the first female to earn a law degree from the University of Louisville School of Law, but she had an accomplished career before -- and even after -- she stepped foot into a law classroom. This is the account of a woman who made her own way in the world, and made life better for hundreds in doing so.

Qatar Foreign Policy In Middle East Conflict Mediation, Kresna Kusumawijaya, Yon Machmudi

Journal Of Middle East and Islamic Studies

Qatar's role as a regional mediator allowed it to emerge even further into global politics and it’s a step toward creating its own evolving independent political persona. As a mediator, Qatar has left its choices open to develop diplomatic relations with non-state actors and countries that have controversies in the Middle East. This research uses a case study approach to explore information about several foreign policies carried out by Qatar against countries and non-state actors in the Middle East. The results of this study show that Qatar, with its rationality, weighs the benefits for the personal interests of the state. …

Tragedies Of The Cultural Commons, Etienne C. Toussaint

Faculty Publications

In the United States, Black cultural expressions of democratic life that operate within specific historical-local contexts, yet reflect a shared set of sociocultural mores, have been historically crowded out of the law and policymaking process. Instead of democratic cultural discourse occurring within an open and neutral marketplace of ideas, the discursive production and consumption of democratic culture in American politics has been rivalrous. Such rivalry too often enables dominant White supremacist cultural beliefs, values, and practices to exercise their hegemony upon law’s production and meaning. The result has been tragedy for politically disempowered and socioeconomically excluded communities.

This Article uses …

Presenting The Afriarch Isotopic Database, Steven Goldstein, Sean Hixon, Erin Scott, Jesse Wolfhagen, Victor Iminjili, Anneke Janzen, Kendra Chritz, Elizabeth Sawchuk, Emmanuel Ndiema, Judith C. Sealy, Abigail Stone, Gretchen Zoeller, Leanne N. Phelps, Ricardo Fernandes

Faculty Publications – Sociology and Anthropology

AfriArch is an archaeological and paleoenvironmental data community designed to integrate datasets related to human-environmental interactions in Holocene Africa. Here we present a dataset of bioarchaeological stable isotope (C/N/O) and radiocarbon measurements from African archaeological sites spanning the Holocene. Modern measurements, when reported together with archaeological data in original publications, are also included. The dataset consists of 5568 entries and covers the entirety of Africa, though most isotopic research has been concentrated in southern Africa. The AfriArch isotopic dataset can be used in paleodietary, paleodemography, paleoclimatic, and paleoenvironmental studies. It can also be employed to highlight data gaps across space …

“Together We Arrived And Together We Shall Leave”: The Gouverneur Parents Association And The Politics Of Race And Disability In Postwar New York, Jorge A. Matos

Publications and Research

This essay documents the history of the Gouverneur Parents Association (GPA), a group of mostly Black and Latinx parents whose disabled children were institutionalized at the Gouverneur Division of the infamous Willowbrook State School in New York City. The GPA, in coalition with Black, Latinx, and White parents and activists, led a campaign during the 1970s and 1980s to close Willowbrook, then part of a national network of sites denounced by disability activists during the heyday of the deinstitutionalization movement. In this essay I argue that the postwar migration of Black and Latinx communities into New York City amid an …

Front Matter, Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

Front Matter for Voluem 11, Issue 2 of Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

Critical Race Feminism, Health, And Restorative Practices In Schools: Centering The Experiences Of Black And Latina Girls, Thalia González, Rebecca Epstein

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Restorative practices (RP) in K-12 schools in the United States have grown exponentially since the early 1990s. Developing against a backdrop of systemic racism, RP has become embedded in education practice and policy to counteract the harmful and persistent patterns of disparities in school discipline experienced by students of color. Within this legal, social, and political context, the empirical evidence that has been gathered on school-based restorative justice has framed and named RP as a behavioral intervention aimed at reducing discipline incidents—that is, an “alternative” to punitive and exclusionary practices. While this view of RP is central to dismantling discriminatory …

Gender And Corporate Crime: Do Women On The Board Of Directors Reduce Corporate Bad Behavior?, Ido Baum, Dalit Gafni, Ruthy Lowenstein Lazar

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Public debate on mandating gender representation on boards of directors in the United States is close to a boiling point. California introduced a mandatory quota in 2018 only to see it constitutionally disqualified in 2022, and the Nasdaq Stock Market followed suit with new diversity rules in 2021 for all corporations listed on the exchange. While public discourse focuses on corporate performance, not much is known about the link between gender diversity and corporate normative obedience.

In this study we explore the relationship between boardroom gender representation and corporate compliance with the law. We examine the impact of gender diversity …

Bing Xin As The Most Renowned Chinese Translator Of Rabindranath Tagore: A Sociological Perspective, Xiaoqing Liu

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Bing Xin 冰心is the most recognized and renowned Chinese translator of Rabindranath Tagore. Translation researchers together with critics and readers have attributed Bing Xin’s popularity as Tagore’s Chinese translator mainly to her literary achievements. In other words, Bing Xin’s fame as a top modern Chinese writer is transferred onto her role as a translator. The trust and readership she earned as a writer create an illusion among Chinese readers that Bing Xin’s translation is the same as Tagore’s “original” writing. Consequently, Bing Xin creates a Chinese image of Tagore with her writing and translation style. In this essay, I employ …

Remembering Clem Klaphake, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Clement (Clem) Klaphake passed away on December 30, 2022, from complications of Parkinson’s disease, which he struggled with for several years. He was born in Melrose, Minnesota, in 1943 and grew up working on his parents’ dairy farm, which included the usual menagerie of other farm animals typical of that time. Perhaps it was the routine of milking twice a day, seven days a week, or the impressive scar on his leg from a boar tusk, but Clem was destined to leave the farm and become a life-long educator. ... After getting his degree in 1971, Clem was hired to …

Gentrification And Displacement: Connections Between Changing Housing Typologies And Long-Time Residents’ Quality Of Life In East Austin, Texas, Grant Wilson

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the impacts of gentrification on quality of life, displacement, and housing typology in East Austin, Texas. The neighborhood is examined as a case study and example of the concepts discussed. Evaluated through both a qualitative and quantitative lens, this study serves as a report and update on the continued disruption of the living patterns of minority residents in the city. Recommendations are given to mitigate displacement for East Austin residents and improve the quality of life for those remaining. By identifying the connection between changing housing typology and displacement impacts, this report aspires to give designers a …

Mental Health Needs Among Minority Aviation Students, Jorge L. D. Albelo Ph.D., Stacey Mcintire

Publications

Higher education, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, benefit our society and economic growth. However, overcoming gender disparity and increasing the retention of underrepresented minorities within these programs is challenging. Mental health across higher education has shown to be on the rise, and when it comes to the mental health needs of aviation students, research shows that underrepresented minorities experience unique challenges in achieving academic success. This paper focused on identifying aviation minority students' unique challenges in a small STEM university. This mixed-methods action research study collected quantitative data using an adapted version of the Counseling Center Assessment …

Foreword, Timothy Chartier

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Deep and broad work is being done by undergraduates, with a significant increase in the last three decades. The growth in undergraduate research opportunities has important effects in the STEM community. In particular, course-based research is a means toward attaining more inclusivity in the research community. This article provides some practical advice and resources for getting started, and describes the author’s own efforts to integrate sports analytics work, service-based learning and social justice research into his undergraduates’ research experiences.

Coping With Constant Obsolescence: A Lifelong Task, Di Su

Publications and Research

Knowledge and skill obsolescence is a common obstacle in individual, organization, and society development. Thanks to the modern technologies, the rate of obsolescence accelerates rapidly in the information age. In the library workplace, obsolescence occurs constantly. We may be used to routines, but changes are inevitable as we have witnessed the evolution in library services and librarian workplace since the advent of the internet. To cope with obsolescence, it is crucial to have a lifelong learning mindset, make it a habit, and find ways to update our knowledge and skills to stay competent and serve the clientele effectively.

Nurturing The Disease - A Glimpse From The Outside Looking In: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of The Nature Of Nurture And Its Role In Chronic Illness, Michelle Leeann Koudsi

Social Work Theses - Archive

This autoethnographic illness narrative explores nature versus nurture’s impact on chronic illness. The author argues that environmental factors play a significant role in the rise of chronic illnesses. My hope is that this study will allow society and healthcare providers to gain a deeper understanding of the connection between illness and trauma as well as the importance of quality, positive patient-provider relationships. This study also demonstrates the importance of establishing a connection within oneself to create self-awareness and emotional healing. Despite this study being one of the most mentally tasking things I have ever willingly chosen to do in my …

Exploring Culturally Relevant Responses To Latinx Student Mental Health, Sarah Elizabeth Herrera

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

Social workers have an ethical obligation to challenge systemic oppression. Within the context of Latinx college students, there are many systemic barriers that negatively impact their mental health. Previous research focuses on identifying individual characteristics among Latinx students that promote academic success and psychological wellbeing. However, it is important to hold postsecondary education accountable for creating more inclusive environments that welcome the increased enrollment of Latinx students. The following dissertation explores culturally relevant responses to Latinx college student mental health. The first article is a qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis that explores how Latinx-specific programming shapes ethnic identity and psychological wellbeing among …

The Mechanisms Of Peer Support In An Online Support Group For Veterans, Zachary William Tarbet

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

Military veterans experience a transition process when returning to civilian life that involves reintegration across life domains. Reintegration has been shown to be a significant challenge for a contingent of former servicemembers that can be exacerbated by an erosion of social support networks. Difficulty accessing peers due to wider social trends away from community connectedness and geography have inspired the creation of virtual gathering spaces for a wide range of populations. The emerging evidence for peer-driven online support groups suggests the potential for facilitating development of new supportive interpersonal connections and improved access to tangible resources. The current study seeks …