Digital Commons Network^™

The Suburbanization Of The Assyrian Refugees And Migrant Families And Its Implications On The Assyrian Ethnic Identity, Saidouri Zomaya

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis argues that living in Albany Park, Chicago, is a personal and unique experience for Assyrian refugees and migrant families despite mutual feelings of belonging that residents may experience while living in the neighborhood. Along with the social and political factors that impact one’s experience of mobility and integration, “agency” plays an instrumental role in deciding whether to remain connected to one's community, potentially impacting one’s Assyrian identity and future generations. I utilize a qualitative research approach by interviewing Assyrian refugees and migrant families to shed light on the stories of the Assyrian community in Chicago. This research demonstrates …

Changing The Narrative Of Disengagement: Exploring Academic Identity Formation For Non-Ethno-European Students, Luis E. Lopez

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic and the changing demographics of the American identity have drawn attention to the necessity of reforming the Ethno-European education system to meet the needs of a diverse student population. If the educational landscape is to be transformed to meet the needs of a growing non-Ethno-European student population, more research is needed to explore factors that increase non-Ethno-European students’ academic engagement. This research attempted to identify individual and systemic factors contributing to non-Ethno-European students’ academic engagement during secondary education. This exploration began by outlining the role a cohesive identity continuum has on education engagement for non-Ethno-European students. Antecedent …

Active To Reserves, Patrick Potter

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

An army veteran decides to return to the military via the reserves. He finds that things are quite different than he expected.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

Tanking The Tankers, June Forte

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

During a training session, a service member confronts rampant sexism and finds a way to use the chain of command to her benefit.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

Beginnings, Dawn Goldstein

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A new army recruit suffers through a bullying superior and gets her own back.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

An Examination Of Observed Maternal Social Coaching Strategies And Early Adolescents' Social Adjustment, Natalie Low

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This observational investigation had two aims. The first aim was to examine the direct associations between maternal social coaching strategies and adolescents’ social outcomes. The second aim was to assess whether adolescents’ trait perspective taking and empathic concern are moderators of the relationship between maternal social coaching strategies and adolescents’ social outcomes. Sixty-four early adolescents (Mage=12.38 years old) and their primary female caregiver participated in the study. The majority of caregivers were biological mothers (n = 61). The sample consisted of 41 girls (64.1%) and 23 boys (35.9%). Mothers and their early adolescents were video recorded discussing typical hypothetical peer-related …

Disembark, John Ramsey

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

The perspective of a fighter returning from a combat zone.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

Counterexample To Eremenko's Conjecture, Paradise Low

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Eremenko’s Conjecture is a long-standing problem in complex dynamics that asks whetherevery connected component of the set of escaping points of a transcendental entire function is unbounded. It was finally proven false in a paper by Mart ́ı-Pete, Lasse Rempe, and James Waterman that constructs a counterexample to the conjecture. This thesis seeks to pro- vide a background on Eremenko’s Conjecture, discuss the partial results surrounding it, and explain the construction of the counterexample in Mart ́ı-Pete, et al.’s paper.

Jungle Boots, Harry Mayer

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A service member reflects on his experience in the military and how his boots served him through time and injury.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

Waterloo, John Price

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A new recruit and his friend find a way to get back at two corrupt trainers.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

Assessment Of Adolescent Anxiety, Anna E. Martinez-Snyder

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent of any group of disorders among adolescents. Further, the prevalence of anxiety disorders has been shown to increase from adolescence to young adulthood, underscoring the importance of researching adolescent anxiety. Screening for anxiety in adolescents is necessary to identify and treat these disorders, which requires measures with good psychometric properties. One aim of the present study was to examine and compare the psychometric properties of the separation anxiety, social anxiety, panic, and generalized anxiety scales of the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS), and the Youth Anxiety …

Not A Good Fit For The Job: An Intersectional Study Of Occupational Stereotypes In The Field Of Technology, Jesus Jose Martinez

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Occupational stereotypes are preconceived notions about specific occupations, the people in those occupations, or one’s fit with an occupation (Lipton et al., 1991). Previous studies of occupational stereotyping have been useful to understand the impact of single demographic characteristics (e.g., gender; King et al., 2006) and multiple demographic characteristics (i.e., race-gender interaction; Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004) on hiring preferences. A set of three studies were conducted to expand the field’s understanding of fit with occupational stereotypes as a mechanism of discrimination toward multiple combinations of social groups in the technology field.

The goal of the first study was to establish …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Factors Contributing To Adult Education Students’ Transition To Credit Courses, Heather Martin

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Adult education programs serve students with low literacy and numeracy skills. They provide instructional services below the postsecondary level for students who have limited English proficiency and students who are working towards obtaining their high school equivalency. Once adult education students complete their programs, they may choose to transition to college credit courses or enroll in a job training program. This study examined student factors that impact the likelihood of adult education students transitioning to college credit courses. Stepwise regression was used to analyze five years of adult education data from over 3,000 students in an adult education program in …

Comparison Of Topsoil Moisture In E3sm Model Simulations And In-Situ Observations Over Illinois, Jacinda Lee Mayer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Soil moisture stimulates land-atmosphere interactions by modifying energy and water fluxes in the boundary layer and it plays an important role in climate change studies. The objective of this research is to quantify the spatial and temporal variations of the Illinois Climate Network’s (ICN) observed topsoil moisture, as well as evaluate how accurately the new climate model, E3SM, is simulating soil moisture compared to the observed data during 2003-2014. Observed topsoil moisture averaged over growing season during the 12-year period indicates a general dry-north and wet-south pattern in Illinois, and northeast and southwest become drier with the progression of the …

“It Takes A Village”: Student Mothers’ Experiences With Barriers And Support While Navigating Community College, Jeanine Mcmillen

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Student parents may feel invisible on college campuses, especially student mothers, who often feel ignored and overlooked when institutional policies and practices are not tailored to their needs and challenges. These students are especially vulnerable to withdrawing from college, even in institutional contexts that boast a positive and welcoming climate for underrepresented students. Using validation theory with a critical lens as the guiding theoretical framework, this qualitative case study examined how student mothers at one community college navigate barriers and supports within and outside of the institution. Findings revealed three themes, indicating that student mothers must cobble together a village …

Writing In Film Studies: Poetics And Pedagogy, Bryan Mead

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is writing instruction inside undergraduate film courses. While the existence of textbooks devoted to teaching students how to write about film highlights the need for such instruction, evidence suggests many courses underuse or neglect such texts. Instead, most instructors focus their efforts on content instruction, expecting students to translate an increased content knowledge into written argumentation. Yet, as is the case across the disciplines, students struggle to write successfully in these disciplinary courses. One of the main reasons for this disparity between instructor expectation and student success is the notion of disciplinarity, and how influential …

An Observational Study Of Maternal Parenting Behavior And Adolescent Social Anxiety, Cassandra R. Mick

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Parenting behaviors, especially maternal parenting behaviors, have been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of adolescent Social Anxiety Disorder and its symptoms for decades. Following calls from meta-analyses and literature reviews for observational measurement of parenting behaviors and preliminary results from a pilot study reviewed here, this investigation sought to evaluate the utility of the undermining autonomous relatedness (UAR) index of the Autonomy and Relatedness Coding System as a path through which maternal social anxiety symptoms are transmitted to adolescents. A racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of 64 early adolescents (Mage = 12.37; 53.1% White; 64.1% female) and their mothers …

Merely Mortal: A Quantitative Examination Of The Dehumanization Of First Responders, Kari M. Mika-Lude

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Background: While understaffing and work-related stress are not unusual within first responder professions, the past few years have added additional strain. COVID-19, political and civil unrest, and economic downturn have stretched the first responder workforce thinner than ever, contributing to a reduction in the workforce through death, early retirement, attrition, or decreased vocational effectiveness. Unfortunately, public stereotypes coupled with the tenets of first responder culture have done little to support those who serve. Public perception often involves polarized stereotypes about first responders (e.g., good guys or bad guys, heroes or villains), and first responder culture encourages a machine-like demeanor. The …

Cadet Perceptions Of Learning Using Police Video Simulators, Stephen Francis Miko

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The topic for this study was police cadet perceptions of learning using video simulators. The main research question for this project was: “How are video simulators perceived by police cadets as a learning method at the police academy?” The participants for this qualitative study were 16 recently graduated police cadets from an anonymous midwestern suburban police academy. They were chosen using purposive sampling based on their relevance as recently graduated cadets. The cadets were interviewed and the results in the study show the perceptions towards the use of simulators as a learning strategy were generally positive and the cadets thought …

Mu2e Pion Degrader For Detector Calibration, Jessie Bouche Miles

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Particle tracking within the Mu2e experiment can be accomplished through regulating the rate of capture at the stopping target with the addition of a thin, low atomic weight material, the “degrader.” Investigation of Mu2e studies and simulations provide initial data for degrader design. The overall thickness of the degrader plus structural components must fit between the last two solenoids during operation and resist displacement. The degrader area, perpendicular to the beamline, must exceed that of the stopping target during alignment and be able to clear outer diameters of the beamline components. Structural analysis will ensure all dimensional constraints are met …

Stories Of Teaching On A Conceal And Carry Stage: A Dramaturgical Narrative Inquiry, Christopher J. Miller

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The story of a mass shooting occurring on the place of school seems to be a common one in contemporary American cultural narrative. One of the more controversial solutions offered within this narrative is allowing citizens to protect themselves through the practice of conceal and carry. The practice of legally allowing individuals to conceal and carry a firearm while at the place of school and in the place of class is at the cornerstone of this research inquiry.

This qualitative research study employs a dramaturgical narrative approach to explore the daily lives of full-time community college faculty members. In figuratively …

Development Of Ph-Sensitive And Amine-Reactive Lifters For The Detection Of Latent Fingermarks, Andrei Gregory Mlakar

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Latent fingermarks are among the most common forms of physical evidence left at crime scenes. Being composed largely of eccrine and sebaceous secretions, they are typically invisible unless they are treated with, e.g., powders or cyanoacrylate fumes. Drawbacks to these and other commonly used methods, however, may include limited substrate compatibility, safety hazards, inability to detect older marks, and the need for expensive instrumentation and expert practitioners. Fingermarks on curved, reflective, patterned, or luminescent substrates are particularly challenging to image with most common techniques. After treatment, fingermarks on such difficult substrates may be transferred to, or “lifted” by, flexible adhesives, …

A Parametric Study Of Thermochemical Energy Storage Using Chemical Looping For Concentrated Solar Power (Csp) Plants, Imran Anees Mohammed

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The use of conventional fossil fuels to generate power has caused great harm to the environment. These fossil fuels, when burnt, release copious amounts of CO_2, causing global warming. Therefore, it is imperative that current energy sources are substituted with renewable energy sources. However, the critical obstacle with renewable energy sources is their intermittency. Solar energy is being captured through photovoltaic plants and concentrated solar power plants. Photovoltaic plants use batteries, which makes the storage of energy limited. Furthermore, an alternative downside is that the constant use of many batteries will considerably increaseincrease the project’s cost. Concentrated solar power plants …

Facilitating Equal Access For Disabled Students Who Are Incarcerated: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study Of Community Colleges' Disability Services In For-Credit Correctional Education Programs, Jenifer K. Montag

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Issues regarding the provision of accommodations for students with disabilities exist in both traditional college environments and nonstandard settings such as medical and legal education settings. While the situation is less than optimal for disabled students seeking degrees in the general population, who are unfettered in their academic pursuits, little is known about accommodations for disabled students who are incarcerated and enrolled in for-credit courses through community colleges that have partnerships with local prisons. This mixed methods study is focused on exploring the current state of accommodation service provision by public community college disability service providers for disabled students’ who …

Evidence-Based Decision Making In Elementary Schools: A Case Study Of How Districts Make Decisions When Implementing Foreign Language Programs, Danielle Elizabeth Moran

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Learning another language is considered a key 21st century subject, something that all students should begin in elementary school. However, most school districts in Illinois do not offer students the opportunity to learn another language in elementary school. There are effective and high quality programs available to learn another language that are also mutually beneficial to English learners (ELs). District leaders in charge of planning curricular programs have choices about which programs are offered and are tasked with considering the many needs of the districts they serve. The purpose of this study was to learn about the decision making of …

“If I Had Felt Comfortable Or Accepted, I Would Have Made More Progress”: A Phenomenological Investigation Into The Experiences Of Lgbtq+ Persons In Clinical Professional Counseling, Valerie Moreno-Tucker

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The counseling literature has indicated that LGBTQ+ persons have experienced fewer positive mental health outcomes than cisgender heterosexual persons. Professional counselors, despite their requirement to provide culturally sensitive counseling services for all communities, must learn how to better need the needs of LGBTQ+ persons and communities. This dissertation elevates LGBTQ+ persons’ voices by examining the experiences of LGBTQ+ persons in clinical professional counseling. Specifically, the IPA approach was utilized in analyzing data from six individuals who each participated in two interviews lasting 45-90 minutes each. This investigation found commonalities between each participant regarding both their helpful and unhelpful experiences in …

Controlling Women’S Appetites: Food And Femininity In Victorian Literature, Elizabeth Murray

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This project contributes to the growing field of feminist food studies by examining Victorian women’s relationships to food. I argue that beginning at a young age Victorian middle-class girls and women had to learn to regulate their appetites and eating as a way of performing “proper” Victorian femininity. Chapter one explains why the Victorian period, the middle-class, and women are apt subjects for a feminist food studies exploration of literature and culture. The second chapter discusses non-fiction advice literature that includes guidance about how middle-class girls and women should eat and control their bodies as part of their performance of …

Third-Integer Resonant Extraction Regulation System For Mu2e, Aakaash Narayanan

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

A third-integer resonant slow extraction system is being developed for Fermilab's Delivery Ring to deliver protons to the upcoming Mu2e experiment. The timescale of the extraction (or spill) duration is 43 milliseconds, which is extremely short and unprecedented. Additionally, the experiment's strict and challenging requirements on the quality of the spill at this time scale has led to the development of a new Spill Regulation System (SRS) design. The SRS primarily consists of three components - slow regulation, fast regulation, and harmonic content suppressor. Contributions to the first two components of the SRS, i.e., Slow Regulation and Fast Regulation subsystems, …

How Principals Influence, Facilitate, And Support Instructional Coaching Programs, Nadine Y. Norris

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative, multicase study examined how principals perceived the role of instructional coaches and how they facilitated, influenced, and supported teachers’ professional learning through the instructional coaching program. Including the researcher as a participant, 16 participants from three suburban school districts—including district-level administrators, principals, instructional coaches, and teachers—engaged in semistructured interviews. This study was framed by Desimone’s core conceptual framework for professional development and Spillane’s distributed leadership model. Data analysis revealed principals viewed instructional coaches as their partners in instructional leadership and professional learning facilitators. Principals facilitated and influenced the instructional coaching program by empowering teachers, promoting collaboration, and establishing …

Characterization And Quantification Of Far Red Oxygen Production Rates In Acaryochloris Spp., Jose Manuel Orench-Benvenutti

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Oxygenic photosynthesis is one of the primary metabolisms on Earth responsible for the evolution of complex life. Its advent around the Archean steadily increased Earth’s atmospheric oxygen from negligible amounts to biologically impressive quantities. Atmospheric oxygen is the sole result of billions of years of biological oxygenation and no abiotic process can account for its high presence in the Earth’s atmosphere. Understanding its origins and evolution can lead us to better understand Earth’s biological history and the possibility of analogues elsewhere. A research path that could lead to answers is comparing distinct incorporations of photopigments in various oxygenic phototrophs. In …