Digital Commons Network^™

Unveiling Resilience: An Exploration Of Relational Cultural Theory, Prevalence Factors, And Emdr’S Impact On Injury And Performance Anxiety In Collegiate Student-Athletes, Brian T. Lusk

Dissertations, 2020-current

This dissertation delved into the mental health challenges encountered by collegiate student-athletes, with a specific focus on injury and performance anxiety. The research is presented in a three-manuscript format. The first manuscript is a conceptual exploration of Relational Cultural Theory [RCT] and its application in supporting student-athletes during injury recovery. By integrating the Five Good Things framework, the study demonstrates how growth-promoting connection and a strong therapeutic alliance can enhance holistic recovery, addressing the physical and emotional impacts of injury. The second manuscript investigated performance anxiety among student-athletes, with an emphasis on gender, sport type, and Adverse Childhood Experiences [ACEs] …

Re-Imagining Technical Communication Concepts Through A Social Work Lens: A Case Study And Content Analysis Of The Department Of Aging And Rehabilitative Services, Jonas Kee

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis highlights how traditional technical communication concepts such as social justice rhetoric, disability studies, and user experience (UX) are re-imagined through the lens of Department of Aging and Rehabilitation Services (DARS) professionals. In this thesis, I present information gathered from a content analysis focused on four documents used within the DARS office, a survey, and interviews administered to DARS Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) counselors. This thesis analyzes the documents, survey, and interview questions through the experiences of DARS professionals, clients, and external stakeholders. This thesis concludes with business and pedagogical implications regarding the field of UX and how to effectively …

Experiences With Crisis And Resilience In Education In Emergencies: Voices And Lenses Of Teachers In Nicaragua, Anita De Anda

Doctorate in Education

This interpretive phenomenological study illustrated how a group of primary school teachers in Nicaragua used ontological values to orient their experiences and negotiations of a destabilizing socio-political crisis compounded by COVID-19. Set within a framework of education in emergencies, this study employed short-term ethnographic methods and trauma-informed principles to explore the dynamic and interconnected domains and relationships during collective duress, and the organic resilience that emerged to preserve core priorities. A history of collective adversity, weak systems, and political hegemony made the nation vulnerable to cycles of emergency while leaving recovery up to individuals, families, and communities. As a result, …

Reduction Of Seclusion And Restraint Among Children And Adolescents In An Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital: A Health Policy Analysis, Huma Moez

Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNP) Final Projects, 2020-current

Background: Seclusion and restraint (SR) or restrictive intervention in inpatient/ acute psychiatric hospitals, emergency departments, crisis stabilization units, residentials, or group homes is a pressing and an immediate concern in mental health settings, particularly for children and adolescents, for whom SR rates are higher. The Joint Commission and other national organizations have made significant strides in prioritizing the reduction and elimination of SR among children and adolescents due to its negative physical and psychological consequences.

Objective: This DNP project will aim to provide the results of a policy analysis to present evidence-based techniques and a resulting re-envisioned policy recommendation to …

Reducing No-Shows In A Behavioral Health Setting: A Program Evaluation, Meagan Evans

Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNP) Final Projects, 2020-current

Mental healthcare in America faces many significant challenges; this is especially true in rural regions like Southwest Virginia. When patients miss their scheduled appointments, it represents a lost opportunity to deliver the critical mental health services that other individuals in need could have benefited from. A significant access issue presents itself when patients are not able to get the mental health support they need. The lack of outpatient access leads to patients utilizing emergency rooms inappropriately for what could have been routine care visits. A multitude of factors can contribute to patients failing to attend their scheduled appointments, including transportation …

Anchored In Excellence: The Journey Of Resilience, Achievement And Brilliance For First-Generation Black Male Scholars, Destyni A. Davis

Masters Projects

The experiences of first-generation Black male scholars in historically White institutions are often shaped by intersecting challenges of race, gender, and academic status, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of their resilience, achievements, and the structural barriers they navigate in pursuit of academic and personal success. This project examines the lived experiences and realities of first-generation undergraduate Black male scholars in historically White institutions, utilizing Harper’s (2012) anti-deficit achievement framework and Masten’s (2001) resilience theory to explore the complexities of their academic and social journeys. The project aims to highlight how these scholars navigate structural barriers, racial stereotypes, and …

“Know What I’M Sayin’?”: Advocating Hip-Hop As A Primary Source For Historical Scholarship, Christopher Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rap, hip-hop’s most characteristic element, evolved from cultural practices combining in New York and spread across the United States in the latter half of the twentieth century. This thesis argues in favor of the use of rap as primary source material in future historical research. Authenticity has always surrounded hip-hop, making rap a window into artists’ perspectives. Storytelling traditions in rap’s roots allow for fiction’s use as a tool to discuss reality in lyrics. To demonstrate rap’s strengths as a primary source, the thesis examines Let’s Get Free, dead prez’s 2000 debut album. The song “They Schools” is dissected section-by-section …

Student And Teacher Outcomes: Implementing Pax Gbg In Elementary Schools, Nimisha Patel, Michelle A. Fleming, Amy Elston

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

This paper examines the implementation of the PAX Good Behavior Game (PAX GBG) in a Midwestern metropolitan area during the 2018-2019 academic year. The study focuses on baseline, midpoint, and endpoint frequencies of students’ off-task behaviors (Spleems), as well as teachers’ and administrators' self-reports of self-efficacy and resiliency. Students in PreK through Grade 5 were in classes in which teachers implemented PAX GBG. Students were enrolled in one of 195 classrooms across 13 public schools. Means were calculated for Spleems, as well as for the self-efficacy and resiliency scales. Furthermore, the Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test was used to determine the …

An Investigation Into Two Mathematics Score Reports: Problem Solving Measure (Psm) And Measurement Of Academic Progress (Map), Benjamin Lawson, Jonathan D. Bostic

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

K-12 teachers and staff need high-quality score reports that accurately report students’ results. However, research about score reports that K-12 teachers and staff use indicates that they infrequently are given opportunities to share feedback to developers. To address this, we gathered feedback from teachers and administrators, in an explanatory sequential design of a mixed-methods study. A purpose of the study was to examine score report quality from two mathematics assessments. Two researchers surveyed in-service professionals (n = 34) about two score reports. Then, we conducted follow-up interviews (n = 6) to further unpack what school personnel find valuable and useful …

Exploring Self-Efficacy: Key Influences Shaping First Year Students’ Self Belief During Their First Semester Abroad, Isabella Lena Agostino

Capstone Collection

Guided by Albert Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, this research explores the four primary sources of self-efficacy—mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and physiological and emotional states—and their impact on first-year students’ belief in their ability to navigate the challenges of studying and living in an international context. By examining the sources of self-efficacy, the study provides an understanding of the factors that support or hinder students’ self-efficacy during their transition and experience in a new environment.

Using a mixed methods approach, self-efficacy levels were assessed through the New General Self-Efficacy Scale (NGSE), followed by semi-structured interviews that provided qualitative insights into …

This Is What I Believe...Justicia, Victoria Navarro Benavides

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

This reflective piece explores my personal and professional investment in being a social justice educator and student affairs professional. I position myself at the center of my work and recognize the role culture, identity, and familia1 continue to play in shaping my life and career. As a Chicana educator, the struggle for more just educational environments remains a central part of who I am and what I do. Using lived experiences and critical frameworks, such as critical race theory and critical multiculturalism, I capture my understanding of social justice or justicia2 as it relates to my first year of graduate …

New Directions For Alcohol Interventions As Sanctions, Brendon M. Soltis

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

This study examines the efficacy of TRAC 1, alcohol educational session. The results will determine if the class stimulates behavior change and will provide implications to modify the program model. The participants (n=24) have been found responsible for an alcohol policy violation and as a result attended an alcohol class in the past academic year. The data analysis grouped survey questions into clustered themes: behavior change, knowledge retention, and the conduct process experience. Within each theme, demographic variables were used as lenses to hone in on certain population experiences as well as address issues of diversity, equity, and social justice. …

The Crisis Of A New Gender Gap: Male Underrepresentation In Liberal Arts Higher Education, Zachary T. Gerdes

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

Women outnumber men in college attendance for the first time in United States history. Research to date has shown that while male privilege persists in the U.S. regarding some aspects of society (e.g., disproportionate numbers of men in leadership positions), men as a whole are decreasingly represented in institutions of higher learning. Liberal arts and Jesuit colleges maintain an even wider gender gap. Particularly, men of color and men from low socioeconomic backgrounds are at an increasing disadvantage in regards to admissions and scholarship review practices. The educational, biological, psychological, and social factors contributing to lack of male achievement are …

The Collegia Program: A Home Away From Home, Brian M. Wasserman

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), the cost of college tuition, room, and board increased 42% at public institutions and 31% at private, not-for-profit institutions (U.S. Department of Education, 2012). Further, data indicate more students are choosing to live off campus (U.S. Department of Education, 1991, 2013). Yet most colleges and universities lack robust systems of support for these underserved student populations. The Collegia Program at Seattle University represents an effective program that promotes commuter and transfer student success and persistence by meeting the physical, psychological, and social needs of this population of students.

Retention Theory, Academic Advising, And Orientation: A Literature Review, Katrina Anaya, Kelly Carr

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

The purpose of this paper is to review current and applicable literature on student retention. Retention is defined as the ability of a college or university to graduate the students who initially enroll (Berger, Ramirez, & Lyon, 2012). First, retention theory and current research is explored. Then, this report focuses on academic advising and first-year orientation as it relates to student retention. Academic advising is a traditionally underestimated component of retention that is further explored in this paper. Additionally, first-year orientation creates a commitment to the institution of higher education early on in students’ academic careers. Both of these topics …

The Profession, Politics, And The Pipeline: The Mentoring Experiences Of Women Of Color In Student Affairs, Lakeisha Jackson

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

This paper examines the mentoring experiences of women of color in student affairs and how that impacts their pipeline through the profession. The participants in this study are all alumnae of the same master’s program and work in various functional areas. The particular focus of this study is on women who are newer in their careers and can provide a more recent look at their experience entering the professional pipeline and how they are using mentoring to navigate a multitude of issues. The literature provides insight into professional development within the field, what this looks like for women of color …

Adult Basic Education: An Exploration Of The Past, Present And Potential Future, Ashley Bradley Bradley

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

This literature review explores the complex and often marginalized field of adult basic education (ABE). Through a social justice and empowerment lens, it examines the participants and educators engaged in ABE, as well as overarching theoretical orientations that support the field. Through an examination of past, present, and potential future issues of ABE, this analysis uncovers areas of critical focus for adult educators, leaders, and policy makers. Potential future issues discussed include migration and demographic changes in the United States, issues of technological advances and barriers, and the importance of evidence and needs-based programming and assessment. By increasing research in …

Graduate Students And On-Campus Engagement, Lakeisha Jackson, Victoria Navarro Benavides, Jacqueline Saarenas

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

Research focusing on graduate student attrition, services, and needs is slim. Scholars investigating experiences of graduate students have attributed this gap in research to the limited number of master’s- and doctoral-level students who attend universities (Cooke, Sims, & Peyrefitte, 1995). With Seattle University enrolling approximately 2,000 graduate students as of October 2012 and steadily increasing the amount of graduate degrees awarded per academic year since 2008, the university benefits from learning about the diverse needs of this population (Seattle University, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012). The purpose of this quantitative study is to understand graduate student experience at Seattle University. More …

Magis Volume 8 Entire Volume, Editors Of Magis

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

No abstract provided.

The Living Document, Camilla Lyckblad

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This physical interactive art piece of thesis research in progress aims to deepen comprehension of information behavior in clinical contexts, where the contemporary medical record, with its increasing digital properties such as open record access for patients, can be viewed as an entity that both listens and influences. The art piece sheds light on the complex dynamics of truth within clinical environments, where patients and healthcare professionals might selectively disclose or withhold information, aiming to protect both patient, clinician and the information itself. Set within a small, dimly lit room, the exhibit features eight aged medical records, each inscribed with …

Conceptual Curiosity: Sense(Un)Making, Rebekah L. Cowell

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Across disciplines, sensemaking is a theoretical and methodological research program, over forty years in development, that has been treated as a framework for understanding how humans behaviorally respond to external information sources and interpret to construct and actualize actionable outcomes; however, sensemaking is an interlinking process that does not operate in singularity–behaviorally or actionably–it is neurobiological (autonomous drive), cognitive (perceptual and predictive), and psychological (congruency in meaning).

This paper enlarges the conceptual framework for studying sensemaking and redefines it by addressing what sensemaking is, does, and needs. At the core of this conversation is addressing the absence of knowledge and …

Conversations On Cultural Heritage: Confirming The Family Home As An Archive, Vanessa Reyes, Vanessa Irvin

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Family archives, as repositories of cultural heritage, play a crucial role in preserving multi-generational knowledge. The family is the first collaborative unit in which community memory-keeping is operationalized. The family home is an archive or library of data for generations of family members living through historical movements, patterns of migration, and technological advancement. Thus, 'home' is a data-rich repository of local history. Memory-keeping tasks, such as recording events in family Bibles and maintaining photo albums, scrapbooks, and journals, are multi-generational literacy practices. The stories within a family archive endure, but the narrators may change over time. Archiving family cultural heritage …

Space And Context: Exploration Of Information Experience And Document Experience, Carrie A. Boettcher

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper explores documents that are recorded and cataloged, but the original is a one-of-a-kind phenomenon that only exists once. It ponders where information ends, and document begins and the concepts of space and context that contribute to the shape or structure of the document. Specifically, the confidential counseling session, only experienced by the individuals present during the session, repeated but not duplicated, and how information and documents contribute to understanding of the counseling session.

The Living Document: Medical Records As A Malleable Presence, Camilla Lyckblad

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Understanding why individuals might safeguard information or keep secrets in working documents such as medical records is essential for the development of good quality care, fostering an environment where both patients and staff feel secure to part with sensitive information, encouraging more honest and open communication as well as improved quality of care. This ongoing research aims to deepen comprehension of information behavior in clinical contexts, where the contemporary medical record, with its increasing properties such as open record access for patients, can be viewed as an entity that both listens and influences. This examination sheds light on the complex …

Time And The Catalogue, Alec Mullender

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper explores the multiple ways in which concepts of time are incorporated in cataloguing and classification to see how these temporal concepts influence how material is organised in library space. It discusses multiple concepts, including the structural influences of the capitalist ‘exchange-view’ of time in how the discipline is organised and its incorporation into the so-called ‘universal’ cataloguing systems. The continued issues of obsolescence within cataloguing systems as language and concepts constantly evolve, and how these are integrated into the systems themselves. The paper also discusses the semantic difficulties with how time itself is expressed within cataloguing systems, as …

The Mutability Of Personal Documents And Mediated Memories As We Age: A Collaborative Reflection, Vanessa Reyes, Bhuva Narayan, Annemarie Zijlema, Mary Anne Kennan

Proceedings from the Document Academy

How do our personal documentation practices change as we age, and how can we create and save personal evidence of ourselves for our family’s future? All of us continually accumulate information about ourselves in our everyday lives, intentionally, incidentally, or otherwise, for self-presentation, self-fulfillment, reminders of our past, reinforcing identity, as a hobby, for personal documentation, or for peace of mind. Increasingly, this evidence is in digital form, and often in the cloud. The authors use a collaborative autoethnography and narrative methodology, as outlined by Ford (2020), to document how aging affects our personal documentation and our memories. In the …

Beyond The 'Idols Of The Marketplace': Managing Semantic Change In Research, Christopher B. Rauch, Hyung Wook Choi, Mat Kelly

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Semantic change refers to the process by which words acquire new meanings over time or in different contexts, particularly as they transition between disciplines. This shift in meaning, especially when words are adopted as terms in multiple academic areas, often leads to confusion and ambiguity. This study focuses on the terms "agent" and "ontology," tracing their semantic evolution over time and across disciplines to understand how their meanings differ between fields such as philosophy, law, and artificial intelligence. Drawing on insights from Boon and Van Baalen's metacognitive framework, the analysis demonstrates how understanding these differences can help prevent miscommunication.

Solidaristic Grief: A Framework For Political Organizing, Gabe K

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

My purpose in this article is to outline the potential of grief to be foundational to a collectivist politics of solidarity and interdependence. Drawing on research in human psychology, I will argue that because people form core beliefs based more on emotion than rationality, movements for justice and equality must utilize emotion to convince people to dedicate time and energy to helping their cause. Defined in this article as a process of reconstructing one’s “world of meaning” and very identity in the face of loss, grief is by nature transformative. Grief also challenges atomistic conceptions of individuality to reframe how …

Situating Black Death And Grief Within The Context Of Ancestral Veneration, Chris Z. Sanders

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

Death and grief are an ever-present phenomenon in the Black community. Starting with the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and chattel slavery; then transcending into mortality rates; police brutality; gun violence; and just living while Black. Statistically, Black Americans die at higher rates than white Americans at nearly every age. As a result, the Black community has always had a very intimate and ambiguous relationship with death and grief. In response to this relationship, the Black community has created our own way of mourning through the formation of unique funeral and vigil traditions, the establishment of Black-owned funeral homes, the preservation of …

Sankofa In Action: Reclaiming Our Future, Adisa Preston

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

Pan-Africanism has been one of the responses to the systematic and brutal efforts by colonial powers to negate the worth and humanity of African peoples. Emerging in the Caribbean and the United States in the 19th-century, it flowered with the independence movements of the 20th. Historian Kwame Anthony Appiah defines Pan-Africanism as “a political project calling for the unification of all Africans into a single African state to which those in the African diaspora can return” (Appiah 1992, 174).

Pan-Africanism sought to heal the catastrophic ruptures of slavery, throw off the shackles of colonialism, and to fight the racist ideologies …