Digital Commons Network^™

A Qualitative Inquiry Of Adult English Language Instructor Experiences Fostering Inclusion, Community Building, And Student Motivation, Kathrene Marie Razo

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

By Kathrene Marie Razo

University of the Pacific

2025

The central focus of this inquiry is on understanding adult English instructor experiences fostering inclusion, community building, and student motivation in the language classroom. In addition, it highlights contextual background relative to common life barriers faced by the adult English language learner population as they relate to an immigrant’s journey of establishing themselves in a new land.

Furthermore, this inquiry was prompted by a need to gain a clearer understanding of the best practices that are revealed by educators’ shared lived experiences to assist in the support of learners in …

The Development Of A Children’S Book Designed To Use Bibliotherapy And Mindfulness Skills To Promote Interoception In Young Children With Insecure Attachment As A Result Of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Zenaida Agramonte

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

One third of children in the United States have experienced trauma known in the literature as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The long-term outcomes of ACEs have a higher likelihood of reducing interoceptive awareness—the ability to sense internal body signals like heart rate, hunger, pain, and emotions. Research suggests that interventions, such as mindfulness and attachment therapies are useful for increasing interoceptive awareness, regulating emotions, and fostering secure attachment in adults. However, apart from attachment, interventions are lacking for young children. Bibliotherapy is one such intervention designed for young children which potentially fosters secure attachment between child and adult storytellers and …

Engaging The Plus-Size Community Through Social Media And Public Relations, Esperanza Chavez

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores which platform, TikTok or Instagram, best supports engagement andcommunity building for the plus-size audience. Grounded in theories by Goffman, Berger & Luckmann, and David Meerman Scott’s 85-10-5 Rule, the study combines strategic PR methods with digital media tools to elevate plus-size voices. The campaign included 30 Instagram posts, 35 TikToks, street interviews, and a podcast series, all designed and executed for this project. Engagement was measured through likes, comments, shares, saves, follower growth, and qualitative audience feedback.

Narrative Inquiry Into The Socio Economic Integration And Resilience Of The Mien Community In The United States, Teresa M. Saefong

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the socioeconomic integration of the Mien community, a refugee minority sometimes overlooked in research and policy discussions, in the United States. Five participants shared their experiences through in-depth interviews and community observations. The study utilizes narrative inquiry and is informed by community cultural wealth and resilience theory. The analysis incorporated restorying, comparative, and performative approaches. The findings suggested that Mien integration depended on intergenerational storytelling, clan-based networks, multilingual skills, and the adaption of traditional practices within U.S. institutions. Community organizations were important for keeping culture alive and filling in the gaps in institutional services by giving …

How The Least Restrictive Environment Mandate Is Interpreted By California Special Education Local Plan Agency Directors, Robin Suttle

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study examines how Special Education Local Plan Agency (SELPA) directors in California interpret and communicate the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) mandate under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The study explores how SELPA directors understand LRE and how this understanding is conveyed to district-level administrators. Data were collected through interviews and document review across selected SELPAs and analyzed thematically using the Boundary Spanning framework. Findings show that SELPA directors view LRE as both a legal obligation and a collaborative, context-dependent process. They act as intermediaries, translating federal and state mandates into locally usable guidance while balancing …

Serving Special Education Students In Private Schools, Amanda Jo Weddle

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Private schools have been underprepared to welcome and serve students with disabilities. Throughout the years, parents have advocated for change to occur to support their children's diverse needs, but these students are frequently turned away due to the private schools’ inability to change. Many schools blame this on a lack of funds. The reality is private schools can support students with disabilities when proper steps are taken. Through knowledge of special education law, collaborative relationships, cultural changes, instructional opportunities on best practices, and encouragement, private schools can begin to embrace all students. While the changes will take time and effort, …

The Impact Of An Effective Co-Teaching Model For Elementary Students With Disabilities, Emma Y. Carlson

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching has become a widely utilized practice between a general education and a special education teacher to make inclusive education possible for students with disabilities. This thesis examines the characteristics and impacts of an effectively implemented co-teaching approach on the academic achievement of elementary-aged students with disabilities. The literature review examines the history of co-teaching, describes the components of co-teaching and its various models, and discusses the positive impacts and barriers of co-teaching when the approach is implemented with fidelity. Peer-reviewed journal articles, case studies, and textbooks were utilized to accomplish the literature review and apply the synthesized research in …

Overidentification Of Learning Disabilities Among African Immigrants English Language Learners, Ololade Khafayat Banire

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the over-identification of learning disabilities among African immigrant English Language Learners (ELLs) in U.S. schools, examining both the individual and systemic factors contributing to disproportionality. By reviewing existing literature, the study identified five major factors: assessment and diagnostic bias, teacher knowledge and beliefs, contextual and school-level factors, structural inequities, and evidence gaps in research, revealing that overidentification often arises from the intersection of these factors. The review also highlights evidence-based solutions, including culturally and linguistically responsive assessment, continuous teacher professional development, family and community engagement, structural and policy reforms, and improved research practices. While limited by the …

Using Expert Knowledge And Peer Review To Create A Reproducible Process For The Nahrs Nursing Essential Resources List (Nnerl), Rebecca Raszewski, Lorraine Porcello, Alissa V. Fial, Carolyn C. Dennison, Rachel Keiko Stark, Karen S. Alcorn, Sarah Wade

Library Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Librarians have relied on resource lists for developing nursing collections, but these lists are usually in static or subscription-based formats. An example of this is the 26th edition of the Essential Nursing Resources last published in 2012. The Nursing and Allied Health Resources and Services (NAHRS) Caucus Nursing Essential Resources List (NNERL) Task Force has been working on a new list since Fall 2020. The goal of the Task Force is to create a nursing resource list that represents current materials and formats, uses a selection process that is transparent and reproducible, and will be available to a broad …

Rhenium Chalcogenide Clusters Containing Para-Substituted Phenylacetylide Ligands: Synthesis, Characterization, And Investigation Of Substituent Effects On Spectroscopic And Electrochemical Properties, Katherine L. Helmink, Cory A. Hicks, B. Sage Lauper-Cook, Steven J. Peters, Christopher J. A. Daley, Yann Molard, Lisa F. Szczepura

Faculty Publications – Chemistry

Four new organometallic [Re₆Se₈]²⁺-based cluster complexes containing para-substituted phenylacetylide ligands, [Re₆Se₈(PEt₃)₅(C≡C–C₆H₄–X)](SbF₆) where X = NO₂, CO₂Me, CH₃, and OMe, have been synthesized and fully characterized using ¹H, ¹³C{¹H} and ³¹P{¹H} NMR, IR, and UV–vis spectroscopy, HRMS, and elemental analysis. Three of these cluster complexes, [Re₆Se₈(PEt₃)₅(C≡C–C₆H₄–NO₂)]⁺, [Re₆Se₈(PEt …

The Educational Perspective Of At-Risk Students: How Standards-Based Grading Affects Students In Alternative Education, Matthew John Secl

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This dissertation explored the widespread challenges within educational systems by investigating the transformative potential of Standards-Based Grading (SBG) for atrisk students in alternative education settings. In an epoch where traditional grading systems often perpetuate inequities and focus on punitive assessments that undermine student growth, this study will explore how SBG can redefine how students in alternative education settings perceive their academic success and understand their learning environments. By providing a fair and transparent system, SBG reassures students and educators alike, instilling confidence in the system. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with recent graduates from a Midwest alternative school, the research examined …

Revised Final Multi-Pathway Residential Metals Abatement Program Plan, Atlantic Richfield Company, Butte Silver Bow

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

The New Atrocity In International Law, Natalie R. Davidson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

No abstract provided.

Authenticity At Issue: Legislative Resistance To Gen Ai In Constituent Communication, Amy Mccoy

Iowa Journal of Communication

As legislators manage a fast-paced environment including an increasing number of legislative proposals, this research examines their perceptions around and understanding of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) and its potential applications related to constituent communications. This study explores how technological shifts in legislative communication, examined through New Media and Constructivist lenses, are interpreted and experienced by lawmakers. Through a mixed-methods approach using survey and interviews, this research provides insights on the contradiction of using Gen AI for legislative efficiency with concerns of how it may impact perceptions of authenticity and affect democratic engagement.

Assessing Residents' Water Knowledge, Communication Preferences, And Risk Perceptions: Insights For Practice And Future Communication, Ashleigh M. Day, Eric S. Cerino, Zoe Zidzik, Laura Umphrey

Iowa Journal of Communication

The purpose of this research was to better understand Flagstaff, Arizona (AZ) residents’ water knowledge, media uses, information sources, and water-related risk perceptions. After collecting survey responses from residents (n=476), results highlighted that most residents know their water supplier, but their risk perceptions varied as related to waterborne diseases and water scarcity. Particularly, participants felt more susceptible to water scarcity issues than waterborne diseases and felt that water scarcity was more severe than waterborne diseases. Further, when considering getting water-related information, many participants preferred receiving information via digital devices. Regarding social media use, participants held the strongest preference for receiving …

Toxic Sweetness And Abstinence: The Citationality Of Robert Lustig's Anti-Sugar Rhetoric, Tyler J. Snelling

Iowa Journal of Communication

Robert Lustig’s (2009) lecture on YouTube “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” animated a widespread conversation about whether sugar poisons bodies. Discourse following the lecture warrants analysis to gage how the meaning of the lecture transformed from a critique of food systems into individual actions. I argue that citationality of “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” fosters healthism by grounding sugar’s toxicity in scientific and affective reasoning that compels individual actions like abstinence from sugar. The pediatrician's lecture enabled the construction of a supposedly "moral eater" who removes sugar from consumption to avoid the poison's consequences. This paper offers tools for examining the spread …

Remembering July 36th: A Semiotic Analysis Of The Student-People's Revolutionary Graffiti, Jordan D. Smith

Iowa Journal of Communication

The use of graffiti as a tool for political solidarity has been universally documented in the academic lexicon. Using symbols of resilience, justice, disenfranchisement, and hope, graffiti is a unique phenomenon for visual rhetorical studies. The variety of artifacts spanning millennia document socio-political shifts, economic disparity, and messages of rebirth for systems in crisis. This study conducts a semiotic analysis of protest graffiti created during Bangladesh’s Student-People Uprising of July 2024 to explore how visual and linguistic signs construct messages of hope and solidarity. Using Ferdinand de Saussure’s (2021) semiotic framework, this research examines the symbolic and rhetorical elements present …

Front Matter - Table Of Contents - Preface

Iowa Journal of Communication

No abstract provided.

Back Matter - Call For Submissions

Iowa Journal of Communication

No abstract provided.

Fixation On Viruses: Eye-Tracking, Image-Based Agency, And Fear-Appeal Desensitization, Braden Bagley, Lijie Zhou, Hayden Coombs, Matthew Barton

Iowa Journal of Communication

This study examined the effects of image-based assignment of agency (IAA) on COVID-19 and flu fear-appeals by employing eye-tracking technology. Volunteers participated in a 2x2x2 between-groups experiment. Fixation-count and fixation-duration were collected by a Tobii Pro X3-120 Screen-Based Eye-Tracker. After reviewing a fact sheet, participants answered a 29-item survey that included items aligning with the extended parallel process model. The flu/agentic-image/virus-agentic-language message produced significantly higher fixation-frequency to the image and a higher perception of severity than the COVID-19/real-image/human-agentic-language message. Fixation-frequency on the image produced significantly higher fear perceptions, but significantly lower message-quality and message-credibility perceptions. Flu messages led to significantly …

Moldy Whoppers And Vitamin Donuts: Health Halos In Food Advertisements, Debbie Danowski

Iowa Journal of Communication

Health Halos have been used in food advertisements since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when the advent of mass-produced consumer goods took hold and manufactures began advertising their products. It wasn’t until nearly eight decades later, however, that theoretical framework specifically involving health halos was recognized in advertising research. Though subsequent research suggests the effectiveness of health halos in making unhealthy food appear healthier, there has been little, if any, attention given to identification of the health halos used in food advertising. This study aims to fill the gap by identifying two of the health halo techniques used …

Lrtm Left-Right Transition Matrices For Molecular Interaction Prediction, Kaitlin Zheng, Guihua Duan, Mengyun Yang, Wei Wu, Yao-Hang Li, Jianxin Wang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Molecular interactions are central to most biological processes. The discovery and identification of potential associations between molecules can provide insights into biological exploration, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, and drug development. So far many relevant computational methods have been proposed, but most of them are usually limited to specific domains and rely on complex preprocessing procedures, which restricts the models’ ability to be applied to other tasks. Therefore, it remains a challenge to explore a generalized approach to accurately predicting potential associations. In this study, We propose Left-Right Transition Matrices (LRTM) for molecular interaction prediction. From the perspective on the diffusion …

The Invisible Influencer In Information Infrastructure, Herbert Van De Sompel, Michael L. Nelson

Computer Science Faculty Publications

The UPS Prototype was a proof-of-concept web portal built in preparation for the Universal Preprint Service Meeting held in October 1999 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The portal provided search functionality for a set of metadata records that had been aggregated from a range of repositories that hosted preprints, working papers, and technical reports. Every search result was overlaid with a dynamically generated menu, called an SFX-menu, that provided a selection of value-adding links for the described scholarly work. The meeting eventually led to the Open Archives Initiative and its Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH), which remains widely used in …

Sting: A Stealthy Backdoor Attack On Gnn-Based Malicious Domain Detection Via Dns Perturbations, Muhammad Anan, Mahmoud Nazzal, Abdallah Khreishah, Issa Khalil, Nhathai Phan, Ahmad Sawalmeh

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Detecting malicious Internet domains is essential for safeguarding against various online threats. The current approach to detecting malicious domains (MDD) employs a graph neural network (GNN) method, which uses DNS logs to construct heterogeneous graphs for determining the maliciousness of unknown domains. Despite its success, this method is vulnerable to data poisoning attacks where an adversary can manipulate specific graph nodes to implant a backdoor into the model during training. To showcase the vulnerability, we propose a stealthy trigger injection attack on node features and graph structure in MDD, dubbed (STING). The attacker carefully manipulates selected features and edges of …

Coldstartcpi: Induced-Fit Theory-Guided Dti Predictive Model With Improved Generalization Performance, Qichang Zhao, Haochen Zhao, Linyuan Gao, Kai Zheng, Yajie Li, Qiao Ling, Jing Tang, Yaohang Li, Jianxin Wang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Predicting compound-protein interactions (CPIs) plays a crucial role in drug discovery. Traditional methods, based on the key-lock theory and rigid docking, often fail with novel compounds and proteins due to their inability to account for molecular flexibility and the high sparsity of CPI data. Here, we introduce ColdstartCPI, a framework inspired by induced-fit theory, which leverages unsupervised pre-training features and a Transformer module to learn both compound and protein characteristics. ColdstartCPI treats proteins and compounds as flexible molecules during inference, aligning with biological insights. It outperforms state-of-the-art sequence-based models, particularly for unseen compounds and proteins, and shows strong generalization capability …

Insights In Adaptation: Examining Self-Reflection Strategies Of Job Seekers With Visual Impairments In India, Akshay Kolgar Nayak, Yash Prakash, Sampath Jayarathna, Hae-Na Lee, Vikas Ashok

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Significant changes in the digital employment landscape, driven by rapid technological advancements and the COVID-19 pandemic, have introduced new opportunities for blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals in developing countries like India. However, a significant portion of the BVI population in India remains unemployed despite extensive accessibility advancements and job search interventions. Therefore, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 BVI persons who were either pursuing or recently sought employment in the digital industry. Our findings reveal that despite gaining digital literacy and extensive training, BVI individuals struggle to meet industry requirements for fulfilling job openings. While they engage in self-reflection …

Coming Back Differently: An Exploratory Case Study Of Near Death Experiences Of Webpages, Lesley Frew, Michael L. Nelson, Michele Weigle

Computer Science Faculty Publications

In this case study, we use web archives to analyze 8,824 webpages that were taken offline and subsequently put back online, thus experiencing a “near death experience.” We enumerate the stages of a webpage’s near death experience, including the change from a successful HTTP status code to non-successful and back, the intermediate stage with markers such as an under construction banner, and an analysis of how the pages came back differently.

From Philosophy To Nlu: Evolving Definitions With Research Hypotheses, Jian Wu, Sarah Rajtmajer

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Over the past decades, alongside advancements in natural language processing, significant attention has been paid to training models to automatically extract, understand, test, and generate hypotheses in open and scientific domains. However, interpretations of the term hypothesis for various natural language understanding (NLU) tasks have migrated from traditional definitions in the natural, social, and formal sciences. Even within NLU, we observe differences defining hypotheses across literature. In this paper, we overview and delineate various definitions of hypothesis. Especially, we discern the nuances of definitions across recently published NLU tasks. We highlight the importance of well-structured and well-defined hypotheses, particularly as …

From Philosophy To Nlu: Evolving Definitions Of Research Hypotheses, Jian Wu, Sarah Rajtmajer

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Over the past decades, alongside advancements in natural language processing, significant attention has been paid to training models to automatically extract, understand, test, and generate hypotheses in open and scientific domains. However, interpretations of the term hypothesis for various natural language understanding (NLU) tasks have migrated from traditional definitions in the natural, social, and formal sciences. Even within NLU, we observe differences defining hypotheses across literature. In this paper, we overview and delineate various definitions of hypothesis. Especially, we discern the nuances of definitions across recently published NLU tasks. We highlight the importance of well-structured and well-defined hypotheses, particularly as …

S²Il: Structurally Stable Incremental Learning, S. Balasubramanian, P. Yedu Krishna, Talasu Sai Sriram, M. Sai Subramaniam, Manepalli Pranav Phanindra Sai, Ravi Mukkamala

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Feature Distillation (FD) strategies are proven to be effective in mitigating Catastrophic Forgetting (CF) seen in Class Incremental Learning (CIL). However, current FD approaches enforce strict alignment of feature magnitudes and directions across incremental steps, limiting the model’s ability to adapt to new knowledge. In this paper, we propose Structurally Stable Incremental Learning (S²IL), a FD method for CIL that mitigates forgetting by focusing on preserving the overall spatial patterns of features which promote flexible (plasticity) yet stable representations that preserve old knowledge (stability). We also demonstrate that our proposed method S²IL achieves strong incremental accuracy and outperforms other FD …