Digital Commons Network^™

Cultivating Ethical Leadership In Middle Management: A Qualitative Study Of Formative Experience And Organizational Support, Cha Vang

Theses and Dissertations

Why is ethical leadership foundational for middle managers, especially in complex organizational settings? This study investigates the foundational factors that shape how ethical leadership emerges among middle managers. Through a qualitative phenomenological approach, cross-sector interviews revealed that ethical leadership is not defined by position but is shaped by identity, relational support, and experiential growth. Middle managers act as ethical interpreters, translating organizational values into action where ambiguity and pressure are highest. It is imperative that middle-management leadership cultivation is grounded in identity awareness, relational accountability, and intentional development, minimizing dysfunction and strengthening ethical resilience in complex organizational systems.

Mentorship: The Impact On Defining Identity For Women Veterans After The Military, Brenda V. Lemas

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential impact that mentorship can have on women veterans to achieve success and define their identity after the military. This study examined women's veteran stories: self-identity, personal narrative, challenges, personal and professional development, physical challenges, sources of motivation, and purpose by addressing their needs as they transition into the civilian sector. Interviews were conducted with a diverse group of 15 women veterans to gather data. This group of women veterans were in different life stages during their transition from the military. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for further investigation and …

Current Trends In Assessment Training At Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programs, Darcy Perrin Darrell

Theses and Dissertations

Psychological assessment is a fundamental competency in clinical psychology doctoral training, yet inconsistencies persist in the content and structure of assessment education across programs. This study aimed to evaluate current trends in psychological assessment training at American Psychological Association (APA) accredited clinical psychology doctoral programs, with particular attention to the implementation of the APA Guidelines for Education and Training in Psychological Assessment in Health Service Psychology. Utilizing a nonexperimental, descriptive design, the study analyzed 85 syllabi submitted by 58 programs, as well as publicly available curricular information. A rubric was developed to assess the extent to which course syllabi reflected …

The Effects Of Exposure To War & Attachment Disruption On Children Of War Leading To Negative Mental Health Outcomes, Chantal Daley

Theses and Dissertations

Children of war tend to endure abuse, witness deaths, killings, and sexual violence, and are also often coerced into committing violent acts. They are subjected to exposure to war-related traumas and as a result often become displaced from their primary caregiver and attachment figure and this relationship is disrupted. The primary aim of this systematic review was to explore the negative mental health outcomes in children of war into adulthood following attachment disruption and exposure to war. It also aimed to examine what protective factors mitigated these negative mental health outcomes and whether outcomes and protective factors varied according to …

The Impact Of Decision-Making Autonomy, Sense Of Shared Identity, And Communications Strategy On Resource Retention Post-Merger And Acquisition, Randeep Rajwant Kaur

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the impact of decision-making autonomy, a sense of shared identity, and communication strategy on resource retention following mergers and acquisitions. Grounded in organizational development literature, the study examines employee experiences during post-integration periods. Using a qualitative methodology, ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees who remained with their organizations for at least twelve months following a merger or acquisition. The research utilizes thematic analysis to explore how autonomy constraints, leadership engagement, transparent communication, and cultural alignment influence retention decisions. The participant sample spans diverse industries such as software, healthcare, financial services, and others, with roles ranging from …

Remove The Invisibility Cloak - Let's Get Women Promoted!, Nina Echeverría Brown

Theses and Dissertations

This two-study research project uses a mixed-methods exploratory sequential research design to investigate the career journey of women in Corporate America and assess how they navigate the tensions that may impede Career Growth. Study 1 employs qualitative interviews to gather insights from 20 diverse women at varying managerial levels. Thematic analysis reveals five primary Pathways to Career Growth—Foundational Development, Social Augmentation, Adaptive Knowledge Expansion, Forward Focus, and Visibility—each associated with specific strategies that women employ to navigate tensions related to Cultural, Organizational, and Domestic spheres. Study 2 builds upon these findings and utilizes quantitative cross-sectional survey data from 385 corporate …

Navigating The New Normal: A Grounded Theory Study Of Lessons Learned About Leadership Practices Since The Pandemic In Multimodal Workplace Settings And The Future Of Work, Jessica Arriaza

Theses and Dissertations

The global pandemic has profoundly transformed leadership and the work landscape across multimodal workplace environments (onsite, virtual, and hybrid). As organizations navigated unprecedented disruption, leaders had to respond with agility, empathy, and innovation. This qualitative, grounded theory study explored the transformative impact of post-pandemic changes on leadership practices within the evolving workplace landscape and future work trends. The overarching research question guiding this study was to what extent, if at all, leadership practices have evolved since the global pandemic across onsite, virtual, and hybrid workplace settings, and what skills, strategies, and practices will future leaders need to navigate the future …

A Practical Theology Of Change: Community-Centered Leadership For Congregational Transformation In Evolving Contexts, Kevin W. Vanhook Ii

Theses and Dissertations

Communities worldwide have been dramatically and rapidly changing, with more of the world’s population expected to live in urban settings by 2030. Christian churches that failed to adapt to their communities’ mergent needs experienced stagnation and decline, while those that survived and thrived rethought their strategies for engaging with their respective communities. Research indicated that churches focusing on achieving and sustaining congregational health and vitality had the potential to defy the prevailing trends of church decline. However, there was a lack of research regarding best practices for doing so. Therefore, this study identified the practices used by ministers of Christian …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences And Leadership Perspectives Of Women Who Have Been Candidates For Elected Political Office, Angela M. Fentiman

Theses and Dissertations

Women’s underrepresentation in leadership is well-documented. Despite making gains in some leadership areas, underrepresentation persists in executive elected positions. Using a life course research framework that examines the life journey, along with leadership theory and literature explaining underrepresentation, this study goes beyond the numbers to explore the experiences of women who have run for executive elected office. Specifically, it includes the perspectives of 10 women who ran for governor during the 2022 U.S. midterm election. The participants demonstrate leadership approaches consistent with servant and authentic leadership and consider characteristics associated with those styles to be the ideal approaches for political …

Innovative Approaches To A More Sustainable Global Supply Chain: A Phenomenological Study In The Footwear Industry, Nichole Dwyer

Theses and Dissertations

The global footwear industry faces significant challenges as it navigates the complexities of sustainability, technological advancements, and supply chain resilience. This study examines how innovations in developing technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT), can enhance efficiency, reduce carbon footprints, and promote sustainability within global footwear supply chains. Leveraging a phenomenological approach, the research explores the lived experiences of supply chain professionals to identify practical strategies for integrating technology, enhancing resilience, and mitigating environmental impacts. The study highlights the industry's evolution, driven by factors such as consumer demand for sustainability, disruptions caused by geopolitical …

Best Practices In Leadership In Probation, Ronamae Panganiban

Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that leadership in law enforcement is a continuous learning process (Birzer et al., 2016; Davies & Heysmand, 2021; Niles et al., 2024; Roberts et al., 2016). Due to the complex structure and changing environment, leadership responsibilities fall upon multiple individuals in a chain of command (C. Davis, 2020; G. W. Garner, 2016; Sienkiewicz-Malyjurek, 2016). The research study aimed to identify best practices for leadership in law enforcement that leaders employ that make them successful. It used a phenomenological qualitative design and purposive sampling method to obtain a sample size of 15 participants. The study utilized a semi structured …

Educating Outdoors: A Qualitative Case Study On School Readiness Development In A Nature-Based Preschool, Lauren Lefevre

Theses and Dissertations

Play is widely considered one of the most crucial activities for healthy early childhood development, yet many current early childhood education (ECE) programs prioritize academics at the expense of this critical activity. Despite this focus on math and literacy skills, a significant number of children arrive at kindergarten unable to demonstrate proper school readiness. Nature-based early childhood education (NbECE) is a growing alternative education option that prioritizes risky play, loose parts play, and nature play, potentially providing children with countless opportunities for school-readiness development through play. Guided by the biophilia hypothesis (Wilson, 1984), which suggests that humans are innately drawn …

Evaluating The Clinical Effectiveness Of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: A Systematic Review Of Outcome Studies, Gregory Bendau

Theses and Dissertations

The present review systematically examined current outcome studies on psychodynamic psychotherapy to build a comprehensive understanding of its overall effectiveness. The review synthesizes 43 outcome studies, including randomized controlled trials (n = 26) and quasi-experimental designs (n = 17), across diverse durations, settings, and clinical presentations. The review included quantitative, peer-reviewed studies written in English and published between 2015 and 2024 that measured the treatment outcomes of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Results showed that 41 studies (95%) reported significant symptom improvements for psychological conditions and disorders, including mood, personality, anxiety, somatic symptom, trauma, eating, mixed disorders, and general psychological distress. Effect sizes …

Ai: A Path Forward In Education - Teachers’ Insights On Implementation, Challenges, And Future Innovations, Mercedes Cordoba Meeks

Theses and Dissertations

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a global phenomenon permeating the fabric of society and transforming the course of culture and commerce (Kishor et al., 2023; Moore, 2024). A review of the extant literature indicates that while many industries have seen significant innovations due to the infusion of AI, the field of education has witnessed a technological evolution inspired by AI-based tools and strategies (Bessen, 2018; W. M. Lim et al., 2023). Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED) has a history that parallels the development of AI. AIED has shown steady growth and influence in educational programs around the world, with the growth …

Empowered Creation: Investigating Business Acumen And Technological Engagement Among Female Artists As Creative Entrepreneurs, Heggins-Jackson Tracey

Theses and Dissertations

The most powerful vehicle for communication and change is art. Creative endeavors have served humanity as a source of motivation and inspiration, as agents for shaping meaning and, most importantly, evoking empathy. Unfortunately, women in the arts face significant challenges due to deeply entrenched stereotypes, social expectations, societal norms, and gender-related misinformation, which result in destructive narratives. Paradoxically, this marginalized population possesses the skills and insights needed to address disparities through authentic narrative dissemination. Research indicates a limited focus on the contributions and pathways of women in the creative arts industry as entrepreneurs, explicitly highlighting their genuine needs conveyed through …

The Optimization And Manufacturing Scale-Up Of Polymeric Membranes Using Eco-Friendly Solvents, David Lu

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Polymeric membranes have become a prominent technology applied in water filtration due to the lower cost, energy input, and simpler manufacturing process relative to other separation technologies. However, the environmental impact of polymeric membrane fabrication remains a hindrance due to the use of hazardous solvents derived from fossil fuels (e.g., DMAc, NMP, DMF) that pose a risk to the environment and human health. Whereas recent studies have demonstrated the proof-of-concept of polymeric membrane derived from eco-friendly solvents, the next steps of optimizing and upscaling the production of these membranes remains understudied and a gap between lab-scale studies and the path …

Combinatorial Thin Film Approach To Accelerate Materials Discovery: Development Of Nanoporous And Bulk Multi-Principal Element Alloys, Tibra Das Gupta

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs) have garnered significant attention in materials science due to their potential for exhibiting a combination of desirable properties stemming from their unique configurational entropy. While early research focused on equiatomic compositions, recent studies have indicated that non-equiatomic MPEAs may offer superior mechanical performance. However, the identification of optimal non-equiatomic compositions remains challenging due to the vast compositional space and the reliance on time-consuming and computationally expensive methods. This dissertation presents a combinatorial thin film approach as a rapid and efficient strategy for discovering two types of materials: nanoporous and bulk MPEAs.

The first study explores the …

Rigorous Care: The Early Warning Syllabus 2.0, Michelle Warren, Jenny Oh, Guadalupe Ortega

Dartmouth Scholarship

This document includes a set of policies that are designed to provide efficient ways for instructors to implement pedagogies of care. The principle of “rigorous care” is informed by research on learning, accessibility, and mental health. The idea of “early warnings” is meant to help students identify their needs and seek support before problems become unmanageable. Both ideas respect the fact that both students and instructors work under enormous pressure.

Each policy statement is preceded by a brief framing justification and followed by a selected bibliography of the research and testimonials that have informed the policy.

Medical Students’ Disaster-Specific Self-Efficacy And Willingness To Respond Following An Introductory Preparedness Training, Brooke Wagner, Libby Washburn, Joseph D Visker, Carol Cox

Health Professions Education

Purpose.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine medical students’ disaster self-efficacy and willingness to respond to disasters before and after attending an introductory disaster preparedness training program during fall 2023.

Method.

Medical students (eight Year 1 and 18 Year 2) attending a one-day introductory disaster preparedness program that focused on an all-hazard approach and used lecture and applied scenario practice instruction were surveyed pre-post program using a written, four-section questionnaire on their disaster-specific self-efficacy and willingness to respond to disasters. Statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics (v29) and primarily consisted of descriptive statistics (frequencies and …

Using A Self-Directed Learning Technique For Learning Suturing Skills: Does Medical Student Self-Assessment Agree With That Of Faculty Observers?, Divya Srinivas, Rebecca Gilbird, Jennifer Bennett, Mehdi Bilgrami, Samuel Pankey, Dmitry Tumin, Walter Robey

Health Professions Education

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine if students’ self-rating of suturing skills learned in a self-directed manner was concordant with physicians’ ratings.

Methods. Second year medical students were provided a video-based, self-directed curriculum, and a suture pad to use over eight weeks. Each student rated their performance of placing three simple interrupted sutures using a Global Rating Scale. Video recordings of the students’ performance were then assessed by three faculty using the same rating scale. The students’ self-assessments were compared to the average of faculty assessments to test for bias, correlation, and concordance.

Results. A total of …

A Critique Of Findings On Gun Ownership, Use, And Imagined Use From The 2021 National Firearms Survey: Response To William English, Deborah Azrael, Joseph Blocher, Philip J. Cook, David Hemenway, Matthew Miller

SMU Law Review

For a paper that has not yet been through peer review or even been formally published, William English’s “2021 National Firearms Survey” has been remarkably prominent in gun rights advocacy and scholarship. As of December 2024, it has been cited in roughly sixty-five briefs, invoked at oral argument in the Supreme Court and multiple courts of appeals, and regularly cited in public writings and published academic work.

This response is offered in the spirit of a peer review. Our focus is on methodological issues, questionable statistical results, and problematic conclusions. Because of serious methodological issues, English’s draft fails to provide …

Judge–Scholar Collaboration And The Second Amendment, Andrew Willinger, Eric Ruben

SMU Law Review

Legal scholarship is overly abstract and theoretical, making it unhelpful to judges and lawyers. That, at least, is the classic critique from the bench. When it comes to the Second Amendment, however, a different pattern has emerged: judges consistently cite law review articles and look to the academy for guidance. Most recently, in United States v. Rahimi, some Justices went further, implicitly inviting more scholarly work to help the Court answer open questions raised by its novel methodological approach to the Second Amendment. This Article explores this aberrant trend.

We raise several explanations for the distinctive scholarly role in …

Quantifying Metabolic Food Waste And Associated Global Warming Potential Attributable To Overweight And Obese Adults In A Temperate High-Income Region, Courage Y. Krah, Daniel T. Burke, Majid Bahramian, Paul Hynds, Anushree Priyadarshini

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Traditional discussions on food waste often excludes metabolic food waste (MFW), which occurs when individuals consume food beyond their caloric needs. This study is the first to quantify MFW among adults with excess body weight (overweight and obese) in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and globally the first to explore its socioeconomic and health-related predictors. Using an online food frequency questionnaire, MFW was estimated via the excess energy intake method, and Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was applied to identify significant predictors of MFW volumes. Median per capita MFW was 121.84 kg/year, with potatoes being the most wasted food item (23.4 …

From Diagnosis To Triumph: Confronting A Rare Case Of Primary Cardiac Lymphoma, Soumyadeep Bag, Pranayraj Kondapally, Ali Hachem, Frank Honkanen, Farrah Ibrahim

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2025 oral presentation

Racial Differences In The Prevalence And Outcomes Of Venous Thromboembolism In Usa, A Nationwide Estimate, Soumyadeep Bag, Tumpa Patra, Badal Thakkar, Srikanth Puli, Sarah Kelangi, Ya-Ching Hsieh, Tanja Dudenbostel, Urvish Patel

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2025 research poster

Meta-Analysis Of Overall Survival In Intramedullary Spinal Gliomas: Comparing Gross Total Resection To Subtotal Resection And Biopsy, Matthew Jarrell, Mohammad Hamo, Dagoberto Estevez-Ordonez, Travis Atchley, Nick Laskay, Mark Hadley

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2025 research poster

Uncovering The Mystery Of Pancytopenia: Mesalamine As A Rare Cause, Tina Huang, Anmol Ahuja, Josh Bush, Jesse Faulk

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

No abstract provided.

Zuranolone: A Game-Changer In Postpartum Depression Care, Racquel Mccrary, Janaki Nimmagadda, Anupama Yedla, Clinton Martin

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

No abstract provided.

A Bizarre Biliary Battle: A Case Of Hafnia Alvei In Ascending Cholangitis, Ahmed Qaedi, Hope Lackey, Kaehler Roth, Alan Baggett

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

No abstract provided.

Understanding Lewy Body Dementia: A Comprehensive Overview, Muskan Vankwani, Janaki Nimmagadda, Anupama Yedla, Richard Shelton, Clinton Martin

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

No abstract provided.