Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding The Alphabet Soup Of The Special Education System, Grace Hansen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Transition age students with disabilities are increasingly expected to practice self advocacy and take an active role in planning their futures. However, a review of existing special education literature reveals a significant gap. While substantial resources exist to help parents and general education teachers navigate the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. Accessible for age appropriate tools designed directly for student understanding remain scarce. To bridge this divide, this project introduces a student centered curriculum framework designed for secondary students in grades 7 through 12. Drawing upon foundational special education pedagogy, the project breaks down complex IEP terminology, processes, and meeting …

Framing Schools As A Second Home For Children, Christian Duncan

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone explores how a structured professional development program can create greater unity and mutual understanding among educators by framing the school as a “second home” comparable to a parent household. The project developed from observations of division, dissatisfaction, and strained relationships among educators and considers how these dynamics can influence school culture and the stability students experience. Key influences included research on child development, home and school stability, teacher well-being, professional relationships, and effective professional development. Research from Darling-Hammond and Cook-Harvey (2018) emphasized the importance of emotional and physical safety, supportive adult relationships, and belonging for student development, while …

Rooted In Wonder: Cultivating A Connection To The Environment Through Nature-Based Learning In Central Mexico, Mikaela Tennis

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Children are spending less time outdoors and feeling increasingly disconnected from the natural world. This reduced exposure and lack of interaction limits opportunities to form early connections with nature, which have lasting benefits into adulthood. Nature-based learning approaches have been proven to increase a sense of nature connectedness, which in turn strengthens one’s environmental attitudes and behaviors while supporting mental health and well-being. To address limited access to nature-based learning experiences in Central Mexico, this capstone draws from research on nature connectedness, nature-based learning, and nature center design to answer the question, How can a nature-based learning center be designed …

How Wounded Healer Trainees Develop Self-Awareness Of Their Wounds And Use This Self-Awareness In Clinical Work, Nishi Ravi

Dissertations (1934 -)

The wounded healer, a concept originally introduced by Carl Jung (1951), characterizes individuals who, having undergone personal struggles or ‘wounding,’ feel inclined to alleviate the suffering of others. Extant literature attests to the prevalence of woundedness among counseling professionals and to the potential benefits and risks their wounds pose in clinical practice. Despite its widespread use across the literature, the wounded healer concept has yet to be formally and empirically operationalized, and this study addresses that gap by offering a concrete, empirically grounded definition of the construct. Yet, while wounded healers are increasingly recognized across counseling training contexts, little research …

Gold & Blue, Summer 2026, St. Mary's University - San Antonio, Texas

Gold & Blue

This is the Summer 2026 edition of Gold & Blue, which is St. Mary’s University's official alumni magazine.

Exploring Primary Care Providers’ Compassionate Care And Their Evidence-Based Practice With Death, Grief, And Loss: Patient Experience And Perspective, Kathryn Krzykala

Dissertations

Research on primary care providers’ (PCPs) education regarding Death, Grief, and Loss (DGL) remains limited. Specifically, data is lacking regarding patients' perceptions and opinions on what they need and expect from their PCPs regarding grief and loss. This exploratory mixed-method study comprised 146 participants who had experienced death and non-death loss. It examined participants' perceptions of 1) PCP compassion, 2) PCP utilization of evidence-based grief and loss practices, 3) their own level of comfort discussing DGL with their PCPs during medical visits, and 4) their personal grief and loss experiences. The findings revealed that PCPs' grief-informed evidence-based treatment, as reflected …

Implementing Student Choice Through Social-Emotional Learning To Support Independence And Motivation In Elementary Education, Allison Sloan

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Most people feel more motivated and invested in the work they are doing when they have a voice in the matter. This remains true for elementary students with their school work. This capstone paper analyzes and compares research articles to answer the guiding question: How can classroom strategies grounded in SEL and student choice promote independence while supporting diverse learning needs? The guiding question and project were created due to a noticeable lack of choice being represented and provided in elementary classrooms. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between student choice, social-emotional learning, and student independence …

Beyond The Classroom

DePaul Magazine

DePaul's Irwin W. Steans Center, celebrating its 25th anniversary, has evolved into a national higher-education leader in community-engaged service learning, connecting faculty, students and community organizations to foster mutually beneficial initiatives and outcomes.

Therapy With Empathy

DePaul Magazine

DePaul's Speech Language Pathology and Occupational Therapy graduate programs, newly aligned in the Department of Rehabilitative Sciences and Professions at the College of Science and Health, employ a community assets-based approach to serving diverse populations and individuals' needs across the lifespan.

Fostering Wellness: Developing Strategies To Improve Mental Health And Decrease Burnout For Professionals Serving Foster Youth, Amaya Dorado Ledesma

Occupational Therapy Student Capstones

High burnout rates, turnover, and decreased mental health are limiting not only foster youth professionals, but also the families and children they serve.

Hope College Magazine, Volume 58, Number 1: Summer 2026, Hope College

Hope College Magazine

No abstract provided.

Quality Domains In Home-Based Pediatric Hospice And Palliative Care: Adolescent And Young Adult Perspectives, Daniel H Grossoehme, Claire A Crawford, Jhansi Chandra Ellakula, Toluwalase Ajayi, Justin N Baker, Sarah Friebert, Lisa Humphrey, Jillann Jarrell, Rachel Thienprayoon, Pamela S Hinds

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Current United States palliative care practice guidelines are intended to cover care across all age groups. Previous research with pediatric providers and caregivers concluded that pediatric hospice and palliative care have unique attributes. Not known is how adolescent hospice and palliative care patients understand quality palliative care. The purpose of this study was to characterize and define quality of care domains as described by adolescent and young adult patients receiving home-based hospice and palliative care.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews with 10-26 year-olds who received home-based hospice and/or palliative care visits in the prior three years at six diverse sites in …

Msw Portfolio: Through Courage And Heart, Meghan N. Conklin

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio discusses my journey through the MSW program highlighting anti-oppressive frameworks, ethics, trauma informed care, and indigenous practice. This portfolio displays how I met the core competencies of advanced integrative practice with a focus on practice with youth in and out of institutional setting.

Administrative Leadership, Job Resources, And Teacher Burnout In U.S. Middle Schools: A Jd-R Study, Santerous Glenn Colbert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Shifting Production, Rising Value Added: A Global Value Chain Perspective On Sectoral Competitiveness In Asean, Van Chung Nguyen

DLSU Business & Economics Review

The ongoing relocation of production activities from China to Southeast Asia, driven by geopolitical and supply chain restructuring, has created new opportunities for ASEAN economies to enhance their positions in regional and global value chains. This study examines trends in cooperation and competition in value-added creation among ASEAN countries during 2015–2025 using the Multiregional Input–Output (MRIO) analysis. The results show significant differences in sectoral value-added growth across ASEAN members. Vietnam and Cambodia recorded the highest growth rates, particularly in manufacturing industries, whereas Singapore maintained its leading position in high-value and technology-intensive sectors. In contrast, Thailand and Malaysia experienced moderate growth, …

Southeastern Librarian 74(2) Summer 2026 (Full Issue)

The Southeastern Librarian

Complete issue of the Southeastern Librarian, Volume 74 Number 2, Summer 2026

Second Acts In Academic Librarianship: Trends, Impacts, And Implications, Tiffany Davis Norris, Phill Johnson

The Southeastern Librarian

This study investigates the increasingly common phenomenon of academic librarianship as a second career. Survey data from more than 500 academic librarians found that nearly 70 percent of respondents did not begin their professional lives in the library field. These findings challenge the long-held perception of librarianship as an early or primary career choice and highlight significant trends with implications for library education, recruitment, leadership development, and burnout prevention. The study explores patterns in first careers and examines demographic trends, age distributions, and correlations between career background and current leadership roles. By framing librarianship as a deliberate career pivot rather …

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy For Toddlers In Japan: Comparing Outcomes For Children With And Without Autism And/Or Developmental Delays, Emily-Anne Sevilla Del Rosario

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Toddlers (PCIT-T) is a toddler adaptation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy designed to improve social-emotional development and parenting practices among children under two years of age. This study evaluated the effectiveness of PCIT-T among Japanese families and explored whether treatment outcomes differed between neurotypical toddlers and autistic children and/or children with developmental delays. Data was analyzed from 83 parent-child dyads who received PCIT-T in community-based agencies across Japan between 2018 and 2023. Results indicated significant improvements in children’s protective developmental factors, caregiver use of PRIDE skills, and reductions in Avoid skills following treatment. CARES skills did not …

Religious Higher Education In Prison In The United States: The Importance Of Well-Being, Robin L. Labarbera

Journal of Global Education and Research

A growing body of scholarship suggests that incarcerated individuals who participate in education programs, particularly those grounded in faith, are better positioned for lasting community reintegration and positive long-term outcomes. Using a mixed-methods evaluation design, the author examines two interrelated questions: whether faith-based higher education is associated with enhanced well-being among current participants and whether program graduates carry those well-being gains into post-release life. Drawing on group interviews with 109 incarcerated men and women across six U.S. facilities and surveys from 157 participants in four states, the study found that participation in a prison-based theological education program was associated with …

Sjsu Erfa News, Summer 2026, San Jose State University, Emeritus And Retired Faculty Association

Emeritus and Retired Faculty Association (ERFA) Newsletter

Volume 39, No 39

Addressing Bias Against Sopo Vee Opp Polyamory, Nafees Alam

Social Work Faculty Publications

Polyamory is a consensual relationship style involving multiple romantic and/or sexual partners, with SOPO (solo polyamory), VEE, and OPP (one penis policy) being specific polyamorous dynamics that often face heightened bias. The reality show "Sister Wives" offers a compelling case study of both stigmatization and potential normalization of non-monogamous relationships in mainstream media. This manuscript examines how "Sister Wives" both reinforces and challenges stereotypes about polyamory, its impact on public perception, and how the experiences of the Brown family parallel those of SOPO VEE OPP practitioners. By analyzing media representation alongside lived experiences, we can better understand how to promote …

School Of Nursing Newsletter Summer 2026, Southern Adventist University

Southern Nursing - School of Nursing Newsletter

The Summer 2026 issue of the newsletter features information on the Hamilton County Homeland Security emergency preparedness event held in April, an update on the Nursing Simulation Center, the spring RHO IOTA induction ceremony, and mission trip experiences.

Forecast: An Exhibition Inviting Slow Feeling Through Participation In Unstable Weather States, Jo Pollitt, Helena Grehan, Lilly Blue, Peggy Attkinson, Justine Dandy, Naomi Joy Godden, Leanda Mason, Renee Esther Newman, Alexa Taylor, Danielle Gilson

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper presents a series of responses from Western Australian based artists and scholars from a range of disciplines including: meteorology, science, education, social work, psychology, art and performance studies, to a year-long exhibition titled Forecast in Gallery 09 at The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA). Forecast is a collaboration between AGWA's Head of Learning and Creativity Research, Lilly Blue, Edith Cowan University's Centre for People, Place and Planet artist-scholar, Jo Pollitt, together with artists Dianne Jones and Eva Fernández. The exhibition invites audiences to contribute to two participatory works: Weather Patterns, a daily changing installation that makes room …

Demographic Transformation In Saudi Arabia: Declining Fertility And The Reshaping Of Population Structure, Shuruq Ismail Alsharif

Scientific Journal of King Faisal University: Humanities and Management Sciences

This study analyzes the demographic transformation of the Saudi population in light of the sustained decline in fertility rates and the accompanying social and economic changes. The study adopts a quantitative analytical approach based on official national statistical data issued by the General Authority for Statistics and the Ministry of Health. A time-series analysis covering the period 2010–2022 is employed to examine fertility trends and their demographic implications. The study introduces a theoretical framework conceptualized as the recalibration of fertility in Saudi society to interpret the ongoing demographic shift. The findings indicate a steady decline in the total fertility rate …

Pintarin.Edu Application: Assessment Platform As A Complementary Learning Material For The Teaching Principles And Assessment I And Ii Courses, Hayuni Retno Widarti, Munzil Munzil, Raden Bambang Sumarsono, Richa Nan Maharani, Juwita Karina Pratiwi, Deni Ainur Rokhim

Jurnal Pembelajaran Sains

This study aims to design, develop, and launch the Pintarin.Edu application as a lifelong learning-based assessment medium to support the Principles of Teaching and Assessment I and II courses for prospective professional teachers (PPG) students. The innovation of this research lies in the integration of reflective assessment, continuous feedback, interactive discussion features, automatic post-tests, rubric-based task management, and Classroom Action Research (CAR) progress monitoring in one structured digital platform. This study uses a 4D development model (Define, Design, Develop, Disseminate) which includes needs analysis, feature design and development, product validation and revision, and trial and implementation. Validation was carried out …

Interdisciplinary Approaches To Bioarchaeological And Forensic Practice: Reconceptualizing Identity And Health Across The Centuries, Megan Fry, Samantha M. Mccrane

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

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Trauma-Informed Esl Ecology: Centering Teacher Well-Being, Equity, And Structural Responsibility In Adult Esl Classrooms, Ghenwa Nasreddine, Heejin Song

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

Government-funded adult English as a second language (ESL) programs in Anglophone countries increasingly encounter students with histories of trauma, displacement, and structural adversity due to existing and emerging geopolitical conflicts and unsettling sociopolitical realities. These conditions shaping English language teaching (ELT) inevitably influence learners’ cognitive and emotional engagement in language learning, as well as their relationships with teachers and peers. Despite burgeoning literature on trauma-informed practice in ELT, significant gaps remain regarding teacher preparedness, professional development, and institutional support structures to enact trauma-informed pedagogies in linguistically and culturally diverse adult ESL classrooms. Drawing on a critical review of recent scholarship …

Building An Alumni Network: Strategies And Benefits, Emily Johnson, Elena Carmichael

Russian Language Journal

This article explains how to build an alumni network and describes the benefits of such initiatives. Echoing the 2024 “Report on English Majors’ Career Preparation and Outcomes” prepared by the ADE Ad Hoc Committee on English Majors’ Career Preparation and Outcomes, it argues that providing students with regular opportunities to hear from and interact with program alumni offers tangible benefits in terms of career preparation. By attending Zoom and in-person alumni career talks, students can learn about the diverse range of jobs where language and literature majors can achieve success. The chance to speak one-on-one with an alumnus/alumna with similar …

Protecting Graduate Students From Burnout With Self-Compassion And Authenticity, Michael S. Leeman, Joshua J. Castleberry, Anna A. Ellenson, Morgan Wallbrown

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

This study investigated whether practicing self-compassion and embracing one's authentic self could protect graduate students from burnout. Researchers also empirically examined the mediating effect of authenticity in the relationship between self-compassion and burnout. A total of 318 master's degree students in a helping profession completed surveys assessing their levels of self-compassion, authenticity, and burnout. Results found that graduate students with higher levels of self-compassion and authenticity tended to have lower levels of burnout. Additionally, authenticity mediated the relationship between self-compassion and burnout. The findings suggest that practicing self-compassion and embracing one's authentic self may lead to lower levels of burnout …

The Impact Of Technological Empowerment On The Strategic Readiness Of Private Universities: The Mediating Role Of Digital Transformation, Rami Fouad Ahmed Al-Sheikhli, Mustafa Mahmoud Al-Somaidaee

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, technological empowerment has become a strategic and existential necessity for organizations striving for growth and continued competitiveness, particularly private universities, which face significant challenges in comprehensive digital transformation. Literature reveals the absence of an integrated model linking the three research variables (technological empowerment, strategic readiness, and digital transformation). This paper aimed to examine the mediating role of digital transformation in the impact of technological empowerment on strategic readiness in Iraqi private universities. The study has employed a descriptive analytical approach, utilizing a questionnaire as the primary data collection tool. The questionnaire was …