Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluating The Role Of Provider Perspective And Their Impact On Individuals With Sickle Cell Disease In The United States Of America, Jadyn C. Oppong

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Individuals affected by invisible disabilities, such as Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), have additional challenges beyond the physical manifestation of their disease, which is otherwise unknown externally. SCD patients continually consider disease manifestation in everyday life and experience varying degrees of disease perception in and out of the hospital environment. Additional considerations of a patient’s other intersecting identities, such as race and cultural identity, call attention to the sociological landscape of the United States of America. The dynamics observed within this landscape can be seen through the symbolic interaction of these identities with the invisible disability identity, in which a compounding …

A Qualitative Study: How Does The Underrepresentation Of Black American Contributions To American Society In K-12 Curricula Affects Black Students' Self-Perception?, Deniece M. Rogers

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

This qualitative phenomenological study examined how the underrepresentation of Black American history in K–12 curricula influences individuals’ understanding of American society, identity, and cultural belonging. Using open-ended questionnaires distributed via Qualtrics, thirty-seven participants reflected on their educational experiences, the extent to which Black American history was included, and how its omission shaped their self-perception and social awareness. Guided by Critical Race Theory (CRT) and The 1619 Project, the study was organized around six a priori themes identified in existing scholarship: Awareness of Historical Omission, Identity and Self-Perception, Social and Cultural Impact, Reactions to the Education System, Emotional Responses, and Broader …

Milner Library Annual Report, 2026, Milner Library, Illinois State University

Reports and White Papers - Milner Library

2025 annual report for Milner Library, Illinois State University.

Determinants Of Patient Satisfaction In An Academic Primary Care Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study Of The Postpandemic Era, Alvin Maliakal, Rajita Kanapareddy, Zooha Altaf, Janani Anbazhagan, Kristin Olson, Cynthia Avila, Rehan Qayyum

Department of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background

Patient satisfaction, a key indicator of healthcare quality, is associated with improved adherence, continuity, and outcomes. However, limited evidence describes determinants of patient satisfaction in contemporary primary care settings reflecting the postpandemic era, when care delivery models and patient expectations have evolved substantially.

Objective

To evaluate the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with patient satisfaction in an academic primary care setting following the postpandemic era.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of adult patients (≥18 years) attending a primary care clinic. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire including the Visit-Specific Satisfaction Questionnaire (VSQ-9) and measures of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. …

The Moderating Role Of Social And Emotional Support In The Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Adult Mental Health Across Racial Groups: The Need For Investing In Social Capital, Syeda S. Jesmin, Aditya Chakraborty

Epidemiology, Biostatistics, & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background

The sustained impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) on mental health outcomes in adulthood is well documented in the literature. ACE survivors may be especially vulnerable to poor mental health outcomes if they have limited or no social support. This study examined the moderating role of social support on the association of ACEs and mental health across different racial groups.

Methods

Data were obtained from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (n = 14,327). The nine ACE questions about traumatic events in childhood were used to create ACE scores. Chi-square tests were used for bivariate comparisons. Both stratified …

From Germination To Transformation: Policy Studies In China Over The Past Half-Century (1970s–2020s), Shuai Cao, Ping Xu, Hongtao Yi, Ling Zhu

Political Science Faculty Publications

Over the past half-century, policy studies in China have undergone a remarkable evolution. This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of the field's development by tracing its origins and transformations over time. We introduce a time-based and multifaceted framework that delineates the evolution of policy studies in China into four distinct phases: germination (1978 to mid-1990s), burgeoning (late 1990s to 2012), normalization (2013 to 2022), and transformation (2023 to present). We first analyze the evolution of each phase in terms of historical contexts, disciplinary development, policy research (including policy domains, theoretical advancements, and methodological approaches), and intellectual engagement with …

Crossing Borders For Transformative Professional Learning About Health And Physical Education Policy Through The Policy Process Case Method, Jenna R. Lorusso, Kellie Baker, Chris Clark, Muhammad Jafar, Dylan Scanlon, Laura Alfrey, David Aldous

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The Policy Process Case Method (PPCM) is a recent innovation for (health and physical) education professionals to transform their complex policy experiences into practical insights. This method engages professionals across roles and geographical borders in sustained reflexive dialogue to collaboratively interrogate their policy experiences through policy theories. In this ∼1.5-year PPCM investigation, our group (i.e. two curriculum officers, one department head, and one researcher, from four nations) engaged in the following process. First, each practitioner shared a policy experience, including advocating for school policy change, developing provincial/state curricula, and implementing provincial/state curricula. The researcher identified relevant policy theories through which …

Do Lineage-Based Inheritance Norms Matter In Kinship Care Arrangements? Exploring Inheritance Paths In Grandparent Kinship Care Practice In Ghana, Hajara Bentum, Alhassan Abdullah, Vicki Banham, Kwadwo Adusei-Asante

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Kinship lineage and inheritance norms in Ghana play a significant role in shaping family decisions. Research has shown that kinship lineage and inheritance norms determine kin membership for children by specifying whether they belong to their maternal or paternal family, as well as whether they can inherit properties of their biological father or mother. The notion of kinship membership has shaped parenting and child welfare practices in Ghana, including child maintenance payments and parental neglectful behaviours. This research explored whether kinship-based inheritance norms could influence decisions about selecting a grandmother (maternal vs. paternal grandmother) as a child’s caregiver. We interviewed …

Does Class Ability Grouping In Secondary Schools Improve Students’ Literacy Scores On Australia’S Naplan Tests?, Olivia Johnston, Christa Norris, Peter Palamara

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Many schools choose to use ability grouping, despite longstanding evidence that it is inequitable and does not improve overall academic outcomes. One reason that the practice of grouping students by ‘ability’ continues is because of pressure to perform on standardised tests. Educators hold beliefs that grouping students for English classes, for example, will improve their literacy scores. This paper presents findings from a study about class ability grouping for English in Australia and how different class grouping practices relate with students’ achievement on Australia’s standardised literacy test. The findings draw on data from our Class Ability Grouping Survey, where participant …

Inked Mobilities: Tattoos As Embodied Visual Narratives Of Youth Migration Between Italy And Australia, Giulia Marchetti

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article examines tattoos as embodied visual narratives within a broader study on youth transnational mobility (2019-2023). Focusing on recent Italian migration to and from Australia, 13 tattoos were documented among the 36 participants, acquired shortly before departure, during the stay in Australia, or upon return to Italy. Methodologically, the article proposes tattoo-based interviews as a participatory visual method that mobilises permanently inscribed images as sites of visual elicitation, enabling forms of reflection and storytelling. Tattoos thus operate as relational spaces of dialogue, co-interpretation, and reflexive meaning-making between researcher and participants. Epistemologically, tattoos are approached as visual narratives through which …

Kinship Care And Aboriginal Children With Disabilities In Out-Of-Home Care: “My Boy, I Was His Voice”, Jocelyn Jones, Juliet Brook, Sasha Moodie, Richard Chenhall, Robyn Williams, Cathy Garlett, Katiska Davis, Alison Gibberd, Ben Harrap, Bridgette Mcnamara, Melissa O'Donnell, Sandra Eades

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with a disability are over-represented in child welfare systems worldwide. Despite this, little is known about their involvement with the Australian child protection system or their lived experiences. Method: Led by Indigenous researchers and methodologies, qualitative findings from yarning sessions with 46 kinship carers across Western Australia informed this research. This research is part of the Indigenous Child Removals WA (I-CaRe WA) project. Results: Difficulty accessing disability assessments and diagnoses for children resulted in a lack of access to disability support services and missed opportunities for early intervention. Priority areas for improvement included …

Negotiating Relationships With Food, The Body, And Physical Activity: Who Is The Healthiest Of Them All?, Valeria Varea, Victoria Evans, Dawn Penney, Eibhlish O'Hara

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Healthy eating and regular exercise are things that many people aspire to, mainly for health reasons. However, these practices can be complex given broader societal discourses. This paper aims to critically interrogate the social conditions and discursive formations that underpin everyday exercisers’ relationships with food, the body, and physical activity by using biopower and biopedagogies as a theoretical approach, and healthism as a set of discourses. Photo elicitation interviews with vignettes were conducted with nine participants who were regular exercisers. We constructed three different scenarios from the interview data and the theoretical approach: 1. Anna: A performance-driven, health compliant, private …

Precarity On The Move: The Relative Economic Precarity Of Mobile Youth Moving To Australia, Lara Mckenzie, Anita Harris, Loretta Baldassar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Analyses of precarity often focus on how insecure employment, careers, finances, and geographies influence people’s lives for the worse, with young people understood as especially precarious in their economic stability and transitions to adulthood. This article analyses accounts of precarity amongst middling transnationally mobile youth, drawing from 24 semi-structured interviews incoming to Australia, and longitudinal survey data. We show that experiences of economic precarity are impacted by their access to work, government support, ability to access or sustain visas, and access to support from family and partners. By drawing on migration scholars’ observations that transnational mobility can be privileged and …

Supporting Displaced Students With Disabilities In Post-Secondary Education: An International Scoping Review, Tetiana Bogachenko, Jia Xu, Larysa Klymanska, Nadia Chubko

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Students with disabilities who are forced to leave their homes due to armed conflict, persecution, environmental crises, or other forms of involuntary displacement, within their country or internationally, face compounded barriers to accessing and succeeding in post-secondary education. Yet, their experiences, educational trajectories, and the supports available to them remain underexplored. This scoping review examines existing empirical research on the experiences of students with disabilities in post-secondary education who come from forced migration backgrounds. By addressing the intersection of disability, displacement, and post-secondary education, this review highlights the unique challenges faced by this population as well as supports identified as …

Compassionate Communities, Māori Ageing And End-Of-Life: A Systematic Review, Melissa Carey, Kathleen Mason, Levi Fox, Tess Moeke-Maxwell, Merryn Gott

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Māori people in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia experience significant healthcare inequity as they age and towards the end of their lives. Compassionate community approaches to ageing and end-of-life care are increasing in popularity throughout the world. However, this approach has arisen from Eurocentric knowledge systems and not from First Nations people and their communities. Objectives: This research aimed to gain insight into what the Compassionate Communities approach means for First Nations people and identify implications for Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. A systematic literature review explored the intersection of Compassionate Communities and First Nations peoples’ perspectives …

Embodied Tales Of Older Women And Their Relationship With Movement And Their Younger, Present And Future Selves, Valeria Varea, Robyne Garrett, Alfonso García-Monge, Gustavo González-Calvo

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Ageing has been often seen as negative in Western cultures. Older bodies are frequently associated with decline, loss, dependency, illness and increasing incompetence. Significantly, this ‘decline model’ of ageing tends to ignore the diverse lived experiences of older adults. This paper draws on the theoretical concepts of embodiment and affect to explore the embodied experiences of a group of 17 older women, focussing on their relationship with movement and with their younger, present and future selves. We used a narrative analysis approach and creative nonfiction to represent the data. The findings are presented in composite narratives in the form of …

Beyond Coding: Balancing Interpretive Depth And Rigour In Ethnographic Data Analysis, Thi Ngoc Minh Nguyen, Gordana Dermody, Rosemary Saunders, Lisa Whitehead

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aim: To present a refined approach to analysing ethnographic data that preserves the distinctiveness of ethnography while ensuring it meets contemporary expectations of methodological rigour.

Design: Methodological discussion paper.

Data Sources: The approach draws on established ethnographic scholarship and is guided by Wolcott's framework for transforming qualitative data through three interrelated stages: description, analysis and interpretation. A practical application is illustrated through a focused ethnography exploring how older Vietnam-born Australians understand and manage chronic disease.

Implications for Nursing Practice: Focused ethnography has become increasingly popular in nursing research as it reflects the dual nature of the profession: striving to generate …

Selective Human Resource Practices, Psychological Safety Climate And Employee Wellbeing, Yvonne Brunetto, Matthew J. Xerri, Geremy Farr-Wharton

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: Engineers and healthcare professionals perceive higher levels of stress compared with the general population, suggesting that past human resource management (HRM) systems have failed to manage them appropriately. This study examines whether psychosocial safety climate (PSC) acts as a psychological conduit in translating HRM practices and mediating their impact on wellbeing using the common good HRM (CGHRM) and Conservation of Resources theoretical frameworks.

Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected using surveys collected at two points – one-month apart, and then analysed using structural equation modelling (Analysis of Moment Structures) to manipulate survey data from 300 matched employees.

Findings – The variance …

The Lawyer Of The Future: Ethics And Identity In The Age Of Ai, David Yosifon, Michael Santoro, Isaac Nikssarian

American University Law Review

The dawn of artificial intelligence (AI) poses a fundamental challenge to the legal profession’s practical function and social identity. We argue that this challenge should be met as an opportunity to reclaim the profession’s core ethical intentions. We approach the emergence of AI as an occasion to define and safeguard what is irreducibly human in legal work. We ground our approach in the ethical imperatives set out in the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, while extending them into an invigorated framework for the AI era.

We survey the uses and ethical challenges associated with cutting-edge deployment of …

Patenting The Unexpected, Sean B. Seymore

American University Law Review

Unexpected discoveries have transformed human existence. They’ve revolutionized science and spawned entire new fields of research. While unexpected discoveries seem inventive and worthy of patent protection, they don’t formally align with traditional patent theory. The bedrock principle that an invention begins with the conception of an idea in the inventor’s mind and ends with implementation doesn’t apply to unexpected discoveries. This misalignment is most acute for pharmaceuticals, where the discovery of new uses for old drugs has tremendous social and economic importance. Since a drug can inherently treat multiple conditions in a patient—even those unknown to the patient, doctor, or …

Shades Of Stress: Colorism As Minority Stress For Women Of Color, Caitlin M. Mercier, Brea M. Banks, Lourdes D. Concepción Cabán, Michelle Duong

Faculty Publications – Psychology

Women of color often endure indignities shaped by colorism and skin tone discrimination, pressuring them to adhere to racialized beauty ideals (i.e., lighter skin). In response, some women of color may internalize these standards (i.e., through internalized coping and racial self-hatred) which can foster psychological distress. Yet, these associations remain underexplored. Using minority stress theory, in our cross-sectional study we collected online survey data to examine whether internalization and racial self-hatred explained the indirect link between colorist microaggressions and psychological distress among 121 women of color at a Midwestern US historically white institution. Using path analysis, we found support for …

Fishing For Father Relationships: Motivations, Successes, And Barriers To Participating In A Community-Based Program, Jordan A. Arellanes, Kyle Miller, Travis Hicks, Ryan J.S. Liew, Earl Kloppmann

Faculty Publications – Psychology

Fathers who participate in community programs experience a range of positive outcomes, including improved relationships with their children. However, many community programs struggle to gain fathers’ attendance at local events. To counteract this, we utilized Community-Based Action Research in collaboration with local and state agencies to develop a father-specific community program that capitalized on the traditionally masculine parenting activity of fishing. The program educated families on the basics of fishing and then provided them with all the necessary materials. Over the course of three years of data collection, 48 fathers participated in interviews, designed to gain a deeper understanding of …

“I Know How To Identify And Communicate My Needs”: A Qualitative Study Of The Self-Perceived Strengths Of People In Polyamorous Relationships, Alexander K. Tatum, Sharon M. Flicker, Nawar Albarak, Jessi M. Schroeder, Ash Moomaw, Idil Ugurluoglu, Alex Whitman, Alysse Wiggins, Danielle Davis, Robyn Fisher

Faculty Publications – Psychology

Little empirical research has adopted a strength-based approach to examine strategies that help offset challenges (e.g., discrimination, internalized stigma) faced by people in polyamorous relationships. The current qualitative study assessed the self-perceived strengths of 63 US-based, adult participants who reported present or former engagement in at least one polyamorous relationship. Participants' responded to the open-ended question, “What particular characteristics do you have that help you navigate the challenges of polyamory?” A thematic analysis identified strengths across eight broad themes: personality traits, a willingness to challenge mononormative socialization, ability to manage difficult emotions, experiencing compersion and/or low levels of/well-managed jealousy, strong …

And Then Covid Happened: The Impact Of The Pandemic On Transition Temporalities For Mobile Youth, Anita Harris, Giulia Marchetti, Loretta Baldassar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article explores how the COVID-19 pandemic affected mobile young people’s experiences of the temporality of transitions to adulthood. Young people are today the most mobile population globally, and mobility has necessarily become integral to youth-to-adulthood transitions. By adopting transition temporalities as an analytical key, we consider the impact of pandemic immobility on the transition experiences of young movers who, when the pandemic hit, found themselves stuck not only in place but also in time. Drawing on in-depth interviews undertaken during the pandemic with transnationally mobile young people (aged 18–30) who left Australia for abroad or moved to Australia from …

Preparation Of Australian Nurses For Contemporary Disability Care: A Desktop Review, Lesley Andrew, Martina Costello

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Approximately 18% of Australians experience disability, with significant health inequities documented in this population. Despite nursing’s crucial role in addressing these inequities, questions remain about nurses’ preparedness to work effectively with people with disability. The review assessed Australian nursing education’s approach to prepare its graduate nurses for disability care in today’s Australia. Using a rigorous desktop analysis methodology, the review evaluated the publicly available undergraduate nursing degree curricula materials from all 32 Australian public universities that offered a preregistration nursing degree in 2024. The review found 50% of nursing degree curricula course materials omitted to mention disability in their publicly …

Situating Australian Youth Work Within The Professions, John Sutcliffe

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Youth work in Australia has moved towards greater professionalisation marked by the establishment and strengthening of state and national associations. This evolution is crucial for the development of youth work, although it has not been without its complexities. Historically, debates over the professionalisation of the field have been contested. Proponents have emphasised benefits including standardisation and increased accountability, while critics have expressed concern that bureaucratic processes could undermine the relational, practitioner-led core of youth work. This article moves beyond the ‘should we’ debate to focus on how youth work’s professional identity is evolving and how it fits within the broader …

Sugar Consumption In Aboriginal Children Explored From A Social Practice Perspective, Amy Budrikis, Angela Durey, Dan Mcaullay, Paul Ward, Hanny Calache, Thierry Ng, Roma Winmar, Linda Slack-Smith

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Australian Aboriginal children have higher sugar intake and are disproportionately affected by sugar-related diseases such as obesity, diabetes and dental caries than non-Aboriginal children. The intention of this paper was to highlight the need for approaches that can capture the complexity of health practices without reducing them to either individual choice or structural determination. We explore sugar consumption in Aboriginal children from a social practice perspective. Here, the unit of analysis is the practice, not the individual, where the elements of a social practice (competence, materials and meanings) are integrated into its performance. We conducted qualitative research using elements of …

Beyond The Pandemic: How Covid-19 Highlighted The Need For Cross-Sector Healthcare Solutions For Young Australians Living With Adversity, Ennur Erbasi, Shannon Muir, Karen Mclean

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

We explored the perceived impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and healthcare access among young people living with significant adversity in Victoria, Australia, using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Guided by a pragmatism epistemology, fifty-seven purposively sampled Victorian adolescents aged 15–19 years with lived experience of adversity completed a primarily quantitative online survey, and eight also participated in semi-structured interviews. Descriptive quantitative results indicated that a greater proportion of participants rated their mental health as fair or poor during COVID-19 (69%) compared to before the pandemic (40%). Similarly, more participants rated their physical health as fair or poor during …

Exploring Cultural Values In Alcohol And Other Drug Use Among African Australian Youth: A Qualitative Study, Abraham Kenin, Justine Dandy, Kwadwo Adusei-Asante, Sonam Pelden

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The heritage cultural values of Sub-Sahara African (SSA) migrants in the Australian sociocultural context could offer insights into understanding the problem of Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) use among SSA Australian youth. This study explored the conceptualization of SSA cultural values in Australia, and to establish how they relate to AOD use among SSA Australian youth. Utilizing convenience sampling, one-on-one interviews were conducted with a total of 18 SSA Australians. The participants comprised 9 youth (aged 18–30; 4 females, 5 males), and 9 community leaders (aged 35–74; 4 females, 5 males). Based on a reflexive thematic analysis of the data, …

Horrible, Fantastic, Traumatic: Victim-Survivors’ Experiences Of Police Interviews In Sexual Offence Cases And Suggestions Moving Forward, Gemma Hamilton, Giselle Woodley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study explored adult victim-survivors’ experiences of reporting sexual violence to police in Australia, focusing on their suggestions for supporting future victim-survivors. By drawing on feminist standpoint theory, qualitative interviews with 26 victim-survivors indicated a range of experiences, yet strikingly similar concerns and suggestions for improvement. Using reflexive thematic analysis, key themes included the importance of interview room settings; the interviewer's interpersonal care; the presence of support people; and further investigative support when victims felt like investigators. The study offers both short-term and longer-term suggestions for supporting victim-survivors in sexual offence investigations, with a focus on minimising secondary victimisation.