Digital Commons Network^™

Culturally Grounded Interventions Within Natural Settings: An Investigation Of How Cultural Learning Within Place Can Lead To The Enhancement Of Well-Being, Dean Masaji Tanikawa

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study examines the impact of Culturally Grounded Interventions within Natural Settings on participants’ health and well-being, using Wilson’s (2008) Indigenous Paradigm to counter the limitations of past positivist approaches used by non-Native researchers. Culturally Grounded Interventions incorporating traditional Hawaiian practices such as mahi ‘āina (farming), koa ‘āina (reforestation), and Lā’au Lapa’au (herbal therapy) were performed at Ho’oulu ‘Āina, a nature preserve in Kalihi Valley, Hawaiʻi,  Ho’oulu ‘Āina, sits on a wahi pana (sacred site), and serves the Kalihi community with cultural education and healing. The study highlights, how relationships, including connections to land (‘āina), …

Reimagining Occupational Justice Beyond Anthropocentrism: A Humane Education Approach To Occupational Therapy Education, Macy Sutton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Occupational therapy positions itself as a holistic, justice-oriented profession, yet many of its theories, practices, and educational standards reflect Eurocentric values and assumptions. Even occupational justice, the disciplinary concept specifically concerned with advancing a more just world, is steeped in coloniality. Critical scholars have increasingly critiqued particular oppressive structures embedded in the field, such as ableism and white supremacy; however, anthropocentrism remains largely unchallenged. In the occupational justice literature, anthropocentrism operates primarily through omission; that is, animals are absent from most scholarly works. This gap is significant because anthropocentrism contributes to prejudice, oppression, and discrimination not only toward animals and …

Improving Parental Self-Efficacy In An Integrated Primary Care Setting, Leo Parini

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

A pediatric mental health crisis in the United States has strained integrated primary care, leaving providers with high volumes of requests for psychotherapy. Low parental self-efficacy (PSE)—reduced caregiver confidence in supporting children's emotional and behavioral needs—may contribute to this demand. This study examined whether a brief, 4-week parent training curriculum informed by Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), targeting child anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and delivered by a clinical psychologist within an integrated primary care setting, would increase PSE. Using secondary, de-identified data, PSE was measured before and after the course with the Brief Parental Self-Efficacy Scale; 19 …

Between Brushstroke And Cut: Editing Leon Golub's Persona In Kartemquin's Golub (1988), Frauke Thielecke

Mendel Sato Research Award Projects

The documentary collective Kartemquin Films was founded in 1966 in Chicago and dedicated itself to bringing critical social issues onto the big screen. Early movies such as Now We Live on Clifton (1974), which dealt with inequality and displacement in Chicago neighborhoods, The Chicago Maternity Center Story (1976), calling out the forced closure of an important women's healthcare unit, and The Last Pullman Car (1983), which followed the conflict between labor unions and corporations at the Pullman railroad car factory, show Kartemquin's commitment to portraying pressing issues. Their movies often focus on a single protagonist and follow them over sometimes …

In Its Right Mind - Governance Of Social Superintelligence, David Filippi, Bill Tomlinson, Andrew W. Torrance

FIU Law Review

This Comment argues that a broad presumption of public access to court  documents is essential to preserving the legitimacy and constitutional values  of the American legal system. Although the principle of public access is  rooted in common law and constitutional tradition, individual states differ in  how they approach transparency in the context of court documents. These  jurisdictional inconsistencies continue to gain significance, as the digital age  has completely transformed the way people consume information. The  increasing digitization of court records has heightened the need for consistent  and constitutionally grounded standards that preserve transparency while  adequately protecting legitimate privacy interests. Florida’s …

Fear, Uncertainty, And The Chilling Effect: A Case Study Of Organizational Racialized Omission, Annie Jones

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Florida passed House Bill 7 in 2022 and Senate Bill 266 in 2023, both policies that restrict how race and racism are discussed and taught in the public higher education setting. Although scholars of race and racism contend that colorblind ideology drives the “new racism,” the U.S. is experiencing a resurgence in similar curriculum bans explicitly based on topics related to race and racism. With these trends has emerged a need to understand how explicitly racialized policies fit within the “new racism” framework. Using Victor Ray’s Theory of Racialized Organizations, this study analyzes how colorblind ideology and racialized threat are …

Annual Security Report For Calendar Year 2025, Illinois State University Police Department

Clery Act Annual Security Report

Illinois State University Police Department Annual Security Report

Mitochondrial Dysfunction In Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Sex Differences, Afzal Misrani, Conelius Ngwa, Fudong Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, accounts for 70% of cases and remains a major healthcare challenge due to its rising prevalence and lack of disease-modifying treatments. Clinically, AD is a sexually dimorphic disease. Women exhibit more rapid cognitive decline and accelerated brain atrophy during mild cognitive impairment and early dementia, whereas men more frequently present cardiovascular comorbidities, earlier mitochondrial dysfunction, and greater neuropsychiatric symptoms. AD is marked by amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, neuroinflammation, and neuronal loss, with mitochondrial dysfunction emerging as a key early contributor that exhibits sex specific phenotypes. Mitochondria are vital for neuronal …

Meiji Rhythm: Auditory Effects And Tradition Vs. Modernity In Late Nineteenth Century Verse, Roger K. Thomas

Faculty Publications – Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

This study, which grew out of a 2009 presentation at the Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs, examines possible alignments between choices of lineation in Japanese poetry of the Meiji period (1868-1912) and various political and social ideologies of the time. It argues that the choice of arrangements of lines into patterns of either 5-7 or 7-5 morae typically associated the former with advocacy of adaptation of the classical chōka  genre while the latter tended to be associated with more "progressive" values and was employed in shintaishi and songs that drew stylistic inspiration from the  imayō genre.

Defining Large Core Infarction: Comparing The Accuracy Of Non-Contrast Ct Aspects Versus Ct Perfusion Core Volume, Ngoc Mai Le, Joseph Samaha, Ananya S Iyyangar, Javier Gomez-Farias, Bruna Kfoury, Ritesh Bajaj, Connor Nguyen, Syed Shams, Camille Neal-Harris, Emmanuel Ebirim, Hussain Azeem, Anjan N Ballekere, Saagar Dhanjani, Eunyoung Lee, Luca Giancardo, Sunil A Sheth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and purpose: We evaluated agreement and performance of non-contrast head-computerized tomography (NCHCT) and CT-perfusion (CTP) in identifying large core infarct in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to large vessel occlusion (LVO) undergoing endovascular therapy (EVT), using MRI as reference.

Methods: From our prospective multicenter registry, we identified patients with LVO-AIS due to internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery M1occlusions who underwent EVT between 2017 and 2024. Final infarct volume (FIV) was defined using 24-48 h post-EVT diffusion-weighted imaging magnetic resonance imaging (MRI-FIV). To limit infarct growth bias, only patients with CTP-to-EVT start time < 3 h were included. Large core infarct was defined at FIV thresholds: 50, 70, and 100 mL. The primary outcome was agreement between NCHCT and CTP in identifying large core infarct using kappa-statistics. Large core was considered if NCHCT-ASPECTS< 6 or rCBF< 30% volume>70 mL on CTP (RAPID/Viz.AI). …

Glaucoma Risk With Metformin And Sulfonylurea Therapies In Type 2 Diabetes: A Retrospective Cohort Study., Jared Lim, Jingru Zhou, Hulin Wu, Ziqi Liu, David A Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Research on metformin, sulfonylureas, and open-angle glaucoma risk in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has yielded inconsistent findings. This study examined associations between hypoglycemic treatments and glaucoma diagnosis rates.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed electronic health records of newly diagnosed T2DM patients from the Merative™ Explorys® Therapeutic Dataset (2010-2022), comparing three groups: metformin monotherapy, sulfonylureas plus metformin combination, and untreated controls. Propensity score matching balanced demographics, glycemic control, body mass index, blood pressure, lipid levels, and comorbidities. Cox proportional hazards models calculated adjusted hazard ratios for incident glaucoma.

Results: After 1:1 propensity score matching, metformin monotherapy (N=100,387) showed …

Personalized Management Of Chronic Rhinosinusitis In The Context Of Immune Deficiency, Christopher M Bell, Amber U Luong, Chadi A Makary

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Primary and secondary immunodeficiency as a cause of recalcitrant or difficult to treat chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and recurrent acute rhinosinusitis (RARS) are under-appreciated etiologies. Patients with persistent symptoms, frequent exacerbations despite appropriate medical therapy, or other sinopulmonary conditions known to be related to an immunodeficient state warrant further testing for immunodeficiency, as up to 20% of this cohort of patients may have underlying immunodeficiency. Testing for immunodeficiency includes CBC with differential, immunoglobulin levels, and pneumococcal vaccine titres before and after administration. Regarding secondary immunodeficiency, these patients may present with atypical symptoms, harbor atypical bacteria, or even present with severe complications …

Values Primacy & Total Governance Through Activism, Carliss N. Chatman, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, public companies swiftly pledged sweeping equity commitments—only to abandon them under political and market pressure. These reversals were not aberrations. They were opportunistic, performative, and reactionary marketing responses. They expose a governance regime in which stakeholder interests are structurally reversible because they remain doctrinally optional, lacking the institutional interlock needed to create binding accountability across stakeholder roles.

This Article explores how stakeholder power is already embedded in corporate governance through interlocking initiatives grounded in shared values. Stake-holder activism—boycotts, proxy votes, viral campaigns—is not merely expressive; it is an overlooked form of governance. Drawing …

The Impossible Motherhood: Education Accompanying Mothers (Peidu Mama) And Transnational Migration In China’S Global Era, Jingxue Zhang Dr.

Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies

This dissertation examines transnational educational relocation as a gendered project of future making through the figure of Chinese educational accompanying mothers, or peidu mama, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and the Greater Los Angeles area in the United States. It investigates how educational migration is organized through the intersection of affective governance, moralized motherhood, and unequal global conditions. It seeks to answer how transnational educational motherhood is represented in state-endorsed media and public discourse; how women narrate and justify educational relocation while negotiating the morally unstable label of peidu mama; how aspiration, risk, and the idea of “a better …

Entendre L’Inouï: Resonance, Volume, And Transduction In Gilbert Gatore’S Le Passé Devant Soi, Rebecca Saunders

Faculty Publications – English

This paper analyses three features of sound – resonance, volume, and transduction – in Gilbert Gatore’s novel of memory and the Rwandan genocide, Le passé devant soi [The Past Before Us]. Theorising two modes of resonance in Gatore’s novel – thematic and semiotic – I demonstrate how the novel is structured by semantic forms of resonance, how those resonances incite significance, and how they are augmented by a semiotic resonance that produces “vibratory meanings”. I subsequently examine the novel’s depiction of shatteringly loud volume, its ability to obliterate thought, and to cause physical harm. Elaborating reasons why the …

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions Of Ai- And Human-Generated Feedback On Lesson Plans, Gui Ying Annie Yang-Heim, Xi Lin

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This study examines the role of AI peer reviewers in evaluating preservice teachers’ guided reading lesson plans at a U.S. university. A quasi-experimental design compared two groups: one receiving traditional human peer reviews and another using ChatGPT as a peer reviewer. Data sources included peer review reports and student survey responses. Grounded in the Zone of Proximal Development and effective feedback literature, the study investigates how AI feedback influences critical thinking and engagement during lesson planning. It also explores preservice teachers’ attitudes toward AI versus human feedback. The findings demonstrate both the advantages and disadvantages of AI-generated feedback which provides …

Teacher Agency: Finding Spaces To Transform Ela Classrooms, Kathryn Mitchell Pierce, Carol Gilles, Sarah D. Reid

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Amid ongoing attacks on teachers and their professionalism, we studied three middle school ELA teachers who exercised their agency to transform their classrooms and curricula through social justice pedagogy (SJP). Using Pantić's (2017) model, we examined their sense of purpose, competence, autonomy, and reflexivity in confronting barriers. This multiple-case study drew on interviews, focus group transcripts, artifacts, and responses to our analysis of their reported beliefs regarding their agency about dialogic talk in literature discussions as part of SJP. We found that teachers' agency, dialogic talk, literature discussions, and SJP were deeply interwoven. Teachers valued dialogic talk in literature discussions …

Righteous Defenders And Evil Challengers: The Morally Polarized Battle For Books On Reddit, Erika Casburn

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The issue of book bans has moved to the forefront of public and political debate over the past few years. Anti-censorship advocates who defend against these challenges have yet to be studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs and worldviews as expressed by those defenders in a public forum—Reddit. Data in the form of Reddit threads was collected from subreddits belonging to states that have seen the greatest number of book challenges. This data was subjected to discourse analysis, first manually, then by qualitative analysis software (MAXQDA). Analysis revealed that defenders spent a majority of discursive …

Diagnosing The Discourse: How The Academy Of Breastfeeding Medicine Constructs And Constrains Treatment Of Tethered Oral Tissues, Mary E. Miller

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

While breastfeeding is recognized as fundamental to global public health, oral restrictions that can affect infant latch, milk transfer, and feeding efficiency warrant further examination within policy frameworks. This dissertation proposes an expanded conceptualization of tethered oral tissues (TOTs) that encompasses not only anatomical frenal restrictions but also fascial tensions, neuromuscular limitations, and other conditions restricting orofacial function that may be congenital or acquired. The purpose of this study was to critically examine how this clinical guidance document shapes understandings and responses to TOTs. Using Carol Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem Represented to Be?” approach, a critical discourse analysis of the …

Bridging Worlds Of Care: A Qualitative Exploration Of Integrating Non-Western Healing Modalities With Mental Health Counseling, Douglas Valdez

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The aim of the study is to explore the experiences of practitioners who treat individuals presenting with depression and anxiety using culturally integrative non-Western healing modalities. Participants included 15 experienced practitioners (minimum five years of practice) who identified as Traditional Chinese Medicine providers (e.g., acupuncturists, herbalists) and/or Curandero/x/as. The approach was qualitative, utilizing open-ended survey responses collected electronically and analyzed with thematic analysis. Results indicated six primary themes: (a) Philosophies in Healing, highlighting culturally grounded conceptualizations of depression and anxiety; (b) Traditional Chinese Medicine Interventions, including acupuncture, botanical, nutritional, manual, and movement-based practices; (c) Curanderismo Pláticas and Integrative Western Healing …

Between Self, Family, And Becoming: Mindfulness And The Transition Experiences Of Latinx Clinical Counseling Graduate Students, Orlando R. Alvarez

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Latinx graduate students transitioning into their first semester of clinical counseling master’s programs often navigate substantial challenges as they embark on their academic journeys. While transitions into any new role can be difficult, the changes that accompany the beginning of a graduate program have been associated with increased role and identity strain, anxiety, depression, and feelings of fraudulence and imposterism, negatively impacting student success, performance, and attrition rates (Halladay et al., 2019; Murphy, 2021; Vidic & Cherup, 2019). Although mindfulness practices provide benefits for graduate student wellbeing, there is no current scholarship that has examined how mindfulness practices support Latinx …

Interpersonal Reckoning: The Liminal Space Between Rupture And Repair In Counselor Education, Phoenix E. Rosewood

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand and explore the phenomenon of the rupture, reckoning, and when possible, the repair process with racial, ethnic, and cultural (REC) microaggressions in counselor education. Participants (n = 14) included counselor educators who had either enacted a REC microaggression and attempted repair, or had been the recipient of an REC rupture and a meaningful attempt at repair. This study utilized a thematic analysis as a methodological framework in interpreting the data with the perspective of borderlands theory, critical embodied phenomenology, relational cultural theory and relational neuroscience analytical frameworks to account for and explain …

The Lived Experience Of Survivors Of Narcissistic Abuse, Jessica Williams

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of narcissistic abuse survivors through a grounded theory approach to generate a model that can assist people in recognizing patterns and traits of narcissistically abusive relationships. Guided by relational-cultural theory, this study further seeks to examine the ways narcissistic abuse damages relational connections and to highlight elements of healthy, growth-fostering relationships. The population of focus included self-selected narcissistic abuse survivors who are adults over the age of 18 (N = 8). The results indicated three themes, each with additional subthemes, which include: (a) early behavior – performative displays and …

One Tree, Many Roots: A Care-Centered Cultural Philosophy Of Education For Collective Flourishing, Darshini Margaret Elizabeth Stark

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Public education in the United States is often framed as a neutral pathway to opportunity, democratic participation, and individual success. Yet for many students, particularly those from historically marginalized communities, schooling has functioned as a site of self-abandonment, where compliance means survival. This dissertation argues that persistent educational harm is not the result of individual curriculum failure or isolated policy shortcomings, but something far more insidious: the intentional use of schooling as a mechanism of political control and socioeconomic hierarchy, shaped over centuries by authoritarian governance and colonial ideology. In response, this work advances Oru Maram (Stark, in preparation) as …

Bipoc Faculty Thriving In The Community College System: Collective Healing, Joy And Liberation, Carolina Forero-Moreno

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This professional innovation dissertation addresses the need for Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) faculty in Washington State community and technical colleges to have safe, sacred spaces to engage in anti-racist, anti-colonial, and healing practices. The proposed space is a year-long institute with bimonthly gatherings focused on decolonization work, liberatory practices, and collective healing. Gloria Anzaldúa’s Path of Conocimiento (2002) will be used to develop participants’ critical consciousness as racialized people. Emergent Strategy (brown, 2017) and the Constellations Framework (Constellations Framework, 2022) are used to learn and embody liberatory practices, all the while the Seven Circles of Wellness …

Remembering Right Relations: A Land-Centered Framework For Settler Teacher Transformation, Aimee E. De Ney

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Settler colonialism is based in the separation of peoples from Lands and from one another, producing ongoing harm to human and more-than-human communities as evidenced in climate collapse, racialized violence, war, and widening social inequities. These conditions are sustained by ideologies of human supremacy-specifically white, male, Christian human supremacy-that deny personhood to most humans and to all more-than-humans, while enabling the attempted erasure of Indigenous peoples and the nation-state enforcement of anti-Black and anti-Brown racism. Situated on the Lands of the Coast Salish Peoples in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, this multiparadigmatic innovation dissertation develops a Land-centered framework …

A Qualitative Study Of Existential Paralysis As A Pathway To Meaning And Purpose Among Generation Z, Oksana V. Panchenko

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study examines the lived experiences of emerging adults from Generation Z (N = 26) with a qualitative reflexive thematic analysis. Data was collected with an online survey and open ended prompts. Twelve themes were identified as part of data analysis: (1) Feeling Lost, Immobilized, Isolated and Overthinking, (2) Feeling Depressed and Experiencing Identity Erosion and Functional Disruption, (3) Anxiety, the Struggle for Authentic Connection, and Fear About the Future, (4) Social Media, Comparison, and Fear of Missing Out, (5) Cultural and Sociopolitical Pressures on Self-Expression, (6) Ambiguous Loss and Disconnection in Social Presence, (7) Social Skills, Self-Confidence, and Adaptation …

Equity Is Rural, Too: Critical Exploration Of Educational Equity In Predominantly White Communities, Lydia Cochrane

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Education reform has fallen short of providing a truly equitable education for all students. Schools will continue to fail their students with marginalized identities if they do not interrogate existing power dynamics.  This study examines how educators in predominantly White rural communities define and recognize educational equity, focusing on understanding the unique factors of rural life that shape these perceptions. Despite a history of low achievement and systemic inequities in both urban and rural school systems, rural communities, often overlooked in educational research, remain underexplored in discussions about equity. Existing literature frames inequities primarily through an urban lens, reinforcing misconceptions …

The Phenomenon Of Church Growth Through Authenticity: How African American Gen Z Christians Are Sharing The Gospel Of Jesus Christ Without The Program Structure Of The Black Baptist Church, Devin E. West

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation examines the perspectives of Black Generation Z Christians regarding factors within the Black Baptist church that may limit their full engagement. In this study, the Black Baptist church refers to congregations with predominantly Black membership led by Black pastors. Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, is forming its religious identity within a rapidly changing cultural and institutional environment. Historically, the Black Church has served as a central institution in African American communities, functioning as a place of worship as well as a source of social support, leadership development, identity formation, and justice advocacy (Lincoln & Mamiya, 1990). …

Octavia E. Butler's Healing Heroines: An Exploration Of Black Girl Magic In The Patternist Series, Monique Skinner

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explores the concept of healing as Black Girl Magic in the five novels that make up Octavia E. Butler’s Patternist series. Through textual analysis backed in Afrofuturist theory the study answers the questions: How does Butler depict Black women as healers in the Patternist series? and What is her vision of Black women in the Afrofuture? On a deeper level, the study uses character analysis to examine the literary trope of the Black woman healer and how her magical power translates as literal Black Girl Magic. Through a journey of speculative literary discovery, we uncover the archetypes of …