Middle Class Affordability In The Mountain West, 2023, Kian Parikh, Krish Sharma, Mohit Pande, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet presents 2023 data on the share of middle-class households that can afford basic necessities in the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The Brookings Institution report, “In every corner of the country, the middle class struggles with affordability,” provides metropolitan-level estimates across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. This fact sheet focuses on middle class affordability data for the largest metro area in each Mountain West state and, where available, explores middle class affordability by race and ethnicity.

Concepts For Supporting Indigenous And Tribal Information And Research Needs, Sharon Hausam

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

The Rider (2026-08-31), Daniela Chapa-Reyes

The Rider Archives

Vol. 12, No. 2

Implementing A Routine Fall Risk Assessment In Older Adults In An Inpatient Psychiatric Setting, Amaka Obi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of the project was to implement and evaluate a structured fall risk assessment process that promoted the early identification of patients at increased risk for falls and supported interventions designed to prevent fall-related events. A pre- and post-implementation evaluation design was used to assess the intervention's effectiveness by comparing fall rates before and after implementation of the standardized assessment protocol. De-identified data obtained from the electronic health record (EHR) were analyzed using descriptive statistics to evaluate changes in fall incidence and protocol adherence. The project findings demonstrated that provider-led, standardized fall-risk assessments improved screening compliance, provider adherence, and …

Staff Education To Increase Knowledge And Awareness Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Alie Sholola Sahid

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Background STIs or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are consequential public health emergencies that affect millions of people globally and have long-term health implications (Garcia et al., 2024). STIs are infections that are passed from one person to another through sexual contact with the most common types of STIs include chlamydia, trichomoniasis, general herpes, and human papillomavirus (HPV). It is estimated that each year, more than 20% of the U.S. population has had an STI, with around 26.2 million cases per year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2024a). The common types of STIs include chlamydia, trichomoniasis, general herpes, and …

Optimizing Advanced Ehr And Enhanced Data-Sharing And Reporting In Rural Health Clinics, Adaeze Honesta Duru

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Rural clinics continue to face several barriers in utilizing advanced electronic health record (EHR) features, including interoperability, data sharing, and care coordination. The purpose of this integrative review was to investigate strategies to overcome barriers to the use of advanced EHRs and enhance data-sharing and reporting capabilities in rural clinics. The review question emphasized viable strategies for overcoming barriers to advanced EHR utilization and enhancing data-sharing and reporting capabilities in rural clinics. The consolidated framework for implementation research provided a conceptual model for understanding the various facets of EHR optimization. A literature search initially resulted in 135 relevant articles. After …

Spiraling Up, Spiraling Down: A Multi-Level Study Of Social Value Creation And Community Capitals In A Mexican Social Enterprise, Karla M. Corres Luna

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how a social enterprise creates social value and, through the same intervention, erodes it in the communities it serves. Research on social entrepreneurship has theorized value largely from the organizational viewpoint, measured it at a single point in time, and rested on an unexamined aggregation assumption: that gains delivered to individual households sum into well-being at the level of the community. This study holds that assumption up to community-level, participant-centered evidence. Through three qualitative studies of a participatory housing model implemented by a social enterprise in two informal settlements in Querétaro, México, it analyzes social value creation …

Equitable Access To Literacy Assessment And Instruction For Students With Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment, Tammy Reisman

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Students with Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) represent a growing population of learners whose visual difficulties originate in the brain rather than the eyes. As understanding of CVI has evolved, questions have emerged regarding the most appropriate approaches to literacy assessment and instruction. While some educational approaches emphasize maximizing visual functioning, increasing evidence supports the integration of compensatory skills and multiple sensory channels to improve literacy access. Understanding current literacy assessment and instructional practices is essential to ensuring equitable educational opportunities for students with CVI.

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine current literacy assessment and instructional practices for …

Redefined: Understanding The Experience Of Black Joy Among Black Youth, Kaela A. Yamini

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The study of Black joy is a newer concept and, therefore, reflected in a small but growing body of literature. Many scholars have reflected on the theoretical nature of Black joy and how it can appear across settings, e.g., academically, occupationally, communally, and internally, but very few studies have examined this phenomenon empirically. Several definitions of Black joy have emerged in connection to history and suffering; however, there is still a notable lack of agreement among researchers. Despite that, all conceptualizations acknowledge how this emotional experience is much greater than the pain associated with it and highlight its ability …

“Nothing About Us Without Us”: Examining Sense Of Belonging And College Success Through The Experiences Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Courtney E. Mulligan

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Sense of belonging has become an increasingly important indicator of student engagement, persistence, and success in higher education. Despite this, limited research has explored how college students with autism experience and define belonging while at college. As increasing numbers of students with autism pursue postsecondary education, institutions face a growing need to better understand the factors that influence student experiences and outcomes. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the experiences of sense of belonging among current college students with autism and identify the factors that contribute positively or negatively to this experience to inform more inclusive higher …

The Negotiated Identities Of Refugee-Background Women During Resettlement, Iuliia Fakhrutdinova

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Refugee-background women experience unique challenges while resettling in the U.S. as they navigate complicated transnational gender roles, education gaps, migration trauma, learning a new language, and literacy in the adaptation process during resettlement, which can derail the productive paths they are on. Therefore, ignoring refugee-background women’s unique experiences and failing to understand their identities prevents our society from doing social justice and creating a space for a smooth adaptation to the new context. Language plays a paramount role in identity formation, as it moves away from the belief that identity is an essential concept. For refugee-background women during resettlement, their …

Innovating A Crustacean Embryo Toxicity (Cet) Assay For Screening Environmental Contaminants, Irina A. Polunina-Proulx

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Environmental pollutants can disrupt normal developmental processes, leading to neurobehavioral and developmental abnormalities. Toxicity tests are important for evaluating environmental contaminants; however, standard assays are often time- and cost-intensive and typically require large numbers of vertebrate animals. These limitations highlight the need to reduce reliance on vertebrate testing and to develop New Approach Methodologies that provide comparable results while improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This research utilizes a novel screening assay to evaluate developmental toxicity using Hyalella azteca. H. azteca is a freshwater amphipod widely used as a model organism for sediment toxicity in ecotoxicology, yet its embryos have been minimally …

Home, Neighborhood, And Community Environments And Social Isolation In Later Life: Joint Associations And Their Moderation By Life-Course Socioeconomic Mobility, Jeein Law

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Social isolation is a major public health concern among older adults, yet less is known about how multilevel residential environments shape isolation among those aging in place. Guided by the Socio-Ecological Model, Person–Environment Fit, and a life-course perspective, this dissertation examined whether micro-level home hazards, meso-level neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder, and macro-level census-tract structural conditions were associated with social isolation. It also examined whether life-course socioeconomic mobility moderated the associations between home and neighborhood environments and social isolation.

This dissertation used two nationally representative longitudinal studies of U.S. older adults. Aims 1 and 2 used the National Health …

2026-08-31 As Academic Freedom Becomes Radical, So Must Seattle U, Fiona Mcgilly

The Spectator Online

No abstract provided.

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 08.31.26, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Notre Dame Law School Welcomes Visiting Faculty for the 2026–27 Academic Year
• ND Law Professor Nicole Garnett Participates in United Nations Consultation on Educational Pluralism
• Notre Dame J.S.D. Candidates Present at the World Congress of Constitutional Law and ICONS

Faculty Briefs

• Sadie Blanchard
• Randy Kozel & Tricia Bellia
• Derek Muller
• Jennifer Mason McAward
• Rick Garnett
• Dennis Wieboldt '26 J.D.
• Announcing Global Visitors
• Dr. Clara Martins-Pereira
• Prof. Paul Yowell
• Prof. Dr. Stephan Wernicke
• Dr. Róisín Costello

Events

• Faculty Colloquium: Mary Ellen O'Connell, Enduring Law for a New Era: Overcoming Political Realism and the Pursuit of Wealth
• Supreme Court …

Waves Of Exhaustion, Currents Of Renewal: An Autoethnography Of Academic Emotional Burnout And Recovery, Rofiza Aboo Bakar

The Qualitative Report

This autoethnography explores my experience of academic burnout and emotional recovery as a mid-career female educator in a Malaysian public university. Drawing from reflective journals, memory work, and embodied recollections between 2023 and 2025, I trace a personal journey through three experiential phases: the weight of expectations, burnout and emotional rupture, and embodied recovery through open sea swimming. The narrative is guided by Chang’s (2016) thematic structuring approach and interpreted through Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. My story reveals how burnout was not the result of overwork, but of institutional erasure. As I navigated the …

Truly Blown Away — Humanistic Lens Looking At Glassblowers’ Creative Thinking: A Qualitative Case Study, Yugant Patra

The Qualitative Report

This study examines how emotional and cognitive engagement shape glassblowing artists’ decision-making and artistic outcomes throughout the creative process. Using a qualitative case study methodology, the study examines how glassblowing artists conceptualize, execute, and refine their work by balancing their artistic vision with the medium's technical demands through a humanistic lens. Five themes emerge, which are discussed: the identification with self – confronting the demons, I belong here, claiming the molten as my own, the reign of glass and from it fractures rising anew, and having a conversation with glass. The study closes with the need for continued research on …

With Students, As A Student: Using Reflexive Autoethnography To Make Sense Of Navigating Student–Researcher Liminality In A Ph.D., Melody Bishop

The Qualitative Report

Postgraduate researchers (PGRs) are increasingly encouraged to practice reflexivity. But there is a lack of PGR-authored literature about what it means to negotiate multiple identities, particularly for student–researchers doing research with students. This paper explores challenges experienced during a longitudinal Ph.D. project involving undergraduate students with long-term health conditions. I present outcomes of a reflexive autoethnographic analysis of a diary kept making sense of research challenges, including holding dual positions as a student–researcher at the same institution. Drawing on the notion of liminality, I argue that the boundaries between my student–researcher identities, and between myself and participants, have been consistently …

A Post-Positivist Perspective On The Varieties Of Qualitative Research: The Foris Framework, Marius Bytautas

The Qualitative Report

With the aim of bringing clarity to the realm of qualitative research—and offering a transition from tradition to methodological rationale—I employ Millian and Popperian inductive analysis methods to build a post-positivist account regarding the diversity of qualitative research varieties. I am responding to the problem that common labels in qualitative research often obscure the epistemic reasoning through which a study approaches its object. A brief set of working definitions is introduced to support the framework, but the main contribution is the conceptualization of research approach in five dimensions: focus, orientation, relation to the object, researcher intrusiveness, and scale (FORIS). By …

Community-Based Research: Key Considerations For Researchers And Community Partners When Collaborating, Bothwell Piason, Kathleen A. Fox

The Qualitative Report

Community-based research (CBR) is a research orientation that emphasizes equitable engagement in the process of knowledge production, though researchers and community partners may navigate collaborative partnerships with differing expectations, priorities, and understandings of success. Extant research has demonstrated that successful CBR partnerships can benefit both researchers and community partners, yet little is known about how both groups simultaneously conceptualize successful collaboration across diverse partnership contexts. In this study, we ask: What considerations do researchers and community partners identify as important when engaging in community-based research partnerships? Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 10 university researchers and 10 community partners engaged in …

The Lived Spirituality Experiences Of Adult Diabetes Patients In Adhering To Treatment, Dwight Mahaputera Marulitua Hutapea

The Qualitative Report

This descriptive phenomenological study explored the lived spirituality experiences of adult patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in adhering to treatment. Prior research has indicated that spirituality may influence attitudes toward and adherence to chronic disease management; however, empirical evidence addressing the spiritual dimension among people with diabetes remains limited. Guided by Colaizzi's (1978) phenomenological method, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 purposively selected participants, equally distributed among Christians and Muslims. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to rigorous phenomenological analysis. Seven themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) spirituality strengthens relationships; (b) spirituality affects choices and outcomes; …

Student Academic Policies Committee Minutes Of The Academic Senate 2026-08-31, University Of Dayton. Student Academic Policies Committee

All Committee Minutes

Approved minutes of a meeting of the Student Academic Policies Committee of the Academic Senate of the University of Dayton.

Academic Policies Committee Minutes Of The Academic Senate 2026-08-31, University Of Dayton. Academic Senate. Academic Policies Committee

All Committee Minutes

Approved minutes of a meeting of the Academic Policies Committee of the Academic Senate of the University of Dayton

Re: 2nd Quarter 2026 – Interim Site-Wide Surface Water Monitoring Data Report Silver Bow Creek Butte Area Npl Site, Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Consent Decree-Civil Action No. Cv 89-039-Bu-She, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Autoethnography: Understandings, Evolution, And The Influence Of Genai, Prokopis Christou

The Qualitative Report

Autoethnography occupies a central place within qualitative research because of its focus on lived experience, reflexivity, and meaning-making. In this paper, I critically examine the implications of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for autoethnographic inquiry through a reflexive and theoretically informed discussion situated within the contemporary AI-mediated era. By revisiting key understandings and developments of autoethnography while drawing on technological mediation theory, I explore how GenAI extends beyond a mere tool to become a mediating mechanism capable of profoundly shaping autoethnographic practice. Attention is given to how seemingly minor AI-generated alterations may transform lived experience into more polished, coherent, and emotionally …

Relational-Developmental Autoethnography: A Method Of Qualitative Inquiry That Fosters Personal Growth, Chris Wells

The Qualitative Report

This paper introduces relational–developmental autoethnography (RDA), a qualitative method for exploring psychological growth through personal writing and reflection. Developed through lived experience, RDA traces psychological development through sustained, recursive engagement with personal writing. Drawing on an archive of my journals, letters, clinical records, and correspondence spanning more than 30 years, I show how writing and reflection were first tools for my survival, and later became catalysts for insight, healing, and transformation. RDA is grounded in two developmental frameworks: Dąbrowski’s theory of positive disintegration, which views emotional intensity and inner conflict as signs of developmental potential, and relational-cultural theory, which …

Plaza Off The Park, Hdfc V. Mcgowan

All Decisions

Court dismissed holdover against proprietary lessee in HDFC because petition failed to accurately describe the regulatory status of the unit and tenancy as required by RPAPL § 741(4). Court held that respondent's ability to independently discover the correct regulatory status does not obviate the landlord's burden to describe the premises accurately in the petition from the start.

Moralized Indulgence In The Age Of Inflation: How “Better-For-You” Dessert Brands Reframe Pleasure As Self-Care, Dariya Savrukova

Honors College Theses

In the modern U.S. food landscape, the line between indulgence and wellness has nearly disappeared. The booming “better-for-you” dessert industry, owned primarily by multinational giants such as Mondelēz International, PepsiCo, and Mars Inc., reframes high-sugar, high-calorie treats as acts of self-discipline or self-care. This phenomenon is often referred to as “healthwashing” (Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter, 2022), when through verbal and visual language, these companies transform indulgence into moral consumption, inviting consumers to feel virtuous through consumption. Many consumers crave stability and health, but navigate an environment saturated with manipulative design and ambiguous claims. “Better-for-you” branding exploits this gap by …

Synodality In The Life And Mission Of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Ethan Engh

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

This thesis provides a brief analysis of "synodality" and its roots in the Christian tradition, how that notion has been developed and applied during the Roman Catholic Church's "Synod on Synodality," and observes how the concept of "synodality" can be applied to the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) by analyzing the structure and teachings of the LCMS and highlighting how the tenets of "synodality" harmonize with the LCMS.

Stanley Aristilde V. John Capobianco

2026 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania