Digital Commons Network^™

Gender Myths & Colonial Lies, Sophie Camilleri

Honors Papers and Posters

The gender binary is deeply ingrained in today's society, despite a general lack of knowledge on where this system originates from. It is crucial to counter misinformation stemming from propaganda and fear campaigns surrounding the gender binary. This research sheds light on the oppressive roots of gender, as well as its role in the colonization of marginalized individuals around the globe. This paper will make connections to present day systems of oppression and the long-term effects of colonization on Black and Hispanic women.

Understanding Undergraduate Aspirations For Law Enforcement Careers And Motivation In The Classroom, Gabriella N. Burt

Honors Thesis

This study investigates the factors shaping undergraduate student interest in law enforcement careers. By surveying students from various Midwestern universities, this research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between social influences, gender, and curricular exposure in shaping law enforcement career aspirations. Specifically, it examines how motivations for pursuing a public service career, external influences, and background characteristics shape career interest overall. The study also examines how these factors shape career interest between men and women and overall motivation to engage with specific law enforcement course topics. Findings inform policy and curriculum design.

Exploring Rapport-Building In Coaching Relationships: Coach's Perspective, Tanya Devereaux

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines rapport-building strategies and challenges executive coaches face in their interactions with clients, with an emphasis on demographic influences. By employing a qualitative phenomenological approach, the study captures the subjective experiences of 14 active executive business coaches. These coaches discussed techniques for rapport-building, such as pre-meeting engagement, setting expectations, and creating safe environments during initial sessions. The findings reveal that demographic factors—such as race, gender, and cultural background—impact the coach-coachee dynamic, often necessitating adaptive strategies to align with the unique needs of each client. The themes that emerged from the research aligned with existing literature, and professional experience …

Associations Of Long-Term Exposure To Temperature With Coronary Artery Calcification Risk Among Middle-Aged Adults: The Coronary Artery Risk Development In Young Adults (Cardia) Study, Dandan Zhao, Jie Yao, Yuanfei Li, David R Jacobs, Yinan Zheng, Chunyu Liu, Yingbin Fu, Margaret M Deangelis, Donald Lloyd-Jones, Lifang Hou, Kai Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The impact of ambient temperature on population health has drawn increasing attention as climate change drives more extreme temperatures globally. However, little research has investigated its connection to subclinical cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to examine the impact of long-term exposure to temperature on coronary artery calcification (CAC) among middle-aged Black and White adults in four U.S. areas with varying climate and weather conditions.

METHODS: This study compiled long-term environmental temperature data and individual coronary artery Agatston score (0 vs. >0) from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. It employed logistic regression and examined the influences …

A Critical Appraisal Of The Evidence On Racial Disproportionality In Special Education, Rachel E. Fish, Kenneth Shores, Joào M. Souto Maior

Education and Child Study: Faculty Publications

This essay provides a two-pronged critical assessment of a subset of the literature on racial disproportionality in special education: that which aims to estimate racial disparities among otherwise similar children. This body of research has shown that Black students are less likely than comparable White students to receive special education, and has been interpreted by many to mean that current policies meant to reduce Black over-representation may be exacerbating inequality. Our essay argues that this subset of research has fundamental limitations in its covariate adjustment practices and its data quality, making “under-representation” findings questionable. We argue that caution and further …

Unraveling The Roots: A Historical And Sociocultural Perspective Of Family Literacy Practices And Parent Involvement In Black Communities Through A Critical Lens, Tasean D. Baldwin

Theses and Dissertations

Family literacy plays an essential role in a child's educational journey by laying the foundation for their academic success and shaping their attitudes toward learning. Social and cultural factors influence the value of literacy and education within families and communities. In Black communities, literacy has significant social and cultural influences, acting as a tool for resistance, empowerment, cultural preservation, identity formation, community building, and social and economic mobility while also historically facing obstacles due to systemic and institutional racism, which continues to impact access to education, resources, and opportunities today. This qualitative study explores the relationship between home and school …

What We Talk About When We Talk About Race: Racial Discourses, Nationalism And Identity In Nineteenth Century Ireland, Timothy Werlinger

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The 19th century witnessed the rise of race and racism as a dominant framework of worldwide identity politics. These politics shaped the various social hierarchies and nationalist contexts across Europe and the world. Racial constructs adopted cultural, economic, and political components and did not rely exclusively on biological determinism. This had the effect of reinforcing or hardening boundaries between groups. This dissertation examines how racial identity was negotiated within an Irish context. It does this by considering social, scientific and nationalist discourses that engaged race as a device of inclusion and exclusion. By examining how racialized language permeated the Irish …

Of Race And Romance: A Qualitative Investigation Of Queer Asian American Men’S Romantic Relationships With Queer Asian American Men, Thomas P. Le, Xiaoyin Liu, Maya L. Chao, Sankeerthna Vedamtam, Sara N. Mayungo, Sasha M. Mikita

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Past research has identified that internalized racism affects Asian Americans’ dating preferences; however, fewer studies have sought to examine Asian Americans who choose to date one another. For queer Asian American men, dating fellow Asian American men may represent a rejection of idealizing White men in romantic relational contexts. The present study thus utilized a grounded theory qualitative methodology with a strengths-based approach to understand the lived experiences of queer Asian American men who are currently in romantic relationships with fellow queer Asian American men. Queer Asian American men who are in romantic relationships with other queer Asian American men …

The Application Of 4e Cognition To Counseling And The Intersectional Experiences Of Black Individuals With Disabilities, A. Albright, Clarence K. Bumpas, Jeff Moe

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Black Americans with disabilities experience a range of inequities including barriers to access, social stigmatization, and health outcomes that are greater than both their White and their nondisabled peers. This conceptual article explains in detail these inequities. The authors provide an overview of the existing models of disability used in counseling, healthcare, research, and educational settings, as well as a rationale for why they are limited. The authors then suggest a 4E cognitive framework rooted in cognitive sciences, philosophy of mind, and neuroscience. The authors explain why a 4E cognitive framework may be better suited than existing models to conceptualize …

Tawny, Tyrannous Dr. Francia And Carlyle’S Confused South America, Marisa Palacios Knox

Literatures and Cultural Studies Faculty Publications

Scholars have highlighted Thomas Carlyle’s “Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question” (1849) as a point of no return for Carlyle’s descent into a full-throated advocacy of racism, imperialism, and proto-fascism. His 1843 article “Dr. Francia” on the late Paraguayan dictator has garnered much less critical attention than the provocative “Occasional Discourse,” but it simultaneously anticipates the latter essay and offers an alternative representation of Carlyle’s ideas—and Victorian ideas more generally— about shifting categories of race and imperialism before they congealed. Instead of positioning himself as the authoritative interpreter of Francia, Carlyle highlights his own uncertainty, taking as a central premise …

Selective Sisterhood: Power, Race, And The Internal Division Within Feminist Waves In The United States, Aara Nanavaty

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the complex power dynamics within the United States feminist movement across its four waves, focusing on the persistent marginalization of Black women. Challenging the notion of a unified feminist agenda, it applies Steven Lukes' three dimensions of power to analyze how dominant narratives, often centered on the experiences of White, upper-middle-class women, have shaped feminist discourse and outcomes. Through case studies of the division within the suffrage movement, the President's Commission on the Status of Women, and the “Lean In” phenomenon, this research reveals how power operates not only between men and women but also within feminist …

Ordering Effects In Stereotype Scales, L.J. Zigerell

Faculty Publications – Politics and Government

Stereotypes about groups are commonly measured by asking participants to rate the groups on a scale. However, the percentage of participants who stereotype a group can be affected by the order in which participants are asked to rate the groups. Data from a randomized experiment in the American National Election Studies 2022 Pilot Study indicated that a group was more frequently positively stereotyped relative to another group when the group was asked about first in the pair of groups, compared to when the other group in the pair was asked about first. Researchers are therefore advised to randomize the order …

Challenges And Effects: A Qualitative Analysis Of The Unique Challenges Faced By Black Male Care Givers In Long-Term Care, Qudrat Oluwatimilehin Olufemi-Dirisu

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The existing literature on caregivers working in long-term care focuses on the challenges ranging from being overworked, mental stress, low wages, and abuse. However, little is known about the unique intersectional experiences of Black male caregivers, particularly regarding how race and gender shape their professional encounters, societal perceptions, and coping strategies. The present study analyzed unique stressors of Black male care givers in long term care using their personal experiences and how these stressors impact their mental health. The effects of societal expectations, client biases, and workplace stereotypes significantly affect Black male caregivers are also examined against the background that …

On A First Name Bias: A Bibliometric Study Of Six Writing Studies Journals, Joe Torok

Wayne State University Dissertations

On a First Name Bias: A Bibliometric Study of Six Writing Studies Journals analyzes citation, authorship, source use, and other bibliometric patterns across a small collection of peer-reviewed journals featuring research from the academic field of writing studies (also known as rhetoric and composition). The study is grounded in a small but established tradition of RAD (replicable, aggregable, data-supported) scholarship in the field and uses bibliometric methods inspired by similar, primarily historiographic research studies within the field of writing studies and by critical inquiry from scholars across disciplines who have used bibliometric analysis to interrogate troubling patterns of publishing and …

(Art) Education In The Afterlife Of Massive Resistance: Constructing, Capturing, And Commodifying Racialized Disability In Virginia’S Student Assignment Practices, 1956-1966 And Present Day, Jenna E. Gabriel

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores discursive functions of disability in pupil placement decisions in Massive Resistance Virginia, the relationship between disability and race that was constructed through these moves, and how these relationships surface in the reflections, perceptions, and pedagogy of a practicing art teacher, Nathan, who works at Arts High School (AHS), a Virginia specialty center high school. Under the umbrella of the Discourse Historical Approach, which relies on multiple, interdisciplinary data sources to explore how discourses evolve, I connect a robust archival analysis of historical data collected in the records of Virginia’s Pupil Placement Board (746 boxes, 1956-1966) with present-day …

Exploring The Experiences Of Collegiate Black Female Student-Athletes From A Phenomenological Perspective, Deja L. Jackson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Collegiate Black female student-athletes at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) face a unique experience as they navigate the complex intersections of race, gender, and sports while striving for academic and athletic success. Their encounters with racism, discrimination, and marginalization remain largely underexplored. This research provides findings from a transcendental phenomenological study that examined the lived experiences of these athletes. The goal was to understand how racism, discrimination, and marginalization impact these student-athletes both individually and in context sport. Grounded in social constructivism and informed by Black Feminist Thought and Intersectionality Theory, the study involved semi-structured interviews with eight current and former …

Is The Defendant Mad Or Bad? The Association Between Mental Health, Race And Sex In Sentencing In Federal Courts, Tracy Sohoni, Sylwia Piatkowska, Briana Paige

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Although US courts regularly sentence individuals with mental health problems, to date, there has been little research on whether mental health indicators are related to sentencing decisions. The focal concerns perspective suggests that sentencing decisions reflect perceptions of the blameworthiness of the defendant, concerns about protecting the community, and practical considerations. Potentially, mental health issues could serve as a mitigating factor in sentencing decisions by making defendants seem less culpable for their actions and more deserving of assistance rather than punishment, and/or due to concerns about practical considerations related to higher costs of incarceration or of exacerbating current mental health …

Race, The Academy, And The Constitution Of The War On Drugs, I. Bennett Capers, Jeffrey Bellin

Faculty Scholarship

The war on drugs is widely viewed as a policy failure. Despite massive government intrusions on personal liberty, drug addiction, overdoses, and drug-related violence have only increased since the war was declared in 1971. David Pozen’s new book, The Constitution of the War on Drugs, reveals a constitutional failure as well. Pozen chronicles a host of constitutional arguments that American litigants deployed to protect a “right” to use drugs with surprising, if fleeting, success. Pozen asks what might have been, exploring why the courts backtracked and effectively removed the Constitution as a meaningful obstacle to drug prohibitions. 

This Review …

Large Landlords, Code Violations, And Eviction Filing: Evidence From Albany, Ny, Andy Kaier

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Eviction is a major contributor to cycles of urban poverty, and a growing body of research has documented eviction’s harmful effects. This study finds that landlord size and the number of code violations associated with the landlord’s portfolio both predict higher numbers of eviction filings. Using eviction filing data and newly available code violation data from Albany, NY in 2023 and 2024, this study examines landlord characteristics and their association with eviction filing. This study also examines public housing, finding that the Albany Housing Authority is the largest eviction filer in Albany in the study period. These findings are concerning …

Looking At God, Looking At America: Examining The Relationship Between Beliefs About God And Support For Social Movements And Government Policies, Tess Starman Phd

Sociology: Faculty Publications

Scholars have long studied the relationship between religion and politics. This study aims to add to the conversation on this relationship by assessing a unique religiosity measure, that of beliefs about the character of God. Utilizing the 2021 Values and Beliefs of the American Public (n=1,336), this study assesses how beliefs about God independently and comparatively impact support for government policies and social movements. Results show that the belief that God is active in the world has the greatest association with policy attitudes. Further, racial identity is a significant moderator for the relationship between belief that God is active and …

Perceived Career Barriers Among Women Working In Public Transportation Based On Leadership Development Training And Race: A Causal-Comparative Study, Tamika Gunn White

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative, causal-comparative study investigated differences in perceived career barriers among women engaged in leadership development training programs and those who were not, with a specific focus on their racial backgrounds. The research targets women within the public transportation workforce, utilizing a convenience sample comprising individuals willing and able to provide insights into the issue of perceived career barriers among women in this sector. Purposive inclusion criteria encompass self-identifying as a woman, reporting ages between 25 and 65, and current employment in the public transportation sector. The Perception of Barriers Scale assessed career- and education-related barriers. The data collection procedure …

"Asylum Of Incurably Lazy And Depraved Men": The Philippines As A Space Of Degenerate Masculinity In The Late Fiction Of Emilia Pardo Bazán, Susana Bardavío Estevan

Kritika Kultura

In the last decades of the nineteenth century, the presence of the Philippines in Spanish political discourses and media gradually intensified. This was caused by an increase in migration to the archipelago and by the importance that the colonies acquired in the imperialist discourse, which combined constructions of nation, race, and gender. The Spanish writer Emilia Pardo Bazán paid attention to these Pacific islands in several of her stories and articles about the colonial conflict. The perception of the Philippines as an exotic alterity allowed the author to configure the archipelago as a narrative space that subverted the hegemonic discourse …

Examining The Implicit Association Between The ‘Caucasian’ Race And Scientific Ideals, Erin Cain, Tim Messer-Kruse, Anne K. Gordon Dr.

Honors Projects

This study examines the implicit associations between the term ‘Caucasian’ and scientific ideals. The racist and pseudoscientific history of the word ‘Caucasian’ invalidates its credibility and insinuates persistent racist ideologies that continue to manifest today. The term ‘Caucasian’ seems to be popularly thought of as a more exact, specific, and scientific term than that of ‘White’. This paper includes a review of the literature about the White race and the term ‘Caucasian’, how this term originated, and the pseudoscience that created it in the 18^th century. The experiment includes a control condition, and an experimental condition that primes the …

Book Reviews, Jessica Depew, W. Maclane Hall, Kathryn Greenberg

Trotter Review

Book Reviews for Volume 23, Issue 2 of theTrotter Review.

Breathing While Black: How New York's Marginalized Communities Reshaped Urban Environmentalism, 1880-2020, Nancy Andoh

Trotter Review

Article for Volume 23, Issue 2 of theTrotter Review.

Social Patterns In Physical Infrastructure: Associations Between Socioeconomic Status And Walkability, Kaylee Coursey

Honors Theses

Studies analyzing the relationship between socioeconomic status and physical infrastructure of a city are inconsistent in findings but agree on racial and class disparities. Utilizing walkability (Walk Score) as a measurement for physical infrastructure, this thesis aims to understand the relationship between socioeconomic status and the walkability of a city. The Socio-Ecological framework suggests that environmental experiences are correlated with the social functioning of a community. Thus, socioeconomic status has a significant impact on the quality of one’s built environment.

Using housing data from the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) and Walk Score, a series of quantitative analyses were conducted …

Understanding The Association Between Neighborhoods And Adolescent Sleep: Evidence From Add Health, Sam J Neally, Breanna J P Rogers, Yangyang Deng, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, Qian Xiao, Kosuke Tamura

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Research suggests that perceived neighborhood social environments (PNSE) may contribute to gender and race/ethnicity-based sleep disparities. Our study aimed to examine associations between PNSE factors and adolescents' sleep patterns. As a secondary aim, we examined how gender and race/ethnic groups might moderate these associations.

METHOD: Data came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n=5158; mean age=15.34 years). Four self-reported sleep outcomes were created: 1) sleep duration (hours/night), 2) short sleep (≥8 hours [reference] vs <8 >hours), 3) parental set bedtime (10:00 PM/earlier [reference] among girls vs by 11:00PM vs by/after 12:00AM), and 4) sleep satisfaction (enough …

Behaviorism Literature Review On School Suspension And The School To Prison Pipeline, Joelle Tidwell

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

An analysis of the current body of research about the school to prison pipeline demonstrates that exclusionary practices are indicators for which students will encounter the criminal justice system in their youth and adulthood. Moreover, exclusionary practices are associated with a variety of other negative outcomes such as poor mental health, poor physical health, and lower wages. This research demonstrates the need for exclusionary practices to be replaced with school-wide behavioral supports that will provide intervention and strategies for students that help keep them in the classroom instead of simply punishing them with isolation.

Roger Williams University 2024 President's Report: A Message From President Miaoulis, Roger Williams University

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Gender, Age, Class And Racial Stereotypes, And Power Relations In Television Ads: 2011-13 Vs 2021-22, Thomas D. Clark, Julie Stewart

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This article demonstrates how faculty and DEI experts can use resources included in this paper to highlight how a range of stereotypes are created and reinforced in television ads, and it identifies several topics for future analysis. To understand how depictions of gender, class, age, and race intersect in 8 television ads featuring the relationship between the race of individuals depicted in romantic and platonic relationships this article examines 4 pairs of commercials from 2011-2013 and 2021-2022. Drawing on concepts of intercategorical complexity, it describes product, setting, characters and relationships to help gain a deeper understanding of how various stereotypes …