Digital Commons Network^™

Intersectionality And The Experience Of Stuttering For Latinos In The U.S., Carolina Beita-Ell

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In research, intersectionality seeks to explore, reflect on, and validate variations in human experience. This study adopted an intersectional approach when contemplating the experience of stuttering for individuals living in the U.S. who identified as Latinx (Latino/Latina/Hispanic). Nine Latinx people who stutter (PWS) - six reported their gender as ‘male’ and three reported their gender as ‘female’, with a mean age of 41, from five U.S. states and Washington, D.C. - participated in the study. A mixed methods design, which consisted of semi-structured interviews conducted online using videoconferencing technology and an online survey that contained three quantitative measures as well …

Collaboratively Constructing Quality Teaching: Involving School Stakeholders In Defining The Possibilities Of Schooling, Susan Chenelle

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Drawing upon principles of participatory action research, this study collected input from secondary school stakeholders (teachers, students, caregivers, alumni, staff, and administrators) to create a local definition of quality teaching for students at an urban charter school in the northeastern United States. Analysis of stakeholder input produced four themes, reflecting participants’ views of quality teaching: support for students’ individual differences, flexible learning structures, development of knowledge about students to engage and build relationships, and development and use of professional knowledge. The resulting definition of quality teaching partially overlaps with the principles of culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris, 2012) with shortcomings that …

Nurturing Black Girls: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Black Girls' Mental Health And Their Lived Experiences With Racial Discrimination In Schools, Marline Francois

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This research explored the lived experiences of Black girls in schools with a focus on racial discrimination and the impact it has on their mental health. Grounded in Black feminist thought and phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST), this study used qualitative research to understand the lived experiences of Black girls. Twenty participants engaged in this study through semi-structured interviews to examine their lived experiences in school spaces. The findings of this study acknowledge the profound impact of racial discrimination on the mental health of Black girls. At the intersection of race and gender, this study contributes to the …

Multicultural Competency In Police And Public Safety Evaluations, Kenny Gonzalez

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

With the changing demographics of the United States (US), police and public safety (PPS) psychologists are examining a more diverse PPS candidate pool. While previous research has found questionable culturally competent practices in specialties like forensic psychology practice, little is known about such practices among PPS assessment psychologists—the very specialist who screen prospective employees for public safety positions, like police officers, firefighters, and dispatchers. Accordingly, the current study investigated diversity, multicultural competence, bias, and debiasing strategies among PPS psychologists. A set of exploratory aims investigated the convergent validity of the Modern Racism Scale (MRS), an ad-hoc measure of attitudes toward …

Influence Of Parsimony And Work-Related Psychological Constructs In Predicting Turnover Intention When Using Machine Learning Vs Regression, Diego Figueiras

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This dissertation explores the ongoing debate between traditional statistical regression models and machine learning (ML) algorithms in predictive modeling, focusing on the impact of sample size and the number of variables. Study 1 investigates the relationship between sample size and predictive accuracy, proposing hypotheses regarding the advantages of ML over regression as sample size increases. Additionally, the study examines the influence of the number of variables on predictive accuracy, emphasizing the trade-off between ML and regression models. Using data from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, the research aims to contribute insights into the conditions favoring each modeling approach. Study 2 …

Trends And Barriers In Service Utilization In Underrepresented Ethnoracial Groupswith Autism Spectrum Disorder In The United States: A Mixed-Method Analysis, Sadaf Khawar

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Caregivers with autistic children, particularly from minoritized populations, experience significant barriers while navigating the complex healthcare system, including acquiring services. Therefore, it is crucial to understand what these barriers are in order to inform policymaking initiatives to support families. Notably, there is a significant gap in extant literature to explore trends in service use and unique experiences of caregivers of autistic youth from three historically underrepresented groups in research (and currently not in the parameters of the United States census): 1) South Asian, 2) Middle Eastern and North African (MENA), and 3) East African. This study employed a mixed-method design …

Exploring The Ethnic And Racial Identity Development Of Afro-Latinx Recent College Graduates Living In The United States, Triana Martinez

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Historically, the Latinx population in the United States has been viewed through a monolithic, ethnic lens that ignores within-group differences, especially regarding race. Additionally, this lens is also influenced by the anti-Blackness that is embedded within the Latinx community, which has led to the erasure of Afro-Latinx people. Consequently, this erasure has also been perpetuated by the counseling and higher education student affairs fields, which has resulted in the existing racial and ethnic identity development models not representing the identity. Therefore, this grounded theory methodology study asked: What is the racial and ethnic identity process for Afro-Latinx individuals recent college …

Mentors As Learners: Enhancing And Exploring The Experiences Of Veteran Mentor Teachers In An Elementary School Context Using Stimulated Video Recall Cycles, Melissa Suppa Susnosky

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this study was to engage veteran mentor teachers in a professional development experience through the use of stimulated video recall (SVR) sessions to explore and enhance mentor teacher learning processes and outcomes during a student teaching practicum in an elementary school context. The concept of mentors as learners encompasses adopting an educative mentoring stance when guiding student teachers. Taking an educative mentoring stance entails mentors cultivating a vision of teacher learning that emphasizes creating opportunities for inquiry and supporting the conditions necessary for teacher growth (Feiman-Nemser, 2001). This study provided mentor teachers with a unique opportunity for …

Transformative Leadership: Possibilities And Contradictions In The Lives Of Four Early Childhood Directors, Sara Jill Wasserman

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the ideas of transformative leadership when applied to the context of early childhood education, creating opportunities and challenges for the directors who lead the schools. More specifically, to better understand how ECE directors, who were trying to be transformative, interpreted their experiences and constructed corresponding realities as leaders. Through a series of individual and group interviews, I tried to answer the guiding research question about how ECE directors, working in private, preschool settings, navigate the tensions between a neoliberal system of schooling and the practices of transformative leadership. While there …

Betrayal As A Moderator Of Covid-19 Exposure And Ptsd Symptoms, Karly Sara Weinreb

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been interest in understanding how individuals have fared regarding their mental health symptoms, such as symptoms of PTSD. Prior studies have established a link between COVID-19 and PTSD without considering how COVID-19 may relate to the four PTSD symptom clusters. Further, those who feel betrayed by either an individual or institution tend to have more severe PTSD (Martin et al., 2013). It is possible that individuals felt a level of both interpersonal and institutional betrayal towards other individuals or institutions for exposing them to environments in which there was a risk of …

Vulnerability Of Semantic Networks In Multiple Sclerosis: An Analysis Of Verbal Fluency Data, Sophia Lall

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Word finding difficulty is a frequently reported subjective cognitive concern among persons with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS). Word-finding relies on several information retrieval processes, including search and retrieval from the conceptual store, the phonological store, the syllabary, as well as other stores of information. Neuropsychological assessments, including the semantic verbal fluency measure, can be used to measure word retrieval abilities. Despite this, the MS research literature shows that neuropsychological assessment of semantic verbal fluency yields mixed results in detecting word-finding difficulties. While some studies report finding statistically lower semantic fluency scores in pwMS relative to healthy controls (HC), others found no …

Ideal Expectations And Realities At Hbcus: Examining Counselors' Lgbt Competence, Dae'quawn Landrum

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

There is a dearth of literature about counselor training at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This quantitative study used a multiple regression to examine how graduates of counseling programs at HBCUs report their competence in working with LGBT clients and to what extent LGBT training, years of experience, and religiosity affect counselors' competence. The study consisted of 93 participants that graduated from counseling program sat HBCUs. The results revealed that each variable significantly affected various aspects of competence (knowledge, clinical preparedness, and attitudes). More specifically, counselors’ years of experience were positively associated with knowledge, LGBT training in master’s programs were …

Camus In A Post-Covid World: A Bibliotherapeutic Approach To Coping With Crisis, Jessica Titterington

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis examines the usage of absurdist literature, particularly a selection of works by Albert Camus, and their relevance to bibliotherapy. The three selected works are his novels The Plague and The Stranger, as well as his essay The Myth of Sisyphus. By analyzing these works through a psychoanalytic lens and with the consideration of generational theory, utilizing absurdist literature as an alternative “medicine” in times of crisis, especially in instances where immediate medical aid is not available, is shown to be beneficial. This thesis also uses the recent COVID-19 pandemic as a model for global crises and explores the …

The Adultification Of African American Girls: Perceptions, Experiences, And Impact On Behavior, Sherie Sara Sam

All Dissertations

Adultification occurs when adults treat children like they are more mature than they are. This is particularly likely to happen to African American children (Pope, 2022). Adultification in homes is the result of deficits in the adult figures; however, adultification outside of the family, cemented with implicit biases, has negative consequences for young African American children (Cooke & Halberstadt, 2021). These biases can negatively impact their self-concept. Furthermore, it may jeopardize their health, education, experiences with discipline, and likelihood of contact with the justice system (Koch & Kozhumam, 2022).

This qualitative descriptive study utilized focus groups of primarily young adults …

Tribes, States, And Sovereigns’ Interest In Children, Emily J. Stolzenberg

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Topographies Of Desire: On Becoming The Other In Urban Crime Fiction, Nina Dies

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis incorporates psychoanalysis in an exploration of the dynamics of body, identity, motion, and desire throughout urban crime fiction. Starting at the very origins of the genre with Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Man of the Crowd” (1840), working its way to Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train (1950) and Megan Abbott’s contemporary Dare Me (2012), to finally culminating with the film Saltburn (2023). The examination of subjectless subjects within these texts reveal the ways in which homoeroticism coalesces against the sexualized modern landscape.

Client Treatment Preferences In Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy For Depression In Participants With Depressive Symptoms, Alyssa B. Oliva

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Research on psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), a promising treatment option for major depression, has not revealed if potential clients show preferences about the demographic characteristics of providers comparable to those common in other forms of psychotherapy. Previous work suggests that honoring comparable client preferences can enhance therapeutic outcomes. This study aims to investigate the importance ratings for a same-gender and a same-race therapist in both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and PAT.

The (Dis)Obedience Politics Of Victorian Literature, Audrey Peterson-Mccann

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The (Dis)Obedience Politics of Victorian Literature argues that Victorian children learned thesocial valuation of themselves and others through the figure of the animal, and while this learning was often hegemonic, some Victorian authors subverted this form of didacticism, creating alternative pedagogies that extended subjecthood to those who were often excluded. While it is well-known that animals have historically been enlisted as teaching symbols, I contend that literary animals in Victorian fiction were used to critique, expose, and otherwise provide commentary and context for the potentially widespread disciplinary practice of childrearing as these practices defined and qualified subjectivity and objectivity. To …

Coping With Stress In Caregiving Among Korean Immigrant Parents Of A Child With Adhd, Jinhee Koo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Parents of children with ADHD were found to struggle with additional demands in caregiving. Immigrant populations reported acculturative stress as they encountered immigration stressors, including language barriers, cultural differences, lack of social support, discrimination, and so forth. Belonging to both social groups, Korean immigrant parents of children with ADHD are likely to face numerous stressors and undergo a great deal of stress. Nevertheless, little has been known about how they experience stress and coping. It is important to identify their experiences because the knowledge can be used to support their well-being and quality of life. To fill this gap, this …

Clarifying The Relationship Between Weight Suppression And Eating Psychopathology: The Role Of Fear Of Weight Gain And Intolerance Of Uncertainty, Danielle Elizabeth Peters

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Objective: Weight suppression (WS), the discrepancy between a person’s highest and current body weight, is largely associated with eating pathology in clinical and non-clinical samples. WS may put individuals in a biobehavioral bind: biological factors may drive the body toward weight regain, which in turn drives eating disorder (ED) behaviors in an attempt to prevent weight regain. However, few studies have examined psychological factors that may play a role in the biobehavioral bind of WS. As such, the present study aimed to (1) whether WS was associated with fear of weight gain (FOWG) and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and (2) …

The Role Of Self-Determination Theory In Explaining The Relationship Of Challenge Demands With Engagement And Burnout, Andrew Decesare

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation sought to provide a more cohesive theoretical basis for the appraisal of challenge demands and demonstrate that engagement manifests through authentic self-expression in addition to the employment of personal energetic resources. Research has substantiated that employees can appraise the same job demands differently. However, the factors influencing the appraisal process has garnered limited focus to this point. Using self-determination theory as a basis, it was hypothesized that employees’ perceptions of challenge demands would be based on the aspirations (i.e., life goals) they valued and the level of autonomy they were afforded in their job. Employees who made greater …

Deskilling Or Reskilling: The Impact Of Increased Digital Technology Use On Teaching As A Craft, Zachary J. Snyder

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study focuses on teachers and the impact technology has on their instruction, with a focus on how technology affects their craft. Technology moved into classrooms over several decades, but was boosted significantly by the need to migrate to online instruction by the recent COVID19 pandemic. This migration required teachers to adapt methodologies to offer instruction. This study exposes what teachers articulate about their skills. Their experiences with immersion into digital platforms provide rich commentary on the purpose, progress, and pitfalls of online teaching for them and their students. For this qualitative study, a sample of 16 teachers from urban …

Feasibility And Acceptability Of A Self-Paced, Online Workshop Targeting Self-Compassion Skills For Emerging Adults With Disordered Eating, Arielle Wolinsky

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The present paper includes two studies that explored the relevancy of self-compassion to emerging adults, expectancies of having a self-compassion mindset on disordered eating, and the prospective and concurrent acceptability and feasibility of a self-paced, online workshop targeting self-compassion skills for emerging adults with disordered eating. Study 1 was a cross- sectional study examining emerging adults’ understanding of self-compassion, expectancies of having a self-compassion mindset on disordered eating, and the feasibility and prospective acceptability of a proposed self-paced, online workshop targeting self-compassion skills for emerging adults with disordered eating. Study 1’s findings were incorporated into the design and implementation of …

“I Felt From That Place”: A Qualitative Case Study Of Emerging Practices To Build Youth Peer Supports In Residential Care, Catherine S. Kramer

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Background and Purpose: Effectively responding to children and youth who experienced trauma and enter the foster care system is an ongoing challenge in child welfare. In response to the poor outcomes for children and youth in foster care, and the growing understanding of the effects of complex trauma, the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) was enacted in 2018 by Congress to overhaul the child welfare system. Among many required changes, states were required to establish guidance and processes for residential agencies to become qualified residential treatment programs (QRTPs) consistent with federal guidelines, which prioritized becoming trauma informed.

Advancing Equity: An Examination Of Education Policy Impacts On Students With Disabilities, Arzana Myderrizi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Students with disabilities (SWDs) in U.S. public schools face unique challenges that profoundly shape their educational experiences and transition into adulthood, such as lower academic achievement and higher rates of exclusionary discipline and juvenile justice involvement. These disparities have far-reaching implications, impacting high school graduation rates, college enrollment, and future employment prospects, thus perpetuating broader social and economic inequalities. Understanding what aspects of special education are conducive to learning and development for SWDs is important for identifying evidence-based strategies that can help improve educational experiences and outcomes for SWDs. This dissertation contributes to our understanding of effective educational practices for …

Regulation Of Information Privacy: A Process Tracing Case Study Of Online Behavioral Advertising In The Eea, Thora Knight

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Legislators worldwide are enacting or proposing privacy legislation to address online privacy concerns, with the most consequential global law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), taking effect as recently as 2018. Scholars have long argued for or against various regulatory strategies (legal, self-regulation, and privacy self-management) as appropriate policy interventions, often through an economic lens. At the same time, research in the Information Systems (IS) domain contributed significantly towards understanding and explaining privacy-related issues in information and communication technologies, with privacy concerns emerging as a vital construct. Drawing on these theoretical foundations and the emerging online behavioral advertising (OBA) research, …

Relating Perception And Memory For A Novel Set Of Reconfigurable Auditory Stimuli, Nathan Francis Gillespie

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although real-life events are complex and temporally extended, most memory research employs discrete, static stimuli presented in the visual modality. We begin to bridge this gap using a novel set of auditory stimuli constructed by adjusting the distribution of power across upper frequency bands. Across three experiments, participants rated similarity between pairs of sounds and engaged in a recognition memory task. We applied non-metric multidimensional scaling to similarity ratings to obtain a three-dimensional psychological representation of the stimuli. The representation inferred from the similarity ratings predicted recognition memory performance for single probe sounds following sequential presentation of two sounds. Recognition …

Understanding Engineering Students’ Ethical Decisions: Machiavellianism, Ultimatum Bargaining Choices, Student Experience, And Implications For Engineering Education, Susan Henry

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) which accredits higher education programs globally, has placed the ability for students to recognize professional and ethical responsibilities among their seven stated student outcomes that undergraduate engineering programs must ensure their students achieve to maintain their accreditation. This is to ensure that these students are appropriately prepared to enter professional practice (ABET, 2021). Because of this, along with the importance of engineers understanding their obligations to act ethically in ensuring public safety and professional integrity, there is a need to better understand the ethical decision-making of undergraduate engineering students. Knowing what factors …

Indecent Exposure And The Court As Custos Morum, Bruce Davis

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Indecent exposure has been a crime in America since colonial times. Laws governing this crime are a cornerstone of government regulation of morals in America, sharing a common history with the jurisprudence of religion, obscenity, marriage, and sexual relations. The first reported case of indecent exposure in English common law is a widely acknowledged source of American moral jurisprudence that justifies the courts’ role as custos morum, or custodian of the morals.

Maternal Experience-Driven Changes In Oxytocin Neuron Co-Localization With Crf Receptors In The Hypothalamus Of Mice, Katherine Parra

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The postpartum period is a time of adaptiveness for new mothers who have to not only maintain their own health and well-being, but also that of a brand-new life. In both humans and across various common laboratory species like rats, mice, and non-human primates, priorities must shift greatly for a new mother to now include initiation and maintenance of offspring-focused behaviors regardless of her circumstances.The neurobiology of this adaptivity includes a complex sequence of changes that amount to suppression of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. Corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 (CRFR1) is a receptor involved with initiating the physiological stress response and …