Digital Commons Network^™

Experiences With Microaggression Of African American Female Faculty Who Work In Predominantly White Institutions, Teffany Jonte Malone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed through this study is the gap in the literature on the experiences of African American female faculty in higher education institutions with racial microaggressions while working in predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Grounded in Delgado and Stefancic’s critical race theory, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore African American female faculty’s experiences with racial microaggressions and recommended support their institutions can put in place at PWIs in California. For this basic qualitative design, data were collected through semistructured interviews with 15 African American female faculty members employed at PWIs in California. Through qualitative content analysis, …

Plan Of Day | Plan Of Stay: How Inter-Disciplinary Communication Improved Patient Experience And Hospital Throughput, Theresa Jean Dionne, Felicia Hurst, Danna Qunibi, Lauren Lazar, Sydney Mccurdy, Ashlyn Coenraad, Brittney Ward, Whitney Black, Ashley Nelson, Judd Salem, Luisa Restrepo

Patient Experience Journal

Background: Effective communication among healthcare team members is critical for delivering high-quality, patient- and family-centered care while optimizing hospital operations. This case study examines the implementation of a structured ``Plan of Day | Plan of Stay'' model, leveraging bedside whiteboards to enhance inter-disciplinary communication in a pediatric hospital setting. By providing a clear, visual summary of daily care plans, care team members, and discharge goals, whiteboards foster transparency, empower patients and families, and facilitate coordinated clinical decision-making. Purpose: This quality improvement initiative evaluated the implementation of a standardized Plan of Day | Plan of Stay communication model on a pediatric …

Cuando No Entendía El Por Qué/When I Didn't Understand Why, Nancy Nuñez

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

Nancy moved to a new country, learned English with effort, and discovered how valuable education is.

Strategies For Integrating Death Education Into Asynchronous Online Counselor Training, Kara E. Wolff

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

Online counselor education has grown exponentially, with a greater number of courses being offered in an asynchronous format. This presents challenges and opportunities for counseling training in death education, a subset of grief counseling. Death anxiety and death avoidance can result in counselors-in-training's disengagement with strictly didactic materials in this area. Instead, death education must offer opportunities for experiential processing and personal reflection to be effective. Specific teaching strategies that foster the development of death acceptance and death competence within asynchronous online counselor education courses are offered.

Exploring Chatgpt As A Simulated Client: A Feasibility Study In Undergraduate Counselor Training, Kayla E. Hayes, Rebecca L. Wilson, Joshua Wilson

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) offers new possibilities for simulation-based counselor training by enabling scalable, text-based interactions that mimic human dialogue. This exploratory feasibility study examined whether ChatGPT can serve as a simulated counseling client and feedback provider for undergraduate students learning counseling skills. Five upperclassmen completed a 45–60-minute text-based session with ChatGPT portraying “Sarah,” a college student experiencing depression and loneliness, followed by AI feedback and a semi-structured interview. Trained raters judged ChatGPT’s client portrayal and feedback as generally accurate, particularly for tone, empathy, and identification of students’ strengths. Accuracy was lower for rapport, summarizing, and pacing characteristic of an …

The Digital Tightrope: Navigating Social Media Ethics In Counseling, Kaitlynn Cornell-Mullane

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

Social media has become deeply integrated into both personal and professional lives, yet the use by counseling professionals remains underexplored. This study investigated how various roles within the counseling field experience and utilize social media in their professional development, identity formation, and ethical practice. A qualitative online survey was utilized to collect data from counseling professionals (N = 20). Findings revealed six themes: (1) Conflicting Perspectives on Client Social Media Use and Engagement, (2) Personal Discomfort and Ethical Ambiguity, (3) Counselors’ Varied Approaches of Social Media Use, (4) Social Media Use for Professional Development, (5) Mixed Perspectives on Social Media …

Simulation-Based Education In A Counseling Skills Course: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study, Alexandra Gantt-Howrey, Hana Shewamoltot Meshesha, Renyi Huang, Elizabeth A. Doughty Horn, Renee Howells, Adenike Ololade Adedapo

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

Simulation-based education (SBE) is a technique that introduces students to real-world experiences (Gaba, 2004) in a safe way (Holmes et al., 2023). Scholars have suggested that SBE may be a promising means of enhancing counselor education (e.g., Pope & Hilliard, 2024). We recruited a sample of N = 12 counseling skills students who completed up to 12 simulation-based education (SBE) activities using Simucase (2025) across one semester. We conducted an embedded, qualitatively-driven mixed methods pilot study (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2017) to understand participants’ perspectives on and impacts of the SBE activities on their perceived counseling self-efficacy and multicultural competence. …

An Adaptive Infrastructure Framework For Health Equity Integration Into Clinical Research, Keith Henri Salvado, Elidia V. Tafoya, Latanya Dean, Grissel Hernandez, Neera Ahuja

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

PURPOSE: The research team transformed a struggling health equity study by redesigning the clinical research infrastructure using population health management concepts and the A3 improvement methodology. The framework embeds the full cycle of clinical research in high acuity settings. This adaptive, nursing-led transformation aimed to optimize feasibility, to drive equitable access to research, and to bridge gaps in the literature.

METHODS: The research team overhauled the study using A3 improvement methodology within the framework of Lean and Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles. To optimize recruitment, our team developed workflows around sales funnel principles. Culturally competent and linguistically appropriate interactions fostered research access. Strategic …

Optimizing Life Care Planning For Palliative Home Health Care Patients, Lilian Muraya

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem: In this home health palliative microsystem, many seriously ill patients begin care without timely goals‑of‑care conversations or documented advance directives, leading to fragmented communication and potentially avoidable emergency visits and rehospitalizations.

Context: This quality improvement project took place in a hospital-based home health palliative care program in Northern California, where an interdisciplinary team identified inconsistent Life Care Planning (LCP) practices and variable staff comfort with conducting goals‑of‑care discussions.

Intervention: A structured LCP workflow was developed so that newly admitted palliative home health patients receive a goals‑of‑care discussion and advance directive review within 7 days of start …

“Shh!” Bleaching As An Auto-Destructive Art Method Of Representing The Silencing Of Women, Kristelle Tenero De Leon

DLSU Arts Congress Conference Proceedings

This paper discusses the artistic representation of the muffling of women’s voices and the culture of silence through a theoretically auto-destructive method of artmaking—bleaching using mark-making on textile. Through studio art research, the reductive and erasing properties of bleaching agents are used by bleaching printed images of women in fabric to metaphorically represent and articulate the existence of silencing imposed upon women. Guided by the lens of feminism and Gustav Merger’s manifesto of auto-destructive art, this work presents the artistic images of 13 women across Philippine history—from the babaylans to Maria Ressa—on textile, imbued with bleaching effects. Moreover, the work …

Flows That Teach: Multimodal Hip-Hop Pedagogy For Equity In Special Education, Camille O'Quin, Sara Jozwik

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

Hip-Hop can be more than a soundtrack played at home, it can be a bridge between culture, language, and learning at school. This article shows how Hip-Hop pedagogy, translanguaging, and code-meshing can support students with disabilities, especially those who speak African American Vernacular English (AAVE), in the classroom setting. Grounded in culturally relevant pedagogy and translanguaging theory, the approach uses rhythm, storytelling, and performance to build narrative fluency, language awareness, and confidence. Examples include students drafting rap verses about personal experiences, holding structured cypher circles to practice turn-taking and self-expression, and blending AAVE with Mainstream American English in writing for …

Coping With Adversity: Exploring The Role Of Protective Factors And Their Impact On School Enrollment And Satisfaction Among Adolescents Living With Hiv In Low-Resource Settings, Jennifer Nattabi

Brown School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Globally, an estimated 2.38 million children and adolescents (0–19 years) are living with HIV, with 80% residing in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, adolescents remain at high risk, with approximately 6,600 new infections among 10–19-year-olds in 2023. Despite expanded access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), adolescents Living with HIV (ALHIV) continue to experience poor outcomes, including low viral suppression and high mortality, largely driven by non-adherence. However, ART adherence represents only one dimension of their lived experience. ALHIV must also navigate intersecting adversities, including poverty, stigma, orphanhood, and exposure to sexual and gender-based violence, while meeting academic expectations, particularly in boarding school …

Applications And Insights Of The Use Of Ethnographic Research In A Local Context Of Nepal, Dipak Raj Rai, Sunita Dangol, Megh Raj Dangal

The Qualitative Report

This paper expounds on ethnographic research in comprehending the cultural, economic, and social nuances in the Nepali local community. The paper also emphasizes the significance of ethnographic research in providing profound insights into the daily lives, traditions, and interactions of cultural groups. This writing aims to describe the historical concept of ethnography, its philosophical standpoint, types of ethnography, fields of ethnographic research and commonly used methods for collecting ethnographic data. The main idea of the paper is to present the methods employed such as participant observation, ethnographic interviews, self-reporting, and artifacts that enable the researcher to obtain the true lived …

Reflections On Focus Group Participant Recruitment In An Indian Youth Mental Health Study, Debanjali Saha, Ketoki Mazumdar

The Qualitative Report

In this article, I (DS) critically reflected on my journey as an Indian graduate student while navigating dissonant expectations versus reality from the planning to data collection phase of my doctoral research, especially the challenges involved in the participant recruitment process for focus group discussions. The goal of my study was to understand the narratives of various stakeholders of the Indian higher education community on students’ mental health on Indian college campuses using Participatory Action Research strategy with the help of focus group discussions. Recruiting participants was a crucial first step in this endeavor. Six FGDs were conducted with a …

Searching Together: “Research Resisters” And Creating Pathways For Narrative Practice Research, David Denborough

The Qualitative Report

This paper conveys eleven research innovations that have recently emerged from the field of narrative therapy and community work. These include multi-storied surveys, testimonies and counter documents; insider researchers navigating pathologising literatures; creative ethical processes and accountabilities; re-imagining research interviews; conceptualising research as resonance; linking insider research and practice; collective narrative documents in research; exchanges of collective documents/letters as methodology; reading back: oral retellings; the development of Indigenist story-journey methodology; and forms of research that are accessible, resonant and useful to the most marginalised. These innovations are linked to histories and ethical commitments that are also described.

“Caring Makes Students Learn English More Easily And Enthusiastically”: Exploring The Emotional And Academic Outcomes Of Experiencing Teacher Care In Medical Sciences University Efl Classes In Iran, Kiyana Zhaleh, Shima Azizbeigi

The Qualitative Report

Previous research on teacher care in university second/foreign language (L2) classes have primarily concentrated on non-medical sciences students, resulting in a lack of insights into its effects in medical sciences education. This is surprising considering the field-specific challenges of medical sciences education, potentially influencing teacher caring behaviors in this context. Addressing this gap, this qualitative study employed the emotional response theory (ERT) and positive psychology to explore how Iranian medical sciences undergraduates perceive teacher care in university EFL classes, how they emotionally respond to it, and how their experiences of care impacted their academic outcomes. In this descriptive qualitative research …

Using Creativity Tools To Improve Perception Of Mental Health Resource Access On A College Campus, Laura Reindl

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This paper outlines the planning and implementation processes for executing a Creative Problem Solving (CPS) session at Binghamton University, with the goal of developing new ways to communicate accurate information about mental health resources available to students on campus and refuting common misconceptions. Led by communications and marketing staff in the Division of Student Affairs, the process included staff from Health and Counseling Services, staff involved in delivering health promotion and prevention services, and students with an interest in health and wellness. The project focused on the ideation and development stages of CPS and offered ideas for future implementation.

Sexual Grooming And Other Barriers To Disclosure Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Lillian A. Steedman

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Child sexual abuse is a serious and prevalent problem in the United States and is associated with negative consequences across numerous life domains (e.g., psychological, physical, socioeconomic). Disclosure of sexually abusive experiences may facilitate victims’ abilities to obtain psychological, social, and legal support. It has been theorized that sexual grooming plays a role in decreasing the likelihood of disclosure and of disclosures being believed. Therefore, this dissertation examined associations among sexual grooming, other barriers, and disclosure decisions and timing. Participants were recruited and screened online for eligibility to participate in a survey examining details of the abuse, trauma-related shame, disclosure …

Supporting Every Student: Optimizing School-Based Mental Health Services For Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Sarah K. Eggleston

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Youth with intellectual disabilities (ID) are at considerably greater risk of developing mental health problems compared with the general population; however, their needs are less likely to be identified, and they often face barriers to accessing quality mental health care. School-based mental health professionals (SBMHPs) are uniquely positioned to support students within their natural learning environments, where many common barriers to service provision have been removed. The present study examined the current state of practice among SBMHPs in Virginia in identifying and supporting the needs of students with ID, as well as SBMHPs’ training experiences. An online cross-sectional, mixed-methods survey …

Experiential Learning In Child Life Education, Amanda L. Lockett

All Dissertations

Child life specialists support children and families during healthcare experiences and other stressful life events, making it important for child life students to develop both knowledge and practical skills before entering the profession. This study explored how current child life students and recent graduate experienced hands-on learning activities in their child life education. Through interviews, a survey, and follow-up reflection, participants described how activities like role play, case studies, realistic scenarios, activity play plans, and teaching plans influenced their learning and professional development. Participants shared these experiences helped them learn to apply what they learned in the classroom into real …

State Medicaid Expansion And Mental Health In The Poorest States: Examining Differences In States That Expanded Medicaid Compared To Those Which Did Not, Steven Kyle Yates

Master's Theses

Medicaid expansion is a contentious issue in U. S. political debates, especially regarding its impact on public health outcomes. The Republican Party often shows hesitation to support government funding initiatives, citing concerns about creating dependency on entitlement programs like Medicaid. As a result, state legislatures have significant authority to shape their Medicaid programs, including setting eligibility requirements and defining the scope of benefits and services. In this study, I examine disparities in mental health indicators between economically disadvantaged states that expanded Medicaid and those that did not expand Medicaid. The dependent variables include medical costs, measured by how often individuals …

Legitimacy, Legality, And Canadian Climate Laws, Adebayo Majekolagbe

Dalhousie Law Journal

In 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada, in the References re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, confirmed that global climate change is real, human activities are the main cause, and climate impacts will be especially severe and devastating in Canada. Against this backdrop, the Court upheld the federal government's authority to set a nationwide minimum standard for the stringency of greenhouse gas pricing. Years after the Court endorsed the GGPPA, the legislation and its carbon pricing policy have struggled to gain legitimacy, meaning the acceptance and support of Canadians. In 2025, the carbon charge component of the law was suspended, …

Autistic Traits And Mental Health Support Service Use Among Parents Of Young Children With Autism, Margaret Janse Van Rensburg, Robert Hock, Emmanuella Asabea Twum, Resia-Maria Cooper, Abigail K. Reza Jameson, C. Andrew Conway, Mark Ethan Feinberg

Faculty and Staff Publications

Parents of children recently diagnosed with autism often experience elevated psychological distress, yet little is known about whether parental autistic traits are associated with support-seeking. Using baseline data from a randomized controlled trial of a parent mentoring intervention, this study examined support use among 355 parents of children aged 18 months to 8 years whose child had received an autism diagnosis within the previous 12 months. Parental autistic traits were assessed using the Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale–14 (RAADS-14). Overall, 36.1% of parents reported accessing support for stress, emotional, or mental health concerns, and 33.2% scored above the RAADS-14 …

What Fire Reveals: A Portfolio Of Integrated Practice, Harm Reduction, And Liberation-Centered Social Work, Jackie Brittain

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Tier 2 Literacy Interventions In Low-Income Schools: Implications For Breaking The Cycle Of Poverty, Morgan Koch

Dissertations

This study examined the development of a mastery-based Tier 2 reading and writing curriculum prototype designed to improve the coherence and consistency of literacy intervention in high-poverty educational settings. Using the Design Thinking process, stakeholder feedback from educators, administrators, instructional staff, and parents informed the development of the prototype through the Empathy, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test phases. The curriculum was evaluated by 15 education professionals through a mock implementation, usability survey, and focus group discussion. Findings suggested that participants perceived the prototype as practical, well organized, and supportive of more efficient and consistent Tier 2 literacy instruction, while also …

Nh Ece Research Consortium Member List, Evan England, Jess Carson

New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium

NH ECE Research Consortium membership is open to individuals and organizations with relevant expertise that aligns with the purpose of the Consortium, including the advancement of knowledge to support early care and education in NH. Check out the current Consortium members in this graphic!

Critical Constructivism And Alaana Interpreter Identity: A Narrative Analysis Qualitative Study, Kamil Gerald

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this study was to explore and illuminate the lived experiences of African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) sign language interpreters (SLIs) within interpreter education programs (IEPs) and the interpreting field. American Sign Language (ASL), the dominant sign language taught in IEPs across the United States, has been shown to overshadow Indigenous Sign Languages (ISLs), a phenomenon often referred to as “ASL colonialism.” Critical constructivism served as the foundational framework in this narrative analysis qualitative study to examine how ALAANA SLIs navigated, resisted, and reimagined their professional identities amid limited exposure to ISLs. Semi-structured interviews were …

Free, Civil Legal Aid: An Examination Of Client Access To Free, Civil Legal Services In Tennessee, Laura E. Brown

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Nonprofit law firms and legal aid societies provide free civil legal assistance to low-income individuals who have a civil, legal need and who qualify for the services. However, the provision of such services is not straightforward nor without challenges and barriers. This research study examined the provision of free, civil legal services to eligible citizens of Tennessee to see if there was a difference in the provision of services depending on if the recipient of services resides in a rural, urban, or suburban area. The study also explored if there was a difference in the number of cases closed and …

Issue 25: Beyond Blame: Gender-Based Violence Prevention And African Diaspora Communities In The Waterloo Region, Halima Ahmed, Valdrin Dragusha, Stella Omonigho, Fadhilah Balogun

International Migration Research Centre

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) remains a critical social, public health, and governance challenge in Canada, particularly for migrant and refugee women (Tastsoglou, 2025). This is increasingly prominent at the local level in the Waterloo Region, particularly for African and racialized diaspora communities navigating settlement, integration, and institutional access. While multi-level governance and frameworks exist at the city, regional, provincial, and federal levels to address GBV, they tend to work in silos, and local implementation gaps persist. The gaps are shaped by cultural stigma, fragmented service delivery, precarious immigration status, formalinformal networks of support, and unequal access to culturally responsive support systems. …

More Than A Profession: A Calling In Social Work, Paulette Lingle

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.