Digital Commons Network^™

Rising Costs Of Higher Education In United States And Student Debt, Mona Muzammil, Muzammil Arshad, Washain Muzammil

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

100 years ago, college tuition at prestigious Ivy League colleges such as Harvard and Brown was about $130 per year. Even when adjusted for inflation, today's cost of higher education has increased dramatically to the point where a college education is shifting further out of reach for many Americans. This book explains the essential concepts in the debate regarding the staggering costs of higher education, supplying ten original essays by higher education policy experts, a lively historical narrative that provides context to current issues, and systematic guides to find additional sources of information on the subject.

Written from a historian's …

The State Of The Unions 2025: A Profile Of Organized Labor In New York City, New York State, And The United States, Ruth Milkman, Joseph Van Der Naald

Publications and Research

Organized labor has taken center stage in the 2020s, with workers leading successful organizing drives at Amazon, Starbucks, Apple, and across a range of industries from health care to higher education. Public approval of unions has reached its highest level in decades, and a new generation of workers is stepping forward as leaders in the movement. The State of the Unions 2025 provides the most comprehensive profile of organized labor in New York City, New York State, and the United States, highlighting where unions are growing, who is leading the charge, and how labor is shaping the future of work …

Statelessness As An Academic Concern: The Indian Supreme Court’S Engagement With Citizenship Policy In In Re: Section 6a Of The Citizenship Act, 1955, Aishwarya Birla

Articles

In October 2024, the Supreme Court of India (‘Court’) made a significant ruling regarding citizenship laws in Assam, a state in the north-east of the country. The case In Re: Section 6Aof the Citizenship Act, 1955(‘In Re: s 6A’)centred on s 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955(‘Citizenship Act’), which pertains to granting citizenship to a specific class of migrants who entered Assam before ‘the 1stday of January, 1966’.The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of s 6A in a 4:1 majority. In doing so, the Court also engaged with a multitude of important issues for constitutional law and citizenship in …

Minor Role Iv: Violent Crime More Of An Adult Problem Today, Jeffrey A. Butts, Gina Moreno

Publications and Research

Using national and New York City arrest data, the John Jay College Research and Evaluation Center presents a report that shows juvenile arrests for violent crimes have significantly decreased since the 1990s, while adult crime rates have fallen at a slower pace. Despite these trends, some continue to blame youth for crime spikes, often disregarding research that supports the effectiveness of juvenile justice reforms. The findings suggest that, rather than contributing to crime, these reforms align with adolescent development science and have not led to an increase in violent offenses.

Using A Realist Informed Qualitative Approach To Elaborate Programme Theory: Experiences From The Feasibility Phase Of The D-Pact Project., Sarah Griffiths, Hannah Wheat, Sarah Morgan-Trimmer, Lauren Weston, Alex Gude, Tomasina Oh, Rod Sheaff, Richard Byng

Peninsula Medical School

Realist approaches to complex health care evaluations are increasingly used and recommended in national evaluationguidelines. However, there remains a paucity of researcher guidance on methods for elaborating and refining programmetheories throughout the stages of a realist evaluation project—from prospective theory development to feasibility work,to full evaluation. We present a step by step worked example of a realist approach to elaborating a programme theory for ahealth care intervention during the feasibility phase of the Dementia PersonAlised care Team. We explain how multiplequalitative methods can be applied to elaborate initial theory, supporting a shift away from a hypothetical explanation, towards a theory …

Steering Indian Financial Services Towards Digital Operational Resilience: A Cross-Sectoral Approach, Vaibhav Vijay Nishad, Smruti Kulkarni

Indian Journal of Law and Technology

In India, among the three financial regulators, RBI’s recent focus on creating a robust ICT risk management framework has been at the forefront of the country’s digital operational resilience strategy. The continuous cyber threats and recent digital operational failures have highlighted the need for further enhancements to strategies that establish strong ICT risk management. Addressing these cybersecurity vulnerabilities requires more than prescriptive rules; it demands holistic, flexible, adaptive, and coordinated regulatory approaches to strengthen digital operational resilience. This paper analyses the key issues that need resolution to advance these efforts. We identify the misalignment of economic incentives for compliance as …

In The Pursuance Of A Robust Legal Framework To Address Deepfake Harms: An Analysis Of The Indian Legal Discourse, Jyothsna Gurumurthy

Indian Journal of Law and Technology

A common issue we face in the field of law and technology is the constant game of catch-up that the law is required to play to keep up with advances in technology. Deepfake Technology (primarily based on generative adversarial networks, as explored in this article) exemplifies this game of catch-up and provides a fertile ground for academics and regulators/law makers to explore and understand what it means for a technology regulating law or rule to be robust and enforceable. By examining the judicial handling of deepfake claims within a publicity rights discourse in India, this article suggests the adoption of …

Trans* Student Experiences In Higher Education, Megan Chaffee, Deborah King

New York Journal of Student Affairs

This paper reviews literature on trans* students' experiences in higher education, examining their obstacles and institutional approaches to inclusion. The study investigates challenges regarding chosen names and pronouns, access to facilities, extracurricular involvement, and the impact of increasing anti-trans* legislation. Despite growing visibility, trans* students continue to report harassment, discrimination, and a decreased sense of belonging. The paper explores current Title IX interpretations and recommends that higher education administrators develop inclusive policies, enhance professional development, and create supportive campus environments that foster trans* students' academic success and overall well-being.

The Legal Implications Of The Altman Z-Score As A Tool For Bankruptcy Prevention Through The Case Study Of Pt. Sri Rejeki Isman Tbk (Sritex), Samuel Baringin Doloksaribu

Technology and Economics Law Journal

Indonesia’s bankruptcy law, as regulated by Law No. 37 of 2004, allows debtors to be declared bankrupt based solely on the existence of two creditors and one unpaid debt, without requiring a substantive assessment of their financial health, raising concerns about fairness, legal certainty, and economic impact. This thesis investigates whether predictive financial models such as the Altman Z-Score can be integrated into Indonesia’s legal framework to improve early detection and prevention of corporate insolvency. The central question is how these models can be legally recognized and implemented, and what challenges or reforms are necessary to facilitate their use. Employing …

Posture - A Framework With Measures And Mediating Effects In Support Of A Structural Model For Attitude In Identity Formation, Christopher Kyle Prather

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation develops a framework and new, valid, abbreviated instruments for researching engineering identity formation as an evolving relational and attitudinal development process rather than a fixed outcome. The framework centers on “posture”, a mediating effect analogous to physical posture in human factors engineering. The investigation was unique, and developed evidence for a structural model using an interdisciplinary, systems-oriented approach. Methodologically, a clinical measure of internal emotional states from the Marriage and Family Therapy literature was administered alongside existing scales for perseverance, perceived workload, and psychological ownership. This study used the broad coverage of the clinical instrument to search for …

Sleep, Emotion Regulation, And Relationship Satisfaction: A Moderation Analysis, Lakyn Boone

Doctoral Dissertations

Sleep plays a pivotal role in overall health and well-being, influencing mental health, cognitive abilities, memory, emotional balance, and physical well-being (Luyster et al., 2012; Mukherjee et al., 2015). Emotions constitute a natural and indispensable element of human existence but necessitate proper regulation, as any disruption in emotion control has been associated with various mental health disorders (Gross & Jazaieri, 2014; Kring & Gordon, 1998; Phelps, 2006). Furthermore, human connections and relationships are fundamental aspects of the human experience, contributing to emotional support, personal growth, a sense of belonging, and even influencing one's physical health outcomes (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; …

Is There An Association Between Food Literacy And Diet Quality In Young Adult College Men?, Morgan Claire Mayeux

Master's Theses

Food literacy skills can improve dietary intake in young adults as it provides them with the tools they need to make healthier food-related decisions. The benefits of improving food literacy includes the reduction in the risk of prevalent, preventable dietrelated diseases such as obesity, T2DM, heart disease, and other chronic diseases that plague the Unites States today. Previous literature reports primarily on college female samples. Because a large proportion of the samples in the available studies are female, the current literature may not reflect young adult men’s food literacy and its comparison to their overall diet quality. The purpose of …

The Effect Of Education Policy On Crime: An Intergenerational Perspective, Ulrika Ahrsjö, Costas Meghir, Mårten Palme, Marieke Schnabel

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We examine the intergenerational effect of education policy on crime. Using administrative data that links outcomes across generations with crime records, we show that the Swedish comprehensive school reform, gradually implemented between 1949 and 1962, reduced conviction rates for both the generation directly affected by the reform and their sons. The reduction in conviction rates occurred in several types of crime. Mediation analysis suggests that key channels include increased parental educational attainment and household income, as well as reduced criminal behavior among fathers.

Hiv And Sti Testing Service Utilization Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness: A Multi-Method Inquiry, Alexander A. Ochs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) face disproportionately high risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), yet rates of testing remain low. This dissertation examines the individual and social network level factors that influence HIV/STI testing behaviors among YEH. Guided by insights from multiple theoretical frameworks, this three-paper dissertation integrates quantitative and qualitative approaches to better understand how personal relationships and social context shape HIV/STI testing decisions in this population.

Paper 1 presents a secondary data analysis of the Homeless Youth Risk and Resilience Survey (HYRRS), which includes 1,426 YEH across seven U.S. cities. Logistic regression models identified geographic variation in …

Chronic Pain: An Exploration Of The Experience Of Chronic Pain, Andrea Alzalde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chronic pain is a pervasive public health issue within Western society today and amongst humans worldwide. Although chronic pain is something that many people have or will experience sometime in their life, it is a complex experience that does not have a simple universal solution or immediate cure. The causes of pain can be a multitude of things and the treatments that work for some may not work for others. The current research seeks to explore the experience of chronic pain to help fill gaps in the wider research of pain. This study pursues answers to two research questions including; …

Beyond The Benefit: A Multi-Modal Narrative Study Of Black Women's Experiences With Employer-Sponsored Tuition Assistance, Britany Patricia Hamilton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the lived experiences of Black women engaging with employer-sponsored tuition assistance programs, focusing on how social, structural, and identity-based factors shape their educational and professional trajectories. While these benefits are often framed as neutral tools for career advancement, this study examines them through the intersecting lenses of race, gender, and labor, revealing deeper dynamics of access, value, and belonging. Guided by a qualitative narrative inquiry approach, this study employed a multi-modal data collection design involving video diaries, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group. Three participants, all Black women between the ages of 30 and 40, shared their …

Essays On Economic Behaviour, Yiting Guo

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

My PhD thesis comprises three studies. The first study examines prosocial behavior; the second analyzes vaccination behavior; and the third investigates communicative behavior in the context of trade. Specifically, the first study investigates the impact of donation visibility on individual prosocial behavior. It develops a sequential-move model based on the prosocial behavior framework proposed by Benabou and Tirole (2006). In Stage 1, individuals decide whether to attend a charity event, and if so, in Stage 2, decide on the amount to donate. In this model, an individual’s decision to engage in prosocial behavior is influenced by three main factors: intrinsic …

Building An Interdisciplinary Workforce In Geroscience: Aligning Perspectives And Educational Goals, Iman M Al-Naggar, Miranda E Orr, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The National Institute on Aging-funded Geroscience Education and Training Network held the "Building an Interdisciplinary Workforce in Geroscience: Aligning Perspectives and Educational Goals" preconference workshop at the 2023 Gerontological Society of America's Annual Meeting. Parties involved in geroscience education and interested stakeholders addressed the development of didactic educational materials, training, and career development opportunities to equip learners with the skills to meet the demands of the emerging field of geroscience, from research to clinic and industry. Recent successes were presented, existing opportunities, gaps, and challenges identified and discussed, and solutions and future directions described.

Exhibiting Rural Consciousness: A Study Of State And Local Level Governance In Rural Higher Education, Steven J. Skadron

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Evolving economies in Craig and Salida, CO, spurred community interest in joining Colorado Mountain College’s taxing district and bringing the college to their communities. When they sought to join, Craig had a local college embedded in its community that was governed by a state-level board; in contrast, Salida had no local college of its own. The two communities’ pursuit of a locally governed college raised a question about governing boards and whether one type of governing board might serve rural communities better. Using a framework of rural consciousness, this nonexperimental, cross-sectional, quantitative study employed data gathered from a survey instrument …

Examining Whiteness: A Narrative Inquiry Into Racial Identity Among White Women In Study Abroad Programs, Audrey Moreno Townsend

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to better understand race in contexts both domestically and abroad through the perspectives and experiences of white women who studied abroad outside of Europe and the Anglosphere. The investigation explored on how these experiences shaped white women’s understanding of racial identity upon returning to their home institutions. The research question which was addressed was: How do white women experience study abroad programming? Research highlights a critical gap in existing literature on this topic. While white women are centered in the study, it is contextualized considering how People of Color experience the world. …

Proposed Theoretical Model Of Pediatric Onset Multiple Sclerosis And Restrictive Eating Behaviors, Anna L. Smith

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic, demyelinating, autoimmune disease that causes an array of physical and cognitive symptomatology, is commonly diagnosed in adulthood. Pediatric Onset Multiple Sclerosis (POMS) is characterized by diagnosis of the disease before age 18 and accounts for about 5% of MS cases. While there is a growing body of literature examining the impact of adult-onset multiple sclerosis on psychosocial functioning, research specifically addressing POMS remains limited. Moreover, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding the risk of eating disorders among individuals with POMS. This paper will explore a constellation of potential risk factors that may …

Fostering A Healthy Work Environment: Assessing And Implementing Aacn Standards, Kelly O'Meara, Lauren Simon, Jacqueline Swindell, Nicolette Vaccaro

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

This project examines the need for enhancing healthcare work environments. Healthy work environments (HWEs) provide increased job satisfaction, retention, and most importantly improved patient outcomes. Unhealthy work environments can lead to job dissatisfaction and poor performance, burnout, high levels of stress, and poor patient care. “To foster healthy work environments, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) established six standards, which include skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership” (AACN, 2016). To further study HWEs, the current work environment of a cardiac telemetry unit was assessed by way of interviews, a pre-survey, professional …

Enhancing Cataract Surgery Outcomes: Optimal Use Of Pre- And Post-Operative Eye Drops, Keith Skolnick M.D., Anu Valiaveedu

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

Many preoperative and postoperative cataract patients struggle with comprehending the use of prescription medication as directed. Language barriers and low health literacy levels are major factors contributing to improper use of prescriptions. To increase patients comprehension, the Fort Lauderdale Eye Institute employed an educational intervention consisting of a live presentation and an instructional video. Results found that 44% of patients were hesitant to ask questions to clinical staff, 32% felt overwhelmed, and nearly 70% lacked confidence in using their prescribed eye drops. Following the intervention, 91% of patients reported increased confidence in their medications, and most indicated that the video …

When The Walls Talk Back: Black Women's Experience In The Graduate Classroom, Benesemon Simmons

Dissertations - ALL

Black women have historically experienced barriers in education and the traditional classroom space, facing visible and invisible walls that reinforce their silence, delegitimization, and harm. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine Black women’s experiences in the graduate classroom and use their voices to challenge the purpose and power of dominant structures—and talk back (hooks, 2014). Black Feminist Thought and Critical Race Theory were used as theoretical frameworks to better understand the unique experiences of Black women graduate students, help highlight their voices, and place their experiences and ideas at the center of analysis. To investigate this topic, …

The Residual Impact Of Slavery On How Enslaved Black Females Defined And Made Meaning Of Sexual Violence: A Content Analysis, Suzanne R. Bates

Dissertations

Thompson-Miller & Picca (2016) and Feimster (2023) argued that enslaved African American women, and even free African Americans after the Civil War were victims of non-consensual sexual activity and rape. The NISVS report revealed that before the age of 18 years old, 35.5% of African American women experienced contact sexual violence, 29.5% experienced non-contact unwanted sexual encounters, and 20.7% experienced rape (Basile et al., 2022). Researchers of slave scholarship have made the case for the importance of including discourse on slavery and enslaved Black females’ experiences when discussing present day sexual violence among Black women in the US today (Balfour, …

Crime Prevention Professionals’ Perspectives On Using Cpted To Mitigate Targeted Violence On K-12 School Campuses, Bridgit C. Didier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Targeted violence in K-12 schools across the United States is a serious concern. These incidents not only endanger students and staff, but also cause lasting trauma and erode trust in schools. While existing measures may deter some violence, questions remain regarding their overall effectiveness. This study involved exploring perspectives of crime prevention experts on using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategies to mitigate violence in K-12 schools. Although CPTED is recognized as effective in terms of reducing crime, research on its use in schools, especially from the perspective of crime prevention professionals, is limited. This generic qualitative study involved …

Mobility At The Margins: Insights Into Gender, Class And Climate Change In Islamabad's Transit Spaces, Shanel Khaliq

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation sets out to explore how the urban built environment- particularly public transport infrastructure- shapes class, gender and climate inequality in Islamabad, Pakistan. I tried to understand this issue by using mixed methods, primarily consisting of semi-structured in depth interviews, supplemented by ethnographic fieldwork and a brief consultation of english-language newspaper archives. I conducted 95 interviews in total, and clocked in around 80 hours moving around the city and engaging in a mobile ethnography. The first empirical question that I asked relates to the state and urban transportation planning. I wanted to understand what assumptions regarding class-based, gender-based and …

Place, Policy, Power: New And Continuous Destinations And The Influence Of State-Level Policy On Immigrant Outcomes, Cassie Dutton

Dissertations - ALL

This research focuses on how state level policies influence the ability of immigrants to enhance their socioeconomic status in both continuous and new immigrant destinations. To accomplish this, this project will draw on IPUMS American Community Survey (ACS) census data, combined with state level policy data. Specifically, this work will examine the impact of state policy concerning: 1) driver’s license and state identification accessibility, 2) security and border patrol, and 3) access to social welfare programs. There are three specific aims of this research: to explore differences in socioeconomic outcomes by new/continuous immigration destination locations, to explore the impact of …

Distributed Sovereignty: Law, Community, And Authority In The Political Theories Of Al-Māwardī, Al-Juwaynī, And Al-Fārābī, Ahmet Çelik

Dissertations - ALL

ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the concept of sovereignty in classical Islamic political thought through a comparative analysis of three major thinkers—al-Māwardī (d. 450/1058), al-Juwaynī (d. 478/1085), and al-Fārābī (d. 339/950)—each representing a distinct epistemic tradition: jurisprudence (fiqh), speculative theology (kalām), and philosophy (falsafa). Employing a conceptual and textual methodology, the study reconstructs a theory of distributed sovereignty in Islamic thought, in which political authority is not centralized in a singular sovereign but dispersed across three interrelated domains: legitimate authority, lawgiving, and governance. Drawing on primary texts—including al-Aḥkām al-Sulṭāniyya, Tashīl al-Naẓar, Ghiyāth al-Umam, al-Madīna al-Fāḍila, al-Siyāsa al-Madanīyya, Kitāb al-Milla, and Iḥṣāʾ …

Race, Space, Taste In The Postwar U.S.: Three Independent Studies On Urban Restaurants In Syracuse, New York, Huseyin Zeyd Koytak

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines how racial inequality shapes the survival, visibility, and strategic adaptation of restaurants in postwar Syracuse, New York. It investigates how commercial food spaces reflect, reinforce, and negotiate racialized patterns of urban development, consumer taste, and economic opportunity. Drawing on longitudinal business and demographic data, a computational content analysis of online restaurant reviews, and original interviews with immigrant restaurateurs, the study integrates quantitative, computational, and qualitative methods to illuminate how race and space co-produce outcomes in the urban food economy. The first empirical chapter shows that Black-majority neighborhoods face higher commercial volatility and shorter restaurant survival, while white-majority …