Digital Commons Network^™

A Quantitative Study On Molecular Cluster Detection In Virally Suppressed Communities, Mariska Belinda Osborne-Wells

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Viral suppression within human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care and treatment planning is the gold standard of care for most providers when engaging with their patients. In many settings, the patient has received a positive lab that is indicative of HIV antibodies being detected; this in turn means they need additional medical attention to manage the infection. Upon receiving linkage to care services and attending an initial appointment, an initial genetic sequence is usually completed to assess the patient’s strain of HIV and how antiretroviral medications may antagonize or complement the HIV strain. It is possible that access, bias, and colorism …

Impact Of Minority Incarceration On The Family Unit, Huey S. Ratcliff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The economic impact of incarceration on minority family units has both secondary and third-order effects on the minority family unit when a family member is incarcerated, which is exacerbated when the incarcerated family member was both the primary breadwinner and a parent. The purpose of this study was to identify the social and economic effects incarceration has on minority families. The study addressed how minority families adjust to changes in organic composition and how the minority family copes with increased debt and loss of earning potential. Further, the study sought to answer how minority families overcome economic hardship when the …

Lived Experiences Of College-Educated African American Males During Police Interactions In Central Kentucky, Lawerence Eric Charles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Recent high-profile incidents involving police interaction with Black citizens have increased community outrage and racial divisions between police and African Americans. Despite previous research on relations between African Americans and police, little literature has focused on the lived experiences of college-educated African American males when interacting with police. In the study 12 participants were interviewed. The analytical approach was grounded theory, which identified seven themes that most of the men had in common. One shared lived experience expressed the need for collaborative and inclusive policies that prevent bias, police brutality, and wrongful arrest and detention of the African American community. …

Race, Space, And Place: Interrogating Whiteness Through A Critical Approach To Place, Keith H. Hirokawa

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Drawing from George Lipsitz’s notion that whiteness is “not so much a color as a condition,” this Article embarks on the project of framing the manner and methods through which whiteness continues to dominate space and place. Wherever whiteness dominates space, space carries rules and expectations about the identity and characteristics of people who are present—visitors and jaunters, owners and occupiers—and the types of activities and cultural practices that might occur there. Occasionally, spaces are racialized because of intentional practices of discrimination and segregation. In others, less intentional methods produce racialized space. In both, American spaces tell their own histories …

Conceive And Control: Cultural-Legal Narratives Of American Privacy And Reproductive Politics, Emily Naser-Hall

Theses and Dissertations--English

Law and literature share a foundation in narrative. The literary turn in legal scholarship recognizes that the law itself is a form of narrative, one that simultaneously reflects socio-cultural norms and creates social and political regulations with a complex matrix of power. Cultural narratives from the 1950s to the mid-1970s pertaining to reproductive politics, domesticity, and national identity both produce and are productive of legal rulings that govern and restrict private acts of sexuality and speech. The Supreme Court used cases concerning sex and reproduction to enumerate, explicate, and complicate the right to privacy, which appears nowhere in the U.S. …

Property Protocols And The Spatial Relations Of Real Estate Technologies, Ian Spangler

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

The dissertation contributes to our understanding of the technologically mediated, professionally managed social relations of private property, and specifically, their consequences for housing and home. I analyze standards and protocols for real estate data transfer, such as the multiple listing service, arguing that these standards play an increasingly important role in how real estate capital authenticates property relations. Focusing on technologies that leverage these standards in order to manage, exchange, and marketize housing, I show how standards often derive from moral values grounded in rubrics of white upper-class masculinity and national border-making. In making this argument, I draw on interviews, …

Truth In Horror: Cinematic Representations Of Social Violence In Spain, Latin America, And The United States, Kelly Ferguson

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

My dissertation, Truth in Horror: Cinematic Representation of Social Violence in Spain, Latin American, and the Latinx United States, investigates the recent explosion of political horror films that straddle the past and present, reflecting both the current political moment and the polemic historical memories of state repression against racialized others and ideological dissidents. Chapter One, “Paranoid Horror and the Return of Franco,” studies four Spanish horror films, Tras el cristal (1986), Pa negre (2010), Mientras duermes (2011), and Musarañas (2014), all of which feature child protagonists that seek out truth about violent family secrets, but ultimately reject it as …

'Grave Fears Of Collision' : James Beecher And The Administration Of Freedmen's Bureau Policy In Reconstruction South Carolina, Cameron Sauers

Theses and Dissertations--History

As an agent of the Freedmen’s Bureau and military officer, James Beecher embodied Federal power in the South Carolina Lowcountry. During Presidential Reconstruction, Beecher became a key administrator of Order No.15 that promised formerly enslaved peoples’s “40 acres and a mule” that formerly belonged to white plantation owners. Beecher, despite his antebellum abolitionist politics, was remarkably unsympathetic to freedpeople’s desire for independent landholding. Beecher believed that freedpeople were unfit for immediate citizenship and should sign labor contracts to return to plantations where they might be inculcated with Northern free labor values. Amid epidemic disease, famine, and white paramilitary violence, James …

The Kids Were Alt-Right: Radical Right Youth Activism And The Origins Of The White Power Movement, 1960-1980, Austin Zinkle

Theses and Dissertations--History

This dissertation explores the young people—primarily young men—involved and weaponized within the radical racist Right during the 1960s and 1970s in the United States. This project argues that young people were an active bedrock of support within racist and antisemitic organizations such as the American Nazi Party, the National Alliance, the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and others, and created a unique coalition that ultimately developed into a revolutionary racist Right and eventual white power movement by the 1980s. This dissertation makes a significant intervention in scholarship on the radical Right’s development over the past sixty years and serves …

Foster Caregiving: How Interactions With The Child Welfare Agency Impact Foster Parent Satisfaction, Recruitment, And Retention, Ethan Engelhardt

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Professionals of the child welfare system in Kentucky have continuously worked to retain and recruit new foster parents for the foster care system. Foster parents are uniquely placed in a surrogate caring position for children removed from their homes for reasons of abuse or neglect. Foster parents accept this role and step in to provide a safe and loving household for many children. There are more than 9,000 children placed in Out of Home Care (OOHC) on any given day in Kentucky, leaving many children in need of a loving and supportive household. Foster parents hang in the balance between …

Factors Associated With Successful Military-To-Civilian Transition Among Special Forces Veterans, Edward Richter

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

The purpose of this study was to explore the military-to-civilian transitional experience in a sample of Special Forces veterans. Acknowledging challenges in accessing the veteran population, most existing research on the military-to-civilian transition consolidates military occupations into a single sample. This method fails to address the intricacies that may exist within individual military occupations, especially that of U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers. Special Forces qualified soldiers represent the largest portion of all U.S. Military Special Operations Forces and are responsible for the majority of all Special Operations activities, yet their experience in transitioning out of the Army is largely unknown. …

Home Is Where The Heart Is: Rural Residents, Deprivation, And The Impact Of Prd On Governmental Representation, Mary Rachael Blandau

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

How does rural deprivation, defined here as the perception that rural residents are deprived of economic and social capital that comparatively disadvantages them more than their urban and suburban counterparts, impact their political attitudes? And how do these perceptions, termed perceived rural deprivation, impact their attitudes towards the government? While scholars have long studied rural behavior, interest in the topic was reinvigorated during the Trump presidency once it became clear that rural voters contributed to Donald Trump’s election in 2016 and became some of his strongest and most loyal supporters during his presidency.

Before we can answer the question of …

Placing Rural Poverty In The Political Economy: Farm Policy In The American Midwest, Aimee Imlay

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

Approaches to explaining rural poverty highlight the social, economic, and political processes that contribute to poverty in rural communities, yet the political economy of agriculture has rarely been considered a determinant of rural poverty. Within rural sociology, peasant studies, and rural poverty are distinct subdisciplines; thus, farm and nonfarm poverty are viewed as mutually exclusive. This dissertation uses a three-paper format to: 1) examine the impact of changes to commodity programs on rural poverty rates in the Midwest; 2) investigate the impact of direct payments on rural poverty rates in the Midwest; and 3) explore the linkages between peasant studies, …

Tolerance Intervals For Various Regression Models, Xitong Zhou

Theses and Dissertations--Statistics

Among statistical intervals, confidence intervals and prediction intervals are well-known and commonly used. In many applications, the problem becomes finding an interval that covers at least a certain proportion $P$ of the population for a characteristic of interest with a specified confidence level $(1-\alpha)$. And such interval is named a $P$-content, $(1-\alpha)$-confidence Tolerance Interval (TI). The topic of the dissertation is the utility of tolerance intervals for various regression models. We begin with a discussion of tolerance intervals for linear and nonlinear regression models. We then propose a bootstrap method of constructing TIs for Tobit regression to deal with censored …

Assessing 4-H And Its Circle Of Courage In A Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility: A Case Study, Elizabeth Steering

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This 4-H case study takes place in a psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF) in Kentucky. The PRTF provides clinical services to youth that are not able to be safely maintained in their homes due to having demonstrated unsafe or harmful behaviors. Youth admitted to the PRTF stay for an average of three to six months while they receive intensive therapeutic and psychiatric care as well as medical treatment and public schooling. The current case study incorporates programming from 4-H, which is the youth development program of the Cooperative Extension System (CES) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), …

Exploring The Distinction Between Support And Enabling In Families With Substance Use Disorder, Krystal N. King

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Substance use disorders (SUD) are a pervasive public health problem facing families in the United States. Although families are frequently urged to support loved ones who have SUD and cautioned against enabling them, there is a dearth of literature that distinguishes between supporting and enabling. Through qualitative interviews, this phenomenological study examined the experiences of eight parents with adult children with SUD who were currently in recovery. Five themes emerged from the data including: (a) living in despair, (b) addiction and recovery knowledge, (c) support group philosophy, (d) coping with addiction, and (e) differentiation. The results from this study suggest …

Conceptualizing Asexual Identities, Miranda L. Bejda

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

In current literature, there is little congruence on an inclusive definition of human asexuality. This study explored individuals’ self-identification with asexuality as well as their conceptualization of that identity via thematic analysis. Using a Qualtrics XM survey, 374 individuals (18+ years old) answer questions regarding their experience as a person identifying themselves as asexual. Identity label authenticity, perceived impact of compulsory heterosexuality and heteronormativity on participants' current identity within the asexual spectrum, and prescribed heteronormative ideals were correlated. Thematic analysis revealed themes such as confusion about identity membership, feeling abnormal, the burden of living in a heteronormative society, and identity …

Managing Death In Termites, Jizhe Shi

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Death of individuals from the same species represents potential risks from disease, predation or competition for animals. Diverse responses associated with death have evolved ranging from simply avoiding or being attracted to the corpses in solitary animals to complicated undertaking behavioral repertoire in eusocial insects. A systematic review in chapter 1 suggested cannibalism is an ancestral and widespread death-related behavior in all non-human animals. Termites are suggested to switch their undertaking behavioral responses from cannibalism to burial based on interactions between chemicals associated with death to balance risks and benefits associated with decomposition. In eusocial animals like termites with caste …

Reawakening Rochester: The Leadership Styles Of Bishop James E. Kearney, Maria G. Wild

Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research

Throughout their vocation, Catholic priests are assigned to a parish within their diocese, oftentimes without their consultation, and are called to engage with that church to increase the liveliness and faithfulness of its parishioners and encounter others within the surrounding community. While the geographic location of priestly assignments will impact the immediate influence that one can have on a group of people, it is the inherent identity and leadership abilities of the priest that will dictate the trajectory of the lives of people that will proceed them. After being assigned to the Diocese of Rochester, NY in 1937, The Most …

Trauma-Informed Care: A Collaborative Strategy To Address Hiv-Infection Rates Among Black Gay And Bisexual Men, Willie T. Boddie Jr.

DSW Capstone Projects

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) continues to be an epidemic among gay and bisexual men or men who have sex with men (MSMs). For Black MSMs, the HIV infection rate is disproportionate compared to the number of Black or African American citizens in the U.S. Black MSMs have the highest HIV infection rate in the U.S. This Capstone Project seeks to explore the possible impact of trauma experiences among this group and determine how providing trauma-informed care, along with the standard HIV education and awareness can be used to effectively reduce this disparity and ultimately …

Micromobility Speedbumps: Navigating Regulations, Equity, And Profitability In The Metropolis, William H. Braunlin

Student Works

No abstract provided.

A Professional Approach To Mental Health: Expanding The Professional Judgment Standard To Constitutional Claims Brought By Justice-Involved Youth, Alexandra Marek

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Tshlf And Tshl Memorandum Of Understanding And 2025-2023 Roster Foundation Board Of Directors For The Texas Silver-Haired Legislature Foundation, Texas Silver-Haired Legislature

Texas Silver-Haired Legislature

Memorandum of Understanding between the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature and the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature Foundation dated during the 20th TSHL Legislative Session and the 2025-2023 Rosters Foundation Board of Directors for the Texas Silver-Haired Legislatures Foundation.

Peer Influence On Mental And Physical Health Symptoms: A Network Autocorrelation Model, Ashley N. Hall

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Adolescent youth are similar to their friends in both personal attributes, such as gender and ethnicity, and exhibited behaviors. However, limited research has analyzed the role of peer influence on physical and mental health symptoms. The current study aimed to address this gap in the literature by investigating the association between friendships and individual health symptoms. A linear network autocorrelation model was used to examine the relation between adolescent friendships, physical health, and mental health symptoms in a sample of 336 seventh grade students from a Midwestern, public middle school. Results from the current study indicate a peer influence effect …

The Development And Validation Of Implicit Measures For Black Women Stereotypes, Natasha Pierre

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The struggles that Black women face in everyday life are underrepresented in the research literature. Part of these hardships involve negative stereotypes that are associated with Black women. The purpose of this project was to create measures to assess the implicit association between stereotypic attributes and Black women. This study used Implicit Association Test (IAT) procedures to develop implicit measures of Black women stereotypes and investigate relationships with theoretically related explicit (self-report) measures in a sample of university students. Results indicated the implicit measures have acceptable psychometric properties (low stimuli misclassification error rates and adequate internal consistency) and sufficient variability …

How A Professional Describes Reasons For Working In And Ultimately Leaving The Foster Care Field In The State Of Missouri: A Case Study, Lauren Williams

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The foster care field continues to have a high turnover rate of the professionals working in the field. While support and work balance are available for some professionals, many face the challenges of heavy workloads, unrealistic expectations, and health sacrifices that lead to many professionals leaving the field. This case study of one former foster care professional’s description of reasons they worked in the field, and reasons they ultimately left the field provides insight of the challenges and support as a foster care professional. The findings of this study are organized into three major themes including “Challenges for Foster Care …

Toward A Behavior Analysis Of Discrimination And Prejudice: Racism, Sexism, And The Stigmatization Of Autism, Claire M. Zuch

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Behavior analysts are becoming increasingly aware of and involved in the study of issues related to sex, gender, disability, prejudice, and discrimination. This thesis integrates and discusses two collaborative manuscripts that revolve around the shared subject matter of multi-level research on systemic issues. In the first chapter, sexism and gender bias are conceptualized and informed by the framework of the nested sociobehavioral model of racism developed by Belisle et al. (2022), including implicit bias, selective gender norms, and systemic oppression, while integrating feminist and queer theories in the analysis. A model-dependent scoping review of research in major behavior analytic journals …

Between Choice And Compulsion: An Examination And Critique Of The Evolution Of 'Original Sin', Matthew James Wynn

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

“Why are we the way that we are?” is one of the hardest questions to answer because it requires grasping the origin of human beings. This has left philosophers and theologians in century-long debates on forming a “cosmogony of ontology” (i.e., how the origin of the universe informs the human condition). The concept, “original sin” was developed by a North African theologian named Augustine (354 – 430 CE). Augustine’s reading of Genesis 3, and inaccurate translation of Romans 5:12, taught that a person is born morally culpable for a fault antecedent to their existence. This way of thinking about the …

Closeness And Conflict In The Parent-Child Relationship And Parental Self-Efficacy During Childhood, Stephanie Boekweg

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The present study examined the relationship between closeness in the parent-child relationship, conflict in the parent-child relationship, and parental self-efficacy during childhood. Quantitative data from an electronic survey on one hundred eighty-eight participants was collected. Results from a simple linear correlation indicated that parental self-efficacy during childhood and the parent-child relationship quality measures of closeness and conflict were moderately correlated. A simple regression showed that parental self-efficacy during childhood did not predict closeness nor conflict in the parent-child relationship when controlling for current parental self-efficacy. However, parental self-efficacy during childhood significantly predicted current-parental self-efficacy.

Gender Representation In Children's Media And Preschool-Aged Girls’ Internalized Beliefs About Gender, Jessica Lindsey Kanne Atkins

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The current study examines patterns of gender representation through three categories (distribution, presentation, and stereotyped behaviors) in children’s media and how these patterns relate to preschool-aged girls’ internalized beliefs about gender. Both historical and presently available children’s media tends to display high levels of stereotypical gender representation. By preschool age, children have already developed distinctions between boys and girls, and hold internalized beliefs regarding gender. The objective of the current study is to examine the relationship between these two factors. To accomplish this, preschool-aged girls were interviewed to assess their internalized beliefs about gender. Their caregivers completed questionnaires related to …