Digital Commons Network^™

A Battle Of The Chatbots: An Exploratory Comparison Of Chatgpt, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Perplexity And Huggingchat, Karen Okamoto

Publications and Research

This exploratory study compares the output of the free versions of six generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots—ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Perplexity and HuggingChat. Five questions were submitted to all of the chatbots and examined according to the length of the response, tone of the response, and any additional features provided by the chatbots such as citations, web links, and helpful follow-up questions. This comparison found that Perplexity excelled at responding to all of the questions though others provided strong outputs as well, pointing to the possible importance of using multiple chatbot for answers and for continually examining different chatbots given …

Assessing The Predictive Validity Of The Network Inventory Of Risk, Victories, And Needs Assessment (Nirvana) For Youth Receiving Prevention Services., Michael T. Baglivio, Kevin T. Wolff, Katherine Jackowski

Publications and Research

The current study assesses the predictive validity of a newly-developed holistic risk/needs assessment for youth receiving prevention services. Employing a multiyear statewide sample of over 17,000 prevention youth, multivariate and Area Under Curve techniques are used to examine predictive validity in predicting future formal juvenile justice system involvement (new law violations) across sex, race/ethnicity, and multiple youth age ranges. Furthermore, predictive validity across the severity of the subsequent offense type (misdemeanor, non-violent felony, violent felony) was examined. Findings demonstrate large effect sizes for static risk only, dynamic risk only, and total risk plus protective scores on future offending. Sex and …

The Towering Inferno: Art, Policy, And Legacy, Charles R. Jennings

Publications and Research

The Christian Regenhard Center for Emergency Response Studies, leveraging the expertise of its faculty, staff, Advisory Board and colleagues, has consistently programmed activities focused on high-rise fire safety. The upcoming 50^th anniversary of the film The Towering Inferno was an inspiration.

We decided this would be more lighthearted and less purely technical than many of our events. We wanted to consider both the film, and use it to reflect on the state of fire safety in tall buildings in New York City.

Of course it does not escape us that the topic of fire safety is a serious one, …

Understanding Violence In Juvenile Correctional Facilities: A National Study Of Victim-Offender Overlap In The United States, Tzu-Ying Lo, Yu-Hsuan Liu, Amy Adamczyk

Publications and Research

The phenomenon of victim-offender overlap within juvenile correctional facilities is an underexplored area in criminological research. This study examines the prevalence and correlates of victim-offender overlap using data from two collections of the National Survey of Youth in Custody conducted in 2008–2009 and 2012. Our findings reveal that the victim-offender overlap group constitutes a significant proportion of incarcerated youth. Multinomial logistic regression analysis indicates that institutional factors, such as correctional officer legitimacy, in-facility gang membership, fear of inmate assault, experience of filing complaints against staff, and time served, significantly differentiate victim-offenders from the three other groups: victims-only, offenders-only, and those …

Victim-Offender Overlap Among Incarcerated Youth In The United States: A Bivariate Probit Analysis Using National Data, Tzu-Ying Lo, Yu-Hsuan Liu, Amy Adamczyk

Publications and Research

For many crimes, people who are the perpetrators may also be the victims. While several studies have investigated the victim-offender overlap, very few have examined the relationship for incarcerated youth where institutional conditions can exacerbate the overlap. Drawing on ideas from routine activities theory, this study explores the victim-offender overlap among incarcerated American youth using data from the 2008–2009 National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC-1, N = 8,625) and the 2012 National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC-2, N = 8,125). Findings from a bivariate probit regression indicate that younger age, higher facility populations, negative perceptions of officer legitimacy, …

The Perverse Effects Of Mandatory Judicial Reporting To Bar Authorities Of Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel Determinations, Tigran W. Eldred, David M. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

California Business & Professions Code § 6086.7(a)(2) provides that a court shall notify the State Bar “[w]henever a modification or reversal of a judgment in a judicial proceeding is based in whole or in part on the misconduct, incompetent representation, or willful misrepresentation of an attorney.” Some California judges now interpret this provision as mandating referral to the State Bar in any case in which a new trial or withdrawal of a plea is granted due to ineffective assistance of counsel. This interpretation directly conflicts with an attorney’s continuing duty to her former client. It is unnecessary and has profoundly …

Health Equity And Children With Medical Complexity/Children And Youth With Special Health Care Needs: A Scoping Review, Elizabeth A. Flasch

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Children with medical complexity (CMC) and children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN), compared with the general population, engage with the health care system at increased rates, at multiple life stages, and for a myriad of reasons (Berry et al., 2015). Operational definitions of CMC and CYSHCN are very limited, with the terms conflated and differentiated across the literature. Because of the lack of standardized definitions and general conflation of the two terms across the literature, CMC and CYSHCN will be used interchangeably for this review. Allshouse et al. (2018) defined CMC as a subset of CYSHCN “as …

Sex Work Patterns Among Transgender And Gender Diverse People: A Latent Class Analysis, Madeline Stenersen, Anjum Umrani, Irelan Fricke, Jessica L. Zemlak

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Sex work is a diverse profession encompassing a broad range of people, and services. Though overrepresented in sex work communities, transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals are underrepresented in sex work literature. Further, sex work literature continues to underrepresent the heterogeneity evident in the sex work community and the practices that occur within it. The present study utilized data from the 2015 United States Transgender Survey (USTS) to conduct a latent class analysis (LCA) to identify patterns of different types of sex work among TGD adults (N = 2,153) and understand the demographic characteristics associated with engagement in different types …

Sentence Determination As A Function Of Sex Offender Gender, Kyle Gamache, Matt Zaitchik, Judith Platania, Willem Pontbriand

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

The current study examines perceptions of dangerousness and sentencing recommendations for female sex offenders (FSOs) compared to male sex offenders (MSOs). Participants (N = 82) were randomly assigned to read one of three vignettes depicting a sexual offense committed by a male, female, or male-female co defendant pair. Key individual difference variables—Need for Cognition (NFC) and Gender Role Beliefs (GRB)—were assessed to examine their influence on sentencing and attributional judgments. NFC emerged as a significant moderator: participants with low NFC assigned longer sentences to FSOs, whereas high NFC participants gave longer sentences to MSOs. Participants endorsing traditional gender role beliefs …

Response: Diagonal Representation, Alma Magaña

Articles

A lot has been written about the crisis of indigent defense and the plethora of factors that have led to the crisis, like the lack of guidance on how indigent defense providers can most efficiently distribute their insufficient resources. This lack of guidance has left jurisdictions across the country to their own devices, resulting in a national landscape of very different models, each with its own variations of the same problems plaguing indigent defense.

The Military's Constitutional Role, Brenner M. Fissell

Faculty Publications

A basic principle of the American constitutional order is that civilian authority must be supreme over that of the military. The violation of this principle by the British was one of the grievances enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, and the Framers responded with a Constitution that made military rule impossible. But why is so-called “civilian control” of the military so important? This deep normative question has yet to be thoroughly answered by scholars, most of who assume it away as a given. This Article takes up that task, using contemporary political theory to defend the principle of civilian control. …

Topics On Ai Fairness Preferences In Kidney Transplantation, Mukund Telukunta

Doctoral Dissertations

Modern kidney transplantation incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) decision-support systems which exhibit social discrimination due to biases inherited from training data. Although researchers have proposed various group-based fairness notions to assess biases in AI, it remains uncertain which criterion is most suitable for evaluating biases in such complex healthcare systems. This dissertation explores human perception of fairness to identify the most appropriate fairness criterion for assessing AI tools in kidney transplantation, focusing on the preferences of non-expert (e.g. public, patients) stakeholders. The study examines two distinct AI systems employed in kidney transplantation: a classification model and a regression model. Human subject …

Scientific Educations Among U.S. Judges, Christa J. Laser

American University Law Review

Should more judges have technical and scientific educations than are currently prevalent in the federal judiciary? This empirical study of the educational background of federal judges reports the undergraduate and graduate majors of active U.S. federal Article III judges. Information on the subject area of study is largely not publicly available, especially for judges appointed decades ago. This is the first and only publicly available research study of the subject areas of study of U.S. judges, collected via phone and email surveys to U.S. judges. The results of this study show that only 7.35% of federal judges have majors in …

Still Here: Reflections After Fifty Years Of Teaching Law, Ira P. Robbins

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of Parent Iep Meeting Attendance On African American And Hispanic Middle School Students’ Attendance And Behavior, David W. Johnny

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation investigated whether there was a significant difference in behavioral and attendance outcomes among African American and Hispanic middle school students with disabilities, depending on parental attendance at Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. The study was grounded in Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s parent involvement theory. This quantitative study used archival data from a southeastern U.S. middle school to examine whether variations in parental participation corresponded with students' disciplinary incidents and school absences.

The study included 96 students in grades 6–8 whose IEP attendance, behavior referrals, and absence data were analyzed. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to determine if statistically …

Parent Social Validity Ratings Of Receiving Functional Communication Training, Shani Davies

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide greater insight on parent and caregiver views and perceptions on participating in functional communication training. While extensive research exists regarding the effectiveness of functional communication training and parent training in general for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, evidence on the social validity with respect to caregivers is lacking.

The researcher utilized evidenced-based social validity scales to explore parent/caregiver perceptions of receiving caregiver functional communication training, their perceived effectiveness of the treatment modality, and overall acceptance of the approach.

An analysis of the data revealed that parents’ overall perception was neutral regarding general views …

A Policy Analysis Of Performance Based Funding In Colorado, Nicholas G. Dix

Theses and Dissertations

The researcher used a quantitative approach to examine the effects of performance-based funding policies in Colorado. Specifically, the researcher focused on postsecondary access for Pell-grant eligible and underrepresented minority students. Using a doubly robust difference-in-differences design, the study compares two PBF policy iterations (2.0 and 3.0) to assess the effectiveness of those polices on public four-year degree granting universities in Colorado. The researcher assessed from the data that PBF has no significant impact on Pell-eligible postsecondary accessibility, but PBF has a slightly significant impact on URM accessibility.

The research is grounded in institutional theory and resource dependence theory. The research …

Relaciones De Las Competencias Docentes Con El Bienestar En Docentes De Ciencias Empresariales Bajo La Modalidad A Distancia En Una Universidad Privada En Colombia, Camilo Ernesto Aguirre Martínez

Theses and Dissertations

El propósito de esta investigación consistió en determinar las relaciones de las competencias docentes con el bienestar en docentes de Ciencias Empresariales bajo la modalidad a distancia en una Universidad privada de Colombia. El estudio buscó identificar las relaciones entre las competencias docentes y el bienestar psicológico, el bienestar subjetivo y el bienestar social, cuáles de esas relaciones predominan, así como la identificación de cuáles elementos de estos tipos de bienestar contribuyen con el desarrollo de las competencias docentes.

El enfoque de la investigación fue el empírico analítico o cuantitativo, el diseño fue no experimental y su alcance fue de …

Foster Care Students And Their Success In Academic Achievements In School, Kirsten Nassiff

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide better training and resources for teachers working with students in foster care who have experienced multiple foster care placements, and to assist them in achieving academic success.

The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with six educators and staff at an alternative school that has the highest number of students in foster care, located in this school district. Using Braun and Clarke’s six steps for Thematic Analysis, each transcript was coded with the assistance of MAXQDA, and themes were developed.

An analysis of the data revealed that educators and staff do not receive adequate communication …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Tier 3 Academic Interventions, Dana Esposito

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to discover teachers’ perceptions about the overall effectiveness of Tier 3 RTI services for resolving academic problems and teachers’ perceptions about transitioning students out of RTI. Students receiving services in Tier 3 of the RTI process often spend a considerable amount of time attempting to meet their goals. A search for answers to this problem, combined with a gap in the existing literature regarding time spent in Tier 3, led to the development of this study.

Data collection was acquired through a qualitative collective-case method focused on semi-structured interviews. Participants consisted of general and special …

Homeschooling And Online Learning Technologies From A Parent’S Perspective, Karla M. Forti

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative, predictive correlational research study was to examine the relationship between homeschooling parents’ use of educational technology tools and their instructional behaviors and perceptions, with additional consideration of virtual school participation. Survey-based data from 22 parents of over 40 homeschooled children were used to examine technology adoption and instructional preferences across non-traditional learning settings. The study addressed four research questions through descriptive statistics and correlational analysis, while quantitative themes from open-ended responses enriched the findings. Results provided insight into parental motivations and trends influencing homeschooling and virtual school choices, highlighting the expanding role of online learning …

The Disengagement Of Black High School Students In English Language Arts Classrooms, Michelle Chanda Singh

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation explored how high school English Language Arts (ELA) teachers understand and respond to the disengagement of Black students. Racial disparities in literacy achievement persist across the United States. Despite reform efforts, many Black students continue to experience academic and emotional disconnection in ELA classrooms. Few studies have centered on teachers’ perspectives to understand the classroom-level conditions contributing to this disengagement. This qualitative study addressed that gap by examining the beliefs, practices, and experiences of four veteran ELA teachers in the southeastern United States.

Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the study examined how teachers make sense of Black student …

Tech-Forward Learning: Text-To-Speech Impact On Catholic High School Students, Dennise A. Leyva

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study was conducted to improve instructional support for diverse learners in a Southeast Florida Catholic high school by exploring teachers’ use of the Apple iPad accessibility feature, text-to-speech (TTS). Although this Catholic high school implemented a 1:1 iPad program, many teachers had limited experience using the built-in TTS feature to meet the diverse needs of students, including English Language Learners and those with reading difficulties. Teachers often used conventional approaches that failed to integrate assistive technology for inclusive and equitable learning.

The researcher conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with six high school teachers to examine their experiences implementing the …

When They See Us: The Lived Experiences Of Bglo Members At A Pwi, Brittany Harris-Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation explored the lived experiences of members of Black Greek-Letter Organizations (BGLOs) at a predominantly White institution (PWI) in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. BGLOs have historically served as critical spaces for leadership development, cultural expression, and community support. However, within PWIs, these organizations often encounter systemic barriers related to visibility, funding, and institutional engagement.

The purpose of this study was to center the voices of BGLO alumni who graduated between 2020 and 2024 to better understand how they navigated their membership experiences during a time of social, institutional, and cultural transition. Using a qualitative research design, …

La Percepción Del Docente Sobre La Efectividad Del Liderazgo Del Director En La Gestión De Conflictos En Una Escuela Pública Secundaria En Puerto Rico Con Diversidad Generacional, José Pérez Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

El propósito de esta investigación fue explorar la percepción del docente en cuanto al liderazgo del director escolar y la gestión de conflictos en un entorno educativo caracterizado por la diversidad generacional. Se realizó un estudio exploratorio con enfoque cualitativo, llevado a cabo en una escuela pública de Puerto Rico. La muestra se conformó con ocho docentes de cuatro generaciones diferentes. Para la realización de las entrevistas semiestructuradas, se utilizó un protocolo que incluyó un cuestionario guía diseñado por el investigador. Luego de concluido el ciclo de entrevistas, los audios se transcribieron textualmente. Para analizar las evidencias que aportaron los …

Motivación Y Su Efecto En La Eficiencia De Equipos De Trabajo Remoto En Una Organización Privada, Ysabel Quintana

Theses and Dissertations

Esta disertación aplicada con enfoque cualitativo y diseño fenomenológico fue diseñada para analizar cómo las estrategias motivacionales implementadas por líderes influyen en la eficiencia de equipos de trabajo remoto en una organización privada dedicada a la protección de niños y adolescentes. Se seleccionó una muestra de diez líderes de distintos departamentos que gestionan equipos remotos.

Para la recolección de los datos se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas para explorar sus experiencias, herramientas tecnológicas utilizadas y enfoques motivacionales. Los datos recopilados se analizaron mediante el método de análisis temático, permitiendo identificar patrones comunes relacionados con la motivación, la productividad y el estilo de …

Teacher Retention In The Wake Of The Inclusion Movement: A Mixed Methods Study On Teachers’ Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy, Tessa Vasquez

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation studied the problem of the national teacher shortage by considering the impact of the inclusion movement on general education teachers’ self efficacy. This mixed-methods study sought to contribute to the body of literature examining factors responsible for poor teacher retention and factors responsible for low teacher self-efficacy. Nine participants were interviewed and administered the Teacher Effective Inclusion Self-Efficacy, Knowledge, and Attitudes Measure. The researcher conducted coding and thematic analysis of the interview transcripts and six themes emerged. The researcher scored the questionnaires and compared the scores to the responses provided in the interviews.

Themes revealed that the …

Perceptions Of Mental Health School-Based Team Members On Addressing Suicidal And Non-Suicidal Self-Injurious Behaviors: A Qualitative Inquiry Into Policy Implementation And Practice In School Settings, Ashlande Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of mental health school-based team members regarding the effectiveness of current prevention and intervention practices for addressing suicidal and non-suicidal self-harming behaviors among school-age children in a large suburban school district in the southern United States. Despite the alarming increase in self-injurious behaviors, with crisis calls rising from 144 incidents in the 2022 school year to 736 incidents in the 2025 school year, the district lacked comprehensive prevention and intervention strategies to effectively address this critical issue.

The researcher used a qualitative phenomenological approach to capture the lived experiences and …

Estudio Fenomenológico Sobre La Relación Entre El Liderazgo Transformacional Y La Efectividad De Las Iniciativas De Gestión De Cambio En Las Organizaciones, Greilyn Soto-Perez

Theses and Dissertations

Esta Disertación Aplicada tuvo como propósito explorar la relación entre el liderazgo transformacional y la efectividad de las iniciativas de gestión del cambio en organizaciones de diversos sectores. Este estudio cualitativo se centró en comprender, desde el punto de vista de diferentes lideres transformacionales en distintas áreas e industrias, cómo los líderes y empleados experimentan y perciben el impacto del liderazgo transformacional en la implementación de cambios significativos organizacionales.

Este estudio de naturaleza cualitativa se enmarcó en un enfoque fenomenológico. Mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas en profundidad, se exploraron cuatro dimensiones del liderazgo transformacional: influencia idealizada, motivación inspiradora, estimulación intelectual y consideración …

Legislative Impacts On K-12 Social Studies Teacher Identity, Curricular Decision-Making, And Receptiveness To Professional Development, Staci Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation examines how K-12 public school social studies teachers are navigating their instructional decision-making regarding content about marginalized groups in response to state legislation. Quantitative data were collected through an online Likert-scale survey to measure teachers’ reported agreement on how state legislation has impacted their instructional decision-making, job satisfaction connected to their professional and personal identities, inclusion of instructional materials, and receptiveness to professional development.

Following data collection, the researchers analyzed whether factors of district political context and teachers’ personal and professional identity characteristics predicted their responses. Survey results showed most teachers reported feeling that state legislation has …