Digital Commons Network^™

Using Constructivist Grounded Theory To Generate Participatory Research Empowerment Guideposts (Pregs) For African American Communities To Address Racial Health Disparities, Helen Irene Thurman

Brown School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Racism has multi-systemic impacts on African Americans resulting in longstanding racial health disparities. Increasingly, researchers use participatory research in their health equity efforts. Participatory research is rooted in the principle of empowerment and centers community lived experience to generate meaningful solutions while shifting conventionally held positions of power within research engagement and within systems more broadly. Yet the research literature on empowerment lacks consensus of its operationalization and measurement. What’s more, it is unclear to what degree existing frameworks of empowerment are derived from the communities they seek to engage and empower. Thus existing frameworks of empowerment could be strengthened …

Pressured To Conform: The Qualitative Paradigm In Counselor Education And Supervision, Bridger Dale Falkenstien

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Using Charmaz’s (2014) grounded theory (GT) and Clarke’s (2003; 2005; Clarke et al., 2018) situational analysis (SA), this study explores the experience of counselor educators and their pressure to conform throughout their professional identity development process. As counselor educators, these individuals are thought and practice leaders in the field of professional counseling, training up future counselors and advancing the field in scholarship and advocacy as a social science (Aubrey, 1980; Hansen et al., 2014). As a social science, the integrity and investigative power of counseling are tethered to empirical discovery through quantitative and qualitative methods and philosophy – while inherently …

The Lived Experiences Of Perimenopausal Christian Women: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Sheri Collinsworth Cobarruvias

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Perimenopause (PM) is a natural physiological process indicating the start of the non-reproductive phase of a woman’s life, which is a significant life event and a global health issue that affects millions of women worldwide. PM produces the most physiological changes in a woman’s body than the other phases of menopause. This qualitative study explores the lived experiences of PM Christian women from a bio-psycho-social-spiritual perspective through the lens of feminist theory. Data were gathered through virtual semistructured personal interviews with a sample of 10 participants focused on their physical, biological, psychological, emotional, mental, cognitive, social, relational, and religious/spiritual experiences …

The African American Mental Health Dilemma: A Phenomenological Case Study On How Christian Clergy Are Bridging The Gap, Penelope Evans

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The history of African Americans is composed of ongoing inhumane and normalized mistreatment that continues to generate widespread issues and challenges. African Americans’ current higher likelihood of exposure to one or more traumatic life events increases the possibility their emotional and mental well-being will be negatively impacted. The ethnic group’s development in historical trauma and abuse is being acknowledged as an underlying factor in the alarming increase in serious mental health conditions in African Americans. Continued racial and discriminative dynamics further increase African Americans’ susceptibility and risk for severe psychological illnesses in the United States. African Americans’ higher tendency not …

Study Of Clergy Sexual Misconduct In Ministry And What Contributing Factors Lead To Sexually Acting Out Behavior By The Clergy Member, James Thomas Real

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and be able to describe the factors involved in what motivates and participates person of the clergy to engage in watching pornography or engaging in sexually immoral behavior. The theories guiding this study was a biopsychosocial approach introduced by Dr. George Engel and attachment theory by John Bowlby, as it explains how a person shows a proclivity toward immoral SAOB. Interviews were designed to investigate what experiences and actions were antecedents to clergy persons viewing pornography and engaging in extramarital sexual behavior. This transcendental phenomenological study aimed to understand the driving …

Infidelity, Post-Infidelity Stress Disorder, And Post-Infidelity Stress Marital Outcomes, Faith Christie Leigh Roby

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Marital infidelity discovery has been noted in the literature for traumatic emotional, behavioral, and psychological reactions in the injured spouse, but not extensively in terms of post-infidelity stress disorder. To that end, this cross-sectional quantitative anonymous online survey study explored marital infidelity, post-infidelity stress disorder and post-infidelity marital outcomes in 202 participants using certain frameworks, such as Glass’s traumatic aftershock and Ortman’s post-infidelity stress disorder. This researcher sought to investigate whether there is a relationship between post-infidelity stress disorder that is moderated by religious/core beliefs and marital repair efforts and marital outcomes of healing, forgiveness, benevolence, revenge, avoidance, divorce/desire to …

Moral Injury In Active Service And Veteran Female Military Combatants, William Curtis Neal

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A topic of concern and discussion in the mental health community, and maybe a special concern from both governmental and civilian practitioners, is the subject of moral injury. Moral Injury has been widely researched over the last 10 years and is a known and discussed condition that is linked to military personnel and veterans who have experienced events while deployed or operating in adverse conditions such as combat. The following descriptive study focuses on one group from which they have been excluded or overlooked in past studies. This creates a gap in the published literature: female servicewomen and veterans. Both …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Educational Needs Of Military-Connected Students Transitioning From Military Connected Schools To Non-Military Connected Schools, Dale John Wertman Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the needs of military-connected (MC) students transitioning from MC schools to non-MC schools. The research helped to understand the transition of former MC students from MC to non-MC schools. The theory guiding this study was Schlossberg’s transition theory, which is modeled from analyzing human adaptation to transition. The central research question guiding this study was, “What are the shared lived experiences of MC students who transitioned from MC schools to non-MC schools?” The design of this research was a transcendental phenomenological approach to gain a textual description of the essences …

The Role Of Gender Stereotypes And Societal Pressures In Creating Impostor Syndrome In Black Female Entrepreneurs, Marlene Bernadine Phillip

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the role of gender stereotypes and societal expectations in creating impostor syndrome among Black female entrepreneurs. The study used Bandura’s self-efficacy theory as a foundational framework. Gender role theory was employed to examine the psychological and behavioral traits associated with different genders based on societal norms. Social role theory contributed to shaping the theoretical framework of this study. The research answered three key questions: (a) How do the lived experiences of Black female entrepreneurs affected by impostor syndrome impact their business decision-making and overall business performance? (b) To what extent do …

Exploring Black Business Owners' Experience In Public Procurement Contracts, Khamillia Harris

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Black businesses are on the rise in the United States, and most are formed with the goal of achieving greater economic stability and positive impact on their communities. However, Black business owners often lack sufficient opportunities and access to essential resources (i.e., capital), which negatively affects their business stability efforts (Bento & Hwang, 2022). Black business owners can access procurement contracts as a unique way to access capital to grow and sustain their businesses (Chepkoit, 2018; Shelton & Minniti, 2018), yet they received 1.67% of public funds compared to 15.64% awarded to other non-minority small businesses (Choi et al., 2022; …

The Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experience (Ace) On Victims' Self-Perception And Moral Character Development In Adulthood, Josephine Afua Owusu

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Adversity experienced in childhood is known to have debilitating consequences that permeate subsequent life experiences and predict adulthood wellbeing. The intensity and nature of this impact vary, however. Empirical and practical knowledge also point to the significant role of self-perception in determining one’s view of others, character development, and life experiences. Research has suggested associations between childhood adversities and self-perception, although this knowledge is scanty and inconsistent, with similarly minimal evidence on their correlation with character development. This study set out to examine how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) influence victims’ self-perception and character development in adulthood. It employed a mixed …

"That They May Become Efficient Agents, Under God.": Antebellum Scientific Medical Education At The University Of Michigan As Preparation For The Civil War, Jesse A. Roberts

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The following dissertation focuses on medical education at the University of Michigan before the Civil War and the graduate application of medical school lessons to the Civil War. Medical and Civil War Medical historians have overlooked the importance of medical education. The founding of the University of Michigan Department of Medicine and its position in Michigan's medical history and intellectual history is central to understanding the importance of the medical school. Chapters on the medical school show the valuable training Michigan medical school graduates received and how it was a scientific medical education superior to other contemporary medical schools. The …

African American Parents’ Perceptions Of How Their Digital Practices Affect The Parent-Child Relationship, Teyuna T. Darris

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study aimed to understand African American parents’ perceptions, observations, and experiences concerning their digital practices and whether or not these practices have any impact on their communication with their children. The theories that guided this study are housed in the sociopsychological communication tradition (i.e., uses and gratification theory and the family communication patterns theory) and the sociocultural communication tradition (i.e., cultivation theory). Thirty-five in-depth interviews of African American parents who completed a qualifying survey were conducted. The interview transcripts underwent a thematic analysis to understand the interviewees’ perceptions, observations, and experiences related to the research questions, which addressed …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Perinatal Experiences Shaping A Woman’S Identity In Academia, Elizabeth Catherine Debolt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the meaning women faculty in academia in the United States ascribe to their perinatal experiences and how these experiences affect the integration of their academic and maternal identities and outlook on continuing in the academy. The theories guiding this study were Mercer's theory on becoming a mother and Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model. The study was comprised of 10 women who became a mother with their first child within the last seven years of the study's initiation while holding a faculty position in academia that included teaching, scholarship, and service responsibilities …

A Case Study Of Early Childhood Educators' Self-Determination In Implementing Social Emotional Learning Pedagogy, Ingrid Brouwer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this single common case study will be to answer the question, “How does intrinsic motivation and self-determination in the ability to make choices and manage one’s behavior guide the implementation of social-emotional teaching practices into the early childhood classroom?” for the participants at Mount Uinta (pseudonym). The theory guiding this study will be Deci and Ryan’s Self-determination Theory (SDT), as it will validate the three basic psychological needs to strengthen learners’ autonomy, competence, and a sense of positive relatedness in social-emotional learning and teaching. Reaching the goal of implementing intrinsic motivation and professional development (PD) for early …

Weathering The Storm: A Phenomenological Study Of K-12 Special Educator Resilience And Retention, Kimberly M. Wisinski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to interpret the lived experiences of K-12 special education teachers (N = 16) from large, suburban districts in Illinois who have persisted in their positions beyond four years. Understanding factors that contribute to the longevity of special education teachers is not only vital for enhancing the educational landscape for students with disabilities but also for informing district-level strategies aimed at fostering teacher retention. This study was guided by Bronfenbrenner's Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) bioecological systems theory, which provided a framework for exploring the various systems that influence special education teacher retention. To achieve triangulation …

Twist1 Drives Cytotoxic Cd8+ T-Cell Exhaustion Through Transcriptional Activation Of Cd274 (Pd-L1) Expression In Breast Cancer Cells, Xiaobin Yu, Jianming Xu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

In breast cancer, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is positively associated with programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and immune escape, and TWIST1 silences ERα expression and induces EMT and cancer metastasis. However, how TWIST1 regulates PD-L1 and immune evasion is unknown. This study analyzed TWIST1 and PD-L1 expression in breast cancers, investigated the mechanism for TWIST1 to regulate PD-L1 transcription, and assessed the effects of TWIST1 and PD-L1 in cancer cells on cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. Interestingly, TWIST1 expression is correlated with high-level PD-L1 expression in ERα-negative breast cancer cells. The overexpression and knockdown of TWIST1 robustly upregulate and downregulate PD-L1 …

Catalogue Of The Egyptian Cephalopod Species, Rafik Riad

Blue Economy

Cuttlefishes, Squids, Octopuses and Nautili are some significant cephalopods in terms of ecology and commerce on both a financial and environmental level. The species of the first three categories can be found in the Egyptian's Red and Mediterranean waters. These constitute an important component of the fishing sector. Investigating the ecology and biology of several species. To provide a high degree of reliability in any study, Their Identification requires to be performed with extreme care. The current catalogue has been created to show that it is the first of its sort for these groupings. There are twenty different cephalopod species …

Navigating Murky Waters: Strengthening Water Protections In A Post-Sackett Landscape, Brittany Herrera

New Mexico Law Review

Nearly ninety percent of New Mexico’s rivers and streams potentially have been removed from federal protection under the Clean Water Act following the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA to substantially reduce what qualify as “waters of the United States.” Before this decision, many ephemeral streams, tributaries, and wetlands were protected by the Environmental Protection Agency. Permits are essential to protect not only the environment but landowners as well. The New Mexico Environment Department is in the process of developing its own surface water discharge permitting program, as the EPA’s jurisdiction contracted commensurately with the Supreme Court’s …

Personas, Issue 2, 2024, Jonathan Maiullo

Personas: Multilingual Creative Writing Journal

No abstract provided.

Ethical Considerations Regarding Counselor-Client Discussions Of Political Views And Religion: From A Christian, Conservative, Counselor, Educator Perspective, Michelle Dobson

Journal of Interprofessional Practice and Collaboration

The 2014 ACA Code of Ethics informs counselors of the need to avoid imposing their personal values and beliefs on their clients. There is a general messaging through academics and mental health professional associations of the inherent oppressiveness in Christianity and the conservative political ideology. As a Christian, conservative, counselor, and educator, I have found a need to keep my personal life separate from these professional settings. During the 2020 presidential election cycle I began to question whether I could ethically be in this profession while maintaining my personal values and beliefs. I found clients struggling to have conversations with …

Some Kind Of Unfolding: A Micro- To Macrosystemic Exploration Of The Emic Experiences Of Formerly Incarcerated Mothers, Mary Anne Gunter Phd Lpc Lmft

Journal of Interprofessional Practice and Collaboration

Problem

The incarceration of women has increased exponentially in the past 40 years. Over 80% of incarcerated women are mothers separated from their children. A mother’s incarceration can impose a destabilizing influence upon an already fragile family system.

Significance

Incarcerated mothers have been inconsistently provided supportive rehabilitative programs, which have demonstrated a correlation to decreased recidivism.

This qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews that explored the phenomenological experiences of eight disenfranchised incarcerated mothers who were separated from their children, as well as of their experiences of a carceral setting and involvement with prison programs.

Implications

Thematic analysis of the data revealed …

Determining Autistic Aesthetics: How To Find Autistic Artists In Canada, Gerald S. Beaulieu

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

As notions of Autism slowly move from a pathological to a cultural framework it is a fair question to ask if this includes a distinctive Autistic aesthetic. This is a comparative question, evaluating a distinctive aesthetic against established norms and to do this effectively you need samples. The more samples you have the better the comparison. It certainly makes sense that individuals with divergent neurologies and sensory experiences would perceive the world and reflect it differently through their content creation across artistic disciplines. The challenge however is finding this content as works by autistic creators are exceedingly rare and hard …

“I Don’T Want To Be Human”: The Neurodivergent Reader Response To Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries Series, Rachel S. Anderson

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

This article explores how readers have responded to the Martha Wells series The Murderbot Diaries by identifying the titular character as neurodivergent and the recent ways in which the author has responded to questions about the character—and herself—as potentially autistic. While initially resisting this reader-supplied diagnosis, Wells has more recently acknowledged a neurodivergent identity. By examining Murderbot’s sense of self and relationship with the humans around it, this article will explore our current society’s relationship with human/machine intelligences and how we define such concepts as “neurotypical” and “human.” Specifically, this article will examine how the concept of a “governor module” …

Space For The Savant: An Update On Henry Higgins’S Autism, Abby Zwart

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

Henry Higgins, one of the leads of Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, has been retrospectively diagnosed as an autistic character by lay readers and two scholars (Rodelle Weintraub, 2006; Sonya Loftis Freeman, 2014). Weintraub’s work is accurate but outdated, and Loftis presents several valid concerns about labelling Higgins an autistic savant, but Henry Higgins should be embraced as a neurodivergent character because today, a decade after the last publication addressing his neurostatus, society has a much more nuanced understanding of autism that can easily make space for his inclusion in the retrospective canon of neurodivergent characters.

Sculpting Aesthetic Experiences Through Autistic Indigenous Knowledge, Manuel A. Sánchez Peña

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

The intersection between the autistic mind and the experience of aesthetic elements sculpts a distinct lens through which individuals could explain and appreciate the human experience. Differences between neurotypicals and autistics in terms of sensory experience, cognition and communication, combined with knowledge produced by the Philosophy, Psychology, and Anthropology fields in Aesthetics permit the application of the Neurodiversity Paradigm as a source to explain the perception of aesthetics in the collective. The complexity of these experiences in autistic people not only expands deeper comprehension on aesthetic experiences and all its relativisms, but also illustrates neurodiversity as a form of cultural …

Resonant Perceptions: Exploring Autistic Aesthetics Through Embodied Cognition, James Hutson, Piper Hutson

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

This study investigates the nuanced realm of aesthetic preferences among individuals with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) compared to neurotypical individuals, addressing a significant gap in understanding the diverse perceptual experiences within the neurodiverse community. The impetus for this study stems from the growing recognition of neurodiversity and the need to appreciate how individuals with ASC uniquely experience and interpret their environment, particularly in the context of aesthetics. Employing a dual-method approach, the research integrates data from comprehensive surveys and in-depth interviews to construct a comparative analysis of aesthetic preferences and experiences. Participants encompassed a broad demographic spectrum, ensuring a diverse …

The Covid-19 Vaccine Challenge Innovation Sprint: The Utility Of Active Learning In Fostering Interdisciplinary Collaboration In The Hypothetical Development Of A Covid-19 Vaccination Campaign, Jennifer Shaffer Foster, Gabriel N. Attallah, Ritika Bhajiawala, Steven J. Gabriel, Ray Huang, Parveen Attai, Maisha Rahman, Maia Weiss, Sadia M. Rifah, Oluwademilade Daniel Aguda, Dean S. Seneca, Lina Mu

The SUNY Journal of the Scholarship of Engagement: JoSE

In this paper, we discuss the design, goals, and outcome of the COVID-19 Vaccine Challenge Innovation Sprint, which provided an extracurricular, active learning opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students in Fall 2020. The design of the competition drew elements from both innovation sprints, commonly employed in technology and entrepreneurship, and global health case competitions which are largely used in academic settings. Interdisciplinary, multi-level teams of students were tasked with advancing an equitable (and at the time, hypothetical) COVID-19 immunization program with the goal of reaching as many people as possible in the region surrounding the university. We provide student participants’ …

Endothelial Dysfunction Linked To Ventricular Dysfunction In Children With Sickle Cell Disease, A 3d Speckle Tracking Study., Antoine Abdelmassih, Mervat Haroun, Rasha Abdelraouf Abdelaziz Afifi, Gehan Hussein, Manal Abdelhameed, Marina George Asaad, Heba Tarabeh, Nourhan Essam El Din Taha, Nourine Diab, Noura Shebl, Raghda Fouda, Marianne Edward Yassa, Mohamed Ghobashy, Hala Agha

Journal of the Saudi Heart Association

Background

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is not a hematologic disease that occurs in isolation; it results in multi-organ complications. There is growing evidence of vascular stiffness as its underlying cause.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between endothelial stiffness and LV dysfunction in SCD patients and to explore its pathophysiology, particularly regarding the depletion of vasodilators such as Nitric Oxide (NO).

Methodology

32 patients with established criteria for SCD and 40 healthy control subjects were selected for this case-control study. Comprehensive clinical assessment and assessment of endothelial function using Brachial Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) were performed, along with serum NO …

Na,K-Atpase Activity Promotes Macropinocytosis In Colon Cancer Via Wnt Signaling, Nydia Tejeda-Muñoz, Yagmur Azbazdar, Eric A. Sosa, Julia Monka, Pu-Sheng Wei, Grace Binder, Kuo-Ching Mei, Yerbol Z. Kurmangaliyev, Edward M. De Robertis

Pharmacy Faculty Scholarship

Recent research has shown that membrane trafficking plays an important role in canonical Wnt signaling through sequestration of the β-catenin destruction complex inside multivesicular bodies (MVBs) and lysosomes. In this study, we introduce Ouabain, an inhibitor of the Na,K-ATPase pump that establishes electric potentials across membranes, as a potent inhibitor of Wnt signaling. We find that Na,K-ATPase levels are elevated in advanced colon carcinoma, that this enzyme is elevated in cancer cells with constitutively activated Wnt pathway and is activated by GSK3 inhibitors that increase macropinocytosis. Ouabain blocks macropinocytosis, which is an essential step in Wnt signaling, probably explaining the …