Digital Commons Network^™

Why Dobbs Is No Roadmap For Deciding State Constitutional Abortion Issues, Daniel A. Small

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

In deciding that Fourteenth Amendment “liberty” does not protect a woman’s decision to end her pregnancy, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization sought to distinguish the precedent that Roe and Casey relied on to recognize an abortion right. The Dobbs majority claimed that this precedent did not support a right to abortion because, in its view, destroying a fetus is more immoral than the conduct at issue in those earlier cases. However, moral concerns about fetal destruction shed no light on the nature or characteristics of a woman’s liberty interest in an abortion decision. These concerns, therefore, cannot show whether …

What Is “The Nation’S History And Tradition?”: Using History To Redefine “Liberty” And Applying A New Deeply Rooted Test To Transgender Rights, Kaori Kawaguchi

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

INTRODUCTION: “In a Constitution for a free people, there can be no doubt that the meaning of ‘liberty’ must be broad indeed.” In Roe v. Wade, the Court considered a woman’s liberty right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy or have an abortion and recognized the constitutional validity of a liberty right to abortion as part of the right to privacy. In Roe, the Court concluded, “[o]nly personal rights that can be deemed ‘fundamental’ or ‘implicit in the concept of ordered liberty’ are included in the guarantee of a right of personal privacy.” Liberty should be “left to …

Extending Appellate Immigration Jurisdiction: Providing Additional Pathways Of Review For Discretionary Determinations Regarding Extraordinary Circumstances For Victims Of Spousal Abuse, Ayashah Anwar

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

INTRODUCTION: Lucila Magana-Magana lived a life marked by tragedy. At the age of fifteen, Lucila was sexually assaulted and became pregnant. As a young pregnant woman with no ability to leave, Lucila was forced to live with her assailant and had more children with him until his death. After several years on her own, she entered another relationship with her work supervisor, Rafael Camacho, but that relationship soon turned abusive. Camacho became addicted to drugs and alcohol, and eventually Lucila was forced to escape the relationship. Out of fear, Lucila fled Mexico to the United States. Once again, Lucila found …

Nonviolent Felony Offenders And The Second Amendment: Reexamining Categorical Disarmament Laws In Light Of Bruen And Rahimi, Nikolay Belardi

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

INTRODUCTION: The Second Amendment ensures that “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” In a country with more civilian-owned firearms than people—and more gun dealers than McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, and Wendy’s locations combined—it is no surprise that Americans pride themselves on their right to bear arms. However, a majority of the American population favors stricter gun laws and regulations, a position that seems sensible given that mass shootings are an all-too-familiar occurrence in the United States. The enshrinement of the right to bear arms in the Constitution limits the laws and regulations …

The Influence Of Parental Attitudes On Perceptions Of Gender Socialization In Their Children, Tareva Cortes

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Gender socialization begins early in childhood and plays a significant role in shaping children's beliefs, behaviors, and perceptions of themselves and others. Parents serve as primary agents of gender socialization and contribute to children's understanding of gender roles through attitudes, expectations, and reinforcement of gender-related behaviors. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine parental attitudes regarding traditional gender roles, modern sexism, and children's gender-related behaviors. Participants included 163 parents and legal guardians residing in the United States who had at least one child under the age of 18. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Child Gender Socialization Scale, …

Why Is It Always The Boys?: Evaluating Disciplinary Issues Within The Classroom, Brian P. Lynch

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

This thesis explores the concept of discipline in the classroom and the overrepresentation of male students in disciplinary action.  American public schools are nearly equally represented with male and female students, yet disciplinary action is taken far more frequently toward male students.  Throughout the course of this paper, a history of disciplinary action in America is relayed.  Psychological and social factors are acknowledged to explain the differences of actions in the classroom between male and female students.

To best impact students in the classroom and relieve the overrepresentation of male disciplinary issues, a community program should take place throughout the …

What We're Not Allowed To Teach: The Epistemic Suppression Of The Null Curriculum In American Formal Education, Monica Zheng

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

This thesis explores the history and impact of the null curriculum, which Eisner (1994) defines as "what schools do not teach" (p. 97). The null curriculum often contradicts the messages that the dominant white-supremacist patriarchy has indoctrinated into the explicit curriculum into the curriculum that American formal education uses, especially with the advent of high-stakes standardized testing. In order to overthrow this capitalist system, teachers must feel safe teaching the null curriculum. This thesis makes the case that internal reform of the American formal education system is not enough to create this liberated learning experience, and an external, full …

The Efficacy Of International Conflict Feminism In Postconflict Peacebuilding: Learning From The Lived Experiences Of Liberian Women Through A Decolonial Lens, Kristen N. Mcnutt

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Focusing on Liberia, this study investigates the efficacy of governance feminism (GF) and international conflict feminism (ICF) in postconflict liberal peacebuilding, specifically analyzing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda to reveal critical gaps between policy narratives and the lived realities of Liberian women. Grounded in decolonial feminism and the coloniality of gender and peace frameworks, the research integrates ideographic narrative analysis of UN Women and Liberian government policy reports, a day-in-the-life study with 13 Liberian women, and surveys and interviews with multilevel actors across international organizations, government, and grassroots organizations, guided by …

Challenging The Status Quo: An Autoethnographic Inquiry Into Critical Pedagogy And Social Justice, Andrea Williams

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This autoethnographic study explores the transformative journey of rethinking pedagogical practices through the lens of critical and spiritual pedagogy on behalf of a larger project for social justice. Drawing from Paulo Freire’s foundational work on critical pedagogy, alongside the insights of Zenju Manuel on decolonization and Yitzhak Bentov’s spiritual frameworks, this research examines how personal storytelling, and reflective practices can foster educational transformation. Embedded within traditional educational settings, I critically reflect on how empathy, both as a cognitive and affective process, catalyzed change in my pedagogical approach and challenged colonial legacies within the classroom. The study situates itself within the …

More Than Surviving: Brazilian Immigrants' Stories Of Growth And Wellbeing In The United States, Virginia Veronica Lemos

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Immigration in the United States is often conceptualized within clinical psychology through deficit-oriented frameworks that emphasize risk, trauma, and psychological distress. While this work is essential for documenting vulnerability and inequity, it offers limited guidance for understanding how immigrants sustain wellbeing and meaning amid ongoing sociopolitical and institutional constraints. Brazilian immigrants represent a large and growing population in the US whose experiences remain comparatively understudied, particularly from strengths-based and interpretive perspectives. To address this gap, this qualitative study explores how Brazilian immigrants make sense of immigration and wellbeing through the narratives they construct about their lives in the US. Grounded …

Culturally Grounded Interventions Within Natural Settings: An Investigation Of How Cultural Learning Within Place Can Lead To The Enhancement Of Well-Being, Dean Masaji Tanikawa

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study examines the impact of Culturally Grounded Interventions within Natural Settings on participants’ health and well-being, using Wilson’s (2008) Indigenous Paradigm to counter the limitations of past positivist approaches used by non-Native researchers. Culturally Grounded Interventions incorporating traditional Hawaiian practices such as mahi ‘āina (farming), koa ‘āina (reforestation), and Lā’au Lapa’au (herbal therapy) were performed at Ho’oulu ‘Āina, a nature preserve in Kalihi Valley, Hawaiʻi,  Ho’oulu ‘Āina, sits on a wahi pana (sacred site), and serves the Kalihi community with cultural education and healing. The study highlights, how relationships, including connections to land (‘āina), …

Reimagining Occupational Justice Beyond Anthropocentrism: A Humane Education Approach To Occupational Therapy Education, Macy Sutton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Occupational therapy positions itself as a holistic, justice-oriented profession, yet many of its theories, practices, and educational standards reflect Eurocentric values and assumptions. Even occupational justice, the disciplinary concept specifically concerned with advancing a more just world, is steeped in coloniality. Critical scholars have increasingly critiqued particular oppressive structures embedded in the field, such as ableism and white supremacy; however, anthropocentrism remains largely unchallenged. In the occupational justice literature, anthropocentrism operates primarily through omission; that is, animals are absent from most scholarly works. This gap is significant because anthropocentrism contributes to prejudice, oppression, and discrimination not only toward animals and …

Improving Parental Self-Efficacy In An Integrated Primary Care Setting, Leo Parini

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

A pediatric mental health crisis in the United States has strained integrated primary care, leaving providers with high volumes of requests for psychotherapy. Low parental self-efficacy (PSE)—reduced caregiver confidence in supporting children's emotional and behavioral needs—may contribute to this demand. This study examined whether a brief, 4-week parent training curriculum informed by Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), targeting child anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and delivered by a clinical psychologist within an integrated primary care setting, would increase PSE. Using secondary, de-identified data, PSE was measured before and after the course with the Brief Parental Self-Efficacy Scale; 19 …

Between Brushstroke And Cut: Editing Leon Golub's Persona In Kartemquin's Golub (1988), Frauke Thielecke

Mendel Sato Research Award Projects

The documentary collective Kartemquin Films was founded in 1966 in Chicago and dedicated itself to bringing critical social issues onto the big screen. Early movies such as Now We Live on Clifton (1974), which dealt with inequality and displacement in Chicago neighborhoods, The Chicago Maternity Center Story (1976), calling out the forced closure of an important women's healthcare unit, and The Last Pullman Car (1983), which followed the conflict between labor unions and corporations at the Pullman railroad car factory, show Kartemquin's commitment to portraying pressing issues. Their movies often focus on a single protagonist and follow them over sometimes …

In Its Right Mind - Governance Of Social Superintelligence, David Filippi, Bill Tomlinson, Andrew W. Torrance

FIU Law Review

This Comment argues that a broad presumption of public access to court  documents is essential to preserving the legitimacy and constitutional values  of the American legal system. Although the principle of public access is  rooted in common law and constitutional tradition, individual states differ in  how they approach transparency in the context of court documents. These  jurisdictional inconsistencies continue to gain significance, as the digital age  has completely transformed the way people consume information. The  increasing digitization of court records has heightened the need for consistent  and constitutionally grounded standards that preserve transparency while  adequately protecting legitimate privacy interests. Florida’s …

Fear, Uncertainty, And The Chilling Effect: A Case Study Of Organizational Racialized Omission, Annie Jones

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Florida passed House Bill 7 in 2022 and Senate Bill 266 in 2023, both policies that restrict how race and racism are discussed and taught in the public higher education setting. Although scholars of race and racism contend that colorblind ideology drives the “new racism,” the U.S. is experiencing a resurgence in similar curriculum bans explicitly based on topics related to race and racism. With these trends has emerged a need to understand how explicitly racialized policies fit within the “new racism” framework. Using Victor Ray’s Theory of Racialized Organizations, this study analyzes how colorblind ideology and racialized threat are …

Annual Security Report For Calendar Year 2025, Illinois State University Police Department

Clery Act Annual Security Report

Illinois State University Police Department Annual Security Report

Mitochondrial Dysfunction In Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Sex Differences, Afzal Misrani, Conelius Ngwa, Fudong Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, accounts for 70% of cases and remains a major healthcare challenge due to its rising prevalence and lack of disease-modifying treatments. Clinically, AD is a sexually dimorphic disease. Women exhibit more rapid cognitive decline and accelerated brain atrophy during mild cognitive impairment and early dementia, whereas men more frequently present cardiovascular comorbidities, earlier mitochondrial dysfunction, and greater neuropsychiatric symptoms. AD is marked by amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, neuroinflammation, and neuronal loss, with mitochondrial dysfunction emerging as a key early contributor that exhibits sex specific phenotypes. Mitochondria are vital for neuronal …

Meiji Rhythm: Auditory Effects And Tradition Vs. Modernity In Late Nineteenth Century Verse, Roger K. Thomas

Faculty Publications – Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

This study, which grew out of a 2009 presentation at the Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs, examines possible alignments between choices of lineation in Japanese poetry of the Meiji period (1868-1912) and various political and social ideologies of the time. It argues that the choice of arrangements of lines into patterns of either 5-7 or 7-5 morae typically associated the former with advocacy of adaptation of the classical chōka  genre while the latter tended to be associated with more "progressive" values and was employed in shintaishi and songs that drew stylistic inspiration from the  imayō genre.

Defining Large Core Infarction: Comparing The Accuracy Of Non-Contrast Ct Aspects Versus Ct Perfusion Core Volume, Ngoc Mai Le, Joseph Samaha, Ananya S Iyyangar, Javier Gomez-Farias, Bruna Kfoury, Ritesh Bajaj, Connor Nguyen, Syed Shams, Camille Neal-Harris, Emmanuel Ebirim, Hussain Azeem, Anjan N Ballekere, Saagar Dhanjani, Eunyoung Lee, Luca Giancardo, Sunil A Sheth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and purpose: We evaluated agreement and performance of non-contrast head-computerized tomography (NCHCT) and CT-perfusion (CTP) in identifying large core infarct in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to large vessel occlusion (LVO) undergoing endovascular therapy (EVT), using MRI as reference.

Methods: From our prospective multicenter registry, we identified patients with LVO-AIS due to internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery M1occlusions who underwent EVT between 2017 and 2024. Final infarct volume (FIV) was defined using 24-48 h post-EVT diffusion-weighted imaging magnetic resonance imaging (MRI-FIV). To limit infarct growth bias, only patients with CTP-to-EVT start time < 3 h were included. Large core infarct was defined at FIV thresholds: 50, 70, and 100 mL. The primary outcome was agreement between NCHCT and CTP in identifying large core infarct using kappa-statistics. Large core was considered if NCHCT-ASPECTS< 6 or rCBF< 30% volume>70 mL on CTP (RAPID/Viz.AI). …

Glaucoma Risk With Metformin And Sulfonylurea Therapies In Type 2 Diabetes: A Retrospective Cohort Study., Jared Lim, Jingru Zhou, Hulin Wu, Ziqi Liu, David A Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Research on metformin, sulfonylureas, and open-angle glaucoma risk in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has yielded inconsistent findings. This study examined associations between hypoglycemic treatments and glaucoma diagnosis rates.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed electronic health records of newly diagnosed T2DM patients from the Merative™ Explorys® Therapeutic Dataset (2010-2022), comparing three groups: metformin monotherapy, sulfonylureas plus metformin combination, and untreated controls. Propensity score matching balanced demographics, glycemic control, body mass index, blood pressure, lipid levels, and comorbidities. Cox proportional hazards models calculated adjusted hazard ratios for incident glaucoma.

Results: After 1:1 propensity score matching, metformin monotherapy (N=100,387) showed …

Personalized Management Of Chronic Rhinosinusitis In The Context Of Immune Deficiency, Christopher M Bell, Amber U Luong, Chadi A Makary

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Primary and secondary immunodeficiency as a cause of recalcitrant or difficult to treat chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and recurrent acute rhinosinusitis (RARS) are under-appreciated etiologies. Patients with persistent symptoms, frequent exacerbations despite appropriate medical therapy, or other sinopulmonary conditions known to be related to an immunodeficient state warrant further testing for immunodeficiency, as up to 20% of this cohort of patients may have underlying immunodeficiency. Testing for immunodeficiency includes CBC with differential, immunoglobulin levels, and pneumococcal vaccine titres before and after administration. Regarding secondary immunodeficiency, these patients may present with atypical symptoms, harbor atypical bacteria, or even present with severe complications …

Values Primacy & Total Governance Through Activism, Carliss N. Chatman, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, public companies swiftly pledged sweeping equity commitments—only to abandon them under political and market pressure. These reversals were not aberrations. They were opportunistic, performative, and reactionary marketing responses. They expose a governance regime in which stakeholder interests are structurally reversible because they remain doctrinally optional, lacking the institutional interlock needed to create binding accountability across stakeholder roles.

This Article explores how stakeholder power is already embedded in corporate governance through interlocking initiatives grounded in shared values. Stake-holder activism—boycotts, proxy votes, viral campaigns—is not merely expressive; it is an overlooked form of governance. Drawing …

The Impossible Motherhood: Education Accompanying Mothers (Peidu Mama) And Transnational Migration In China’S Global Era, Jingxue Zhang Dr.

Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies

This dissertation examines transnational educational relocation as a gendered project of future making through the figure of Chinese educational accompanying mothers, or peidu mama, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and the Greater Los Angeles area in the United States. It investigates how educational migration is organized through the intersection of affective governance, moralized motherhood, and unequal global conditions. It seeks to answer how transnational educational motherhood is represented in state-endorsed media and public discourse; how women narrate and justify educational relocation while negotiating the morally unstable label of peidu mama; how aspiration, risk, and the idea of “a better …

Entendre L’Inouï: Resonance, Volume, And Transduction In Gilbert Gatore’S Le Passé Devant Soi, Rebecca Saunders

Faculty Publications – English

This paper analyses three features of sound – resonance, volume, and transduction – in Gilbert Gatore’s novel of memory and the Rwandan genocide, Le passé devant soi [The Past Before Us]. Theorising two modes of resonance in Gatore’s novel – thematic and semiotic – I demonstrate how the novel is structured by semantic forms of resonance, how those resonances incite significance, and how they are augmented by a semiotic resonance that produces “vibratory meanings”. I subsequently examine the novel’s depiction of shatteringly loud volume, its ability to obliterate thought, and to cause physical harm. Elaborating reasons why the …

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions Of Ai- And Human-Generated Feedback On Lesson Plans, Gui Ying Annie Yang-Heim, Xi Lin

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This study examines the role of AI peer reviewers in evaluating preservice teachers’ guided reading lesson plans at a U.S. university. A quasi-experimental design compared two groups: one receiving traditional human peer reviews and another using ChatGPT as a peer reviewer. Data sources included peer review reports and student survey responses. Grounded in the Zone of Proximal Development and effective feedback literature, the study investigates how AI feedback influences critical thinking and engagement during lesson planning. It also explores preservice teachers’ attitudes toward AI versus human feedback. The findings demonstrate both the advantages and disadvantages of AI-generated feedback which provides …

Teacher Agency: Finding Spaces To Transform Ela Classrooms, Kathryn Mitchell Pierce, Carol Gilles, Sarah D. Reid

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Amid ongoing attacks on teachers and their professionalism, we studied three middle school ELA teachers who exercised their agency to transform their classrooms and curricula through social justice pedagogy (SJP). Using Pantić's (2017) model, we examined their sense of purpose, competence, autonomy, and reflexivity in confronting barriers. This multiple-case study drew on interviews, focus group transcripts, artifacts, and responses to our analysis of their reported beliefs regarding their agency about dialogic talk in literature discussions as part of SJP. We found that teachers' agency, dialogic talk, literature discussions, and SJP were deeply interwoven. Teachers valued dialogic talk in literature discussions …

Righteous Defenders And Evil Challengers: The Morally Polarized Battle For Books On Reddit, Erika Casburn

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The issue of book bans has moved to the forefront of public and political debate over the past few years. Anti-censorship advocates who defend against these challenges have yet to be studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs and worldviews as expressed by those defenders in a public forum—Reddit. Data in the form of Reddit threads was collected from subreddits belonging to states that have seen the greatest number of book challenges. This data was subjected to discourse analysis, first manually, then by qualitative analysis software (MAXQDA). Analysis revealed that defenders spent a majority of discursive …

Diagnosing The Discourse: How The Academy Of Breastfeeding Medicine Constructs And Constrains Treatment Of Tethered Oral Tissues, Mary E. Miller

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

While breastfeeding is recognized as fundamental to global public health, oral restrictions that can affect infant latch, milk transfer, and feeding efficiency warrant further examination within policy frameworks. This dissertation proposes an expanded conceptualization of tethered oral tissues (TOTs) that encompasses not only anatomical frenal restrictions but also fascial tensions, neuromuscular limitations, and other conditions restricting orofacial function that may be congenital or acquired. The purpose of this study was to critically examine how this clinical guidance document shapes understandings and responses to TOTs. Using Carol Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem Represented to Be?” approach, a critical discourse analysis of the …

Bridging Worlds Of Care: A Qualitative Exploration Of Integrating Non-Western Healing Modalities With Mental Health Counseling, Douglas Valdez

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The aim of the study is to explore the experiences of practitioners who treat individuals presenting with depression and anxiety using culturally integrative non-Western healing modalities. Participants included 15 experienced practitioners (minimum five years of practice) who identified as Traditional Chinese Medicine providers (e.g., acupuncturists, herbalists) and/or Curandero/x/as. The approach was qualitative, utilizing open-ended survey responses collected electronically and analyzed with thematic analysis. Results indicated six primary themes: (a) Philosophies in Healing, highlighting culturally grounded conceptualizations of depression and anxiety; (b) Traditional Chinese Medicine Interventions, including acupuncture, botanical, nutritional, manual, and movement-based practices; (c) Curanderismo Pláticas and Integrative Western Healing …