Digital Commons Network^™

Delivering The Right Message For Maximum Impact In The Student Enrollment Journey, Ashley Miller

University Administration Publications

Meeting today's prospective college students where they are is key to staying ahead of current enrollment challenges. Understanding which messages resonate with which students and at certain parts of the enrollment funnel helps to ensure institutions are getting the right message, to the right student, at the right time in their journey. By utilizing a MaxDiff approach, one can better understand the impact a particular message has compared to others and which combination of messages will ultimately drive action. The maximum difference scaling (MaxDiff) method provides useful guidance on how enrollment professionals can better segment their communication strategies to their …

Caregivers' Perceptions Of Covid-19 Educational Disruptions On Children With Developmental Language Disorder And Typically Developing Peers, Katherine Radville, Danika Pfeiffer, Karynn Sheranian, Julie Wolter, Jessie Ricketts, Tiffany L. Hogan

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Purpose: Understanding the experiences of families of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) during COVID-19 educational disruptions is essential for designing responsive supports during pandemic recovery efforts and beyond. This qualitative study describes the experiences of families of first-and second-grade children with DLD during the pandemic as compared to the experiences of families of typically developing (TD) peers.

Method: A conventional content analysis approach was used to analyze caregivers’ written responses to open-ended questions regarding their perceptions of COVID-19 educational disruptions. Responses were analyzed separately by group: caregivers of children with DLD (n= 23) and caregivers of TD children (n= …

The Impact Of The Syrian Civil War On Its Education Sector, Talar Haidostian

Pepperdine Policy Review

The Syrian Civil War that started in the year 2011 has left many negative implications on the country, its civilians, and the region as a whole. This paper delves into the current status of the education sector in Syria and proposes potential policy recommendations to prevent the sector from a complete collapse. Through examining the current economic status in Syria, alongside the main negative impacts of the Syrian Civil war on the education sector, this paper argues for the necessity of collaboration between the Syrian government and international organizations by increasing funding, providing more resources, and increasing online learning modalities …

Reforming Special Education To Accommodate Students With Emotional Disturbances, Troy Collazo

Pepperdine Policy Review

This capstone paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the current state of special education for students with emotional disturbances, with a particular focus on the need for reform to accommodate these students better. Drawing on two qualitative case studies and quantitative census data research, the paper recommends several specific policy changes, including basing the standard for educational disability on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), providing grants to states to redesign sensory-friendly schools and classrooms, and reforming disciplinary standards to involve psychological assessment. The conclusion suggests that this research provides a valuable foundation for further study and …

Organizational Justice: A Theoretical Expansion And Nomological Analysis, Austin Attaway

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the concept of organizational justice within the evolving context of remote and hybrid work environments, introducing and validating the novel constructs of Spatial Justice (SJ) and Temporal Justice (TJ). As remote work becomes increasingly prevalent, traditional frameworks of organizational justice—distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational—prove insufficient in capturing the complexities introduced by spatial and temporal dimensions. SJ pertains to the fairness of access to physical resources and facilities, while TJ concerns the equitable allocation of time to complete tasks. By integrating these constructs, this dissertation fills a critical gap in the literature, providing a comprehensive understanding of justice …

Cartographies Of Black Diaspora And Foster Care Diaspora: Arguments Toward Abolition In The Aftermath Of Partus Sequitur Ventrem, Alicia Boyce

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In this dissertation I argue that global foster care and adoption systems should be abolished because they are trauma inducing and grief producing state apparatuses that cyclically act to destabilize Black and “Other” subaltern populations from one generation to the next. Global foster care and adoption systems have become as common sensical as enslavement and chattel slavery all were as these systems are considered widely socially acceptable, common modes of domination and methods for controlling Black and “Other” populations. I coin a diaspora of community and cultural destabilization called the foster care diaspora (FCD), a theory and framing device that …

The Whispered Crimes Of Sexual Violence In The European And Pacific Theater Of World War Ii, Channing N. Morrison

History Theses

This thesis addresses sexual violence in World War II in both the European and Pacific Theater. Often, the violence of these War Crimes tends to be overshadowed and not talked about. This thesis examines the stories of women, children, and men who suffered from sexual brutality in World War II and how nations try to hide or justify acts of rape and violence. By using as case studies the nations of Japan, Germany, the United States of America, and the Soviet Union, and how they either committed sexual acts of violence or handled rape cases when it came to the …

Saving The World One Scrap At A Time: Identity Labeling As As Tool To Reduce Household Food Waste, Jamiela Bryant

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Food waste is a significant driver of climate change, and it threatens human and planetary health. In fact, the average American household discards between 30% - 40% of their edible food each week. Reducing food waste could divert material from landfills, where it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Decreasing food waste would also mean that more of the planet’s resources could contribute to feeding the population. Social psychological research demonstrates the importance of values and identity in understanding and promoting proenvironmental behaviors, such as household food use and disposal. In this dissertation, I review the social psychological literature, focusing on …

A Cultural Shift: Restorative Justice Relation On School Discipline And Educator Perception And Practices With Middle School Students, Hector Macias

CGU Theses & Dissertations

As restorative justice practices (RJP) in educational environments remain relatively novel, there has been limited research on its long-term effectiveness. In districts that allocated substantial resources to RJP, reports from personnel suggest a direct correlation between RJP implementation and a decrease in suspensions, diminished truancy rates, and an overall improvement in school climates. Nevertheless, further investigation is essential, particularly at the middle school level, to explore the link between RJP and institutionalized, non-punitive, relationship-centered approaches. This research extended the knowledge base of disciplinary practices, delving into the educators’ perceptions of RJP on fostering a school-wide restorative ideology.

Employing a convergent …

Wait, Who Did You Say We Are? The Effects Of Self-Uncertainty And Leadership Rhetoric On Group Identification, Samantha Gardner

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Uncertainty identity theory (e.g., Hogg, 2021a) posits that when feelings of self-uncertainty arise, we are motivated to reduce those feelings, and one way we can do this is to identify with a distinctive group that has a clearly defined identity. In these circumstances, we look to the group’s leaders to provide an identity message, and to do so in an unambiguous and affirmational manner. This analysis generates a hypothesis that has attracted partial support (Gaffney et al., 2019), but requires more rigorous testingin conditions of high self-uncertainty, identity-affirming rhetoric used by leaders increases (a) group identification, (b) perceived group entitativity, …

Effects Of Identity, Uncertainty, And Language Contact On Intergroup Relations, Heather Tamzyn Stopp

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Despite sixty years of research examining both direct (Allport 1954; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) and indirect forms of contact (Wright et al., 1997), less is known about the power of contact with an outgroup language to shape intergroup relations. To address this lacuna in the research, the two current studies examined two potential contextual factors that may impact whether outgroup language contact worsens or improves attitudes and action tendencies toward Latinos in the United States. Specifically, whether or not an outgroup is viewed as having status and power as a distinct group and whether this perception as a distinctive group …

Answering The “Now What?”: The Development Of A Transdisciplinary Breast Cancer Survivorship Nonprofit Organization, Vir-Iaesta Maniquiz Vergel De Dios

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Although patients are living longer or are surviving breast cancer, the side effects of treatment still leave patients struggling with quality-of-life issues. The lack of whole-person care leaves patients unequipped after treatment is complete, searching for answers and a way to survive on their own. The unintended consequence becomes a dramatic shift from the weekly/daily medical appointments during active treatment to a silence that can be daunting for many to navigate. Living Your Truth Empowered, shortened to LYTE Foundation, is an antiauthoritarian minded and anti-hierarchal nonprofit created to address the needs of the growing breast cancer survivor population. LYTE is …

A Social Identity Theory Approach To The Acceptance Of Negative Evaluation Results, Courtney Marie Koletar

CGU Theses & Dissertations

For decades, evaluators have noted that it is difficult for stakeholders to accept negative evaluation results (Carter, 1971; Taut & Brauns, 2003). There is a need for additional research on evaluation to better understand when and why stakeholders reject negative or critical evaluation findings. Drawing on social identity theory (SIT), the intergroup sensitivity effect (ISE) finds that group members are equally accepting of group-directed praise from both ingroup and outgroup members, however they are much more accepting of group-directed criticism from an ingroup member than an outgroup member (Hornsey et al., 2002). The logic of SIT underlying the effect is …

Environmentalism Among Older Adults: Investigating Predictors Of Pro-Environmental Behavior In Later Life, Ajit Singh Mann

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Human actions are largely responsible for degradation of the natural environment, and environmental threats due to climate change are increasingly prevalent. Despite the immediate need to conserve the natural environment, the role of older adults in pro-environmental initiatives has largely been ignored. I conducted two studies to understand pathways for promoting pro-environmental behavior among older adults, with the goal of shedding light on older adults’ engagement in environmental action. In the first study, I investigated the indirect effect of age on pro-environmental behavior, through personal values and environmental concern, among a general sample (N=292). I considered the role of flow …

Association Of Medicaid Expansion With Birth Outcomes: Evidence From A Natural Experiment In Texas, Meryem Saygili, Esra Eren Bayindir

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Empirical evidence on the effects of Medicaid expansion is mixed and highly state-dependent. The objective of this study is to examine the association of Medicaid expansion with preterm birth and low birth weight, which are linked to a higher risk of infant mortality and chronic health conditions throughout life, providing evidence from a non-expansion state, overall and by race/ethnicity.

Methods: We used the newborn patient records obtained from Texas Public Use Data Files from 2010 to 2019 for hospitals in Texarkana, which is located on the border of Texas and Arkansas, with all of the hospitals serving pregnancy and …

Community Building At The Programmatic Level: Arguing For The Implementation Of The Pars Model In A Distance Learning Graduate Program, Julia Romberger

English Faculty Publications

Distance learning graduate programs in technical communication can work at building community at the programmatic level as well as the course level. This work might be best done by leveraging the position of the faculty member tasked with administering the program, often called the Graduate Program Director. Through the scholarship on community of practice, this article makes a case for the GPD to take on this role and recommends as a starting point the PARS – personal, accessible, responsive, and strategic – framework developed by Borgman and McArdle (2019) for community building in distance learning courses.

The Flesh And Silicon Mesh: A New Materialist Conception Of Advanced Digital Machines, Joshua Nieubuurt

English Faculty Publications

Digital machines, including artificial intelligence (AI), have long been held as potential agents of social change. From their binary role in cultural productions to the real-world implementation of such, digital machines have typically been considered within the Heideggerian “readiness-to-hand” category of Being. This paper seeks to alter conceptually this dynamic through the use of new materialism and Morton’s concept of the “mesh” to provide a new understanding of the social and pragmatic roles advanced digital machines play in ecologies in which they dwell and continue to emerge. Through briefly tracing the complex intermingling of advanced digital machines in the realms …

Academic Resilience And Wellness As Predictors Of Imposter Syndrome In First-Generation Graduate Students, Timothy Eng

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This study is a two-part manuscript dissertation that examined the relationships between academic resilience (perseverance, negative affect and emotional response, reflecting and adaptive help-seeking), wellness (spiritual, social, emotional, intellectual, physical, and psychological wellness), and imposter syndrome among first-generation graduate counseling students (FGGCS). Survey data from 172 FGGCS’s was analyzed using bivariate correlational and regression analyses to answer four primary research questions: (1) Is there a statistically significant correlation between FGGCS’s level of imposter syndrome and academic resilience, (2) Is there a statistically significant correlation between FGGCS’s level of imposter syndrome and perceived wellness, (3) Are FGGCS’s level of academic resilience …

Self-Transformation And Spirituality In Marketing, Mrudul Nilangekar

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Self-transformation and spirituality have not been extensively investigated in marketing research. However, these concepts are deeply impactful in an individual's life and are advocated by religious and spiritual traditions across the world. In Essay 1, I extend research on compassion, distance between self and other, and power by examining the effect of self-compassion on prosocial behavior. I test the effect of self-compassion on prosocial behavior mediated by the distance felt between self and other and moderated by felt power. Across five studies, I find that individuals in the self-compassionate and equal power mindset display higher prosocial behavior and lower empathy …

Structural Sex Discrimination: Why Gynecology Patients Suffer Avoidable Injuries And What The Law Can Do About It, Christopher T. Robertson, Annabel Kupke, Louise P. King

Emory Law Journal

Nearly four million Americans undergo gynecological surgeries each year, but these procedures are unnecessarily risky, as many suffer avoidable lifelong, painful, and disabling injuries. This Article diagnoses the root cause in our legal framework for healthcare finance. It then identifies solutions.

America’s public–private system for reimbursing healthcare pays for procedures rather than outcomes, and it pays substantially more for work on male rather than female anatomies. This disparity is due to the federal government’s reliance on a secretive industry committee to set those rates, and the committee’s reliance on junk science surveys, allowing self-interested and gender-biased responses, contrary to objective …

Nudging Diversity: Merging Law And Behavioral Science To Reduce Workplace Discrimination And Increase Diversity, Leora F. Eisenstadt, Todd Haugh

Emory Law Journal

Today’s employers find themselves in a complicated bind when it comes to workplace diversity and antidiscrimination initiatives. On one side is the lasting confluence of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, which rightly caused many organizations to reevaluate and reinvigorate their diversity and inclusion efforts. On the other side is employment law’s increasing inability to support such efforts. As workplace discrimination has moved from overt, intentional manifestations of prejudice to unconscious bias and structural discrimination, traditional employment law solutions have become less effective. The Supreme Court’s recent affirmative action decision striking down virtually all race-based considerations in college admissions—and …

Mass Accommodations: Signposts To A Hidden Jurisprudence, Shirley Lin

Emory Law Journal

In the early years of COVID-19, our willingness to swiftly modify workplaces, classrooms, and other commons generated access at unprecedented scale. These de facto accommodations belied conventional thought about whether institutions can dismantle environments, structures, and practices known to exclude or harm. Decision-makers nationwide improvised under traditional disability law—even if unevenly—generating mass accommodations that represented tens of millions of people problem-solving, experiencing structural access and safety, and intensively collaborating on organizational design over a concerted period. This Article’s argument is two-fold. First, by applying an experiential analysis, legal and non-legal audiences may understand them as disability-informed phenomena that spanned diverse …

Applying The Model Rules Of Professional Conduct To Attorneys Who Draft Unenforceable Noncompete Agreements, Nicole A. Faria

Emory Law Journal

Noncompete agreements in the employment context have become increasingly controversial. For almost a decade, there has been an ongoing national debate about their enforceability and legality. This debate initially culminated in a proposed, and ultimately final, rule by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to completely ban noncompete agreements. Despite increased state and federal regulation of noncompete agreements, workers still incur detrimental consequences due to restraints imposed by the agreements. One reason workers continue to endure negative effects from noncompetes is that some employers disregard state statutes governing noncompete agreements and include unenforceable provisions in their employment contracts. As a result, …

Araneum - Fall 2024

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

No abstract provided.

A Major Question For The Sec: Analyzing Constitutional Limits On Regulatory Authority, Matthew Diller, Meredith Berger, Samuel W. Buell, John M. Golden, Suzanne Ashley, Coy Garrison, Aaron Saiger, Suman Naishadham, Mary Jo White

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Pediatric Vaccination Adherence: Enhancing Compliance Among First-Generation Asian American Parents, Katelyn Leong

Nursing | Student Research Posters

Background: Vaccine adherence in the pediatric population refers to receiving vaccines as per the recommended schedule, which significantly reduces vaccine-preventable diseases and enhances community immunity. Vaccine hesitancy, driven by concerns such as safety, misinformation, or cultural beliefs can affect adherence. National coverage of state-mandated vaccines among kindergarteners declined from 95% to around 93% between 2019 and 2022, varying across different vaccines. Objective: This research proposal’s focus is to determine if an educational intervention targeting first-generation Asian Americans, who have adopted their immigrant parents' misinformation about vaccines, will effectively increase vaccination rates among their children. The study aims to assess the …

Male Caregiver Strain: The Mental Effects Of Being An Informal Caregiver For A Family Member With Dementia And Alzheimer's Disease, Alessandra M. Barillas, Elijah Rammel B. Borja

Nursing | Student Research Posters

Background: Caregivers are vital in fulfilling patients' primary care needs, and families prefer them over sending their loved ones to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia are prevalent conditions necessitating continuous assistance due to memory and cognition impairments. As a result, support is essential for tasks like mobility, feeding, bathing, and perineal care, as well as emotional and physical challenges inherent in caregiving. Purpose: Upon diving into the mental health impacts of serving as an informal caregiver for individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia, a notable research gap becomes evident, especially concerning male caregivers. This lack of information …

Unleashing Wellness: Exploring The Impact Of Pet Therapy On Anxiety Reduction, Quality Of Life, And Treatment Adherence In Pediatric Oncology Patients, Karina Brouwer

Nursing | Student Research Posters

Pet therapy is a complementary type of therapeutics in which a person and animal have a guided interaction with the purpose of helping someone cope with physical and/or mental illness. Animal-assisted therapy is used in numerous settings and has been shown to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and decrease anxiety and depression (Husson University, 2022). In particular, pediatric oncology patients have enormous amounts of stress in their lives, which leads to increased anxiety and decreased quality of life (Children's Cancer Cause, 2023). While evidence shows that integrating pet therapy in pediatric oncology patients produces significant benefits on …

Postpartum Depression: The Effects On Infant Development During The First Year Of Life, Sophie John

Nursing | Student Research Posters

Childbirth is considered one of the most pivotal events in a woman’s life, bringing along profound changes. While often seen as joyful, the experience can be extremely challenging or stressful. This might trigger a wide range of emotions that can hinder a mother’s ability to care for herself as well as her newborn. Unlike temporary “baby blues,” postpartum depression (PPD) is similar to major depressive disorder, with symptoms like guilt, anxiety, hopelessness, and even suicidal thoughts. Though typically diagnosed within 4-6 weeks after birth, it often goes untreated or underdiagnosed due to inadequate screening. Untreated PPD can pose a risk …

Parental Presence Following Pediatric Invasive Procedures And Surgery, Jaymie Riza Torres, Franchesca Isabelle Andaya Lazaro

Nursing | Student Research Posters

Background: Pediatric patients are severely affected by preoperative anxiety which can lead to postoperative complications and delayed recovery. This could be attributed to their developmental stage which determines their response to stress and fear. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate postoperative recovery outcomes in pediatric patients following the implementation of parental presence at the induction of anesthesia and upon first waking up. Method: This proposed research utilizes a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods through a quasi-experimental study. The target population consists of pediatric patients between the ages of three and eight years …