Digital Commons Network^™

How Veterans With Ptsd Experience Symptom Improvement From Social Support, Patti "Lori" Beisner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Social support is a concept that is simple to grasp, yet subjective in nature and difficult to describe. Current research abounds reporting the positive impact of social support upon veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, few studies describe the phenomenon of social support for combat veterans, which they attribute to PTSD symptom improvement. The purpose of this study was to address this gap in research by exploring the lived experiences of veterans who have improved symptoms that they attribute to support they have received. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight combat veterans who self-reported PTSD symptom improvement due to …

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Gun Violence On Psychological Functioning And Perceived Psychosocial Supports In St. Louis’S Marginalized And Underserved Communities, Desirae Mecole Martinez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies gun violence as a leading public health concern in the United States. Marginalized and underserved communities are disproportionately impacted by poverty and crime, including firearm violence. Gun violence exposure has been linked to complex trauma, anxiety, substance use disorders, and depression. St. Louis, Missouri, has one of the highest rates of gun violence and mortality in the nation; however, research lacks an understanding of the psychological toll. Limited phenomenological research has examined how adults residing in marginalized and underserved communities experience gun violence exposure psychologically and perceive psychosocial supports. This study …

Minority Domestic Violence Victims And The Criminal Justice System, Jasmine Nicle Shelton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study used a qualitative approach to develop an understanding of lived experiences of minority domestic violence victims. The six open-ended questions were designed for the participants to describe their experiences when interacting with law enforcement, the court system, and victim support services. African American and Hispanic participants between the ages of 18 and 55 were recruited from domestic abuse treatment or support facilities and social media outreach. Potential participants completed an eligibility screening to determine whether they met the inclusion criteria. Interviews were conducted with 13 African American and Hispanic participants until data saturation was reached, indicating that …

Inclusive Or Self-Contained: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of Parents’ Lived Experiences With Classroom Placements For Students With Disabilities In The Mid-Atlantic United States, Nicole M. Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of students with disabilities in self-contained and inclusive classrooms for families at K-12 schools in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The theory that guided this study was person-environment fit theory. The central research question that guided this study was: What are the lived experiences of families who have students with disabilities placed in self-contained and inclusive classrooms in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States? This study employed a structured qualitative data collection approach incorporating document analysis, individual interviews, and letter writing. Findings from all …

A Case Study Of Medical School Leadership Perceptions And Experiences In Implementing Academic Support Services For Students, Elda Martinez Muller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the perceptions and experiences of medical school leadership regarding the implementation of academic support services at a medical university in the Southeastern United States. The study was guided by the central research question: How did medical school leaders perceive and experience the implementation of academic support services for students within their institutions? Servant Leadership Theory (Greenleaf, 1970, 1977) provided the theoretical framework, emphasizing the leader’s responsibility to serve first, prioritizing the growth, development, and well-being of others while fostering shared decision-making and a culture of care. This framework offered a …

A Deacon Boot Camp For The Deacons Of Second Baptist Church, Cypress Campus, Stephen Bailiff

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As one of only two ordained offices of a Southern Baptist Church, deacons have a responsibility to grow spiritually. Second Baptist Church, Cypress Campus, does not regularly hold the deacons accountable for spiritual growth. As a result, spiritual complacency has infiltrated the deacons. Therefore, the pastor offered an eight-week intensive discipleship program for the deacons to ignite spiritual growth. The Deacon Boot Camp included four elements to strengthen discipleship and foster spiritual growth. The four elements were Heaven Week, squadron meetings, guided daily devotionals, and accountability partners. They integrated theological training with the application of spiritual disciplines. The project creator …

Paying The Success Tax: A Phenomenological Study Of Black Women Navigating Workplace Microaggressions, Santisha Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the lived experiences of professional Black women as they relate to microaggressions experienced in professional spaces. Professional, for this study, refers to Black women in professional positions that require a degree, advanced degree, professional licensure, and those with current/past military service in the enlisted rank of E-7 and above or commissioned officers in the rank of O3 and above. The theory that guided this study was the phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST), which emphasizes how people develop, considering the unique intersectionality of multiple social identities (Spencer et al., 1997). …

Examining The Predictive Relationship Between Overparenting And Student Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction, Benjamin C. Carlisle

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study is to determine the relationship between overparenting (helicopter parenting) and basic psychological need satisfaction informed by self-determination theory among emerging adult college students. This study fills a gap in the literature and expands upon existing research by examining this relationship. The target population was residential emerging adult students ages 18–25 at a southern, private university. Using convenience sampling, the researcher distributed surveys within courses and through flyers, resulting in 176 responses. Out of the 176 respondents who began the survey, there was a completion rate of 84.7% giving the sample size of N …

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study: How Female Student-Athletes Diagnosed With Adhd Leverage Athletics To Mitigate Challenges With Self-Regulation Throughout Their Academic Careers, Alyssa J. Knight

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to interpret the lived experience of participation in athletics for female student-athletes with ADHD in the United States. The theory guiding this study was Zimmerman’s social cognitive theory of self-regulated learning, which posits that goal setting and self-reflection are necessary for developing self-regulation skills. The central research question was, “How do female student-athletes diagnosed with ADHD leverage athletics to mitigate challenges with self-regulation in their academic careers?” This study employed hermeneutic phenomenology, as outlined by van Manen, to interpret data and understand lived experience within the academic context. The sample consisted of …

Burnout And Job Performance Among Working Mothers: The Moderating Roles Of Servant Leadership And Perceived Organizational Support, Claudia Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Working mothers frequently navigate competing work and family demands that increase vulnerability to burnout and may affect job performance. Despite these challenges, working mothers remain underrepresented in organizational research examining burnout and performance outcomes. Limited studies have explored how perceived organizational support (POS) and servant leadership influence the burnout-performance relationship across the individual dimensions of burnout. This quantitative correlational study examined the relationships between burnout and job performance among working mothers in the United States and tested whether POS and servant leadership moderated these relationships individually and jointly. The sample included 86 full-time working mothers recruited through convenience and snowball …

Interpreting Visibility: Leadership And Employee Perspectives On Performance, Trust, And Commitment In Hierarchical Organizations, Joshua A. Hart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to examine how leaders and employees interpreted workplace visibility and presence within hierarchical organizations. The researcher conducted semistructured interviews with 30 participants, including 15 leaders and 15 employees, across nongovernmental, civilian government, and military cases. The researcher organized 43 codes into seven themes. Participants described workplace visibility as selective access to employee activity rather than complete evidence of performance, commitment, reliability, motivation, or engagement. They described attendance, responsiveness, communication, and visible output as more perceptible aspects of work, while preparation, technical reasoning, informal coordination, and internal experience were less apparent. Participants depicted …

Funding And Quality In Metropolitan Vs. Non-Metropolitan Head Start Programs, Kelly Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative survey study examined how Head Start program location and perceived funding levels were associated with perceived classroom quality and perceived teacher-child interactions. The study addressed three research questions: how funding distribution between metropolitan and non-metropolitan programs related to perceived classroom quality; how perceived funding levels related to teacher-child interactions; and whether perceived funding, classroom quality, and teacher-child interactions were significantly related across program settings. Head Start programs support children from low-income families through federal, local, and community resources. Because resources may vary by location, this study compared perceived funding, classroom quality, and teacher-child interactions across metropolitan and non-metropolitan …

A Qualitative Content Analysis Of The Personal Branding Practices Of Forbes 30 Under 30 Honorees, Hannah Naylor Regitz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study examines the personal branding practices of 10 honorees from the Forbes 2025 North American 30 Under 30 list. Through a thematic content analysis of Instagram, the honorees’ posts, captions, and the conversation climate of their comments from October 2025 were analyzed to determine patterns and similarities in their personal branding practices. Grounded in cultivation theory, this study explored how repeated exposure to curated content of these high-achieving young professionals shapes their personal brand perception. Additionally, it explored their interaction with commenters and the types of comments they engaged with. The analysis revealed seven themes that were present …

Clinical Social Workers’ Process Of Diagnosing Black Women With Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Deilia M. Mclaughlin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental health condition characterized by the persistent preoccupation with perceived or actual flaws in one’s physical appearance and is often underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed among Black women. Grounded in social learning theory, the purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the diagnostic process executed by licensed clinical social workers when assessing Black women expressing symptoms of BDD. Five licensed clinical social workers with experience diagnosing and treating mental health disorders participated in in-depth semistructured interviews, which were analyzed using thematic analysis. Six themes emerged: (a) diagnosis of BDD requires longitudinal clinical assessment, (b) …

Client Turnover And Service Engagement In Organization X, Chenee Lajuan Glaspie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Behavioral health organizations face challenges related to client turnover, inconsistent service engagement, workforce instability, and operational inefficiencies that can disrupt continuity of care and organizational performance. Guided by the Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore organizational and leadership factors contributing to client turnover and inconsistent service engagement within a nonprofit outpatient behavioral health organization. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with organizational leaders and review of organizational documents, attendance reports, retention-related data, and operational records. Thematic coding and triangulation identified eight themes: leadership communication and responsiveness, workforce strain and burnout, inconsistent engagement …

Perceptions Of Jail Administrators Regarding Implementation Of State Jail Standards, Penelope Dawn Sapp

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Jails have increasingly become de facto institutions for managing individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) and opioid use disorder. Yet, jail administrators often lack resources and treatment capacity needed to adequately serve this population, which was supported by existing literature that highlighted resource insufficiencies including clinical resources. Since the late 1990s, the population of SMI individuals held in jails has tripled, a trend attributed to declining community mental health infrastructure and limited alternatives to arrest. the purpose of this qualitative ethnographic study was to examine the challenges Washington State jail administrators faced in managing these individuals while balancing priorities among …

Faith Leaders’ Lived Experiences And Culture Competencies In Addressing Mental Health Stigma Within Faith Communities, Shareen S. Bundy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Faith leaders often witness the mental health challenges of congregants firsthand. Cultural and doctrinal beliefs shape opinions on mental illness, and there continues to be stigma associated with mental health in faith-based communities. The purpose of this study was to explore how faith leaders understand and experience their roles in promoting mental health and reducing stigma within their faith communities. A phenomenological qualitative study design was used. Cultural competency, stigma, and attribution theories served as the theoretical framework. Data were gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews with seven faith leaders from several faith traditions in the United States. Thematic analysis revealed …

Improving Accessibility For Individuals With Neurological Diseases: Stakeholder Strategies For Effective Legislation In U.S. Aviation, Teresa Thurtle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Individuals with neurological diseases and their caregivers may encounter inconsistent accessibility practices, inadequate staff support, and physical design barriers during U.S. commercial air travel, despite disability protections. Although the extant literature documents accessibility challenges for travelers with disabilities, less is known about how this population experiences the implementation of aviation policy, staff training, and design. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand what participants described as needed in effective laws and policies to improve accessibility on commercial aircraft. Policy feedback theory and evidence-based policymaking provided the conceptual framework. The central research question asked what participants described as …

Standardized Testing For U.S. Defense Contract Proposals, Brian Hamilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This quantitative correlational study examined whether readability in Department of War (DoW) Requests for Proposals (RFPs) influences contract performance outcomes. The research employed the Flesch Reading Ease Scale (FRES), a standardized readability measure used within Department of War documentation, to assess 250 randomly selected and published RFPs issued in February 2023. The theoretical framework for this study was the Flesch Reading Ease Score, used as a baseline for clear writing style. The Flesch Reading Ease Score is a well-established readability test that measures the complexity of written material and its level of comprehension and content delivery. The purpose of this …

Operating Costs, Liquidity, And Demographic Pressures In Tanzania's Reformed Public Pension System (2004–2024), Athumani S. Mbuttuka, Ellinami J. Minja, Siasa I. Mzenzi

Business Management Review

The efficiency of public pension systems is critical for accumulating old-age savings and reducing fiscal pressures. This study evaluated Tanzania’s reformed public pension system from 2004 to 2024, covering pre- and post-merger periods, using longitudinal financial data and benchmarking indicators, including cost-to-contribution, cost-to-asset, payout, and dependency ratios, against regulatory and OECD levels. One-tailed sample t-tests compared efficiency and sustainability metrics against benchmarks. Findings show that operating costs averaged 2.8% of assets and administrative cost-to-contribution averaged 11.8%, exceeding the OECD average of 1.6% and the regulatory ceiling of 10%, respectively. Although operating-cost ratios declined after the 2018 restructuring, costs generally remained …

Assessment And Modeling Of Spatial Suitability For Tourism Investment In The Aseer Region Using Geographic Information Systems And Multi-Criteria Analysis (Gis-Mcda), Jamila Nasser Abdullah Al Mohya

UB Journal for Humanities

This study aimed to assess and model the spatial suitability for tourism investment in the Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), with the aim of identifying spatially suitable areas and supporting tourism planning and spatial decision-making. The study adopted an integrated analytical framework combining a set of natural, human, and economic criteria, together with natural and cultural tourism resources and accessibility. These criteria were processed and reclassified, and their relative weights were determined using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). They were then spatially integrated using the Weighted Overlay method within a GIS …

Shaping Imperial Subjects: Ideology And The Adolescent Reader In H. Rider Haggard’S King Solomon’S Mines, Asma Sakit Alshammari

UB Journal for Humanities

H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines (1885) was addressed to adolescent boy readers who were expected to grow into the future administrators of the British Empire. Beneath its adventure plot lies a problem that existing scholarship on race and empire in the novel has left largely unexamined: how a text aimed at children comes to instill imperial values without appearing to instruct at all. This paper examines how Haggard embeds colonial values within King Solomon’s Mines to address that problem, employing Foucault’s concepts of power and knowledge alongside Althusser’s concept of interpellation to explore how the novel shapes colonial subjectivity …

Voices Of Resistance: The People, The Press, And The Law, Robert S. Chang, Erica Lomeli Corcoran, Memo Torres, Gary Williams, Isais Benavides, Julie Morales, Astrid Hernandez

Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law

Loyola Public Interest Palooza Panel Transcription

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Bad Hombre, Sergio Teran

Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law

In 2017, I created a piece intended to highlight the divisive rhetoric used by the then 45th U.S. President to describe people of color. The piece serves as a warning of the potential consequences of such language.

"Bad Hombre" was inspired by the dialogue and language Donald Trump used when referring to Mexican Americans and immigrants during the early stages of his 2016 presidential campaign. I took some of his actual phrasing and entered it into Google. The resulting imagery became the inspiration for the tone and composition of my piece. Some of the phrases I incorporated include: #BadHombre #ExtremeVetting …

Oppression, See Nothing Say Nothing, And Shut Your Mouth, Sandra Rhodes

Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law

I can remember when I was a child growing up during the 60s and 70s, it was safe to voice your opinion without fear of retribution. Slowly things changed. For years now, I haven’t been comfortable speaking my mind. The fear is real that if you have an opinion, you may lose your job, your home, your family or your safety. I hope these three art works convey that oppression and fear.

Hollywood 2020, Jason Kartez

Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law

During the pandemic, I spent a lot of time documenting the protests in Los Angeles through drawing and writing in a diary. This image is a recreation from a news image and captures some of the protests I was in during 2020. It is relevant because we need to keep our right to free speech and to nonviolent civil dissidence. When I initially wrote this statement, it was for an art submission for Judy Baca’s nonprofit, the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), where the piece was put on the wall outside.

Back when I submitted this, I wrote …

Jimmy, Ash, Grandmother, And Monica, Bryan Ida

Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law

For the past eight years, I have been engaged in “con.Text,” a body of work that examines historic events in the context of the current social and political climate and raises awareness of past abuses and injustices by a government against a targeted minority group.

I research and reference text from government documents, declarations, and other forms of institutional communication, and use these words as my mark to render each person with the very words that affects them. Using words as building blocks in the formation of the image does not define the subject by that language; instead, the words …

Raise A Fist, Philip Bastian

Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law

I decided to illustrate this piece after learning that the 1928 design of Mickey Mouse was entering the public domain on January 1, 2024. I wanted to interpret this version of the design in a way that felt personal to me, so I drew it in a way that I have never seen before – from a high angle and raising a fist. Comic parody has been common within the media, but I wanted to create an image that was more empowering. I wanted to craft an illustration that is rebellious, cool, and weird.

I Can't Breathe, Sarah S. Bae

Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law

I took this photograph during the George Floyd protest on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall in 2020. I wanted to capture more than a historic moment and hold onto the emotional gravity that existed in the space between bodies, voices, and institutions. There was a sense of stillness to witnessing our shared humanity, in seeing what compelled people to show up despite fear, social distancing, and uncertainty.

The Hate We All Live With, Black Masks And Gasoline, And In Search Of A New Home, Eric Almanza

Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law

My current body of work examines the intersection between politics, culture and identity as crafted through the lens of a Chicano painter working in the context of contemporary aesthetics. Often, it is said that Chicanos feel caught between cultures, not fully American, yet at the same time unable to identify fully as Mexican.1 Accordingly, themes such as immigration, the criminalization of immigrants, and the border wall between México and the US have been explored in my work.