Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Music’S Transformative Power: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Christian Music’S Role In Enhancing Human Development, Crystal Ann Hubbell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Music is one of the most fundamental expressions of art, communication, and worship, linking to the conscience and personalities across cultures. Music provides a pathway to human emotions where music manifests as a therapeutic component for psychosomatic change. Furthermore, Christian music has not been explored as a therapeutic component for individuals struggling with mental health or cognitive challenges. The purpose of this study was to investigate how Christian music may serve as a therapeutic component of wellbeing in everyday lives of individuals. Using a transcendental phenomenological approach, this study investigated the lived experiences of 10 individuals who have experienced Christian …

The Complexities Of Impoliteness In Digital Workspaces: A Politeness Theory Analysis Of Gen Z Workplace Communication, Russell D. Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how Generation Z’s on TikTok influences their communication patterns in professional and social contexts, with specific attention to the role of politeness and impoliteness. Addressing a gap in communication scholarship, digital-native practices reshape established theories of interaction and affect workplace expectations were examined. Using a phenomenological design, data was collected from 30 semi-structured interviews and 300 open-ended survey responses to capture a broad and deep account of Gen Z communication. Thematic analysis and triangulation revealed three dominant patterns: (a) the redefinition of professionalism through informal and brief exchanges, (b) the habitual …

Blue Ring Presence In Utah's High Country, Eliza Hammari, Bode Baker, Summer Branham, Ethan Harris, Joe Brown, Natalee Cannon

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Blue rings are incompletely lignified tree rings resulting from cold environmental stress in the late growing season. We identified blue rings in samples from the Uinta and Wasatch Mountains, matching previous samples in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. These blue rings are helpful in building comprehension of past climatic data.

Ace Scores And Ipv Perpetration Among Domestic Violence Treatment Court Participants In New Mexico, Laura S. Daniels

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative archival study examined the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and intimate partner violence (IPV) among participants in a specialized Domestic Violence Treatment Court (DVTC) in New Mexico. Between January 2019 and December 2024, 69 individuals volunteered for the DVTC, with 49 graduating successfully, reflecting a graduation rate of approximately 78%. The study’s purpose was to determine whether a sample of offenders (N=22) reported higher levels of ACEs compared to the U.S. general population. ACEs were measured using a 10-item questionnaire, and data were compared to national benchmarks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A …

A Methodology To Reconstruct The Extent And Dynamics Of Historic Wildfires (1850-1950) In The Santa Cruz Mountains Of California, David Vásquez Ospina

Master's Theses

This thesis reconstructs the extent and dynamics of historic wildfires in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California between 1850 and 1950 using qualitative archival evidence from historical newspapers, maps, and related documents. A systematically coded database of 225 reports, consolidated into 155 unique wildfire events, was developed to analyze temporal and spatial patterns, ignition sources, vegetation types, suppression strategies, and impacts on communities and infrastructure. Historical rainfall records from the Boulder Creek station were integrated using water-year totals, three-year rolling averages, and standardized precipitation indices to examine how multi-year dryness relates to fire occurrence and size. Linear regressions show only …

What My Church Mother Taught Me: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Maternal Messages Given To Black Christian Women On How To Cope With Trauma, Melanie Joyce Coates

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black women in Churches of Christ as they perceive and interpret maternal messages about coping with and managing the effects of traumatic experiences. For this study, maternal messages was defined as advice, support, mentorship, or guidance from older Black Christian women to younger Black Christian women. It was important to understand the ways in which older Black women teach younger Black women in navigating mental health challenges within the context of a complex trauma history among African Americans. The first theory that guided this study was …

Changing How Foster Care Begins: A Qualitative Study To Assess The Success Of One Specific Nonprofit, Madeline Ewoldt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Most foster parents feel they do not receive adequate emotional support, funding, and preparation for their foster children in their care, which can lead to turnover, placement disruptions, and additional unnecessary caregiver changes for foster children. Attachment Theory explains children need consistent, warm, and loving caregiver relationships for healthy emotional, cognitive, and social development (Bowlby, 2018). For children in foster care, these relationships are already disrupted, therefore intervention for foster parent resiliency must be analyzed. The Bible calls Christians to care for the orphans, which leaves a large responsibility on Christians to care for those in foster care. There is …

Treatment Concerning Grief Disorder After Covid-19: Can Spiritual Care Help?, Tamika Marie Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The phenomenological study described the experiences of spiritual care for adults who lost a loved one due to COVID-19 in Texas. The theory guiding the study was Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy, which was humanity’s search for meaning in a finite world governed by spiritual principles (García-Alandete, 2024; Parker, 2022; Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014). Grief was one of the occurrences that grappled with humanity’s understanding of life. Death was a universal phenomenon, and grief occurred as a response to a loss (Fernández & González-González, 2022). Research shows that symptoms of grief dissipate over time. When it was accompanied by prolonged time or …

Mirrors & Windows: A Phenomenological Study On Narrative Group Therapy With Adults Survivors Of Childhood Interpersonal Trauma, Bethany Walker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe adult survivors of childhood interpersonal trauma's lived experiences with group narrative therapy in Texas. Three theories serve as the base for this study: Terr's childhood trauma theory, Vygotsky's social constructivism, and Fisher's narrative theory. Social constructivism informs the study by suggesting that group therapy fosters meaning making through shared narratives. Narrative theory informs this study with the concept participants of narrative group therapy can not only create, examine, and reauthor their stories but find connection with others and empowerment in sharing their stories. Participants in this study completed an interview and …

The Lived Experience Of Child Sexual Abuse Material Investigators: A Phenomenological Study, Andrea Ruth Sorber

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This transcendental phenomenological study describes the resiliency-building skills implemented by investigators during pre-engagement, engagement, and post-engagement with Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) cases. This study will include no non-adults, as participants are those in the law enforcement field assigned to investigating CSAM cases. The theory guiding this study is Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology, which focuses on intentionality while suspending judgment and moving toward awareness. Schlossberg’s Transition Theory (STT) provides the theoretical framework for the study, which aims to answer the following primary research question: How do investigators handling CSAM describe their strategies to sustain resilience during engagement with distressing digital content? …

The Emotional And Personality Intelligence Cohort (Epic) For Steadiness Personality Trait Pastors, Christopher W. Ortego

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Church revitalization is a complex process. The stress it brings can challenge even the most experienced pastor’s spiritual and emotional resilience. Revitalization experts note that revitalization anxiety is especially true for pastors with certain personality traits. One such trait is the DISC personality category of steadiness. Leadership specialists argue that relief from this stress is found through gaining emotional intelligence. The purpose of this DMIN action research project was to teach emotional intelligence to eight to ten pastors with the steadiness personality. The training was delivered in a six-session, two-day retreat format. It introduced the participants to the concept of …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Common Themes Among Individuals Who Have Broken Generational Cycles Of Conflict Avoidance, Codependency, And People Pleasing, Joseph Daniel Mcginnis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many healthy and unhealthy adult behaviors are transmitted from parent to child as generational behavior cycles. Conflict avoidance, codependency, and people-pleasing are all unhealthy relationship dynamics that are generationally passed down in such a way. Breaking these generational cycles of unhealthy relationship dynamics is often difficult. The goal of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the common themes among individuals who have broken the generational cycles of conflict avoidance, co-dependency, and people-pleasing. The study consisted of 17 participants who were identified as having broken the generational cycles of conflict avoidance, codependency, or people-pleasing. Each participant was either previously involved …

Past Gang Membership, Posttraumatic Experiences, And Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress, Robert K. Johns

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress, or PITS, is an area of study that needs more scholarly attention. The lack of research about this mental health leads to an ineffectiveness of traditional interventions, as they fail to address the needs of people with former criminal affiliations, causing them to experience negative psychological, physical, and social health outcomes. As such this study seeks to explore, via a hermeneutic phenomenological research design- a qualitative approach that will allow this researcher to understand the lived experiences and explore PITS in the lives of past gang members and the manifestation of PITS as a prevalent and underdiagnosed …

Law Enforcement Officer Perceptions In The Current Socio-Political And Cultural Environment: How Psychological Stress Impacts Overall Job Satisfaction, Mitzie L. Forrest

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore police officer perceptions of job stress and satisfaction within the occupational environment at a mid-sized police agency in the Southern United States in the five years immediately following the George Floyd incident. Using Grounded Theory (GT), six major socio-political and cultural factors were investigated to determine the effects on police officer wellbeing and overall job satisfaction. The factors explored were defund the police, Black Lives Matter, social unrest, media impact, cancel culture, and woke culture. The data collection process involved the triangulation of data obtained through an agency-wide anonymous survey to …

Investigating Personality Themes And Constructs Among Professional Horse Trainers, Jenny Norton Schamber

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The relationship between horses and humans has evolved and now horses are a part of therapy, leisure activities, competitions, and companionship with humans, and this evolution beckons further research into aspects that contribute to positivity in this relationship. This research examined the themes of personality among professional horse trainers by utilizing the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI), the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), and semi-structured interviews. To be included in the study, participants needed to be at least 18 years of age, live in the United States, and receive at least half of their yearly income from training horses. There were …

Exploring The Relationship Between Loneliness And Real-Time Measurements Of Gsr And Hrv During Concept Mapping, And Cortisol And Oxytocin Levels, Jangwon Seo

Masters Theses

This study attempts to explore loneliness among college students from a bio-physio-psycho-social perspective, and it utilizes real-time physiological measurements (GSR and HRV) and biomarkers (cortisol and oxytocin) in conjunction with psychosocial assessments. The study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods, which involve concept mapping exercises, with the aim of comprehending the full nature of how loneliness interacts with physiological and psychological processes. At Time 1 (T1) we found significant positive correlations between loneliness and elevated GSR levels, which is indicative of increased sympathetic arousal (r = .35, p < .01). Additionally, there were significant negative correlations between loneliness and mean RR intervals in HRV that indicated autonomic dysregulation featured by increased sympathetic activities as well as reduced parasympathetic functions (r = -.28, p < .05). However, at Time 2 (T2), these correlations were not significant indicating possible temporal fluctuations due to adaptive responses or extraneous variables such social support systems or coping mechanisms. The qualitative data from concept mapping enriched the analysis by providing deeper insights into the cognitive and emotional processes underlying loneliness. Despite limitations like demographic skewness, funding constraints, logistical challenges, etc., this, therefore, highlights the need for multidimensional investigations of psychological phenomena. This has implications for future research as well as clinical practice, which could include using these integrative measures to develop holistic interventions for mental health disorders.

Psychological Variables That Best Predict Health Related Behaviors In College Students, Arianna Gamaggio

Honors Theses

The present study examined which psychological factors best predicted health behaviors in college students. The psychological factors that were addressed included anxiety, depression, grit, and psychological flexibility. The health behaviors were examined by using a composite variable that included sleep, diet, and exercise. A total of 265 students participated in the study, but only 174 (μ age = 21) met the criteria for inclusion. Participants completed validated self-report measures such as the GAD- 7 (anxiety), PHQ-9 (depression), Short Grit Scale, Psy-Flex-6 (psychological flexibility), as well as health behavior assessments that measured eating behaviors, sleeping, and exercise habits. Correlational analyses indicated …

Characteristics Of Unintentional Injuries In Young Children In Low Socioeconomic Status Families, Annabelle Pederson

Honors Theses

Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death among young children in the United States, with low-income families being at higher risk. This study examined seven weeks of prospective injury data from 89 caregivers of preschool-aged children enrolled in a Head Start program participating in a randomized controlled trial of a modified home safety intervention. Caregivers completed weekly interviews reporting the injury type, location, severity, pain, and caregiver in charge. Slips, trips, and falls were the most common injuries that occurred, with most occurring in the primary caregiver’s home. Mothers were the supervising adults in over half of the incidents. …

Back Matter, Editorial Team

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

Educating The Whole Child: The Essential Role Of School-Based Mental Health Partnerships In Student Success, Kellye Palmer

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Schools are uniquely positioned to serve as gateways for mental health access, yet many educational systems continue to treat mental wellness as secondary to academic instruction. This paper argues that school-based mental health partnerships are as essential to student success as physical education or standardized assessment. Drawing from the author’s experience coordinating behavioral health services within Baltimore County Public Schools, the discussion highlights how integrated partnerships between schools and clinicians reduce barriers to care, improve collaboration among educators and families, and foster early intervention. The paper also addresses the risks of unrecognized mental health needs being misidentified as behavioral or …

Leadership With Kindness: A Human-First Approach To Belonging, Denise Mcdowell Dr.

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Abstract

Leadership with Kindness: A Human-First Approach to Belonging explores the significance of belonging and mattering as essential elements of effective leadership. This reflection paper presents a human-first framework grounded in five interconnected pillars: clarity through compassion, courage in care, connections over control, consistency with integrity, and accountability through kindness. Together, these pillars form a foundation for cultivating belonging and purpose in organizational and educational settings. Drawing from leadership experience, psychological safety, student development theory, and neuroscience, this manuscript suggests that environments built on kindness benefit both individuals and organizations by cultivating trust, inspiring innovation, and sustaining resilience.

Key Words …

Truth, Trials, And Triumphs Of The Tenure Journey: Faculty Of Color In Higher Education, Derrick E. Crim

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Faculty of Color (FOC) face tough challenges when it comes to earning tenure and promotions. Problems like systemic inequities and biased evaluations make it harder for institutions to uphold trust and fully benefit from the diversity FOC bring. These faculty members often bring fresh perspectives shaped by their unique journeys, enriching academic spaces. Fitting into the exclusive social circles and culture of academia takes a lot of resilience and confidence. Further, issues like isolation, tokenism, and racism make things even tougher. Isolation stems from the lack of representation and supportive communities, while tokenism creates extra service demands without proper recognition. …

Queering The Lone Star State. Podcast. Hosted By Wesley G. Phelps.Produced By Sarah Lyngholm., Hannah Fuller

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

William Hanson And The Texas-Mexico Border: Violence, Corruption,And The Making Of The Gatekeeper State, Zaragosa "Mito" Diaz-Espinoza

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

Texas: An American History, Walter L. Buenger

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

Robert E. Howard: The Life And Times Of A Texas Author, Brandy Winn

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

Neither Fish Nor Fowl: A Mercantile Jewish Family On The Rio Grande, Gabrielle Lyle

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

Home Heat Money God: Texas And Modern Architecture, Rex Koontz

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

Fighting For Control: Power, Reproductive Care, And Race In The Us-Mexico Borderlands, Rebecca A. Gonzalez

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.

The Crossing: El Paso, The Southwest, And America’S Forgotten Origin Story, Carlos Kevin Blanton

Journal of Texas History

No abstract provided.