Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Stuck In A Paradox: Loving An Unseen God While Hating The Neighbor That Is Visible: A Quantitative Correlational Study, Felisha A. Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Racism within the Christian church is a persistent concern that may influence interpersonal relationships and spiritual development. Although research has examined this broadly, there has been limited research on the relationship between perceived racism and spiritual maturity in a Christian church setting. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between racism and spiritual growth amongst Christians, assess the perceived prevalence of racism in the church, and explore perceptions of responsibility for addressing racism in the church. It was hypothesized that a negative relationship would be found between racism and spiritual maturity. Data was collected from …

A Strategy For Identifying, Equipping, And Empowering High-Capacity Church Leaders Within The Zero Collective Network, Blake Hicks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This Doctor of Ministry action research project addressed the shortage of high-capacity lay leaders within The Zero Collective (TZC), a multi-church network in West Michigan, which has limited the sustainability and expansion of ministry initiatives. The purpose of this project was to develop a practical, biblically grounded strategy for identifying, equipping, and empowering high-capacity leaders to strengthen the network’s leadership pipeline and support its mission.

Using an action research methodology, this study engaged a select group of lay leaders identified as having high leadership potential. Data were collected through a triangulated approach, including pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, …

Associating Herzberg’S Motivation-Hygiene Two-Factor Theory And Influential Factors On Turnover Intentions Within The U.S. Federal Government Agencies: An Ex Post Facto Quantitative Method Approach, Beatrice Nadine Sibug Fant

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The study examined the critical issue of employee turnover in U.S. federal government agencies and the challenge of retaining highly qualified individuals amid competition from private-sector companies offering employees multiple benefits. It follows Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Two-Factor Theory and measures the impact of employee satisfaction, engagement, work-life balance, and performance on turnover intentions. Additionally, the study considered demographic and occupational variables, such as gender, supervisory status, military service, and years of service in the federal government. Using data from the 2022 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), which received responses from 557,778 participants (a 35% response rate), the study investigates how employee …

Well-Being And The New Economics Of Labor Migration Theory: A Study Of Elderly Left-Behind Parents In Guatemala, Dawn Marie Lawson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study tested whether multidimensional self-assessed well-being constitutes a suitable dimension for extending the New Economics of Labor Migration (NELM) framework. Specifically, the study examined the association between perceived migration-related material outcomes, namely consumption of market goods, savings, property holding, and business ownership or expansion, and self-assessed well-being among left-behind elderly parents in Guatemala. Well-being was operationalized using the Well-Being of Older People instrument (WOOP), a measure that the study established as culturally relevant to the sample. Given the ordinal levels of measurement used to capture the variables, the study used nonparametric statistical methods, viz., Kendall’s tau-b, Spearman’s rho, …

Collisions Of Law: Judge William Howard Taft At The Intersection Of Labor, Capital, And Government, 1887-1900, Michael Richard Crill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

William Howard Taft’s early judicial career has been dismissed by historians and biographers for nearly a century as merely an unimportant preliminary phase before his later political and Supreme Court career. This dissertation challenges that interpretation through a detailed examination of forty-six labor and antitrust-related opinions written by Taft while serving on the Superior Court of Cincinnati and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. During his eleven years on these courts, Taft wrote a disproportionate share of labor and antitrust-related opinions and engaged deeply with legal problems arising from the socioeconomic upheavals of the Second Industrial …

Moral Injury And Spiritual Healing Among Missouri Male Combat Veterans Of Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Rebekah Mills

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of moral injury and spiritual well-being among male Operation Iraqi Freedom combat veterans ages 35 to 55 in Missouri. The theory guiding this study was Park’s Meaning-Making Model, with moral injury theory providing conceptual context for understanding morally injurious experiences. The questions guiding the study are: How do male combat veterans between the ages of 35 to 55 of Operation Iraqi Freedom describe their lived experiences of moral injury and spiritual well being? How do the veterans understand the relationship between morally injurious experiences and their spiritual well-being? …

Lament Shift: Utilizing Biblical Lament As A Reframing Process To Help Church Members Of First Baptist Church Of Lumberton, Mississippi, Cope With Emotional Distress, Paul Wiseheart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this DMIN action research project was to address the problem that church members at First Baptist Church of Lumberton, Mississippi (FBCL) were unprepared to use biblical lament as a meaning-making coping practice to manage emotional distress. The thesis statement was that if FBCL church members participated in Lament Shift, they would report greater preparedness to manage emotional distress. Lament Shift is a curriculum-based program designed to equip FBCL church members to use biblical lament as a meaning-making coping practice in the context of a four-week peer support group. The study used a pre-experimental mixed methods design and …

Caring For ‘Lewy’: The Lived Experiences Of Adult Children Caregivers Of A Parent With Lewy Body Dementia, Tina Ellis Long

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of adult children caregivers of a parent with Lewy body dementia (LBD). The study was guided by Pearlin’s stress process model (SPM) and Thibault and Kelley’s social exchange theory (SET), as these theories informed aspects of caregiver burden and stress, as well as caregiver motivation. The study implemented a qualitative design with a transcendental phenomenological approach, exploring caregivers’ subjective individual experiences, while also observing caregivers’ common objective experiences. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, journal prompts, and cognitive representations, and was analyzed using the Colaizzi open coding …

Exploration Of The Impact Of Social Isolation And Intimate Partner Violence On Combat-Wounded Veteran Caregivers, Kassandra Lyn Orrick

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the study was to help bridge the gap in understanding the relationship between caregivers and the impact that caring for a combat-wounded veteran has on their relationship with society, and whether social isolation gives way to an increase in domestic violence. In addition, this study explored the biblical implications of caring for combat-wounded individuals and how to better serve those who care for society's wounded. The population comprised 49 combat-wounded veteran caregivers who were assigned anonymous surveys and contacted via various military caregiver sites or organizations. Participants completed a survey that will track their demographic information, along …

Exploring The Practice Of Mindfulness In Ministry Among Kansas Assemblies Of God Clergy, Angela K. Sartain

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Interest in integrating mindfulness into Christian counseling and pastoral practice increased; however, very little research has documented its experience among Assemblies of God clergy. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of Kansas Assemblies of God clergy who have engaged mindfulness within a ministry context. Based on acceptance and commitment therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, viewed through a Christian lens; the research examined understanding, adaptation, and practice regarding worship, leadership, and pastoral care. Data from in-depth interviews with Kansas Assemblies of God clergy were analyzed thematically and patterns of meaning and practice were discovered. The results revealed how Kansas Assemblies …

Unpredictability Is A Childhood Adversity That Contributes To Mental Health Problems, Laura M. Glynn, Sabrina R. Liu, Charles Golden, Michael Weiss, Candice Taylor Lucas, Louis Ehwerhemuepha, Hal S. Stern, Tallie Z. Baram

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase risk for mental illness at the population level, existing ACEs screens are less helpful in forecasting individual outcomes, suggesting they may not capture significant elements of childhood adversity. We have previously identified unpredictable parental and household experiences as an ACE that portends poorer cognitive and mental health. However, the contribution of unpredictability to established ACEs in real-world settings is unknown. Here, leveraging existing ACEs screening in California, we added the five-item Questionnaire on Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC-5) in 19 pediatric clinics spanning broad sociodemographic constituencies and compared in ~30,000 children the link of each …

Intra-Individual Cognitive Variability As A Predictor Of Mild Cognitive Impairment In Older Adults: Longitudinal Patterns, Clinical Classification, And Sex Differences, Joshua Conniff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Some older adults score differently on the same cognitive test from one visit to the next, and that inconsistency has been proposed as an early warning sign of decline. This dissertation tested whether within-person variability actually tells us anything useful about who has, or will develop, mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A total of 334 older adults completed quarterly neuropsychological testing over three years as part of a larger longitudinal study. Visit-to-visit variability was measured as the mean absolute successive difference on the MoCA, the MMSE, and a battery of memory, executive, language, and visuospatial tasks, and MCI was classified from …

Legislative Signals And Human Rights Advocacy: A Longitudinal Analysis Of U.S. Congressional Resolutions And Ngo Reporting In The Post-Cold War Era, 1989-2004, William J. Manosh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the unique relationship between nongovernmental human rights reporting, and U.S. congressional attention during the post-Cold War period, 1989-2004. Using a longitudinal content analysis research method, it compares human rights-related resolutions from the 101st through 108th Congresses with materials from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Human Rights First. Rather than claiming causation, the study evaluates whether congressional country or issues mentioned overlapped with NGO reporting during those same sessions. The findings show recurring overlap between congressional attention and NGO-identified countries, abuses, and normative claims. This convergence suggests that NGOs operated within a democratic information environment yet simultaneous …

Understanding The Perceptions Of Racial Socialization As A Protective Factor Influencing Resiliency Adaptation Among Black Males Who Matriculated To College In Northeastern Florida When They Were Aged 18 – 24 And Who Had A History Of Criminogenic Risk Factors Or Criminal Justice System Contact, C. Darnell Stroble

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study aimed to explore the perceptions of racial socialization (“RS”) as a protective factor that leads to resiliency adaptations among Black males who matriculated to college in Northeastern Florida when they were aged 18 – 24 and who had a history of criminogenic risk factors or criminal justice system contact. Grounded in Unnever and Gabbidon’s (2011) Theory of African American Offending (“TAAO”), the study used a qualitative phenomenological case study research design to explore participants’ understanding of RS messages from their parents and their resiliency adaptations in response to those messages. Two research questions guided the study: (1) How …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Faith-Based Advocacy Experiences Of Leaders Of Christian Academic Libraries, Melanie Lewis Croft

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the faith-based advocacy experiences for library leaders at Christian institutions of higher education. The theory guiding this study is spiritual leadership theory, which demonstrates how library leaders connect library resources and services to the advancement of the mission and goals of a Christian institution of higher education. The central research question asked, What are the lived experiences of library leaders in Christian institutions of higher education who have engaged in faith-based advocacy? Participants in this study were those who served as the primary administrator of an academic library within a …

A Strategic Guide To Understanding How Leadership Motivation Creates A Productive Work Environment In The Service Sector, Sakina Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative case study explored the challenges leaders face in motivating employees in the service sector that threaten a productive work environment in the educational sector. The problem to be addressed is the challenges leaders face in motivating employees within the service sector that threaten a productive work environment. The purpose of this study is to explore how leadership strategies influence employee motivation and productivity, particularly within the education industry, where leaders often contend with stressors such as workplace change, low morale, and burnout. Guided by a constructive constructivist paradigm, the research employed a qualitative multiple-case study design, using semi-structured …

Switching Sides: A Grounded Theory Study Of Transition From Christian To Atheist, Joel C. Furches

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study developed a data driven, six stage model of deconversion, defined as the transition from publicly identifying as a Christian to publicly identifying as an atheist. Using a Grounded Theory approach for analysis, and an archival approach for data collection, the research analyzed 35 autobiographical accounts of deconversion to identify common psychological, social, and behavioral processes underlying religious-deidentification and atheist identification. The findings revealed six background features characteristic of religious environments with higher likelihood of producing deconverts, four categories of objections that precipitate dissonance, and six coping strategies individuals employ in response to that dissonance. Central to the model …

The Phenomenology Of Residential Youth In Child Welfare Settings And The Social Workers Who Work With Them., April Leigh Rorabaugh

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study examines the experiences and challenges faced by social workers in child placement for adolescents aged 12-18 within North Carolina’s child welfare system, an issue that warrants immediate attention. Hardworking and determined social workers are on the ground fighting in an already overtaxed system that is resulting in options that are frighteningly few for the care our youth so desperately need. Many of the most vulnerable children in the welfare system are being placed in other states for residential treatment. This is not only traumatic but also robs youth of everything they are familiar with at such a …

The Effect Of The Dobbs Decision On State Abortion Policy Regarding Telemedicine, Margo Deihl Nicholas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Telemedicine is a growing area of health care that has become one of the primary policy tools to enhance abortion access following the 2022 Dobbs decision, which gave states full autonomy over abortion policy as a result of overturning the landmark case Roe v. Wade (1973). The purpose of this dissertation is to study the effect of the Dobbs decision on state abortion policy regarding telemedicine and understand how these policies are used to either restrict or protect abortion at the state level. This dissertation was guided by Buchanan’s Public Choice Theory. The following research question guided the study: What …

Forgiveness And Marital Restoration After Infidelity Among Mid-Atlantic Christian Couples: A Hermaneutic Interpretation, Denise Crable Crarey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Infidelity can inflict substantial damage to a marital relationship, specifically emotional trauma, broken trust, instability, and possibly divorce. However, some choose to extend forgiveness and work towards restoration of the marital relationship. The problem addressed by this study is the absence of known factors contributing to marital restoration from the perspective of wounded partners among Christians in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The purpose of this study is to understand which factors promote marital restoration from the perspective of the injured spouse in the Christian community from the Mid-Atlantic United States. The theoretical perspectives for this study are the Enright Process …

Iran’S Development Of Criminal Foreign Policy Capabilities In The United States From 2013–2020, Scott James Harr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Iran’s development of criminal foreign policy capabilities in the United States represents an emerging phenomenon that is transforming the U.S.-Iran foreign policy relationship from a national security issue, primarily executed abroad, into a homeland security threat located within the United States. As an emerging dimension of the U.S.-Iran foreign policy relationship, this behavior by Iran must be thoroughly understood to aid U.S. policymakers in developing relevant policies to address the issue. However, Iran’s motivations for its international behavior are hotly debated among scholars of international relations (IR) theory. Some see Iran’s behavior as ideologically based, while others claim Iran’s behavior …

Internalized Colorism As A Gendered Barrier To Skin Cancer Information Avoidance Among Hispanic College Students, Soo Yun Kim, Wan-Lin Chang

Communication Faculty Publications

Skin cancer disparities persist among racial and ethnic minority populations, yet sociocultural factors shaping engagement with preventive health information remain understudied. This study examines whether internalized colorism functions as a barrier to skin cancer information avoidance among Hispanic college students and whether these associations differ by sex. Using survey data from 300 undergraduates at a Hispanic-serving institution, hierarchical regression analyses examined how three dimensions of colorism, including self-concept, attractiveness, and upward mobility, were associated with skin cancer information avoidance. Results indicated that only the attractiveness dimension predicted information avoidance. This association was moderated by sex, such that attractiveness-based colorism was …

Repeated Disasters, Evolving Plans: Flood Mitigation Strategy Change Across Pre- And Post-Disaster Planning Periods In High-Loss U.S. Communities, Jenifar Selim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research explores how flood mitigation planning has evolved in counties exposed to multiple billion-dollar flooding disasters. The research focuses on two case studies: Jefferson County, Texas, and Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, two Gulf Coast communities with repeated flood exposure. Using comparative content analysis of pre- and post-disaster hazard mitigation plans, the study evaluates how local planning approaches and strategies shift following major flood events. Findings indicate that local governments largely remain reactive rather than proactive; however, these efforts are increasingly expanding beyond traditional infrastructure to incorporate broader resilience strategies, including nature-based solutions and regional coordination. The results highlight a gradual …

Work From Home In The Public And Private Sector, Harley Frazis

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Working from home has remained a prominent part of the labor market after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in January 2025 President Trump issued an executive order restricting the use of work from home (WFH) in the federal government. This paper examines trends in WFH by class of worker: private for-profit, private not-for-profit, federal, state, and local government. It evaluates how WFH evolved across different classes after accounting for differences in occupation and education, with a focus on trends for WFH in the federal government, relative to the for-profit class, before and after the restriction in federal WFH. Overall, “hybrid” WFH—working …

Transmogrifying Coding Into A Social Studies Technology Tool: Using Participatory Design With Engineers And Social Studies Educators To Design Data Visualization Tools For Social Studies Data Literacy Education, Bahare Naimipour, Jessica Zhang, Tamara Shreiner, Mark Guzdial

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Our work aims to inform, design, and create data visualization tools that are meant to be integrated specifically into social studies classes. In this essay we discuss the use of participatory design methods to learn what social studies teachers (both pre-service and in-service) want in their classrooms and test the usability of real tools with these participants. Through this approach we iteratively engage our users, and they inform the design and development of learning tools for the learning and instruction of social studies data literacy. Using a social construction of technology lens, we describe the scaffolding embedded in our tools …

Developing An Empirically-Driven Immigration Policy Towards Socially Inclusive Hong Kong: A Social Justice-Oriented Acculturation Framework, Gizem Arat, Narine Kerelian

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

We conducted a qualitative study to develop an empirically driven social justice-oriented acculturation framework by exploring educators’ perceptions of diverse ethnic groups’ social inclusion in Hong Kong. Twenty in-depth interviews with educators serving ethnic minorities in Hong Kong were conducted adopting a vignette methodology using examples of specific groups relevant to Hong Kong. Based on our findings, we developed a social justice-oriented acculturation framework centred on four categories (assimilation, separation, marginalization, and integration) for understanding the interplay of factors in the exclusion or inclusion of diverse groups in mainstream society; and distinguishing the interchangeable uses of assimilation and acculturation—as a …

Beyond The Classroom: Five Considerations For Actualizing Social Justice In Practicum Education, Priscila Llamosa

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

Social justice, a core tenet of social work, is variably integrated into education programs' explicit curricula, leaving students with a limited conceptual understanding. Practicum[1] education, crucial for theory-practice integration, offers opportunities for developing social work skills while upholding social justice principles. This paper addresses how practicum instructors can nurture students’ social justice-oriented practice by presenting a framework for practicum education and examining its five components. Drawing from theory, empirical literature, and practice experience, the author suggests ways for practicum instructors to engage each component. Incorporating these into practicum education can enable students to actualize ADEI values in practice and …

A Critical Review On Enhancing Equity Of Mental Health Treatment Of African American Families Through Social Support And Social Capital, Julie Radlauer-Doerfler, Morgan E. Cooley, Heather M. Thompson, Atensia Earp Bowen, Gabe Caress, Alicia Best

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

African American adults and children experience both disproportionality and disparity when in contact with the mental health delivery system. There are a number of contextual factors that influence the treatment of African American families, such as systemic oppression or racism in both society and the behavioral health system or individual expressions of mental health symptomology. This review will provide an overview of how mental health disparities crossover systems, perceptions of mental health and mental health treatment among African American families, provide some context for why this review was written, as well as discuss the context of social support and social …

Breaking Barriers: A Student Led Racial Equity Assignment, Emily Murphy, Carol Bennett- Speight, Cecily Mitchell-Harper

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

This paper presents an innovative student led racial equity assignment in a small bachelor’s in social work program in the New York metropolitan area. This paper will define epistemological racism and utilize concepts from Narrative Theory and Critical Race Theory, to critically analyze what is taught about the pioneers of social work, identifying the stories and narratives that are told and the ones that are not told. This operationalization of the theories in practice with students will cultivate mindset shifts and strategies that enable participants to engage in social work practice that fully embodies the core values of the profession. …

Building Transgender And Gender Expansive Capacity In Social Work Education, Ashling Hallford, Aisha Chapra

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

The problem to be addressed through this paper is the lack of advocacy and curriculum around transgender and gender expansive (TGE) issues in Social Work higher education. TGE people face threats to their rights through oppressive, state-level legislation, with 437 anti-trans or anti-LGBTQ+ bills as identified by the American Civil Liberties Union being debated (2024). Prock, et al, (2022) found that 40% of social work programs in religiously affiliated institutions used discriminatory language targeting TGE people in their student and faculty literature. This paper will describe recommendations for social work education and social work practice around TGE issues including faculty …