Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Minority Supervisees’ Experiences With Parallel Processing In Counseling Supervision, Dorothy Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The population of mental health counselors mirrors the diversity of the people served by the counseling profession. Becoming a professional counselor in the United States requires a designated number of clinical supervision hours. The supervision process is designed to ensure a supervisee is equipped with the skills and develops the professional identity to serve the public. Studies have explored the phenomenon of parallel processing (the processes at work between a supervisee and client reflected in their relationship) from clinical supervisors’ perspectives, yet researchers agree that the supervisee initiates the phenomenon, and the voices of supervisees have not been captured. The …

Perspectives On Instructional Barriers To Inclusion At Primary Schools In Jamaica, Marcia Hillary Peak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractInclusive education, which is a global practice in schools, recognizes the rights of all children to equal educational opportunities, including those with special needs or disabilities; however, educators in low-income countries like Jamaica struggle with its implementation. This basic qualitative study explored teachers’ and principals’ perceptions toward instructional and curricular barriers to inclusion in primary level schools. The theory supporting this study is Bronfenbrenner’s development ecology model. Research questions focused on educators’ perspectives of instructional barriers to inclusion. Twelve participants from seven mainstream schools in a single region were interviewed. Data were analyzed using open coding to determine patterns, and …

How Gender And Victim Blame Impact The Identification Of Human Trafficking Victims, Rudee Colleen Hanna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human trafficking is a worldwide phenomenon that uses fraud, force, or coercion to subjugate human beings into a modern form of slavery. Male and transgender victims have been excluded from previous research and as a result, the numbers of victims identifying as male, and transgender is unknown. This study examined the impact of gender and victim blame on the identification of human trafficking victims, particularly male and transgender. The theoretical frameworks of feminist theory and belief in a just world theory supported the study and supported the hypotheses. The research questions focused on the impact of gender and victim blame …

Post-School Transition Experiences Of Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities, Christine Marie Lindh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The post-school transition phenomenon has been examined using educational and vocational viewpoints. However, despite evidence-based practices and policies, individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) often experience unfavorable outcomes. This population needs a voice in existing literature because it tends to be aggregated with other participant groups. This qualitative study involved understanding how young adults with mild to moderate ID described their lived experiences regarding the post-school transition to adulthood, specifically in terms of their personal expectations of employment and functional independence. The social cognitive career theory was used to explore individual and environmental factors related to adulthood transitions. Semi-structured interviews were …

Religiosity, Daily Rosary, And Well-Being Of Catholics In College During The Pandemic, Michael Raul Rios

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Before and since the Coronavirus pandemic, college students suffered from increasing rates of mental health conditions affecting their well-being. Researchers have requested more studies on prayer as a strategy to address well-being issues. The purpose of this anonymous online survey study (N = 59) was to discover if there were any associations between religiosity and well-being, daily Rosary frequency and well-being, and if daily Rosary frequency mediated an association between religiosity and well-being of Catholic students in college in the United States during the pandemic in 2021. Participants were recruited via social media, listservs, email, one nationwide organization, the Walden …

Adolescent Bereavement After Sudden Loss Of A Close Friend, Alora Elizabeth Zulliger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the prevalence of sudden death in adolescence, there is a deficiency of resources and support for adolescents who have lost a close friend to premature death. These resources are vital, as the sudden and unexpected death of a close friend is often traumatizing and can contribute to a sense of instability in young people. Although a great deal of academic research has been conducted on sibling or parental grief during adolescence, there existed a need for further research on peer loss during adolescence. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to describe the essence and meaning of the lived …

Strategies To Reduce The Impact Of Disruptions In Manufacturing Transportation Supply Chains, John Enyabe Ndone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Supply chain managers in the manufacturing transportation industry grapple with reducing the impact of disruptions in transportation supply chains since 50% of U.S. companies have experienced between six to 20 disruptions per year. Ineffective transportation disruption strategies negatively impact the performance and profitability of manufacturing organizations resulting in losses and business failure. Grounded in Goldratt’s philosophy and thinking process of the Theory of Constraints (TOC), the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore successful strategies supply chain managers in the manufacturing transportation industry used to reduce the impact of disruptions in transportation supply chains. The participants …

Predicting Project Success By Project Manager Competencies And Personality Traits Moderated By Work Experience, Jasmine H. Kirby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractProject manager competencies and personality traits can make the difference between project success or failure. However, it remains unclear which is the strongest predictor of project success when moderated by work experience. The purpose of this quantitative study was to provide information about the relationship between project manager competencies, personality, and project success by (a) investigating the relationship between project manager competencies, personality traits, and project success; and (b) identifying whether project competencies or personality traits was the strongest predictor of project success among project managers at different work experience levels. Data were collected from 272 project managers. Instruments to …

Criminology And Violent Extremist Radicalization, Starlett Michele Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, research on foreign terrorism became extensive in the United States while research on domestic terrorism and violent extremist radicalization was lacking. Despite the research that has been done, there was a lapse in scholarship analyzing terrorism radicalization and its relationship with criminology. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to analyze the perceptions of experts in terrorism and criminology about how factors of criminology can explain violent extremist radicalization. This study used two conceptual models of terrorism radicalization: (a) the staircase to terrorism and the (b) 4-stage model of the terrorist mindset. In addition, …

Medication Versus Mindfulness Meditation On Symptoms Of Adhd In Adult Women, Maria Skoulidas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractA recent spike has occurred in women diagnosed with less common and often overlooked ADHD symptoms. Using the mindfulness to meaning theory as the foundation, this study was conducted to explore how mindfulness meditation (MM) and medication affected three related factors commonly found in women with ADHD, self-concept, risky behaviors, and familial relationships. The research questions were formulated to determine if there was a difference in subscale scores of each variable based on the type of treatment the participant was using, either mindfulness meditation (MM) or prescription medication, to deal with ADHD symptoms. A pre-experimental static group comparison design was …

Theoretical Orientation Beliefs Among Adventure Therapy Professionals, Edward Spaulding

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adventure therapy as a therapeutic model for the treatment of mental health has been a growing area of psychology for more than 50 years. This quantitative study was conducted to explore the theoretical orientation beliefs to clarify the theoretical framework of this therapeutic approach using Coleman’s theoretical evaluation self-test (TEST) to gather data on self-identified adventure therapy practitioners’ theoretical beliefs. Data were collected from 150 participants recruited through their membership or affiliation with adventure therapy professional organizations or social media groups. Data were analyzed using a paired t-test to determine if adventure therapy professionals have higher scores on the cognitive, …

More Moments With Others Matter For Emotion Regulation And Well-Being: A Study Of First-Year College Students’ Daily Life During Covid-19, Jaymes Paolo Delas Armas Rombaoa

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted emerging adult, first-year college students’ daily lives and well-being. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) recognizes that effective and adaptive emotion regulation can be improved by training skills for managing contextual (ABC) and physiological (PLEASE) factors. An ecological momentary assessment study collected 1,796 data points from 76 first-year students' daily usage of emotion regulation (ER) skills and momentary experiences of well-being (PERMA; Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationship, Meaning, Accomplishment) during COVID-19 in Spring 2020. Research questions explored: (a) Is usage of ER skills associated with elements of momentary PERMA above and beyond trait-level PERMA?; (b) Are lifestyle factors (e.g., …

Assessment Of Founders In Venture Capital Investment Decisions, Gregory Gerald Hennessy

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This manuscript documents a research project that employs grounded theory to determine what criteria contemporary investors in early-stage startups use to assess founders. One of the first questions posed by entrepreneurship researchers - even before entrepreneurship had formalized as a field - was, what criteria do investors consider when making investments in startups? Initially, the central concern was whether it was the founder(s) or the business model, often characterized as the “jockey” or the “horse.” From the start, it was generally accepted that the founder was the primary consideration, especially in early-stage ventures. Nonetheless, while business model considerations were parsed …

Examining The Effectiveness Of Mental Health And Law Enforcement Partnerships In California, Domonique Hualani Rood

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In California, many law enforcement agencies have partnered with local mental health services to manage situations that involve people with mental illness in crisis; much of the research on these programs has focused on the effectiveness and financial savings of implementing these programs (i.e. reductions in adjudications and hospitalizations). This study examined whether these programs are effectively managed mental health crises across California. This study implemented a sequential mixed methods design that used qualitative data to explain quantitative results to determine effectiveness. Quantitatively, effectiveness was defined as a reduction in injury (both in severity and frequency of injury), arrests, and …

Fakestack: Hierarchical Tri-Bert-Cnn-Lstm Stacked Model For Effective Fake News Detection., Ashfia Jannat Keya, Hasibul Hossain Shajeeb, Md Saifur Rahman, M F Mridha

Student and Faculty Publications

False news articles pose a serious challenge in today's information landscape, impacting public opinion and decision-making. Efforts to counter this issue have led to research in deep learning and machine learning methods. However, a gap exists in effectively using contextual cues and skip connections within models, limiting the development of comprehensive detection systems that harness contextual information and vital data propagation. Thus, we propose a model of deep learning, FakeStack, in order to identify bogus news accurately. The model combines the power of pre-trained Bidirectional Encoder Representation of Transformers (BERT) embeddings with a deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) having skip …

Assessing Pandemic Preparedness, Response, And Lessons Learned From The Covid-19 Pandemic In Four South American Countries: Agenda For The Future, Andrea Ramírez Varela, Michael Touchton, J Jaime Miranda, Juliana Mejía Grueso, Rachid Laajaj, Gabriel Carrasquilla, Martha Vives Florez, Ana María Vesga Gaviria, Ana María Ortiz Hoyos, Esteban Orlando Vanegas Duarte, Alejandra Velásquez Morales, Nubia Velasco, Silvia Restrepo Restrepo

Student and Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic emerged in a context that lacked adequate prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) activities, and global, regional, and national leadership. South American countries were among world's hardest hit by the pandemic, accounting for 10.1% of total cases and 20.1% of global deaths.

METHODS: This study explores how pandemic PPR were affected by political, socioeconomic, and health system contexts as well as how PPR may have shaped pandemic outcomes in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. We then identify lessons learned and advance an agenda for improving PPR capacity at regional and national levels. We do this through a …

Examining Neighborhood-Level Hot And Cold Spots Of Food Insecurity In Relation To Social Vulnerability In Houston, Texas, Ryan Ramphul, Linda Highfield, Shreela Sharma

Student and Faculty Publications

Food insecurity is prevalent and associated with poor health outcomes, but little is known about its geographical nature. The aim of this study is to utilize geospatial modeling of individual-level food insecurity screening data ascertained in health care settings to test for neighborhood hot and cold spots of food insecurity in a large metropolitan area, and then compare these hot spot neighborhoods to cold spot neighborhoods in terms of the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index. In this cross-sectional secondary data analysis, we geocoded the home addresses of 6,749 unique participants screened for food insecurity at health care locations participating in CMS's …

Lessons Learned From Interdisciplinary Efforts To Combat Covid-19 Misinformation: Development Of Agile Integrative Methods From Behavioral Science, Data Science, And Implementation Science, Sahiti Myneni, Paula Cuccaro, Sarah Montgomery, Vivek Pakanati, Jinni Tang, Tavleen Singh, Olivia Dominguez, Trevor Cohen, Belinda Reininger, Lara S Savas, Maria E Fernandez

Student and Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing awareness about and advances in addressing social media misinformation, the free flow of false COVID-19 information has continued, affecting individuals' preventive behaviors, including masking, testing, and vaccine uptake.

OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we describe our multidisciplinary efforts with a specific focus on methods to (1) gather community needs, (2) develop interventions, and (3) conduct large-scale agile and rapid community assessments to examine and combat COVID-19 misinformation.

METHODS: We used the Intervention Mapping framework to perform community needs assessment and develop theory-informed interventions. To supplement these rapid and responsive efforts through large-scale online social listening, we developed a …

Understanding The Influence Of Atomizing Power On Electronic Cigarette Aerosol Size And Inhalation Dose Estimation, Jinho Lee, Wei-Chung Su, Inkyu Han

Student and Faculty Publications

Although many studies have estimated the inhalation dose of aerosols emitted from electronic cigarettes (e-cigs), the association between the atomizing power and inhalation dose of e-cig aerosols has not been fully examined. The aim of this study was to determine the mass and inhalation doses of e-cig aerosols and their association with the atomizing power of vaping devices. Size-segregated aerosol masses were collected using an 11-stage cascade impactor and the deposition dose in the human respiratory tract was estimated using the size-segregated aerosol mass. The results showed that an increase in atomizing power was positively associated with the amount of …

Health-Related Quality Of Life And Recovery Capital Among Recovery Residents Taking Medication For Opioid Use Disorder In Texas, Elizabeth O Obekpa, Sheryl A Mccurdy, Vanessa Schick, Christine M Markham, Kathryn R Gallardo, Johnny Michael Wilkerson

Student and Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD) includes improvements in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and is supported by recovery capital (RC). Little is known about RC and HRQOL among recovery residents taking medication for OUD. We described HRQOL and RC and identified predictors of HRQOL.

METHODS: Project HOMES is an ongoing longitudinal study implemented in 14 recovery homes in Texas. This is a cross-sectional analysis of data from 358 participants' on HRQOL (five EQ-5D-5L dimensions-mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression) and RC (Assessment of Recovery Capital scores) collected from April 2021 to June 2023. Statistical analyses were conducted …

Non-Pharmacological Treatment-Related Changes Of Molecular Biomarkers In Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Courtney L Irwin, Patrícia S Coelho, Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon, Anabela Silva-Fernandes, Óscar F Gonçalves, Jorge Leite, Sandra Carvalho

Student and Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious mood disorder and leading cause of disability. Despite treatment advances, approximately 30% of individuals with MDD do not achieve adequate clinical response. Better understanding the biological mechanism(s) underlying clinical response to specific psychopharmacological interventions may help fine tune treatments in order to further modulate their underlying mechanisms of action. However, little is known regarding the effect of non-pharmacological treatments (NPTs) on candidate molecular biomarker levels in MDD. This review aims to identify molecular biomarkers that may elucidate NPT response for MDD.

METHODS: We performed a systematic review and a multilevel linear mixed-effects …

Processing Speed – A Potential Candidate Cognitive Endophenotype For Bipolar Disorder, Mirona Letitia Dobri, Taya Prince, Alexandre Paim Diaz, Giovana B Zunta-Soares, Sudhakar Selvaraj, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, Thomas D Meyer, Marsal Sanches, Jair C Soares

Student and Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic multifactorial disorder that presents with cognitive impairment as one of its main features, in patients as well as in their first-degree relatives. However, the profile of cognitive dysfunction in BD patients and their relatives is not yet well defined. Various neurocognitive deficits have been proposed as endophenotypes for BD. In the present study, we explored the susceptibility to neurocognitive deficits in BD patients and their siblings compared to healthy controls.

METHOD: A sample consisting of patients diagnosed with BD (

RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, BD patients and their unaffected siblings showed deficits …

Non-Canonical Pathways In The Pathophysiology And Therapeutics Of Bipolar Disorder, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, Alan C Courtes, Carlos A Zarate, Ioline D Henter, Husseini K Manji

Student and Faculty Publications

Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by extreme mood swings ranging from manic/hypomanic to depressive episodes. The severity, duration, and frequency of these episodes can vary widely between individuals, significantly impacting quality of life. Individuals with BD spend almost half their lives experiencing mood symptoms, especially depression, as well as associated clinical dimensions such as anhedonia, fatigue, suicidality, anxiety, and neurovegetative symptoms. Persistent mood symptoms have been associated with premature mortality, accelerated aging, and elevated prevalence of treatment-resistant depression. Recent efforts have expanded our understanding of the neurobiology of BD and the downstream targets that may help track clinical outcomes and …

Processing Speed – A Potential Candidate Cognitive Endophenotype For Bipolar Disorder, Mirona Letitia Dobri, Taya Prince, Alexandre Paim Diaz, Giovana B Zunta-Soares, Sudhakar Selvaraj, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, Thomas D Meyer, Marsal Sanches, Jair C Soares

Student and Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic multifactorial disorder that presents with cognitive impairment as one of its main features, in patients as well as in their first-degree relatives. However, the profile of cognitive dysfunction in BD patients and their relatives is not yet well defined. Various neurocognitive deficits have been proposed as endophenotypes for BD. In the present study, we explored the susceptibility to neurocognitive deficits in BD patients and their siblings compared to healthy controls.

METHOD: A sample consisting of patients diagnosed with BD (

RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, BD patients and their unaffected siblings showed deficits …

Understanding The Implications Of Under-Reporting, Vaccine Efficiency And Social Behavior On The Post-Pandemic Spread Using Physics Informed Neural Networks: A Case Study Of China, Samiran Ghosh, Alonso Ogueda-Oliva, Aditi Ghosh, Malay Banerjee, Padmanabhan Seshaiyer

Student and Faculty Publications

In late 2019, the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, led to the implementation of stringent measures forming the zero-COVID policy aimed at eliminating transmission. Zero-COVID policy basically aimed at completely eliminating the transmission of COVID-19. However, the relaxation of this policy in late 2022 reportedly resulted in a rapid surge of COVID-19 cases. The aim of this work is to investigate the factors contributing to this outbreak using a new SEIR-type epidemic model with time-dependent level of immunity. Our model incorporates a time-dependent level of immunity considering vaccine doses administered and time-post-vaccination dependent vaccine efficacy. We find that vaccine …

Closing The Gap Between College Students: An Intergroup Dialogue Program To Reach Understanding And Reduction Of Disparities, Lilly Zhou

Honors Theses

The goals of the intergroup dialogue program are exploration and collective action. The goal of exploration is to spread awareness by presenting the situation. Several students are not aware that disparities between students exist, so this dialogue provided awareness of the issue. With increased understanding of each other, collective action can be taken. Actions by a small number of students are still steps taken to reduce the gap between the financially supported and not financially supported students. Action can look like spreading awareness of the issue, advocating for policy changes, and more.

The structure of the intergroup dialogue program required …

News Literacy Resources: An Online Hub Of Informational Materials For Learning And Teaching News Literacy, Halle Starns

Honors Theses

This thesis contains and organizes a variety of online educational resources including articles, books, games, organizations, podcasts, tools and videos related to promoting news literacy. The purpose of the website is to make this information more accessible and the topic of news literacy feel less daunting. The written component of this thesis describes the design process of the website — conceptualization, layout, wireframing — as well as the research process. A link to the final website is included.

Tuition Related Library Fees Information, Ted Naylor, Casey Hoeve, Kiyomi D. Deards

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Tuition related library fees information, supplemental to the article 'How Libraries are Funded: Transparency Issues in Student Tuition and Fees Among ARL Libraries' in Journal of New Librarianship (2023) by Casey Hoeve and Kiyomi D. Deards.

The data were collected by Ted Naylor and enhanced by Casey Hoeve and Kiyomi D. Deards.

Ethnic And Racial Differences In Self-Reported Symptoms, Health Status, Activity Level, And Missed Work At 3 And 6 Months Following Sars-Cov-2 Infection, Kelli N O'Laughlin, Robin E Klabbers, Imtiaz Ebna Mannan, Nicole L Gentile, Rachel E Geyer, Zihan Zheng, Huihui Yu, Shu-Xia Li, Kwun C G Chan, Erica S Spatz, Ralph C Wang, Michelle L'Hommedieu, Robert A Weinstein, Ian D Plumb, Michael Gottlieb, Ryan M Huebinger, Melissa Hagen, Joann G Elmore, Mandy J Hill, Morgan Kelly, Samuel Mcdonald, Kristin L Rising, Robert M Rodriguez, Arjun Venkatesh, Ahamed H Idris, Michelle Santangelo, Katherine Koo, Sharon Saydah, Graham Nichol, Kari A Stephens

Student and Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Data on ethnic and racial differences in symptoms and health-related impacts following SARS-CoV-2 infection are limited. We aimed to estimate the ethnic and racial differences in symptoms and health-related impacts 3 and 6 months after the first SARS-CoV-2 infection.

METHODS: Participants included adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection enrolled in a prospective multicenter US study between 12/11/2020 and 7/4/2022 as the primary cohort of interest, as well as a SARS-CoV-2-negative cohort to account for non-SARS-CoV-2-infection impacts, who completed enrollment and 3-month surveys (

RESULTS: Following SARS-CoV-2 infection, the majority of symptoms were similar over time between ethnic and racial groups. At …

Family-Level Antecedents Of Children's Patterns Of Reactivity To Interparental Conflict: Testing The Reformulation Of Emotional Security Theory, Patrick T Davies, Joanna K Pearson, Vanessa T Cao, Melissa L Sturge-Apple

Student and Faculty Publications

Guided by emotional security theory, this study examined the family-level antecedents of children's reaction patterns to interparental conflict in a sample of 243 preschool children (M age = 4.60 years; 48% Black; 16% Latinx; 56% girls) and their parents in the Northeastern United States. Behavioral observations of children's responses to interparental conflict over two annual measurement occasions assessed their tendencies to exhibit four patterns of defending against threat: secure (i.e., efficiently address direct threats), mobilizing (i.e., high reactivity to potential threat and social opportunities), dominant (i.e., directly defeat threat), and demobilizing (i.e., reduce salience as a target of hostility). …