NU Scholarly Work (Open Access)

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This collection contains open access scholarly work from National University faculty and staff. To learn more about this collection, please visit the NU Institutional Repository webpage for faculty.

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Multi in So Many Ways: A Narrative Inquiry into a Culturally and Historically Sustaining Creole Studies Program
(2022) Espree, Mildred
Through phenomenological analysis and qualitative grounded theory, this dissertation provided a higher education case study through which to understand how Creole people have survived through transmission of culture and values learned at the crossroads of American history -- a time when two different cultures, one European-American and the other African and enslaved collided in the New World (Espree, Jazz Zeitgeist: The Coming of Age of a New American Sound and Story in the Early Twentieth Century, 2000, p. 3). Creoles, both marginalized and vilified for having ideas dissimilar to both black and white Americans, are by definition historically multiracial/multicultural. Often forced to assimilate by context and circumstance, they still retain a significant portion of cultural identity and survival skills based on family history and associations forged over time. Focused on the case of a Creole Studies higher education program in Louisiana, this dissertation documented the unique perspectives of program stakeholders and key archival program records to reveal folk and traditional beliefs, values, faith and language, particularly as these are related to higher education achievement. Using narratives of older Creole women and men who are stakeholders in the Creole Studies program in Louisiana, and the program stakeholders, the critical task was to document folk and traditional beliefs, values, faith and language in the context of emerging 21st values and survival skills, particularly as these were relevant to higher achievement and education. This research includes document analysis. 8 Narratives and interviews were the primary methodologies used in this research. What has been documented are the unique perspectives of Creoles in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Additionally, this dissertation has been aligned so that the research purpose, problem and questions are designed to be exploratory, questions that evoke memories, sentiment and honest reflection about the program’s viability in addition to its contributions. Also included is an emergent theory in Historically and Culturally Sustaining Higher Education Programming (HCSHEP).
When Social Media Recruiting Goes Wrong: A Cautionary Tale of Sample Engagement
(2024) Lockhart, Ezra N. S.; Goodin, Joel B
Doctoral candidates’ experiences with recruiting participants vary in many ways. While some execute plans with ease, others implement their strategic plan for recruitment only to find that it does not work well or does not work at all. While successful recruitment is rarely reflected upon, the candidate who experiences unexpected difficulty with recruitment has several potential negative effects including increased time to degree completion, increased program and recruitment costs, and increased potential for dropout. In this case study, we present a cautionary tale of sample engagement from the gaming community where a doctoral candidate experienced doxxing, social media banning, and long-lasting effects during recruitment for their qualitative study. In addition to the narrative account, we, as a former student-committee member team, reflect on the situation and provide recommendations for preventative measures to avoid similar situations.
Trans-Inclusive Feminist Praxis: Shifting Religious and Familial Gendered Violence Towards Transgender Acceptance–A USA Case Study
(2024-12) Lockhart, Ezra N. S.
Building on the analysis of gender-based violence (GBV) within the lives of black trans women in South Africa, as explored by Shabalala, Boonzaier, and Chirape (2023) in Challenging Ciscentric Feminist Margins, this briefing extends the conversation to the themes of ciscentric oppression, structural violence, and intersectionality in the context of a pilot study I conducted (Lockhart, 2024). The work of Shabalala et al. (2023) calls for intersectional frameworks that challenge cisnormativity, patriarchal violence, and gender performativity—central concepts in understanding the marginalization of trans individuals. Their work powerfully illuminates the ways in which cisgendered and patriarchal norms systematically marginalise trans individuals, particularly trans women of color, through both overt and subtle forms of violence. In a similar vein, my case study of a biracial family in Louisiana, USA, and their 17-year-old trans son, explores how ciscentric gender norms, compounded by religious, racial, and socio-cultural factors, shape the family’s experience of gendered violence and hinder the adolescent’s agency and autonomy, complicating his transition to legal adulthood and his pursuit of self-determination.
Motivation and Cognitive-Behavioral Factors in Problematic Online Gaming
(2021-01) Lockhart, Ezra N. S.
A portion of the US population is choosing online games as a form of recreation and, consequently, is developing unhealthy preoccupations. The most notable form of Internet addiction for the past 20 years has been MMORPG with adults between 20 and 40 years old identified as high risk of developing problematic online gaming behaviors. Problematic online gaming behaviors and the resultant functional impairment of daily living that adults experience from playing MMORPGs was the problem addressed in this study, while the purpose was to provide further insight into those behaviors that adults experience from playing MMORPGs. This study used descriptive, pre-transcendental, psychological phenomenological methods and associated five-step phenomenological psychological data analysis and was predicated on the integration of the Online Gameplay Motivations Theory and the Cognitive-Behavioral Model of Pathological Internet Use. Seven adult participants who have played numerous MMORPGs over a period of no less than 5 years and as recently as 2 months were recruited. Interviews provided raw data, the analysis produced 26 themes and subthemes, which answered four research questions. The results indicated that adult MMORPG players who experience problematic online gaming behaviors experience both benefits (e.g., access to virtual-relationships, increased attention and focus, increased technology competency) and detriments (e.g., maladaptive cognitions, behavioral symptoms) from this online gameplay.
What It Means to Be Human: A Response to Harzheim
(2024-11) Lockhart, Ezra N. S.
This response engages critically with Harzheim’s review of Thomas Fuchs’ In Defense of the Human Being: Foundational Questions of an Embodied Anthropology. Fuchs’ work offers a profound exploration of embodied cognition, arguing that human cognition and existence are deeply shaped by our physical interactions. Harzheim’s critique highlights significant aspects of Fuchs’ framework, including his critique of functionalist models, the impact of transhumanist technologies, and ethical concerns in healthcare technology. This paper extends Harzheim’s review by proposing an integration of functionalist and embodied cognitive models, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive evaluation of technological impacts, and advocating for a more robust ethical framework that considers social equity. Additionally, it addresses the is-ought distinction and explores the implications of technological advancements on human identity and mental health. Doede’s critique is also discussed, underscoring the importance of integrating diverse cognitive models and addressing technological determinism. Overall, this response calls for a more nuanced and inclusive approach to the discourse on embodied cognition, aiming to enrich the scholarly conversation and address the complexities and implications of Fuchs’ analysis.

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