The National University System Repository exists to increase public access to research and other materials created by students and faculty of the affiliate institutions of National University System. Most items in the repository are open access, freely available to everyone.
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Item The hidden challenges of intimate partner violence and traumatic brain injury: A multifaceted exploration of women’s personal experiences(2025)Approximately one-third of women suffer from intimate partner violence (IPV) at least once in their lifetime. Moreover, women experiencing IPV are also at risk of sustaining one or several traumatic brain injuries (TBI). This study aims to explore the personal experiences of women with concurrent IPV-TBI factors seeking clinical treatment. To address this, the author conducts a literature review based on studies from the past decade that examine IPV-TBI factors among women. An array of peer-reviewed American journals are employed, providing a combination of research methods including qualitative, quantitative, meta-analysis, and systematic studies. The study’s findings determine increased frustration, a sense of hopelessness, and a negative self-concept to be the main themes for the personal experiences of women with concurrent IPV-TBI factors seeking clinical treatment. Further, the study establishes several subthemes that support its findings, including professional competency issues, cognitive impairment, and stigmatization, to name a few. The study offers several advantages for researchers as well as clinicians, as it displays novel and in-depth insight into the personal experiences of women facing concurrent IPV-TBI factors that can shape clinical treatment.Item The Impact of Unethical Leadership Practices on Employees’ Hierarchical Needs: A Descriptive Case Study(2025-11)This qualitative descriptive case study explored how unethical leadership disrupts employees’ ability to satisfy fundamental human needs as defined in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Unethical behaviors such as manipulation, exploitation, and abuse of authority were found to undermine employee well-being, trust, and workplace functionality. The purpose of this study was to examine employees’ lived experiences with unethical leadership and how such leadership influenced the fulfillment of their hierarchical needs across the dimensions of safety, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization. Maslow’s framework guided the analysis of these relationships, providing insight into the ways unethical practices obstruct motivation and engagement. Purposeful sampling identified participants with experience in organizational settings affected by unethical leadership, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis to ensure triangulation and credibility. Thematic analysis revealed that unethical leadership impaired employees’ ability to meet psychological and professional needs, resulting in emotional exhaustion, diminished confidence, mistrust, and restricted professional growth. Participants described feelings of disengagement, anxiety, and a lasting sense of psychological strain that negatively influenced morale and organizational commitment. The findings underscored the urgent need for organizations to promote ethical leadership and protect employee well-being through leadership development, ethical training, and transparent reporting systems. These initiatives are essential for fostering trust, accountability, and a positive organizational culture. The study’s implications highlight the importance of ethical conduct as a foundation for employee motivation, retention, and long-term organizational success. Future research should examine how organizational climate moderates the effects of unethical leadership and identify proactive strategies to prevent such behaviors. Overall, this study advances understanding of how unethical leadership undermines the fulfillment of employees’ hierarchical needs, leading to adverse psychological, professional, and organizational outcomes, while offering practical guidance for cultivating ethical, human-centered leadership practices that support both individual and institutional effectiveness.Item Sustainable Leadership and Supply Chain Management in the Manufacturing Sector: A Multiple-Case Study(2025-11)This qualitative multiple-case study explored how senior leadership in mid-sized manufacturing firms in the United States engages in sustainable supply chain management to address the persistent problem of limited leadership involvement in advancing sustainability practices. The study examined how this lack of engagement constrains operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and long-term competitiveness, while also affecting broader societal goals related to environmental and social responsibility. Guided by transformational leadership theory, stakeholder theory, and the triple bottom line framework, the research examined leadership strategies, stakeholder collaboration, and cultural dynamics that facilitate or hinder the adoption of sustainability. Data were collected through semi-structured virtual interviews with 17 senior leaders, including chief executive officers, chief operating officers, and supply chain directors, and analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo. The findings revealed that leaders overcame adoption challenges by diversifying their supplier base, integrating sustainability into strategic decision-making, and leveraging innovation to build resilience. Leadership effectiveness was enhanced by long-term vision, adaptive decision-making, and collaborative approaches, while cultural alignment was strengthened through shared purpose, values, and recognition systems. The study concludes that senior leadership is central to embedding sustainability in supply chains, with implications for practice that emphasize leadership development, cross-sector collaboration, and supplier partnerships. It also recommends future research across industries and leadership levels, using longitudinal and mixed-method approaches to explore how organizational culture interacts with external pressures in advancing sustainable supply chain management.Item An Assessment of Cyber Threats Targeting Robotic Systems: A Quantitative Study(2025-10)Organizations have embraced robotic systems as a necessity due to their numerous benefits. These systems are, unfortunately, increasingly targeted by cybercriminals. A cyber-attack on these entities can have serious consequences for companies. The problem addressed in this study is assessing organizations' security practices in preventing cyber threats to robotics systems. This quantitative correlation study examines whether organizations that adopt these systems effectively implement proper security measures to utilize this technology. This study employed the technology-organization-environment framework to examine how its components can aid in assessing organizations' security practices by adopting this technology for successful implementation. Data were collected from 88 cybersecurity professionals with at least three years of experience in protecting robotic systems using an online survey. The study used an original instrument, validated through preliminary pilot testing and Cronbach's Alpha test to establish reliability. Pearson's correlation and linear regression were utilized to test the data collected in SPSS. The results of the Pearson correlation indicated a positive correlation between network security, information security, application security, and organizational cybersecurity skill sets and the implementation of robotic systems. The p-value was less than 0.05, indicating rejection of the null hypothesis for all variables. The linear regression results indicated that network security and organizational cybersecurity skill sets were predictive variables with a p-value less than 0.05. The overall model was statistically significant, with an ANOVA score of p < .001. The findings underscored the importance of organizations implementing effective security practices to enhance their ability to prevent cyberattacks. The successful implementation of their robotics systems depends on this endeavor. Organizations can build resilience and ensure these systems achieve the goal that motivated their adoption within the organization by enforcing the recommendations.Item The Influence of Cultic or High-Control Group Involvement on Adult Attachment and Identity(2025-11-10)This project examines how cultic and high-control religious environments impact the attachment systems of their members using attachment theory, constructivist, and trauma-informed frameworks. The literature identifies the themes of attachment disruption, identity fragmentation, relational dysregulation, sexual exploitation, and spiritual injury, highlighting survivors' experiences with shame, intimacy difficulties, mistrust, and struggles with meaning-making from their experience in coercive environments. Empathy, validation, autonomy, and empowerment within therapeutic relationships, along with community-based support and education, are important aspects of survivors' repair and healing processes. Future research on cults should prioritize definitional clarity, the development of standardized methodologies, the exploration of the impact of cults on individuals across diverse contexts, and the identification of evidence-based therapeutic interventions.
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