Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Power & Planning: A Critical Comparison Of Tribal And Non-Tribal Wildfire Protection Plans, Christian J. Heisler

Student Research Symposium

In 2003, the US government passed the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, which urged wildfire-prone communities to develop Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs). These plans allow local groups to contextualize risk, practice social learning, and develop social capital while addressing wildfire risk. Within planning realms, however, decision-making power is usually concentrated unequally between social groups which can limit the influence of marginalized communities. Tribal nations, specifically, have been excluded from wildfire planning since European contact, signaling that CWPPs may not reflect Indigenous worldviews and priorities. Given the recent push from the federal government to increase land management collaboration with tribes, it …

The Impact Of Turnover And Turnover Intentions On Nigeria's Public Health Administration, Albert Abani Uduma

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High turnover creates a vicious cycle that affects employees with further shortages and turnover. This study explored the lived experiences and perceptions of a government employer and employees about turnover, turnover intentions, and the government’s leadership effectiveness using Heidegger’s phenomenological research methods. The theoretical frameworks that grounded the study were Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, public service motivation theory, and corporate social responsibility theory. The study questions focused on stakeholders’ perceptions and lived experiences of the government’s leadership effectiveness in addressing the impacts of high turnover, as well as the employees’ consequent reactions to the government’s leadership approach. Participant data were collected …

Climate Change And Environmental Crises In Coastal Cities: Charleston Vs New York City, Nolan Rodriguez

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the increasing vulnerability that coastal communities face regarding climate crises and rising sea levels. Specifically, this paper investigates the environmental crises facing Charleston, South Carolina, and New York City. The geographical location of these cities places a more severe threat upon their environment, as opposed to urban collectives removed from the immediate effect of rising sea levels. A cross-examination of politics and economics is discussed in order to determine the causal relationship of each city’s engagement with its surrounding environment. This paper examines how each city is affected by climate change, what measures are in place to …

Expanding A Fixed Route Bus System With The Lower Anthracite Transit System, Devin T. Johnson, Ben R. Shimer, Kyle R. Crichton

Final Reports in ENST 411: Environmental Community Projects

We worked in partnership with the Lower Anthracite Transit System (LATS) to develop a proposed bus route in the town of Sunbury, PA, expanding their system to include more of Northumberland County. This bus route is predicated upon community-based feedback through surveys, where we designed and implemented a survey analyzing general transportation desires and interest in the route. We collected 207 total responses, where community feedback in these responses informed decisions about stop locations along the route. Survey responses are hugely beneficial for LATS, allowing them to understand what aspects of their transportation services work well and what can be …

What Is The Deal With Federal Student Loans?, Marissa Lopez-Ona

Senior Theses and Projects

Student loan debt is in the trillions. So why aren't Americans more mad about that? This thesis explores the how the submerged nature of student loan policy shapes the politics around it. Suzanne Mettler suggest that federal student loan policy is part of the submerged state where Americans do not "see" the role of government within the student loan program. However, I argue that this is not that reason. I argue and show through an original survey that the role of federal student loan servicers is actually what is hidden about federal student loan policy. And that revealing the role …

Emotion Regulation Strategies And Perceived Emotional Intelligence: The Effect Of Age., Iwanna Sepiadou

Adultspan Journal

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between perceived emotional intelligence and the reported use of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. We also investigated the possible effects of age on the aforementioned variables. The total sample consisted of 379 people (158 men, 220 women, 1 unreported). Across participants, 273 were young (20-39 years old) and 106 were middle-aged (40-65 years old). We found statistically significant positive correlations between the dimensions of perceived emotional intelligence and the reported use of cognitive reappraisal and negative primarily correlations between the dimensions of perceived emotional intelligence and the reported use of …

Teaching Legal Issues In Arts Management To Non-Lawyers, Kristi Arth

Faculty Scholarship Symposium

Teaching Legal Issues in Arts Management to Non-Lawyers

This presentation will provide an overview of the pedagogical framework developed by Prof. Arth for her textbook, "Legal Issues for Arts Organizations: A Practical Guide" (Routledge 2024), which is set for publication on April 29, 2024 and available here: https://www.routledge.com/Legal-Issues-for-Arts-Organizations-A-Practical-Guide/Arth/p/book/9780367771133. The book is designed to make legal concepts approachable by and for non-lawyer audiences. The book’s main objectives include: providing an overview of the American legal system, teaching a systematic process for identifying legal issues, training administrators to read and understand contracts, conveying practical advice for working with professional lawyers, and …

Discourse And Controversy In The Israel-Palestine Conflict - A Review Of The Literature, Irteza Atique

Major Papers

The Israel-Palestine conflict has been ongoing for more than 75 years and has many historical, geographical, religious, and ethnic components. Despite several attempts at resolution, the war persists, resulting in continued violence, human misery, and regional instability. This study dives into the highly contentious dispute over labelling Israel as an apartheid state, a subject that has prompted heated debate in academic literature, college campuses, the media, and diplomacy. Using a wide range of scholarly literature and trustworthy news sources, we investigate the origins of the war, important historical events, and the numerous factors that have shaped the current conflict. Beginning …

The State Of Mental Health In The Mountain West, 2023, Ayda Atici, Freddy Nie, Jesse M. Fager-Larsen, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet examines the state of mental health for both youth and adults and availability of mental health care in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The data are retrieved from Mental Health America’s (MHA) 2023 report, The State of Mental Health in America.

Representations Of Sexual Assault In News Media Coverage Of Canada’S Extreme Intoxication Defence, Alanna Acchione

Major Papers

The extreme intoxication defence (EID) is a provision in Canada’s Criminal Code that protects offenders who are ‘morally innocent’ by means of intoxication. Barred in 1994 by s. 33.1, three recent Supreme Court cases (Brown, Chan, and Sullivan) have overturned this decision, declaring the law unconstitutional in 2022. Concerns over the potential implications of this defence were raised by women’s rights groups and the public alike, prompting the Canadian legislator to rush Bill C-28, which includes a new standard for criminal liability requiring extreme intoxication to the point of automatism to enact the defence. Some advocates for women’s rights say …

Icanretire-Hispanic Segment Experience (Icr-H): A Digital Educational Intervention For Improving Retirement Preparedness Among Hispanic Workers, Luisa Blanco

School of Public Policy Working Papers

We evaluated the digital program ICanRetire-Hispanic Segment Experience (ICR-H), which was tailored to Hispanics and sought to improve retirement financial planning knowledge and motivate program participants to take specific actions to prepare for retirement. To our knowledge, this is one of the first digital educational programs on retirement preparedness that was designed to meet the informational needs of Hispanics taking into account cultural influences. We evaluated the program using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in the Understanding America Study (UAS) Internet panel. We conducted an analysis of differences in means and proportions and Difference-in-Difference (DID) between treatment and control groups …

Applied Theatre For Peacebuilding: Exploring The Value Of Embodied Practice, Emily Machin-Mayes

Capstone Collection

Arts, storytelling, theatre, and drama have been woven into strategic approaches to peacebuilding after conflict to engage with people’s experiences and emotions, share silenced stories, and build trust and empathy. Applied theatre challenges audience members to take a more active role, either through participating in the storytelling or acting itself or through dialogue and reflection activities. This collaborative art form has been used for community-building, reconciliation efforts as well as in post-conflict settings. This study examines the impact and value of an intensive applied theatre workshop, using participant-observation, and semi-structured interviews. Some of the qualitative findings include the value participants …

Manque De Réussite : Le Préjudice Dans Le Football Français, Will Bedell

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

Despite being called The Beautiful Game, soccer in France has a few issues that take away from its beauty. This presentation aims to identify the causes and reasons behind the issues of racism, homophobia, and sexism which plague the French soccer scene. By looking at the causes of these from within French culture, history, and their society we can hope to understand why they exist as well as to establish the sources from which these issues arise.

Probation And Pre-Trial Officers' Perspectives On The Impact Of Maternal Incarceration On Children, Shaniqua Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Because of the mass incarceration of women, maternal incarceration has become a phenomenon within itself. This phenomenon has led to an increase in Black children with an incarcerated mother; however, there is a lack of information about how the cycle of the mass incarceration of Black women is perceived on the community supervision level. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to better understand probation and pre-trial officers’ perceptions of how the maternal incarceration of Black women impacts Black children. Three research questions explored how participants viewed the impact of maternal incarceration on Black children, recidivism, and positive reentry. …

Limitations Of Law Enforcement Involvement In Harm Reduction: A Multivariate Analysis Of State-Level Policies And Overdose Deaths, Marilyn L. Brach

Senior Theses and Projects

Research Question: How do state-level policies authorizing law enforcement to carry and administer Narcan while on duty shape overdose mortality?

Methods: State-level policies Narcan administration policies were examined and categorized. A cross-sectional regression analysis was performed to evaluate the factors influencing state variation in drug overdose deaths. Following bivariate analysis, a panel regression analysis was then executed to precisely estimate the relationship between state-level law enforcement Narcan administration policies and drug overdose deaths.

Results: The cross-sectional analysis provided findings that were largely consistent with the current literature. A higher proportion of non-Hispanic white individuals and a higher proportion of individuals …

Exploring Possibility Under Constraint: A Human Rights Approach To Higher Education In Connecticut’S Prisons And Jails, Emma Hersom

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis investigates the landscape of higher education in prison (HEP) programs in Connecticut, aiming to evaluate their efficacy in ensuring a genuine right to education for incarcerated individuals. Through a comprehensive exploration grounded in human rights principles and informed by abolitionist perspectives, the research scrutinizes the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability of these programs. Drawing on insights from incarcerated students, program leaders, and existing scholarship, it delves into the intersection of education and incarceration, challenging prevailing neoliberal narratives. Furthermore, the thesis proposes actionable strategies for everyday abolition, emphasizing the need to dismantle carceral cultures and foster transformative approaches to …

Powering Justice: Sketches For A New Ethos In Energy Policy, Erin Rizzato Devlin

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

Energy politics lie at the heart of human activity. In a time of ecological and energy crisis, it is fundamental to realise that our reality systems are always open to change and that, in order to respond to the challenges of a changing energy landscape, we must explore the full possibilities of technology in a radical way. This research aims to consider the ethical implications of energy and technology, presenting an urgent case for cosmotechnical pluralism, that is the diversification of world-views, knowledges, technologies in the pursuit of energy justice in global politics. To reconstruct the world and its politics …

Tax Incentives, Foreign Direct Investment, And Tourism Sector Employment Creation In Botswana, Ndinaye Sekwi Charumbira

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unemployment is a major challenge for policymakers in Botswana. Past efforts by government officials to create employment have included diversification away from raw diamond mining and export by offering tax incentives to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the manufacturing sector, among other strategies. It was unknown whether this strategy might be successful in the tourism sector, which is more labor-intensive than the manufacturing sector. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the impact, if any, of tax incentives offered in the tourism sector on FDI and employment. The theoretical foundation for the study was Keynesian economic theory, …

Unveiling The Impact: Structural Racism And Childhood Lead Exposure's Health Consequences In Philadelphia, Mahhum Naqvi, Mahrukh Naqvi, Justin Stout, Colton Spencer

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Childhood lead exposure poses a significant risk to health and well-being, adversely affecting brain function, nervous system development, and behavioral patterns. This study examines the health disparities and inequities associated with childhood lead exposure in Philadelphia, focusing on structural racism and residential segregation as crucial lenses for analysis. By delving into the sociocultural context of lead exposure, this study underscores the imperative of collaborative efforts among stakeholders to safeguard Philadelphia's most vulnerable populations. Healthcare professionals and policymakers play pivotal roles in enhancing funding and prevention strategies. Addressing this issue through the prism of structural racism allows for the identification and …

Exploring Hypertension Prevalence Among Ill-Housed Individuals In Urban Environments, Lia Goldberg, Sameer Shah, Nikhila Archakam, Murod Khikmatov, Kesha Choksi, Anddee White

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

This study explores the interrelations of hypertension, homelessness, and access to healthcare in urban ill-housed populations. It was found that conditions such as heart disease and diabetes significantly exacerbate hypertension, which remains highly prevalent due to the population's limited access to consistent medical care. Homelessness further complicates the management of hypertension due to unstable living conditions, making adherence to treatment and follow-up with healthcare providers challenging. Additionally, factors like higher rates of substance abuse and malnutrition among homeless populations contribute to worsening hypertension, which, if untreated, can lead to severe health crises including heart attacks and strokes.

The research underscores …

Pros, Cons, And The Barriers To Implementing A Universal Healthcare System In The United States, Arpun Shah

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: The United States has the most expensive healthcare system in the world. Despite that, it also has worse health outcomes than that of several other countries. The United States is also the only wealthy/developed country without universal healthcare. Universal healthcare, also known as a single-payer healthcare system, refers to the concept that the government finances and governs healthcare for most, if not all residents of the country. The United States currently has a multi-payer system, which means that healthcare is financed through various sources such as the public and private sectors. Purpose: The purpose of this is …

Examining Policy Diffusion Mechanisms In The Contemporary Local Government Landscape Of A Politically Polarized United States, Jacob Mccauley

All Dissertations

This dissertation explores the nuanced relationship between political polarization and policy diffusion within local governments in the United States, a topic of considerable relevance given the country’s increasing political divide. By examining the diffusion of COVID-19 policies, historical marker modifications, and the implementation of eGovernment services, this research identifies a novel mechanism of policy diffusion that is significantly influenced by political party lines. The study employs a comprehensive methodological approach, incorporating case studies and quantitative analysis to examine policy implementation across politically diverse local governments. The findings reveal that political affiliation profoundly impacts policy choices, with distinct patterns of policy …

A Comparison Of The Whytry Curriculum And Aggression Replacement Training In Adolescents At Risk For Family Breakdown, Grace Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) division of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services seeks to provide evidence-based programs to prevent family breakdown. Evidence-based programs are defined as programs that have qualitative and quantitative support of positive outcomes by peer-reviewed articles. Family and Youth Success (FAYS) is a PEI program that seeks to promote resilience in families and youth by offering one-on-one skills-based counseling and group-based learning for children and parents. FAYS utilizes the WhyTry Program and Aggression Replacement Training (ART) as social skills training programs that seek to decrease social problems and aggression and increase social skills. …

Exploring Equity Frameworks For A Cross-Jurisdictional Vehicle Miles Traveled Mitigation Program In Santa Clara County, Serena Alexander, Luana Chen, Maxwell Belote-Broussard

Mineta Transportation Institute

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) partnered with a Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) research team and San José State University (SJSU) students for assistance in developing the equity framework for the agency’s proposed Equitable Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Mitigation Program. The goal of the program is to reduce the amount of driving generated from new developments in Santa Clara County through transportation solutions with equity and cross-jurisdictional collaboration in mind. During the Fall 2023 semester, graduate urban planning students from SJSU worked to develop policy recommendations for the program equity framework through a literature review, spatial analysis, community engagement …

The Consequences Of Homophobia: Analysis Of Discriminatory Medical And Legislative Policies And Their Influence On Health Disparities, Kaiden J. Fandel

Honors Thesis

Are there specific roots that influence the introduction and incorporation of discriminatory medical policies? What are the sources of such stigma, discrimination, and prejudice, in what forms does such discrimination take place, and what negative impacts does such hatred have on health outcomes, quality of care, and health disparities? Through a review of existing literature on this topic, intertwining the examination of the evolution of discriminatory policies and other explanatory literature in the United States, this thesis aims to answer the questions above, and explain the roots of such homophobic discrimination and its prevalence in the United States. Through the …

Addressing Data Limitations Of Commercial Waterways Via Machine Learning And Stochastic Optimization, Sanjeev Bhurtyal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freight transportation is a crucial component of the US economy, with truck, rail, and water contributing significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, challenges arise in maintaining infrastructure capacity to accommodate the growing tonnage and value of freight transportation. Waterways offer high efficiency and environmental friendliness, with the capacity to transport substantial cargo volumes. Utilizing waterways can alleviate bottlenecks in landside transportation, accommodating the rising tonnage of commodity flow in the US. Despite the advantages of waterway transportation, the data limitations hinder informed decision-making regarding port operation and infrastructure investment. The lack of granularity and timeliness in available data …

Outcome Measures Or Graduation Rates, That Is The Question, Miran Kang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The study compared the Outcome Measures (OM) to the traditional Graduation Rates (GR) to ascertain if OM portrayed the performance of higher education institutions differently than GR and to determine which of the two metrics aligned better with accountability policy objectives. GR refers to the percentages of first-time, full-time students who obtain a degree or certificate within 150% of the normal time. OM presents the award status of all degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students on four cohorts: first-time, full-time (FTFT); first-time, part-time (FTPT); non-first-time, full-time (NFTFT); and non-first-time, part-time (NFTPT). OM was a more comprehensive indicator than GR, particularly for 2-year institutions, …

Polarimetric Radar Signatures In Significant Severe Left-Moving Supercells, Raychel Nelson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Left-moving (LM) supercells, though rarer than right-moving (RM) supercells, may produce significant severe weather. However, there are very few existing studies on LM supercells, particularly polarimetric radar analyses. The upgrade of the nationwide Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) network to polarimetric capability and subsequent studies vastly improved understanding of RM supercells, but similar efforts have largely not been made for LM supercells. This study employs an automated polarimetric radar signature detection algorithm to examine a dataset of significant severe (hail ≥ 2.00”, wind ≥ 65 kts) LM supercells to quantify their polarimetric signatures. Comparisons are made with RM supercells to …

A Compilation, Analysis, And Categorization Of 403 Atmospheric And Climate Science Misconceptions, Haeli Leighty

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) has listed the inaccessibility of research related to misconceptions in atmospheric and climate science as a Geoscience Education Research Grand Challenge (Cervato et al. 2018). This project was a direct response to this call for research and consisted of three distinct steps: 1) data gathering, which included reviewing the literature for relevant misconception data, 2) a qualitative analysis, which included compiling, organizing, and categorizing the data collected, and 3) a quantitative analysis, which included determining the prevalence of each misconception across topic categories, demographic categories, and over time. A total of 403 misconceptions …

Towards Sustainable Development: Civic Architecture As Material Banks, Kathleen O'Gara

Masters in Architecture Program: Theses

This thesis posed the question, “How can buildings be designed to be disassembled and reused to reduce construction and demolition waste and reduce our unsustainable reliance on raw materials?” Designing for disassembly and reuse has the potential to dramatically increase the life of building materials, thus decreasing construction and demolition waste relating to architecture. When designing with deconstruction and reuse in mind, designers must consider the next life of these materials. The thesis was further narrowed to push the adaptability of these materials by designing a structural kit of parts. The structure system is often seen as a stable and …