Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Job Search During Covid: A New Librarian Navigating A New Normal, Isabel Soto-Luna

Criss Library Faculty Publications

For nearly the last two years, we have faced new challenges in unprecedented ways due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to current technology, however, we have been able to get creative to keep things moving as much as possible and find new ways to do things, including searching for jobs. Like many others, I found myself having to traverse a job search process that involved doing only virtual interviews. In my case, however, I am a new librarian (class of 2018) and this was my first full job search in the profession.

A Pandemic Road Map: Creating Social Work Student Wellness Plans In Field Placement, Susan Reay

Social Work Faculty Publications

During the unprecedented early stages of COVID-19, few protocols were established to support overall student wellness in social work field placements. In response to the overwhelming need for a contextual framework to promote wellness and determine the next steps in mitigating health risks, faculty developed a unique solution in a dynamic situation. Rooted in the university-sponsored dimensions of wellness, BSW and MSW students developed wellness plans that were integrated into the field placement course. These plans were intended to enhance students' ability to evaluate their well-being and encourage them to plan wellness activities. The wellness plan was critical in determining …

Changes In Character Virtues Are Driven By Classroom Relationships: A Longitudinal Study Of Elementary School Children, Kendra J. Thomas, Josafa M. Da Cunha, Jonathan Santo

Psychology Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to understand the role of school relationships in shaping students’ character development in middle childhood. Students and teachers completed surveys on student–teacher relationships, peer relationships, social-emotional learning (SEL), parent-teacher communication, and character strengths of fairness, hope, bravery, teamwork, self-regulation, social responsibility, and prosocial leadership. Participants were 1881 Brazilian children in fourth or fifth grade across 288 classrooms and 60 schools. Data were analyzed using a multi-level model framework. Higher student–student relationships were associated with higher starting scores of character strengths paired with a stronger increase among classes whose relationships improved over time. Higher quality …

A Mixed-Methods Study Of Creative Problem Solving And Psychosocial Safety Climate: Preparing Engineers For The Future Of Work, Michelle L. Oppert, Maureen F. Dollard, Vignesh Murugavel, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Alexander Reardon, David H. Cropley, Valerie O'Keeffe

Psychology Faculty Publications

The future of work is forcing the world to adjust to a new paradigm of working. New skills will be required to create and adopt new technology and working methods. Additionally, cognitive skills, particularly creative problem-solving, will be highly sought after. The future of work paradigm has threatened many occupations but bolstered others such as engineering. Engineers must keep up to date with the technological and cognitive demands brought on by the future of work. Using an exploratory mixed-methods approach, our study sought to make sense of how engineers understand and use creative problem solving. We found significant associations …

Whose Lives Matter? Race, Public Opinion, And Military Conflict, Whitney Hua, Thomas Jamieson

Public Administration Faculty Publications

This paper examines how race affects attitudes towards conflict beyond the water’s edge. While prior literature largely assumes that all casualties affect voters’ attitudes similarly, we argue that attitudes toward casualties are importantly shaped by racial-group identities. More specifically, we argue that domestic responses to international events – namely American casualties in military conflict – are conditioned by individuals’ attitudes and biases toward the race of fallen soldiers. Using a novel survey experiment, we find that while people become more supportive of conflict when informed of any soldier’s death, support for escalating conflict only increases when the fallen soldiers have …

Violent Victimization Among Immigrants: Using The National Violent Death Reporting System To Examine Foreign-Born Homicide Victimization In The United States, Kayla R. Freemon, Melissa A. Gutierrez, Jessica Huff, Hyunjung Cheon, David Choate, Taylor Cox, Charles M. Katz

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Limited research attention has focused on homicides involving foreign-born victims. Using data from the National Violent Death Reporting System, we examined 9428 homicides that occurred in 2017 in the United States across 32 states and D.C. Approximately 8% of homicide victims were foreign-born. Homicide victimization rates were substantially lower for foreign-born persons, compared to U.S.-born persons. However, foreign-born persons from Honduras, El Salvador, and Jamaica had a substantially higher risk of homicide victimization. Notably, few homicides involving foreign-born victims were gang- or drug-trade-related. With the growing number of immigrants in the United States, policy and prevention efforts should be guided …

Defense, Disrespect, And #Deadly: A Qualitative Exploration Of Precursors To Youth Violence Informed Through Hospital-Based Violence Prevention Program Follow Up, Katherine B. Snyder, Ashley Ann Raposo-Hadley, Charity H. Evans, Ashley Farrens, Jenny Burt, Gaylene Armstrong, Julie D. Garman, Lindsey Wylie, Mark Foxall

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Success of youth violence intervention and prevention effects, particularly for gun violence, will be enhanced when efforts are appropriately informed by the antecedents and context of violence. Youth violence is guided by social and cultural norms that are shifting with the rise of technology. Bullying, gang violence, and self-directed violence is increasingly found to occur in the online space influencing peer groups across contexts. Through focus groups with youth at risk for violence and victimization, this study finds three themes emerge as common precursors to violence: defense of self or others, disrespect of self or family occurring in traditional community-based …

Why Have Military Courts Become Such As Popular Tool Of Repression?, Brett J. Kyle, Andrew G. Reiter

Political Science Faculty Publications

In November, the Taliban government in Afghanistan announced the establishment of a military tribunal to enforce Sharia law. It will also handle complaints against Taliban police, army, and intelligence units. The developments in Afghanistan are not unique. Military courts have been a key feature of human rights abuses in India, Pakistan, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, and many other countries. Why are regimes of all types increasingly turning to military courts as a tool of repression?

Mexican Middle Schoolers’ Questions On Sexuality And Dating Relationships: A Descriptive Qualitative Analysis, Deaven Rodriguez, Heidi Adams Rueda, Steven Hoffman, Bethany Gutierrez

Social Work Faculty Publications

Research in Mexico has found a lack of comprehensive sexual health education in school settings, as well as a lack of youth perspectives on sexual health and dating. Little is known about the questions Mexican youth have about dating and sexuality, despite research finding that they desire this information and perceive few resources available to them. This collaborative study between a U.S. university and a multi-disciplinary team of middle-school psychologists in Central Mexico aimed to understand youth’s questions on sexual health and dating. This study was a follow-up to focus group conversations, where youth voiced that they wanted more information …

A National Analysis Of Trauma Care Proximity And Firearm Assault Survival Among U.S. Police, Michael Sierra-Arevalo, Justin Nix, Bradley O'Guinn

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Past research on factors influencing firearm assault (FA) mortality have not focused on police officers who, compared to other U.S. workers and the general public, experience especially high rates of firearm victimization. This study focuses on this unique population of FA victims and examines the relationship between travel time to the nearest trauma care facility and the probability of survival among officers shot on duty. Combining data on trauma care center location and 7 years of data on U.S. police officers fatally or non-fatally assaulted with a firearm, we use logistic regression to model the probability of FA fatality among …

Annual Report 2022, Nebraska Center For Justice Research, University Of Nebraska At Omaha, Ryan E. Spohn

Reports

Mission Statement The Nebraska Center for Justice Research’s (NCJR) mission is “to develop and sustain research capacity internal to the State of Nebraska, assist the Legislature in research, evaluation, and policymaking to reduce recidivism, promote the use of evidence-based practices in corrections, and improve public safety.” Our research focus is to use data, research, and evaluation to reduce recidivism, promote the use of evidence-based practices, and improve public safety in Nebraska with an emphasis on reducing prison overcrowding

Guidebook For Omaha's Urban Geology And Anthropocene Nebraska Well Drillers 2022 Field Trip, Harmon Maher, Ashlee L. Dere, Melina Luethje

Geography and Geology Faculty Books and Monographs

This geologic field trip focus is somewhat atypical but arguably reflects an ongoing evolution within the geosciences. Instead of traveling out into rural settings to look at outcrops and the stratigraphy exposed, or rural landforms and their geologic history, this field trip is focused on built and engineered environments in the Omaha area and the ‘modified’ associated geologic processes such as surface and groundwater flow, weathering, and soil formation. The ongoing evolution includes an increase in a multidisciplinary system science approach and is driven by a need to address environmental and resource management challenges using new tools and conceptual frameworks. …

Summary Of Driver Data From Workforce And Pay Survey, Morgan Vogel, Tara Grell

Publications

Recently, rural transit managers asked for wage data for transit drivers in response to the driver shortage across the state. In order to provide relevant data on driver wages, the Nebraska Public Transit team developed and conducted an online survey to better understand driver compensation and benefits in Nebraska. The survey was sent to transit managers through the NDOT rural transit listserv and was open from May 4, 2022 through June 1, 2022. The survey received 44 responses, for a response rate of 72%. Not all respondents answered all questions, so the frequency of responses will vary from question to …

Population Projections For Nebraska Counties 2020 To 2050, Josie Gatti Schafer, Tara Grell

Publications

The 2020 Census, the official count of every person in the United States, placed the population of Nebraska at 1,961,504. Over the decade 2010 to 2020, the state grew 7.4%, see Figure 1. However, population growth was uneven statewide, as 69 counties lost population while areas including Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney, and Columbus grew at stronger rates than previously projected (UNO CPAR, 2015). The release of the 2020 Census data provides the most accurate data to update population projections; however, not all data has been released at this time. Nonetheless, existing data on the fundamental aspects of population change, …

2022 Greater Nebraska Youth Survey Executive Summary, Josie Gatti Schafer

Publications

In January 2020, Nebraska Community Foundation began work with Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha to co-create a survey designed to explore young people’s perceptions of their Nebraska hometowns. Now, after three years, more than 3,200 students have participated in our youth surveys. In 2022, over 700 students responded to the online survey which was administered in rural communities of varying sizes and geography between January and May 2022. The results of the Youth Survey begin to reveal the priorities, values, and desires of these individuals as well as factors that may influence their …

Summary Of Wage Data From Nebraska Transit Portal, Morgan Vogel, Tara Grell

Publications

Recently, rural transit managers asked for wage data for a range of positions. As a result, the Nebraska Public Transit team collected the associated information from the Nebraska Transit Portal. The tables provide monthly wages and non-pay related employee expenses (FICA, health insurance, etc.) paid to a range of positions. The data is the monthly average for January 2022 – April 2022. We show the averages in regions for Nebraska. The position titles are taken from information input into the Transit Portal by managers about monthly personnel expenses. The tables include average wages, average fringe benefits, average total combining both …

Demographics, Workforce, And Housing Review Of North Omaha, Josie Gatti Schafer, Tara Grell

Publications

Data was compiled and analyzed by the University of Nebraska at Omaha Center for Public Affairs Research, a partner with the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Data Center program. The mission of the Center for Public Affairs Research is to collaboratively produce and disseminate high quality public scholarship on topics that impact the lives of Nebraskans. This brief provides data on demographics, the workforce, and housing in North Omaha. The majority of the data presented comes from the American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau for the year 2020. Other data sources and years used in the analyses are notated. …

Creating Capacity For Research Data Services At Regional Universities: A Case Study, Omer Farooq, Jason A. Heppler, K. M. Ehrig-Page

Criss Library Faculty Publications

Understanding the processes of research design and of data collection, organization, storage, preservation, and sharing is critical to the success of any project, regardless of the scope of the research. From research design and conceptualization to the potential sharing of data with other researchers for replicability, as well as preserving data for the benefit of the wider research community, unique challenges, as well as opportunities for research data management (RDM) and research data services (RDS) teams, are presented; these include problems, issues, and concerns regarding how to prepare a data management plan (DMP) and how to manage data collection, analysis, …

Chapter 12: What Fascinates You? Infographics As Research-Based Inquiry For Artists, Tammi Owens, Camille Hawbaker Voorhees

Criss Library Faculty Publications

While student artists can usually articulate their personal motivations in artistic production, they often do not place their work within the context of research that can add complexity, nuance, and generalized perspective until later in their careers. To help students develop this practice, a librarian and a studio art instructor created and co-taught one assignment in 2D Foundations: Color and Visual Literacy, a required two-dimensional (2D) art studio class for all art majors at the University of Nebraska Omaha. In this chapter, the authors share the infographic assignment, which takes inspiration from information-based art generated by artists such as Laurie …

2022 Poverty In Nebraska, Josie Gatti Schafer, Tara Grell

Publications

After years of declining poverty, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the well-being of Nebraskans in many ways, including an increase in poverty. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for 2020, the official overall poverty rate in Nebraska is 10.4%, or 193,820 persons. Sheridan, Thurston, and Pawnee Counties experience poverty at the highest rates. Comparatively, Nebraska’s poverty rate is lower than average across the United States.

Bibliotech, January 2022, Dr. C.C. And Mable L. Criss Library, University Of Nebraska At Omaha Uno Libraries

BiblioTech

Criss Libraries' Digital Newsletter, BiblioTech, September 2024 Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library, University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Nebraska’S Women In Stem | Listen Then Act, Josie Gatti Schafer, Morgan Vogel, Tara Grell, Amanda Parker, Barbara Gomez-Aguinaga, Shawn Maxwelll, Yeonkyung Kim

Publications

A large and vibrant science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce has a range of benefits for the economic and social well-being of communities; yet, women continue to be underrepresented in these occupations. Nationally, in 2017, women accounted for over half of the college-educated workforce but made up only 29% of those employed in science and engineering occupations, while being overrepresented in STEMrelated fields like healthcare. Nebraska’s STEM workforce is reflective of national trends. In 2019, about 27% of Nebraska women 25 years or older worked in a core STEM occupation, which we can estimate to be about 15,300 women …

Uno Goodrich Scholarship Program 50 Years Investment To Impact, Josie Gatti Schafer, Troy A. Romero, Tara Grell

Publications

This brief attempts to measure the overarching economic value, or return on investment (ROI) of graduating from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s (UNO) Goodrich Scholarship Program. The ROI calculations consider the increased number of students who graduate as a result of the program, the costs of their education, and the increased earnings as a result of graduating. The return percentage and dollar amounts are to the broader economy

Demographics, Workforce And Housing Review Of South Omaha, Josie Gatti Schafer, Tara Grell

Publications

Data was compiled and analyzed by the University of Nebraska at Omaha Center for Public Affairs Research, a partner with the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Data Center program. The mission of the Center for Public Affairs Research is to collaboratively produce and disseminate high quality public scholarship on topics that impact the lives of Nebraskans. This brief provides data on demographics, the workforce, and housing in South Omaha. The majority of the data presented comes from the American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau for the year 2020. Other data sources and years used in the analyses are notated. …

Charting Our Path: Celebrating 50 Years Of Black Studies, Claire Du Laney, Paul Jensen

Criss Library Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

“Charting Our Path: Celebrating 50 Years of Black Studies” celebrates the 50th anniversary of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Department of Black Studies. Created through student activism and community involvement, and encountering periods of challenges, UNO’s Department of Black Studies remains one of the oldest Black Studies departments in the country. This traveling exhibit highlights important moments in the department’s history including its origins in the 1960s, institutional conflict, and triumphs of a thriving department. Items reproduced here are primary sources, materials made during specific time periods. The materials may refer to individuals, groups, and events in ways that …

The Juvenile Reentry Mentoring Project: Adaptations During Covid-19, Anne M. Hobbs, Marta Dzieniszewska

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Delinquent youths oft en do not receive the opportunity to be mentored. Th is is especially true for youths who have committed serious law violations or are detained for multiple law violations. In the United States, youths with the most serious off enses are oft en committed to detention, or rehabilitation, or treatment centers. Since 2011, the Juvenile Reentry Mentoring Project (JRMP) has matched mentors to youths detained in Nebraska Detention, and Treatment Facilities. Th e Nebraska Youth Rehabilitation, and Treatment Centers (YRTCs), specifi cally, are for youths with the highest level of needs and who have exhausted all other …

Racial Attitudes And Criminal Justice Policy, Francis T. Cullen, Leah C. Butler, Amanda Graham

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Empirical research on public policy preferences must attend to Whites’ animus toward Blacks. For a quarter-century, studies have consistently found that Kinder and Sanders’s four-item measure of “racial resentment” is a robust predictor of almost every social and criminal justice policy opinion. Racial animus increases Whites’ opposition to social welfare policies that benefit Blacks and their support for punitive policies that disadvantage this “outgroup.” Any public opinion study that fails to include racial resentment risks omitted variable bias. Despite the continuing salience of out-group animus, recent scholarship, especially in political science, has highlighted other racial attitudes that can influence public …

Examining The Effect Of Perceived Responsibility On Online Bystander Intervention, Target Hardening, And Inaction, Leah C. Butler, Amanda Graham, Bonnie S. Fisher, Billy Henson, Bradford W. Reyns

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Failure to take responsibility for intervening has been identified as a primary barrier to bystander intervention. Building on these findings, we examine how perceptions of responsibility affect responses to witnessing victimization in the online realm—a topic that has received limited attention. Using a maximum-likelihood selection model, we analyze data from the Pew American Trends Panel (N = 3709) to estimate the effects of respondents’ perceptions of the role different groups should play in addressing online harassment on their likelihood to engage in intervention, target hardening, or inaction in response to witnessing online harassment, conditioned upon their likelihood of having …

The Influence Of Youth And Parent Reports Of Parental Knowledge And Monitoring And Reporting Discrepancy On High Risk Youth Offending, Leana A. Bouffard, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Introduction

Positive parenting practices are known to be related to lower levels of youth offending. Questions remain as to the overlap between youth and parent perceptions of parenting practices, and the relationship of perception discrepancies with youth offending. This study examines the concordance of parenting behaviors reports, the relationship between parent and youth perceptions of parenting measures with youth offending, and whether discordant youth and parent reports are related to heterogeneity in youth offending.

Methods

Survey data from 818 high risk U.S. youth averaging 16 years old who participated in the Pathways to Desistance study and his or her parent …

Contextual Variations In Associations Between Measures Of Aggression And Withdrawal And Functioning With Peers: A Replication Study, William M. Bukowski, Meelanie Dirks, Ryan Persram, Jonathan Santo, Dawn Delay, Luz Stella Lopez

Psychology Faculty Publications

Data from 790 older school-age (Mage = 10.2 years, SD = 1.2 years) girls (N = 427) and boys from Barranquilla, Colombia (N = 449) and Montréal, Canada (N = 331) were used to replicate findings reported by Valdivia et al. (2005). This prior study revealed contextual variations in the association between two measures of social behavior, specifically aggression and withdrawal, and two measures of effective functioning with peers, specifically sociometric preference and friendship. The Montréal participants were primarily from families with European backgrounds. The ethnicity of the participants from Barranquilla can be described as Latinx/Caribbean. Multilevel analyses provided evidence …