Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Inter-American Human Rights System In The Context Of Migration: Us Immigration Policies, Maira E. Delgado Laurens

Master's Theses

International human rights laws are critical to ensuring a minimum protection level for those migrating to other nations across the globe. Despite intense efforts by the United States to sidestep such policies while misrepresenting their repeated violations of human rights now taking place at the U.S.-Mexico border, these policies remain in full force in the global governance community. The actions of the Trump administration and others clearly indicate the need for political intervention to ensure such rights are maintained. Using qualitative content analysis and participatory observation, this article reviews the effectiveness of thematic hearings, under the Inter-American Commission on Human …

Lgbtq Forced Migrants' Labor Market Integration In Mexico City: Perspectives From Mexico's Government Agencies, International Organizations, And Mexican Civil Society, Rolando Diaz

Master's Theses

Mexico holds a unique position as a country of immigration, emigration, refuge, transit, and return migration. In recent decades, researchers have built awareness on the country’s received migrants’ diverse characteristics by posing questions and tackling the challenges that certain migrants face. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) forced migrants have become increasingly visible since the exodus of asylum-seekers from Central America. Many of these LGBTQ migrants flee state and non-state actors that present life-threatening conditions for the LGBTQ community. Though Mexico as a whole is going through its own evolution on LGBTQ and migrants’ rights, its capital city has …

Recreation And The Sacred: A Case Study Of Diné Bikéyah, Brian Andersen

Master's Theses

The relationship between indigenous groups and outdoor recreation is something that has been analyzed by various scholars. In the North American context, scholars have primarily focused on conflicts regarding land use, particularly as it relates to the concept of the sacred. Although these works speak to general truths, the complexity of the relationship between outdoor pursuits and Native American groups is often over-simplified. This thesis analyzes the potential of outdoor recreation as a means of economic empowerment for the Navajo people. The work draws on the various initiatives currently underway to promote outdoor recreation in the Navajo Nation. These initiatives …

Important Factors For Changing Plastic Consumption Among Highly Educated People In China, Shen Shen

Master's Theses

As the global plastic pollution situation is getting much more serious, how to change the trend of plastic pollution to save humankind itself has become an urgent issue. In China, the country with the world's fastest-growing economy and the largest population, solving the problem of plastic pollution presents a serious challenge. This thesis draws on a survey of highly educated people in China to investigate how these people's understanding and awareness of plastic pollution, willingness to change their behavior and perceptions of who is responsible for addressing the problem might inform strategies for reducing plastic pollution in China. The analysis …

Contextualizing Bipoc High School Students’ Racialized Experiences Under Trump, Christina Ung

Master's Theses

This thesis contextualizes public high school experiences of self-identified students of color during Trump’s presidency. The study features three recent high school graduates from the same campus, and their perspectives on a series of topics related to their racial identity. It was important that this research served as a space for marginalized voices to share their lived experiences, as they are frequently left out of American curriculum. More specifically in this case, the high school is located in a small, rural town where the population is majority white and politically conservative. Through the lens of critical race theory (CRT), data …

Police Union Membership And Lethal Use Of Force, Scott Barger

Master's Theses

I examine the Fraternal Order of Police union presence in cities as an explanation for the lethal use of violence. Using a novel dataset of FOP union presence, I utilize a simple log OLS linear model to explore the relationships between FOP unions and lethal use of force. I find robust evidence that FOP unions have higher incidences of death at the hands of police, compared to cities without a FOP union. Exposure to FOP leads to an increase in baseline risk of death by police by 17%. This effect increases for larger cities.

“What Did You See? We Didn’T See Shit”: Dialectics Of Protest And Resistance In Portland, Annika Bratton

Master's Theses

The murder of George Floyd sparked reinvigorated racial justice uprisings across the United States, coinciding with quarantine, pandemic, and mass unemployment, and in some places across the country, starting a fire of social unrest. Portland, Oregon received national attention for the protest efforts and mutual aid carried out by the community, while being met with brutality and violence at the hands of police. This thesis interviews five self-identified protesters from Portland, seeking answers to three central research questions: (1) What are the experiences of protesters who have been demanding racial justice on the streets in Portland since May of 2020? …

Refugee Policy In Australia And New Zealand: An Approach For Resettling Environmentally Displaced Persons?, Sedina Sinanovic

Master's Theses

An increase in human mobility as a consequence of climate change induced slow-onset environmental degradation and sudden-onset natural disasters is expected to be a defining feature of the 21st century. Inexorably shifting the global migratory landscape, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) approximates that roughly 250 million people will be forcefully displaced due to adverse climate impacts by 2050. While there is no international consensus on appropriately categorizing such people, this thesis refers to them as "environmentally-displaced persons" (EDPs). Since EDPs do not qualify for "refugee" status, they are not afforded access to assistance under the 1951 Convention …

A Treacherous Journey Through Latin America: The Plight Of Black African And Haitian Migrants Forced To Remain In Mexico, Zefitret A. Molla

Master's Theses

The growing presence of Black African and Haitian migrants in Mexico poses a new set of challenges to a country that is already struggling to recognize the presence of Afro-Mexicans and where mestizaje still dominates the national discourse on race. Due to restrictive U.S. and Mexican immigration policies since 2016, many of these migrants have found themselves forced to remain in a country they had only intended to transit through on their journey northward to the U.S. Mexico has only recently taken the necessary steps to recognize its Afro-Mexican population which had been marginalized and erased from history. This paper …

Memory And Identity: Inter-Generational Resilience And Construction Of Diasporic Identities Among Somali Refugees, Hamida Dahir Sheikh Ahmed

Master's Theses

The violence and displacement many refugees face often create a lifelong trauma that manifests in many ways within themselves, their families, and communities. The Somali refugee community in the United States is no different. Since their resettlement in America started in the 1990s following the civil war, the community has struggled with different manifestations of that trauma; substance abuse and gang violence among the youth, prominence of depression and suicide rates, rise of domestic violence, as well as other direct and indirect results associated with mental health. This is the reality of many refugee and immigrant communities, coming directly from …

The Construction Of A European Identity Refugees And Europe’S Identity Crisis, Martina Caretta

Master's Theses

The fundamental purpose of my thesis is to consider the ongoing formation of European identity within the context of the contemporary refugee/migrant crisis in Europe. In doing so, I will briefly survey how a European identity has been conceived and constructed through legal documents, treaties, and political speeches. Moreover, I will use different theories such as Anderson’s imagined communities to consider whether European identity is post-modern and post-national as it is sometimes celebrated to be. The EU is frequently regarded as a unique experiment in history and the first real post-modern political entity. However, looking deeper into the identity construction …

The Role Of Nations-State In Protecting And Supporting Internally Displaced Persons, Daisy Byers

Master's Theses

The rising increase of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has become a global problem. There are over 40 million internally displaced people globally, and 15.9 million are displaced in Africa. These displacements come into place due to war/conflict, corruption, massive human rights violations, natural disasters, urban renewal projects (at the hands of powerful nations such as America, China, France, UK, etc.), and large-scale development projects. According to UNHCR, refugees are people who have international cross-border. In contrast, internally displaced persons must stay within their own country and stay under the protection of their government, even if the government is the reason …

The Colonial Marginalization Of Filipino And Filipino American Soldiers In The Us Army During World War Ii, Corey Joseph Tinay

Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the structural paradigms in place within American society as multifaceted tools of colonialism and how they impacted the experiences of minority and colonized soldiers in the United States Army during the Second World War. The history is analyzed through the postcolonial lens, observing factors in place such as; denial of place in history, identity, and recognition of service. The research questions that this thesis addresses are as follows: What are the colonial implications in the experience of Filipino and Filipino American soldiers experience during the Second World War? Are colonial soldiers treated as more expendable than white …

Identifying Factors For Voluntary Return Migration: A Case Study Of Uzbek American Returnees, Khojiakbar Gayratbekov

Master's Theses

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many Uzbek immigrants found their ways to the United States. Given the unique historic context to their cultural and national identity, Uzbeks experience distinctive integration and adaptation process when they arrive in the United States. Despite political instability and a weak economy in Uzbekistan, data from the United States Department of Homeland Security reveal that many Uzbek immigrants are leaving the U.S. for their home country. Thus, this study investigates factors for return migration among Uzbek immigrants for the period of 2010 to 2020. This study utilizes a mixture of qualitative and quantitative …

Correlation Between Tooth Root Translucency, Crystallinity, And Dna Preservation In Teeth For Unidentified Human Remains (Uhr) Investigations, Paul Yount

Master's Theses

Endogenous genetic material protected by the rigid, mineralized hard tissues of bones and teeth is often targeted for forensic DNA testing in missing persons and unidentified human remains (UHR) investigations. Although standard approaches have narrowed sample selection to a few optimal skeletal elements (i.e., weight-bearing long bones, teeth), subsampling and decisions beyond this can be challenging due to the non-uniform, heterogeneous pattern of postmortem diagenesis. One particular component of skeletal microstructure — the inorganic mineral matrix [hydroxyapatite (HAp), Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2] — is purported to play a major role in DNA preservation. The potential correlation between molecular changes to skeletal microstructure and …

Effects Of Religiosity And Self-Control On At-Risk Adolescent Substance Use And Delinquency, Lauren Burns

Master's Theses

The adolescent period is one of growth, increased autonomy, and increased risk-taking. Common examples of these risky behaviors include substance use and engagement in delinquent activity. Adolescent substance use and delinquent behavior can lead to a range of negative outcomes, some of which carry into adulthood. These negative consequences are especially evident among at-risk adolescents such as those who have dropped out of school or who come into contact with the juvenile justice system, as these youth often demonstrate higher rates of substance use and delinquent behavior. Understanding the nature and development of these problem behaviors is essential to developing …

Proposed Subtypes Of Anger Rumination: Brooding And Reflection And Their Associations With Aggression, Fayth Walbridge

Master's Theses

Rumination maintains, exacerbates, and is related to several maladaptive outcomes including negative affect (e.g., sadness, anger), symptoms of depression, and aggression in samples of nonclinical and clinical populations across developmental periods (e.g., McLaughlin & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1996; Thomsen, 2006; Peled & Moretti, 2007; Yang, et. al., 2014). Recently, the construct of sadness rumination has been conceptualized as two distinct subtypes, reflection and brooding (Treynor, Gonzalez, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2003). Brooding is considered maladaptive because feelings and situations are viewed through a negativistic lens and reflection is viewed as adaptive and uses a problem-solving approach (Lopez, 2010; Burwell & …

A Meta-Analysis Of Check-In/Check-Out: Effectiveness, Social Validity, And Design Standards, Caitlyn Weaver

Master's Theses

The present study serves to investigate the evidence-base for Check-in/Check-out (CICO), a widely used behavioral intervention. Fifty-two studies were included in the review and 44 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Standardized mean difference was used to calculate an omnibus effect for CICO, which showed that CICO significantly improves student outcomes. Effect sizes were large for several dependent variables, including academic engagement, reduction in problem behaviors, percentage of points on a daily behavior report card, and reduction in internalizing behaviors. No moderators significantly explained variability within these relationships. Social validity was assessed across CICO studies and was reported to be …

Comparing The Efficacy Of Two Affirmation Interventions To Reduce Stereotype Threat Effects On Women’S Math Performance, Alicia Macchione

Master's Theses

Research demonstrates when math-based gender stereotypes are activated (i.e., men are better at math than women), women display comparatively poorer math performance than men, a phenomenon referred to as stereotype threat. The current thesis project evaluated two self-affirmation interventions designed to reduce the effects of stereotype threat on women’s math performance. Participants completed a math test under one of four conditions: control (no explicit stereotype activation), stereotype threat (activation of gender performance stereotype) or stereotype threat combined with one of two self-affirmation manipulations. Women in the affirmation conditions either read about women’s greater verbal or relational ability and were asked …

Mitigating Negative Perceptions Due To Gender Norm Violation Through Adherence To Another Prevalent Gender Norm, Kelsey Drea

Master's Theses

In many cultures, the tradition of women adopting their husband’s surname is long-standing. This behavior became an established custom with English women around the 11^th and 12^th centuries (Embleton and King, 1984). In the United States, this practice was inherited from English common law, wherein a wife’s legal identity was considered tied to that of her husband’s. Despite the pervasiveness of such customs in naming conventions in Western cultures, recent social movements intended to foster greater parity between the sexes have led many women to defy this tradition and legally keep their own surname following marriage (MacClintock, 2010). …

Underrepresentation Of Women In American Politics, Lindsey Crane

Master's Theses

In this project I studied why women are underrepresented in state legislatures. I conducted a data set ranging from 2000 to 2018 for forty-three US states, analyzing the percentage of women who won and the number of women who ran in the elections. Using this data, I found evidence that personal life choices have the most effect on rather women want to run for political office and successfully pursue political careers. Having this specific quantitative dataset, the study provides a better understanding to why women are still widely underrepresented on the state level. I also find that my independent variables …

The Effects Of Using Behavioral Skills Training In Teaching Non-Aba Professionals To Implement Discrete Trial Training: A Meta-Analysis, Lindsey Bernard

Master's Theses

This quantitative meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of behavioral skills training (BST) for training non-applied behavior analysis (ABA) professionals to implement discrete trial training (DTT), as well as examining the methodological rigor of these studies using WWC design standards. Results indicate that BST produces large effects and the majority of studies either met design standards with reservations or met design standards. As a result, researchers and practitioners may be optimistic that BST is an effective approach to training non-ABA professionals to implement DTT.

An Evaluation Of Activity In A Colonial Maya Cemetery Using Femoral Cross-Sectional Analysis, Casey Lejeune

Master's Theses

Cortical bone formation in the population of Tipu, a colonial visita site in Belize, was examined here to reveal factors of their activity and address the possibility of a status-based burial plan. To answer this question, this research examined the endosteal surface of the midshaft femur using digital imaging methods. The femora from 70 individuals were photographed and examined using the BoneJ plugin in ImageJ software. The cortical bone area was compared to additional variables, including sex, age, stature, pilastric index, and burial location. It was hypothesized that sex, age, and stature would correlate with cortical bone area similarly across …

'Disembodied Bones': Recovering The Poetry And Prose Of Elinor Wylie 2021, Sarah R. Bullock

Master's Theses

Picking a book to read is like diving for a pearl, writes Elinor Wylie, a 20th Century American poet, novelist, essayist and prominent magazine literary editor. In her essay "The Pearl Diver", she writes that it is the diver that risks the unknown- unaided by diving equipment in the form of library indexes-who gains the greatest joy, Wylie states (Fugitive Prose, 869). Wylie explains:

I venture to perceive an analogy between the rebellious pearl diver and myself, in my slight experience with public libraries...how much more delightful, how much more stimulating, to abandon the paraphernalia of card indexes and mahogany …

Women In The Outdoors: Navigating Fear And Creating Space For Spiritual Inspiration 2021, Morgan Costello

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between fear and spiritual inspiration for women in the outdoors. Specifically, this study looked at participants from SUNY Cortland’s Outdoor Education Practicum, a core course in the Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Studies Department that culminates with a two-week outdoor experience, with the goals of teaching outdoor skills and building community. This was a mixed-method study, with quantitative data collected according to pre(mid)post design and qualitative data coming from journal entries over a 5-day period. Testing was conducted using the Outdoor Situational Fear Inventory to measure fear, and the Nature Relatedness …

Remaking Divinity In Aldous Huxley’S Brave New World 2021, Sebastian Vignone

Master's Theses

Humanity is an experience. Shaped through both individual and collective encounters, we understand the self and the world around us as an amalgamation of interactions over the course of our lives. Arguably, one of the most common experiential archetypes is religion, and more specifically the relationship one has with a divine being as it has been framed by a religious institution. While the United States does not have an official religion, there is a host of people who refer to the U.S. as a “Christian nation,” and it is therefore irresponsible to elide the panoply of inequities that run through …

Developing An Adaptive Rock Climbing Curriculum For Suny Cortland Outdoor Pursuits 2021, Rebekah Mills

Master's Theses

SUNY Cortland Outdoor Pursuits opened in August of 2015 with the completion of the newly constructed Student Life Center. Outdoor Pursuits is a smaller department within the Recreational Sports Department. Outdoor Pursuits offers rock climbing services at its facility located in the Student Life Center. Currently, Outdoor Pursuits offers Bouldering and Top Roping services only when the Student Life Center is open, these hours are typically 3-10 pm. Monday-Friday and Saturday-Sunday 2-8 pm. These services are only provided to eligible SUNY Cortland faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other affiliated members. As the facility has grown in popularity during its operation, …

Effects Of Adolescent Motivation And Personality On Adherence And Success In A Voluntary Residential Bootcamp Program, Lydia Sigurdson

Master's Theses

The Youth ChalleNGe Program is a voluntary program for adolescents who have dropped out of high school and is intended to address various needs of at-risk youth. As a result, individuals are motivated to enroll for an array of reasons. Though prior research on the Youth ChalleNGe Program has sought to identify individual factors that determine program outcomes, no study has considered motivation for enrollment as a predictor of program success. Further, personality traits related to goal setting and self-regulation may impact the relationship between motivation and program outcome. Archival data was gathered from 710 participants in the Youth ChalleNGe …

The Effects Of Sexual Surrogacy On Satisfaction, Happiness, And Well-Being, Ryan Liu-Pham

Master's Theses

The study tested the effects of sexual surrogacy, which I define as the desire to fulfill sexual needs with a surrogate target (e.g., celebrity crushes), on sexual satisfaction, relationship, happiness, and well-being. To examine this topic, I conducted a cross-sectional experimental study. After being asked about sexual desire toward either their current partner or a celebrity crush with a sexual desire behavior inventory, participants were asked to answer questions about their sexual satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, happiness, and well-being. I predicted that desire toward both surrogates and interpersonal targets will predict higher levels of sexual satisfaction, happiness, and well-being but that …

Honor Crimes: A Question Of Honor, Culture, And Humanity, Nadia N. Almusleh

Master's Theses

Honor crimes, femicide, domestic abuse and violence are widely prevalent in patriarchal societies. Middle Eastern cultures deeply value protecting the chastity and honor of women. The traditional images of women and the notions of honor and shame are consistently used as justifications for violence and killings. This is not attributable to a single culture or religion. It is rather a manifestation of societal norms around gender-based violence. Feminist activism against honor crimes in the Middle East within the last decade has increasingly received social media attention. However, the impact of this social media activism on government intervention has yet to …