Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Journalism Students, Web 2.0 And The Digital Divide, Mary Elizabeth Green

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to find out if students were utilizing Web 2.0 applications. Since the applications in question are often employed by the media industry, the study aspired to find out if students majoring in mass communication and journalism utilized the applications more often than other students. The “digital divide” is a term used to describe the difference in skill levels in using computer technology and the Internet. Some of the variables typically associated with the digital divide include gender, age, ethnicity, lack of a broadband connection and previous experience using the technology. This study looks at …

An Investigation Into The Use Of Geospatial Technologies As Part Of Disaster Management Efforts Related To The Asian Tsunami Of 2004, Robert William Redding Jr.

Dissertations

On the 26th of December, 2004, a tsunami impacted the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean, immediately killing over two hundred and eighty thousand people, displacing another million people, and initially causing at least US$10 billion in damage. The response by the international community was swift and massive. Disaster decision-makers who led their organization's responses to the tsunami used geospatial information to support their decision-making efforts with mixed success. When describing their use of geospatial technologies during the response, a select set of disaster decision-makers provided information about how they used geospatial information, they described what worked and what did not …

Interpersonal Perception Of Narcissism In An At-Risk Adolescent Sample: A Social Relations Analysis, Sarah June Grafeman

Dissertations

The current study utilized Kenny's (1994) social relations model to explore the interpersonal consequences of narcissism in an at-risk adolescent residential sample. Members of two platoons (N= 47) attending a 22-week military-style intervention program completed a self-report measure of narcissism and rated one another on narcissism-related traits as well as social status within the peer group. Interpersonal ratings demonstrated small but significant consensus as well as self-other agreement for narcissism-related traits. Individuals with relatively high levels of self-reported narcissism were perceived by peers as hostile, competitive, and likely to engage in future delinquent behaviors. Self-reported narcissism was also associated with …

Special Issue On People With Disabilities And Social Welfare: Introduction, Barbara Barton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Dreams Deferred: Disability Definitions, Data, Models, And Perspectives, Barbara Barton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

When Ed Roberts, who had polio, forged new ground for people with disabilities by developing the first Center for Independent Living in 1972, the stage was set for people with disabilities and advocates to join together in a new civil rights movement. 'Invisible' no more, the disability community started what was expected to be a stratospheric leap into community inclusion. There was substantial hope held in the anticipated impact of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 (P.L. 101-336, 104 statute 327). For millions of Americans, it appeared that the ADA would provide avenues for increased …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 36, No. 4 (December 2009)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

SPECIAL ISSUE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND SOCIAL WELFARE

• INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE - Barbara Barton, Guest Editor
• DREAMS DEFERRED: DISABILITY DEFINITIONS, DATA, MODELS, AND PERSPECTIVES - Barbara Barton, Guest Editor
• DIMENSIONS OF LOSS FROM MENTAL ILLNESS - Amy E. Z. Baker, Nicholas Procter, and Tony Gibbons
• INFLUENCES ON JOB RETENTION AMONG HOMELESS PERSONS WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE OR PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES - Russell K. Schutt and Norman C. Hursh
• E-THERAPY AS A MEANS FOR ADDRESSING BARRIERS TO SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT FOR PERSONS WHO ARE DEAF - Dennis Moore, Debra Guthmann, Nikki Rogers, Susan Fraker, and Jared Embree
• CONNECTING YOUTH …

Dimensions Of Loss From Mental Illness, Amy E. Z. Baker, Nicholas Procter, Tony Gibbons

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This review explores the nature, scope and consequences of loss resulting from mental illness. Losses are described within four key themes: self and identity, work and employment opportunities, relationships, and future-oriented losses. In reflecting upon review findings, several assumptions about loss are illuminated. Findings are situated within the cornerstones of recent mental health reform, specifically a recovery-oriented approach and social inclusion. Particular attention is directed towards notions of risk and responsibility and tensions in realizing the impact of loss within an individualized recovery framework. Implications and recommendations for policy and practice are highlighted.

Connecting Youth And Communities: Customized Career Planning For Youth With Psychiatric Disabilities, Kim Brown

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Young people with psychiatric disabilities are significantly overrepresented in the juvenile justice system, tend to be employed sporadically if at all, and frequently have negative connections within and to their communities. Recent research conducted in Montana with youth who have developmental and/or physical disabilities demonstrates the effectiveness of using a customized career planning model to increase linkages to resources and access to community- based employment. Side benefits include improved self-esteem and positive community connections. The customization model holds promise as a way to reduce the risk factors young people with psychiatric disabilitiesf ace and increase the resiliency factors that can …

Does The Gi Bill Support Educational Attainment For Veterans With Disabilities? Implications For Current Veterans In Resuming Civilian Life, Alexa Smith-Osborne

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A secondary data analysis of the 2001 National Survey of Veterans (NSV) for 2075 Gulf War-era veterans was conducted to investigate whether the GI Bill (the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, most recent provisions of which have been entitled the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post 9/11 GI Bill), considered as a social welfare policy, demonstrated protective effects for veterans with disabilities in terms of successful re-entry and sustained enrollment in higher education. Regression analyses to test the mediation effects of use of the GI Bill, use of non-Veterans' Administration (VA)financial aid, and use of VA health services suggested mediation …

Parental Cognitive Disabilities And Child Protection Services: The Need For Human Capacity Building, Sandra T. Azar, Kristin N. Read

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Theories regarding the social cognitive origins of parenting risk have recently emerged. This work not only has implications for the nature of interventions with parents, but also for the approaches taken by the social service systems that work with them. This paper reviews the evidence that there is a significant number of parents with cognitive disabilities within child protection caseloads and outlines the types of human capacity building and organizational development that are needed to support the parents' needs. Such capacity building will not only increase the effectiveness of child protection interventions with parents with cognitive disabilities (PCD), but will …

Reaching Beyond The "Moron": Eugenic Control Of Secondary Disability Groups, Gerald V. O'Brien, Meghan E. Bundy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

While much has been published about the American eugenics movement, few authors have considered the relative status of various disability populations as targets of eugenic control. While many writers focus on persons diagnosed as feeble-minded as the central focus of control, little has been written regarding the status of additional disability groups. This is important since, as described here, a central component of coming to understand past social injustices against marginalized groups and the contemporary relevance of such injustices is gaining an awareness of why specific populations were accepted by control authorities as appropriate or viable targets for control measures.

Review Of Cracks In The Pavement: Social Change And Resilience In Poor Neighborhoods. Martin Sdnchez-Jankowski. Reviewed By James Midgley., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Martin Sanchez-Jankowski, Cracks in the Pavement: Social Change and Resilience in Poor Neighborhoods. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2008. $24.95 papercover.

Review Of City Of Disorder: How The Quality Of Life Campaign Transformed New York Politics. Alex Vitale. Reviewed By Stephen Pimpare., Stephen Pimpare

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Alex Vitale, City of Disorder: How the Quality of Life Campaign Transformed New York Politics. New York: New York University Press, 2008. $40.00 hardcover, $20.00 papercover.

Review Of Rightward Bound: Making America Conservative In The 1970s. Bruce J. Schulman And Julian E. Zeliger. Reviewed By James Midgley., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Bruce J. Schulman and Julian E. Zelizer, Rightward Bound: Making America Conservative in the 1970s. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008. $49.95 hardcover, $19.95 papercover.

Review Of The Gender Impact Of Social Security Reform. Estelle James, Alejandra Cox Edwards And Rebecca Wong. Reviewed By Silvia Borzutsky., Silvia Borzutsky

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Estelle James, Alejandra Cox Edwards and Rebecca Wong, The Gender Impact of Social Security Reform. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. $35.00 hardcover

Biological Sciences Collection Development Policy, Jacquelyn Petzold

UNL Libraries: Collection Development Policies

The biological sciences collection exists to support the teaching, research, and service functions of the School of Biological Sciences and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln community. The public may benefit from the biological sciences collection, although specific materials are not collected to meet their needs. Biology-related materials not available in the library’s collection are generally readily available through Interlibrary Loan. The collection is focused on the biologically-based subsections of the Q Library of Congress call number range, although the heavily interdisciplinary nature of scientific study necessitates some overlap with R, S, T, and other areas.

The Effects Of Ethnic Identity On The Assimilation Behaviors Of Second Generation Immigrants, Emily Baumann

All Theses

This thesis examines the effects of ethnic identity on assimilation behaviors in second generation immigrants. It looks at two types of ethnic identity--one that is an internal, self-identification and one that is an external, objective designation. More specifically, this study reviews the effects of ethnic identity on how well a respondent writes a foreign language, how well a respondent writes English, language the respondent prefers to speak, total monthly earnings, and highest level of education achieved. This study hypothesizes that various ethnic self-identifications and various nationalities will be predictors of various assimilation pathways set forth in the segmented assimilation theory. …

Media Gender Bias In The 1984 And 2008 Vice Presidential Elections, Katherine Shaunesi Reeves

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Media coverage in political campaigns helps shape public opinion and can be a factor in people determining how to vote. Thus, bias evident in the coverage of political candidates should be a concern for a society which values fair elections. In the 2008 general election, for the first time in 24 years, a woman was on a major party ticket. The treatment of female candidates historically has been sexist. To understand the media coverage of Sarah Palin I chose to look at editorials in The New York Times. I compared her editorial references to Joe Biden’s in The Times. Then, …

Qualitative Spatial Reasoning With Holed Regions, Maria Vasardani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intricacies of real-world and constructed spatial entities call for versatile spatial data types to model complex spatial objects, often characterized by the presence of holes. To date, however, relations of simple, hole-free regions have been the prevailing approaches for spatial qualitative reasoning. Even though such relations may be applied to holed regions, they do not take into consideration the consequences of the existence of the holes, limiting the ability to query and compare more complex spatial configurations. To overcome such limitations, this thesis develops a formal framework for spatial reasoning with topological relations over two-dimensional holed regions, called the …

Archiving & Records Management Perspectives On Electronic-Only Publications For Nomenclature, Sue Ann Gardner

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

I fully support the establishment of taxonomic names in electronic-only publications and would like to make some recommendations based on my professional experience in archival sciences, as a Scholarly Communications Librarian. The proposed amendment to the Code needs only to be explicit in what is required of authors and publishers for electronic-only publication, and all contingencies can be covered. In this generation we have one foot in the world of paper and the other now firmly planted in the electronic realm. This special position will be relatively short-lived, and we would be doing a great service to our successors if …

El Concepto De Audiencia Y La Colaboración Entre Iguales En La Revisión De Textos Escritos, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Creating Community For Those Who Work With Wool, Susannah L.K White

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Creating Community for Those Who Work with Wool The purpose of this project was to create opportunities for reflection and to gather information from a diverse group of people (both geographical and occupational) who have an interest in working with wool. Using various thinking skills tools in small focus groups to identify needs, occupations, interests and themes of individuals, it attempts to create a common format suitable for connecting individual vocations to the wider community of woolworkers. The appropriateness of the use of a web site, and the form that it might take are examined. A great deal of useful …

Clearing The Clutter: Organizing And Decorating Using Creative Problem Solving, Lori M. Kiefer

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

A major component of the Masters program in Creative Studies is Creative Problem Solving (CPS). This project was conducted using CPS. I needed to organize and redecorate my house, but did not know where to start. There was so much clutter that it seemed like an overwhelming task. Using Creative Problem Solving gave me a process to use in order to complete the steps needed to organize and redecorate five rooms in our house. I used the components of CPS and incorporated appropriate tools to use throughout the stages. I have included my process as well as what I have …

Manifesting Love: Developing A Bible Camp Week For Gay Young Adults, Scott A. Luikart

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project serves to create an inclusive camp community to teach young gay adults about love and give them a sense of belonging in a religious setting. This sense will be manifested as the participants discuss four forms of love and create a personal manifesto. This project is grounded in Biblical scripture, and Lutheran tradition, but is not exclusive to the Lutheran tradition. Scripture, and literature sources were evaluated and considered in creating a structure for future implementation of a spiritually based camp. ___________________________________

An Examination Of The Organizational, Social And Psychological Climate For Individuals Infected With Or Affected By Hiv/Aids, Rashone Scott-Williams

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

An examination of the organizational, social and psychological climate for individuals infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. Enclosed is an identification of the organizational (household), social (family, spouse, friends, church, etc.) and psychological (mental health, thoughts, feelings etc.) press/environment effecting individuals diagnosed with the virus or disease. This project examines and applies the elements of Ekvall’s 10 dimensions of a creative environment for women who are infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS; the results are reflected in a Creative Climate Survey. The participants of the survey were anonymous and voluntary. The survey was distributed throughout an entire month to a …

Persistence And Success: A Study Of Cognitive, Social, And Institutional Factors Related To Retention Of Kalamazoo Promise Recipients At Western Michigan University, Michelle Ann Bakerson

Dissertations

The Kalamazoo Promise, a universal scholarship program announced in November 2005 provides four years of tuition and fees at any of Michigan's two- or fouryear public colleges or universities for students who have attended Kalamazoo Public Schools. This investment in the community is being replicated elsewhere across the nation, including Denver and Pittsburgh. The scholarship program lowers the cost of postsecondary education, thereby increasing incentives for high school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion. Of the 307 Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship recipients who have attended Western Michigan University since its inception, 16% have been academically dismissed.

The main objectives of this …

The Collective Voices Of Asian International Doctoral Students In Counseling Psychology In The U.S.: Recommendations For Faculty And Training Programs, Miki Koyama

Dissertations

There is growing interest among scholars to understand the training experiences of international students in applied psychology. Few empirical studies have specifically investigated international doctoral students in counseling psychology. The purpose of the present study was to create an opportunity for the voices of Asian international students in U.S. doctoral counseling psychology programs could be expressed, and to convey their collective voices.

Twelve Asian international students, predominately women from East Asia, participated in two phone interviews. Participants were asked to illustrate their overall training experiences, share helpful and unhelpful aspects of their training, and identify recommendations for faculty and training …

Understanding The Impact Of The Kalamazoo Promise From The Perspectives Of Parents And Community Group Members, Charles Pearson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to uncover the emerging views of parents and community group stakeholders in regards to The Kalamazoo Promise, and what they believed were the important issues that must be understood by implementers of The Promise in order to provide more effective implementation.

The Kalamazoo Promise is a full-tuition scholarship provided to all eligible graduates of the school district. The qualification criteria are simple, and all graduates attending at least the four years of high school are eligible.

A case study was conducted in one representative school in this midsized, urban district. A multiple-phase approach was …

Deliberative Democracy And Inequality: Two Cheers For Enclave Deliberation Among The Disempowered, Christopher F. Karpowitz, Chad Raphael, Allen S. Hammond Iv

Communication

Deliberative democracy grounds its legitimacy largely in the ability of speakers to participate on equal terms. Yet theorists and practitioners have struggled with how to establish deliberative equality in the face of stark differences of power in liberal democracies. Designers of innovative civic forums for deliberation often aim to neutralize inequities among participants through proportional inclusion of disempowered speakers and discourses. In contrast, others argue that democratic equality is best achieved when disempowered groups deliberate in their own enclaves (interest groups, parties, and movements) before entering the broader public sphere. Borrowing from each perspective, the authors argue that there are …

Rhode Island's Greatest Natural Tragedy, Stephanie N. Blaine

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

The infamous hurricane of 1938 accelerated the ongoing transformation of Rhode Island’s way of life.