Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Masculine Vs. Feminine Women: Verdict, Blame, And Punishment Outcomes In The Legal System, Alaina Helmerichs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is commonly recognized that sentencing disparities exist between men and women who are accused of the same crime—with men often receiving harsher judgements than women. However, research explaining why this disparity exists is incomplete. Research suggests that higher levels of facial masculinity in men is tied to higher levels of criminality (Estrada-Reynolds et al., 2017); however, little research looks at this pattern amongst female defendants. The current study investigated whether the gendered appearance (masculine vs. feminine) of female defendants in different types of cases (child negligence vs. medical malpractice) affects mock jurors’ judgments about verdict, punishment, and internal blame …

Development Of A Measure Assessing Adolescent Aggression: The Aggressive Behavior Risk Assessment- Adolescent- Parent Report (Abra-A-Pr), Katherine Fallon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although parent-report scales for general behavioral difficulties and aggression (e.g., verbal and physical aggression) exist, there are currently no measures assessing sexual behaviors in this context. Commonly, parent-report measures provide a few items relevant to behavioral aggression, and items encompassing sexually aggressive behaviors are frequently vague and non-specific in the actions being committed by the adolescent. The primary purpose of this project was to develop a comprehensive and multifaceted parent-report measure for aggressive behavior in adolescents. Three separate studies were conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the measure. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to investigate …

My Body As A Journey Accessing Pre-Colonial Identity For Healing Intergenerational Transgender Shame, Jennifer Lagman

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

A graduate student in art therapy wrote this heuristic paper to explore shame's role as both a negative internal feeling and a cultural and social tool for evaluating and regulating behavior. As a transgender woman, she examines what it is like to be labeled as Filipino and deal with being transgender. Tiny advances have been made in the understanding of shame within the context of minority transgender self-research. Using art to expose those feelings associated with shame, balance them with affirmations, and ground them in native identity are key aspects of this process. Consequently, meeting one's shadow becomes a necessity …

Fantasia On A Theme Of Purpose: Using A Music-Guided Scribble Technique To Support Meaning-Making In Older Adult Retiree Musicians, Sophia R. Smith

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Within the population of older adults, overall well-being corresponds with the ability to self-actualize and seek meaning, but age-related changes combined with ageism and isolation can negatively impact this capacity to maintain a sense of purpose, especially following retirement. It may be that retired musicians are especially vulnerable to this experience later in life due to a loss of the primary method of creative engagement and community that is facilitated by musical performance in a group setting. Integrating phenomenological and ethnographic approaches, this study utilized a qualitative design to understand how music-guided art-making incorporating the scribble technique could support a …

Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy: The Effects Of Art Media On Mindfulness And Stress Reduction In College Students, Isabella Sziraczky

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This mixed-methods, mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) study explores how different art media and tools affect mindfulness and stress reduction in university students. Undergraduate and graduate university students (N = 11) were recruited to participate in the single-session art therapy study. Participants engaged in a brief mindfulness exercise, known as a body-scan meditation, followed by 20 minutes of art-making. The students who volunteered to participate in this study were randomly assigned to one of two groups — collage or acrylic paint — which determined the media they used for the MBAT portion of the study. Data was collected from students before …

How Black Undergraduate Students Experience Whiteness In Postsecondary Education, Karen Margaret Guettler-James

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Critical whiteness scholars have described whiteness as a system of oppression that privileges White identities above others and perpetuates White supremacy. On the college campus, institutional, social, and historical norms reinforce the educational status quo and work together to maintain a system of whiteness that marginalizes Black students. This study investigated perceptions of whiteness held by student participants who self-identify as Black undergraduate students. Through focus group interviews, participants were asked to share their lived experiences with whiteness on the college campus. With the words of the participants, I reveal how campus standards that align with White Eurocentric norms devalue …

Location, Location, Location: Geographic Qualities Of Political Instability And Military Coups, William O'Connell

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Previous research has shown that political instability can lead to military coups, especially when it occurs close to the capital. However, other than proximity to the capital, no other geographic qualities of instability and their relationship to coups have been explored. Therefore, this dissertation serves as a detailed analysis of how the location of instability conditions its impact on coups.

To show how the locational qualities of instability influence coup likelihood, I borrow from expected utility models of coups, and explore how instability influences militaries’ disposition and ability to coup differently when it occurs in different areas within a country. …

Urban Streetscape Changes In Portland, Oregon: A Longitudinal Virtual Audit, Tomoya Hanibuchi, David Banis, Hunter Shobe, Tomoki Nakaya, Shohei Nagata

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Streetscape imagery has considerable potential for observing urban change. The literature lacks sufficient longitudinal studies, however, on urban change considering human perception and activities. We conducted a longitudinal virtual audit to observe the change in urban liveliness, human activities, and built environment by examining streetscape imagery taken in the late 2000s and the late 2010s in Portland, Oregon. Eleven untrained crowd workers were recruited to provide liveliness ratings of 24,242 streetscape images for both periods. Tabulation, mapping, and multilevel regression analyses were conducted to observe the distribution, changes in liveliness, and the factors affecting these changes. The results confirmed that …

Major Climate Policy Enactments Increase The Urgency Of Managing Climate-Related Risk At Banks, David Arkush, Sarah Bloom Raskin, Yevgeny Shrago

University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Public Affairs

In late 2022, Congress and the state of California enacted a set of sweeping policies expected to hasten the shift to clean energy dramatically in the coming years. These policies will reduce long-term physical risk to banks and the financial system from climate change. At the same time, they may dramatically increase nearer-term risks to banks that are underprepared for the economic transition to clean energy. This Essay sketches the likely implications of these new policies for banks’ transition risk and recommends responses for bank regulators.

Seattle's Fair Chance Housing Law: The Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Limits On Tenant Criminal Record Screening, Thomas Stanley-Becker

University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Public Affairs

No abstract provided.

The Impacts Of Identity On Perceptions Of Safety On A Predominately White Campus, Rebecca Delrosso

Honors Theses

This quantitative study examines the relationship between students’ marginalized identities of race, gender, and sexuality and their perceptions of safety at a predominantly white institution (PWI). Survey data collected from undergraduates at a small liberal arts university reveal associations between minority identities and feelings of discomfort, insecurity, discrimination, and vulnerability on campus. The findings highlight the need for PWIs to prioritize secure and inclusive environments through policies, practices, and support systems.

Defending The Role Of A Principle Of Proportionality In Just Punishment, Emma Mecklenburg

Honors Theses

What makes a punishment just or unjust is a familiar topic that the public and scholars alike recognize as an important question. Many factors are involved in conversations surrounding the just length of sentences, but this paper will specifically investigate two central questions: First, what makes a punishment just, and second, what role does a principle of proportionality play in thinking about just punishment.

Immigration Level And Its Impact On The United States Labor Market Tightness, Khai Quy La

Honors Theses

This research investigates the complex interplay between immigration labor and market equilibrium in the United States, focusing on the period from 2000 to 2019. By examining the correlation between the rate of net international migration and the unemployment-to-vacancy ratio (U/V) across 51 states, the study uncovers significant relationships that shed light on immigration dynamics in response to labor market conditions. The findings support the hypothesis that a decrease in the U/V ratio leads to an increase in immigration in the following period as immigrants seek improved job employment prospects.

Opioid Policy Solutions: Administrative Law, Legislation, And Constitutional Reform, Trevin Stevens

Honors Theses

I have written three separate policy briefs addressing issues in the pharmaceutical industry that allowed for the opioid epidemic to reach the magnitude that it has in the last three decades. I examined public policy regarding labeling, drug diversion, and misuse, as well as marketing. By studying existing policies, I was able to provide insight into possible reforms, while accounting for potential obstacles to systematic reform, such as constitutional concerns regarding free speech.

Trading Perspectives: The Impact Of Gender In Shaping National Trade Policies, Katherine Kwiatkowski

Honors Theses

Economic and political factors have been shown to influence the trade policy decisions of national leaders. The impact of a national leader’s gender on their trade policy preferences remains an underexplored area of research. The increasing share of female national leaders raises the question of whether their policy preferences vary from those of male leaders because of their gender. In this study, I utilize the gender of a nation’s leader to implement a two-way fixed effects regression that analyzes the impact of gender on a leader’s trade policy preferences. Controlling for factors that could also impact a leader’s trade policy …

Incarcerated To Educated: The On-Campus Experiences Of College Students Post Incarceration, Taylor Comer

Masters Theses

As reentry rates continue to climb in the United States, more individuals with felony convictions on their criminal records will be looking to obtain post-secondary education to make themselves more marketable in the workforce. The purpose of this narrative study was to examine the experiences of three individuals that pursued higher education after being released from prison. It was determined that the criminality of these individuals had minimal impact on their experiences in higher education, and that there are other components of their identity that have a heavier influence on their likelihood of success. The other components of their identities …

Teacher Self-Efficacy And Teaching Experience, Nicholas Daniel Hafner

Masters Theses

Teacher self-efficacy significantly impacts student learning in a variety of ways. High levels of teacher self-efficacy can lead to improved student outcomes and act as a protective factor for multiple stressors. The present study investigated the associations between teachers’ years of experience and their hours of professional development concerning a teacher’s overall self-efficacy and its three domains: student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. It was hypothesized that years of experience and hours of professional development would predict overall self-efficacy and its three domains. A survey was utilized to gather demographic, experience, and self-efficacy information. A total of 194 teachers …

Investigating Sleep Education Criteria In Illinois Public Schools And Its Alignment With Evidence-Based Practices, Bayleigh T. Pasley

Masters Theses

The purpose of the current study was to examine high school health curricula regarding sleep prevention and intervention practices and whether instructional content aligned with best practice for this age group. Specifically, the Primary Investigator and her thesis chair developed the Sleep Education and Preventative Practices Checklist/Questionnaire (SEPPC and SEPPQ) as tools to evaluate the sleep content covered in different public high schools across Illinois. The SEPPC and SEPPQ were identical in that they contained 17 different items which looked at different sleep topics reviewed by current literature. The SEPPC/Q contained two main topics: adolescent sleep knowledge (11 topics/items) and …

Emailed Support For Implementation Fidelity: The Effects Of Email Prompts On Teacher Use Of Bsp, Kathryn Krouse

Masters Theses

This study sought to expand the literature on the effects of emailed implementation support on teachers’ use of behavior specific praise. The effects of the intervention on select student outcomes were also observed. Participants were four early elementary school teachers that sought support for implementing research-based classroom management practices. A concurrent A-B-C-D multiple-probe design was utilized to observe changes in the teachers’ behavior specific praise and correction frequencies and their students’ on-task and disruptive behaviors when didactic training, email prompting, and email performance feedback were introduced in separate phases. The results indicated that three of the four participants increased their …

Covid-19 Pandemic And College Students’ Mental Health: Vulnerability And Resilience Factors, Jensyn Morrison

Masters Theses

The world became quickly and suddenly consumed by the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020. Topics such as stay-at-home orders, isolation from society, and social distancing became trending discussion themes in news coverage and daily conversations. The present study aimed to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of college students. Specifically, a total of 123 students from a rural Midwest university and an urban Southeast university in the United States participated in an online survey that assessed COVID-19-related vulnerability and resilience factors (e.g., employment status, living situation, religious beliefs, previous diagnosis, and vaccination status of individuals) …

Victim Advocates' Experiences In The Provision Of Domestic Violence Services For Jewish Women, Michael Sue Jenefsky

Theses and Dissertations

Domestic violence is a serious, dangerous global epidemic and does not discriminate. Domestic violence has no limitations happening in all communities, religions, and cultures. There are many types of abuse, and it is not always physical; however, the underlying threat of violence is perceived by victims. Abusers use manipulative and coercive tactics to gain and maintain power and control of victims. It is deliberate and a choice. Feelings of shame, guilt, blame, failure, helplessness, and being trapped with no means to escape are prevalent among victims. Jewish women have specific feelings and fears that are associated with halakha, Jewish law, …

Scales Of Connectivity Within Stream Temperature Networks Of The Clackamas River Basin, Oregon, Michael Krochta, Heejun Chang

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Water quality varies along the stream network; thus, considering the directional, dendritic nature of stream networks with surrounding landscape variables is essential in explaining spatial variations of water quality. Using a spatially extensive stream temperature monitoring effort in the Clackamas River Basin in the United States, we first compare spatial scales of analysis of atmospheric, landscape, and in-stream explanatory variables through their correlation with summer stream temperatures. We then derive a predictive stream temperature model with factors representing the spatial variation of local climate, recent wildfire effects, and discharge. Finally, we compare nonspatial multiple linear regression to a spatial stream …

Energy Claims For The Wind Farm Off Newport’S South Coast, Karen J. Figueroa, Megan Trafford, Emma Wilson, Ava Brunnock, Casey Maeve Bermingham

ENV 334 Environmental Justice

Revolution Wind will be constructing a Wind Farm off of Newport's South Coast. The community is extremely mixed on their reaction to the project, but there is a lot of misinformation concerning the project and wind turbines in general. The main focus is to address community concerns while informing the public of wind farms and wind turbines, with a specific focus on the energy aspect.

Advanced Air Mobility, Economic Impacts, And Equity Considerations, Robert M. Mcnab

Economics Faculty Publications

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) may, in the coming decades, result in tens of thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in additional economic activity. While much of the discussion surrounding AAM focuses on the technical aspects of the nascent industry, estimates of the potential economic impact vary significantly. Much less attention has been paid in the literature to potential externalities, positive and negative, and how these externalities may impact estimates of economic impact. We argue that much work remains to be done before policy advisors and decisions makers can formulate and implement strategies based on the projections of future …

Late Holocene Fire History Reconstruction Of Beaver Lake In The Northwest Lowlands Of The Olympic Peninsula, Grace Mckenney

All Master's Theses

Fire is an essential component of the landscapes and forests of the Pacific Northwest, including the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula. Previous fire history reconstructions from the peninsula show that fire return intervals varied throughout the postglacial period, primarily in response to climatic changes and corresponding shifts in vegetation. However, much less is known about the fire history of the low-elevation forests of the Olympic Peninsula and the role of cultural fire regimes in these environments. The purpose of this study was to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental history of a low-elevation study site, Beaver Lake, located in the northwestern part …

More Than Censorship: The Harm Of Libricide, James M. Donovan

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Libricide, although often deemed an extreme instance of censorship, is altogether different. Censorship involves the suppression of particular books due to alleged inappropriate content; libricide refers to the intentional destruction of entire libraries. Understanding the differing motives recognizes that the library is more than the books it contains, and is instead an institution rooted in its history of selection and use by the local community. Over time, the library reflects the users’ identity, a reminder that any aggressor would wish to eliminate when the goal is pacification by erasure of a population’s memory and history. Prerequisites for an act of …

Cognitive Fusion, Self And Other-Blame, And College Adjustment Outcomes, Olivia B. Tipton

Master's Theses

College students from socioeconomically challenging backgrounds are more likely to drop out of college before being awarded a bachelor’s degree. A challenging background predicts difficulties in emotion regulation, which may affect adjustment to college and, subsequently, persistence in college until a bachelor’s degree is awarded. Previous research has identified cognitive fusion, a state in which one unquestioningly believes the literal content of their thoughts, and inflexible usage of self and other-blame as predictors of negative social, psychological, and academic outcomes. The present study used self-report data collected from emerging adult college students at a small midwestern university to assess whether …

Implementing A Stepped Care Model: A Case Study Of Two College Counseling Centers, Stephanie L Johnson-Kane

Dissertations and Theses

The demand for mental health counseling services has surged, but the capacity of college counseling centers to meet this demand has not kept pace. The effects of COVID-19 have exacerbated this already fragile system of care. College students are enrolling in college with increased levels of anxiety, depression, disordered eating, suicidal ideation, and substance use. College counseling center staff are facing burnout. The waitlist to receive mental health services is at critical capacity. This multi-site case study was designed to foster an understanding of two college counseling centers' implementation of the stepped care approach as a mental health service delivery …

Adapting Community-Based Psychological First Aid To A Palliative/Hospice Care Team: A Community-Based Participatory Research Approach, Kathryn Olivia Moore

Dissertations and Theses

Palliative and hospice care patients face serious or life-limiting illnesses; as a result, patients and their caregivers often have to overcome challenges related to psychological distress. Furthermore, stress related to individuals’ medical and psychosocial concerns can lead to crises. While current literature acknowledges patients’ and caregivers’ experience of depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, traumatic stress, and other disorders, there remains a gap in addressing these challenges through interventions that are tailored to the unique needs of this complex population. Additionally, professionals that comprise palliative and hospice care teams are often not trained to implement interventions to help prevent and intervene in …

Members Only: Do Mandatory Inclusive Introductions Inadvertently Cause Exclusion?, Leah Marie Mckinney

All Master's Theses

In order to establish the proper way to address peers and colleagues, an introduction is necessary. In an attempt to support inclusion, it has become standard to ask that people state their associated pronouns. Researchers have shown that the proper use of one’s pronouns can help people feel safe in a new environment (e.g., Kramer et al., 2022; Lauscher et al., 2022; Palanica et al., 2022); however, to my knowledge, very few researchers have explored the potential adverse effects of requiring pronouns in introductions. The practice of stating pronouns during introductions has been established relatively recently (MIT, 2020), limiting research …